Bhagavata Purana

श्रीभगवानुवाच - ब्रह्मंस्तेऽनुग्रहार्थाय सम्प्राप्तान् विद्ध्यमून् मुनीन् । सञ्चरन्ति मया लोकान् पुनन्तः पादरेणुभिः

The Lord said: O brahmin, know that these sages have come here for your blessing; they wander the worlds with me, purifying them with the dust of their feet.

देवाः क्षेत्राणि तीर्थानि दर्शनस्पर्शनार्चनैः । शनैः पुनन्ति कालेन तदप्यर्हत्तमेक्षया

The gods, sacred places, and holy waters purify gradually through sight, touch, and worship, but even they are purified instantly by the gaze of the best of brahmins.

ब्राह्मणो जन्मना श्रेयान् सर्वेषां प्राणिनामिह । तपसा विद्यया तुष्ट्या किमु मत्कलया युतः

Among all living beings here, the brahmin is superior by birth; how much more so when endowed with austerity, knowledge, and contentment, and especially when devoted to me.

न ब्राह्मणान्मे दयितं रूपमेतच्चतुर्भुजम् । सर्ववेदमयो विप्रः सर्वदेवमयो ह्यहम्

This four-armed form is not dear to Me as the brāhmaṇas are; O brāhmaṇa, you are the embodiment of all the Vedas, and indeed, I am the embodiment of all the gods.

दुष्प्रज्ञा अविदित्वैवं अवजानन्त्यसूयवः । गुरुं मां विप्रमात्मानं अर्चादाविज्यदृष्टयः

Those of poor understanding, who do not know this, who are envious and disrespectful, see Me, the guru, the brāhmaṇa, and their own self as mere idols during worship.

चराचरमिदं विश्वं भावा ये चास्य हेतवः । मद् रूपाणीति चेतस्य आधत्ते विप्रो मदीक्षया

Whatever is moving or unmoving in this universe, and all the causes of these, the brāhmaṇa, by My vision, regards as My forms in his mind.

तस्माद्‌ ब्रह्मऋषीनेतान् ब्रह्मन् मच्छ्रद्धयार्चय । एवं चेदर्चितोऽस्म्यद्धा नान्यथा भूरिभूतिभिः

Therefore, O brāhmaṇa, worship these brāhmaṇa sages with faith in Me; if you worship in this way, I am truly worshipped—not otherwise, even with great opulence.

श्रीशुक उवाच - स इत्थं प्रभुनादिष्टः सहकृष्णान् द्विजोत्तमान् । आराध्यैकात्मभावेन मैथिलश्चाप सद्‌गतिम्

Śrī Śuka said: Thus instructed by the Lord, the king of Mithilā worshipped the foremost brāhmaṇas along with Kṛṣṇa, regarding them as one with himself, and attained the highest destination.

एवं स्वभक्तयो राजन् भगवान् भक्तभक्तिमान् । उषित्वाऽऽदिश्य सन्मार्गं पुनर्द्वारवतीमगात्

O King, in this way, the Lord, who is devoted to His devotees and to devotion itself, after staying there and instructing the right path, returned again to Dvārakā.

इति श्रीमद्‍भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां संहितायां दशमस्कन्धे उत्तरार्धे श्रुतदेवानुग्रहो नाम षडशीतितमोऽध्यायः

Thus ends the eighty-sixth chapter, entitled 'The Blessing of Śrutadeva,' in the second half of the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa, the scripture for the paramahaṃsas.

वेदस्तुति - श्रीपरीक्षिदुवाच - ( अनुष्टुप् ) ब्रह्मन् ब्रह्मण्यनिर्देश्ये निर्गुणे गुणवृत्तयः । कथं चरन्ति श्रुतयः साक्षात् सदसतः परे

Hymn of the Vedas— Śrī Parīkṣit said: O brāhmaṇa, in regard to the indefinable, transcendental Brahman, how do the Vedas, which are based on qualities, function with respect to That which is beyond both existence and non-existence?

श्रीशुक उवाच - बुद्धीन्द्रियमनःप्राणान् जनानां असृजत् प्रभुः । मात्रार्थं च भवार्थं च आत्मनेऽकल्पनाय च

Śrī Śuka said: The Lord created the intellect, senses, mind, and vital airs of beings—for the sake of sense objects, for worldly purposes, for the self, and for the sake of non-identification.

सैषा ह्युपनिषद्‌ ब्राह्मी पूर्वेशां पूर्वजैर्धृता । श्र्रद्धया धारयेद् यस्तां क्षेमं गच्छेदकिञ्चनः

This is indeed the Upaniṣad of Brahman, upheld by the ancients of old; whoever holds it with faith, even if possessing nothing, attains well-being.

अत्र ते वर्णयिष्यामि गाथां नारायणान्विताम् । नारदस्य च संवादं ऋषेर्नारायणस्य च

Here I shall recount to you the verse endowed with Nārāyaṇa, and the dialogue between Nārada and the sage Nārāyaṇa.

एकदा नारदो लोकान् पर्यटन् भगवत्प्रियः । सनातनमृषिं द्रष्टुं ययौ नारायणाश्रमम्

Once, Nārada, dear to the Lord, while wandering among the worlds, went to the hermitage of Nārāyaṇa to see the eternal sage.

यो वै भारतवर्षेऽस्मिन् क्शेमाय स्वस्तये नृणाम् । धर्मज्ञानशमोपेतं आकल्पादास्थितस्तपः

He, who in this land of Bhārata, for the welfare and auspiciousness of people, has practiced austerity endowed with dharma, knowledge, and tranquility, from the beginning of the age.

तत्रोपविष्टं ऋषिभिः कलापग्रामवासिभिः । परीतं प्रणतोऽपृच्छद् इदमेव कुरूद्वह

There, surrounded by sages dwelling in the village of Kalāpa, Nārada, having bowed, asked him this, O best of the Kurus.

