rmad-bhgavata Mahpuram

The Great Antiquity of the Lord

A bilingual translation
With the Comms. of
rdharasvmin
and
rnthacakravartin
Version 0.1

Translation by Neal Delmonico

(A work in progress)

May 9, 2011
ii
Contents

Introduction v

I First Canto 1
1 The Questions of the Seers ( ) 3

2 Description of the Faith in Bhagavn () 39

3 The Secret of His Births ( ) 51

4 The Arrival of Nrada () 65

II Tenth Canto 69
1 The Approach of Ka's Descent () 71

2 The Panegyric of Brahm ( ) 91

iii
iv CONTENTS
Introduction

This bilingual translation of the Bhgavata Pura in addition to providing a

careful translation in close proximity to the text itself, contains all the ma-
jor commentators on the text who are regarded as important to the Caitanya
Vaiava tradition. Naturally, that includes the pre-Caitanyite commentary of
rdharasvmin, whom Caitanya himself thought of as the authoritative inter-
preter of the Bhgavata, inspite of some leanings towards a nondual interpre-
tation of some aspects of the text. The text itself is certainly amenable to such
interpretations. The kind of Vaiavism the Bhgavata presents is an earlier
version of Vaiavism in which advaita and dvaita were complementary, or
at least not thought of as at odds with each other. There is no doubt that for
rdharasvvmin the advaita tradition had found an important place for bhakti.
Still, the impersonal aspect of the absolute was not to be excluded. Later, tra-
ditions that wanted to emphasize the personal or social character of deity over
the impersonal, or absolute nature of deity had to do a hermeneutic polka in
order to support their cases on the basis of the Bhgavata, as did those who
wanted to impose a purely impersonal (advaita) interpretation on the text. The
former group includes the Caitanya Vaiavas, who, however, through r Jva
Gosvmin's attempted reconciliation of difference and non-difference, found a
place for both alternatives while still favoring the social character of Ka.
Nevertheless, the indebtedness of Caitanya Vaiava interpretations of the B-
hgavata to the interpretations of rdharasvmin and those who came before
him is indelible.
The earliest Caitanyite interpreter of the Bhgavata was rntha Cakravartin,
a direct follower of r Caitanya Mahprabhu and the teacher of the great Cai-
tanyite poet Kavikarapra. His views and those of his prolific disciple were
more or less superceded by the more sophisticated works of the Gosvmins
of Vndvana (Santana, Rpa, and r Jva). To some degree they represent
a direction not taken by the main current of the Caitanya tradition. Never-
theless, their works are accepted as authentic efforts to express in words and

v
vi INTRODUCTION

through scriptural authority the divine manifestations they perceived in the

life of Caitanya and the differences between the works of rntha Cakravartin
and Kavikarapra and the works of the Vndvana circle is never much no-
ticed. At any rate, rntha Cakravartin's work is an important historical ex-
pression of the early views of an important branch of the followers of Caitanya
Mahprabhu.
rntha Cakravartin begins his commentary with a verse that is often cited
to summarize the view of r Caitanya and presents in a nutshell his line of
interpretation of the Bhgavata. Here is a translation of that introductory verse:

To be worshiped is Bhagavn,
the son of the lord of Vraja,
and his land r Vndvan.
Delightful is that form of service
devised by the wives of Vraja.
Scripture is the Bhgavata,
a flawless means of knowing;
and love divine
the great goal of humankind.
Such is the view
of Gaura Mahprabhu.
Therefore, to it we direct
our highest respect.1 (1)

1 rntha Cakravartin, r Caitanya-mata-maju, 1.1.1:

 Part I

First Canto

1
Chapter 1

The Questions of the Seers

( )

3
4 Bhgavata Pura

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 5

rdharasvmin's Bhvrtha-dpik
Obeisance to r Gaea!
Obeisance to r Goplaka!
O! Obeisance to r Rmacandra,
the residence of the desires of the bhaktas,
the spiritual nectar of whose lotus-like feet
is relished by the highest geese [highest renunciants]!

I worship Nsiha,
in whose mouth is Sarasvat,
on whose chest is Lakm,
and in whose heart is pure awareness. (1)
I bow to the home of the universe,
the highest abode called r Ka,
who is defined by the nine traits
beginning with the creation
and sub-creation of the world. (2)
I praise the two gods,
Mdhava and Umdhava (iva),
who bestow all achievements,
who are the very selves of each other,
who love to bow to one another. (3)
In compliance with my community
and following the proper sequence,
this Lamp on the Intended Meaning
of the r Bhgavata is composed. (4)
Where is dull-witted me
and where this churning
of the ocean of milk?
Can an atom stay afloat
where Mount Mandara has sunk? (5)
It makes the dumb vociferous
and the lame cross over mountains,
his compassion does; him do I praise,
Mdhava of the highest bliss. (6)
6 Bhgavata Pura

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 7

The divine tree called the r Bhgavata,

sprouted of salvation and born of the truth,
with trunks twelve and rising from a basin of shining bhakti,
with three hundred and thirty-two glowing branches,
eighteen thousands leaves, a bestower of wishes,
very easy to reach, shines brightly above all others. (7)

rntha Cakravartin Caitanya-mata-maju

To be worshiped is Bhagavn,
the son of the Lord of Vraja,
and his land Vndvana.
Delightful is that form of service
devised by the wives of Vraja.
Scripture is the Bhgavata,
a flawless means of knowing;
divine love is the great goal of humankind.
Such is the view
of Gaura Mahprabhu.
Therefore towards it
goes our highest respect. (1)
Whatever is unsound in this,
while following the view of r Kacaitanya,
has been produced by someone named rntha
who has not the power to resolve it. (2)
In the beginning and in the end,
I have here described
the superiority of Ka.
Please forgive my extreme immaturity!
Obeisance, obeisance, o Best Knowers of Brahman! (3)
Glory to the Lamp of Intended Meaning
of rdharasvmipda,
by the light of which the whole path is seen! (4)
Neither the defeat of opponents
nor the gracing of disciples is our goal.
A mind that takes the form of both
must indeed be considered divided. (5)
8 Bhgavata Pura

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 9

Ka is best of the best,

his form and sport everlasting.
Bhakti for the Lord is foremost
and divine love its ripened fruit. (6)
The function itself in the form of prema
reaches in bhaktas oneness of self.
The highest bhakti is in the cowherd women
as well as in Rukmi and the rest. (7)
Superiority over all the Puras
resides in his own called the Bhgavata.
This is the highest view
of r Kacaitanya Candra. (8)
In that is our highest faith
and to that our highest attraction.
``This Pura named Bhgavata
is equal to Brahman"1 (9)
``The essence of the essence is drawn
from the Vedas and histories."2
``In Kali for those who've lost their sight
this Pura has now arisen."3 (10)
Because of these and other statements
indicating its self-evidential nature,
citation from other rutis and Puras
is done only for the sake of concurrence. (11)
For reaching agreement in the opening,
conclusion, and intended meaning,
even the accepted meaning
must be explained by one's own skillfulness. (12)
Other statements of this very work
are gathered to give authenticity to that,
along with the agreeable dividing up
of the well-spoken song of the blessed lotus lips.4 (13)

1 Bhg. 1.3.40.
2 ibid., 1.3.41
3 ibid., 1.3.43.
4 That is, proof texts are also taken from the well-spoken Song of the Lord, the Bhagavad-gt.
10 Bhgavata Pura

