The Prayers of the Personified Vedas

Verse 1 (bhagavata.10.87.1)

श्रीपरीक्षिदुवाच ब्रह्मन् ब्रह्मण्यनिर्देश्ये निर्गुणे गुणवृत्तयः । कथं चरन्ति श्रुतयः साक्षात् सदसतः परे ॥ 87.1 ॥

śrī-parīkṣid uvāca brahman brahmaṇy anirdeśye nirguṇe guṇa-vṛttayaḥ kathaṁ caranti śrutayaḥ sākṣāt sad-asataḥ pare

Shri Parikshit said: O brahmana, the Vedas function chiefly by describing the qualities of manifest existence — how then can they directly describe that indescribable, attributeless Brahman, who lies beyond both being and nonbeing?

Verse 2 (bhagavata.10.87.2)

श्रीशुक उवाच बुद्धीन्द्रियमनःप्राणान् जनानामसृजत् प्रभुः । मात्रार्थं च भवार्थं च आत्मनेऽकल्पनाय च ॥ 87.2 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca buddhīndriya-manaḥ-prāṇān janānām asṛjat prabhuḥ mātrārthaṁ ca bhavārthaṁ ca ātmane ’kalpanāya ca

Shri Shukadeva said: The Lord created intelligence, the senses, the mind and the vital air for living beings so that they might enjoy sense objects, take birth in this world, and finally become fit for liberation.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.10.87.3)

सैषा ह्युपनिषद् ब्राह्मी पूर्वेशां पूर्वजैर्धृता । श्रद्धया धारयेद् यस्तां क्षेमं गच्छेदकिञ्चनः ॥ 87.3 ॥

saiṣā hy upaniṣad brāhmī pūrveśāṁ pūrva-jair dhṛtā śrraddhayā dhārayed yas tāṁ kṣemaṁ gacched akiñcanaḥ

This is that supreme, brahman-revealing knowledge held even by the forebears of our own forebears. Whoever holds it with faith, possessing nothing of his own, attains the highest good.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.10.87.4)

अत्र ते वर्णयिष्यामि गाथां नारायणान्विताम् । नारदस्य च संवादमृषेर्नारायणस्य च ॥ 87.4 ॥

atra te varṇayiṣyāmi gāthāṁ nārāyaṇānvitām nāradasya ca saṁvādam ṛṣer nārāyaṇasya ca

In this regard I shall relate to you a story concerning Lord Narayana — the account of a dialogue that once took place between Narada and the sage Narayana.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.10.87.5)

एकदा नारदो लोकान् पर्यटन् भगवत्प्रियः । सनातनमृषिं द्रष्टुं ययौ नारायणाश्रमम् ॥ 87.5 ॥

ekadā nārado lokān paryaṭan bhagavat-priyaḥ sanātanam ṛṣiṁ draṣṭuṁ yayau nārāyaṇāśramam

Once, while wandering the various worlds, Narada, the Lord's beloved devotee, went to the hermitage of the eternal sage Narayana to see Him.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.10.87.6)

यो वै भारतवर्षेऽस्मिन् क्षेमाय स्वस्तये नृणाम् । धर्मज्ञानशमोपेतमाकल्पादास्थितस्तपः ॥ 87.6 ॥

yo vai bhārata-varṣe ’smin kṣemāya svastaye nṛṇām dharma-jñāna-śamopetam ā-kalpād āsthitas tapaḥ

That sage Narayana, who from the very beginning of creation has remained fixed in austerity in this land of Bharatavarsha, endowed with righteousness, knowledge and self-control, for the well-being and good fortune of mankind —

Verse 7 (bhagavata.10.87.7)

तत्रोपविष्टमृषिभिः कलापग्रामवासिभिः । परीतं प्रणतोऽपृच्छदिदमेव कुरूद्वह ॥ 87.7 ॥

tatropaviṣṭam ṛṣibhiḥ kalāpa-grāma-vāsibhiḥ parītaṁ praṇato ’pṛcchad idam eva kurūdvaha

there, seated amid the sages dwelling in the village of Kalapa, Narada bowed to Him and, O best of the Kurus, asked Him this very same question that you have asked me.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.10.87.8)

तस्मै ह्यवोचद् भगवानृषीणां शृण्वतामिदम् । यो ब्रह्मवादः पूर्वेषां जनलोकनिवासिनाम् ॥ 87.8 ॥

tasmai hy avocad bhagavān ṛṣīṇāṁ śṛṇvatām idam yo brahma-vādaḥ pūrveṣāṁ jana-loka-nivāsinām

As the sages listened, Lord Narayana Rishi related to Narada that very discourse on the Absolute which the ancient sages dwelling in Janaloka had once held among themselves.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.10.87.9)

श्रीभगवानुवाच स्वायम्भुव ब्रह्मसत्रं जनलोकेऽभवत् पुरा । तत्रस्थानां मानसानां मुनीनामूर्ध्वरेतसाम् ॥ 87.9 ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca svāyambhuva brahma-satraṁ jana-loke ’bhavat purā tatra-sthānāṁ mānasānāṁ munīnām ūrdhva-retasām

The Supreme Lord said: O son of self-born Brahma, long ago on Janaloka there took place a sacrificial assembly devoted to Brahman, attended by the mind-born, perpetually celibate sages who dwelt there.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.10.87.10)

