81 verses
Maitreya said: The four Kumāras headed by Sanaka, as well as Nārada, Ṛbhu, Haṁsa, Aruṇi and Yati, all sons of Brahmā, did not get married, but became ūrdhva-retā, or naiṣṭhika-brahmacārīs.
O killer of the enemy! Lord Brahmās son Adharma had a wife named Lying. She gave birth to twins called Cheating and Illusion. Nirṛti, who had no children, accepted them as his children.
The family of Brahmās son Adharma is described. O killer of the enemy! This indicated to Vidura that people like him kill adharma. Dambha means cheating. Māyā means activities suitable for cheating. Though brother and sister, they married, since they are aṁśas of Adharma. Nirṛti is in charge of the southwest direction (inauspicious).
O great soul! From Cheating and Illusion were born Greed and Deceit. From their combination came children named Anger and Violence, and from their combination were born Quarrel and his sister Profanity.
Nikṛtiḥ means deceit. From Anger and Violence came Quarrel and Profantiy.
O greatest of good men! Quarrel produced in Profanity the children named Fear and Death. From the combination of Death and Fear came children named Pain and Hell.
One may ask about the favorable and unfavorable elements for bhakti, the ultimate method described in the scriptures. The elements ending with Hell, the family members of Adharma, have been described as the elements to be avoided.
O sinless Vidura! Briefly I have described destruction. One who hears three times this purifying description cleanses his mind of all sin.
Saḍgrhena means in summary. Pratisargaḥ means destruction. The above description is called destruction because it is a cause of destruction. O sinless Vidura! You are not in this family of Adharma. The description is purifying because by hearing it one can avoid these items.
O best of the Kurus! I shall now describe the descendants of famous Svāyambhuva Manu, who produced parts of parts of the Lord.
From Manus lineage came portions of portions of the Lord such as Kapila, Yajña, Pṛthu and Ṛṣabha.
By his wife, Śatarūpā, Svāyambhuva Manu had two sons, Uttānapāda and Priyavrata, who appeared to protect the world as portions of Vāsudeva.
They were situated as portions of the Lord for protection of the world.
King Uttānapāda had two queens, named Sunīti and Suruci. Of the two, Suruci was dear to the King. Sunīti, who had a son named Dhruva, was not dear to him.
Tayoḥ means among the two.
Once, when King Uttānapāda, placing the son of Suruci, Uttama on his lap, was patting him, he did not acknowledge Dhruva who wanted to climb on his lap.
Surucis son was called Uttama.
Sunīti, who was very proud, spoke with spite to the child trying to climb on his fathers lap, while the King was able to hear.
My child! You do not deserve to sit on the lap of the King, because, although you are also the Kings son, you did not take your birth from my womb.
Dhiṣnyam means seat. You cannot sit there, because (yad), though you are the son of the King, you were not from my womb.
You are a child. Therefore you, having a desire for the impossible, do not know that you were born from the womb of another woman.
You are a child. Therefore you do not know.
Worshipping the Lord by austerities, by his mercy, place yourself in my womb, if you want to sit on the Kings lap.
Her talk is to show the King that she has devotion, but she is not a real devotee. You must place yourself in my womb. Now, satisfying the Lord by three, four, five or six vratas for getting into my womb, you should then quickly die. I will see your mother weeping. May you and I be happy!
Maitreya said: Pierced by the harsh words of his mothers co-wife, breathing heavily in anger, like a snake struck by a stick, he left his silent father who was watching, and went to his mother while weeping.
Miṣantam means watching. Sanna-vācam means weak speech because he was under the control of the co-wife.
Sunīti lifted her son, who was breathing heavily, with trembling lips, onto her lap and hearing from the citizens what had happened, she felt pain at the words of the co-wife.
Udūhya means lifting.
Like a forest creeper burned by the forest fire of lamentation, the woman, remembering the words of the co-wife and losing her self-control, began to shed tears from her lotus eyes.
Dāva-latā means a forest creeper.
Breathing heavily, not seeing and end of her suffering, she said to her son, O son! Do not find fault in others, because those who have given suffering to others previously receive the same in this life.
Do not find fault (amaḍgalam) in your step-mother. You have experienced the results of sins you have committed in previous births, since the person who gives suffering to others in a previous life receives it back in this life.
