श्रीशुक उवाच ।
एवं भगवताऽऽदिष्टो दुर्वासाश्चक्रतापितः ।
अम्बरीषमुपावृत्य तत्पादौ दुःखितोऽग्रहीत् ॥ १॥
तस्य सोद्यमनं वीक्ष्य पादस्पर्शविलज्जितः ।
अस्तावीत्तद्धरेरस्त्रं कृपया पीडितो भृशम् ॥ २॥
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Śrī Śuka resumed: Thus directed by the Lord and scorched by His discus (Sudarśana), Durvāsā came back to Ambariṣa and, full of sorrow, clasped the latter's feet. (1)
Observing the endeavour on the part of the sage (to seek his forgiveness), Ambariṣa, who was much ashamed at the sage's touching his feet and sore stricken with compassion, began to extol the aforesaid missile of Śrī Hari (in the following words). (2) (1-2)
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अम्बरीष उवाच ।
त्वमग्निर्भगवान् सूर्यस्त्वं सोमो ज्योतिषां पतिः ।
त्वमापस्त्वं क्षितिर्व्योम वायुर्मात्रेन्द्रियाणि च ॥ ३॥
सुदर्शन नमस्तुभ्यं सहस्राराच्युतप्रिय ।
सर्वास्त्रघातिन् विप्राय स्वस्ति भूया इडस्पते ॥ ४॥
त्वं धर्मस्त्वमृतं सत्यं त्वं यज्ञोऽखिलयज्ञभुक् ।
त्वं लोकपालः सर्वात्मा त्वं तेजः पौरुषं परम् ॥ ५॥
नमः सुनाभाखिलधर्मसेतवे
ह्यधर्मशीलासुरधूमकेतवे ।
त्रैलोक्यगोपाय विशुद्धवर्चसे
मनोजवायाद्भुतकर्मणे गृणे ॥ ६॥
त्वत्तेजसा धर्ममयेन संहृतं
तमः प्रकाशश्च धृतो महात्मनाम् ।
दुरत्ययस्ते महिमा गिरां पते
त्वद्रूपमेतत्सदसत्परावरम् ॥ ७॥
यदा विसृष्टस्त्वमनञ्जनेन वै
बलं प्रविष्टोऽजित दैत्यदानवम् ।
बाहूदरोर्वङ्घ्रिशिरोधराणि
वृक्णन्नजस्रं प्रधने विराजसे ॥ ८॥
स त्वं जगत्त्राणखलप्रहाणये
निरूपितः सर्वसहो गदाभृता ।
विप्रस्य चास्मत्कुलदैवहेतवे
विधेहि भद्रं तदनुग्रहो हि नः ॥ ९॥
यद्यस्ति दत्तमिष्टं वा स्वधर्मो वा स्वनुष्ठितः ।
कुलं नो विप्रदैवं चेद्द्विजो भवतु विज्वरः ॥ १०॥
यदि नो भगवान् प्रीत एकः सर्वगुणाश्रयः ।
सर्वभूतात्मभावेन द्विजो भवतु विज्वरः ॥ ११॥
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Ambariṣa prayed : You are Agni (the god of fire) and the glorious sun-god; You are Soma (the moon-god), the lord of the (other) luminaries (lunar mansions). You are water, You are the earth and the sky, the air, the (five) objects of senses (viz., sound, touch, sight, taste and smell) and the senses (themselves). (3)
Hail to You, O Sudarśana, endowed with a thousand spokes and beloved of the immortal Lord ! O Destroyer of all (other) missiles, may You be propitious to the Brāhmaṇa (the sage Durvāsā), O Protector of the earth ! (4)
You are righteousness; You are truthful and polite speech as well as the faculty of regarding all with the same eye; You are the Deity presiding over (all) sacrificial performances as well as the Enjoyer of all sacrifices. You are the Protector of the worlds and the Soul of the universe; (nay,) You are the transcendent effulgence of the supreme Person. (5)
(Altogether unable to glorify You,) O Sunābha (a discus with a beautiful nave), I simply address the exclamation "Hail" to You, the Upholder of all virtues, a veritable fire to destroy demons given to unrighteousness, the protector of (all) the three worlds, possessed of purest effulgence, quick as thought and credited with marvellous deeds. (6)
By Your splendour, consisting of righteousness, the darkness (obscuring the vision) of great souls is dispelled and their light preserved. (Nay,) this (entire) creation, (both) manifest and unmanifest, high and low, is illuminated by You (in the form of the sun, the moon and so on). Unfathomable is Your glory, O Ruler of speech ! (7)
When, hurled by the Lord, who is (wholly) untainted (by ignorance etc.), You actually enter the force of the Daityas and the Dānavas, O invincible One, You shine brightly in battle while unceasingly lopping off their arms, trunks, thighs, feet and necks. (8)