श्वेतद्वीपं गतवति त्वयि द्रष्टुं तदीश्वरम् । ब्रह्मवादः सुसंवृत्तः श्रुतयो यत्र शेरते । तत्र हायमभूत् प्रश्नस्त्वं मां यमनुपृच्छसि ॥ 87.10 ॥

śvetadvīpaṁ gatavati tvayi draṣṭuṁ tad-īśvaram brahma-vādaḥ su-saṁvṛttaḥ śrutayo yatra śerate tatra hāyam abhūt praśnas tvaṁ māṁ yam anupṛcchasi

At that time you yourself had gone to Shvetadvipa to behold that Lord in whom the Vedas take their rest at the time of dissolution. There a fine discussion on the Absolute Truth arose, and it was there that this very question arose which you are now asking Me.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.10.87.11)

तुल्यश्रुततपःशीलास्तुल्यस्वीयारिमध्यमाः । अपि चक्रुः प्रवचनमेकं शुश्रूषवोऽपरे ॥ 87.11 ॥

tulya-śruta-tapaḥ-śīlās tulya-svīyāri-madhyamāḥ api cakruḥ pravacanam ekaṁ śuśrūṣavo ’pare

Though equal to one another in Vedic learning, austerity and character, and though they looked upon friend, foe and neutral alike, they resolved among themselves that one alone should speak, while the rest would become his eager listeners.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.10.87.12)

श्रीसनन्दन उवाच स्वसृष्टमिदमापीय शयानं सह शक्तिभिः । तदन्ते बोधयां चक्रुस्तल्लिङ्गैः श्रुतयः परम् ॥ 87.12 ॥

śrī-sanandana uvāca sva-sṛṣṭam idam āpīya śayānaṁ saha śaktibhiḥ tad-ante bodhayāṁ cakrus tal-liṅgaiḥ śrutayaḥ param

Shri Sanandana said: Having withdrawn this creation of His own into Himself, the Lord lay as if asleep, together with His energies; at the end of that period, it was the personified Vedas themselves who awakened Him with their own hymns of praise, like signs pointing toward Him.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.10.87.13)

यथा शयानं संराजं वन्दिनस्तत्पराक्रमैः । प्रत्यूषेऽभेत्य सुश्लोकैर्बोधयन्त्यनुजीविनः ॥ 87.13 ॥

yathā śayānaṁ saṁrājaṁ vandinas tat-parākramaiḥ pratyūṣe ’bhetya su-ślokair bodhayanty anujīvinaḥ

just as court-bards, coming at dawn, awaken a sleeping king with beautiful verses recounting his own valorous deeds — even so did the Vedas awaken the Lord.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.10.87.14)

श्रीश्रुतय ऊचुः जय जय जह्यजामजित दोषगृभीतगुणां त्वमसि यदात्मना समवरुद्धसमस्तभगः । अगजगदोकसामखिलशक्त्यवबोधक ते क्वचिदजयात्मना च चरतोऽनुचरेन्निगमः ॥ 87.14 ॥

śrī-śrutaya ūcuḥ jaya jaya jahy ajām ajita doṣa-gṛbhīta-guṇāṁ tvam asi yad ātmanā samavaruddha-samasta-bhagaḥ aga-jagad-okasām akhila-śakty-avabodhaka te kvacid ajayātmanā ca carato ’nucaren nigamaḥ

The shrutis said: Victory, victory to You, O unconquerable one! By Your own nature You are complete in every opulence — so please subdue that beginningless maya who seizes upon the flawed qualities of nature. O awakener of every power in beings both moving and unmoving, only now and then, as You sport with Her, do the Vedas manage to recognize You.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.10.87.15)

बृहदुपलब्धमेतदवयन्त्यवशेषतया यत उदयास्तमयौ विकृतेर्मृदि वाविकृतात् । अत ऋषयो दधुस्त्वयि मनोवचनाचरितं कथमयथा भवन्ति भुवि दत्तपदानि नृणाम् ॥ 87.15 ॥

bṛhad upalabdham etad avayanty avaśeṣatayā yata udayāstam-ayau vikṛter mṛdi vāvikṛtāt ata ṛṣayo dadhus tvayi mano-vacanācaritaṁ katham ayathā bhavanti bhuvi datta-padāni nṛṇām

This vast universe, perceived as a remainder of You, is understood to arise from You and dissolve back into You — as pots arise from clay and merge again into clay, while the clay itself remains unchanged. Hence the sages have fixed their thought, word and deed on You alone. After all, how can the footprints of men fail to fall upon the very earth on which they walk?

Verse 16 (bhagavata.10.87.16)

इति तव सूरयस्त्र्यधिपतेऽखिललोकमल-क्षपणकथामृताब्धिमवगाह्य तपांसि जहुः । किमुत पुनः स्वधामविधुताशयकालगुणाःपरम भजन्ति ये पदमजस्रसुखानुभवम् ॥ 87.16 ॥

iti tava sūrayas try-adhipate ’khila-loka-mala- kṣapaṇa-kathāmṛtābdhim avagāhya tapāṁsi jahuḥ kim uta punaḥ sva-dhāma-vidhutāśaya-kāla-guṇāḥ parama bhajanti ye padam ajasra-sukhānubhavam

Therefore, O Lord of the three worlds, immersing themselves in this nectarean ocean of accounts of You, which washes away the impurity of the whole world, the wise give up even their austerities — how much more, then, do those attain who, established in their own blissful nature, freed from the sway of time and the modes, worship that supreme abode of Yours where unbroken happiness is known!

