Bhagavata Purana

दुरवगमात्मतत्त्वनिगमाय तवात्ततनोः चरितमहामृताब्धिपरिवर्तपरिश्रमणाः । न परिलषन्ति केचिदपवर्गमपीश्वर ते चरणसरोजहंसकुलसङ्गविसृष्टगृहाः

Desiring to know the truth of the self, which is difficult to grasp, some, laboring in the ocean of your immortal deeds, do not even seek liberation, O Lord. Having abandoned their homes for the company of swan-like devotees at your lotus feet, they desire nothing else.

त्वदनुपथं कुलायमिदमात्मसुहृत्प्रियवत् चरति तथोन्मुखे त्वयि हिते प्रिय आत्मनि च । न बत रमन्त्यहो असदुपासनयात्महनो यदनुशया भ्रमन्त्युरुभये कुशरीरभृतः

Following your path, this flock of embodied beings moves as if with their own kin, friends, and beloveds, yet, when turned toward you, their true well-wisher and self, they find fulfillment. Alas, those who delight in false worship, harming themselves, wander in suffering, bearing heavy bodies, because of attachment.

निभृतमरुन्मनोऽक्षदृढयोगयुजो हृदि यत् मुनय उपासते तदरयोऽपि ययुः स्मरणात् । स्त्रिय उरगेन्द्रभोगभुजदण्डविषक्तधियो वयमपि ते समाः समदृशोऽङ्‌घ्रिसरोजसुधाः

Those sages who, with controlled breath, mind, and senses, practice firm yoga and worship you in their hearts—even their enemies attain you by remembrance. Women, whose minds are attached to the serpent king's embrace, and we too, are equal, having tasted the nectar of your lotus feet.

क इह नु वेद बतावरजन्मलयोऽग्रसरं यत उदगादृषिर्यमनु देवगणा उभये । तर्हि न सन्न चासदुभयं न च कालजवः किमपि न तत्र शास्त्रमवकृष्य शयीत यदा

Who here truly knows the beginning, end, or course of the one from whom the sage arose, and after whom the gods, both celestial and otherwise, follow? Therefore, he is neither existent nor non-existent, nor both; nor is he subject to time. When he lies thus, no scripture can reach him.

जनिमसतः सतो मृतिमुतात्मनि ये च भिदां विपणमृतं स्मरन्त्युपदिशन्ति त आरुपितैः । त्रिगुणमयः पुमानिति भिदा यदबोधकृता त्वयि न ततः परत्र स भवेदवबोधरसे

Those who teach that the soul is born, dies, or is different from the body, speak from ignorance, remembering only the apparent. The idea that the person is made of the three qualities arises from ignorance; in you, and beyond you, such distinctions have no place in the experience of true knowledge.

सदिव मनस्त्रिवृत्त्वयि विभात्यसदामनुजात् सदभिमृशन्त्यशेषमिदमात्मतयाऽत्मविदः । न हि विकृतिं त्यजन्ति कनकस्य तदात्मतया स्वकृतमनुप्रविष्टमिदमात्मतयावसितम्

Just as gold, though appearing in various forms, is not abandoned by those who know its essence, so too the knowers of the self perceive all this as the self, considering everything as their own being, and do not reject the transformations, for all is pervaded by you.

तव परि ये चरन्त्यखिलसत्त्वनिकेततया त उत पदाक्रमन्त्यविगणय्य शिरो निर्‌ऋतेः । परिवयसे पशूनिव गिरा विबुधानपि तान् त्वयि कृतसौहृदाः खलु पुनन्ति न ये विमुखाः

Those who move about as your companions, as the abode of all beings, tread fearlessly even upon the head of death. You, O Lord, gather even the gods, like a herdsman gathers cattle, and those who have made friendship with you truly purify, but not those who turn away.

त्वमकरणः स्वराडखिलकारकशक्तिधरः तव बलिमुद्वहन्ति समदन्त्यजयानिमिषाः । वर्षभुजोऽखिलक्षितिपतेरिव विश्वसृजो विदधति यत्र ये त्वधिकृता भवतश्चकिताः

You are actionless, self-ruling, bearer of all creative powers. The gods, ever wakeful, offer you tribute and serve you equally, just as the arms serve the universal sovereign. The creators of the worlds, assigned by you, act with awe in your presence.

स्थिरचरजातयः स्युरजयोत्थनिमित्तयुजो विहर उदीक्षया यदि परस्य विमुक्त ततः । न हि परमस्य कश्चिदपरो न परश्च भवेद् वियत इवापदस्य तव शून्यतुलां दधतः

The moving and unmoving species arise from the union of causes and the unborn; they act under your gaze, O Free One. Yet, when freed from that, there is no other, nor is there a second, for the Supreme; just as space, bearing all things, remains incomparable and empty.