What Suruci said is true, because you have been held in the womb of me, an unfortunate person, and have grown up by breast milk of me, whom the King is ashamed to accept as his wife, or even as his servant.
To be held in my womb is itself misfortune for you. He is ashamed to accept me as his wife. He does not think of me as his wife, accepting the burden of protecting and caring for me. He thinks me unsuitable to be his wife. The word vā (or) indicates that he does not even think of me as his servant.
If you desire to be seated like your brother, then without envy of Suruci, execute the true words uttered by her: Worship the lotus feet of the Lord.
Suruci is equivalent to your mother (samātrā), though she wants to harm you. Do what she has said. What is true (avyalīkam) is not comfortable to hear. But worshipping the Lord is not uncomfortable for anyone. Therefore, give up hatred of Suruci. My weeping has been written on my forehead by the creator since birth. (It is my karma.) You should be happy.
By worshipping the lotus feet of the Lord who is worshipped by those who control the mind and breath, and who assumes sattva-guṇa for maintaining the universe, Brahmā attained his supreme position.
Will I enter the womb of that sinful woman by worshipping the Lord? She is such vile creature. Your father, her servant, is also vile and foolish. You can attain a position greater than that of Brahmā. Therefore quickly go from here and worship the Lord. Do not lament! This is explained in four verses. Brahmā worshipped the feet of the Lord who has accepted the position of controller of sattva-guṇa for maintaining the universe, feet which are adored by the yogīs who have controlled their minds and prāṇas.
And Manu, your grandfather, worshipping the Lord with concentrated intelligence, with great charity and sacrifices, achieved happiness on earth, in heaven and later achieved liberation--which are difficult to achieve by other means.
Ekamatyā means with concentrated intelligence.
O child! Take shelter of the Lord, who is affectionate to his servant and whose footsteps are sought by aspirants for liberation. Worship the Lord, fixing him in your mind purified by bhakti, with attachment to nothing else.
The Lord is affectionate to his servant. He will have more affection for you, his servant, than the affection of millions of mothers like me. You will not encounter a trace of suffering. You will take shelter of the Lord, the path (paddhati) of whose lotus feet are sought by aspirants for liberation, but which is not easily attained by them. Having taken shelter, you should place them in your mind which has attachment for nothing else (ananya-bhāve). Worship the Lord, fixing him in the mind purified (bhāvite) by bhakti-dharma, since a five year old boy is not qualified for karma-yoga.
I do not find anyone who can extinguish your suffering except the lotus-eyed Lord, who is sought by Lakṣmī, who holds a lotus in her hand and who is sought by Brahmā and others.
Seeing their temporary nature, I do not advise you to worship the devatās who, though easy to worship, are incapable of uprooting your suffering, since they give temporary results. He has lotus eyes. Just by his glance you, burning with grief, will become cool. Lakṣmī holds a lotus in her hand like a lamp, and she is sought by Brahmā and others.
Maitreya said: Hearing his mothers words which would fulfill his desire, controlling his mind by his intelligence, he left the house of his father.
Nārada, hearing this, and thus understanding the activities of the boy, became astonished, and, touching the boys head with his hand which destroys all sins, then spoke to himself.
Nārada first spoke to himself silently.
What power of the kṣatriyas who are unable to tolerate a slight to their pride! Though only a boy, he has taken the unkind words of his stepmother seriously.
Nārada said: O child! Since you are a young boy attached to playing, I do not see at this time that you should feel honored or disrespected.
Though opposites exist, the cause of dissatisfaction is mens illusion only, since everywhere these causes of dissatisfaction are produced by ones karma.
Though opposites exist, they do not exist to this extent for the jñānīs. For them, what dissatisfaction is there? What are its causes? For bhaktas and karma-yogīs however opposites exist. Though they exist, the causes of dissatisfaction such as being disrespected and the persons causing that are not different from illusion, because everywhere in the world the causes of dissatisfaction such as disrespect and the people causing it arise through individual bad karma. Who is to blame except oneself? Therefore the discriminating devotees and karmīs become free of envy.
Therefore, understanding that karma is produced by the Lords will, the intelligent person should be satisfied with the amount of happiness and distress received through his karma.
Since this is so, one, by intelligence, should be satisfied with whatever amount (tāvan mātrena) of happiness and distress is attained by ones own actions in previous lives, understanding that karma produces results under the direction of the Lord (īśvara-gatim).
