Narada Instructs the Pracetas

Verse 1 (bhagavata.4.31.1)

मैत्रेय उवाच तत उत्पन्नविज्ञाना आश्वधोक्षजभाषितम् । स्मरन्त आत्मजे भार्यां विसृज्य प्राव्रजन् गृहात् ॥ 31.1 ॥

maitreya uvāca tata utpanna-vijñānā āśv adhokṣaja-bhāṣitam smaranta ātmaje bhāryāṁ visṛjya prāvrajan gṛhāt

Maitreya said: Thereafter, true understanding having arisen within them, quickly recalling the words spoken by Adhokshaja, they entrusted their wife to their son and set out from home as renunciants.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.4.31.2)

दीक्षिता ब्रह्मसत्रेण सर्वभूतात्ममेधसा । प्रतीच्यां दिशि वेलायां सिद्धोऽभूद्यत्र जाजलिः ॥ 31.2 ॥

dīkṣitā brahma-satreṇa sarva-bhūtātma-medhasā pratīcyāṁ diśi velāyāṁ siddho ’bhūd yatra jājaliḥ

Consecrated by the sacrifice of Brahman-knowledge, which sees the self alike in all beings, they went to that shore in the western direction where the sage Jajali had attained perfection.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.4.31.3)

तान्निर्जितप्राणमनोवचोदृशो जितासनान् शान्तसमानविग्रहान् । परेऽमले ब्रह्मणि योजितात्मनः सुरासुरेड्यो ददृशे स्म नारदः ॥ 31.3 ॥

tān nirjita-prāṇa-mano-vaco-dṛśo jitāsanān śānta-samāna-vigrahān pare ’male brahmaṇi yojitātmanaḥ surāsureḍyo dadṛśe sma nāradaḥ

Narada, worshipped by both gods and demons, saw them there — their breath, mind, speech and sight all mastered, their postures conquered, their bodies calm and evenly still, their very selves joined to the Supreme, stainless Brahman.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.4.31.4)

तमागतं त उत्थाय प्रणिपत्याभिनन्द्य च । पूजयित्वा यथादेशं सुखासीनमथाब्रुवन् ॥ 31.4 ॥

tam āgataṁ ta utthāya praṇipatyābhinandya ca pūjayitvā yathādeśaṁ sukhāsīnam athābruvan

Seeing him arrive, they rose at once, bowed before him, welcomed him, and, having worshipped him according to custom and seated him comfortably, spoke to him as follows.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.4.31.5)

प्रचेतस ऊचुः स्वागतं ते सुरर्षेऽद्य दिष्ट्या नो दर्शनं गतः । तव चङ्क्रमणं ब्रह्मन्नभयाय यथा रवेः ॥ 31.5 ॥

pracetasa ūcuḥ svāgataṁ te surarṣe ’dya diṣṭyā no darśanaṁ gataḥ tava caṅkramaṇaṁ brahmann abhayāya yathā raveḥ

The Pracetas said: Welcome, O sage of the gods — by good fortune you have today come within our sight. O brahmana, your wandering, like the sun's own journey, brings fearlessness to all.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.4.31.6)

यदादिष्टं भगवता शिवेनाधोक्षजेन च । तद् गृहेषु प्रसक्तानां प्रायशः क्षपितं प्रभो ॥ 31.6 ॥

yad ādiṣṭaṁ bhagavatā śivenādhokṣajena ca tad gṛheṣu prasaktānāṁ prāyaśaḥ kṣapitaṁ prabho

O master, what Bhagavan Shiva and Adhokshaja once taught us has, through our attachment to household life, largely faded away from us.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.4.31.7)

तन्नः प्रद्योतयाध्यात्मज्ञानं तत्त्वार्थदर्शनम् । येनाञ्जसा तरिष्यामो दुस्तरं भवसागरम् ॥ 31.7 ॥

tan naḥ pradyotayādhyātma- jñānaṁ tattvārtha-darśanam yenāñjasā tariṣyāmo dustaraṁ bhava-sāgaram

Kindle for us, then, that knowledge of the self, that vision into true reality, by which we may easily cross over this hard-to-cross ocean of worldly existence.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.4.31.8)

मैत्रेय उवाच इति प्रचेतसां पृष्टो भगवान्नारदो मुनिः । भगवत्युत्तमश्लोक आविष्टात्माब्रवीन्नृपान् ॥ 31.8 ॥

maitreya uvāca iti pracetasāṁ pṛṣṭo bhagavān nārado muniḥ bhagavaty uttama-śloka āviṣṭātmābravīn nṛpān

Maitreya said: Thus questioned by the Pracetas, the sage Narada, his very self absorbed in Bhagavan Uttamashloka, began to speak to those kings.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.4.31.9)