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 11

Full Brahman, Superior Brahman,

and sometimes Supreme Brahman,
Man, Male, Vsudeva and Superior Male, too,
Lord5 and God,6 The Whole7 and here Bhagavn
Beneath Sense Perception,8 Lord of the Senses9
and sometimes Nryaa,10 too,
those names and Viu as well
only refer to Ka here. (14-15)

Let us meditate11 on the highest truth from whom comes the birth, and
so forth [maintenance, and destruction] of this [universe] both directly and
indirectly, who is completely aware of [all] objects, who is independent, who
taught, through the heart, the sacred word to the first poet, and about whom
even the learned are confused, in whom the triple creation [three gua or
threads] is not false as in the substitutions of fire, water, and earth for one
another, and who through his own splendoris always free of deception. (1)

5 a.
6 vara
7 Bhman.
8 Adhokaja.
9 Hkea.
10 He who rests in the waters.
11 The verbal form used here (dhmahi) is an optative and it is in the first person plural (``we").
The optative mode expresses wish or desire and can often be translated as an entreaty or mild
imperative, using English forms like "let us ... " or ``may we ..." The plural number is odd here.
rdhara says the plural number is used here because the author includes his disciples in his
imperative. The idea that because of the use of this one word dhmahi this first verse of the
Bhgavata is somehow related to the well known Srya or Brahma gyatr verse of the g Veda
(3.62.10) is more than a little farfetched. Apart from the use of this one word, there is no other
connection between this verse and that gyatr verse. It is not in the gyatr meter, nor is there any
other connection between the words of this or that verse. Attempts to draw connections by various
commentators are extremely artificial. Besides, rdhara says that that form of the optative, the
middle form (tmanepada), is used primarily to fill out the meter. The correct form according
to rdhara is dhyyema. A more important and intentional connection can be found between
this verse and the Brahma-stras, one of the stras of which (janmdyasya yata 1.1.2) forms the
opening few words of this verse. It is doubtless the reason why to many in the Caitanya tradition
the Bhgavata is regarded as the authoritative commentary on the Brahma-stras. In addition,
it places the composition of this verse at least after the composition of the Brahma-stras. This
means according to Nakamura after 400-450 C.E. which is the earliest limit for the composition of
the Brahma-stras as we now have it. Some portions of the work are may have been in existence
much earlier than that, however, perhaps dating from a period before the Christian era. (Hajime
Nakamura, A History of Early Vednta Philosophy, 436)
12 Bhgavata Pura

-
-
-
-

-





The Questions of the Seers ( ) 13

rdhara:
Now, with his mind in a state of clarity by means of the many Puras and
scriptural works and yet not feeling satisfied by those, Vedavysa wishing in
accordance with the advice of Nrada to undertake the Bhgavata scripture,
a work describing the qualities of r Bhagavn, performs an act of auspi-
ciousness,12 beginning with the words janmdyasya, that is characterized by
remembering the highest deity who is to be established by that work. [This is
done] in order to overcome obstacles and so forth.
Param means the Supreme Lord (paramevara). Let us meditate on the
Supreme Lord. The li form of the verb dhyai (to meditate) is used for the
meter. The form should be dhyyema, ``let us meditate." The plural is intended
to include the author's disciples. He characterizes that Supreme Lord by his
essential (svarpa) and marginal traits (taastha-lakaa).13 Among them, the
essential trait is real (satya). The reason for his being real is that in him, in
Brahman, the creation of the three threads of my, namely opacity, translu-
cency, and clarity, which have the form of elements, senses, and deities [re-
spectively], is not false; that is, it is real. He by the reality of whom even the
false creation is perceived as real is the supreme real. This is the meaning.
Here there is an example: as in the substitution of fire, water, and earth.
Substitution means transposition, the appearance of one thing in another. Like
that, something is perceived as real through the reality of its substratum. In
particular, the perception of water in fire is well known in case of the water
of a mirage. In earth in the form of glass and so forth there is the perception
of water and in water there is the perception of glass. Thus is it to be suitably
understood. Or, in order to establish only him as having supreme reality, what
is other than him is said to be false. ``In whom this tri-creation is unreal since
it is not trully existing." By the word yatra, then. he excludes the perceived
relationship [of the Supreme Lord] with an adjunct quality (updhi). He is
the one in whom deceit, charactized by my, is removed by his own dhman,
might or power.

12 Magalcaraa means an act meant to bring about an auspicious result. In most cases this

means the composition of a verse that praises the perferred god or goddess of the author and asks
for the blessing of that deity for the successful completion of a work or undertaking.
13 A marginal or taastha trait is one that, while not coexisting with the thing it characterizes,

serves to distinguish that thing from other things. (Bhratya Darana Koa, vol. 3, part 1, 61.)
14 Bhgavata Pura

-

- -

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 15

The marginal characteristic he conveys with ``from whom comes the birth
..." From whom comes the birth, the abiding, and the breaking of this world,
let us meditate on him. The reason for that: because of his connection and
disconnection. Because of the connection through the Supreme Lord's being-
form (sad-rpa) with existing things such as space, and so forth and because of
his disconnection from unreal things like sky flowers and so forth. Or, connec-
tion means following after (anuvtti) and disconnection means separating from
(vyvtti). Because it is followed after, the being-form, Brahman, is a cause like
earth, gold and so forth. Because it is separated from [it's cause] the world is
an effect like pots, rings and so forth. Or, because of having parts the birth
and so forth of this [world] comes from that both directly and indirectly. Such
is their relationship. And so says revelation (ruti):

Or, from whom these beings are born, by whom, once born, they
survive, and to whom they go and enter into.14

And tradition (smti):

From whom all beings are born at the coming of the first age and
in whom they go once more to their destruction at the end of the
age.15

Then is primordial matter (pradhna) meant to be meditated on because

it is a cause of the universe? To this he [the author] says: no. One who
conscious (abhija) is to be meditated on; as it is said in revelation: ``he gazed
and [thought] `I will create the worlds'"16 and ``he created these worlds."17
And also from argument: ``because of [the statement in revelation] `he sees,'
it [the cause] is not [primordial matter]; it [primordial matter, pradhna] is
not found in revelation."18 Then, should the living being (jva) to be meditated
on? No. He says: the independent (svar) one, one who shines on his own
which means one whose knowledge is self-accomplished. Then is Brahm to be
meditated on, since it says in revelation: ``the golden embryo (hiraya-garbha)
arose in the beginning; being born he was the one lord of the existent?"19 No.
He says: the one who extended, that is, revealed, this sacred word to the first
poet (creator), Brahm.

