Vidura's Talks with Maitreya

Verse 1 (bhagavata.3.5.1)

श्री शुक उवाच द्वारि द्युनद्या ऋषभः कुरूणां मैत्रेयमासीनमगाधबोधम् । क्षत्तोपसृत्याच्युतभावसिद्धः पप्रच्छ सौशील्यगुणाभितृप्तः ॥ 5.1 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca dvāri dyu-nadyā ṛṣabhaḥ kurūṇāṁ maitreyam āsīnam agādha-bodham kṣattopasṛtyācyuta-bhāva-siddhaḥ papraccha sauśīlya-guṇābhitṛptaḥ

Shri Sukadeva said: Vidura, best of the Kurus and perfected in devotion to the infallible Lord, drew near to Maitreya, that sage of unfathomable wisdom seated at the very source of the celestial river, and, wholly satisfied by his gentle and virtuous nature, put this question to him.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.3.5.2)

विदुर उवाच सुखाय कर्माणि करोति लोको न तैः सुखं वान्यदुपारमं वा । विन्देत भूयस्तत एव दुःखं यदत्र युक्तं भगवान् वदेन्नः ॥ 5.2 ॥

vidura uvāca sukhāya karmāṇi karoti loko na taiḥ sukhaṁ vānyad-upāramaṁ vā vindeta bhūyas tata eva duḥkhaṁ yad atra yuktaṁ bhagavān vaden naḥ

Vidura said: People in this world engage in action seeking happiness, yet by such action they attain neither happiness nor any real satiation — only fresh sorrow, again and again. O great one, please tell us what path is truly right in such a case.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.3.5.3)

जनस्य कृष्णाद्विमुखस्य दैवा- दधर्मशीलस्य सुदुःखितस्य । अनुग्रहायेह चरन्ति नूनं भूतानि भव्यानि जनार्दनस्य ॥ 5.3 ॥

janasya kṛṣṇād vimukhasya daivād adharma-śīlasya suduḥkhitasya anugrahāyeha caranti nūnaṁ bhūtāni bhavyāni janārdanasya

It is surely only out of compassion for those men who, by fate, have turned from Krishna and grown given to unrighteousness and deep unhappiness, that the great and gracious souls of Bhagavan Janardana wander over this earth.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.3.5.4)

तत्साधुवर्यादिश वर्त्म शं नः संराधितो भगवान् येन पुंसाम् । हृदि स्थितो यच्छति भक्तिपूते ज्ञानं सतत्त्वाधिगमं पुराणम् ॥ 5.4 ॥

tat sādhu-varyādiśa vartma śaṁ naḥ saṁrādhito bhagavān yena puṁsām hṛdi sthito yacchati bhakti-pūte jñānaṁ sa-tattvādhigamaṁ purāṇam

Therefore, O foremost of the saints, teach us that auspicious path by which the Lord, dwelling within the heart of man, when duly served becomes pleased and bestows, upon a heart purified by devotion, that ancient knowledge which leads to the understanding of truth itself.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.3.5.5)

करोति कर्माणि कृतावतारो यान्यात्मतन्त्रो भगवांस्त्र्यधीशः । यथा ससर्जाग्र इदं निरीहः संस्थाप्य वृत्तिं जगतो विधत्ते ॥ 5.5 ॥

karoti karmāṇi kṛtāvatāro yāny ātma-tantro bhagavāṁs tryadhīśaḥ yathā sasarjāgra idaṁ nirīhaḥ saṁsthāpya vṛttiṁ jagato vidhatte

Tell me, please, of the deeds He performs when He assumes an incarnation — He who, though the self-sufficient Lord of the three worlds, needs nothing from another — and how, though desireless, He first fashioned this creation and, having established its means of sustenance, continues to govern it.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.3.5.6)

यथा पुनः स्वे ख इदं निवेश्य शेते गुहायां स निवृत्तवृत्तिः । योगेश्वराधीश्वर एक एत- दनुप्रविष्टो बहुधा यथासीत् ॥ 5.6 ॥

yathā punaḥ sve kha idaṁ niveśya śete guhāyāṁ sa nivṛtta-vṛttiḥ yogeśvarādhīśvara eka etad anupraviṣṭo bahudhā yathāsīt

