The Appearance of Sage Narada

Verse 1 (bhagavata.1.4.1)

व्यास उवाच इति ब्रुवाणं संस्तूय मुनीनां दीर्घसत्रिणाम् । वृद्धः कुलपतिः सूतं बह्वृचः शौनकोऽब्रवीत् ॥ 4.1 ॥

vyāsa uvāca iti bruvāṇaṁ saṁstūya munīnāṁ dīrgha-satriṇām vṛddhaḥ kula-patiḥ sūtaṁ bahvṛcaḥ śaunako ’bravīt

Vyasa said: Praising Suta as he spoke in this way, Shaunaka — the elder head of the sages engaged in that long sacrificial rite, versed in the Rig Veda — then addressed him thus.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.1.4.2)

शौनक उवाच सूत सूत महाभाग वद नो वदतां वर । कथां भागवतीं पुण्यां यदाह भगवाञ्छुकः ॥ 4.2 ॥

śaunaka uvāca sūta sūta mahā-bhāga vada no vadatāṁ vara kathāṁ bhāgavatīṁ puṇyāṁ yad āha bhagavāñ chukaḥ

Shaunaka said: O Suta, Suta, most fortunate one, best among speakers, tell us the sacred story of the Bhagavata that the illustrious Shuka once spoke.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.1.4.3)

कस्मिन् युगे प्रवृत्तेयं स्थाने वा केन हेतुना । कुतः सञ्चोदितः कृष्णः कृतवान् संहितां मुनिः ॥ 4.3 ॥

kasmin yuge pravṛtteyaṁ sthāne vā kena hetunā kutaḥ sañcoditaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ kṛtavān saṁhitāṁ muniḥ

In which age did this begin, and in what place, and for what reason? What moved the sage Krishna-Dvaipayana to compose this compilation?

Verse 4 (bhagavata.1.4.4)

तस्य पुत्रो महायोगी समदृङ्निर्विकल्पकः । एकान्तमतिरुन्निद्रो गूढो मूढ इवेयते ॥ 4.4 ॥

tasya putro mahā-yogī sama-dṛṅ nirvikalpakaḥ ekānta-matir unnidro gūḍho mūḍha iveyate

His son was a great yogi, of equal vision toward all things, free of duality, single-minded and ever awake; concealing his true nature, he moved through the world as though he were a simpleton.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.1.4.5)

दृष्ट्वानुयान्तमृषिमात्मजमप्यनग्नं देव्यो ह्रिया परिदधुर्न सुतस्य चित्रम् । तद्वीक्ष्य पृच्छति मुनौ जगदुस्तवास्ति स्त्रीपुम्भिदा न तु सुतस्य विविक्तदृष्टेः ॥ 4.5 ॥

dṛṣṭvānuyāntam ṛṣim ātmajam apy anagnaṁ devyo hriyā paridadhur na sutasya citram tad vīkṣya pṛcchati munau jagadus tavāsti strī-pum-bhidā na tu sutasya vivikta-dṛṣṭeḥ

Though the sage himself was clothed, when the celestial maidens saw him following behind, they covered themselves out of modesty — yet they had done nothing of the sort when his son had passed by. Wondering at this, when the sage asked them, they replied: "In you the distinction between man and woman still remains, but your son's vision knows no such distinction."

Verse 6 (bhagavata.1.4.6)

कथमालक्षितः पौरैः सम्प्राप्तः कुरुजाङ्गलान् । उन्मत्तमूकजडवद्विचरन् गजसाह्वये ॥ 4.6 ॥

katham ālakṣitaḥ pauraiḥ samprāptaḥ kuru-jāṅgalān unmatta-mūka-jaḍavad vicaran gaja-sāhvaye

Having arrived in the land of Kuru-Jangala and wandering through the city of Hastinapura as though mad, mute and dull-witted, how then did the citizens come to recognize him?

Verse 7 (bhagavata.1.4.7)

कथं वा पाण्डवेयस्य राजर्षेर्मुनिना सह । संवादः समभूत्तात यत्रैषा सात्वती श्रुतिः ॥ 4.7 ॥

kathaṁ vā pāṇḍaveyasya rājarṣer muninā saha saṁvādaḥ samabhūt tāta yatraiṣā sātvatī śrutiḥ

O dear one, how did that dialogue come about between the sage and the royal sage of the Pandava line, in the course of which this Sattvata scripture was spoken?