14 Taittirya U., 3.1.

15 Mahbhrata., 13.135.11.
16 Aitareya U., 1.1.1.
17 ibid., 1.1.2.
18 Brahma-stra, 1.1.5.
19 g Veda, 10.121.1.
16 Bhgavata Pura

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 17

As revelation says:

I, wishing for liberation, take shelter of that God, who is revealer

of awareness of the self, who created Brahm previously and gave
him the Vedas.20

Now, Brahm's learning the Vedas from someone other than himself is un-
heard of. True, therefore [the author says] he stretches it, that is, expands
upon it through his [Brahm's] heart, that is, through his mind. By this, that
is, by [his] being an initiator of objects of cognition, the meaning of the gyatr,
too, is shown. He will say later:

Inpelled by whom previously Sarasvat placed true recollection (s-

mti) in the heart of the unborn one [Brahm] and indeed as her-
self appeared from his mouth. May that most excellent of seers be
pleased with me.21

Now, let Brahm himself perceive the Veda like one asleep who awak-
ens. No. If in this matter of Brahman even the learned are confused, then
Brahm, too, is dependent on another for his knowledge. The Supreme Lord
alone, whose knowledge is self-accomplished or independent of any other, is
the cause of the universe. And, therefore, because it gives existence to the un-
real, because it is the real of the highest order, and because it is the knower of
all, the real (satya) is free of deception. On that let us meditate. And by start-
ing with the gyatr it is shown that this Pura has the form of the brahman-
incantation called the gyatr. As it is said in the Matsya Pura:

That in which, after placing the gyatr at its head, the details of
dharma are described, replete with killing of Vtra, is the Bhgavata.
He who having copied it and gifted it on a stand adorned with a
golden lion on the full moon day goes to the highest abode. Of
eighteen thousand [verses] is that Pura recognized to be.

And, in another Pura [Skandha Pura]:

20 vetvatara U., 6.18.

21 Bhg., 2.4.22.
18 Bhgavata Pura

-


(..
....)

; (.. ..)

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 19

The book having eighteen thousand [stanzas], consisting of twelve

books [trunks], in which are found the Hayagrva brahman-incantation
as well as the killing of Vtra and which begins with the gyatr,
they know indeed to be the Bhgavata.22

In the Padma Pura, Gautama addresses Ambara:

Ambara, listen daily to the Bhgavata, spoken by uka. Read it

out loud with your own lips, as well, if you desire the destruction
of material existence.

Therefore, it should not be doubted that the Bhgavata is some other work.

rntha Cakravartin:

Here, to start with, in establishing the supremacy of r Ka and the eter-

nity of his world and in offering obeisance to r Ka at the beginning of the
r Bhgatava through an auspicious verse that conveys the subject (abhidheya)
of the text, r Bdaryaa says: ``Let us meditate ..." Highest (param) means
above the perishable and imperishable, the highest person, r Ka, on him
let us meditate. He protects and saves the universe. Thus param comes from

the verbal root p (to protect, save) with the primary suffix a added [to form
para]. And he will say:

Let the feet of you, the highest person, who are time, other than
(param, or, the protector of) material nature and the self, bestow
on us happiness.23

In otherness (paratva) is the essence of the supreme person. The highest person
is indeed none other than r Ka. He himself says:

Since I am above the perishable and higher than the imperishable,

too, therefore, I am known in the Veda and in the world as the
highest person (puruottama).24

22 The Bhgavata is often said to have eighteen thousand verses. In actuality, it has somewhat less

than that (16,256, according to Bryant). I am not sure what the Hayagrva brahman-incantation
refers to.
23 Bhg., 11.6.14, second half.
24 Bg., 15.18.
20 Bhgavata Pura

...... -
; ?

;
; ,
,
()
-
, , ,
; (., ..) ; ,
, ;
(., ..)

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 21

By this, through the propriety of the adjectives, the form of r Ka is

understood. That is further qualified by ``always real," that is, existing before,
at the end of, and during the creation. ...25 And is that as that [form?] or as r
Ka? To which he replies ``with his own (svena)," that is, with his own form,
the form of the player of the flute (Mural-vilsin). Or, let us meditate on a
[from the word satya], that is, on Viu. Who is that Viu? The protector of
the universe? No. He says param, higher, higher than even brahman, r Ka
himself. The names Viu, Nryaa, Ka and so forth are all synonyms of
Ka. Then, the qualifier of where (yatra) becomes ``existing" (sati) [the rest
of the word satya, sati + a = satya]
He again qualifies it with the word nirasta-kuhaka: ku means earth and
ha means ``they kill." The demons headed by Kasa, are thus called kuhana
because they kill the earth. Ka means ``head," the head of the killers of the
earth is removed. The one who does this is called nirasta-kuhaka. He is the
remover of the burden of the earth. Or, ka means happiness, that is, liberation,
the one from whom the destroyed killers of the earth receive liberation is thus
called nirasta-kuhaka. That is because Klanemi who had been killed by Viu
was reborn as Kasa, since in a killing done by someone else, liberation not
occasioned. That occurs only by means of a killing done by Ka. Thus, the
supremacy of the one whose consciousness and power are not limited is well
established.
Now, his supremacy and truth are established; why should his realm be true
as well? To that he says ``with his abode.'' His abode is the highest Vaikuha,
r Vndvana. Along with that, he is forever true. It (dhmn) is the third
case in the sense of ``along with.'' He then qualitfies that abode: ``own.'' Own
means brahman through having that form. It is said (Bhg. 11.20.37): ``They
attain happiness, who know my realm to be the highest brahman.'' Or, ``own''
may be taken with sad to mean ``an extension of his own true form'' on the
basis of the stra: sad visaagatydiu kvipi (``sad is understood in the senses
of spreading, going, etc when a kvip primary affix follows''). Therefore he
expounds on this with ``in which'' (yatra): ``in his abode which is true, the
creation of the three threads is false, that is, does not exist at all. As it is
said (Bhg. 2.9.10): ``Where translucency, opacity, clarity, and their mixture
do not exist, nor does the influence of time; where there is no my, what to
speak of others, and where those devoted to Hari are honored by both gods
and demons.''

25 Apparently, there is a gap in the manuscript at this place.

22 Bhgavata Pura

?
, (., ..)
; , -
, , ?
(. ..) -
; (. ..) , (., ..)
, (. ..-) ,
, -
, ,

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 23

He describes next its [the sacred realm's] nature as an effect of my: ``in
which the triple creation is not false as in the exchange [confusion] of fire,
water and earth [for each other].'' Like the exchange for one another of those
[fire, water, and earth], that is, the perception of one of them in one of the
others which it is not, by which, like the triple creation, the triple creation is
not false, but true.26 How is this so? Because it is his own (svena), that is,
because it is consciousness by nature, just as when there is no exchange [or
confusion] of fire, water, and earth, the state is genuine. Or, the creation of
the three refers to the past, the present, and the future, is thus false---does
not exist. As in the Bhgavata (2.2.17): ``Where there is no time ...'' Or, the
creation of the three refers to the three kinds of living beings, those whose food
flows up, and so forth, and is not false---but true. Those whose food flows up
are the trees and so forth; those whose food flows down are women, men, and
so forth; those whose food flows crosswise are the animals, birds and so forth.
How can this be? Because it is his own (svena), that is, it is consciousness
and bliss, which has the character of spreading out or pervading. It will be
said in the Bhgavata (3.15.16) ``like absolute unity possessing form,'' meaning
bringing all to a state of absolute unity, (3.15.16) ``a forest with desire cows
and trees,'' that is, having trees and so forth, and (3.15.18) ``turtle-doves and
other birds,'' that is, having birds and so forth, (2.9.11-2) ``Having dazzling
blue complexions with eyes like a hundred petals, ... [that sky is illuminated]
with the glow of the finest women,'' that is, having women and men. Thus
the triple creation not false because it is his. Not only the triple creation, the
non-exchange of the fire, water, and earth means their true natures shine along
with his own realm in their various respective ways; fire as the sun, moon, and
so forth, water as ponds, lakes and so forth, and earth as banks, beaches and
so forth. Everything differs from the material world because of being made of
consciousness.

