Bhagavata Purana

कच्चित् राजाऽऽहुको जीवति असत्पुत्रोऽस्य चानुजः । हृदीकः ससुतोऽक्रूरो जयन्तगदसारणाः

Is King Ahuka alive, and his wicked son and younger brother? Is Hridika with his son, Akrura, Jayanta, Gada, and Sarana well?

आसते कुशलं कच्चित् ये च शत्रुजिदादयः । कच्चिदास्ते सुखं रामो भगवान् सात्वतां प्रभुः

Are those like Shatrujit and others safe? Is Rama, the Lord of the Satvatas, living happily?

प्रद्युम्नः सर्ववृष्णीनां सुखमास्ते महारथः । गम्भीररयोऽनिरुद्धो वर्धते भगवानुत

Is Pradyumna, the great chariot-warrior of all the Vrishnis, well? Is Aniruddha, deep in his passions, growing and blessed?

सुषेणश्चारुदेष्णश्च साम्बो जाम्बवतीसुतः । अन्ये च कार्ष्णिप्रवराः सपुत्रा ऋषभादयः

Are Sushena, Charudesha, Samba—the son of Jambavati—and others, the foremost of the Karsnis, with their sons, like Rishabha, well?

तथैवानुचराः शौरेः श्रुतदेवोद्धवादयः । सुनन्दनन्दशीर्षण्या ये चान्ये सात्वतर्षभाः

And likewise, are the followers of Shauri—Shrutadeva, Uddhava, Sunanda, Nanda, Shirishanya, and other chief Satvatas—well?

अपि स्वस्त्यासते सर्वे रामकृष्ण भुजाश्रयाः । अपि स्मरन्ति कुशलं अस्माकं बद्धसौहृदाः

Are all those who rely on the arms of Rama and Krishna safe? Do those bound by friendship remember our welfare?

भगवानपि गोविन्दो ब्रह्मण्यो भक्तवत्सलः । कच्चित्पुरे सुधर्मायां सुखमास्ते सुहृद्‌वृतः

Is Govinda, the Lord, devoted to Brahmanas and affectionate to his devotees, living happily in the city of Sudharma, surrounded by friends?

मङ्‌गलाय च लोकानां क्षेमाय च भवाय च । आस्ते यदुकुलाम्भोधौ आद्योऽनन्तसखः पुमान्

For the welfare, safety, and prosperity of the worlds, does the primeval, infinite friend, the man, remain in the ocean of the Yadu dynasty?

यद्‍बाहुदण्डगुप्तायां स्वपुर्यां यदवोऽर्चिताः । क्रीडन्ति परमानन्दं महापौरुषिका इव

When the Yadus are honored in their own city, protected by many strong arms, they play in supreme bliss, like great heroes.

यत् पादशुश्रूषणमुख्य कर्मणा सत्यादयो द्व्यष्टसहस्रयोषितः । निर्जित्य सङ्‌ख्ये त्रिदशांस्तदाशिषो हरन्ति वज्रायुधवल्लभोचिताः

By serving at the feet, which is their chief duty, Satyā and the other sixteen thousand women, having conquered the celestial goddesses in beauty, receive blessings suited for the beloveds of Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt.

यद्‍बाहुदण्डाभ्युदयानुजीविनो यदुप्रवीरा ह्यकुतोभया मुहुः । अधिक्रमन्त्यङ्‌घ्रिभिराहृतां बलात् सभां सुधर्मां सुरसत्तमोचिताम्

The foremost Yadus, who live by the rise of their many strong arms and are fearless at all times, forcibly enter the Sudharmā assembly hall, fit for the best of gods, with their feet, having brought it there.

कच्चित्तेऽनामयं तात भ्रष्टतेजा विभासि मे । अलब्धमानोऽवज्ञातः किं वा तात चिरोषितः

My dear, do you remain free from illness? You appear to me as if your radiance has faded. Have you failed to obtain something, been disrespected, or stayed away for a long time?

कच्चित् नाभिहतोऽभावैः शब्दादिभिरमङ्‌गलैः । न दत्तमुक्तमर्थिभ्य आशया यत्प्रतिश्रुतम्

Have you not been struck by inauspicious things, such as sounds or other disturbances? Have you failed to give or fulfill what was promised to supplicants out of desire?

कच्चित्त्वं ब्राह्मणं बालं गां वृद्धं रोगिणं स्त्रियम् । शरणोपसृतं सत्त्वं नात्याक्षीः शरणप्रदः

Have you, as a giver of refuge, not rejected a Brahmin, child, cow, elder, sick person, woman, or any being who approached you for shelter?