Verse 8 (bhagavata.1.4.8)

स गोदोहनमात्रं हि गृहेषु गृहमेधिनाम् । अवेक्षते महाभागस्तीर्थीकुर्वंस्तदाश्रमम् ॥ 4.8 ॥

sa go-dohana-mātraṁ hi gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām avekṣate mahā-bhāgas tīrthī-kurvaṁs tad āśramam

That most fortunate sage would remain at the home of a householder only for the time it takes to milk a cow, thereby turning that dwelling into a place of pilgrimage.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.1.4.9)

अभिमन्युसुतं सूत प्राहुर्भागवतोत्तमम् । तस्य जन्म महाश्चर्यं कर्माणि च गृणीहि नः ॥ 4.9 ॥

abhimanyu-sutaṁ sūta prāhur bhāgavatottamam tasya janma mahāścaryaṁ karmāṇi ca gṛṇīhi naḥ

O Suta, the son of Abhimanyu is said to be a foremost devotee; his birth was a great wonder — tell us also of his deeds.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.1.4.10)

स सम्राट् कस्य वा हेतोः पाण्डूनां मानवर्धनः । प्रायोपविष्टो गङ्गायामनादृत्याधिराट्श्रियम् ॥ 4.10 ॥

sa samrāṭ kasya vā hetoḥ pāṇḍūnāṁ māna-vardhanaḥ prāyopaviṣṭo gaṅgāyām anādṛtyādhirāṭ-śriyam

For what reason did that emperor, who had increased the glory of the Pandava line, disregard his imperial fortune and sit fasting unto death on the bank of the Ganga?

Verse 11 (bhagavata.1.4.11)

नमन्ति यत्पादनिकेतमात्मनः शिवायहानीय धनानि शत्रवः । कथं स वीरः श्रियमङ्ग दुस्त्यजां युवैषतोत्स्रष्टुमहो सहासुभिः ॥ 4.11 ॥

namanti yat-pāda-niketam ātmanaḥ śivāya hānīya dhanāni śatravaḥ kathaṁ sa vīraḥ śriyam aṅga dustyajāṁ yuvaiṣatotsraṣṭum aho sahāsubhiḥ

He before whose feet even his enemies bowed, surrendering their wealth for their own good — how, O friend, could that young hero wish to relinquish, along with his very life, a royal fortune so difficult to renounce?

Verse 12 (bhagavata.1.4.12)

शिवाय लोकस्य भवाय भूतये य उत्तमश्लोकपरायणा जनाः । जीवन्ति नात्मार्थमसौ पराश्रयं मुमोच निर्विद्य कुतः कलेवरम् ॥ 4.12 ॥

śivāya lokasya bhavāya bhūtaye ya uttama-śloka-parāyaṇā janāḥ jīvanti nātmārtham asau parāśrayaṁ mumoca nirvidya kutaḥ kalevaram

Those devoted to Him who is praised in the finest hymns live not for themselves but for the welfare, growth and well-being of the world; how then, having grown detached, could he give up his own body, which was a shelter to others?

Verse 13 (bhagavata.1.4.13)

तत्सर्वं नः समाचक्ष्व पृष्टो यदिह किञ्चन । मन्ये त्वां विषये वाचां स्नातमन्यत्र छान्दसात् ॥ 4.13 ॥

tat sarvaṁ naḥ samācakṣva pṛṣṭo yad iha kiñcana manye tvāṁ viṣaye vācāṁ snātam anyatra chāndasāt

Please tell us all that we have asked here. I consider you thoroughly versed in every field of speech and knowledge, apart from the Vedic hymns themselves.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.1.4.14)

सूत उवाच द्वापरे समनुप्राप्ते तृतीये युगपर्यये । जातः पराशराद्योगी वासव्यां कलया हरेः ॥ 4.14 ॥

sūta uvāca dvāpare samanuprāpte tṛtīye yuga-paryaye jātaḥ parāśarād yogī vāsavyāṁ kalayā hareḥ

Suta said: When the third turning of the ages, the Dvapara Yuga, had arrived, that yogi was born of Parashara through Vasavi, as a portion of Hari.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.1.4.15)

स कदाचित्सरस्वत्या उपस्पृश्य जलं शुचिः । विविक्त एक आसीन उदिते रविमण्डले ॥ 4.15 ॥

sa kadācit sarasvatyā upaspṛśya jalaṁ śuciḥ vivikta eka āsīna udite ravi-maṇḍale

Once, having purified himself by touching the waters of the Sarasvati, he sat alone in a secluded place, just as the disc of the sun was rising.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.1.4.16)

परावरज्ञः स ऋषिः कालेनाव्यक्तरंहसा । युगधर्मव्यतिकरं प्राप्तं भुवि युगे युगे ॥ 4.16 ॥

parāvara-jñaḥ sa ṛṣiḥ kālenāvyakta-raṁhasā yuga-dharma-vyatikaraṁ prāptaṁ bhuvi yuge yuge