Verse 17 (bhagavata.10.87.17)

दृतय इव श्वसन्त्यसुभृतो यदि तेऽनुविधा महदहमादयोऽण्डमसृजन् यदनुग्रहतः । पुरुषविधोऽन्वयोऽत्र चरमोऽन्नमयादिषु यः सदसतः परं त्वमथ यदेष्ववशेषमृतम् ॥ 87.17 ॥

dṛtaya iva śvasanty asu-bhṛto yadi te ’nuvidhā mahad-aham-ādayo ’ṇḍam asṛjan yad-anugrahataḥ puruṣa-vidho ’nvayo ’tra caramo ’nna-mayādiṣu yaḥ sad-asataḥ paraṁ tvam atha yad eṣv avaśeṣam ṛtam

Those who bear the breath of life are truly alive only when they follow after You; otherwise their breathing is no more than that of a bellows. It was by Your grace alone that the mahat-tattva, false ego and the rest brought forth this cosmic egg. The Purusha-form pervading even the last of the sheaths beginning with the food-sheath is also, in the end, You alone; though beyond both being and nonbeing, You are that abiding truth which remains within them all.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.10.87.18)

उदरमुपासते य ऋषिवर्त्मसु कूर्पदृशः परिसरपद्धतिं हृदयमारुणयो दहरम् । तत उदगादनन्त तव धाम शिरः परमं पुनरिह यत् समेत्य न पतन्ति कृतान्तमुखे ॥ 87.18 ॥

udaram upāsate ya ṛṣi-vartmasu kūrpa-dṛśaḥ parisara-paddhatiṁ hṛdayam āruṇayo daharam tata udagād ananta tava dhāma śiraḥ paramaṁ punar iha yat sametya na patanti kṛtānta-mukhe

Some, of duller vision, following the path of the sages, worship You in the abdomen; the Arunis worship You in the heart, that subtle center from which all the vital channels arise. From there, O unlimited one, they rise in stages to the crown of the head, where Your supreme abode shines forth; and passing beyond it, they never again return here to fall into the mouth of death.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.10.87.19)

स्वकृतविचित्रयोनिषु विशन्निव हेतुतया तरतमतश्चकास्स्यनलवत् स्वकृतानुकृतिः । अथ वितथास्वमूष्ववितथं तव धाम समं विरजधियोऽनुयन्त्यभिविपण्यव एकरसम् ॥ 87.19 ॥

sva-kṛta-vicitra-yoniṣu viśann iva hetutayā taratamataś cakāssy anala-vat sva-kṛtānukṛtiḥ atha vitathāsv amūṣv avitathāṁ tava dhāma samaṁ viraja-dhiyo ’nuyanty abhivipaṇyava eka-rasam

Entering, as it were, into the various species You Yourself have created, You shine forth according to each, in gradation, as fire takes on the form of whatever it burns. Hence, amid these unreal forms, those of spotless understanding who have shed all worldly attachment pursue that one changeless, equal reality — Your own true, ever-uniform self.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.10.87.20)

स्वकृतपुरेष्वमीष्वबहिरन्तरसंवरणं तव पुरुषं वदन्त्यखिलशक्तिधृतोंऽशकृतम् । इति नृगतिं विविच्य कवयो निगमावपनं भवत उपासतेऽङ्घ्रिमभवं भुवि विश्वसिताः ॥ 87.20 ॥

sva-kṛta-pureṣv amīṣv abahir-antara-saṁvaraṇaṁ tava puruṣaṁ vadanty akhila-śakti-dhṛto ’ṁśa-kṛtam iti nṛ-gatiṁ vivicya kavayo nigamāvapanaṁ bhavata upāsate ’ṅghrim abhavam bhuvi viśvasitāḥ

Though dwelling within these bodily cities, the living being is covered neither from without nor within, since the wise declare him to be a part of You, the possessor of all power. Having thus discerned the true condition of the living being, the learned, placing their faith in this world, worship Your unborn feet, toward which all the sacrifices enjoined by the Vedas are directed.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.10.87.21)

दुरवगमात्मतत्त्वनिगमाय तवात्ततनो- श्चरितमहामृताब्धिपरिवर्तपरिश्रमणाः । न परिलषन्ति केचिदपवर्गमपीश्वर ते चरणसरोजहंसकुलसङ्गविसृष्टगृहाः ॥ 87.21 ॥

duravagamātma-tattva-nigamāya tavātta-tanoś carita-mahāmṛtābdhi-parivarta-pariśramaṇāḥ na parilaṣanti kecid apavargam apīśvara te caraṇa-saroja-haṁsa-kula-saṅga-visṛṣṭa-gṛhāḥ