It is my opinion that the Lord whose mercy you desire to attain by the process taught by your mother is difficult for men to worship.
This endeavor you want to start is very difficult. Avarurutsasi means you desire to attain.
Sages searching for may births with detachment, by samādhi and severe yoga did not understand the path to the Lord.
Therefore you should give up this useless endeavor. When the proper time comes, when you are older, you can attempt this.
Śreyasāṁ kale means when you get older.
Satisfying himself amidst happiness and distress with these experiences which are given to him by karma, the embodied person surpasses saṁsāra.
One should be satisfied in happiness or distress, thinking that by experiencing happiness, ones pious acts are being exhausted, and by suffering, ones sinful acts are being exhausted. One crosses over saṁsāra (tamasaḥ).
One should rejoice on meeting a person more qualified. One should feel compassion on meeting a person less qualified. One should be friendly on meeting a person of equal qualification. He should not succumb to any difficulties.
The ablative case here indicates a missing participle. One should feel joyful on meeting a superior person, and not envy him. One should feel compassion (anukrośam), not contempt on meeting an inferior. One should feel friendship to an equal, and not be competitive. If because of ones faults one does not attain superior persons, then one should desire to attain them.
Dhruva said: This peacefulness of mind which you have shown by mercy for persons afflicted by happiness and distress is difficult for a person like me to understand.
Since I am unsubmissive because of having an intolerant kṣatriya spirit, your instructions do not remain in my heart, which has been pierced by the arrows of Surucis harsh words.
Though you have given this nectar of peacefulness out of mercy to an unqualified person like me, since I have the nature of a kṣatriya, my heart has been pierced, and is like a broken pot. Therefore your instructions do not stay there. With irony Dhruva says, Let the weak, cowardly brāhmaṇas drink the nectar of your instruction on peacefulness! Since I am kṣatriya prince with fierce bravery, I cannot even glance on this instruction.
O brāhmaṇa! Please tell the correct method for me, desiring the best position in the three worlds, which has not been attained by my forefathers or others.
Then, what do you want? Tell me the correct method for attaining a position unattained by my father, Uttānapāda, who insulted me, by his father Manu, by his father Brahmā, and by Brahmās other sons and grandsons. Teaching me that path alone, you will see my courage in attaining that in no time.
You, the son of Brahmā, playing a vīṇā, travel like the sun, for the welfare of the world.
Let my desire be fulfilled. Seeing you after leaving the house is the cause of this. Born from the lap (aḍkajaḥ), you are an avatāra of the Lord, and are not the son of anyone. Another version is aṇga-jaḥ, son of Brahmā. Though you are his son, you wander about playing the vīṇā for the benefit of the world.
Maitreya said: The great Nārada, upon hearing the words of Dhruva and being pleased with the boy, out of mercy gave him good instructions.
The highest path described by your mother is the path I recommend. The Lord is Vāsudeva. Worship him with concentrated mind.
The path recommended by your mother is the path I recommend.
If one desires the goals of dharma, artha, kāma or mokṣa, the only method to achieve this is worship of the feet of the Lord.
O child! Good fortune to you! Go to pure Madhuvana on the bank of the Yamunā River, where the Lord resides eternally.
Nārada beings to describe in detail the process. He mentions Madhuvana because it is the chief of all holy places.
After bathing in the auspicious water of the Yamunā three times a day, you should perform necessary prayers to the Lord, and making an āsana, sit upon it.
Ucitani means offering suitable respects to the deity. He should do this even though he has not undergone study of the Vedas.
Giving up the impurities of the mind, senses and life airs by three types of breathing, one should meditate on the Lord by the best mind.
Trivṛtā means by recaka, puraka and kumbhaka. Guruṇā means the best, because it has been purified.
Sura-sundaram means more beautiful than the devatās.
He has youthful, attractive limbs, red lips and eyes. He is the shelter of the surrendered, the treasure of men, and the ocean of mercy.
Oṣṭha and adhara are the upper and lower lips. For men (those who do not surrender) he is the form of wealth.
He is ornamented with the Śrīvatsa, has a dark complexion, and wears a garland. He shows four arms with conch, cakra, club and lotus.
He is ornamented with a crown, earrings, arm bands and bracelets. He has Kaustubha jewel around his neck and wears yellow silk cloth.