नारद उवाच तज्जन्म तानि कर्माणि तदायुस्तन्मनो वचः । नृणां येन हि विश्वात्मा सेव्यते हरिरीश्वरः ॥ 31.9 ॥

nārada uvāca taj janma tāni karmāṇi tad āyus tan mano vacaḥ nṛṇāṁ yena hi viśvātmā sevyate harir īśvaraḥ

Narada said: That alone is a man's true birth, those alone his true deeds, that alone his true lifespan, mind and speech, by which Hari, the Supreme Lord, the Self of the universe, comes to be served.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.4.31.10)

किं जन्मभिस्त्रिभिर्वेह शौक्रसावित्रयाज्ञिकैः । कर्मभिर्वा त्रयीप्रोक्तैः पुंसोऽपि विबुधायुषा ॥ 31.10 ॥

kiṁ janmabhis tribhir veha śaukra-sāvitra-yājñikaiḥ karmabhir vā trayī-proktaiḥ puṁso ’pi vibudhāyuṣā

Without devotion to the Lord, what use are the three births — by seed, by initiation, and by sacrificial rite — or the works enjoined by the three Vedas, even for a man granted the lifespan of a god?

Verse 11 (bhagavata.4.31.11)

श्रुतेन तपसा वा किं वचोभिश्चित्तवृत्तिभिः । बुद्ध्या वा किं निपुणया बलेनेन्द्रियराधसा ॥ 31.11 ॥

śrutena tapasā vā kiṁ vacobhiś citta-vṛttibhiḥ buddhyā vā kiṁ nipuṇayā balenendriya-rādhasā

What use is Vedic learning, or austerity, or eloquence, or the cultivation of the mind? What use is a keen intellect, or strength, or mastery over the senses, without devotion?

Verse 12 (bhagavata.4.31.12)

किं वा योगेन साङ्ख्येन न्यासस्वाध्याययोरपि । किं वा श्रेयोभिरन्यैश्च न यत्रात्मप्रदो हरिः ॥ 31.12 ॥

kiṁ vā yogena sāṅkhyena nyāsa-svādhyāyayor api kiṁ vā śreyobhir anyaiś ca na yatrātma-prado hariḥ

What use is yoga, or Sankhya, or renunciation and scriptural study, or any other so-called good, in which Hari does not bestow Himself?

Verse 13 (bhagavata.4.31.13)

श्रेयसामपि सर्वेषामात्मा ह्यवधिरर्थतः । सर्वेषामपि भूतानां हरिरात्मात्मदः प्रियः ॥ 31.13 ॥

śreyasām api sarveṣām ātmā hy avadhir arthataḥ sarveṣām api bhūtānāṁ harir ātmātmadaḥ priyaḥ

Of all things counted as good, the self is, in truth, the final measure; and Hari, the self of all beings, who gives His very self, is the most beloved of all.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.4.31.14)

यथा तरोर्मूलनिषेचनेन तृप्यन्ति तत्स्कन्धभुजोपशाखाः । प्राणोपहाराच्च यथेन्द्रियाणां तथैव सर्वार्हणमच्युतेज्या ॥ 31.14 ॥

yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā

Just as watering the root of a tree satisfies its trunk, its branches and its smallest twigs, and just as nourishing the vital breath satisfies all the senses, so worship of Achyuta alone is worship of everyone and everything.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.4.31.15)

यथैव सूर्यात्प्रभवन्ति वारः पुनश्च तस्मिन्प्रविशन्ति काले । भूतानि भूमौ स्थिरजङ्गमानि तथा हरावेव गुणप्रवाहः ॥ 31.15 ॥

yathaiva sūryāt prabhavanti vāraḥ punaś ca tasmin praviśanti kāle bhūtāni bhūmau sthira-jaṅgamāni tathā harāv eva guṇa-pravāhaḥ

Just as waters arise from the sun and, in time, return again into it, and just as all beings, moving and unmoving, arise from the earth and return to it, so the whole flow of the gunas arises from Hari alone and returns into Him alone.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.4.31.16)

एतत्पदं तज्जगदात्मनः परं सकृद्विभातं सवितुर्यथा प्रभा । यथासवो जाग्रति सुप्तशक्तयो द्रव्यक्रियाज्ञानभिदाभ्रमात्ययः ॥ 31.16 ॥

etat padaṁ taj jagad-ātmanaḥ paraṁ sakṛd vibhātaṁ savitur yathā prabhā yathāsavo jāgrati supta-śaktayo dravya-kriyā-jñāna-bhidā-bhramātyayaḥ

This universe is nothing but that supreme Self shone forth once and for all, as sunlight is of the sun; and just as the senses, their power lying dormant, awaken with the breath of life, so the illusion of difference among substance, action and knowledge comes to an end.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.4.31.17)

