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2024-03-29, 3:34 PM |
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Chapter 84: Vasudeva of Sacrifice to the Sages
at Kurukshetra Explaining the Path of Success
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'When Prithâ, the
daughter of the king of Subala [Gândhârî] and
Draupadî, Subhadrâ and the wives of the kings as well as
His gopîs, heard of the loving attachment [of the wives]
to Krishna, Lord Hari, the Soul of All, were they all greatly amazed,
with tears filling their eyes. (2-5)
As the women were thus conversing with the women and the men with the
men, arrived, eager to see Krishna and Râma at that place, the
sages Dvaipâyana, Nârada, Cyavana, Devala and Asita;
Vis'vâmitra, S'atânanda, Bharadvâja and Gautama; Lord
Paras'urâma and his disciples, Vasishthha, Gâlava, Bhrigu,
Pulastya and Kas'yapa; Atri, Mârkandeya and Brihaspati; Dvita,
Trita, Ekata and the sons of Brahmâ [the four Kumâras] as
also Angirâ, Âgastya, Yâjñavalkya and others
headed by Vâmadeva. (6)
Seeing them stood the Pândavas, Krishna, Râma, the kings
and others who sat down, immediately up to bow down to those honored
throughout the universe. (7)
They all, including Râma and Acyuta, properly worshiped them with
words of welcome, sitting places, water to wash their feet and to
drink, flower garlands, incense and sandalwood paste. (8) The Supreme Lord who in His embodiment
defends the dharma, addressed in the with rapt attention listening
assembly the great souls who were comfortably seated there. (9) The Supreme Lord said: 'We who gained this
birth have now altogether obtained its fruit: the audience of the
masters of yoga that is rarely won even by the demigods. (10) How is it possible that human beings who not
being very renounced see God in the form of the temple deity, now may
enjoy your company and may touch you, ask you questions, bow down and
be of worship at your feet and such? (11)
By just seeing you, the saints, is one instantly purified, while that
is not so with the holy places consisting of water or the deities made
of clay that only gradually make that happen [1.13: 10]. (12) Not the fire, nor the sun, the moon nor the
firmament, not the earth, the water, the ether, the breath, the speech
nor the mind take, being worshiped, away the sins of the one caught in
the material opposites; but they are wiped out by only a few moments of
delivering service to the men of [brahminical] learning. (13) He with the idea of himself as being the
body that can be so smelly with its three elements [of mucus, bile and
air], with the notion of a wife and that all as being his property,
with the view of clay as being something worshipable, with the thought
of water as being a place of pilgrimage, is, [going for appearances
but] never moved by the wisdom in men, indeed not much better than a
cow or an ass.'
(14) S'rî S'uka said: 'Hearing this being said
by the Supreme Lord Krishna Unlimited in His Wisdom, were the learned
silent, confounded by the words that were hard to digest. (15) The sages for some time pondered over the
Supreme Controller and the subordinate position [He had assumed]. They
arrived at the conclusion that it was meant to enlighten the people and
thus addressed they Him, the Spiritual Master of the Universe, with a
smile on their faces. (16) The honorable
sages said: 'Ah, we the best knowers of the truth and chief creators of
the universe, are bewildered by the power of the material illusion
created by the activities of the Supreme Lord, who so amazingly covert
in His operations pretends to be the one controlled. (17) Effortlessly He creates, all by Himself, the
variety of this universe and maintains He and destroys He without
getting entangled Himself. He is in His actions just like the earth
element with the many names and forms of its transformations; ah, what
an actor the Almighty is in His activities [see also 8.6:
10]! (18) Nonetheless does Your good Self, the
Original Personality of the Soul, at times, in order to protect Your
people and to chastise the wicked, assume the mode of goodness, the
mode in which You by means of Your pastimes maintain the eternal vedic
path of the varnâs'rama status oriëntations [see
also sanâtana dharma]. (19)
The spiritual [the 'brahma'] is Your pure heart in which by austerities, study
and turning inward in concentrated meditation the eternal manifest and
unmanifest is realized as also the transcendental to that [see also B.G.
7:
5]. (20) For that reason do You, o Absolute Truth,
prove Your respect for the community of the brahmins by the perfect of
whom one may realize the truth of the revealed scriptures, and thus are
You the leader of those who are of respect for the brahminical. (21) Today there is [indeed] the fruition of our
birth, education, austerities and vision, for it is the goal of the
saintly to have association with You, the Golden Mean, the Ultimate of
all Welfare. (22) Our obeisances to Him, the Supreme Lord
whose wisdom is ever fresh, [You] Krishna, the Supersoul who by His yogamâyâ
has covered His own greatness. (23)
None of these kings enjoying with You, nor the Vrishnis know You,
cloaked by the curtain of mâyâ, as the Supreme
Soul, the Time and the Controller [B.G.
