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2024-03-28, 8:46 PM |
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Chapter 16: Aditi
Initiated
into the Payo-vrata
Ceremony, the Best of All Sacrifices
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'As soon as her sons thus had yielded to the
Daityas, their mother Aditi began
to lament helplessly over the loss of the heavenly kingdom. (2) When one day the mighty sage Kas'yapa [her
husband] after a long time came out of his samâdhi [yogic
trance], he went to her quarters that he found sad and joyless. (3) After
he respectfully was welcomed by Aditi and had accepted a sitting place,
he addressed her thoughtful of her depression as follows oh
best of the Kurus. (4) 'Has something unfortunate happened in
relation to the brahmins oh gentle one or do you have difficulty with the dharma in the world of today or with the people around you who are
subjected to the whims of death? (5)
Or, my dearest princess, has something gone awry with the religion,
the finances or the fulfillment of your desires in this household life
which even joins those who fail to do yoga? (6) Or were there perhaps unexpected guests in
your home, overly attached family members whom you could not offer a
proper welcome and then walked out on you? (7)
A home that not even welcomes uninvited guests by offering them
a glass of water is, abandoned by them, nothing more than a jackal's
den. (8) Or have you during
the time of my absence oh finest one, out of a sad mind forgotten about
your oblations of ghee in the fire, my sweet wife? (9)
When an attached householder
is of worship, when he performs pûjâ, he will
achieve the
fulfillment of all his desires and attain heaven, for it are the
brahmins and the fire that are the mouth of Vishnu, of Him who is the
heart and soul of all God-conscious people [compare B.G. 9:
26]. (10) Are your sons all faring well oh broadminded
lady? I can tell that you are worrying about something.'
(11) S'rî Aditi said: 'Oh
brahmin, all is well
with the twice-born ones, the cows, the dharma and the people around
me.
Your household is the best place for caring about
the three goals of life [kâma, artha, dharma] my dear
husband. (12)
The fire, the guests, the servants and the beggars were all treated as
should. By constantly thinking of you oh brahmin master, nothing was
missed. (13) Oh my lord, what desire of mine would
not be fulfilled with in my heart your good self as the founding father and the reminder of
dharma? (14) Even though the Supreme Controller takes
care of the devotees [especially] oh
my
lord, you in your goodness,
from the Asura on, are equal-minded towards each who originating from
either your body or your mind, is gifted with one of the three
qualities of goodness, passion or slowness oh son of Marîci
[compare
B.G.
4: 11
and 9: 29].
(15) Therefore oh controller, consider the
welfare of me, your servitor. We are now oh gentle one, because of our
enemies bereft of our opulence and residence. Please protect us oh
master! (16) Exiled by the very same powerful enemies
that took away all of our opulence, beauty, reputation and homes, I
have
drowned in an ocean of trouble. (17)
Oh
saintly man, best of our
well-wishers, be so kind to consider our good fortune so that my offspring may regain all that
we have lost.'
(18) S'rî S'uka said: 'This way being
beseeched by Aditi he said with a smile to her: 'Oh how powerful is
this mâyâ of Vishnu because of which the entire
world is caught in emotional bondage. (19) What is this material body made of the
elements? It is not the soul.
And what is this soul transcendental to the material world? Who are
they, the husband and the children [to whom one is tied] because of
one's bewilderment [see B.G. 2:
13, 5.5:
1, 7.5:
31]? (20) Exercise
respect
for
Vâsudeva,
the
spiritual
master
of
the
entire
world,
the
Original
Person
Janârdana,
He
who,
residing
in
the
core
of
everyone's heart, defeats all enemies. (21) He,
the Lord merciful
to the poor will fulfill your desires. I think that nothing compares to the
devotional service unto the
Supreme Lord, it never fails [see also 2.3:
10].'
(22) S'rî
Aditi said: 'Oh
brahmin what are
the rules I have to follow to please
the Lord of the Universe so that what I would like by His grace actually will be fulfilled
[see also B.G. 7:
16]? (23) Oh
husband, oh best of the twice-born ones, teach me the vidhi,
the
regulative
principles
[or
method] for
making sacrifices for the Lord [see
1.17: 24 and 3.11: 21], so that the Godhead
will soon be
pleased with me, now lamenting with all my sons.'