And tell me, too, how, His activity now at rest, He draws this creation into His own form of infinite space and lies down within that innermost cave, and how He, the one Lord of even the masters of yoga, though single and alone, enters into this creation in so many diverse forms.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.3.5.7)

क्रीडन् विधत्ते द्विजगोसुराणां क्षेमाय कर्माण्यवतारभेदैः । मनो न तृप्यत्यपि शृण्वतां नः सुश्लोकमौलेश्चरितामृतानि ॥ 5.7 ॥

krīḍan vidhatte dvija-go-surāṇāṁ kṣemāya karmāṇy avatāra-bhedaiḥ mano na tṛpyaty api śṛṇvatāṁ naḥ suśloka-mauleś caritāmṛtāni

In His pastimes, through His various incarnations, He acts always for the welfare of the brahmanas, the cows, and the gods; and though we listen without pause to the nectarean deeds of that most glorious Lord, our minds are never satisfied.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.3.5.8)

यैस्तत्त्वभेदैरधिलोकनाथो लोकानलोकान् सह लोकपालान् । अचीक्लृपद्यत्र हि सर्वसत्त्व- निकायभेदोऽधिकृतः प्रतीतः ॥ 5.8 ॥

yais tattva-bhedair adhiloka-nātho lokān alokān saha lokapālān acīkḷpad yatra hi sarva-sattva- nikāya-bhedo ’dhikṛtaḥ pratītaḥ

Tell us also of those distinct principles by which the Lord of all the worlds fashioned the higher and lower planets together with their respective guardians, and in which the entire differentiation of living beings appears so clearly established.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.3.5.9)

येन प्रजानामुत आत्मकर्म- रूपाभिधानां य भिदां व्यधत्त । नारायणो विश्वसृगात्मयोनि- रेतच्च नो वर्णय विप्रवर्य ॥ 5.9 ॥

yena prajānām uta ātma-karma- rūpābhidhānāṁ ca bhidāṁ vyadhatta nārāyaṇo viśvasṛg ātma-yonir etac ca no varṇaya vipra-varya

O foremost of the brahmanas, tell us too how Narayana, the self-existent creator of the universe, brought about the differences of nature, action, form, and name among the beings born into it.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.3.5.10)

परावरेषां भगवन् व्रतानि श्रुतानि मे व्यासमुखादभीक्ष्णम् । अतृप्नुम क्षुल्लसुखावहानां तेषामृते कृष्णकथामृतौघात् ॥ 5.10 ॥

parāvareṣāṁ bhagavan vratāni śrutāni me vyāsa-mukhād abhīkṣṇam atṛpnuma kṣulla-sukhāvahānāṁ teṣām ṛte kṛṣṇa-kathāmṛtaughāt

O my lord, I have heard again and again from the mouth of Vyasa about the disciplines proper to the higher and the lower orders of life, but the small happiness such subjects bring never satisfied me — only the flowing nectar of talk about Krishna could do that.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.3.5.11)

कस्तृप्नुयात्तीर्थपदोऽभिधानात् सत्रेषु वः सूरिभिरीड्यमानात् । यः कर्णनाडीं पुरुषस्य यातो भवप्रदां गेहरतिं छिनत्ति ॥ 5.11 ॥

kas tṛpnuyāt tīrtha-pado ’bhidhānāt satreṣu vaḥ sūribhir īḍyamānāt yaḥ karṇa-nāḍīṁ puruṣasya yāto bhava-pradāṁ geha-ratiṁ chinatti

Who indeed could ever be satisfied with talk of Him whose feet are themselves every place of pilgrimage, and whom the great sages praise in their assemblies — for once such talk enters through the channel of the ear, it severs at once the very attachment to home and hearth that binds one to birth and death?