My Lord, those rare, fortunate souls who, by immersing themselves in the vast nectar-ocean of Your pastimes — which You enact by assuming forms in order to reveal the elusive truth of the self — find relief from the weariness of worldly life; indifferent even to liberation, they abandon the happiness of home and family, drawn by the company of devotees who hover about Your lotus feet like flocks of swans.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.10.87.22)

त्वदनुपथं कुलायमिदमात्मसुहृत्प्रियव- च्चरति तथोन्मुखे त्वयि हिते प्रिय आत्मनि च । न बत रमन्त्यहो असदुपासनयात्महनो यदनुशया भ्रमन्त्युरुभये कुशरीरभृतः ॥ 87.22 ॥

tvad-anupathaṁ kulāyam idam ātma-suhṛt-priya-vac carati tathonmukhe tvayi hite priya ātmani ca na bata ramanty aho asad-upāsanayātma-hano yad-anuśayā bhramanty uru-bhaye ku-śarīra-bhṛtaḥ

This body, when it follows in Your path, serves a man as his own self, his friend and his beloved. Yet, though You alone are truly his well-wisher, his beloved, his very Self, turned toward him — alas — men do not delight in You. Instead, worshiping the unreal, they become, as it were, slayers of their own soul, and clinging to that vain hope, they wander through this dreadful world, taking on one wretched body after another.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.10.87.23)

निभृतमरुन्मनोऽक्षदृढयोगयुजो हृदि य- न्मुनय उपासते तदरयोऽपि ययुः स्मरणात् । स्त्रिय उरगेन्द्रभोगभुजदण्डविषक्तधियो वयमपि ते समाः समदृशोऽङ्घ्रिसरोजसुधाः ॥ 87.23 ॥

nibhṛta-marun-mano-’kṣa-dṛḍha-yoga-yujo hṛdi yan munaya upāsate tad arayo ’pi yayuḥ smaraṇāt striya uragendra-bhoga-bhuja-daṇḍa-viṣakta-dhiyo vayam api te samāḥ sama-dṛśo ’ṅghri-saroja-sudhāḥ

The very Truth which sages, firmly disciplined in breath, mind and senses, worship within the heart — that same Truth even Your enemies reached simply by constant remembrance of You; and the nectar Your consorts taste, their minds clinging to Your mighty serpent-like arms, we, the shrutis, who behold You everywhere with equal vision, also receive from Your lotus feet — for You regard us all alike.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.10.87.24)

क इह नु वेद बतावरजन्मलयोऽग्रसरं यत उदगादृषिर्यमनु देवगणा उभये । तर्हि न सन्न चासदुभयं न च कालजवः किमपि न तत्र शास्त्रमवकृष्य शयीत यदा ॥ 87.24 ॥

ka iha nu veda batāvara-janma-layo ’gra-saraṁ yata udagād ṛṣir yam anu deva-gaṇā ubhaye tarhi na san na cāsad ubhayaṁ na ca kāla-javaḥ kim api na tatra śāstram avakṛṣya śayīta yadā

In this world everyone has only just been born and will soon perish — so how could anyone here know that Original Person, from whom the first learned sage Brahma arose, and after him both classes of gods and demons? When He lies down and gathers everything into Himself, there remains neither being nor nonbeing nor both, nor the force of time — not even a scripture remains then.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.10.87.25)

जनिमसतः सतो मृतिमुतात्मनि ये च भिदां विपणमृतं स्मरन्त्युपदिशन्ति त आरुपितैः । त्रिगुणमयः पुमानिति भिदा यदबोधकृता त्वयि न ततः परत्र स भवेदवबोधरसे ॥ 87.25 ॥

janim asataḥ sato mṛtim utātmani ye ca bhidāṁ vipaṇam ṛtaṁ smaranty upadiśanti ta ārupitaiḥ tri-guṇa-mayaḥ pumān iti bhidā yad abodha-kṛtā tvayi na tataḥ paratra sa bhaved avabodha-rase

Those who teach that being arises from nonbeing, or that there is death and division even within the self, are simply proclaiming falsehood as truth, resting their teaching on imagined superimpositions. The notion that the living being is made of the three modes is a distinction born purely of ignorance; in You, who are the very essence of pure awareness, no such division exists at all, nor is there anything beyond You.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.10.87.26)

सदिव मनस्त्रिवृत्त्वयि विभात्यसदामनुजात् सदभिमृशन्त्यशेषमिदमात्मतयात्मविदः । न हि विकृतिं त्यजन्ति कनकस्य तदात्मतया स्वकृतमनुप्रविष्टमिदमात्मतयावसितम् ॥ 87.26 ॥

sad iva manas tri-vṛt tvayi vibhāty asad ā-manujāt sad abhimṛśanty aśeṣam idam ātmatayātma-vidaḥ na hi vikṛtiṁ tyajanti kanakasya tad-ātmatayā sva-kṛtam anupraviṣṭam idam ātmatayāvasitam

Just as the nature of gold is never rejected in the ornaments fashioned from it, so this entire threefold manifestation, though it appears unreal from the standpoint of the human mind, in fact shines within You as though real; hence knowers of the Self accept the whole of it as nondifferent from the Self — for this world, created by You and entered into by You, has been ascertained to be one with You.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.10.87.27)

