Canto 5 - Chapter 19: The description of Jambūḍwīpa concluded ...

Discourse XIX

The description of Jambūdwīpa concluded

Śrī Śuka continued : In Kimpuruṣavarṣa that foremost devotee of the Lord, Hanumān, who takes great pleasure in remaining by the side of his Lord's feet, adores with unremitting devotion, alongwith the Kimpuruṣas (the denizens of that Varṣa), the most ancient Person in the form of Lord Śrī Rāma, elder Brother of Lakṣmaṇa and the Delighter (Beloved) of Sītā. (1)
(There) accompanied by Ārṣṭiṣeṇa (a chief denizen of the Varṣa), he listens with great interest the most auspicious story of his divine Lord, sung by the Gandharvas and himself repeats the following (prayer):—(2)
"Hail to the glorious Lord (Śrī Rāma), denoted by the mystical syllable OM ! Hail to Him who is possessed of noble characteristics and an ideal character and conduct ! Hail to Him who fully disciplined His self (and) followed the wishes of the people ! Hail to Him who is the (very) touch stone of reputation for goodness ! Hail to the Lord who is resplendent with His devotion to the Brāhmaṇa race ! Hail to the Supreme Person in the form of a great Ruler !" (3)

"I resort to Him who is of the nature of pure Consciousness, the only entity, who has by His own divine energy (that constitutes His very being) distanced His potency known by the name of Māyā (consisting of the three Guṇas), (nay,) who is other than this objective world and perfectly serene, who can be realized (only) by those possessed of a pure mind, and who transcends all (material) names and forms and is (absolutely) egoless. (4)
The descent of that omnipotent Lord in a human semblance on this earth is really intended to teach mankind (the ways of the great) and not merely to exterminate the demon race (which could be done by His mere will)! Otherwise how could there be any woes caused by (separation from) Sītā (His divine Spouse) to the supreme Lord, the Soul of the universe, revelling in His own (blissful) nature? (5)
He is the same as Lord Vāsudeva (the abode of the whole universe)—the greatest friend, (nay,) the very Self of (all) wise men*—not (in the least) attached to (anything in) the three worlds. He could not (therefore) give way to infatuation occasioned by (separation from) His Consort nor could He abandon (send into exile) Lakṣmaṇa† (except in order to teach the world the ways of the great). (6)
Indeed neither pedigree nor physical charm nor eloquence nor intellectual calibre nor (again) race (the species of life in which one is born) is conducive to the pleasure of that Supreme being; for lo! Śrī Rāma (elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa) admitted to His friendship even us, wild beasts (monkeys), bereft of all these (qualifications)! (7)
Therefore, whether a god or a demon, a monkey or a human being—whatever one may be—one should resort (for protection) with all one's being to the noblest Śrī Rāma—Lord Śrī Hari Himself in human semblance—who is supremely conscious of services done to Him and who (while returning to His divine Abode at the end of His pastime on earth) led to Heaven (all) the people of north Kosala." (8)

• The Lord is, in fact, the friend as well as the Self of all embodied souls without distinction; yet He is spoken of here as the friend and the Self of wise men in the sense that it is the wise alone who recognize Him as such.
  † We are told in the Rāmāyaṇa that Lord Śrī Rāma was once closeted with a messenger of the gods Lakṣmaṇa guarded the entrance under orders of the Lord, who had strictly warned him not to enter the room himself nor allow anyone else to do so under any circumstance, adding that anyone who did so would be beheaded by Him. Meanwhile the irascible sage Durvāsā appeared on the scene and peremptorily demanded that the Lord should at once be apprised of his presence, threatening to curse Him if Lakṣmaṇa declined to do so. Lakṣmaṇa preferred to be killed by his divine Brother rather than invite the sage's curse on Him and informed the Lord of his arrival. The sage was then ushered into the Lord's presence and respectfully dismissed after being duly entertained. The Lord now felt very miserable when He thought of the terrible fate which awaited Lakṣmaṇa, and remained mute. He then summoned His counsellors and invited their opinion, whereupon the sage Vasiṣṭha exhorted Him to exile Lakṣmaṇa, which was as good as beheading him. The Lord accepted the advice of His preceptor and did accordingly.