26 This is a difficult passage to understand. I have given a fairly literal translation. Perhaps

something is missing, however. The conclusion is that the triple creation is not false and the reason
it is not false is because of ``exchange'' like the exchange of the elements fire, water, and earth
for each other. But one would think that if something appears in something else, the appearance
of that thing is false. Perhaps we are meant to think that in the appearance of something in
something else, the thing appearing is given existence or reality by the thing in which it appears.
In that case, we are talking of two triple creations here: the triple creation that is the eternally real
sacred realm and the triple creation that is the mundane or material world. The material world
derives its being, its reality, from the real or eternal world, the sacred realm.
24 Bhgavata Pura

-

; (. ..)
, ; , ; (.
..)
,

? ; -
?
?
; ;

, ,
? ; (.. ....) -
-


, ;

?

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 25

Now, his world is not an effect because of the simultaneity of its being dens-
ened bliss, [consciousness, and being]. But because the phenomenal world is
an effect, when its creator is to be inquired about, he responds to the question
``who is this creator?'' with the words: ``from whom comes the birth and so
forth of this.'' ``Of this'' means of this world, and so ``from whom [come] the
birth and so forth of this world.'' Indirectly (itarata) means ``from another.''
Birth or creation is of two kinds---primary creation (sarga) and secondary cre-
ation (visarga). Among them the primary creation is from the primal person
(purua), as is it said in the Bhgavata (11.6.16): ``
26 Bhgavata Pura

, -
? , -
, , ;
;
- ( )
; ? ?
- - -
,
, , ; ?
; - ;
, (.. ....)
; (.. ....) -

, ,
, , - , -
? ?
; ; ;
? - - - ;

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 27

Okay
28 Bhgavata Pura

-


-
, ,
,


-





The Questions of the Seers ( ) 29

Here is the highest dharma, free of all deceit, of saintly ones who are un-
selfish; here the real substance, which bestows happiness and uproots the three
sufferings, is to be known. Here, in the rmad Bhgavata, composed by the
great sage, the controller is abruptly captured in the heart that very instant by
the accomplished who are desirous of hearing it. What need is there for other
works?27 (2)

rdhara

27 Dharma is a difficult word to translate. It has different meanings in different contexts. In some

usages it means law or duty. In others it means characteristic or nature. Among the Buddhists
it means both ``teachings" and the ``things" or objects that make up the world. An interesting
discussion of the various meanings of dharma and their changes over time can be found in two of
Halbfass's essays, ``Dharma in the Self-Understanding of Traditional Hinduism" and ``Reinterpre-
tations of Dharma in Modern Hinduism," in India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding. (Albany:
State University of New York Press, 1988)
30 Bhgavata Pura

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 31

r Nthacakravartin
32 Bhgavata Pura

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 33

As the ripened fruit of the wish-granting tree of the Vedas, mixed with
nectar running from the mouth of r uka, drink the Bhgavata repeatedly
while here on earth; it is both juice and shelter, o lovers of juice, o lucky
ones!28 (3)
In Naimia [Momentary], a land itself not momentary, the seers aunaka
and the rest were performing a sacrificial rite lasting a thousand years for the
sake of [reaching] the heavenly realm. (4)
But once those sages, after completing their morning offerings to the fire,
respectfully questioned Sta, who who had been well greeted and seated. (5)
The seers said:
You indeed, O sinless one, have studied the Puras and Itihsas and even
have recited as well as those texts on dharma, (6)
The ones that the best of the knowers of the Veda, Bdaryaa, as well as
other sages, knowers of the higher and lower truth, knew, O Sta. (7)
You know all that in truth by his grace and teachers, too, tell their favorite
disciples even the secret things. (8)
Among those things, O long-lived one, those which you are truly sure are
thoroughly good for human beings you should recommend before us. (9)
For the most part people in this age are short-lived, O refined one, slow,
dull of mind and poor in luck, not to mention oppressed. (10)
O good man, we hear of many diverse rites divided into various divisions.
Therefore, extracting through your wisdom that which is the essence of them
all, for the welfare of all beings, teach us now that by which the self is satisfied.
(11)

28 The use of the words rasa and rasika in this verse has prompted many to the perhaps erroneous

view that the rasa of Sanskrit aesthetics is referenced here. Pibata, ``drink,'' suggests that rasa is
being used in the sense of ``juice,'' here, not as aesthetic rapture. Certainly rasa as aesthetic rapture
or bhakti-rasa as sacred aesthetic rapture was much used by the later interpreters of this text, but
that does not prove that the author(s) of the text thought of it in that way or was even aware of
the details of the rasa theory. As far as I know there is no use of the word rasa in the text that
indicates a more sophisticated understanding of the word beyond its meaning as juice.
34 Bhgavata Pura

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 35

O Sta, good fortune be upon you. You know for what purpose Bhagavn,
the Lord of the Stvats, was born of Vasudeva in Devak. (12)
That, dear one, please describe for us who wish to hear about him whose
descent is for the benefit and well-being of all living beings. (13)
Anyone in this fearful cycle of birth and death who repeats his names un-
controllably is immediately released from that cycle because he is the one
whom even fear itself fears. (14)
Sages who have found shelter at his feet are abodes of tranqulity and purify
one as soon as one comes into contacts with them, while the waters of the
Gag do so only after repeated use. (15)
Who indeed who desires purification would not listen to the fame of that
Bhagavn whose actions are praised in auspicious verse? His fame wipes away
the corruptions of the Age of Kali. (16)
Tell us faithful ones of his magnanimous acts, highly praised by the learned,
those acts of him who in sport assumed different parts. (17)
Recite now for us the auspicious stories of the descents of Hari, o brilliant
one, the sports which he, the controller, assumed of his own accord through
his own magical power. (18)
We never tire of the brave feats of him who is praised by the finest verse,
since each word becomes sweeter and sweeter for those who listen to them.
(19)
Keava performed actions with Rma that were superhuman as Bhagavn
disguised as a human in appearance only. (20)
Recognizing that the Age of Kali has arrived, we, seated in this place con-
nected with Viu because of a long sacrificial rite, have time for the story of
Hari. (21)
36 Bhgavata Pura

The Questions of the Seers ( ) 37

You were sent by the creator to us who wish to cross over the hard to cross
Age of Kali which carries away the clarity of humankind like a captain for
crossing the ocean. (22)
Tell us, too, what shelter dharma has found now that the Controller of Yoga,
Ka, the holy protector of dharma, has returned to his own realm. (23)

Thus ends the First Chapter called ``Questions of the Sages'' in the episode of
Naima in the First Skandha of the work recited by the son of Vysa, the Hym-
nal of the Highest Goose, commentary on the Brahma-stra, the great bearer
of ancient lore, the rmad Bhgavata. (1)
38 Bhgavata Pura
Chapter 2

Description of the Faith in

Bhagavn ( )