यथा नभस्यभ्रतमःप्रकाशा भवन्ति भूपा न भवन्त्यनुक्रमात् । एवं परे ब्रह्मणि शक्तयस्त्वमू रजस्तमःसत्त्वमिति प्रवाहः ॥ 31.17 ॥

yathā nabhasy abhra-tamaḥ-prakāśā bhavanti bhūpā na bhavanty anukramāt evaṁ pare brahmaṇi śaktayas tv amū rajas tamaḥ sattvam iti pravāhaḥ

Just as, in the sky, clouds, darkness and light appear and vanish in their turn, without ever touching the sky itself, so too in the Supreme Brahman these energies called rajas, tamas and sattva flow forth and pass away.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.4.31.18)

तेनैकमात्मानमशेषदेहिनां कालं प्रधानं पुरुषं परेशम् । स्वतेजसा ध्वस्तगुणप्रवाह- मात्मैकभावेन भजध्वमद्धा ॥ 31.18 ॥

tenaikam ātmānam aśeṣa-dehināṁ kālaṁ pradhānaṁ puruṣaṁ pareśam sva-tejasā dhvasta-guṇa-pravāham ātmaika-bhāvena bhajadhvam addhā

Therefore, holding within yourselves the awareness of oneness with Him, worship that one Self of all embodied beings — Time, Pradhana, the Purusha, the Supreme Lord — who by His own splendor dissolves this very flow of the gunas.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.4.31.19)

दयया सर्वभूतेषु सन्तुष्ट्या येन केन वा । सर्वेन्द्रियोपशान्त्या च तुष्यत्याशु जनार्दनः ॥ 31.19 ॥

dayayā sarva-bhūteṣu santuṣṭyā yena kena vā sarvendriyopaśāntyā ca tuṣyaty āśu janārdanaḥ

Through compassion toward all beings, through contentment with whatever one has, and through the stilling of all the senses, Janardana is quickly pleased.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.4.31.20)

अपहतसकलैषणामलात्म- न्यविरतमेधितभावनोपहूतः । निजजनवशगत्वमात्मनोऽय- न्न सरति छिद्रवदक्षरः सतां हि ॥ 31.20 ॥

apahata-sakalaiṣaṇāmalātmany aviratam edhita-bhāvanopahūtaḥ nija-jana-vaśa-gatvam ātmano ’yan na sarati chidravad akṣaraḥ satāṁ hi

Called forth by the ever-deepening devotion of the pure self, freed from every worldly craving, the imperishable Lord — himself now subject to His own devotees — never departs from the saintly, no more than a gap could ever slip away from them.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.4.31.21)

न भजति कुमनीषिणां स इज्यां हरिरधनात्मधनप्रियो रसज्ञः । श्रुतधनकुलकर्मणां मदैर्ये विदधति पापमकिञ्चनेषु सत्सु ॥ 31.21 ॥

na bhajati kumanīṣiṇāṁ sa ijyāṁ harir adhanātma-dhana-priyo rasa-jñaḥ śruta-dhana-kula-karmaṇāṁ madair ye vidadhati pāpam akiñcaneṣu satsu

Hari, the connoisseur of devotion, who cherishes the inner wealth of even the materially poor, does not accept the worship of those of clouded understanding — who, drunk on learning, riches, lineage or accomplishment, do wrong to the saintly who possess nothing at all.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.4.31.22)

श्रियमनुचरतीं तदर्थिनश्च द्विपदपतीन् विबुधांश्च यत्स्वपूर्णः । न भजति निजभृत्यवर्गतन्त्रः कथममुमुद्विसृजेत्पुमान् कृतज्ञः ॥ 31.22 ॥

śriyam anucaratīṁ tad-arthinaś ca dvipada-patīn vibudhāṁś ca yat sva-pūrṇaḥ na bhajati nija-bhṛtya-varga-tantraḥ katham amum udvisṛjet pumān kṛta-jñaḥ

Though the goddess of fortune herself follows Him, and kings and even the gods, seeking her favor, attend upon Him, the self-sufficient Lord pays them no heed, being given over wholly to His own devotees — how, then, could any grateful man ever forsake Him?

