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2024-04-26, 1:24 PM |
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Chapter
5: The Fifth
and Sixth Manu and the Prayers of
Brahmâ with the Suras
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'Oh
King, I have described to you this
[story] which
drives away all impurity about the action of the Lord
delivering the pious Gajendra. Now hear
about the time of Raivata Manu. (2) The fifth Manu known as Raivata was the brother of
Tâmasa and his sons were Bali, Vindhya and others with Arjuna as
the eldest one. (3) Vibhu ruled the heavens [as the Indra] oh
King, the
Bhûtarayas and others were the gods and Hiranyaromâ, Vedas'irâ,
Ûrdhvabâhu and others were the twice-born ones [the seven sages]. (4) From S'ubhra
and his wife Vikunthhâ, Vaikunthha appeared, the Supreme Lord in person, together with the God-conscious followers
of
the Truth named the Vaikunthhas as His expansions. (5) Just to please the Goddess of
Fortune, He upon
her request and to the appreciation of all, built a world free from
carelessness, [another] Vaikunthha.
(6) If
someone would try to enumerate His exploits, qualities and
transcendental glories such a person would count as many transcendental qualities of Vishnu as
there are particles of dust.
(7) The sixth
Manu was Câkshusha, the son of Cakshu and his sons were Pûru,
Pûrusha, Sudyumna and others after them. (8) Mantradruma
was
the
heavenly
king
during
that
period,
the
gods
were
the Âpyas
and so on and Havishmân,
Vîraka and others were the
sages, oh King. (9) From Vairâja and his wife
Devasambhûti there was in
that period a son named Ajita who
was a partial incarnation [an ams'a-avatâra] of the Lord,
the Master of the Universe. (10) When
the ocean [of milk] was
churned, He, as Kûrma residing in the water in the form of a
tortoise, with the left and
right movements of Mandara
Mountain [on His back], produced the nectar for the Suras.'
(11-12) S'rî
Parîkchit
said: 'Oh brahmin for what purpose was the ocean of milk churned with
the mountain, why did He reside in the water as a
tortoise and what came along with the nectar that the godly ones thus
obtained? Please be so kind to describe all these so very
wonderful activities of the Supreme Lord. (13) My heart for so long
suffering the misery
[of
a material existence] is not yet fully satisfied with you
describing the glories of the Master of the Devotees.' "
(14) S'rî Sûta Gosvâmî said: "The
great son
of Vyâsadeva thus being requested oh dear twice-born souls,
complimented him
and began to describe the heroism of the Lord. (15-16) S'rî
S'uka
said:
'When
the
godly ones were besieged by the Asuras who fought them
with
their sharp edged weapons, the majority of them had fallen [on the
battlefield] so that they
could not rise to their feet again. Because sage Durvâsâ
had
cursed Indra and his three worlds [*] oh King, they [who had survived] were all
poverty-stricken and
could not perform the rituals and ceremonies any longer. (17-18) The
Suras, the
great Indra, Varuna and
the other demigods who saw what took place, engaged in a discussion but
could by themselves not reach a satisfactory conclusion. They then went
to
the assembly of Lord Brahmâ on top of mount Meru, offered him their obeisances and informed him
about it all. (19-20) When the almighty Lord
Brahmâ, saw how Indra, Vâyu and the rest were
bereft of their significance and power of expression and how the
three worlds were plunged
in ill fortune while the Asuras were flourishing, he focussed his
attention
by calling to mind the Original Person in the beyond and bright-faced
addressed the godly ones: (21) 'I,
Lord
S'iva, you all, as
also all the demons, the human beings, the animals,
the trees, the plants, the insects and the germs all generated
from
Him, from His partial incarnation [from me]
and from all the ones who are a part of me [the sages and such]. Let us
all seek our refuge in the Inexhaustible One. (22) As
for Him no one should be
killed or be protected, no one should be neglected or be followed.