39
40 Bhgavata Pura

Description of Faith in Bhagavn () 41

[Vysa said:]1
Thus, thoroughly pleased by the questions of the brhmaas Raumaharai
[the son of Romahara], honoring their words began to speak. (1)
Sta said:
The Island-dweller [Vysa], feeling the torment of separation, called out to
his son, ``o son!'' as he was leaving home, without beginning his formal edu-
cation [without initiation into Vedic studies] but having already achieved his
goal [enlightenment], and the trees being one with him [the son] responded.
I bow to that sage who is the heart of all living beings. (2)
I seize hold of him, the son of Vysa, the guru of the sages, who spoke, out of
compassion for those in the cycle of repeated birth and death, the concealed
text of ancient lore, the basis of his own firm belief, the essence of all the
revealed texts, the one spiritual lamp for those who wish to cross over the
darkness of ignorance. (3)
After bowing to Nryaa and to Nara, the highest of men, then to the
goddess Sarasvat and to Vysa, one should say ``Victory!'' (4)
You have questioned me well, o sages, since it is for the benefit of the world
and since it is a question about Ka, by which the self is well pleased. (5)
That indeed is the supreme dharma from which comes bhakti to the one
who is beyond the senses (Adhokaja), bhakti that is without cause and unin-
terrupted, by which the self is well pleased. (6)
The technique of bhakti applied to Bhagavn Vsudeva produces easily re-
nunciation and knowledge that is causeless. (7)
The dharma of humans, though well performed, which does not produce
an attraction to stories about Vivaksena2 is just empty exertion. (8)

1 Not included in many editions of the text. On the basis of what is Vysa speaking here? Was

he present when Sta spoke to the sages? Why wouldn't they ask him to speak instead?
2 Ka, ``the one whose powers extend everywhere.''
42 Bhgavata Pura

Description of Faith in Bhagavn () 43

Indeed, the goal of emancipatory dharma is not regarded a goal. Nor is the
desire for a goal that is completely directed to dharma considered to be for
some kind of ulterior gain. (9)
Desire's pleasing of the senses as long as one may live is not the real goal
and that gained by means of rites and acts is not the living being's goal either,
but rather inquiry into the truth. (10)
Those who know the truth say truth is non-dual knowledge [consciousness]
and it is verbalized as Brahman, Paramtman, and Bhagavn. (11)
And the sages who believe in that see the Self in the self through bhakti,
which is augmented by knowledge and renunciation and which is accepted
from what has been heard. (12)
Therefore, o best of twice-born, the fullest accomplishment of dharma that
is well performed by human beings, according to class and stage, is the pleasing
of Hari. (13)
Therefore, with attentive mind, Bhagavn, the Lord of the Stvats, is to be
heard about, praised, meditated upon, and worshiped constantly. (14)
Since, the skillful, who are concentrated, cut with the sword of meditation
the bonds of the ropes of action, who would not become attracted to his stories?
(15)
The taste for stories about Vsudeva of someone who wishes to listen and
who has faith may arise through service of the great ones while visiting the
merit-filled places of pilgrimage, o brhmaas. (16)
44 Bhgavata Pura

Description of Faith in Bhagavn () 45

r Ka, whose praises make for pious listening and who is located in
the heart, destroys the misfortunes of those who listen to stories about him, a
friend of the good. (17)
When those unfortunate things are nearly all destroyed by the constant
service of the Lord, steadfast bhakti for the Lord, praised by the highest verses,
arises. (18)
Then one's mind, unharmed by the states of cloudiness and impermeability,
lust, greed and the rest, is situated in clarity and rejoices. (19)
Thus for one whose mind is joyful from performing bhakti to the Lord, for
one who is free of contact, knowledge of the truths of the Lord is born. (20)
Knots in the heart are broken, doubts are torn apart, past actions are whith-
ered when such a person sees the Lord. (21)
Indeed, poets constantly and with the greatest pleasure perform bhakti to
Lord Vsudeva, which bhakti is pleasing to the Self. (22)
Clarity, cloudiness, and impermeability are the threads of nature. Joined
with those, the one supreme person assumes here the names ``Hari, Virici,
and Hara'' in order to maintain, create and destroy this universe. In this the
highest blessings of him whose body is clarity may accrue to humankind. (23)
From earthly wood comes smoke and from that comes fire, consisting of all
three. From the impermeable somes the cloudy and from that comes clarity
through which one perceives the absolute (brahman). (24)
46 Bhgavata Pura

Description of Faith in Bhagavn () 47

The silent sages, therefore, previously worshiped Bhagavn who is beyond

the senses and who is clarity most pure, and those who follow them in this
world are fit for the highest good. (25)
Those who want liberation thus put aside the masters of the ghosts whose
forms are grotesque and instead, without any envy, worship peaceful portions
of Nryaa. (26)
Those indeed whose natures are cloudy or opague worship ancestors, ghosts,
and masters of progeny, whose characters are similar to their own, desiring
from them extraordinary power and offspring as well as wealth. (27)
The Vedas intent is Vsudeva; sacrifices are meant for Vsudeva; yogas
conduct one to Vsudeva; rites are done for Vsudeva. (28)
Knowledge is all about Vsudeva; austerities are all for Vsudeva; dharma
rests on Vsudeva; the goal is none other than Vsudeva. (29)
He indeed created this in the beginning, Bhagavn did, through his own
power, both real and unreal and consisting of the threads, while he himself
pervades all and is without thread. (30)
He, having entered within, appears among the threads that are manipulated
by her as if he were threaded, enhanced by knowledge. (31)
Just as one fire located in many pieces of wood, which are its sources,
appears to be many so the one person who is the self of the world appears in
the beings [to be many]. (32)
48 Bhgavata Pura

Description of Faith in Bhagavn () 49

That one experiences those [her] threads having entered into beings that he
himself creates by means of mind, senses and subtle elements, that are states
of being consisting of the threads. (33)
Indeed, he infuses the worlds with clarity, that maker of worlds, engaged
in his playful descents among gods, animals, humans, and so forth. (34)

Thus ends the Second Chapter called ``Description of Faith in Bhagavn ''
in the episode of Naima in the First Skandha of the work recited by the son
of Vysa, the Hymnal of the Highest Goose, commentary on the Brahma-stra,
the great bearer of ancient lore, the rmad Bhgavata. (2)
50 Bhgavata Pura
Chapter 3

The Secret of His Births

( )

51
52 Bhgavata Pura

The Secret of His Births ( ) 53

In the beginning Bhagavn took the form of Purua (the primal giant),
which is composed of the mahat (the primordial, unformed substance or in-
telligence) and the other elements and which has sixteen parts, out of a desire
to create the worlds. (1)
From the lotus of the navel-lake of whom, while lying down in the waters
and sleeping the sleep of yoga, Brahm, lord of creators of worlds, was born.
(2)
By the arrangement of the limbs of whom the worlds are expanded; that
indeed is the form of Bhagavn, most pure and powerful. (3)
They see that form with a powerful eye, wondrous with a thousand feet,
thighs, arms, and faces, a thousand heads, ears, eyes, and noses, shining with
a thousand crowns, garments, and earrings. (4)
This is the source of many descents, the undiminishing seed, by the portions
of the portions of the portions of which are created gods, animals, human
beings and others. (5)
That divine being1 first became the Kumras2 , who as brhmaas performed
the most difficult to observe vow of unbroken celibacy.3 (6)
For his second, the Lord of Sacrifice took the body of a boar wishing to lift
up the earth which had fallen into the depths for the creation of this world.
(7)
He became the sage of the gods4 as his third or sagely form and spoke the
system of the Stvats from which comes the inactivity of action. (8)

1 The Purua who lies in the waters and has a thousand heads and so forth.
2 The boys: Sanaka, Sanandana, Santana and Sanatkumra, the mind-born sons of Brahm.
3 Here begins the answer to the fifth question of the sages: ``Recite for us, o wise one, the

auspicious stories of the descents of Hari.'' (Bhg., 1.1.18.)