His neck has the Kaustubha jewel.
His waist is surrounded by small bells, and he wears shining golden anklets. He is pleasing to see, peaceful, and joyful for the mind and eyes.
Kāñcī-kalāpa-paryastam means surrounded by a belt of small bells.
Entering into the lotus in the heart of the devotees by his two feet which shine with jewel-like nails, he becomes situated in the jīva and his intelligence.
Samarcatām means of the devotees. Dhiṣṇyam means place. Ātmani means in the jīva and in his intelligence.
One should with attachment meditate with great attention upon the smiling face of the Lord, the greatest benedicter, who has an affectionate glance.
Niyatena means with attachment. Eka-bhūtena means with concentration.
The mind of the devotee meditating on the auspicious form of the Lord very soon becomes filled with the highest bliss and never leaves that form.
The mind of the yogī does not give up (nivartate) the object of meditation.
O prince! Hear from me the highest secret mantra, by chanting which a person can see the associates of the Lord travelling in the sky in seven days.
Hear the mantra. I will put it in your right ear. I will teach you. Even if you utter it audibly (prapaṭhan), it has effect, what to speak of half-audibly (upāṁśu) or in the mind, which will have even greater effect. Khecarān means associates of the Lord.
The learned person who knows time and place should perform external worship using the mantra oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya and various items.
It is understood from this that teaching vaiṣṇava-mantra with oṁ to persons without upanāyanam is allowed. This supersedes the rule of giving such mantras only to those who have upanāyanam (twice born).
One should worship the Lord using pure water, garlands from the forest, roots, fruits, durva sprouts, cloth and dear tulasī.
These items should be available in the forest. Cloth can be made from birch bark.
The peaceful sage, controlling mind and speech, eating limited amounts of what is available in the forest, should worship a form made of stone or other materials, or even in the earth or water.
Dravyamayīm means a form made of stone or other solid materials. Obtaining such a form one should worship it. One can even worship the Lord in the earth and in water. Ābhṛtātma means fixed mind.
One should also meditate on the attractiveness which the Lord will produce through his inconceivable power in various pastimes when he incarnates by his will.
At the time of Nārada speaking, not many avatāras had appeared. Thus he speaks in the future tense.
One can offer all the Lords services as done by previous devotees to the Lord indicated in the mantra, just by using the mūla-mantra.
One should offer the services as performed by previous devotees (pūrva-sevitāḥ), such as fragrance, sandalwood, betel, umbrella, and cāmara, just by chanting the mūla-mantra (mantra-hṛdayena) for the deity, mentally producing those items which are not available. This is suitable for a detached person, since those items will not be available. One should act to please (prayuñjyāt) the Lord, who is the object of meditation in the mantra (mantra-mūrtaye).
puṁsām amāyināṁ samyag bhajatāṁ bhāva-vardhanaḥ śreyo diśaty abhimataṁ yad dharmādiṣu dehinām
The Lord, increaser of prema, who is served by body, mind and words with devotional services, bestows what is best among artha, dharma, kāma and mokṣa to the sincere person worshipping him.
In this way (evam), mentally (manogatam), by body, mind (meditation) and words joined with hearing chanting and other service, the Lord is served. Whatever is desired amongst dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa, the Lord gives.
While being completely detached from enjoyment of the senses and liberation, one must worship the Lord constantly with profuse bhakti at the stage of bhāva to attain the position of an associate of the Lord in prema.
He who is detached from artha, dharma, kāma, and liberation (indicated by the word ca), must constantly worship the Lord, devoid of obstacles of jñāna and karma, with bhāva such as dāsya in order to attain special liberation (vimuktaye), being an associate of the Lord with prema.
Thus being taught, Dhruva circumambulated Nārada and offered respects. He then went to pure Madhuvana marked with the footprints of Kṛṣṇa.
Because Kṛṣṇa appears in every day of Brahmā, Madhuvana is marked with his footprints from the previous day. (In the day of Brahmā Kṛṣṇa appeared after Dhruva.)
When Dhruva had gone to Tapovana, Nārada entered the inner chambers of the palace. Being suitably worshipped by the King, seated comfortably, he then spoke to the King.
Arhitārhaṇakaḥ means he was offered articles of worship (arhaṇa) like arghya as welcome (arhita).
