॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
॥ द्वितीयोऽध्यायः - २ ॥
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Discourse II
The messengers of Lord Viṣṇu expound the Bhāgavata Dharma (the cult of Devotion) and Ajāmila ascends to the Lord's supreme Abode (Preamble)
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श्रीशुक उवाच ।
एवं ते भगवद्दूता यमदूताभिभाषितम् ।
उपधार्याथ तान् राजन् प्रत्याहुर्नयकोविदाः ॥ १॥
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Śrī Śuka went on: Having thus heard and (duly) followed the dissertation of the messengers of Yama, the aforesaid messengers of the Lord, who were masters of the moral science, now replied to them (as follows), O king (Parikṣit)! (1) (1)
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विष्णुदूता ऊचुः ।
अहो कष्टं धर्मदृशामधर्मः स्पृशते सभाम् ।
यत्रादण्ड्येष्वपापेषु दण्डो यैर्ध्रियते वृथा ॥ २॥
प्रजानां पितरो ये च शास्तारः साधवः समाः ।
यदि स्यात्तेषु वैषम्यं कं यान्ति शरणं प्रजाः ॥ ३॥
यद्यदाचरति श्रेयानितरस्तत्तदीहते ।
स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥ ४॥
यस्याङ्के शिर आधाय लोकः स्वपिति निर्वृतः ।
स्वयं धर्ममधर्मं वा न हि वेद यथा पशुः ॥ ५॥
स कथं न्यर्पितात्मानं कृतमैत्रमचेतनम् ।
विस्रम्भणीयो भूतानां सघृणो द्रोग्धुमर्हति ॥ ६॥
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The messengers of Viṣṇu said: Oh, what a pity that unrighteousness should penetrate the court of the knowers of Dharma (the secret of virtue), where punishment is unnecessarily inflicted by those very knowers of Dharma on sinless people who do not deserve any! (2)
If iniquity appears in (the heart of) those who are protectors (like a father) and teachers of the people and are beneficent and even-minded (to all), whom shall the people resort to for protection? (3)
Whatever a superior man does, that very thing the common (ignorant) man (also) does. The people (at large) follow that which the former sets up as a standard (to be followed). (4)
Like a brute, the common man himself has no knowledge of righteousness or unrighteousness and (generally) sleeps at ease (over this question), resting his head on the lap (utterly depending on the wisdom) of another (his ruler or preceptor). (5)
How can it be worthy of the latter, if he is full of compassion and deserves the confidence of (all) living beings, to seek to harm the unwary world that has thrown itself entirely at his mercy, reposing (full) trust on him? (6) (2-6)
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अयं हि कृतनिर्वेशो जन्मकोट्यंहसामपि ।
यद्व्याजहार विवशो नाम स्वस्त्ययनं हरेः ॥ ७॥
एतेनैव ह्यघोनोऽस्य कृतं स्यादघनिष्कृतम् ।
यदा नारायणायेति जगाद चतुरक्षरम् ॥ ८॥
स्तेनः सुरापो मित्रध्रुग् ब्रह्महा गुरुतल्पगः ।
स्त्रीराजपितृगोहन्ता ये च पातकिनोऽपरे ॥ ९॥
सर्वेषामप्यघवतामिदमेव सुनिष्कृतम् ।
नामव्याहरणं विष्णोर्यतस्तद्विषया मतिः ॥ १०॥
न निष्कृतैरुदितैर्ब्रह्मवादिभि-
स्तथा विशुद्ध्यत्यघवान् व्रतादिभिः ।
यथा हरेर्नामपदैरुदाहृतै-
स्तदुत्तमश्लोकगुणोपलम्भकम् ॥ ११॥
नैकान्तिकं तद्धि कृतेऽपि निष्कृते
मनः पुनर्धावति चेदसत्पथे ।
तत्कर्मनिर्हारमभीप्सतां हरे-
र्गुणानुवादः खलु सत्त्वभावनः ॥ १२॥
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This man has actually done atonement (not only for the sins of this life but) even for sins committed (by him) through millions of lives (in the past) in that he uttered, though in a helpless state, the name of Śrī Hari, which (apart from its being the highest atonement for past sins) is a (direct) means to the attainment of (supreme) felicity (final beatitude). (7)