4 Nrada.
54 Bhgavata Pura

The Secret of His Births ( ) 55

In the fourth descent which appeared in the wife of Dharma, he became

the sages Nara and Nryaa and performed difficult austerities accompanied
by control of the mind. (9)
The fifth, Kapila by name, lord of the perfected ones, taught suri the
philosophy of Skhya which had been lost over time and which rests on the
principles (tattva).5 (10)
The sixth, [Datttreya,] picked by Anasy6 became the son of Atri and
taught the science of logic to Alarka, Prahlda, and others. (11)
After that, the seventh, Yaja, was born in kt from Ruci. He protected
the period of son of Svayambh along with [his sons,] the divinities Yma and
the rest. (12)
In the eight descent Urukrama, born in Merudev of Nbhi, showed the
path of the self-composed which is respected by all stages. (13)
Asked by the sages, he took his ninth body, that of Pthurja, and milked
this earth and its herbs, o priests, and by that became most desirable. (14)
He took the form of the fish in the flood of the Ckua and making Vaivas-
vata Manu ride aboard the earth as his boat protected him. (15)
The ever-present one took the mountain Mandara onto his back in the form
of a tortoise in his eleventh descent for the gods and anti-gods who were churn-
ing the ocean. (16)

5 The principles, or existents, are twenty-four in number in the atheistic version of Skhya and

twenty-five in the theistic version.

6 Atri's wife.
56 Bhgavata Pura

The Secret of His Births ( ) 57

Dhanvantari is his twelfth descent and in his thirteenth he caused the gods
to drink by charming the others with his enchanting female form. (17)
Taking the fourteenth form as a man-lion he tore apart the power-mad king
of demons on his lap with his claws like a straw mat maker tears grass. (18)
Taking his fifteenth form as a dwarf he went to the sacrifice of Bali and
requested three steps, wishing to take back heaven. (19)
In his sixteenth descent he observing kings who were hostile to priests be-
came enraged twenty-one times and emptied the earth of barons. (20)
Then, born in his seventeenth descent in Satyavat from Parara, he cre-
ated branches of the tree of the Vedas, noticing the small intelligence of human
beings. (21)
After this he became the man-god (Rma) out of a desire to help the gods
and performed feats like subjugating [bridging] the ocean and so forth. (22)
In his nineteenth and twentieth births among the Vis as Rma and Ka,
Bhagavn took away the burden of the earth. (23)
Then, when Kali has started, in order to delude the enemies of the gods he
will become the Buddha by name, son of Ajana, among the Kkaas. (24)
58 Bhgavata Pura

The Secret of His Births ( ) 59

Then he was born with the name Kalki, master of the universe, among kings
who were nearly all thieves at the juncture of the ages. (25)
Indeed, the descents of Hari, that treasure-house of clarity, are innumer-
able, o twice-born, like thousands of undying streams filled with water. (26)
Seers, humans, gods, sons of Manu, who are of great vigor, are all consid-
ered portions of Hari including the masters of progeny. (27)
These parts and sub-parts of the primordial person (Purua), though Ka
is Bhagavn himself, bring delight to the world when it is troubled by the
enemies of the Indra. (28)
A person who regularly recites with bhakti, in the morning and the evening,
these esoteric births of Bhagavn is freed from a multitude of miseries. (29)
This form of Bhagavn who is formless, being of the nature of conscious-
ness, is created in the self (mind) by the threads (qualities) of my headed by
the mahat. (30)
Just as with clouds in the sky or the earth's dust in the wind, so do those
lacking wisdom attribute the quality of being seen to the one who sees. (31)
Beyond this is the unmanifest, which is not enlarged by distinct threads
(qualities). Since it is not a thing either seen or heard, the living being under-
goes repeated birth. (32)
60 Bhgavata Pura

The Secret of His Births ( ) 61

Where these, which have real and unreal forms,7 are denied by one's own
consciousness as having been created in the Self by ignorance, there is the
perception of Brahman.8 (33)
This the expert opinion: they know that if the goddess My is stopped, he
has succeeded and exalts in his own greatness.9 (34)
And thus do the poets describe the births and actions of the non-doer, of
the unborn, of the Lord of the Heart, which are hidden in the Veda.10 (35)
He indeed, whose sports are unerring, creates, protects, and devours this
universe and is not attached to it. Hidden away in the elements, self-reliant,
he smells the class of six11 as controller of the six qualities.12 (36)
And neither does any ignorant living being, of twisted intelligence, un-
derstand through its own cleverness using either mind or speech the creator's
sports, names, forms, who is like someone exhibiting the performance of an
actor. (37)
He knows the path of the supreme creator, of endless valor and with discus
in hand, who, without deceit and in constant compliance, experiencess the
fragrance of his lotus-like feet. (38)
Thus, in this matter, fortunate are the followers of Bhagavn in this way,
since they place their own self identities, all they have, in Vsudeva, the Lord
of All the Worlds, in whom there is no gruesome return again. (39)
The sage Bhagavn created this pura called the Bhgavata, which is equal
to Brahman and contains the life of the Highest Stanza. (40)

7 That is, forms of cause and effect. (rntha Cakravartin)

8 rntha takes Brahman here to mean ``the domain called r Ka'' (rkkhya dhma).
9 How may a person reach success in knowledge of r Ka? To this question he replies

with this verse. If the goddess My, who is Bhagavat, is stopped, then a person has acheived
knowledge of the truth of r Ka. Then such a person is exhalted in the feelings of a pure
Bhgavata. (rntha)
10 If the births and so forth of even the descents are hidden the Vedas, how much more so are

those of r Ka. (rntha)

11 The group containing the five senses and the mind.
12 The qualities perceived by the five senses and the mind. ``He smells them but does not enjoy

them.'' (rntha)
62 Bhgavata Pura

13

13 Inserted after this half verse is the following verse, in some manuscripts:


The Secret of His Births ( ) 63

For the ultimate joy of the world, it is auspicious, a great channel of well-
being. Therefore, he taught this to his son, the best of those who are self-
possessed. (41)
The collected essence of the essence of all the Vedas and histories he recited
for the great king Parkit, who was seated seeking death on the bank of the
Gag surrounded by sages,14 while the sage of the brhmaas, whose glow
was abundant, was repeating it there, o brhmaas. (42-43)
I, too, seated there, learned it through his grace. I myself shall recite it for
you as I have learned it and according to my understanding. (44)

Thus ends the Third Chapter called ``The Secret of His Births'' in the episode
of Naima in the First Skandha of the work recited by the son of Vysa, the
Hymnal of the Highest Geese, commentary on the Brahma-stra, the great
bearer of ancient lore, the rmad Bhgavata. (3)

14 Inserted verse: When Ka has returned to his own realm along with dharma, knowledge and
so forth, this sun-like pura is risen now for those whose eyes are lost in the Age of Kali.
64 Bhgavata Pura
Chapter 4

The Arrival of Nrada

( )

65
66 Bhgavata Pura

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;
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The Arrival of Nrada () 67

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68 Bhgavata Pura
 Part II

Tenth Canto

69
Chapter 1

The Approach of Ka's

Descent ()