तव परि ये चरन्त्यखिलसत्त्वनिकेततया त उत पदाक्रमन्त्यविगणय्य शिरो निर्ऋतेः । परिवयसे पशूनिव गिरा विबुधानपि तां- स्त्वयि कृतसौहृदाः खलु पुनन्ति न ये विमुखाः ॥ 87.27 ॥

tava pari ye caranty akhila-sattva-niketatayā ta uta padākramanty avigaṇayya śiro nirṛteḥ parivayase paśūn iva girā vibudhān api tāṁs tvayi kṛta-sauhṛdāḥ khalu punanti na ye vimukhāḥ

Those who move about taking shelter in You, the abode of all beings, place their foot upon the very head of Death without hesitation; but the nondevotees, however learned, You bind by the words of the Vedas as though they were beasts. It is truly Your loving devotees who purify both themselves and others — not those who turn away from You.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.10.87.28)

त्वमकरणः स्वराडखिलकारकशक्तिधर- स्तव बलिमुद्वहन्ति समदन्त्यजयानिमिषाः । वर्षभुजोऽखिलक्षितिपतेरिव विश्वसृजो विदधति यत्र ये त्वधिकृता भवतश्चकिताः ॥ 87.28 ॥

tvam akaraṇaḥ sva-rāḍ akhila-kāraka-śakti-dharas tava balim udvahanti samadanty ajayānimiṣāḥ varṣa-bhujo ’khila-kṣiti-pater iva viśva-sṛjo vidadhati yatra ye tv adhikṛtā bhavataś cakitāḥ

Though without material senses, You are self-illumined, self-ruling, and hold the power behind all agents of creation; the unconquerable gods offer You their tribute, while themselves also collecting and enjoying tribute — just as the officers governing a kingdom's provinces pay tribute to the sovereign lord of all the land, while collecting tribute in turn from their own subjects. In just this way, the creators of the universe, in fear of You, faithfully carry out their appointed tasks.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.10.87.29)

स्थिरचरजातयः स्युरजयोत्थनिमित्तयुजो विहर उदीक्षया यदि परस्य विमुक्त ततः । न हि परमस्य कश्चिदपरो न परश्च भवेद् वियत इवापदस्य तव शून्यतुलां दधतः ॥ 87.29 ॥

sthira-cara-jātayaḥ syur ajayottha-nimitta-yujo vihara udīkṣayā yadi parasya vimukta tataḥ na hi paramasya kaścid aparo na paraś ca bhaved viyata ivāpadasya tava śūnya-tulāṁ dadhataḥ

O eternally free one, Your material power gives rise to the countless moving and unmoving species only when — and only because — You sport with her by casting a single glance upon her. You, the Supreme Person, regard none as an intimate and none as a stranger, just as the sky bears no relation to any visible quality; in this sense You resemble the void itself.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.10.87.30)

अपरिमिता ध्रुवास्तनुभृतो यदि सर्वगता- स्तर्हि न शास्यतेति नियमो ध्रुव नेतरथा । अजनि च यन्मयं तदविमुच्य नियन्तृ भवेत् सममनुजानतां यदमतं मतदुष्टतया ॥ 87.30 ॥

aparimitā dhruvās tanu-bhṛto yadi sarva-gatās tarhi na śāsyateti niyamo dhruva netarathā ajani ca yan-mayaṁ tad avimucya niyantṛ bhavet samam anujānatāṁ yad amataṁ mata-duṣṭatayā

If the countless embodied souls were all-pervading and their forms never subject to change, then, O immutable one, how could You be their ruler? Such a rule could not otherwise hold. But since they are Your own expansions, and their forms undergo transformation, You remain their controller without ever being separated from them — for that which supplies the substance of a thing is also its ruler, since an effect never exists apart from its cause. Hence, to imagine that one can fully know You, who are equally present within every such part, merely through the material senses, is nothing but a false conceit.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.10.87.31)

न घटत उद्भवः प्रकृतिपूरुषयोरजयो- रुभययुजा भवन्त्यसुभृतो जलबुद्बुदवत् । त्वयि त इमे ततो विविधनामगुणैः परमे सरित इवार्णवे मधुनि लिल्युरशेषरसाः ॥ 87.31 ॥

na ghaṭata udbhavaḥ prakṛti-pūruṣayor ajayor ubhaya-yujā bhavanty asu-bhṛto jala-budbuda-vat tvayi ta ime tato vividha-nāma-guṇaiḥ parame sarita ivārṇave madhuni lilyur aśeṣa-rasāḥ

Neither material nature nor the person who seeks to enjoy her is ever born, so no separate thing can arise from either alone; yet by their combination living bodies come into being, just as bubbles form where water meets air. All these beings, with their manifold names and qualities, ultimately merge into You, the Supreme, just as rivers merge into the sea, and the essence of many flowers merges into honey.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.10.87.32)

नृषु तव मयया भ्रमममीष्ववगत्य भृशं त्वयि सुधियोऽभवे दधति भावमनुप्रभवम् । कथमनुवर्ततां भवभयं तव यद् भ्रुकुटिः सृजति मुहुस्त्रिनेमिरभवच्छरणेषु भयम् ॥ 87.32 ॥

nṛṣu tava mayayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ tvayi su-dhiyo ’bhave dadhati bhāvam anuprabhavam katham anuvartatāṁ bhava-bhayaṁ tava yad bhru-kuṭiḥ sṛjati muhus tri-nemir abhavac-charaṇeṣu bhayam

Understanding clearly this delusion of Yours spread among men, the wise fix upon You, the unborn, a devotion that arises beyond their own selves. How, then, could the fear of worldly existence ever touch those who have taken shelter in You — when it is Your very frown, the triple-rimmed wheel of time, that again and again strikes fear only into those who have not taken that shelter?