That sage, knower of both the higher and the lower truths, perceived how, age after age, the unseen force of time brings a decline in the duties proper to each age.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.1.4.17)

भौतिकानां च भावानां शक्तिह्रासं च तत्कृतम् । अश्रद्दधानान्निःसत्त्वान्दुर्मेधान् ह्रसितायुषः ॥ 4.17 ॥

bhautikānāṁ ca bhāvānāṁ śakti-hrāsaṁ ca tat-kṛtam aśraddadhānān niḥsattvān durmedhān hrasitāyuṣaḥ

He perceived, brought about by that same force of time, a waning in the strength of material things, and people who had become faithless, lacking inner strength, of poor intelligence, and short-lived.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.1.4.18)

दुर्भगांश्च जनान् वीक्ष्य मुनिर्दिव्येन चक्षुषा । सर्ववर्णाश्रमाणां यद्दध्यौ हितममोघदृक् ॥ 4.18 ॥

durbhagāṁś ca janān vīkṣya munir divyena cakṣuṣā sarva-varṇāśramāṇāṁ yad dadhyau hitam amogha-dṛk

Seeing with his divine eye how people had become unfortunate, that sage of unfailing vision reflected on what would be for the benefit of all the varnas and ashramas.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.1.4.19)

चातुर्होत्रं कर्म शुद्धं प्रजानां वीक्ष्य वैदिकम् । व्यदधाद्यज्ञसन्तत्यै वेदमेकं चतुर्विधम् ॥ 4.19 ॥

cātur-hotraṁ karma śuddhaṁ prajānāṁ vīkṣya vaidikam vyadadhād yajña-santatyai vedam ekaṁ catur-vidham

Seeing that the fourfold priestly rite of the Veda was the pure occupation ordained for the people, he arranged the single Veda into four divisions, so that the tradition of sacrifice might continue.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.1.4.20)

ऋग्यजुःसामाथर्वाख्या वेदाश्चत्वार उद्धृताः । इतिहासपुराणं च पञ्चमो वेद उच्यते ॥ 4.20 ॥

ṛg-yajuḥ-sāmātharvākhyā vedāś catvāra uddhṛtāḥ itihāsa-purāṇaṁ ca pañcamo veda ucyate

The four Vedas were drawn forth and named Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva; and the Itihasa and Purana together are called the fifth Veda.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.1.4.21)

तत्रर्ग्वेदधरः पैलः सामगो जैमिनिः कविः । वैशम्पायन एवैको निष्णातो यजुषामुत ॥ 4.21 ॥

tatrarg-veda-dharaḥ pailaḥ sāmago jaiminiḥ kaviḥ vaiśampāyana evaiko niṣṇāto yajuṣām uta

Among them, Paila became the bearer of the Rig Veda, the poet Jaimini of the Sama Veda, and Vaishampayana alone became the master of the Yajur Veda.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.1.4.22)

अथर्वाङ्गिरसामासीत्सुमन्तुर्दारुणो मुनिः । इतिहासपुराणानां पिता मे रोमहर्षणः ॥ 4.22 ॥

atharvāṅgirasām āsīt sumantur dāruṇo muniḥ itihāsa-purāṇānāṁ pitā me romaharṣaṇaḥ

The austere sage Sumantu became the bearer of the Atharva-Angirasa Veda; and my own father, Romaharshana, became the bearer of the Itihasas and Puranas.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.1.4.23)

त एत ऋषयो वेदं स्वं स्वं व्यस्यन्ननेकधा । शिष्यैः प्रशिष्यैस्तच्छिष्यैर्वेदास्ते शाखिनोऽभवन् ॥ 4.23 ॥

ta eta ṛṣayo vedaṁ svaṁ svaṁ vyasyann anekadhā śiṣyaiḥ praśiṣyais tac-chiṣyair vedās te śākhino ’bhavan

These sages then divided each their own portion of the Veda in many ways, through their disciples, their disciples' disciples, and the disciples after them, so that these Vedas came to branch out widely.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.1.4.24)

त एव वेदा दुर्मेधैर्धार्यन्ते पुरुषैर्यथा । एवं चकार भगवान् व्यासः कृपणवत्सलः ॥ 4.24 ॥

ta eva vedā durmedhair dhāryante puruṣair yathā evaṁ cakāra bhagavān vyāsaḥ kṛpaṇa-vatsalaḥ

So that even men of limited intelligence might grasp these same Vedas, the illustrious Vyasa, ever tender toward the lowly, arranged them in this way.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.1.4.25)