Nevertheless He, at times [as an
avatâra] siding with passion, goodness or ignorance, accepts it to be of
creation, maintenance and annihilation [see also B.G. 9:
29 and 4:
8]. (23) It is now time to establish, for
the welfare of all living beings, His rule of maintenance in the mode
of
goodness. Let us thus take to the shelter of the Teacher of the
Universe. May He so full of affection for His people - us the Suras - bring
the good fortune we crave for [see
B.G.
14 and 18].'
(24) S'rî
S'uka
said:
'The
Lord of the Veda thus talking to the Suras oh subduer of the
enemies, went together with the gods directly to the abode of [Vishnu]
the Invincible One beyond the
world of darkness. (25) There, unto Him whose form cannot be
seen but about whom all of the Veda speaks, the master
of the gods uttered the divine prayer the vibrations of which then settled the
rule over the senses. (26)
S'rî
Brahmâ said: 'The Unchanging One, the Truth Unlimited, the
Original Cause in everyone's heart, the Undiminishing, Inconceivable,
Evanescent, Intangible and Indescribable One, the Unsurpassed and
Greatest Godhead most
desirable, we gods all do offer our obeisances [compare 6.3: 20-21
and
B.G. 15: 15 and 9: 4]. (27) I
seek my refuge in the Supreme Spirit of the life force, mind and
intelligence of all living beings, the One ever vigilant to everything
objective, the senses and the knowledge, the One immaculate, impartial
shelter and light of all the ones in darkness, in Him the infallible
Lord of the ether of all the three Yugas [in the fourth He is there
as His own devotee]. (28) Let
us offer our
obeisances to the truth of Him, whom
one
considers
the
axle
of Lord Brahmâ's lightning fast revolving, sacred
wheel of Time with its fifteen
spokes [the knowing and working senses and
the five airs], three naves [the modes] and eight
segments [the five elements, mind, false ego and intelligence] that
feed one's thought process
[compare 3.21: 18, 7.9:
21, 5.21: 13
and B.G. 18:
61]. (29) He
admits to one
cause [that of goodness] and is transcendental to the material
darkness. He who is not manifested, cannot be located, is unlimited and
beyond all measure, is carried by Garuda [the Vedic verses] on
his back and is by
the
unperturbed and sober person worshiped with the vehicle of
yoga [see also 4.3:
23]. (30) No
one can defeat His
illusory energy of mâyâ.
People in general being bewildered by that energy do not understand the
real purpose of life. We offer Him our respects who is in control of
the self and its material qualities [mâyâ], Him
ruling all living beings who
is the
transcendental controller equal unto all. (31) You,
being present inside and outside
and kindly disposed towards us [the
gods]
who
rely
on
a
body
created
from
goodness,
cannot [even] be understood by the saints
and sages for being this most subtle destination. And how could the demons and atheists who follow a different lead understand [this
purpose]? (32) This
earth that He created
together with the four types of living beings He gave life to [as born from wombs, eggs,
moist and seed, see also 2.10:
37-40],
constitutes His lotus feet. May He, the Absolute Truth, the independent
Supreme Personality, be merciful unto us. (33) The
three worlds including all their local rulers flourish on the water that, as His semen, is so powerful in generating all life. May He, the one of the greatest might, be
pleased
with us. (34) They
[the scholars] say that Soma,
the moon, is His
mind, the strength of the denizens of heaven, of the food grains and
of the duration of life. May He, the Supreme Lord who makes the trees
and all
other living entities grow, may that source of all opulence be happy
with us [see also 2.10: 30 and 6.6: 24-26]. (35) The
fire that
consumes all the elements [of the food]
within the stomach and in the depths of the ocean, provides engaged in
ritualistic ceremonies as His mouth all wealth and Vedic knowledge. May
that All-Powerful Lord be pleased with us [see also B.G. 3: 10]. (36) He
whose eye became the deity of
the sun who leads the God-conscious ones on their threefold Vedic path,
who is the gate for the realization of the nectar of eternity, the
Absolute
Truth and one's liberation and also constitutes the cause of
one's death, may that
All-Powerful Lord be contented with us [see also 2.1:
30, B.G. 7:
8, 10:
21 and 11:
19]. (37) By
following His life force, His
breath in all
moving and not moving living entities, by following that prâna,
that vital air, as the
basic principle like subjects who follow an emperor, one finds
all the strength and vitality. May He, the All-powerful Lord be
satisfied with
us. (38) His
ears constitute
the different directions, from His heart the [nine] apertures of the
body were generated and the navel of the Original Person constitutes
the
refuge of the ether for the life breath, the senses, the mind and the
breathing process of the body. May the Almighty Lord have mercy with us
[2.1:
27 and 29]. (39) His
strength
constitutes the great
Indra, His contentment constitutes His servants in all the three
worlds, from His anger there is the Master on the Mountain [Lord S'iva]
and from His sober mind Viriñca originated [Lord Brahmâ].