The atonement for (all) the sins of this (erstwhile) sinner must have been made by the mere fact that he pronounced a mere semblance of the four-syllabled name of the Lord, 'NĀRĀYAṆA', while exclaiming (calling his son in the words): "Nārāyaṇa, come (here) !" (8)
The articulation of a name of Lord Viṣṇu—that is the only thorough atonement for the sins of all classes of sinners, be he a thief, a drinker (of spirituous liquor), one guilty of treachery to a friend, a Brāhmaṇa-slayer, one sharing the bed of a preceptor's wife, a slayer of a woman, a king, one's own parent or a cow and whatever other (types of) sinners there may be; for thereby (by the utterance of the Lord's name) the Lord's (own) mind is directed towards the utterer (who is thenceforward remembered by Him as His protege). (9-10)
A sinner is not purified to that extent (so thoroughly) through fasting and other processes of expiation recommended by the expositors of the Veda (Manu and others) as he is by words standing as names for Śrī Hari, articulated (merely with the tongue); for the utterance of such words puts him in mind of the (divine) attributes of the glorious Lord (and thus qualifies the man for final beatitude by drawing him towards the Lord, the Bestower of Liberation, unlike the other forms of expiation, which exhaust themselves in wiping out the sins). (11)
For, the process of expiation is not complete if one's mind runs back to evil ways even after the said process has been gone through. Therefore, in the case of those seeking the eradication of their (stock of) sinful Karma the uttering of the praises of Śrī Hari is the only remedy; for the same undoubtedly purifies the mind. (12) (7-12)
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अथैनं मापनयत कृताशेषाघनिष्कृतम् ।
यदसौ भगवन्नाम म्रियमाणः समग्रहीत् ॥ १३॥
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Therefore, do not take, by a wrong path (the path of the sinners), (the soul of) this man, who has done atonement for all (his) sins in that he articulated the Lord's name in full (while, as a matter of fact, it wipes out one's sins even when uttered in part) and at a time when he was about to die (when there was no possibility of his reverting to the path of sin and thereby incurring any more sin; for one cannot ordinarily be expected to take the Lord's name precisely at the moment of death). (13) (13)
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साङ्केत्यं पारिहास्यं वा स्तोभं हेलनमेव वा ।
वैकुण्ठनामग्रहणमशेषाघहरं विदुः ॥ १४॥
पतितः स्खलितो भग्नः सन्दष्टस्तप्त आहतः ।
हरिरित्यवशेनाह पुमान् नार्हति यातनाम् ॥ १५॥
गुरूणां च लघूनां च गुरूणि च लघूनि च ।
प्रायश्चित्तानि पापानां ज्ञात्वोक्तानि महर्षिभिः ॥ १६॥
तैस्तान्यघानि पूयन्ते तपोदानजपादिभिः ।
नाधर्मजं तद्धृदयं तदपीशाङ्घ्रिसेवया ॥ १७॥
अज्ञानादथवा ज्ञानादुत्तमश्लोकनाम यत् ।
सङ्कीर्तितमघं पुंसो दहेदेधो यथानलः ॥ १८॥
यथागदं वीर्यतममुपयुक्तं यदृच्छया ।
अजानतोऽप्यात्मगुणं कुर्यान्मन्त्रोऽप्युदाहृतः ॥ १९॥
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The learned recognize the articulation of a name of Lord Viṣṇu as capable of eradicating all one's sins, even when it is intended to denote someone else, or when it is uttered jestingly (in love but not jeeringly) or as an interjection in the midst of a song or out of (seeming) disrespect (but not real; for disrespect actually shown to the Lord or a jeer flung at Him constitutes in itself an unpardonable sin). (14)
