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2024-04-24, 11:15 PM |
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Chapter 10: The Departure of Lord
Krishna for Dvârakâ
(1) S'aunaka
Muni asked: "How did King Yudhishthhira, the greatest of the strict
followers of the religion, together with his younger brothers rule the
kingdom after having killed the aggressors who wanted to usurp the
legal inheritance? They had to accept a restriction on the joys of
life, didn't they?"
(2) Sûta said: "After the exhausting bamboo fire of
the
Kuru dynasty, the Lord, the maintainer of the creation, was pleased to
see how the seedling of Yudhishthhira's kingdom had been restored. (3) After having heard what Bhîshma and the
Infallible One had said, Yudhishthhira, enlightened by perfect
knowledge, was freed from his bewilderment and ruled, followed by his
brothers and protected by the invincible Lord, over the earth and the
seas like he was the king of heaven [Indra]. (4)
All the rain that was needed showered, the earth yielded everything
desired and the cows out of sheer joy moistened the pastures with their
filled udders. (5) The rivers, oceans and
hills assured him in every season of all necessary vegetables, greenery
and medicinal herbs. (6) Never was, because of
themselves, nature or because of others, any living being troubled by
anxieties, diseases or extreme temperatures, as always happens with a
king who has no enemies.
(7) In order to appease His family and please His
sister [Subhadrâ, who was
married to Arjuna], the Lord stayed for a few months in the city of
Hastinâpura. (8) After that time He,
after duly asking permission, was permitted to leave. After embracing
the king and bowing down to him He ascended His chariot, receiving from
others the same respects and embraces. (9-10)
His sister, [the wife of the Pândavas] Draupadî, [their
mother] Kuntî, [Parîkchit's mother] Uttarâ and also
[the blind grandfather] Dhritarâshthra and [his wife]
Gândhârî, [their son] Yuyutsu, [the Kuru priest]
Kripâcârya, [the twin brothers] Nakula and Sahadeva
together with Bhîma, and [the Pândava priest] Dhaumya and
the other ladies from the palace and [Vyâsa's mother]
Satyavatî, had great difficulty with the departure of the One
with the conch in His hands, and almost fainted. (11-12) An intelligent person
will, concerning the
fame that is sung, in good company being liberated from materialistic
association, never think of giving it up when he but once has heard the
pleasing. How could the Pândavas who gave Him their heart then
tolerate it to be separated from Him having seen Him face to face and
touching, sleeping, sitting and eating together with Him? (13) All of them, looking at Him with wide open
eyes, melted for Him and moved restlessly, bound as they were by pure
affection. (14) The ladies of the family who
came from the palace, had difficulty checking their tears from
overflowing, as they were afraid that because of it inauspicious things
might happen to the son of Devakî. (15)
At that time mridangas [drums used in devotional service],
conch shells, horns, strings, flutes and more drums, bells and other
rhythm instruments were sounded. (16) To have
a good view the ladies of the Kuru dynasty climbed on the roof of the
palace, from where they showered flowers upon Krishna with love and shy
smiles. (17) For the Most Beloved of the
Beloved [Arjuna] the conqueror of sleep took up an embroidered sunshade
decorated with perls and lace that had a handle inlaid with jewels. (18) He, as the master of Madhu, resplendently
sitting on flowers scattered all around was on His way fanned by
Uddhava, His cousin brother and His driver Sâtyaki.