6:
26]. (24-25) The way a sleeping person, who envisions an
alternate reality with names and forms, in what he manifests through
his mind does not know of a separate reality beyond it, does one with
You similarly having names and forms, have no clue because of the
discontinuity of one's memory that is created by the activity of the
senses which bewilder one's consciousness with Your mâyâ
[compare B.G. 4: 5 and 4.29: 1b, 10.1: 41 and 7.7: 25]. (26) Today You
granted us the vision of Your feet, the source of the Ganges which
washes away floods of sins; [with them] well installed in the heart is
by those whose yoga practice matured and the devotional service fully
developed, the material mentality, the covering of their individual
souls, destroyed and the destination of You attained - so please, show
Your devotees Your mercy.'
(27) S'uka said: 'Having said this took the sages
leave of Das'ârha [Krishna], Dhritarâshthra and
Yudhishthhira, o sage among kings, and prepared they to return to their
hermitages. (28) Seeing this approached the greatly renown
Vasudeva them and took he bowing down hold of their feet expressing the
following careful choice of words. (29)
S'rî Vasudeva said: 'My obeisances to you who represent all the
gods [*]. O seers, please listen, tell us this: how
can we be freed from our karma by doing work?'
(30) S'rî Nârada said: 'O learned ones,
this question Vasudeva asked in his eagerness to learn about his
ultimate benefit is not that surprising considering the fact that he
thinks of Krishna as being a child [of his, his son]. (31) When people are close in this world is that
easily a cause of disregard, just as it is e.g. with someone living at
the Ganges who leaves to seek purification elsewhere. (32-33) [The Lord] His awareness is for no reason,
nor on its own nor due to some other agency, in its qualities ever
disrupted by the destructive and creative that is caused by the time of
this [universe, see B.G. 4:
14 and 10:
30]. He, the One Controller
without a Second, whose consciousness is unaffected by hindrances,
material activities and their consequences and the modes and their flow
of changes [kles'a, karma and guna], is by
someone else [ignorantly] considered as being covered by His own
expansions of prâna and other elements, just like the sun
is being covered by clouds, snow or eclipses.'
(34) Then, o King, said the sages, addressing
Vasudeva with all the kings as also Acyuta and Râma listening: (35) 'As correct has been ascertained that karma
is counteracted by this work: that one with faith with sacrifices
[sprightly, as in a kirtan] worships Vishnu, the Lord of all
Sacrifices. (36) This indeed is what the scholars through the
eye of the S'âstras demonstrated as the easiest way to pacify the
mind; it is the yoga-dharma which gives joy to the heart. (37) The one twice-born performing sacrifices at
home should pure and selfless with the entrusted possessions be of
worship for the Personality of Godhead; this is the path that brings
success [**]. (38)
An intelligent person should renounce the desire for wealth by means of
sacrifices and charity, the desire for a wife and kids by engaging in
household affairs and the desire to build a world for himself [or
another life], o Vasudeva, by means of the Time [that constitutes the
temporality of any world, see also 9.5 and B.G. 3:
16]. All the ones who are
sober renounced their desires for a household life and went for penance
into the forest [see also B.G. 2:
13]. (39) Prabhu, someone twice-born is born with
three debts: the debt to the gods, the sages and the forefathers; not
liquidating them by [respectively] sacrifice [celibacy e.g.], studying
the scriptures and with byproducts [children, pupils or books see ***] will he, leaving the body, fall down [again
into the material world]. (40)
But you are in fact free from two of the debts, the debt to the sages
and the debt to the forefathers, o magnanimous one. Be now free from
debt by sacrificing to the gods and renouncing your homestead. (41) O Vasudeva since He took the role of your
son must your good self [in a previous life] indeed with devotion
thoroughly have been of worship for the Supreme Lord and Controller of
All Worlds [see also 1o.3: 32-45 and 11.5: 41].'
