Conversation Between King Rahugana and Jada Bharata

Verse 1 (bhagavata.5.12.1)

रहूगण उवाच नमो नमः कारणविग्रहाय स्वरूपतुच्छीकृतविग्रहाय । नमोऽवधूत द्विजबन्धुलिङ्ग- निगूढनित्यानुभवाय तुभ्यम् ॥ १ ॥

rahūgaṇa uvāca namo namaḥ kāraṇa-vigrahāya svarūpa-tucchīkṛta-vigrahāya namo ’vadhūta dvija-bandhu-liṅga- nigūḍha-nityānubhavāya tubhyam

King Rahugana said: Obeisance, obeisance to you, whose very form exists only as a cause you have assumed, who by your own true nature have shown that form itself to be of no account; obeisance to you, O wandering sage, who conceal, beneath the guise of a mere brahmana of no consequence, an eternal, ever-abiding experience of Truth.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.5.12.2)

ज्वरामयार्तस्य यथागदं सत् निदाघदग्धस्य यथा हिमाम्भः । कुदेहमानाहिविदष्टदृष्टेः ब्रह्मन् वचस्तेऽमृतमौषधं मे ॥ २ ॥

jvarāmayārtasya yathāgadaṁ sat nidāgha-dagdhasya yathā himāmbhaḥ kudeha-mānāhi-vidaṣṭa-dṛṣṭeḥ brahman vacas te ’mṛtam auṣadhaṁ me

As medicine cures one who suffers from fever, as cool water soothes one scorched by the heat of summer — so, O brahmana, your words are, for me, whose sight has been bitten by the serpent of false bodily identification, both nectar and medicine at once.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.5.12.3)

तस्माद्भवन्तं मम संशयार्थं प्रक्ष्यामि पश्चादधुना सुबोधम् । अध्यात्मयोगग्रथितं तवोक्त- माख्याहि कौतूहलचेतसो मे ॥ ३ ॥

tasmād bhavantaṁ mama saṁśayārthaṁ prakṣyāmi paścād adhunā subodham adhyātma-yoga-grathitaṁ tavoktam ākhyāhi kautūhala-cetaso me

Therefore, whatever further doubts remain in me I shall ask you afterward; for now, please explain to me in a way easily understood what you have spoken, woven through with the yoga of the inner self — for my mind is filled with eager curiosity.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.5.12.4)

यदाह योगेश्वर दृश्यमानं क्रियाफलं सद्व्यहारमूलम् । न ह्यञ्जसा तत्त्वविमर्शनाय भवानमुष्मिन् भ्रमते मनो मे ॥ ४ ॥

yad āha yogeśvara dṛśyamānaṁ kriyā-phalaṁ sad-vyavahāra-mūlam na hy añjasā tattva-vimarśanāya bhavān amuṣmin bhramate mano me

What you have said — that this visible fatigue, the fruit of action, has its root only in worldly convention — does not, in truth, bring my reflection any closer to the Truth; on this very point my mind still wanders.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.5.12.5)

ब्राह्मण उवाच अयं जनो नाम चलन् पृथिव्यां यः पार्थिवः पार्थिव कस्य हेतोः । तस्यापि चाङ्घ्र्योरधि गुल्फजङ्घा- जानूरुमध्योरशिरोधरांसाः ॥ ५ ॥

brāhmaṇa uvāca ayaṁ jano nāma calan pṛthivyāṁ yaḥ pārthivaḥ pārthiva kasya hetoḥ tasyāpi cāṅghryor adhi gulpha-jaṅghā- jānūru-madhyora-śirodharāṁsāḥ

The brahmana said: This being called 'a man,' moving upon the earth — this one you call 'the king' — for what reason is he so? For he too, resting above his ankles, calves, knees, thighs, waist, neck and shoulders...

Verse 6 (bhagavata.5.12.6)

अंसेऽधि दार्वी शिबिका च यस्यां सौवीरराजेत्यपदेश आस्ते । यस्मिन् भवान् रूढनिजाभिमानो राजास्मि सिन्धुष्विति दुर्मदान्धः ॥ ६ ॥

aṁse ’dhi dārvī śibikā ca yasyāṁ sauvīra-rājety apadeśa āste yasmin bhavān rūḍha-nijābhimāno rājāsmi sindhuṣv iti durmadāndhaḥ

...upon whose shoulder rests this wooden palanquin, within which sits the one designated 'King of Sauvira' — it is within that very body that you, your false self-identification firmly rooted, blinded by the intoxication of pride, declare, 'I am king over the Sindhus.'