As such You, O Shield of the world, have been detailed by Lord viṣṇu (the Wielder of a mace) for the extermination of the wicked, capable as You are of resisting all. Therefore, in order to bring good-luck to our race, (kindly) grant safety to this Brāhmaṇa (the sage Durvāsā); for that would be an act of grace to us (in that it would save us from the sin of being an instrument in the death of a Brāhmaṇa). (9)
If gift was (ever) made (by us) or a sacrifice (duly) performed or our allotted duty satisfactorily performed, and if our race has looked upon the Brāhmaṇa as a deity, let the Brāhmaṇa be relieved of his distress (as a reward for such a gift, sacrifice or the due performance of a duty). (10)
(Nay,) if the Lord, (who is) the one abode of all excellences, is pleased with us by virtue of our looking on all living beings as His own embodiments, let the Brāhmaṇa be rid of his trouble. (11) (3-11)
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श्रीशुक उवाच ।
इति संस्तुवतो राज्ञो विष्णुचक्रं सुदर्शनम् ।
अशाम्यत्सर्वतो विप्रं प्रदहद्राजयाच्ञया ॥ १२॥
स मुक्तोऽस्त्राग्नितापेन दुर्वासाः स्वस्तिमांस्ततः ।
प्रशशंस तमुर्वीशं युञ्जानः परमाशिषः ॥ १३॥
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Śrī Śuka continued : While the emperor (Ambarīṣa) was thus hymning Sudarśana, the said discus of Lord Viṣṇu, which had (hitherto) been scorching the Brāhmaṇa (Durvāsā) on all sides, cooled down at the king's entreaty. (12)
Rid of the (burning) heat of the fire of the missile (Sudarśana), Durvāsā now felt relieved and applauded the emperor (in the following words), pronouncing the highest blessings on him. (13) (12-13)
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दुर्वासा उवाच ।
अहो अनन्तदासानां महत्त्वं दृष्टमद्य मे ।
कृतागसोऽपि यद्राजन् मङ्गलानि समीहसे ॥ १४॥
दुष्करः को नु साधूनां दुस्त्यजो वा महात्मनाम् ।
यैः सङ्गृहीतो भगवान् सात्वतामृषभो हरिः ॥ १५॥
यन्नामश्रुतिमात्रेण पुमान् भवति निर्मलः ।
तस्य तीर्थपदः किं वा दासानामवशिष्यते ॥ १६॥
राजन्ननुगृहीतोऽहं त्वयातिकरुणात्मना ।
मदघं पृष्ठतः कृत्वा प्राणा यन्मेऽभिरक्षिताः ॥ १७॥
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Durvāsā observed : Ah, the glory of servants (votaries) of the infinite Lord has been witnessed by me today in that you, O emperor, strive for the good even of him (myself) who has wronged you. (14)
Indeed what is there hard to accomplish for benevolent souls and what is there difficult to forswear in the eyes of the high-souled, by whom Lord Śrī Hari, the Guardian of devotees, has been lovingly installed in their heart ? (15)
What could there be wanting on the part of servants (votaries) of that Lord of hallowed feet, through the very hearing of whose Name a person is rid of all impurities? (16)
O king, I have been (greatly) favoured by you, an extremely kind-hearted soul, in that my life has been saved by you, overlooking my offence. (17) (14-17)
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राजा तमकृताहारः प्रत्यागमनकाङ्क्षया ।
चरणावुपसङ्गृह्य प्रसाद्य समभोजयत् ॥ १८॥
सोऽशित्वाऽऽदृतमानीतमातिथ्यं सार्वकामिकम् ।
तृप्तात्मा नृपतिं प्राह भुज्यतामिति सादरम् ॥ १९॥
प्रीतोऽस्म्यनुगृहीतोऽस्मि तव भागवतस्य वै ।
दर्शनस्पर्शनालापैरातिथ्येनात्ममेधसा ॥ २०॥
कर्मावदातमेतत्ते गायन्ति स्वःस्त्रियो मुहुः ।
कीर्तिं परमपुण्यां च कीर्तयिष्यति भूरियम् ॥ २१॥
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The emperor, who had not (yet) taken his meal (ever since) in the hope of the sage's return, sumptuously fed him after gratifying him (in the first instance) by clasping his feet. (18)