Verse 33 (bhagavata.10.87.33)

विजितहृषीकवायुभिरदान्तमनस्तुरगं य इह यतन्ति यन्तुमतिलोलमुपायखिदः । व्यसनशतान्विताः समवहाय गुरोश्चरणं वणिज इवाज सन्त्यकृतकर्णधरा जलधौ ॥ 87.33 ॥

vijita-hṛṣīka-vāyubhir adānta-manas tura-gaṁ ya iha yatanti yantum ati-lolam upāya-khidaḥ vyasana-śatānvitāḥ samavahāya guroś caraṇaṁ vaṇija ivāja santy akṛta-karṇa-dharā jaladhau

This unruly mind is like a restless horse that even those who master the senses and the breath cannot subdue. O unborn one, those in this world who, abandoning the feet of the spiritual master, attempt on their own to control that most fickle mind, become entangled in a hundred difficult methods and beset by countless obstacles — like merchants voyaging upon the ocean without a helmsman.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.10.87.34)

स्वजनसुतात्मदारधनधामधरासुरथै- स्त्वयि सति किं नृणां श्रयत आत्मनि सर्वरसे । इति सदजानतां मिथुनतो रतये चरतां सुखयति को न्विह स्वविहते स्वनिरस्तभगे ॥ 87.34 ॥

svajana-sutātma-dāra-dhana-dhāma-dharāsu-rathais tvayi sati kiṁ nṛṇām śrayata ātmani sarva-rase iti sad ajānatāṁ mithunato rataye caratāṁ sukhayati ko nv iha sva-vihate sva-nirasta-bhage

When You Yourself, the abode of every delight, are attainable, what further purpose remains for men in kinsmen, children, body, wife, wealth, home, land, health, or conveyance? And for those who, not knowing this truth of Yours, remain absorbed only in the pleasure of union between man and woman, what in this inherently doomed and fortune-forsaken world could ever bring them real happiness?

Verse 35 (bhagavata.10.87.35)

भुवि पुरुपुण्यतीर्थसदनान्यृषयो विमदा- स्त उत भवत्पदाम्बुजहृदोऽघभिदङ्घ्रिजलाः । दधति सकृन्मनस्त्वयि य आत्मनि नित्यसुखे न पुनरुपासते पुरुषसारहरावसथान् ॥ 87.35 ॥

bhuvi puru-puṇya-tīrtha-sadanāny ṛṣayo vimadās ta uta bhavat-padāmbuja-hṛdo ’gha-bhid-aṅghri-jalāḥ dadhati sakṛn manas tvayi ya ātmani nitya-sukhe na punar upāsate puruṣa-sāra-harāvasathān

Free of pride, the sages dwell on this earth at the many sacred pilgrim-sites and the places where You enacted Your pastimes; because their hearts abide at Your lotus feet, the very water that has washed theirs destroys all sin. Whoever fixes his mind, even once, upon You — the Self of eternal happiness — never again gives himself over to worshiping the household life that robs a man of all that is essential in him.

Verse 36 (bhagavata.10.87.36)

सत इदमुत्थितं सदिति चेन्ननु तर्कहतं व्यभिचरति क्व च क्व च मृषा न तथोभययुक् । व्यवहृतये विकल्प इषितोऽन्धपरम्परया भ्रमयति भारती त उरुवृत्तिभिरुक्थजडान् ॥ 87.36 ॥

sata idaṁ utthitaṁ sad iti cen nanu tarka-hataṁ vyabhicarati kva ca kva ca mṛṣā na tathobhaya-yuk vyavahṛtaye vikalpa iṣito ’ndha-paramparayā bhramayati bhāratī ta uru-vṛttibhir uktha-jaḍān

One might argue that since this world arises from Being, it must itself be Being — but this is refuted by reasoning, for the identity of cause and effect does not always hold true, nor is it wholly false either. In truth, this world is merely an imagined alternative, devised by an unbroken line of the ignorant, purely for practical convenience. The profound speech of Your Vedas, with its manifold meanings and its ritual chanting, bewilders those whose minds have grown dull from reciting the hymns.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.10.87.37)

न यदिदमग्र आस न भविष्यदतो निधना- दनुमितमन्तरा त्वयि विभाति मृषैकरसे । अत उपमीयते द्रविणजातिविकल्पपथै- र्वितथमनोविलासमृतमित्यवयन्त्यबुधाः ॥ 87.37 ॥

na yad idam agra āsa na bhaviṣyad ato nidhanād anu mitam antarā tvayi vibhāti mṛṣaika-rase ata upamīyate draviṇa-jāti-vikalpa-pathair vitatha-mano-vilāsam ṛtam ity avayanty abudhāḥ