कच्चित्त्वं नागमोऽगम्यां गम्यां वासत्कृतां स्त्रियम् । पराजितो वाथ भवान् नोत्तमैर्नासमैः पथि

Have you not approached a woman who should not be approached, or one who is to be approached, or one who has been made your companion? Or have you been defeated by superior or inferior paths?

अपि स्वित्पर्यभुङ्‌क्थास्त्वं सम्भोज्यान् वृद्धबालकान् । जुगुप्सितं कर्म किञ्चित् कृतवान्न यदक्षमम्

Have you eaten food that should be shared with elders and children? Have you committed any act that is disgraceful or beyond your capacity?

कच्चित्प्रेष्ठतमेनाथ हृदयेनात्मबन्धुना । शून्योऽस्मि रहितो नित्यं मन्यसे तेऽन्यथा न रुक्

O dearest, do you always feel empty and deprived in your heart by your own kin? Or do you think otherwise? If not, then there is no sorrow.

ऊचुश्च सुहृदः कृष्णं स्वागतं तेऽतिरंहसा । नैकोऽप्यभोजि कवल एहीतः साधु भुज्यताम्

And the friends said to Krishna, 'Welcome to you, who have come so swiftly! Not one has eaten a morsel; come, please eat well.'

ततो हसन् हृषीकेशोऽभ्यवहृत्य सहार्भकैः । दर्शयंश्चर्माजगरं न्यवर्तत वनाद् व्रजम्

Then Hṛṣīkeśa, smiling, ate together with the children, showing them the python's skin, and turned back from the forest to the village.

( वसंततिलका ) बर्हप्रसून नवधातुविचित्रिताङ्‌गः प्रोद्दामवेणुदलशृङ्‌गरवोत्सवाढ्यः । वत्सान् गृणन्ननुगगीत पवित्रकीर्तिः गोपीदृगुत्सवदृशिः प्रविवेश गोष्ठम्

Adorned with peacock feathers, flowers, and fresh minerals, rich in the festival of flute and horn, praising the calves, singing holy fame, and with the gopīs' eyes celebrating him, he entered the cowherd settlement.

( अनुष्टुप् ) अद्यानेन महाव्यालो यशोदानन्दसूनुना । हतोऽविता वयं चास्माद् इति बाला व्रजे जगुः

Today, by the son of Yaśodā and Nanda, the great serpent was slain and we are protected from it—thus the children sang in the village.

श्रीराजोवाच । ब्रह्मन् परोद्‍भवे कृष्णे इयान्प्रेमा कथं भवेत् । योऽभूतपूर्वस्तोकेषु स्वोद्‍भवेष्वपि कथ्यताम्

The king said: O Brahmin, how did such great love arise for Krishna at his birth, even among those who had never felt it before, even in their own offspring? Please explain.

श्रीशुक उवाच । सर्वेषामपि भूतानां नृप स्वात्मैव वल्लभः । इतरेऽपत्यवित्ताद्याः तद्वल्लभतयैव हि

Śuka said: For all beings, O king, the self alone is most dear; others, such as children and wealth, are dear only because of that self.

तद् राजेन्द्र यथा स्नेहः स्वस्वकात्मनि देहिनाम् । न तथा ममतालम्बि पुत्रवित्तगृहादिषु

O king, just as attachment for one's own self is strongest among embodied beings, it is not so for sons, wealth, homes, and other things that depend on possessiveness.

देहात्मवादिनां पुंसां अपि राजन्यसत्तम । यथा देहः प्रियतमः तथा न ह्यनु ये च तम्

Even among those who identify the body as the self, O best of kings, the body is not as dear as those who follow it.

देहोऽपि ममताभाक् चेत् तर्ह्यसौ नात्मवत् प्रियः । यज्जीर्यत्यपि देहेऽस्मिन् जीविताशा बलीयसी

If the body is regarded as possessing 'mine-ness,' then it is not as dear as the self; for even when the body ages, the hope for life remains strong.

तस्मात् प्रियतमः स्वात्मा सर्वेषामपि देहिनाम् । तदर्थमेव सकलं जगद् एतत् चराचरम्

Therefore, the dearest is one's own self for all embodied beings; for its sake alone, this entire world, both moving and unmoving, exists.

कृष्णमेनमवेहि त्वं आत्मानं अखिलात्मनाम् । जगद्धिताय सोऽप्यत्र देहीवाभाति मायया

Know Krishna to be this very self, the self of all selves; for the welfare of the world, he too appears here as embodied, by his own illusion.

वस्तुतो जानतामत्र कृष्णं स्थास्नु चरिष्णु च । भगवद् रूपमखिलं नान्यद् वस्त्विह किञ्चन

In truth, for those who know, Krishna alone is the abiding and moving reality here; the entire form of the Lord—there is nothing else at all in this world.