From the
apertures of His body de mantras sprouted while from His genitals the
saints and founding fathers found their existence. May we carry the
approval of the Powerful Lord. (40) His
chest produced the Goddess of Fortune, His shadow constitutes the ancestors,
religion became
possible from His front and irreligion could find its existence from
His back. The higher worlds are there from the top of His head and from His sense enjoyment the dancing girls of
heaven are found. May He, the greatest One of all
prowess, be pleased with us. (41) The
ones of learning
[the brahmins], the Vedic
literatures and
His confidential knowledge are
there from His mouth, the administrators [kshatriyas] with their
power are there from His arms, from His thighs there are
the traders [the vais'yas, see also 2.1:
37] including their
know-how
and from His feet there are the workers [s'ûdras]
unconcerned
about
the Veda. May He so Supremely Powerful be satisfied with us all [see also 12.11: 6-8]. (42) Greed
is there from His
lower lip and affection from His upper lip, from His nose there is the
bodily
luster
and
from
His
touch
animalistic
love
manifested.
From
His
brows
there is the Lord of Death [Yamarâja] but from
His eyelashes there is eternal Time. May He, the One of all
Prowess, be favorably disposed towards us. (43) The
material
elements, their weaver [kâla, time], fruitive labor
[karma], the modes of nature [the gunas] and the individual
differences brought about by His
creative potency [yoga-mâyâ],
constitute
a
difficult to fathom completeness from which the great
sages turn away [in their aversion against the delusional quality
of
the material world]. May He,
the Controller of All and Everything, be contented with us. (44) Let
there be our respectful
obeisances unto Him the Soul of all souls who, free from endeavoring in not depending
on
a
profit
motive, is
of peace, unto Him who just like the ether does not attach to matters
of the external energy that, ruled by the natural modes, incites the
senses. (45) Can
You
please
show
us
Your
original
form
so
that we see You clearly before us? We who surrendered ourselves
to
You would like to see Your smiling lotus face. (46) Oh
Almighty One, You in different
incarnations time
after time personally appearing in different forms according to Your
desire, engage in
uncommon activities because of which You are the Supreme Lord to us [B.G. 4:
7]. (47) For
embodied souls who want to enjoy
there are many obstacles and little results, so that one's actions lead
to
nothing. But that is not true for those who are devoted to You. (48) Not
even
the
slightest activity properly performed [for Your sake] is in vain,
because being
dedicated to the Controller [who is the Time] You are realized as the
Original Soul friendly and beneficial to all
persons. (49)
The way one by watering the
root of a tree also waters the trunk and the branches, it is also with
the worship of Vishnu, the Soul of everyone [see also 4.31: 14]. (50) I
offer you my obeisances oh Lord of Eternity, oh worker of the wonders
of a higher
existence, oh Controller of the Modes who are now established in
goodness.'
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