Verse 12 (bhagavata.3.5.12)

मुनिर्विवक्षुर्भगवद्गुणानां सखापि ते भारतमाह कृष्णः । यस्मिन्नृणां ग्राम्यसुखानुवादै- र्मतिर्गृहीता नु हरेः कथायाम् ॥ 5.12 ॥

munir vivakṣur bhagavad-guṇānāṁ sakhāpi te bhāratam āha kṛṣṇaḥ yasmin nṛṇāṁ grāmya-sukhānuvādair matir gṛhītā nu hareḥ kathāyām

Even your friend, the sage Krishna-dvaipayana, though he composed the Mahabharata precisely to speak of the Lord's own qualities, drew the minds of ordinary men toward talk of Hari only by way of stories of worldly life that first hold their attention.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.3.5.13)

सा श्रद्दधानस्य विवर्धमाना विरक्तिमन्यत्र करोति पुंसः । हरेः पदानुस्मृतिनिर्वृतस्य समस्तदुःखाप्ययमाशु धत्ते ॥ 5.13 ॥

sā śraddadhānasya vivardhamānā viraktim anyatra karoti puṁsaḥ hareḥ padānusmṛti-nirvṛtasya samasta-duḥkhāpyayam āśu dhatte

As that talk of Hari grows within a man of true faith, it produces in him an indifference toward everything else, and one who thus rejoices in the constant remembrance of the Lord's feet finds every sorrow of his swiftly brought to an end.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.3.5.14)

ताञ्छोच्यशोच्यानविदोऽनुशोचे हरेः कथायां विमुखानघेन । क्षिणोति देवोऽनिमिषस्तु येषा- मायुर्वृथावादगतिस्मृतीनाम् ॥ 5.14 ॥

tāñ chocya-śocyān avido ’nuśoce hareḥ kathāyāṁ vimukhān aghena kṣiṇoti devo ’nimiṣas tu yeṣām āyur vṛthā-vāda-gati-smṛtīnām

For those unfortunate ones who, because of their own sins, turn away from talk of Hari and fail to grasp its purpose, I feel pity indeed — pitiable among the pitiable as they are — for I see how eternal, unblinking time wastes away their lives while they remain lost in empty argument, imagined goals, and a scatter of rituals.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.3.5.15)

तदस्य कौषारव शर्मदातु- र्हरेः कथामेव कथासु सारम् । उद्धृत्य पुष्पेभ्य इवार्तबन्धो शिवाय नः कीर्तय तीर्थकीर्तेः ॥ 5.15 ॥

tad asya kauṣārava śarma-dātur hareḥ kathām eva kathāsu sāram uddhṛtya puṣpebhya ivārta-bandho śivāya naḥ kīrtaya tīrtha-kīrteḥ

Therefore, O son of Kushara, O friend of the afflicted, just as the bee draws only honey from among the flowers, draw out for our welfare, from among all possible topics, the very essence — the story of that Lord who is the giver of all blessing, whose glory is sung wherever pilgrims gather.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.3.5.16)

स विश्वजन्मस्थितिसंयमार्थे कृतावतारः प्रगृहीतशक्तिः । चकार कर्माण्यतिपूरुषाणि यानीश्वरः कीर्तय तानि मह्यम् ॥ 5.16 ॥

sa viśva-janma-sthiti-saṁyamārthe kṛtāvatāraḥ pragṛhīta-śaktiḥ cakāra karmāṇy atipūruṣāṇi yānīśvaraḥ kīrtaya tāni mahyam

Please tell me, then, of all those superhuman deeds of the Supreme Controller, who assumes His incarnations, fully vested with every power, for the sake of the creation, maintenance, and dissolution of this universe.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.3.5.17)

श्री शुक उवाच स एवं भगवान् पृष्टः क्षत्त्रा कौषारवो मुनिः । पुंसां निःश्रेयसार्थेन तमाह बहुमानयन् ॥ 5.17 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca sa evaṁ bhagavān pṛṣṭaḥ kṣattrā kauṣāravo muniḥ puṁsāṁ niḥśreyasārthena tam āha bahu-mānayan

Shri Sukadeva said: Thus questioned by Vidura, the sage Maitreya, son of Kushara, honoring him greatly, began to speak — for the supreme welfare of all beings.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.3.5.18)

मैत्रेय उवाच साधु पृष्टं त्वया साधो लोकान् साध्वनुगृह्णता । कीर्तिं वितन्वता लोके आत्मनोऽधोक्षजात्मनः ॥ 5.18 ॥

maitreya uvāca sādhu pṛṣṭaṁ tvayā sādho lokān sādhv anugṛhṇatā kīrtiṁ vitanvatā loke ātmano ’dhokṣajātmanaḥ

Shri Maitreya said: Well have you asked, O good one, for your mind ever rests upon the Transcendent Lord — and in asking thus, you show mercy to the whole world while spreading His own glory.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.3.5.19)

