Bhagavata Purana

यत्र धर्मसुतो राजा गदापाणिर्वृकोदरः । कृष्णोऽस्त्री गाण्डिवं चापं सुहृत् कृष्णः ततो विपत्

Where the son of Dharma is king, Bhima wields the mace, Krishna holds the Gandiva bow, and Krishna is your friend—how can there be adversity?

न ह्यस्य कर्हिचित् राजन् पुमान् वेद विधित्सितम् । यत् विजिज्ञासया युक्ता मुह्यन्ति कवयोऽपि हि

O King, no one ever knows His intention; even those endowed with inquiry are bewildered by it, as are the wise.

तस्मात् इदं दैवतंत्रं व्यवस्य भरतर्षभ । तस्यानुविहितोऽनाथा नाथ पाहि प्रजाः प्रभो

Therefore, O best of the Bharatas, understand this to be the arrangement of destiny; being thus ordained, O protectorless one, you, as the lord, protect the people.

एष वै भगवान् साक्षात् आद्यो नारायणः पुमान् । मोहयन् मायया लोकं गूढश्चरति वृष्णिषु

This indeed is Bhagavan Himself, the original Narayana, who, concealing Himself among the Vrishnis, moves about, bewildering the world by His maya.

अस्यानुभावं भगवान् वेद गुह्यतमं शिवः । देवर्षिर्नारदः साक्षात् भगवान् कपिलो नृप

His most secret power is known by Bhagavan Shiva, the divine sage Narada, and Bhagavan Kapila, O King.

यं मन्यसे मातुलेयं प्रियं मित्रं सुहृत्तमम् । अकरोः सचिवं दूतं सौहृदादथ सारथिम्

He whom you consider your maternal cousin, dear friend, best well-wisher, whom you made your minister, messenger, and charioteer out of affection—

सर्वात्मनः समदृशो ह्यद्वयस्यानहङ्कृतेः । तत्कृतं मतिवैषम्यं निरवद्यस्य न क्वचित्

For the one who is the soul of all, who sees all equally, who is nondual and free from ego, there is never any fault in the differences He causes in people's minds.

तथाप्येकान्तभक्तेषु पश्य भूपानुकम्पितम् । यत् मे असून् त्यजतः साक्षात् कृष्णो दर्शनमागतः

Yet, see, O King, His compassion for those with exclusive devotion: as I am giving up my life, Krishna Himself has come before me.

भक्त्यावेश्य मनो यस्मिन् वाचा यन्नाम कीर्तयन् । त्यजन् कलेवरं योगी मुच्यते कामकर्मभिः

The yogi who, with devotion, fixes his mind upon Him and utters His name with his voice, is freed from desires and actions when he leaves his body.

(वंशस्थ) स देवदेवो भगवान् प्रतीक्षतां कलेवरं यावदिदं हिनोम्यहम् । प्रसन्नहासारुणलोचनोल्लसन् मुखाम्बुजो ध्यानपथश्चतुर्भुजः

May that Lord of gods, Bhagavan, wait until I relinquish this body; He, with a smiling face, reddish eyes, radiant lotus-like countenance, and four arms, stands before me as the path of my meditation.

सूत उवाच । (अनुष्टुप्) युधिष्ठिरः तत् आकर्ण्य शयानं शरपञ्जरे । अपृच्छत् विविधान् धर्मान् ऋषीणां चानुश्रृण्वताम्

Sūta said: Yudhiṣṭhira, having heard this, questioned the one lying upon the bed of arrows about various duties, as the sages listened attentively.

पुरुषस्वभावविहितान् यथावर्णं यथाश्रमम् । वैराग्यरागोपाधिभ्यां आम्नातोभयलक्षणान्

He asked about duties prescribed for people according to their nature, class, and stage of life, and about the characteristics of both detachment and attachment as taught in the scriptures.

दानधर्मान् राजधर्मान् मोक्षधर्मान् विभागशः । स्त्रीधर्मान् भगवद्धर्मान् समासव्यास योगतः

He inquired, in summary and detail, about the duties of charity, kingship, liberation, women, and devotion to God, as well as their divisions and yogic aspects.

धर्मार्थकाममोक्षांश्च सहोपायान् यथा मुने । नानाख्यानेतिहासेषु वर्णयामास तत्त्ववित्

The sage, knowing the truth, described to him the aims of dharma, wealth, desire, and liberation, along with their means, as found in various stories and histories.

धर्मं प्रवदतस्तस्य स कालः प्रत्युपस्थितः । यो योगिनः छन्दमृत्योः वाञ्छितस्तु उत्तरायणः

As he was expounding on dharma, that auspicious time arrived—the time desired by yogis who wish for death at will, the northern course.

(वंशस्थ) तदोपसंहृत्य गिरः सहस्रणीः विमुक्तसङ्गं मन आदिपूरुषे । कृष्णे लसत्पीतपटे चतुर्भुजे पुरः स्थितेऽमीलित दृग् व्यधारयत्

Then, withdrawing his speech, which had flowed like a thousand streams, he fixed his mind, free from all attachments, upon the Primeval Person—upon Kṛṣṇa, shining in yellow garments, four-armed, standing before him, with eyes unblinking.