Again, in order to shower His grace (by setting a noble example) on those who have controlled their mind, the Lord compassionately practises in Bhāratavāra (in the holy retreat of Badarikāśrama)—under the name of Nara-Nārāyaṇa, till the end of the Kalpa, His movements remaining unperceived—austerities, which, while enhancing one's religious merit, enlightenment, aversion to the pleasures of sense, Yogic power, self-control and freedom from egotism, (eventually) lead to Self-Realization. (9)
Intending to instruct Sāvarṇi (one of the prospective Manus, who is going to preside over the next or eighth Manvantara) in the Pāñcarātra Āgama (describing the greatness of the Lord) as well as in (the principles of) Sāṅkhya (the process of realizing God as identical with oneself) and Yoga (the process of union with the Lord as distinct from oneself) as taught by the Lord (Himself) in Śrīmad Bhagavadgītā, the glorious Nārada, along with the people of Bhāratavāra, who follow the rules of Varnāśrama (the division of society into four Varṇas or grades and four Āśramas or stages in life), adores the Lord (Nara-Nārāyaṇa) with a feeling of supreme devotion and repeats the following (prayer):—(10)
"Hail to the Lord, denoted by the mystical syllable OM, who is given to self-control and is (absolutely) free from the attributes of body and senses etc., (which are other than the Self) ! Hail to Nara-Nārāyaṇa, the foremost of sages, the wealth of those who have nothing (to call their own) !! Hail, hail to the supreme Teacher of ascetics of the highest order and the Lord of those who revel in the Self !!!" (11)
Again, he sings the following (praises):—"Hail to Him who, though the Maker of this (universe), does not get bound to the functions of creation etc., (by recognizing Himself as the doer), who though invested with a body, is not affected by the attributes of a body (hunger, thirst and so on) and whose vision, though He is all-seeing, is not tainted by the qualities (of that which He sees)—(to sum up,) who is (absolutely) unattached, pure and a (mere) witness. (12)
Indeed here in, O'Master of Yoga, lies the proficiency in Yoga (mind-control), of which the glorious Brahmā (who was born of a golden lotus sprung from the navel of Lord Viṣṇu) has spoken, viz., that, having given up (all) identification with the body, one should concentrate one's mind on You, who are beyond the modes of Prakṛti (all material phenomena), at the last moment (of one's life) through (the practice of) Devotion (continued from one's very birth). (13)
(All) effort (in the direction of attaining wisdom through learning and other means) is mere (fruitless) labour on the part of him who, though learned (well-versed in the scriptures) is afraid of the loss of (his) contemptible (frail) body (even) like him (an ignorant person) who is addicted to the pleasures of this world as well as of that (the other world), and anxious about his sons, wife and possessions. (14)
Therefore, administer You to us that (supreme) remedy in the form of loving devotion to You, whereby we may (be able to) shake off soon, O Lord who are beyond sense-perception, the feeling of 'I' and 'mine' with respect to this contemptible (material) body, which (feeling) is so difficult to renounce, occasioned as it is by Your Māyā (deluding potency)." (15)

In this Bhāratavarṣa too there are a number of rivers and mountains, viz., Malaya, Maṅgalaprastha, Maināka, Trikūṭa, Rṣabha, Kūṭaka, Kollaka, Sahya, Devagiri, Rṣyamūka, Śrīśaila, Veṅkaṭa, Mahendra, Vāridhāra, Vindhya, Śuktimān, Rkṣagiri, Pāriyātra, Droṇa, Citrakūṭa, Govardhana, Raivataka, Kakubha, Nila, Gokāmukha, Indrakīla and Kāmagiri, and other hundreds and thousands of mountains and there are countless big and small rivers flowing from their sides. (16)
The people of Bhāratavarṣa touch with their body too the water of these rivers, which purify them by their very names. (17)
Candravasā Tāmraparṇī, Avatodā, Kṛtamālā, Vaihāyasī, Kāverī, Veṇī, Payaswinī, Śarkarāvartā, Tuṅgabhadrā, Kṛṣṇā, Veṇyā, Bhimarathī, Godāvarī, Nirvindhyā, Payoṣṇī, Tāpi, Revā, Surasā, Narmadā Carmaṇvatī (and) Sindhu, two big rivers—Andha (Brahmaputra) and Śoṇa (Sone)—Mahānadi, Vedasmṛti, Rṣikulyā, Trisāmā, Kauśikī, Mandākinī, Yamunā, Saraswatī, Dṛṣadvatī, Gomatī, Sarayū, Rodhaswatī Saptavatī, Suṣomā, Śatadrū, Candrabhāgā, Marudvṛdhā, Vitastā, Asiknī (and) Viśwā are (the names of) the principal rivers. (18)
It is by men born in this Varṣa alone that manifold states of existence—celestial, human and infernal—are earned for the soul through actions of a Sāttvika, Rājasika and Tāmasika character respectively, performed by themselves; for all forms of existence can be attained by all according to (the quality of) their actions and final beatitude can also be achieved (by them) by discharging (in a disinterested spirit) the duties prescribed for each Varṇa or grade of society—final beatitude, which consists in an incessant flow of motiveless devotion to Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Spirit, the Inner Controller of all living beings, who is free from partiality (and prejudice etc.), is beyond the range of speech and has nothing to rest on. It appears only when (the rare privilege of) close (loving) association with the servants of Lord Viṣṇu (the Supreme Person) is had, which (again) is possible only when the knot of ignorance, the occasion for the various states of (mundane) existence, is cut asunder. (19-20)