71
72 Bhgavata Pura

The Approach of Ka's Descent () 73

[The story of Ka's descent as it is given in the Bhgavata Pura begins

with the questions of King Parkit to his informant uka.]
The king said:
``You have described the lineages of the families of the Moon and the Sun,
the highly amazing careers of the kings of both families, and [the lineage] of
the Law-respecting Yadu. (1)
``Tell us now about the heroic deeds of Viu who descended with a portion
of himself there (among in the descendents of Yadu).1 (2)
``Tell us in detail what actions the Lord, creator of beings, very Self of the
Universe, performed after descending in the family of Yadu. (3)
``What person can become detached without recounting the qualities of
Uttamaloka (Ka) pleasing to the ear and mind, medicine for material ex-
istence, sung even by those whose thirsts [for sensual pleasures] have been
quenched, except for a killer of animals? (4)
``He was the boat on which my grandfathers crossed, as if a small calve's
hoof, the dangerous ocean of the Kaurava army which was filled with god-
conquering, super warriors, like Devavrata (Bhma) and others, who were
like whale-swallowing monsters in the ocean. (5)
``He entered into the womb of my mother, who had sought his shelter, with
his discus in hand and hid this body of mine, the seed of the descendents of
the Kurus and Pavas, as it was being burned by the weapon of the son of
Droa. (6)

1 An interesting comment is found in rntha Cakravartin's commentary. He and the author

of the Bhat-krama-sandarbha take the word aa, part or portion, to be a instead which they
define as an samha, the collection of all the parts, ie. the whole. Thus, Ka is not just
a partial descent among the Ydavas, he is a full descent. Ka is thus believed to be the fullest
self-revelation of deity.
74 Bhgavata Pura

The Approach of Ka's Descent () 75

``Tell us about the powerful deeds of this illusory man (my-manua) who
is inside and outstide all embodied beings in his forms as personal god and
time, giving them death or immortality.2 (7)
``Rma, who is Sakaraa, you said is the son of Rohi. How is he con-
nected with the womb of Devak, then, if not in some other body? (8)
``Why did Lord Mukunda go from his father's house to Vraja? Where did
the Lord of the Stvats along with his family live? (9)
``While living in Vraja and in Madhupur (Mathur) what did Keava3 do?
Didn't he kill Kasa, the brother of his mother, who was not worthy of such
treatment? (10)
``How many years in human form did he live with the Vis in Yadupur
and how many wives did the Lord have? (11)
``This and everything else that the Lord did you should describe in detail,
all-knower, to someone faithful like me. (12)
``This difficult to tolerate hunger does not impair me, though I have also
given up water, while I am drinking the nectar of stories of Hari fallen from
the lotus of your mouth." (13)
r Suta said:
Hearing this worthy speech, son of Bhgu, that fortunate son of Vysa, the
foremost devotee of the Lord, after honoring that gift of Viu (Parkit), began
to relate the life of Ka, which destructive of the evils of the Kali age. (14)
r uka said:
``Your intellect is completely settled, truest of the sage-kings, since your
unwavering attraction to discussions of Vsudeva is awakened. (15)
``A question about Vsudeva purifies three persons: the speaker, the asker,
and the hearer like water from his feet. (16)

2 My-manuya, ``illusory man" in the sense that he is not like an ordinary man. Santana

gives a variety of meanings for the word my in this verse: power of will (icch-akti), play (ll),
full of tricks (kaitava), and compassion (day).
3 Ka is Brahm and a is iva. Va means he who pervades them with his own greatness. Keava

is thus he who pervades Brahm and iva with his own greatness, that is, Viu. (Santana)
76 Bhgavata Pura

The Approach of Ka's Descent () 77

``The Earth, overrun by hundreds and thousands of armies of arrogant

demons pretending to be kings, went with her huge burden to Brahm for
help. (17)
``Taking the form of a cow, with tears on her face, distressed and crying,
she spoke mournfully of her plight to him when she drew near to the powerful
being. (18)
``Learning of that Brahm along with her and the gods and accompanied
by three-eyed iva went to the shore of the ocean of milk. (19)
``Arriving there he, with concentrated mind, offered worship to the master
of the universe, the god of gods, Vkapi (the man-ape), the primal male with
the Purua-skta (Hymn of the Primal Man) .4 (20)
``Hearing in his trance words spoken in the sky, Brahm told the gods:
`Immortal Ones, listen carefully to my words coming from the Primal Lord
and then let them be carried out just so without delay. (21)
```Even before this the Lord knew of the affliction of the earth. You should
take birth through your portions among the Yadus as long as he, the god of
gods, wanders on the earth destroying its burden by his power of time. (22)
```In the house of Vasudeva the Supreme Lord himself, the supreme person,
will be born. Let the wives of the gods be born to please him. (23)
```Ananta, Vsudeva's portion, possessor of a thousand faces, a self-ruler,
will be born before him out of a desire to do what pleases him. (24)

4 The Hymn of the Man is a famous hymn of the g Veda (10.90). It describes a primordial

human sacrifice out of which the universe was created. The being address here as Purua is
identified in the commentaries as Aniruddha, a partial expansion of Ka according to Vaiava
theology. Vkapi is an ancient Vedic name the exact meaning of which is now obscure. It seems
to mean ``Bull-ape" or ``Man-ape." It is a word charged with virility and male power. Vkapi is
the subject of a rather mysterious hymn (g Veda 10.86) in which he appears to have seduced the
wife of Indra. Santana interprets the name Vkapi to mean ``the one who causes one's desired
objects to rain down on one (varayati kmn) and who causes ones pains to tremble (kampayati
khen)." In other words Vkapi fulfills one's desires and destroys one's afflictions.
78 Bhgavata Pura

The Approach of Ka's Descent () 79

```The goddess who is Viu's My, by whom the whole universe is de-
luded, has been instructed by the Lord in what is to be done and will be born
with her portion.'"5 (25)
uka said:
``Having thus instructed the immortal gods, the mighty Lord of Lord of
Progeny (Prajpati-pati, i.e. Brahm) reassured the earth with his words and
returned to his highest abode. (26)
``The Lord of the Yadus, rasena, lived in the city of Mathur and ruled
the citizens of Mathur as well as his own clan as his subjects in the days of
old. (27)
``Since then it was the capital city of all the kings of the Ydavas, that
Mathur, in which Lord Hari is always close by. (28)
``Once upon a time in that city, a descendent of ra, Vasudeva, having
just wed, climbed on to a chariot along with his new wife, Devak, to journey
[to their home]. (29)
``Kasa, son of Ugrasena, wishing to please his sister, took hold of the reins
of the horses surrounded by hundreds of golden chariots.6 (30)
``Devaka, who doted on his daughter, give as household property four hun-
dred elephants adorned with gold, fifteen thousand horses, and eighteen hun-
dred chariots to his daughter who was accompanied by two hundred young
serving maidens. (31-32)
``At the beginning of the departure of the bride and groom, conchs, musical
instruments, clay-bodied drums, and kettle drums sounded together with such
auspiciousness. (33)

5 The author of the Bhat-krama-sandarbha comments that this my is Yoga-my and that she

is of two types: with form and without form. Yogamy with form is Durg and Yogamy without
form is only a power that brings about things that are difficult to do. Both varieties of Yogamy
act to remove the delusion of the universe. [This author has read an ``a" (not) in front of the word
samohitam (deluded) in the verse. That is possible since the preceding word is yay (by which)
and its sandhi with the following word may obscure a leading ``a" on samohitam. Trans.]
6 Santana says that the root of Kasa is kasi which means ``destroying, cutting down." Thus
his name indicates that he was a destroyer of the world.
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The Approach of Ka's Descent () 81