नैतच्चित्रं त्वयि क्षत्तर्बादरायणवीर्यजे । गृहीतोऽनन्यभावेन यत्त्वया हरिरीश्वरः ॥ 5.19 ॥

naitac citraṁ tvayi kṣattar bādarāyaṇa-vīryaje gṛhīto ’nanya-bhāvena yat tvayā harir īśvaraḥ

It is no wonder at all, O Vidura, that you have taken hold of the Lord Hari with such unwavering devotion — for you yourself were born of the very seed of the sage Badarayana.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.3.5.20)

माण्डव्यशापाद्भगवान् प्रजासंयमनो यमः । भ्रातुः क्षेत्रे भुजिष्यायां जातः सत्यवतीसुतात् ॥ 5.20 ॥

māṇḍavya-śāpād bhagavān prajā-saṁyamano yamaḥ bhrātuḥ kṣetre bhujiṣyāyāṁ jātaḥ satyavatī-sutāt

I know that you, who were once the mighty Yamaraja himself, the controller of all beings, took birth — through the curse of the sage Mandavya — from Vyasa, the son of Satyavati, in the womb of his brother's serving-wife.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.3.5.21)

भवान् भगवतो नित्यं सम्मतः सानुगस्य ह । यस्य ज्ञानोपदेशाय मादिशद्भगवान् व्रजन् ॥ 5.21 ॥

bhavān bhagavato nityaṁ sammataḥ sānugasya ha yasya jñānopadeśāya mādiśad bhagavān vrajan

You are yourself one of the eternal associates of the Lord, held always in His high regard, and it was for the sake of instructing men like you that the Lord, as He was returning to His own abode, left this very knowledge with me.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.3.5.22)

अथ ते भगवल्लीला योगमायोरुबृंहिताः । विश्वस्थित्युद्भवान्तार्था वर्णयाम्यनुपूर्वशः ॥ 5.22 ॥

atha te bhagaval-līlā yoga-māyorubṛṁhitāḥ viśva-sthity-udbhavāntārthā varṇayāmy anupūrvaśaḥ

I shall therefore now describe to you, in due order, those pastimes of the Lord — the great expansion of His own yogamaya — that concern the creation, the maintenance, and the dissolution of this universe.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.3.5.23)

भगवानेक आसेदमग्र आत्मात्मनां विभुः । आत्मेच्छानुगतावात्मा नानामत्युपलक्षणः ॥ 5.23 ॥

bhagavān eka āsedam agra ātmātmanāṁ vibhuḥ ātmecchānugatāv ātmā nānā-maty-upalakṣaṇaḥ

Before creation, Bhagavan, the master of all beings, existed alone, in His own form, as the Self of all selves; and within that one Self, entirely subject to His own will, lay hidden the seeds of every kind of differentiated intelligence.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.3.5.24)

स वा एष तदा द्रष्टा नापश्यद् दृश्यमेकराट् । मेनेऽसन्तमिवात्मानं सुप्तशक्तिरसुप्तदृक् ॥ 5.24 ॥

sa vā eṣa tadā draṣṭā nāpaśyad dṛśyam ekarāṭ mene ’santam ivātmānaṁ supta-śaktir asupta-dṛk

At that time He, the sole seer, the undisputed lord of all, had nothing to see, for creation was not yet; His outer power lay dormant, though His own inner awareness never sleeps — and so He seemed, as it were, to regard His own self as somehow incomplete.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.3.5.25)

सा वा एतस्य संद्रष्टुः शक्तिः सदसदात्मिका । माया नाम महाभाग ययेदं निर्ममे विभुः ॥ 5.25 ॥

sā vā etasya saṁdraṣṭuḥ śaktiḥ sad-asad-ātmikā māyā nāma mahā-bhāga yayedaṁ nirmame vibhuḥ

That very power of the Supreme Seer, O most fortunate one, which is at once both cause and effect, is known by the name maya; and it was by that power alone that the Almighty Lord constructed this entire creation.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.3.5.26)

कालवृत्त्या तु मायायां गुणमय्यामधोक्षजः । पुरुषेणात्मभूतेन वीर्यमाधत्त वीर्यवान् ॥ 5.26 ॥

kāla-vṛttyā tu māyāyāṁ guṇa-mayyām adhokṣajaḥ puruṣeṇātma-bhūtena vīryam ādhatta vīryavān