Sated at heart after partaking of the (rich) fare (appropriate to a guest) brought to him with reverence and gratifying every wish (suiting every taste), Durvāsā politely said to the king, "(Please) take your food, (19)
I am really pleased and obliged by the sight, touch and talk as well as by the hospitality—offered with a mind fixed on the supreme Self—of a (great) devotee of the Lord in you. (20)
Celestial ladies will repeatedly celebrate this blemishless deed of yours. Nay, this earth (itself) will loudly proclaim Your most sacred glory." (21) (18-21)
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श्रीशुक उवाच ।
एवं सङ्कीर्त्य राजानं दुर्वासाः परितोषितः ।
ययौ विहायसाऽऽमन्त्र्य ब्रह्मलोकमहैतुकम् ॥ २२॥
संवत्सरोऽत्यगात्तावद्यावता नागतो गतः ।
मुनिस्तद्दर्शनाकाङ्क्षो राजाब्भक्षो बभूव ह ॥ २३॥
गतेऽथ दुर्वाससि सोऽम्बरीषो
द्विजोपयोगातिपवित्रमाहरत् ।
ऋषेर्विमोक्षं व्यसनं च बुद्ध्वा
मेने स्ववीर्यं च परानुभावम् ॥ २४॥
एवं विधानेकगुणः स राजा
परात्मनि ब्रह्मणि वासुदेवे ।
क्रियाकलापैः समुवाह भक्तिं
ययाऽऽविरिञ्च्यान्निरयांश्चकार ॥ २५॥
अथाम्बरीषस्तनयेषु राज्यं
समानशीलेषु विसृज्य धीरः ।
वनं विवेशात्मनि वासुदेवे
मनो दधद्ध्वस्तगुणप्रवाहः ॥ २६॥
इत्येतत्पुण्यमाख्यानमम्बरीषस्य भूपतेः ।
सङ्कीर्तयन्ननुध्यायन् भक्तो भगवतो भवेत् ॥ २७॥
(अम्बरीषस्य चरितं ये शृण्वन्ति महात्मनः ।
मुक्तिं प्रयान्ति ते सर्वे भक्त्या विष्णोः प्रसादतः ॥)
इति श्रीमद्भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां संहितायां
नवमस्कन्धे अम्बरीषचरितं नाम पञ्चमोऽध्यायः ॥ ५॥
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Śrī Śuka resumed : Having thus acclaimed the king and asking leave of him, Durvāsā, who was highly gratified, rose through the heavens to Brahmaloka (the region of Brahmā), attainable (only) through disinterested action. (22)
A (whole) year had elapsed before the sage, who had gone out (in search of a quarter to Brahmaloka and other regions), returned (to the capital of Ambariṣa). And, longing for a sight of the sage, the king—so the tradition goes—subsisted on (mere) water (all these months). (23)
And, when Durvāsā left, the said Ambariṣa ate the (remnant of) food that had been rendered most holy by being partaken of by a Brāhmaṇa (the sage Durvāsā). And perceiving the evil plight and (ultimate) redemption of the seer (Durvāsā), as well as his own firmness in remaining without any food for a whole year), he thought it (all) to be a glory of the Supreme. (24)
Possessed of many such qualities, the said emperor (Ambariṣa) practised devotion to Lord Vāsudeva, the supreme Spirit and the ultimate Reality, through his multifarious duties (that stood offered to Him)—by virtue of which (devotion) he regarded (all) blessings including the position of Brahmā (the creator) as (no better than so many) forms of damnation. (25)
Now, leaving his kingdom to the care of his sons, who were (all) possessed of a disposition similar to his own, the wise Ambariṣa retired to a forest. (And) fixing his mind on Lord Vāsudeva, his own self, he (eventually) had his round of births and deaths brought to a close. (26)
Anyone reciting and repeatedly musing on this aforesaid sacred story of Emperor Ambariṣa bids fair to become a devotee of the Lord. (27)
Thus ends the fifth discourse entitled "The story of Ambariṣa," in Book Nine of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahāṃsa-Sarhhitā. (22-27)
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