Since this universe did not exist before its creation and will not exist after its dissolution, in between too it is but an appearance imagined within You, who are ever of one unchanging, blissful nature. We may liken it to various substances taking on their many transformed shapes; certainly those who take this play of the mind to be substantial reality are simply lacking in understanding.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.10.87.38)

स यदजया त्वजामनुशयीत गुणांश्च जुषन् भजति सरूपतां तदनु मृत्युमपेतभगः । त्वमुत जहासि तामहिरिव त्वचमात्तभगो महसि महीयसेऽष्टगुणितेऽपरिमेयभगः ॥ 87.38 ॥

sa yad ajayā tv ajām anuśayīta guṇāṁś ca juṣan bhajati sarūpatāṁ tad anu mṛtyum apeta-bhagaḥ tvam uta jahāsi tām ahir iva tvacam ātta-bhago mahasi mahīyase ’ṣṭa-guṇite ’parimeya-bhagaḥ

When this living being, overcome by that beginningless maya, follows after her and partakes of her qualities, he takes on a form resembling those very qualities, and thereafter, deprived of his true glory, undergoes death again and again. But You, like a serpent shedding its skin, cast off that maya with ease — ever established in Your own splendor, glorious with Your eightfold opulences, possessed of boundless, unmeasured fortune.

Verse 39 (bhagavata.10.87.39)

यदि न समुद्धरन्ति यतयो हृदि कामजटा दुरधिगमोऽसतां हृदि गतोऽस्मृतकण्ठमणिः । असुतृपयोगिनामुभयतोऽप्यसुखं भगव- न्ननपगतान्तकादनधिरूढपदाद् भवतः ॥ 87.39 ॥

yadi na samuddharanti yatayo hṛdi kāma-jaṭā duradhigamo ’satāṁ hṛdi gato ’smṛta-kaṇṭha-maṇiḥ asu-tṛpa-yoginām ubhayato ’py asukhaṁ bhagavann anapagatāntakād anadhirūḍha-padād bhavataḥ

If even the renounced fail to uproot the tangled knot of desire from their hearts, then, though present within, You remain as inaccessible to them as a jewel worn round the neck yet forgotten by its very wearer. O Lord, those yogis who practice yoga merely for the satisfaction of the life-breath suffer misery on both counts — they gain no release from death, which never lets them go, and they never rise to that state of Yours from which, once attained, there is no falling again.

Verse 40 (bhagavata.10.87.40)

त्वदवगमी न वेत्ति भवदुत्थशुभाशुभयो- र्गुणविगुणान्वयांस्तर्हि देहभृतां च गिरः । अनुयुगमन्वहं सगुण गीतपरम्परया श्रवणभृतो यतस्त्वमपवर्गगतिर्मनुजैः ॥ 87.40 ॥

tvad avagamī na vetti bhavad-uttha-śubhāśubhayor guṇa-viguṇānvayāṁs tarhi deha-bhṛtāṁ ca giraḥ anu-yugam anv-ahaṁ sa-guṇa gīta-paramparayā śravaṇa-bhṛto yatas tvam apavarga-gatir manu-jaiḥ

One who has directly realized You no longer cares for the joy and sorrow arising from his own past virtue and sin, knowing that You alone govern them; nor does he heed the opinions of ordinary embodied beings. Every age, he fills his ears with the praises of Your qualities, sung down through the unbroken line of Manu's descendants — and thus, O Lord, You alone become, for men, their final refuge of liberation.

Verse 41 (bhagavata.10.87.41)

द्युपतय एव ते न ययुरन्तमनन्ततयात्वमपि यदन्तराण्डनिचया ननु सावरणाः । ख इव रजांसि वान्ति वयसा सह यच्छ्रुतय-स्त्वयि हि फलन्त्यतन्निरसनेन भवन्निधनाः ॥ 87.41 ॥

dyu-pataya eva te na yayur antam anantatayā tvam api yad-antarāṇḍa-nicayā nanu sāvaraṇāḥ kha iva rajāṁsi vānti vayasā saha yac chrutayas tvayi hi phalanty atan-nirasanena bhavan-nidhanāḥ

You are unlimited, so neither the lords of heaven nor even You Yourself can ever reach the end of Your glory. Countless universes, each wrapped in its own coverings, driven by the wheel of time, wander within You just as motes of dust drift about with the wind in the sky. The shrutis too, following their own method of negating all that is not You, attain success only when, in the end, they reveal You as their final conclusion.

Verse 42 (bhagavata.10.87.42)

श्रीभगवानुवाच इत्येतद् ब्रह्मणः पुत्रा आश्रुत्यात्मानुशासनम् । सनन्दनमथानर्चुः सिद्धा ज्ञात्वात्मनो गतिम् ॥ 87.42 ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca ity etad brahmaṇaḥ putrā āśrutyātmānuśāsanam sanandanam athānarcuḥ siddhā jñātvātmano gatim

The Supreme Lord said: Having thus heard this teaching on the Supreme Self, the sons of Brahma, now knowing their own final goal, became perfected and, fully satisfied, worshiped Sanandana.