A man who articulates the word 'Hari' (or, for that matter, any other name of the Lord even) involuntarily (without any conscious effort on his part) when fallen down, stumbled, bitten (by a snake or any other poisonous creature) heated (by fever etc.), injured (by a blow) or when he has broken a limb, no longer deserves (to suffer) torment (in hell). (15)
Arduous and easy processes of expiation have been thoughtfully prescribed by the great sages (law-givers) in the case of (comparatively) great and small sins. (16)
Those sins are (certainly) got rid of by the said processes of expiation such as austere penance, charity and Japa (muttering of prayers), but not the kernel (vestiges in the form of impressions) of those sins, which is (also) traceable to the unrighteous acts. Those impressions too are obliterated through the service of (devotion to) the Lord's feet. (17)
Any name of the Lord of excellent renown, which is distinctly pronounced (by a man)—(whether) knowingly (with the consciousness that it wipes out all one's sins) or unknowingly (without such knowledge)—destroys a man's sins (as surely) as a fire consumes the fuel (under all circumstances, no matter whether it has been kindled by a man who knows its burning properties or by an innocent child who is unaware of its burning capacity). (18)
Just as a medicine possessing the highest potency is sure to produce its salutary effect even on one who is unaware of its efficacy, though taken by chance, so does the Lord's name (which is as holy as any sacred text or formula) reveal its efficacy (in the shape of wiping out all one's sins) even in the case of him who is unaware of it, when uttered by him (even) casually. (19) (14-19)
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श्रीशुक उवाच
त एवं सुविनिर्णीय धर्मं भागवतं नृप ।
तं याम्यपाशान्निर्मुच्य विप्रं मृत्योरमूमुचन् ॥ २०॥
इति प्रत्युदिता याम्या दूता यात्वा यमान्तिके ।
यमराज्ञे यथा सर्वमाचचक्षुररिन्दम ॥ २१॥
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Śrī Śuka resumed : Having thus expounded in a well-reasoned and conclusive way the cult of Devotion to the Lord (with particular reference to the marvellous efficacy of the Divine Name), O king (Parikṣit), and extricated the said Brāhmaṇa (Ajāmila) from the noose of Yama (the god of punishment), the messengers of Lord Viṣṇu secured his release from (the grip of) Death. (20)
Thus foiled in controversy (by the Lord's own messengers), the messengers of Yama returned to the presence of Yama (their master) and faithfully reported everything to king Yama, O subduer of foes. (21) (20-21)
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द्विजः पाशाद्विनिर्मुक्तो गतभीः प्रकृतिं गतः ।
ववन्दे शिरसा विष्णोः किङ्करान् दर्शनोत्सवः ॥ २२॥
तं विवक्षुमभिप्रेत्य महापुरुषकिङ्कराः ।
सहसा पश्यतस्तस्य तत्रान्तर्दधिरेऽनघ ॥ २३॥
अजामिलोऽप्यथाकर्ण्य दूतानां यमकृष्णयोः ।
धर्मं भागवतं शुद्धं त्रैविद्यं च गुणाश्रयम् ॥ २४॥
भक्तिमान् भगवत्याशु माहात्म्यश्रवणाद्धरेः ।
अनुतापो महानासीत्स्मरतोऽशुभमात्मनः ॥ २५॥
अहो मे परमं कष्टमभूदविजितात्मनः ।
येन विप्लावितं ब्रह्म वृषल्यां जायताऽऽत्मना ॥ २६॥
धिङ् मां विगर्हितं सद्भिर्दुष्कृतं कुलकज्जलम् ।
हित्वा बालां सतीं योऽहं सुरापामसतीमगाम् ॥ २७॥
वृद्धावनाथौ पितरौ नान्यबन्धू तपस्विनौ ।
अहो मयाधुना त्यक्तावकृतज्ञेन नीचवत् ॥ २८॥
सोऽहं व्यक्तं पतिष्यामि नरके भृशदारुणे ।
धर्मघ्नाः कामिनो यत्र विन्दन्ति यमयातनाः ॥ २९॥