Then, through the working of time, the Transcendent Lord, mighty in His own potency, cast the seed of creation into the three-gunas-natured maya, by means of the purusha-incarnation, His own direct expansion.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.3.5.27)

ततोऽभवन् महत्तत्त्वमव्यक्तात्कालचोदितात् । विज्ञानात्मात्मदेहस्थं विश्वं व्यञ्जंस्तमोनुदः ॥ 5.27 ॥

tato ’bhavan mahat-tattvam avyaktāt kāla-coditāt vijñānātmātma-deha-sthaṁ viśvaṁ vyañjaṁs tamo-nudaḥ

From that unmanifest maya, stirred by time, the mahat-tattva then came into being, and within it the Lord, the very light that dispels all darkness, in His form of pure undivided consciousness, made manifest the whole universe, as it were, seated upon His own body.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.3.5.28)

सोऽप्यंशगुणकालात्मा भगवद्दृष्टिगोचरः । आत्मानं व्यकरोदात्मा विश्वस्यास्य सिसृक्षया ॥ 5.28 ॥

so ’py aṁśa-guṇa-kālātmā bhagavad-dṛṣṭi-gocaraḥ ātmānaṁ vyakarod ātmā viśvasyāsya sisṛkṣayā

That mahat-tattva itself, embodying a portion of the Lord along with the quality of ignorance and the principle of time, coming within range of the Lord's own glance, then differentiated itself, out of the desire to bring this universe into being, into many separate forms.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.3.5.29)

महत्तत्त्वाद्विकुर्वाणादहंतत्त्वं व्यजायत । कार्यकारणकर्त्रात्मा भूतेन्द्रियमनोमयः । वैकारिकस्तैजसश्च तामसश्चेत्यहं त्रिधा ॥ 5.29 ॥

mahat-tattvād vikurvāṇād ahaṁ-tattvaṁ vyajāyata kārya-kāraṇa-kartrātmā bhūtendriya-mano-mayaḥ vaikārikas taijasaś ca tāmasaś cety ahaṁ tridhā

From that mahat-tattva, as it underwent transformation, sprang the principle of false ego, embodying at once the effect, the cause, and the doer, and giving rise to the gross elements, the senses, and the mind; and this false ego itself divided into three — the sattvic, the rajasic, and the tamasic.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.3.5.30)

अहंतत्त्वाद्विकुर्वाणान्मनो वैकारिकादभूत् । वैकारिकाश्च ये देवा अर्थाभिव्यञ्जनं यतः ॥ 5.30 ॥

ahaṁ-tattvād vikurvāṇān mano vaikārikād abhūt vaikārikāś ca ye devā arthābhivyañjanaṁ yataḥ

From the sattvic aspect of false ego, as it underwent its own transformation, the mind was born, and from that same sattvic aspect arose also the presiding deities through whom the perception of sense-objects becomes possible.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.3.5.31)

तैजसानीन्द्रियाण्येव ज्ञानकर्ममयानि च ॥ 5.31 ॥

taijasānīndriyāṇy eva jñāna-karma-mayāni ca

From the rajasic aspect of false ego arose the senses themselves — those of knowledge as well as those of action.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.3.5.32)

तामसो भूतसूक्ष्मादिर्यतः खं लिङ्गमात्मनः ॥ 5.32 ॥

tāmaso bhūta-sūkṣmādir yataḥ khaṁ liṅgam ātmanaḥ

From the tamasic aspect of false ego arise the subtle elements, the first of which is the sky — itself, as it were, a symbol of the Supreme Self.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.3.5.33)

कालमायांशयोगेन भगवद्वीक्षितं नभः । नभसोऽनुसृतं स्पर्शं विकुर्वन्निर्ममेऽनिलम् ॥ 5.33 ॥

kāla-māyāṁśa-yogena bhagavad-vīkṣitaṁ nabhaḥ nabhaso ’nusṛtaṁ sparśaṁ vikurvan nirmame ’nilam

Through the mingling of time and a portion of maya, that element of sky, once glanced upon by the Lord, gave rise, by its own transformation, to the sensation of touch, whence came the wind.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.3.5.34)

अनिलोऽपि विकुर्वाणो नभसोरुबलान्वितः । ससर्ज रूपतन्मात्रं ज्योतिर्लोकस्य लोचनम् ॥ 5.34 ॥

anilo ’pi vikurvāṇo nabhasoru-balānvitaḥ sasarja rūpa-tanmātraṁ jyotir lokasya locanam

That wind, in turn, mingling with the sky and gathering great force, gave rise to the subtle principle of form, from which came light, the very eye by which the world is seen.