(42) S'rî S'uka said: 'Having heard the words
they spoke, chose Vasudeva for the sages as his priests and propitiated
he them by bowing his head. (43)
The rishis he chose for o King, helped him consequently with
strictly to the principles at the holy field [of Kurukshetra]
performing fire sacrifices with excellent ritual arrangements. (44-45) When he was about to be initiated, came
joyfully the Vrishnis to the sacrificial pavilion, bathed and
well-dressed, wearing garlands and being elaborately ornamented. They
came together with their queens clad in the finest clothes and smeared
with sandalwood paste o King, who carried the items of worship in their
hands and wore lockets around their necks. (46)
Clay tom-toms and tabors, kettle drums and drums, conchshells and other
musical instruments sounded, male and female dancers danced and bards
and panegyrists sang sweet voiced along with the female singers of
heaven and their husbands. (47)
According the scriptures by the priests sprinkled with sacred water
[for his initiation], looked he with his eyes decorated with collyrium
and his body smeared with fresh butter, with his eighteen wives [see 9.24: 21-23 & 45] as if [he was
the moon] surrounded by the stars. (48)
With them all finely decorated wearing silk sârîs
and bangles, necklaces, ankle bells and earrings shone he, initiated
and clad in deerskin, brilliantly. (49)
O great King, his supervisors and priests radiated with their jewels
and garments of silk as if they were standing in the sacrificial arena
of the killer of Vritra [Indra, see 6.11]. (50)
At that time stepped also the two Lords Râma and Krishna forward,
shining just as splendid, with each of Them accompanied by His own
might of wives, sons and family members as expansions of Themselves. (51) Vasudeva excercised respect according the
rules with both kinds of sacrifices that are characterized as primary
[to the s'ruti] and secondary [modified to other sources, see *4]. Thus he offered oblations in the fire and
such in worship of the Lord of the Paraphernalia, the Mantras and the
Rituals. (52) Next gave he, at the designated time, to the
priests who were already richly decorated, gifts of gratitude that
decorated them even more, as also marriageable girls, cows and land of
great value. (53) Having executed the ritual performed by the
sponsor [patni-samyâja] and the concluding ritual [avabhrithya]
bathed
the great sages, placing the learned and the sponsor of the yajña
in front, in the lake of Lord Paras'urâma [9.16: 18-19]. (54) Having bathed gave he jewelry and clothing
to the bards and the women and honored he next in his finest apparel
all the classes of people and even the dogs with food. (55-56) With the wealth of gifts did his relatives
and their wives and children, the leaders of the Vidarbhas, Kos'alas,
Kurus, Kâs'îs, Kekayas and Sriñjayas; the
supervisors, the priests, the different types of enlightened souls, the
ordinary humans, the paranormal ['the ghostly'], the forefathers and
the venerable ones, all take leave from the Abode of S'rî to
depart filled with praise for the sacrifice performed. (57-58) The immediate family members
Dhritarâshthra and his younger brother [Vidura], Prithâ and
her sons [Arjuna, Bhîma and Yudhishthhira], Bhîshma, Drona,
the twins [Nakula and Sahadeva], Nârada, and Bhagavân
Vyâsadeva and other relatives embracing their friends and
relatives, the Yadus, then, with hearts melting of affection on the
separation, with difficulty returned to their respective places as did
also the rest of the guests. (59)
Nanda together with the cowherds stayed out of affection for his
relatives and was by Krishna, Râma, Ugrasena and the rest in
worship honored most generously. (60)
Vasudeva with ease having crossed over the ocean of his great ambition
[see also 10.3: 11-12], felt most pleased and addressed, surrounded by his
well-wishers, Nanda, touching his hand as he spoke.
(61) S'rî Vasudeva said: 'The by God forged
bond of men which is named affection is, I think, for warriors as
difficult to relinquish as for yogîs. (62)
Even though the friendship offered by you so very saintly is not
reciprocated by us who are so forgetful of what you did, does it never
cease for it is beyond compare. (63)
Formerly [sitting in Kamsa's prison] were we incapable to act on your
behalf and now well-to-do, o brother, do we with you right in front of
us fail to see you because our eyes are blind with our being
intoxicated by the opulence. (64)
Let there for a person who is after the real benefit of life never be
the rise of the fortune of kings, o respectful one, for with his vision
thus clouded is he blind to even the needs of his own kinsmen or
friends [compare 10.10: 8].'
(65) S'rî S'uka said: 'Thus with tears filling
his eyes remembering what he all had done in friendship, had
Ânakadundubhi, with his heart softened by the intimacy, to weep. (66) Nanda also loved his most affectionate
friend a lot and said: 'I'll go later, I'll go tomorrow', but out of
his love for Govinda and Râma stayed he, being honored by the
Yadus, for three months. (67-68) After having been offered a host of desirable like the most
valuable ornaments, finest linen and various priceless pieces of
furniture, he next, seen off by the Yadus, departed together with the
people of Vraja and his family. The gifts that were given by Vasudeva,
Ugrasena, Krishna, Uddhava and others they had accepted and taken along
with them. (69) Nanda, the gopas and the gopîs
being unable to put Govinda's lotus feet out of their minds,
accordingly [many a time] looking back, returned to Mathurâ. (70) With their relatives departed went the
Vrishnis who had Krishna as their Godhead back to Dvârakâ,
seeing that the rainy season was about to begin. (71) To the people [there] they gave an account
of the great festivity and of what in relation to the lord of the Yadus
[Vasudeva] and to all the well-wishers they had seen during the
pilgrimage had taken place [see 10.82].'
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