The gods too extol human life (as follows): "Oh, what meritorious deed was performed (in a previous birth) by them—or it may be that Śrī Hari was pleased with them of His own accord (through His own compassionate nature, such a meritorious deed being most difficult to perform,)—who have secured (the rare boon of) birth among human beings in the land of Bhāratavarṣa—(the only birth) suitable for the service of Lord Śrī Viṣṇu (the Bestower of Liberation), (and therefore) coveted (but not attained) even by us ! (21)
What has been gained by us through sacrificial performances, austerities and (other) sacred vows, (practice of) charity and other (meritorious) acts, so difficult to perform, or even through the fruitless attainment of heaven (earned through those meritorious acts), where one gets no opportunity for the remembrance of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, which is eliminated due to excessive gratification of the senses ? (22)
(Nay,) securing (birth in) the land of Bhāratavarṣa on the part of men with a short span of life is preferable to the attainment of the abode (the spheres higher than Indra's heaven, viz., Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka or Brahmaloka) of those who live for a (whole) Kalpa (the lifetime of the three worlds, covering a thousand revolutions of the four Yugas, or 4,32,00,00,000 human years)—an abode which leads to rebirth (after one has enjoyed one's allotted span of life there). For, offering (to the Lord) the actions done in the course of an instant (even) with their mortal body, wise men (in this land) attain to the fearless Abode of Śrī Hari. (23)
That region—be it the abode of Brahmā (the highest ruler of the gods) himself—should in no case be resorted to, where streams of nectar in the shape of the stories of Lord Viṣṇu do not flow, where there are no pious devotees of the Lord, living on those nectaran streams and where there are no sacrificial performances intended to propitiate Lord Viṣṇu (the Lord of sacrifices) and accompanied with grand festivities (in the shape of sacred music and dancing etc.). (24)
Those Jivas (embodied souls), however, who do not strive to secure immunity from rebirth (even) after attaining birth in the human race—fully equipped with knowledge (discrimination), capacity for actions leading to knowledge and substances helpful to such activities—fall into bondage again like wild birds (disentangled from the fowler's net, yet carelessly sporting on the same tree where they were once entrapped). (25)

"Invoked in sacrifices under diverse names (Indra, Agni and so on) by the people of Bhāratavarṣa, the same Lord—who is (not only) perfect (in every respect) but who is the Bestower of (all) blessings (sought for by men)—Himself gladly accepts (nay, eats) the oblations set apart (for different gods) in (due) proportions and poured into the sacrificial fire (for being conveyed to those gods) with reverence according to the correct procedure, while reciting the sacred text (consecrated to the deity invoked) and with (particular) regard to substance (which is different in the case of different gods). (26)
True, the Lord grants men's prayer, (when) implored by them; but certainly He does not confer the real boon (on such men) as (is evident from the fact that) their supplication is renewed (not long) after their prayer is granted. To them (however) who adore Him, seeking nothing (of Him), He vouchsafes (reveals) of His own accord His own lotus-feet, which satiate (one's) longings (for all time). (27)
If there is (any) religious merit—following from a good sacrifice duly performed, a religious discourse properly delivered or (any other noble) act done by us (in a previous existence)—still left (to our credit) after (enjoying) the pleasures of heaven, O, let us be blessed with an incarnation in the Ajanābhavarṣa* (Bhāratavarṣa), endowed with (the) consciousness (that Śrī Hari alone is worthy of adoration), inasmuch as (we know that) Śrī Hari extends (His) blessing (grace) to those who worship Him. (28)

Śrī Śuka went on : Some (wise men), O king, speak of eight minor Dwīpas (islands), comprised in Jambūdwīpa and brought into existence by the sons of king Sagara while digging up this globe on all sides in the course of their search for the horse (released by their father preparatory to the performance of a horse-sacrifice†). (29)
They are known as Swarṇaprastha, Candraśukla, Āvartana, Ramaṇaka, Mandarahariṇa, Pāñcajanya, Sirṁhala and Laṅkā. (30)
In this way the division of Jambūdwīpa into (so many) Varṣas has been described to you, O jewel among the descendants of Bharata, even as I was told (by my preceptor). (31)

• We have already seen how this subdivision of the terrestrial globe, was previously called Ajanābhavarṣa and came to be known as Bhāratavarṣa after the name of its illustrious ruler, Emperor Bharata (vide. V. vii. 3).
  Thus ends the nineteenth discourse entitled "A description of Jambūdwīpa," in Book Five of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahāṃsa-Sarṁhitā.