Bhagavata Purana

अम्बा च हतपुत्राऽऽर्ता पितृव्यः क्व गतः सुहृत् । अपि मय्यकृतप्रज्ञे हतबन्धुः स भार्यया । आशंसमानः शमलं गङ्‌गायां दुःखितोऽपतत्

'And where is mother, grieving for her slain sons? Where has my uncle, our friend, gone? Perhaps, thinking me lacking in wisdom and now bereft of kin, he has, with his wife, sought the Ganga, hoping for relief from sorrow,' he wondered, falling into distress.

पितर्युपरते पाण्डौ सर्वान्नः सुहृदः शिशून् । अरक्षतां व्यसनतः पितृव्यौ क्व गतावितः

'After our father Pandu passed away, our uncles protected all our friends and children from calamity. Where have those protectors gone now, leaving us behind?'

सूत उवाच । कृपया स्नेहवैक्लव्यात् सूतो विरहकर्शितः । आत्मेश्वरमचक्षाणो न प्रत्याहातिपीडितः

Suta said: Out of compassion and the pain of separation, Suta, overwhelmed and unable to see the Lord within himself, could not reply, being deeply afflicted.

विमृज्याश्रूणि पाणिभ्यां विष्टभ्यात्मानमात्मना । अजातशत्रुं प्रत्यूचे प्रभोः पादावनुस्मरन्

Wiping his tears with his hands and steadying himself, Sanjaya answered Ajatashatru, remembering the feet of the Lord.

सञ्जय उवाच । नाहं वेद व्यवसितं पित्रोर्वः कुलनन्दन । गान्धार्या वा महाबाहो मुषितोऽस्मि महात्मभिः

Sanjaya said: O delight of your lineage, I do not know the decision of your parents or of Gandhari, O mighty-armed one; I have been deceived by these great souls.

अथाजगाम भगवान् नारदः सहतुम्बुरुः । प्रत्युत्थायाभिवाद्याह सानुजोऽभ्यर्चयन् मुनिम्

Then the venerable sage Narada arrived with Tumburu. Rising to greet and honor him, Yudhishthira and his brothers worshipped the sage.

युधिष्ठिर उवाच । नाहं वेद गतिं पित्रोः भगवन् क्व गतावितः । अम्बा वा हतपुत्रार्ता क्व गता च तपस्विनी

Yudhishthira said: O revered one, I do not know where my parents have gone, nor where my mother, grieving for her slain sons and devoted to austerity, has departed.

कर्णधार इवापारे भगवान् पारदर्शकः । अथाबभाषे भगवान् नारदो मुनिसत्तमः

Then, like a helmsman who shows the way across the sea, the illustrious sage Narada, best among sages, spoke.

यथा गावो नसि प्रोताः तन्त्यां बद्धाः स्वदामभिः । वाक्तन्त्यां नामभिर्बद्धा वहन्ति बलिमीशितुः

Just as cows, tied by their own ropes to a stake, are bound by a cord, so too are beings bound by names and words, carrying out the offerings for the Lord.

यथा क्रीडोपस्कराणां संयोगविगमाविह । इच्छया क्रीडितुः स्यातां तथैवेशेच्छया नृणाम्

Just as the coming together and separation of playthings depend on the will of the player, so too do the unions and separations of people occur by the will of the Lord.

यन्मन्यसे ध्रुवं लोकं अध्रुवं वा न चोभयम् । सर्वथा न हि शोच्यास्ते स्नेहात् अन्यत्र मोहजात्

What you consider as permanent or impermanent in this world is neither truly so; in any case, they are not to be grieved for, except due to attachment born of delusion.

तस्माज्जह्यङ्‌ग वैक्लव्यं अज्ञानकृतमात्मनः । कथं त्वनाथाः कृपणा वर्तेरंस्ते च मां विना

Therefore, O dear one, give up this weakness of heart, born of ignorance. How could those helpless and pitiable ones survive without me?

कालकर्म गुणाधीनो देहोऽयं पाञ्चभौतिकः । कथमन्यांस्तु गोपायेत् सर्पग्रस्तो यथा परम्

This body, composed of the five elements, is subject to time, action, and the modes of nature. How can one protect others, just as someone seized by a serpent cannot save another?

अहस्तानि सहस्तानां अपदानि चतुष्पदाम् । फल्गूनि तत्र महतां जीवो जीवस्य जीवनम्

The handless are food for the handed, the footless for the four-footed; among all, the weak are the sustenance of the strong—life lives upon life.