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Disentangled from the noose (of Yama) and rid of fear, the Brāhmaṇa (Ajāmila) was his former self again (became healthy and pious as before) and, delighted with their sight, bowed his head to the servants of Lord Viṣṇu. (22)
Perceiving him eager to speak, the servants of Bhagavān Viṣṇu (the Supreme Person) suddenly disappeared at that (very) spot, even as he looked on, O sinless one! (23)
Having heard from the mouth severally of the messengers of Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Lord Viṣṇu) and Yama an exposition of the cult of Devotion to the Lord—which is untainted by the three Guṇas (inasmuch as it is concerned from the beginning to the end with the worship of the Lord, who is entirely beyond the realm of the three Guṇas and takes one beyond the world of matter, which is a product of the three Guṇas)—and the path of worldly activity (which is mainly concerned with the world of matter and holds out the promise of heavenly bliss, a product of the three Guṇas, and has been) taught by the three Vedas (which mainly deal with rituals), Ajāmila too now soon conceived devotion to the Lord as a result of hearing the glories of Śrī Hari (the Destroyer of all sins) and great was his repentance as he recollected his (past) sin. (24-25)
(He said to himself,) "Oh, it was the worst tragedy for me, who forfeited my Brahmanhood by being born" (reproduced in the form of sons) through a Śūdra woman, because of my being unable to curb my (lower) self (animal passions)! (26)
Fie upon my wicked self, condemned by (all) good men, the blot of my race, who kept an unchaste wench given to drinking, having abandoned a faithful wife who was yet very young. (27)
Oh, my aged parents, who were without a protector and had no other relation (such as a son) and were much afflicted (because of me), were forthwith deserted by my ungrateful self as by a vile man. (28)
As such I shall surely fall into a most dreadful hell, where lustful men, who have violated Dharma (righteousness) suffer tortures inflicted by Yama. (29) (22-29)
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किमिदं स्वप्न आहोस्वित्साक्षाद्दृष्टमिहाद्भुतम् ।
क्व याता अद्य ते ये मां व्यकर्षन् पाशपाणयः ॥ ३०॥
अथ ते क्व गताः सिद्धाश्चत्वारश्चारुदर्शनाः ।
व्यमोचयन् नीयमानं बद्ध्वा पाशैरधो भुवः ॥ ३१॥
अथापि मे दुर्भगस्य विबुधोत्तमदर्शने ।
भवितव्यं मङ्गलेन येनात्मा मे प्रसीदति ॥ ३२॥
अन्यथा म्रियमाणस्य नाशुचेर्वृषलीपतेः ।
वैकुण्ठनामग्रहणं जिह्वा वक्तुमिहार्हति ॥ ३३॥
क्व चाहं कितवः पापो ब्रह्मघ्नो निरपत्रपः ।
क्व च नारायणेत्येतद्भगवन्नाम मङ्गलम् ॥ ३४॥
सोऽहं तथा यतिष्यामि यतचित्तेन्द्रियानिलः ।
यथा न भूय आत्मानमन्धे तमसि मज्जये ॥ ३५॥
विमुच्य तमिमं बन्धमविद्याकामकर्मजम् ।
सर्वभूतसुहृच्छान्तो मैत्रः करुण आत्मवान् ॥ ३६॥
मोचये ग्रस्तमात्मानं योषिन्मय्याऽऽत्ममायया ।
विक्रीडितो ययैवाहं क्रीडामृग इवाधमः ॥ ३७॥
ममाहमिति देहादौ हित्वा मिथ्यार्थधीर्मतिम् ।
धास्ये मनो भगवति शुद्धं तत्कीर्तनादिभिः ॥ ३८॥
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"Was (all) this wonder seen by me in a dream or with my own eyes here (in waking life)? Where have they now gone, who proceeded to tear me (my life) from my body, noose in hand? (30)
Again, where have those four angelic persons gone, who were (so) good-looking and got me released while I was being taken to the infernal regions (situated below the earth), fastened with nooses? (31)
Though I have been so accursed (in my present birth), yet I must have earned (in my previous lives some) extraordinary merit which blessed me with the sight of those foremost gods, as a result of which my mind is so calm and cheerful (today). (32)