Nārada said: O King! Since your face is withered, have you been contemplating for a long time? Or have you lost kāma and dharma along with artha?
Have kāma and dharma been lost or not? It is a question of conjecture.
The King said: O brāhmaṇa! Being merciless and controlled by my wife, I have banished my intelligent young son, only five years old, along with his mother.
Because his mother was not respected she is said to be banished as well.
O brāhmaṇa! Have the wolves eaten the unprotected boy, who must be tired, hungry, with wilted lotus face, lying down in the forest?
I am controlled by a woman. See my cruelty! Most vile, I did not welcome my son with love when he tried to climb on my lap.
Nārada said: O King! Your son is protected by the Lord. He is living, though his greatness is yet unknown. His fame will soon spread throughout the universe. Therefore do not lament.
Do not lament at all! He is living, his greatness unknown. His fame will spread. The verb is in the present tense since the fame will happen in the near future.
O King! After performing tasks difficult even for the devatās, Dhruva will soon return, spreading your fame everywhere.
Maitreya said: After hearing what Nārada had said, the King gave up interest in his wealthy kingdom and thought only of his son.
After taking bath at Madhuvana and fasting that night, Dhruva, being purified, then worshipped the Lord with full attention as instructed by Nārada.
What did Dhruva do at Madhuvana? This verse answers. Abhiskitaḥ means having bathed. Prayataḥ means purified.
Eating kapittha and badara berries only every third night to maintain the body, he passed one month in worshipping the Lord.
He accepted eating only kapittha and badara fruits to maintain life in the body.
In the second month the boy ate only dry grass and leaves every six days, while worshipping the Lord.
In the third month he drank only water every nine days, worshipping the Lord in samādhi.
In the fourth month, having controlling his breathing, he took only air as food every twelve days, and worshipped by meditating on the Lord.
In the fifth month, controlling his breath, the prince, meditating on the Lord, stood motionless like a pillar on one foot.
Controlling the mind completely, meditating on the form of the Lord which is not perceivable by material senses, he did not see anything else.
Bhūtendriyāśayam, referring to the form of the Lord, can mean that which does not reside (aśayam) with the senses of the living beings. Or it can mean that to which the living beings senses are completely sleeping (āśayam), that which is beyond their senses.
When Dhruva meditated on the Lord, the shelter of all the elements, the Lord of matter and the jīvas, the three worlds began to tremble.
When the prince stood on one leg, the earth, pressed by his big toe, sank lower by a half pradeśa, just as a boat with and elephant rocks from side to side with each of its steps.
The earth, pressed by his big toe sank down by half a pradeśa (half of 5 inches), just as a boat with an elephant sinks on the left and then the right with its steps. Ardham is in the accusative case indicating a duration.1
When Dhruva, blocking all the doors of his body and stopping his life airs, meditated on the Lord with his intelligence merged in the total intelligence, the people of the universe along with the devatās, becoming completely breathless, went to the Supreme Lord.
When Dhruva (tasmin), blocking all (viśvam) the doors and airs of the body (ātmanaḥ), meditated on the Lord, the planets became afflicted by breathlessness. When the individual body of Dhruva blocked his life airs, by that force, the life airs of the whole universe became blocked. This was because the intelligence of the individual and the whole became one (ananyayā dhiyā).
The devatās said: We have never known the blocking of breath for all bodies of all beings, moving and non-moving. We have approached you, worthy of taking shelter. Please deliver us from this danger.
We have never known the blocking of breath of all beings. Akhila-sattva-dhāmnaḥ means the body of all beings.
The Lord said: Do not fear. Return to your homes. I will stop the boy from doing impossible austerities. He has concentrated his mind fully on me. Because of him your breath has been stopped.
Because of the boy doing austerities (yataḥ), when he stops his breath, your breath also stops. You should not fear, thinking that you will die. He has simply concentrated his mind on me. This will not destroy anything.
Thus ends the commentary on the Eighth Chapter of the Fourth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
In the Eighth Chapter, Dhruva, burned by the poison of his stepmothers words, and inspired by the nectar of his mothers words, pleases the Lord by austerities in Madhuvana.
The lineages from Manus daughters were described, and the lineages from Brahmās sons such as Marīci were also mentioned in the process. Though Manus sons should now be described, first the remaining sons of Brahmā are described briefly.