On the road a bodiless voice addressed Kasa who was holding the reins:
``Idiot! The eighth child of this one whom you are conveying will be your
killer." (34)
Addressed so, that sinful, wicked, disgrace to the ancestry of the Bhojas,
ready to kill his sister, took her by the hair with his sword in hand. (35)
Vasudeva of great fortune spoke appeasingly to him whose actions disgust,
who was cruel and shameless. (36)
r Vasudeva said:
``Why would you having qualities worthy of praise by wise, a bringer of
fame to the Bhojas kill your sister, a woman on the day of her marriage? (37)
``Hero, death is born right along with the body for those who have taken
birth. Now or in a hundred years, death is certain for living beings.7 (38)
``When the body dies [lit., attains fiveness], the embodied being, without
control and according to its past actions, attains another body and leaves its
former one.8 (39)
``Like a caterpillar, moving with one foot and standing with one foot, goes
forth, so does the embodied being go to the goal of its action. (40)

7 r Santana: Just as birth is inevitable so is death. Therefore, it is born with the body. Thus,

too, is it said in the Gt: ``the death of one born is certain and certain is the birth of one who
has died." (2.27) He calls him "hero" to mollify him and by double entendre to say: you are only
capable in battle, not in thoughtful reflection. Now, Kasa might think: because of my heroism
I will not die. To that he replies: even for a hero is death born with the body. Therefore, death is
certain for all living beings.
8 r Santana: now, indeed there will be death, but since enjoyment cannot be accomplished

without a body is it not fitting to want to keep one's body for awhile for the purpose of enjoyment?
Thus he responds: ``when the body dies ..." Since the self is distinguished from the body by
referring to it as "embodied" (dehin), its destruction is refuted. The cause of attaining another
body is its following the results of its actions, since it must enjoy [or suffer] those results. Nor
need the embodied being exert effort to do that since he says ``without control." Under the force
of past karma that is accomplished on its own.
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The Approach of Ka's Descent () 83

``It is just like in a dream when one whose consciousness is absorbed in

wishful thinking; while contemplating with the mind what been seen and
heard, one sees just that sort of body and forgetful [of the former or waking
body] becomes involved in that [dream body]. (41)
``Wherever it runs, impelled by the divine [i.e., the force of its past actions],
and whatever [body] the changeable mind attains among the five qualities
[elements] created by my, the embodied being resorting [identifying with?]
to that [mind] is born along with it. (42)
Like yonder light reflected in water and other earthly substances is imag-
ined to be influenced by the motion of the wind, so, too, is that person [the
self], affected by passion, confused among the qualities [bodies] created by its
own my.9 (43)
Therefore, one who is of that kind should not perform an act of harm if he
desires the welfare of the self. One who is violent fears others. (44)
This poor girl is your younger sister like daughter to you. You who are
kind to the afflicted do not deserve to kill this excellent girl.10 (45)
r uka said:
Even though the pitiless one was thus appealed to with different words of
appeasement, o descendent of the Kurus, he was not stopped, being a follower
of those who eat humans. (46)
After realizing his obstinacy and thinking of a way to avert the present
danger, nakadundubhi entered upon this. (47)

9 This could be interpreted as a verse supporting the Advaitin position. The sva meaning ``own"

seems to suggest that the person in this verse is the possessor of the my that creates the qual-
ities that form the bodies. rdhara takes sva-my as svvidy, one's own ignorance. This is an
interpretation more amenable to the idea that the person meant here is the individual self.
10 Santana says that Vasudeva who is a speaker of the truth does not lie here when he calls

Kasa, dnavatsala, kind to the afflicted, because when Ugrasena or Devaka used to instruct Kasa
to give cows to the brhmaas, Kasa, thinking that it would not do to ignore Ugrasena's instruc-
tion, used to give nearly dead and useless (dna) calves (vatsa) to them. Therefore, Kasa was
indeed dna-vatsala, giver of wretched calves.
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The Approach of Ka's Descent () 85

Death is to be counteracted by the intelligent as long as one has intelli-

gence and strength. If it is still not turned away, the embodied being has done
nothing wrong. (48)
Giving my sons unto death, I will save this poor woman, if my sons are
even born or might not this death himself [Kasa] die. (49)
Or, might not some reversal occur? The ways of the creator are inscrutable.
What is about to happen may be stopped and what has been stopped may again
befall one. (50)
As with a fire's separation from or contact with wood, there is no cause
other than fate [lit. the unseen]. So is the cause of the connection or discon-
nection of a body with living being difficult to understand. (51)
Reflecting in this way as far as his self-wisdom allowed him, auri (Va-
sudeva) honored that sinful person after showing him much respect. With his
lotus-like face calm while his mind was burning he smiled and said this to that
malicious and cruel man: (53)

r Vasudeva said:

You have nothing to fear from her, gentle sir, as indeed the disembodied
voice said. I will hand over her sons from whom your fear has risen. (54)
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The Approach of Ka's Descent () 87

r uka said:

Kasa turned away from killing his sister, understanding the inner meaning
of his words. Vasudeva, too, being pleased praised him and entered his house.
(55)
Thus, while time turned, Devak, embodying all the gods, gave birth to
eight sons and a daughter each year. (56)
The first born, Krtimn, nakadundubhi offered to Kasa with difficulty,
greatly disturbed at falsehood. (57)
What is hard to bear for the good and what is wanted by the wise? What
will not be done by the miserly, and what cannot be given up by the self-
controlled? (58)
Seeing the equipoise of auri and his steadiness in the truth, Kasa's mind
was pleased, o king, and with a smile said this: (59)
``Take this boy back. My fear is not from him. It is from your the eighth
issue that my death is decreed.'' (60)
``So be it.'' Taking his son nakadundubhi departed. He did not take plea-
sure in his words, the words of one untrue who has not conquered the self.
(61)
The cowherds in Vraja headed by Nanda and those who are their wives, as
well as the Vis headed by Vasudeva and their wives headed by Devak ...
(62)
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The Approach of Ka's Descent () 89

All these indeed, as well as the relatives, friends, well-wishers of those two
groups, o Bhrata, who are followers of Kasa all, are practically gods. (63)
Bhagavn Nrada came and praised this to Kasa and the effort to kill the
demons who had become a burden to the earth. (64)
When the sage departed, Kasa, considering the Yadus to be gods and the
born embryo of Devak to be Viu about to kill him, restrained Devak and
Vasudeva with chains in their house and killed each of their sons as soon as it
was born, fearing each to be the unborn. (65-66)
Mother, father, brothers, and all friends, they almost always kill, the klep-
tocratic, greedy, kings of the earth. (67)
Knowing himself to be born here previously as the great demon Klanemi
who was killed by Viu, he contended with the Yadus. (68)
Arresting his father Ugrasena, the lord of the Yadus, Bhojas, and Andhakas,
himself, the strong man ruled over the rasenas. (69)

Thus ends the First Chapter called ``The Approach of Ka's Birth'' in the
Tenth Skandha of the work recited by the son of Vysa, the Hymnal of the
Highest Geese and commentary on the Brahma-stra, the great bearer of an-
cient lore, the rmad Bhgavata. (1)
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Chapter 2

The Panegyric of Brahm

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91
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