Otherwise (but for such extraordinary merit) my tongue, the tongue of an impious fellow, who kept a Śūdra woman, was not fit to utter the name of Lord Viṣṇu—the only means of capturing Him—in this helpless state and at a time when I was on the verge of death. (33)
The two stood poles asunder—myself, a wicked swindler, lost to (all) shame, who violated his Brahmanhood, and the (most) auspicious name of the Lord, 'Nārāyaṇa'. (34)
Having controlled my mind, Indriyas (the senses of perception as well as the organs of action) and breath, I shall as such so endeavour that I may not drown myself in the blinding gloom of transmigration again. (35)
Having got rid of the bondage of mudane existence—so well-known (in the shape of ties of attachment to son, wife, house and so on), and resulting from ignorance (manifested in the form of self-identification with the body etc.), and from the craving for the gratification of the senses and activity (in the shape of endeavour to procure such gratification)—benevolent to all living beings, free from craving for the pleasures of sense, friendly and compassionate (to all) and with (my) mind fully controlled, I shall redeem myself, completely dominated as I am by the Lord's Māyā (deluding potency) in the shape of woman, by whom my wretched self has indeed been fully toyed with even as an animal kept for pleasure. (36-37)
Giving up the sense of 'I' and 'mine' in relation severally to the body and whatever is connected with it, and with my thought fixed on the real substance (the Spirit), I shall devote my mind to the almighty Lord when it has been purified by chanting His names and praises and other ways of Devotion (such as hearing His praises and remembering Him). (38)
- There is a Śruti text declaring that a man himself is born for a second time in the form of a son through his wife, thus accounting for the epithet 'Jāyā' used with reference to a wife :—
(30-38)
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तज्जाया जाया भवति यदस्यां जायते पुनः।
श्रीशुक उवाच ।
इति जातसुनिर्वेदः क्षणसङ्गेन साधुषु ।
गङ्गाद्वारमुपेयाय मुक्तसर्वानुबन्धनः ॥ ३९॥
स तस्मिन् देवसदन आसीनो योगमाश्रितः ।
प्रत्याहृतेन्द्रियग्रामो युयोज मन आत्मनि ॥ ४०॥
ततो गुणेभ्य आत्मानं वियुज्यात्मसमाधिना ।
युयुजे भगवद्धाम्नि ब्रह्मण्यनुभवात्मनि ॥ ४१॥
यर्ह्युपारतधीस्तस्मिन्नद्राक्षीत्पुरुषान् पुरः ।
उपलभ्योपलब्धान् प्राग्ववन्दे शिरसा द्विजः ॥ ४२॥
हित्वा कलेवरं तीर्थे गङ्गायां दर्शनादनु ।
सद्यः स्वरूपं जगृहे भगवत्पार्श्ववर्तिनाम् ॥ ४३॥
साकं विहायसा विप्रो महापुरुषकिङ्करैः ।
हैमं विमानमारुह्य ययौ यत्र श्रियः पतिः ॥ ४४॥
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Śrī Śuka began again: Having thus conceived a thorough aversion to the pleasures of sense, thanks to a moment's association with the pious servants of Lord Viṣṇu, and throwing off all fetters (in the shape of affection for his mistress and children), Ajāmila retired to Gaṅgādwāra (the sacred spot where the holy river Gaṅgā descends into the plains, and which is now known by the name of Harikṣetra or Haridwāra). (39)
Settling down at that holy place (an eternal abode of the Lord) and betaking himself to the path of Yoga, he withdrew all his senses (from their objects) and fixed his mind on the supreme self. (40)
Then, dissociating the mind from the body and senses etc., through concentration of the same, he devoted it to the essence of the Lord, (known by the name of) Brahma, that is all consciousness. (41)