Verse 35 (bhagavata.3.5.35)

अनिलेनान्वितं ज्योतिर्विकुर्वत्परवीक्षितम् । आधत्ताम्भो रसमयं कालमायांशयोगतः ॥ 5.35 ॥

anilenānvitaṁ jyotir vikurvat paravīkṣitam ādhattāmbho rasa-mayaṁ kāla-māyāṁśa-yogataḥ

That light, joined with the wind and glanced upon once more by the Supreme, gave rise, through the union of time and a portion of maya, to water, endowed with the quality of taste.

Verse 36 (bhagavata.3.5.36)

ज्योतिषाम्भोऽनुसंसृष्टं विकुर्वद्ब्रह्मवीक्षितम् । महीं गन्धगुणामाधात्कालमायांशयोगतः ॥ 5.36 ॥

jyotiṣāmbho ’nusaṁsṛṣṭaṁ vikurvad brahma-vīkṣitam mahīṁ gandha-guṇām ādhāt kāla-māyāṁśa-yogataḥ

That light, mingled with water and glanced upon by the Supreme Brahman, gave rise, through the same union of time and maya, to the earth, marked by the quality of smell.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.3.5.37)

भूतानां नभ आदीनां यद्यद्भव्यावरावरम् । तेषां परानुसंसर्गाद्यथासंख्यं गुणान् विदुः ॥ 5.37 ॥

bhūtānāṁ nabha-ādīnāṁ yad yad bhavyāvarāvaram teṣāṁ parānusaṁsargād yathā saṅkhyaṁ guṇān viduḥ

O gentle one, understand that whatever inferior or superior quality is found in each of these physical elements, from the sky down to the earth, comes to it, in due sequence, only through that final touch of the Lord's own glance.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.3.5.38)

एते देवाः कला विष्णोः कालमायांशलिङ्गिनः । नानात्वात्स्वक्रियानीशाः प्रोचुः प्राञ्जलयो विभुम् ॥ 5.38 ॥

ete devāḥ kalā viṣṇoḥ kāla-māyāṁśa-liṅginaḥ nānātvāt sva-kriyānīśāḥ procuḥ prāñjalayo vibhum

These presiding deities, portions of Vishnu Himself, embodied by time and a fragment of maya, finding themselves each unable, on account of their separate and limited powers, to carry out their own appointed function, then stood with folded hands and offered this prayer to the all-pervading Lord.

Verse 39 (bhagavata.3.5.39)

देवा ऊचुः नमाम ते देव पदारविन्दं प्रपन्नतापोपशमातपत्रम् । यन्मूलकेता यतयोऽञ्जसोरु- संसारदुःखं बहिरुत्क्षिपन्ति ॥ 5.39 ॥

devā ūcuḥ namāma te deva padāravindaṁ prapanna-tāpopaśamātapatram yan-mūla-ketā yatayo ’ñjasoru- saṁsāra-duḥkhaṁ bahir utkṣipanti

The gods said: O Lord, we bow to Your lotus feet, which are like an umbrella sheltering the surrendered from every torment, and beneath which the sages, taking refuge, cast off with ease the vast suffering of worldly existence.

Verse 40 (bhagavata.3.5.40)

धातर्यदस्मिन् भव ईश जीवा- स्तापत्रयेणाभिहता न शर्म । आत्मन्लभन्ते भगवंस्तवाङ्घ्रि- च्छायां सविद्यामत आश्रयेम ॥ 5.40 ॥

dhātar yad asmin bhava īśa jīvās tāpa-trayeṇābhihatā na śarma ātman labhante bhagavaṁs tavāṅghri- cchāyāṁ sa-vidyām ata āśrayema

O Father, O Lord, since the living beings in this world, tormented always by the three kinds of suffering, never find happiness, they take shelter, O Self of all, in the shade of Your feet, filled as they are with knowledge — and we too take that very shelter.