अपरिमिता ध्रुवास्तनुभृतो यदि सर्वगताः तर्हि न शास्यतेति नियमो ध्रव नेतरथा । अजनि च यन्मयं तदविमुच्य नियन्तृ भवेत् सममनुजानतां यदमतं मतदुष्टतया

If embodied beings are truly unlimited and all-pervading, then there could be no rule of authority over them—yet that is not the case. And if what is born is made of that which is unborn, then without releasing that, the controller would remain, even as one accepts the equality of all; but to reject this view is to be mistaken in understanding.

न घटत उद्‌भवः प्रकृतिपूरुषयोरजयोः उभययुजा भवन्त्यसुभृतो जलबुद्‌बुदवत् । त्वयि त इमे ततो विविधनामगुणैः परमे सरित इवार्णवे मधुनि लिल्युरशेषरसाः

There can be no real origin for both Prakriti and Purusha, since both are uncreated; what arises from their union is unstable, like bubbles on water. In You, O Supreme, all these diverse names and qualities dissolve, just as rivers, with all their flavors, merge into the ocean.

नृषु तव मयया भ्रमममीष्ववगत्य भृशं त्वयि सुधियोऽभवे दधति भावमनुप्रभवम् । कथमनुवर्ततां भवभयं तव यद्‌भ्रुकुटिः सृजति मुहुस्त्रिणमिरभवच्छरणेषु भयम्

Among humans, those who, recognizing the intense delusion caused by Your Maya, fix their minds on You, the source of all, develop ever-deepening devotion. How can fear of worldly existence persist for those who follow You, when even a mere frown from You repeatedly creates fear in those who seek shelter elsewhere, like blades of grass?

विजितहृषीकवायुभिरदान्तमनस्तुरगं य इह यतन्ति यन्तुमतिलोलमुपायखिदः । व्यसनशतान्विताः समवहाय गुरोश्चरणं वणिज इवाज सन्त्यकृतकर्णधरा जलधौ

Those who, here in this world, strive to control the restless mind—likened to an untamed horse—by force of the senses and breath, but neglect the feet of the Guru, are afflicted by countless miseries, like merchants on the ocean who abandon their helmsman and are lost at sea.

स्वजनसुतात्मदारधनधामधरासुरथैः त्वयि सति किं नृणां श्रयत आत्मनि सर्वरसे । इति सदजानतां मिथुनतो रतये चरतां सुखयति को न्विह स्वविहते स्वनिरस्तभगे

When You exist, what value is there for people in relying on relatives, children, self, spouse, wealth, home, or chariots? For those who, ignorant of this, wander in pursuit of pleasure through union, who indeed finds happiness here, when their own share is denied and their own portion is lost?

भुवि पुरुपुण्यतीर्थसदनान्यृषयो विमदाः त उत भवत्पदाम्बुजहृदोऽघभिदङ्‌घ्रिजलाः । दधति सकृन्मनस्त्वयि य आत्मनि नित्यसुखे न पुनरुपासते पुरुषसारहरावसथान्

On earth, the sages, purified by visiting holy places and abodes, whose hearts are washed by the water from Your lotus feet, who fix their minds even once on You—the eternal bliss within—never again seek the abodes of those who rob men of their true essence.

सत इदं उत्थितं सदिति चेन्ननु तर्कहतं व्यभिचरति क्व च क्व च मृषा न तथोभययुक् । व्यवहृतये विकल्प इषितोऽन्धपरम्परया भ्रमयति भारती त उरुवृत्तिभिरुक्थजडान्

If one says, 'This arises from the existent,' then such reasoning is flawed, for it is inconsistent and sometimes false, not truly combining both. For practical dealings, distinctions are made, but these are passed down blindly, and speech, with its elaborate forms, confuses those who are dull-witted from ritual recitation.

न यदिदमग्र आस न भविष्यदतो निधनाद् अनु मितमन्तरा त्वयि विभाति मृषैकरसे । अत उपमीयते द्रविणजातिविकल्पपथैः वितथमनोविलासमृतमित्यवयन्त्यबुधाः

What did not exist before, and will not exist after dissolution, and is limited in between, appears in You as a mere illusion of one taste. Therefore, it is compared to distinctions of wealth or caste, but the wise understand that the play of the mind is false and its nectar is illusory.