(24) S'rî Kas'yapa said: 'I will explain to
you the code of conduct that
satisfies Kes'ava and about which the almighty
one born on the lotus [Brahmâ] spoke when I, desiring to beget
offspring, asked him this question [see B.G. 4: 2].
(25) During
the bright half of the month Phâlguna [February/March] one should
for twelve days [till
Dvâdas'î] respect the vow to drink only milk [payo-vrata]
and filled with supreme devotion, be of worship unto the Lotus eyed One [see also 7.5: 23-24]. (26) When the moon is dark one should smear
oneself with the dirt dug up by a boar - if available - and enter
a stream
of water chanting this mantra: (27)
'Oh
divine mother [earth], you were lifted from the bottom of the
ocean on the tusk of Lord
Varâha who
was
looking for a footing [see 3.13: 30]. Can
you please wash away all my sins [and their reactions]? I offer you my
obeisances.' (28) After
having
finished the daily observances, the Divinity should be
worshiped
in one's shrine with full attention for the deities
[see also 7.14: 39-40], the altar, the sun, the water, the fire and the guru
[see also 7.14: 39-40]: (29) 'I
offer my respectful obeisances unto You oh Supreme Lord, oh Original
Personality and Best One of All residing in the heart of all living
beings, oh
Vâsudeva, omnipresent witness. (30) My reverence unto You, the Unseen One, the
Transcendental Person of the Primal Reality, the knower of the
twenty-four elements [see glossary] and the original cause of the analytic order of yoga. (31) My respects unto You, the Enjoyer of the
three types of rituals [of karma, jñâna and upâsanâ
or bhakti, or fruitive work, spiritual knowledge and devotional
service] with Your two heads [of prâyanîya and
udâyanîya, the beginning and the end of the
sacrifices], three legs [savana-traya, the three daily soma
libations to solar time], four protruding horns [the Vedas to the bull
of dharma] and seven hands [the chandas, ways of pleasing,
mantras like the Gâyatrî, see also 5.21: 15], my obeisances unto the embodiment of all knowledge. (32) I honor You appearing as S'iva or Rudra, You
as the reservoir of all potencies and all insight. My obeisances unto
the
Supreme Master of all living beings. (33)
My reverence for You as
Hiranyagarbha [Brahmâ], the source of all life and
the Supersoul of the Universe, I bow for You, the cause of
the unification of consciousness in Yoga. (34) My esteem for You, the Original Godhead and
Overseer of all. I offer You my respects who as
Nara-Nârâyana Rishi assumed the form of a human
being, that
Lord I offer my obeisances. (35)
You,
as blackish as a marakata gem [a kind of emerald], You the Controller
of Lakshmî and the Killer of Kes'î, You clad in yellow,
I again and again offer my respects. (36) You
are to all entities the Bestower of all
Benedictions, the Most Worshipable One and the Best of all Blessings
and for that reason wise people worship the dust of Your
feet as the source of all happiness. (37) He for whose sake all the gods and the Goddess of Fortune
desirous of the fragrance
of His lotus feet are engaged in
devotional service, may He, the Supreme Lord, be pleased with me.'