Verse 41 (bhagavata.3.5.41)

मार्गन्ति यत्ते मुखपद्मनीडै- श्छन्दःसुपर्णैऋर्षयो विविक्ते । यस्याघमर्षोदसरिद्वरायाः पदं पदं तीर्थपदः प्रपन्नाः ॥ 5.41 ॥

mārganti yat te mukha-padma-nīḍaiś chandaḥ-suparṇair ṛṣayo vivikte yasyāgha-marṣoda-sarid-varāyāḥ padaṁ padaṁ tīrtha-padaḥ prapannāḥ

It is Your lotus face itself that the clear-minded sages, borne on the wings of the Vedic hymns, seek out as their true nest, and it is from Your very feet that the best of rivers, capable of washing away every sin, springs at every step — that same sanctuary, O You whose feet are every place of pilgrimage, we too now seek.

Verse 42 (bhagavata.3.5.42)

यच्छ्रद्धया श्रुतवत्या य भक्त्या संमृज्यमाने हृदयेऽवधाय । ज्ञानेन वैराग्यबलेन धीरा व्रजेम तत्तेऽङ्घ्रिसरोजपीठम् ॥ 5.42 ॥

yac chraddhayā śrutavatyā ca bhaktyā sammṛjyamāne hṛdaye ’vadhāya jñānena vairāgya-balena dhīrā vrajema tat te ’ṅghri-saroja-pīṭham

May we, steadfast, through knowledge and the strength of true detachment, go to that sanctuary of Your lotus feet — those very feet which, when established in the heart through faithful hearing and devotion, cleanse the heart itself.

Verse 43 (bhagavata.3.5.43)

विश्वस्य जन्मस्थितिसंयमार्थे कृतावतारस्य पदाम्बुजं ते । व्रजेम सर्वे शरणं यदीश स्मृतं प्रयच्छत्यभयं स्वपुंसाम् ॥ 5.43 ॥

viśvasya janma-sthiti-saṁyamārthe kṛtāvatārasya padāmbujaṁ te vrajema sarve śaraṇaṁ yad īśa smṛtaṁ prayacchaty abhayaṁ sva-puṁsām

O Lord, let all of us go for shelter to those very lotus feet, assumed in Your incarnations for the creation, maintenance, and dissolution of this universe, for the mere remembrance of them grants fearlessness to Your own devotees.

Verse 44 (bhagavata.3.5.44)

यत्सानुबन्धेऽसति देहगेहे ममाहमित्यूढदुराग्रहाणाम् । पुंसां सुदूरं वसतोऽपि पुर्यां भजेम तत्ते भगवन् पदाब्जम् ॥ 5.44 ॥

yat sānubandhe ’sati deha-gehe mamāham ity ūḍha-durāgrahāṇām puṁsāṁ sudūraṁ vasato ’pi puryāṁ bhajema tat te bhagavan padābjam

Those who remain bound by the deep and stubborn notion 'this body is mine, this home is mine' cannot see Your lotus feet, even though those feet dwell within their own being — as if they lived far away from them. Let us, O Lord, worship those very feet.

Verse 45 (bhagavata.3.5.45)

तान् वै ह्यसद्वृत्तिभिरक्षिभिर्ये पराहृतान्तर्मनसः परेश । अथो न पश्यन्त्युरुगाय नूनं ये ते पदन्यासविलासलक्ष्याः ॥ 5.45 ॥

tān vai hy asad-vṛttibhir akṣibhir ye parāhṛtāntar-manasaḥ pareśa atho na paśyanty urugāya nūnaṁ ye te padanyāsa-vilāsa-lakṣyāḥ

O Supreme Lord, those whose inner mind is drawn outward by senses given over to unreal pursuits can never see those feet of Yours, O You of vast renown — they are seen only by those whose sole aim is to delight, in a wholly transcendental way, in Your own sportive movements.