तदिदं भगवान् राजन् एक आत्मात्मनां स्वदृक् । अन्तरोऽनन्तरो भाति पश्य तं माययोरुधा

O King, that Supreme Lord, who is the one Self of all selves and perceives Himself by Himself, dwells both within and without; see Him, who appears through the power of His own illusion.

सोऽयमद्य महाराज भगवान् भूतभावनः । कालरूपोऽवतीर्णोऽस्यां अभावाय सुरद्विषाम्

This very Lord, O great King, the creator and sustainer of beings, has now descended in the form of Time, to bring about the destruction of the enemies of the gods.

निष्पादितं देवकृत्यं अवशेषं प्रतीक्षते । तावद् यूयं अवेक्षध्वं भवेद् यावदिहेश्वरः

The divine task has been accomplished; now He awaits what remains to be done. Until then, you all should observe, as long as the Lord remains here.

धृतराष्ट्रः सह भ्रात्रा गान्धार्या च स्वभार्यया । दक्षिणेन हिमवत ऋषीणां आश्रमं गतः

Dhritarashtra, together with his brother and Gandhari his wife, has gone south of the Himalayas to the hermitage of the sages, accompanied by his own wife.

स्रोतोभिः सप्तभिर्या वै स्वर्धुनी सप्तधा व्यधात् । सप्तानां प्रीतये नाना सप्तस्रोतः प्रचक्षते

That river, the celestial Ganga, divided herself into seven streams by seven channels, for the pleasure of the seven sages; thus she is called the river of seven streams.

स्नात्वानुसवनं तस्मिन् हुत्वा चाग्नीन्यथाविधि । अब्भक्ष उपशान्तात्मा स आस्ते विगतैषणः

There, after bathing at the proper times and offering oblations into the fire according to the prescribed rules, he lives on water alone, with a tranquil mind, free from all desires.

जितासनो जितश्वासः प्रत्याहृतषडिन्द्रियः । हरिभावनया ध्वस्तः अजःसत्त्वतमोमलः

Having conquered posture and breath, withdrawn his six senses, and destroyed the impurity of passion and ignorance through meditation on Hari, he has become pure in the mode of goodness.

विज्ञानात्मनि संयोज्य क्षेत्रज्ञे प्रविलाप्य तम् । ब्रह्मण्यात्मानमाधारे घटाम्बरमिवाम्बरे

Merging the mind into knowledge, dissolving the knower of the field into the Self, and placing the Self in Brahman, as space within a pot merges into the sky, he abides.

ध्वस्तमायागुणोदर्को निरुद्धकरणाशयः । निवर्तिताखिलाहार आस्ते स्थाणुरिवाचलः । तस्यान्तरायो मैवाभूः सन्न्यस्ताखिलकर्मणः

With the residue of illusion and its qualities destroyed, with the senses and mind restrained, having given up all food, he remains unmoving like a pillar. Let there be no obstacle for him, who has renounced all actions.

स वा अद्यतनाद् राजन् परतः पञ्चमेऽहनि । कलेवरं हास्यति स्वं तच्च भस्मीभविष्यति

O King, from today, on the fifth day hence, he will abandon his body, and it will be reduced to ashes.

दह्यमानेऽग्निभिर्देहे पत्युः पत्‍नी सहोटजे । बहिः स्थिता पतिं साध्वी तमग्निमनु वेक्ष्यति

As the body of her husband burns in the fire, the faithful wife, together with her brother-in-law, will stand outside, gazing upon her husband as he enters the flames.

विदुरस्तु तदाश्चर्यं निशाम्य कुरुनन्दन । हर्षशोकयुतस्तस्माद् गन्ता तीर्थनिषेवकः

Hearing this astonishing news, O descendant of the Kurus, Vidura, filled with both joy and sorrow, will depart from there to visit holy places.

इत्युक्त्वाथारुहत् स्वर्गं नारदः सहतुम्बुरुः । युधिष्ठिरो वचस्तस्य हृदि कृत्वाजहाच्छुचः

Having spoken thus, Narada, together with Tumburu, ascended to heaven. Yudhishthira, holding his words in his heart, gave up his grief.

किमेतद् अद्‍भुतमिव वासुदेवेऽखिलात्मनि । व्रजस्य सात्मनस्तोकेषु अपूर्वं प्रेम वर्धते

What is this, that seems so wonderful? In Vasudeva, the Soul of all, unprecedented love is increasing among the people of Vraja and their children.

यत्र नैसर्गदुर्वैराः सहासन् नृमृगादयः । मित्राणीवाजितावास द्रुतरुट्तर्षकादिकम्

There, natural enemies such as men and beasts lived together like friends, in that land where the unconquered Lord resided, along with swift deer and other creatures.