तस्मै ह्यवोचद्‌भगवान् ऋषीणां श्रृणतामिदम् । यो ब्रह्मवादः पूर्वेषां जनलोकनिवासिनाम्

To him, the Lord spoke this, as the sages listened: the doctrine of Brahman held by the ancient residents of Janaloka.

श्रीभगवानुवाच - स्वायम्भुव ब्रह्मसत्रं जनलोकेऽभवत् पुरा । तत्रस्थानां मानसानां मुनीनां ऊर्ध्वरेतसाम्

The Blessed Lord said: Once, in Janaloka, there was a sacrifice to Brahman by the descendants of Svāyambhuva; there, among the mind-born sages, who were celibate.

श्वेतद्वीपं गतवति त्वयि द्रष्टुं तदीश्वरम् । ब्रह्मवादः सुसंवृत्तः श्रुतयो यत्र शेरते । तत्र हायमभूत्प्रश्नस्त्वं मां यमनुपृच्छसि

When you had gone to Śvetadvīpa to see its Lord, the doctrine of Brahman was thoroughly discussed there, where the Vedas rest; and there arose the very question that you now ask Me.

तुल्यश्रुततपःशीलाः तुल्यस्वीयारिमध्यमाः । अपि चक्रुः प्रवचनं एकं शुश्रूषवोऽपरे

They were equal in learning, austerity, and conduct, and similar in their possessions, enemies, and friends; some expounded the doctrine, while others listened attentively.

श्रीसनन्दन उवाच - स्वसृष्टमिदमापीय शयानं सह शक्तिभिः । तदन्ते बोधयां चक्रुः तल्लिङ्गैः श्रुतयः परम्

Śrī Sanandana said: Absorbing this creation of his, he lay down together with his energies; then, at the end, the Vedas awakened him with their marks, as if rousing him.

यथा शयानं सम्राजं वन्दिनस्तत्पराक्रमैः । प्रत्यूषेऽभेत्य सुश्लोकैः बोधयन्त्यनुजीविनः

Just as bards approach a sleeping king at dawn and awaken him with praises of his valor, so too did the attendants awaken him with noble hymns.

श्रीश्रुतय ऊचुः - ( अवितथ गाथा - पुढील, म्हणजे १४ ते ४१ या श्लोकांना वेदस्तुति म्हणतात ) जय जय जह्यजामजित दोषगृभीतगुणां त्वमसि यदात्मना समवरुद्धसमस्तभगः । अगजगदोकसामखिलशक्त्यवबोधक ते क्वचिदजयाऽऽत्मना च चरतोऽनुचरेन्निगमः

The Vedas spoke: Victory, victory! O Unborn, O Unconquered, cast off the faults acquired by the qualities! You are, by your own nature, the one in whom all powers are perfectly contained. You, who are the awakening of all energies in the unmanifest and manifest worlds, are sometimes followed by the Vedas, yet they cannot reach you when you move by your own inscrutable self.

बृहदुपलब्धमेतदवयन्त्यवशेषतया यत उदयास्तमयौ विकृतेर्मृदि वाविकृतात् । अत ऋषयो दधुस्त्वयि मनोवचनाचरितं कथमयथा भवन्ति भुवि दत्तपदानि नृणाम्

This vast universe, perceived as existing, is understood by the wise as ultimately insubstantial, just as the rise and setting of transformations are in clay, not in the transformations themselves. Therefore, sages fix their minds, words, and actions on you—how then could the footprints of men on earth be otherwise than unreal?

इति तव सूरयस्त्र्यधिपतेऽखिललोकमल क्षपणकथामृताब्धिमवगाह्य तपांसि जहुः । किमुत पुनः स्वधामविधुताशयकालगुणाः परम भजन्ति ये पदमजस्रसुखानुभवम्

Thus, O Lord of the three worlds, the wise, having plunged into the ocean of nectar that is your stories which destroy all impurities, abandon their austerities. What then of those who, purified of all motives of time and desire, dwell in your own realm and worship your supreme abode, experiencing unbroken bliss?

दृतय इव श्वसन्त्यसुभृतो यदि तेऽनुविधा महदहमादयोऽण्डमसृजन् यदनुग्रहतः पुरुषविधोऽन्वयोऽत्र चरमोऽन्नमयादिषु यः सदसतः परं त्वमथ यदेष्ववशेषमृतम्

Just as the vital airs, though sustaining the body, follow your will, so too did the great elements, beginning with the cosmic fire, create the cosmic egg by your grace. The sequence of beings, from food onwards, is your manifestation here, yet you are beyond both the real and the unreal, and whatever remains is your immortal nature.

उदरमुपासते य ऋषिवर्त्मसु कूर्पदृशः परिसरपद्धतिं हृदयमारुणयो दहरम् । तत उदगादनन्त तव धाम शिरः परमं पुनरिह यत्समेत्य न पतन्ति कृतान्तमुखे

Those whose vision is limited, who worship the lower path among the sages, meditate on the heart as the path, the subtle space within as the way. From there, O Infinite One, your supreme abode arises above the head, and those who reach it do not fall again into the mouth of death.

स्वकृतविचित्रयोनिषु विशन्निव हेतुतया तरतमतश्चकास्स्यनलवत् स्वकृतानुकृतिः । अथ वितथास्वमूष्ववितथां तव धाम समं विरजधियोऽनुयन्त्यभिविपण्यव एकरसम्

Entering the various wondrous wombs as their cause, you shine forth in different degrees, like fire in various forms, according to the actions performed. Yet, in those who are free from false identification, your supreme abode is realized equally; those pure-minded ones follow you, the one taste, abandoning all diversity.