Verse 43 (bhagavata.10.87.43)

इत्यशेषसमाम्नायपुराणोपनिषद्रसः । समुद्धृतः पूर्वजातैर्व्योमयानैर्महात्मभिः ॥ 87.43 ॥

ity aśeṣa-samāmnāya- purāṇopaniṣad-rasaḥ samuddhṛtaḥ pūrva-jātair vyoma-yānair mahātmabhiḥ

In this way, this nectarean essence of the hidden truths of all the Vedas and Puranas was, long ago, distilled by those great, sky-faring souls.

Verse 44 (bhagavata.10.87.44)

त्वं चैतद् ब्रह्मदायाद श्रद्धयात्मानुशासनम् । धारयंश्चर गां कामं कामानां भर्जनं नृणाम् ॥ 87.44 ॥

tvaṁ caitad brahma-dāyāda śraddhayātmānuśāsanam dhārayaṁś cara gāṁ kāmaṁ kāmānāṁ bharjanaṁ nṛṇām

You too, O son of Brahma, holding fast with faith to this teaching on the Self, should wander the earth at will — for it is this very teaching that burns away all the desires of men.

Verse 45 (bhagavata.10.87.45)

श्रीशुक उवाच एवं स ऋषिणादिष्टं गृहीत्वा श्रद्धयात्मवान् । पूर्णः श्रुतधरो राजन्नाह वीरव्रतो मुनिः ॥ 87.45 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca evaṁ sa ṛṣiṇādiṣṭaṁ gṛhītvā śraddhayātmavān pūrṇaḥ śruta-dharo rājann āha vīra-vrato muniḥ

Shri Shukadeva said: Thus instructed by the sage, the self-possessed Narada accepted it with faith; O King, that hero-vowed sage, now fulfilled and holding all he had heard in memory, reflected upon it and spoke as follows to the Lord.

Verse 46 (bhagavata.10.87.46)

श्रीनारद उवाच नमस्तस्मै भगवते कृष्णायामलकीर्तये । यो धत्ते सर्वभूतानामभवायोशतीः कलाः ॥ 87.46 ॥

śrī-nārada uvāca namas tasmai bhagavate kṛṣṇāyāmala-kīrtaye yo dhatte sarva-bhūtānām abhavāyośatīḥ kalāḥ

Shri Narada said: Obeisances to that Lord Krishna of spotless renown, who assumes His own most gracious personal expansions for the liberation of all beings from birth and death.

Verse 47 (bhagavata.10.87.47)

इत्याद्यमृषिमानम्य तच्छिष्यांश्च महात्मनः । ततोऽगादाश्रमं साक्षात् पितुर्द्वैपायनस्य मे ॥ 87.47 ॥

ity ādyam ṛṣim ānamya tac-chiṣyāṁś ca mahātmanaḥ tato ’gād āśramaṁ sākṣāt pitur dvaipāyanasya me

[Shri Shukadeva continued:] Having spoken thus, Narada bowed down to the primeval sage and to His great-souled disciples, and then went directly to the hermitage of my own father, Dvaipayana Vyasa.

Verse 48 (bhagavata.10.87.48)

सभाजितो भगवता कृतासनपरिग्रहः । तस्मै तद् वर्णयामास नारायणमुखाच्छ्रुतम् ॥ 87.48 ॥

sabhājito bhagavatā kṛtāsana-parigrahaḥ tasmai tad varṇayām āsa nārāyaṇa-mukhāc chrutam

The Lord Vyasa received him with honor and had him take his seat; Narada then related to him everything he had heard from the very mouth of Narayana Rishi.

Verse 49 (bhagavata.10.87.49)

इत्येतद् वर्णितं राजन् यन्नः प्रश्नः कृतस्त्वया । यथा ब्रह्मण्यनिर्देश्ये निर्गुणेऽपि मनश्चरेत् ॥ 87.49 ॥

ity etad varṇitaṁ rājan yan naḥ praśnaḥ kṛtas tvayā yathā brahmaṇy anirdeśye nīṛguṇe ’pi manaś caret

O King, thus have I related the answer to the question you asked me — how the mind can move toward that indescribable, attributeless Brahman.

Verse 50 (bhagavata.10.87.50)

योऽस्योत्प्रेक्षक आदिमध्यनिधने योऽव्यक्तजीवेश्वरो यः सृष्ट्वेदमनुप्रविश्य ऋषिणा चक्रे पुरः शास्ति ताः । यं सम्पद्य जहात्यजामनुशयी सुप्तः कुलायं यथा तं कैवल्यनिरस्तयोनिमभयं ध्यायेदजस्रं हरिम् ॥ 87.50 ॥

yo ’syotprekṣaka ādi-madhya-nidhane yo ’vyakta-jīveśvaro yaḥ sṛṣṭvedam anupraviśya ṛṣiṇā cakre puraḥ śāsti tāḥ yaṁ sampadya jahāty ajām anuśayī suptaḥ kulāyaṁ yathā taṁ kaivalya-nirasta-yonim abhayaṁ dhyāyed ajasraṁ harim

He is the one who beholds this universe in its beginning, middle and end; He is the Lord of both unmanifest nature and the individual soul. Having created it, He enters within as the indwelling seer and, as its regulator, fashions the bodies of beings. Attaining Him, the soul casts off this beginningless maya, just as a sleeping man forgets his body. One who seeks fearlessness should therefore meditate constantly upon that Lord Hari — ever perfect, self-established, and free from birth.