Verse 46 (bhagavata.3.5.46)

पानेन ते देव कथासुधायाः प्रवृद्धभक्त्या विशदाशया ये । वैराग्यसारं प्रतिलभ्य बोधं यथाञ्जसान्वीयुरकुण्ठधिष्ण्यम् ॥ 5.46 ॥

pānena te deva kathā-sudhāyāḥ pravṛddha-bhaktyā viśadāśayā ye vairāgya-sāraṁ pratilabhya bodhaṁ yathāñjasānvīyur akuṇṭha-dhiṣṇyam

O Lord, those who, drinking the nectar of talk about You, with ever-growing devotion and a heart made pure, attain the very essence of renunciation together with true knowledge, reach with ease that unbroken abode of Yours.

Verse 47 (bhagavata.3.5.47)

तथापरे चात्मसमाधियोग- बलेन जित्वा प्रकृतिं बलिष्ठाम् । त्वामेव धीराः पुरुषं विशन्ति तेषां श्रमः स्यान्न तु सेवया ते ॥ 5.47 ॥

tathāpare cātma-samādhi-yoga- balena jitvā prakṛtiṁ baliṣṭhām tvām eva dhīrāḥ puruṣaṁ viśanti teṣāṁ śramaḥ syān na tu sevayā te

Others too, by the strength of self-realization and the discipline of yoga, conquer that most powerful material nature and enter into You, O Steadfast One; but for them this is achieved only with great toil, whereas Your devotees, who do nothing but serve You, know no such difficulty.

Verse 48 (bhagavata.3.5.48)

तत्ते वयं लोकसिसृक्षयाद्य त्वयानुसृष्टास्त्रिभिरात्मभिः स्म । सर्वे वियुक्ताः स्वविहारतन्त्रं न शक्नुमस्तत्प्रतिहर्तवे ते ॥ 5.48 ॥

tat te vayaṁ loka-sisṛkṣayādya tvayānusṛṣṭās tribhir ātmabhiḥ sma sarve viyuktāḥ sva-vihāra-tantraṁ na śaknumas tat pratihartave te

O Original Person, thus we, all of us, have been brought into being one by one for the sake of Your creation, through the working of the three modes; but each divided from the other, we find ourselves unable to weave together that web of activity fit for Your own delight.

Verse 49 (bhagavata.3.5.49)

यावद्बलिं तेऽज हराम काले यथा वयं चान्नमदाम यत्र । यथोभयेषां त इमे हि लोका बलिं हरन्तोऽन्नमदन्त्यनूहाः ॥ 5.49 ॥

yāvad baliṁ te ’ja harāma kāle yathā vayaṁ cānnam adāma yatra yathobhayeṣāṁ ta ime hi lokā baliṁ haranto ’nnam adanty anūhāḥ

O unborn one, tell us, please, how we may in due season offer You our tribute, and how we in turn may partake of nourishment, so that all these worlds, offering tribute and eating their food, may sustain themselves without disturbance, to the good of both You and us.

Verse 50 (bhagavata.3.5.50)

त्वं नः सुराणामसि सान्वयानां कूटस्थ आद्यः पुरुषः पुराणः । त्वं देव शक्त्यां गुणकर्मयोनौ रेतस्त्वजायां कविमादधेऽजः ॥ 5.50 ॥

tvaṁ naḥ surāṇām asi sānvayānāṁ kūṭa-stha ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ tvaṁ deva śaktyāṁ guṇa-karma-yonau retas tv ajāyāṁ kavim ādadhe ’jaḥ

You alone are the original, unchanging, and eternal Person from whom we gods, with all our lineage, have sprung; O Lord, though Yourself unborn, it is You who plant the seed of all creation within that potency which is itself the womb of the qualities and their workings.

Verse 51 (bhagavata.3.5.51)

ततो वयं मत्प्रमुखा यदर्थे बभूविमात्मन् करवाम किं ते । त्वं नः स्वचक्षुः परिदेहि शक्त्या देव क्रियार्थे यदनुग्रहाणाम् ॥ 5.51 ॥

tato vayaṁ mat-pramukhā yad-arthe babhūvimātman karavāma kiṁ te tvaṁ naḥ sva-cakṣuḥ paridehi śaktyā deva kriyārthe yad-anugrahāṇām

Therefore, O Supreme Self, tell us — we who were brought forth, with myself foremost among them, for a particular purpose — what shall we now do for You? Grant us, O Lord, Your own guiding vision, and endow us too with the power to carry out, in the tasks assigned by Your grace, whatever service is required of us.