विशुद्धया धारणया हताशुभः तदीक्षयैवाशु गतायुधश्रमः । निवृत्त सर्वेन्द्रिय वृत्ति विभ्रमः तुष्टाव जन्यं विसृजन् जनार्दनम्

With pure concentration, all inauspiciousness destroyed, and the fatigue of battle gone just by beholding Him, with all the activities of his senses ceased, he praised Janārdana, the creator, as he was about to depart.

श्रीभीष्म उवाच । (पुष्पिताग्रा) इति मतिरुपकल्पिता वितृष्णा भगवति सात्वतपुङ्गवे विभूम्नि । स्वसुखमुपगते क्वचित् विहर्तुं प्रकृतिमुपेयुषि यद्‍भवप्रवाहः

Śrī Bhīṣma said: Thus, my mind, freed from thirst, is established in the Lord, the foremost of the Sātvatas, the all-pervading one, who, having attained His own bliss, sometimes enters into the world of nature, from which the flow of birth arises.

त्रिभुवनकमनं तमालवर्णं रविकरगौरवराम्बरं दधाने । वपुरलककुलावृत आननाब्जं विजयसखे रतिरस्तु मेऽनवद्या

May my pure love be fixed upon Him, the delight of the three worlds, dark as a tamāla tree, adorned with garments shining like the rays of the sun, whose form is encircled by curling locks, and whose lotus face is the friend of Arjuna.

युधि तुरगरजो विधूम्र विष्वक् कचलुलितश्रमवारि अलङ्कृतास्ये । मम निशितशरैर्विभिद्यमान त्वचि विलसत्कवचेऽस्तु कृष्ण आत्मा

In battle, with His face adorned by sweat from exertion, His hair dusted by the smoke of horses, His armor gleaming as His skin was pierced by my sharp arrows—may Kṛṣṇa, my true self, be present for me.

सपदि सखिवचो निशम्य मध्ये निजपरयोर्बलयो रथं निवेश्य । स्थितवति परसैनिकायुरक्ष्णा हृतवति पार्थसखे रतिर्ममास्तु

Hearing the words of His friend in the midst of battle, He placed the chariot between the two armies; as He stood protecting the lives of the enemy soldiers, may my love be fixed on Pārtha's friend, who took away their strength.

व्यवहित पृतनामुखं निरीक्ष्य स्वजनवधात् विमुखस्य दोषबुद्ध्या । कुमतिम अहरत् आत्मविद्यया यः चश्चरणरतिः परमस्य तस्य मेऽस्तु

Seeing the opposing army and, out of a sense of fault, turning away from killing his own kin, He dispelled Arjuna's confusion with knowledge of the Self—may I have supreme devotion to His lotus feet.

स्वनिगममपहाय मत्प्रतिज्ञां ऋतमधि कर्तुमवप्लुतो रथस्थः । धृतरथ चरणोऽभ्ययात् चलद्‍गुः हरिरिव हन्तुमिभं गतोत्तरीयः

Abandoning His own vow to fulfill mine, He leapt from the chariot, His upper garment falling, and rushed forward, whip in hand, like Hari advancing to slay an elephant.

शितविशिखहतो विशीर्णदंशः क्षतजपरिप्लुत आततायिनो मे । प्रसभं अभिससार मद्वधार्थं स भवतु मे भगवान् गतिर्मुकुन्दः

Pierced by sharp arrows, my bow shattered, my body drenched in blood, the aggressor rushed upon me to kill me—may that Lord Mukunda be my refuge.

विजयरथकुटुम्ब आत्ततोत्रे धृतहयरश्मिनि तत् श्रियेक्षणीये । भगवति रतिरस्तु मे मुमूर्षोः यमिह निरीक्ष्य हता गताः स्वरूपम्

May my devotion, at the time of death, be fixed upon that Lord, the beauty of whom is to be seen as He stands on Arjuna's chariot, holding the reins and whip, whom those slain here, upon seeing, attained their true form.

ललित गति विलास वल्गुहास प्रणय निरीक्षण कल्पितोरुमानाः । कृतमनुकृतवत्य उन्मदान्धाः प्रकृतिमगन् किल यस्य गोपवध्वः

The cowherd women, their movements graceful, their laughter charming, their sidelong glances full of love and feigned anger, imitated His playful acts in madness and blindness, for they were absorbed in His very nature.

मुनिगण नृपवर्यसङ्कुलेऽन्तः सदसि युधिष्ठिर राजसूय एषाम् । अर्हणं उपपेद ईक्षणीयो मम दृशिगोचर एष आविरात्मा

In the royal assembly at Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya sacrifice, surrounded by sages and kings, he alone was worthy of worship and became visible to my eyes—he who reveals his true self to me.

तमिममहमजं शरीरभाजां हृदि हृदि धिष्ठितमात्म कल्पितानाम् । प्रतिदृशमिव नैकधार्कमेकं समधिगतोऽस्मि विधूत भेदमोहः

I have now realized that unborn One, present in the hearts of all embodied beings, who is conceived differently by each according to their mind, just as the one sun appears manifold in many reflections; my delusion of difference has been dispelled.

सूत उवाच । (अनुष्टुप्) कृष्ण एवं भगवति मनोवाक् दृष्टिवृत्तिभिः । आत्मनि आत्मानमावेश्य सोऽन्तःश्वास उपारमत्

Sūta said: Thus, fixing his mind, speech, and sight on Lord Kṛṣṇa, and absorbing his self in the Supreme Self, he drew in his breath and became still.