Verse 23 (bhagavata.4.31.23)

मैत्रेय उवाच इति प्रचेतसो राजन्नन्याश्च भगवत्कथाः । श्रावयित्वा ब्रह्मलोकं ययौ स्वायम्भुवो मुनिः ॥ 31.23 ॥

maitreya uvāca iti pracetaso rājann anyāś ca bhagavat-kathāḥ śrāvayitvā brahma-lokaṁ yayau svāyambhuvo muniḥ

Maitreya said: O King, having thus recited to the Pracetas this and other stories of Bhagavan, the sage Narada, son of Svayambhu, departed for Brahmaloka.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.4.31.24)

तेऽपि तन्मुखनिर्यातं यशो लोकमलापहम् । हरेर्निशम्य तत्पादं ध्यायन्तस्तद्गतिं ययुः ॥ 31.24 ॥

te ’pi tan-mukha-niryātaṁ yaśo loka-malāpaham harer niśamya tat-pādaṁ dhyāyantas tad-gatiṁ yayuḥ

They too, having heard from his own lips that glory of Hari which removes the impurity of the world, meditating upon His feet, attained His own supreme destination.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.4.31.25)

एतत्तेऽभिहितं क्षत्तर्यन्मां त्वं परिपृष्टवान् । प्रचेतसां नारदस्य संवादं हरिकीर्तनम् ॥ 31.25 ॥

etat te ’bhihitaṁ kṣattar yan māṁ tvaṁ paripṛṣṭavān pracetasāṁ nāradasya saṁvādaṁ hari-kīrtanam

O Kshatta, this conversation between Narada and the Pracetas — itself nothing but the glorification of Hari — is what you asked of me, and I have now told it to you in full.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.4.31.26)

श्रीशुक उवाच य एष उत्तानपदो मानवस्यानुवर्णितः । वंशः प्रियव्रतस्यापि निबोध नृपसत्तम ॥ 31.26 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca ya eṣa uttānapado mānavasyānuvarṇitaḥ vaṁśaḥ priyavratasyāpi nibodha nṛpa-sattama

Shri Shuka said: O best of kings, I have thus described the dynasty of Uttanapada, son of Manu; now hear in the same way of the dynasty of Priyavrata.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.4.31.27)

यो नारदादात्मविद्यामधिगम्य पुनर्महीम् । भुक्त्वा विभज्य पुत्रेभ्य ऐश्वरं समगात्पदम् ॥ 31.27 ॥

yo nāradād ātma-vidyām adhigamya punar mahīm bhuktvā vibhajya putrebhya aiśvaraṁ samagāt padam

Priyavrata, having received self-knowledge from Narada, went on even so to enjoy the earth; then, dividing it among his sons, he attained the Lord's own supreme abode.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.4.31.28)

इमां तु कौषारविणोपवर्णितां क्षत्ता निशम्याजितवादसत्कथाम् । प्रवृद्धभावोऽश्रुकलाकुलो मुने- र्दधार मूर्ध्ना चरणं हृदा हरेः ॥ 31.28 ॥

imāṁ tu kauṣāraviṇopavarṇitāṁ kṣattā niśamyājita-vāda-sat-kathām pravṛddha-bhāvo ’śru-kalākulo muner dadhāra mūrdhnā caraṇaṁ hṛdā hareḥ

Hearing this sacred narration of the invincible Lord, as told by Kausharavi, Kshatta was overcome with deep feeling, his eyes filled with tears, and, bowing his head to the sage's feet, he held Hari fast within his own heart.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.4.31.29)

विदुर उवाच सोऽयमद्य महायोगिन् भवता करुणात्मना । दर्शितस्तमसः पारो यत्राकिञ्चनगो हरिः ॥ 31.29 ॥

vidura uvāca so ’yam adya mahā-yogin bhavatā karuṇātmanā darśitas tamasaḥ pāro yatrākiñcana-go hariḥ

Vidura said: O great yogi, today, through your compassionate nature, you have shown me that far shore beyond darkness, where Hari draws near to those who have nothing at all.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.4.31.30)

श्रीशुक उवाच इत्यानम्य तमामन्त्र्य विदुरो गजसाह्वयम् । स्वानां दिदृक्षुः प्रययौ ज्ञातीनां निर्वृताशयः ॥ 31.30 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca ity ānamya tam āmantrya viduro gajasāhvayam svānāṁ didṛkṣuḥ prayayau jñātīnāṁ nirvṛtāśayaḥ

Shri Shuka said: Having thus bowed to him and taken leave, Vidura, his heart now at peace, set out for Hastinapura, wishing to see his own kinsmen.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.4.31.31)

एतद्यः शृणुयाद्राजन् राज्ञां हर्यर्पितात्मनाम् । आयुर्धनं यशः स्वस्ति गतिमैश्वर्यमाप्नुयात् ॥ 31.31 ॥

etad yaḥ śṛṇuyād rājan rājñāṁ hary-arpitātmanām āyur dhanaṁ yaśaḥ svasti gatim aiśvaryam āpnuyāt

O King, whoever hears this account of these kings, who offered their very selves to Hari, attains long life, wealth, fame, well-being, and, in the end, the supreme destination and glory.