When his mind was (thus) irrevocably fixed on the aforesaid Brahma, the Brāhmaṇa beheld in front of him the same (angelic) persons and, recognizing them, as seen before, bowed his head to them. (42)
Having quitted his (earthly) body at that sacred place (Gaṅgādwāra) on the bank of the (holy) Gaṅgā (immediately) after their sight, he forthwith assumed a (divine) body similar to the form of the Lord's attendants (dwelling by His side). (43)
Mounting an aerial car made of gold, the Brāhmaṇa (Ajāmila) ascended with those servants of Lord Viṣṇu (the Supreme Person) through the heavens to the (divine) realm (known by the name of Vaikuṇṭha), where resides the Spouse of Śrī (the goddess of beauty and prosperity). (44) (39-44)
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एवं स विप्लावितसर्वधर्मा
दास्याः पतिः पतितो गर्ह्यकर्मणा ।
निपात्यमानो निरये हतव्रतः
सद्यो विमुक्तो भगवन्नाम गृह्णन् ॥ ४५॥
नातः परं कर्मनिबन्धकृन्तनं
मुमुक्षतां तीर्थपदानुकीर्तनात् ।
न यत्पुनः कर्मसु सज्जते मनो
रजस्तमोभ्यां कलिलं ततोऽन्यथा ॥ ४६॥
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In this way that Brāhmaṇa, who, consequent on his having kept a woman of the menial class had transgressed all his sacred duties and broken his vows (of fidelity to his wife and so on) and who had not only fallen (from his Brahmanhood) due to his reprehensible conduct but was going to be cast to hell (by the servants of Yama), was at once completely freed (from the noose of Yama) by uttering the Divine Name. (45)
For those seeking liberation there is nothing more efficacious in cutting the root of sin (in the form of identification with the body) than chanting the Name and glories of Lord Viṣṇu (whose feet purify those who resort to them). Thanks to the chanting of His names, the mind does not (ordinarily) get attached to (sinful) actions again, whereas it remains tainted with Rajas and Tamas (even) after purificatory processes other than this have been gone through. (46) (45-46)
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य एवं परमं गुह्यमितिहासमघापहम् ।
शृणुयाच्छ्रद्धया युक्तो यश्च भक्त्यानुकीर्तयेत् ॥ ४७॥
न वै स नरकं याति नेक्षितो यमकिङ्करैः ।
यद्यप्यमङ्गलो मर्त्यो विष्णुलोके महीयते ॥ ४८॥
म्रियमाणो हरेर्नाम गृणन् पुत्रोपचारितम् ।
अजामिलोऽप्यगाद्धाम किं पुनः श्रद्धया गृणन् ॥ ४९॥
इति श्रीमद्भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां संहितायां
षष्ठस्कन्धे अजामिलोपाख्याने द्वितीयोऽध्यायः ॥ २॥
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He who, full of reverence hears this legend, which is a most profound secret (of the scriptures) and is capable of destroying (all) one's sins, as well as he who repeats it with devotion (after hearing it) never goes to hell nor dare the servants of Yama look at him. However accursed (sinful) he may have been, such a mortal is adored (hereafter) in Vaikuṇṭha (the realm of Lord Viṣṇu). (47-48)
Even (a great sinner like) Ajāmila, who uttered, while dying (in a helpless state without reverence) the name of Śrī Hari and that too in its secondary application as denoting his son, ascended to the Lord's (divine) Abode! What wonder, then, if one who pronounces it with reverence should attain to His Abode? (49)
Thus ends the second discourse, forming part of the story of Ajāmila,
in Book Six of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa,
otherwise known as the Paramahārṣa-Sarhhitā. (47-49)
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