(38)
By chanting these mantras, one should with
faith and devotion be engaged in calling for the Master of the
Senses Hrishîkes'a and honor Him in
every respect with the help of the necessities of worship. (39)
This
way honoring Him with incense, flowers, etc., one should bathe the Almighty One with
milk and dress Him and give Him a sacred thread and ornaments. After
touching
[or offering] the water for washing the lotus feet one should
[again], with
fragrance and smoke and
such, be of
worship with the twelve-syllable mantra [ 'om namo bhagavate
vâsudevâya' see also 6.8: 3 and 4.8: 53]. (40) After offering
rice
cooked in milk with ghee and molasses to
the
deity - if
available - , one should
offer oblations in the fire chanting the
same mantra. (41) Thus having worshiped the deity with also offering betel nuts with spices,
the food of the sacrifice [prasâda] should by the offerer
himself be offered to the devotee of the Lord to eat, with water for
washing his hands and mouth. (42)
After
repeating
the mantra one-hundred-and-eight times [doing japa], one should offer
various prayers unto the Greatest One, next circumambulate Him and then
pay one's
respect by prostrating oneself joyously. (43) When one in acceptance has taken the
remnants of the sacrifice to one's [fore-]head and then has deposited
them in a sacred place, minimally two men of learning and merit
[brahmins] should be fed with sweet rice. (44-45) Properly having honored them one next with their permission with friends and relatives may eat the
remnants of the prasâda. From
the first day on one of course at night
should
observe
celibacy
for
the
duration
of
the
payo-vrata in
which one early in the morning, as
is
described
after having
bathed, closely following the vidhi bathes [the mûrti] with milk. (46) With
drinking
[milk]
only following this vow one should with faith and devotion continue with the worship
of Vishnu, as stated offering oblations in the
fire, as also be faithful to the obligation of feeding the brahmins. (47) One should proceed
this way with the
'vow of drinking only' day after
day, for the full twelve days worshiping the Lord with fire
sacrifices before the deity and pleasing the twice-born ones [and
one's kin]
with food. (48) Beginning
with
the
day
of pratipat ['running to meet'] until the thirteenth day
of the bright half of the month, one should observe celibacy, sleep on
the floor and bathe three times a day. (49)
Depending
on Vâsudeva as the supreme resort, one should
refrain from great and small sensual pleasures, from discussing
trivial
subjects
and
from
violence
towards all living beings.
(50) Next on the thirteenth day proceeding in accordance with the regulations
as laid down
in
the scriptures, the
Almighty One [Vishnu] should be bathed with five substances [milk,
yogurt, ghee,
sugar and honey]. (51-52) By being of good recitation
with
the many hymns [or sûkta] for Lord Vishnu who resides in
the
hearts of all, the
miserly
mentality
[of
not
spending]
must
be
given
up with
the
milk
and the grains that were offered in grand worship. With great attention and with the offerings of
the food that was carefully prepared to please His person, one thus should worship the
Original Personality. (53) Try
to understand that when one worships the
Lord [vishnu-ârâdhana], the spiritual master [the
âcârya] who is so well versed in the spiritual
knowledge and
also the priests, should be satisfied with clothes, ornaments and many
cows. (54)
Oh pious lady, the brahmins
and all people assembled there should as much as possible receive the prasâda
of the food of
goodness [B.G. 17: 8]
that
so
meticulously
was
prepared
with
milk
and
ghee. (55)
The guru and the priests should be
financially compensated and the food should by all means even be
distributed to the simpleminded ones and the poor, for also they should
be
rewarded
for
gathering
for
the
ceremony.
(56) After also
having fed
all the poor, the blind, the averse and so on, one should with that
kind
of understanding having pleased Lord Vishnu, together with one's
friends and relatives eat from the prasâda oneself. (57)
With
dancing,
beating drums
and songs, reciting mantras, offering prayers and reading the stories
[aloud], one should from the first day till the last worship the
Supreme Lord.
(58) This instruction that I have now described to
you in great detail
concerning the supreme process called payo-vrata
for
honoring the Original Person, was related
by
my grandfather [Brahmâ]. (59) Oh
greatly fortunate one, now worship with self-discipline in a pure state of mind
the
Inexhaustible Lord Kes'ava by properly following this process. (60) Of all
religious ceremonies this one
is called sarva-yajña
['the
one covering all sacrifices']. When one oh good lady, also
being of
charity pleases the
Lord this way, this sacrifice is understood to be the very essence of
all austerities [*]. (61) Of
all
possible regulations the one as mentioned is indeed the most
direct and best way
to control the senses effectively, for Adhokshaja, the One
beyond the Senses, is pleased with
the
austerity,
the
vows
and
the
sacrifice [see also: 1.2:
8]. (62) The
Supreme Lord being satisfied by you faithfully observing this vow
according to the rules, will therefore soon bestow upon you all
benedictions.'
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