स यदजया त्वजामनुशयीत गुणांश्च जुषन् भजति सरूपतां तदनु मृत्युमपेतभगः । त्वमुत जहासि तामहिरिव त्वचमात्तभगो महसि महीयसेऽष्टगुणितेऽपरिमेयभगः

When the soul, by association with the unborn, takes on qualities through contact with the uncreated, it attains similarity to that, and then, freed from death, is released from its portion. You, too, abandon that form, as a snake sheds its skin, and in Your supreme, immeasurable glory, You are eightfold greater and beyond all measure.

यदि न समुद्धरन्ति यतयो हृदि कामजटा दुरधिगमोऽसतां हृदि गतोऽस्मृतकण्ठमणिः । असुतृपयोगिनामुभयतोऽप्यसुखं भगवन्न् अनपगतान्तकादनधिरूढपदाद्‌भवतः

If the ascetics do not uproot the tangle of desire from the heart, then You, difficult to attain for the unworthy, remain hidden in the heart, like a jewel forgotten at the throat. For those who are not satisfied in soul, there is suffering on both sides—O Lord—since they have not reached Your state, free from death and firmly established.

त्वदवगमी न वेत्ति भवदुत्थशुभाशुभयोः गुणविगुणान्वयांस्तर्हि देहभृतां च गिरः । अनुयुगमन्वहं सगुण गीतपरम्परया श्रवणभृतो यतस्त्वमपवर्गगतिर्मनुजैः

One who does not know You, the source of all auspicious and inauspicious things, cannot discern the qualities and faults arising from You, nor the words of embodied beings. Yet, in every age, O Lord with qualities, You are sung in unbroken succession, and those who hear of You are led toward liberation by human beings.

द्युपतय एव ते न ययुरन्तमनन्ततया त्वमपि यदन्तराण्डनिचया ननु सावरणाः । ख इव रजांसि वान्ति वयसा सह यत् श्रुतयः त्वयि हि फलन्त्यतन्निरसनेन भवन्निधनाः

Even the rulers of heaven could not reach Your end, O Infinite One, nor could the groups of cosmic eggs, known as Sāvarṇas, that exist between You. Just as dust motes float in the sky with the wind, so too do the Vedas, along with time, pass away; but in You, they bear fruit, and by rejecting the unreal, they find their end in You.

श्रीभगवानुवाच - ( अनुष्टुप् ) इत्येतद्‌ब्रह्मणः पुत्रा आश्रुत्यात्मानुशासनम् । सनन्दनमथानर्चुः सिद्धा ज्ञात्वाऽऽत्मनो गतिम्

The Blessed Lord said: Thus, having heard this instruction from Brahma, his sons, the Siddhas, honored Sanandana, knowing the path of the Self.

इत्यशेषसमाम्नाय पुराणोपनिषद्रसः । समुद्धृतः पूर्वजातैः व्योमयानैर्महात्मभिः

Thus, the essence of all the Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads has been drawn out by the great souls of earlier times, traveling through the sky.

त्वं चैतद्‌ब्रह्मदायाद श्रद्धयाऽऽत्मानुशासनम् । धारयंश्चर गां कामं कामानां भर्जनं नृणाम्

And you, O heir of Brahma, bearing this instruction of the Self with faith, live on this earth as you wish, burning away the desires of men.

श्रीशुक उवाच - एवं स ऋषिणाऽऽदिष्टं गृहीत्वा श्रद्धयात्मवान् । पूर्णः श्रुतधरो राजन् आह वीरव्रतो मुनिः

Śrī Śuka said: Thus, having received the instruction from the sage with faith and self-control, the muni Vīravrata, full and learned, spoke.

श्रीनारद उवाच - नमस्तस्मै भगवते कृष्णायामलकीर्तये । यो धत्ते सर्वभूतानां अभवायोशतीः कलाः

Śrī Nārada said: Salutations to that Blessed Lord, Kṛṣṇa, of spotless fame, who bears all the powers of creation and destruction of all beings.

इत्याद्यमृषिमानम्य तच्छिष्यांश्च महात्मनः । ततोऽगाद् आश्रमं साक्षात् पितुर्द्वैपायनस्य मे

Thus, bowing to the ancient sage and his noble disciples, I then went to the ashram of my father, Dvaipāyana.

सभाजितो भगवता कृतासनपरिग्रहः । तस्मै तद् वर्णयामास नारायणमुखाच्छ्रुतम्

Honored by the Blessed Lord and having accepted a seat, he narrated to him that which he had heard from the mouth of Nārāyaṇa.

इत्येतद् वर्णितं राजन् यन्नः प्रश्नः कृतस्त्वया । यथा ब्रह्मण्यनिर्देश्ये नीऋगुणेऽपि मनश्चरेत्

Thus, O King, has been described that which you asked us—how the mind may dwell upon Brahman, who is beyond definition and without qualities.