स्त्रीशूद्रद्विजबन्धूनां त्रयी न श्रुतिगोचरा । कर्मश्रेयसि मूढानां श्रेय एवं भवेदिह । इति भारतमाख्यानं कृपया मुनिना कृतम् ॥ 4.25 ॥

strī-śūdra-dvijabandhūnāṁ trayī na śruti-gocarā karma-śreyasi mūḍhānāṁ śreya evaṁ bhaved iha iti bhāratam ākhyānaṁ kṛpayā muninā kṛtam

Since the threefold Veda is not accessible to the hearing of women, shudras, and unworthy kinsmen of the twice-born, the sage, moved by compassion, thought: "Let there be good, in this way, even for those deluded souls who see the good only in ritual works" — and so he composed the narrative called the Bharata.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.1.4.26)

एवं प्रवृत्तस्य सदा भूतानां श्रेयसि द्विजाः । सर्वात्मकेनापि यदा नातुष्यद्धृदयं ततः ॥ 4.26 ॥

evaṁ pravṛttasya sadā bhūtānāṁ śreyasi dvijāḥ sarvātmakenāpi yadā nātuṣyad dhṛdayaṁ tataḥ

O brahmanas, though he thus remained ever engaged, with his whole being, in the welfare of all creatures, even then his heart was not satisfied.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.1.4.27)

नातिप्रसीदद्धृदयः सरस्वत्यास्तटे शुचौ । वितर्कयन् विविक्तस्थ इदं चोवाच धर्मवित् ॥ 4.27 ॥

nātiprasīdad-dhṛdayaḥ sarasvatyās taṭe śucau vitarkayan vivikta-stha idaṁ covāca dharma-vit

His heart not fully at peace, sitting alone on the pure bank of the Sarasvati and turning the matter over in his mind, that knower of dharma spoke as follows.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.1.4.28)

धृतव्रतेन हि मया छन्दांसि गुरवोऽग्नयः । मानिता निर्व्यलीकेन गृहीतं चानुशासनम् ॥ 4.28 ॥

dhṛta-vratena hi mayā chandāṁsi guravo ’gnayaḥ mānitā nirvyalīkena gṛhītaṁ cānuśāsanam

Steadfast in my vows and free of pretense, I have honored the Vedic hymns, my teachers, and the sacred fires, and I have accepted their discipline and instruction.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.1.4.29)

भारतव्यपदेशेन ह्याम्नायार्थश्च प्रदर्शितः । दृश्यते यत्र धर्मादि स्त्रीशूद्रादिभिरप्युत ॥ 4.29 ॥

bhārata-vyapadeśena hy āmnāyārthaś ca pradarśitaḥ dṛśyate yatra dharmādi strī-śūdrādibhir apy uta

And under the guise of the Bharata, the meaning of the sacred Vedic tradition has also been made plain, so that even women, shudras and others may perceive dharma and the rest within it.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.1.4.30)

तथापि बत मे दैह्यो ह्यात्मा चैवात्मना विभुः । असम्पन्न इवाभाति ब्रह्मवर्चस्य सत्तमः ॥ 4.30 ॥

tathāpi bata me daihyo hy ātmā caivātmanā vibhuḥ asampanna ivābhāti brahma-varcasya sattamaḥ

And yet, alas, my embodied self, though complete in itself and endowed with the very best of Vedic radiance, appears to me as though something remains unfulfilled.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.1.4.31)

किं वा भागवता धर्मा न प्रायेण निरूपिताः । प्रियाः परमहंसानां त एव ह्यच्युतप्रियाः ॥ 4.31 ॥

kiṁ vā bhāgavatā dharmā na prāyeṇa nirūpitāḥ priyāḥ paramahaṁsānāṁ ta eva hy acyuta-priyāḥ

Or is it, perhaps, that I have not fully expounded the dharma of devotion — that path dear to the paramahamsas, and dear in truth to the Infallible Lord Himself?

Verse 32 (bhagavata.1.4.32)

तस्यैवं खिलमात्मानं मन्यमानस्य खिद्यतः । कृष्णस्य नारदोऽभ्यागादाश्रमं प्रागुदाहृतम् ॥ 4.32 ॥

tasyaivaṁ khilam ātmānaṁ manyamānasya khidyataḥ kṛṣṇasya nārado ’bhyāgād āśramaṁ prāg udāhṛtam

As Krishna-Dvaipayana, considering his own self thus incomplete, sat grieving, Narada arrived at that same hermitage already spoken of.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.1.4.33)

तमभिज्ञाय सहसा प्रत्युत्थायागतं मुनिः । पूजयामास विधिवन्नारदं सुरपूजितम् ॥ 4.33 ॥

tam abhijñāya sahasā pratyutthāyāgataṁ muniḥ pūjayām āsa vidhivan nāradaṁ sura-pūjitam

Recognizing him at once, the sage rose swiftly to greet him as he arrived, and duly honored Narada, who is worshiped even by the gods.