(19) From
all sides the truthful respects and sayings of the brahmins could be
heard that to the occasion were neither befitting or unbefitting
considering the fact that the Absolute Truth was present there in a
form subjected to the modes of nature. (20) The ladies of the capital of the king of the Kurus
were with their hearts absorbed in talking amongst each other about Him
hailed in the scriptures, in such a manner that it sounded more
attractive than the hymns of the Vedas themselves: (21)
'Him we will definitely remember as the Personality of Godhead, as the
Original One who existed materially unmanifested in His own Self before
the creation of the modes of nature. He is that Supersoul, that Supreme
Lord, in whom the living beings merge with their energies suspended,
like going asleep at night. (22)
He as the one who puts the revealed scriptures in practice thus gives,
when He excercises His own personal potency, the individual soul time
and
again names and forms when He [in the form of an avatâra] creates the outer illusion of
material nature. And these names He assigns to that what factually
cannot be named. (23) He happens to be the
same Personality of Godhead as the one by those great devotees seen who
managed to control their senses and life and who, by the grace of their
devotion, may see the development of a pure mind; it is they who by
dint of this, only this, deserve a purified existence. (24) Oh friends, it is He who for His excellent
pastimes, that are confidentially described in the Vedas as also
discussed by the intimate devotees, is respected as the one and only
Supreme Controller and Supersoul of the complete creation, as He who by
the manifestation of His pastimes, creates, maintains and destroys
without ever becoming attached to it. (25)
Whenever there are rulers who ignorantly like animals go against the
divine principles, He manifests, for sure out of goodness, His supreme
power and positive truth, mercy and wonderful activities in various
forms for the sake of maintaining [the dharma] in the different periods
and ages [see also B.G 4: 7].
(26) O, how supremely glorified the
dynasty of King Yadu is and how elevated the virtue of the land of
Mathurâ, for He who has appeared and roamed
here is the supreme leader of all the
living beings and the husband of the goddess of fortune. (27)
How wonderful Dvârakâ is [the island where Krishna
resides], that place
that, adding to the virtue and fame of the earth, defeats the glory of
the heavenly worlds, that place of which the inhabitants are used to
constantly see the soul of the living being [Krishna] who bestows His
grace with the benediction of His smiling glance. (28) For the wives He married to relish His lips
again and again, they no doubt by
vow,
bath,
fire-sacrifice
and
such
must
have
been of perfect worship
for the Lord, oh friends. Often the damsels of Vraja fainted with that
in their minds! (29) Of the lady of
Dvârakâ [Rukminî, Krishna's first wife], who with
great valor was taken away by Him from the open selection of the
bridegroom as the price that had to be paid by the harassing powerful
kings headed by S'is'upâla, and of the other ladies that were
similarly brought home after the killing of thousands of wicked kings
[headed by Bhaumâsura], there are the children like Pradyumna,
Sâmba and Amba. (30) All these very
fine women of the highest stature who were bereft of their
individuality and purity were, being touched by their lotus-eyed
husband who drew
them in His heart, thus never left alone in their
homes.'
(31) While the ladies of the capital were praying and talking
this
way about Him, He granted them the grace of His glance and greeting
them with a smile on His face the Lord departed. (32)
Yudhishthhira, the man without enemies, out of affection and being
anxious, engaged four divisions of soldiers [on horseback, elephant,
chariot and foot] for the protection of the enemy of the atheists. (33) After thus having accompanied Him over a
long distance, the Lord persuaded politely and full of affection the
determined Pândavas to return. They were overtaken by the thought
of their future separation. Thereafter He with His dear companions
proceeded towards Dvârakâ. (34-35)
Traveling through Kurujângala [the province of Delhi],
Pâñcâlâ [part of Punjab],
S'ûrasenâ, Brahmâvarta [Uttar Pradesh its north] and
the districts along the Yamunâ river, He passed Kurukshetra where
the battle was fought and traversed the province of Matsyâ,
Sârasvatân [another part of Punjab] and so on. Then
crossing the land of deserts [Rajasthan] and the land where there is
hardly any water [Madhya Pradesh], and after passing through the
provinces of Sauvîra [Saurastra] and Âbhîra [part of
Gujarat], He, oh S'aunaka, finally reached the western side of the
province of Dvârakâ with His horses slightly overtaken by
fatigue from the long journey. (36) In
several places it so happened that the Lord was welcomed and served in
different ways when He arrived in the evening after the sun had passed
the eastern sky to be gone where the ocean is."
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