Verse 7 (bhagavata.5.12.7)

शोच्यानिमांस्त्वमधिकष्टदीनान् विष्ट्या निगृह्णन्निरनुग्रहोऽसि । जनस्य गोप्तास्मि विकत्थमानो न शोभसे वृद्धसभासु धृष्टः ॥ ७ ॥

śocyān imāṁs tvam adhikaṣṭa-dīnān viṣṭyā nigṛhṇan niranugraho ’si janasya goptāsmi vikatthamāno na śobhase vṛddha-sabhāsu dhṛṣṭaḥ

These pitiable people, so grievously distressed and wretched, whom you compel into unpaid forced labor — you show them no compassion at all. And boasting all the while, 'I am the protector of my people,' you, for all your audacity, hardly cut a worthy figure in the assemblies of the wise.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.5.12.8)

यदा क्षितावेव चराचरस्य विदाम निष्ठां प्रभवं च नित्यम् । तन्नामतोऽन्यद् व्यवहारमूलं निरूप्यतां सत् क्रिययानुमेयम् ॥ ८ ॥

yadā kṣitāv eva carācarasya vidāma niṣṭhāṁ prabhavaṁ ca nityam tan nāmato ’nyad vyavahāra-mūlaṁ nirūpyatāṁ sat-kriyayānumeyam

Since we know that the permanence and the very origin of all things, moving and unmoving, rest in the earth alone, let it be examined — and this can be inferred simply from how things actually behave — whether anything beyond mere naming truly lies at the root of our worldly dealings.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.5.12.9)

एवं निरुक्तं क्षितिशब्दवृत्त- मसन्निधानात्परमाणवो ये । अविद्यया मनसा कल्पितास्ते येषां समूहेन कृतो विशेषः ॥ ९ ॥

evaṁ niruktaṁ kṣiti-śabda-vṛttam asan nidhānāt paramāṇavo ye avidyayā manasā kalpitās te yeṣāṁ samūhena kṛto viśeṣaḥ

And when the true meaning of even the word 'earth' is examined further, one finds it resting on nothing but atoms — and these atoms too are mere conceptions of a mind clouded by ignorance; it is only by their aggregation that any distinction of objects is made at all.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.5.12.10)

एवं कृशं स्थूलमणुर्बृहद्यद् असच्च सज्जीवमजीवमन्यत् । द्रव्यस्वभावाशयकालकर्म- नाम्नाजयावेहि कृतं द्वितीयम् ॥ १० ॥

evaṁ kṛśaṁ sthūlam aṇur bṛhad yad asac ca saj jīvam ajīvam anyat dravya-svabhāvāśaya-kāla-karma- nāmnājayāvehi kṛtaṁ dvitīyam

Thus thin or stout, small or large, unreal or real, living or lifeless, and whatever other distinctions there be — know that this secondary creation, wrought by substance, disposition, time and action, is a matter of naming alone.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.5.12.11)

ज्ञानं विशुद्धं परमार्थमेक- मनन्तरं त्वबहिर्ब्रह्म सत्यम् । प्रत्यक् प्रशान्तं भगवच्छब्दसंज्ञं यद्वासुदेवं कवयो वदन्ति ॥ ११ ॥

jñānaṁ viśuddhaṁ paramārtham ekam anantaraṁ tv abahir brahma satyam pratyak praśāntaṁ bhagavac-chabda-saṁjñaṁ yad vāsudevaṁ kavayo vadanti

That which is knowledge itself, wholly pure, the supreme goal, one without a second, having nothing beyond it and nothing outside it, Brahman, the Real, known within, forever at peace, that which bears the very name 'Bhagavan' — this the wise call Vasudeva.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.5.12.12)

रहूगणैतत्तपसा न याति न चेज्यया निर्वपणाद् गृहाद्वा । नच्छन्दसा नैव जलाग्निसूर्यै- र्विना महत्पादरजोऽभिषेकम् ॥ १२ ॥

rahūgaṇaitat tapasā na yāti na cejyayā nirvapaṇād gṛhād vā na cchandasā naiva jalāgni-sūryair vinā mahat-pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekam

O Rahugana, this realization is attained neither through austerity, nor sacrifice, nor ritual offering, nor household life, nor the Vedic hymns, nor even through penance by water, fire or sun — it comes to no one without the anointing dust of the feet of the great.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.5.12.13)

यत्रोत्तमश्लोकगुणानुवादः प्रस्तूयते ग्राम्यकथाविघातः । निषेव्यमाणोऽनुदिनं मुमुक्षो- र्मतिं सतीं यच्छति वासुदेवे ॥ १३ ॥

yatrottamaśloka-guṇānuvādaḥ prastūyate grāmya-kathā-vighātaḥ niṣevyamāṇo ’nudinaṁ mumukṣor matiṁ satīṁ yacchati vāsudeve

Where the glorification of the qualities of the Supremely Praised Lord is set forth, putting an end to all idle worldly talk — such discourse, served day after day, grants even one who seeks liberation a steady and virtuous intelligence turned toward Vasudeva.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.5.12.14)

अहं पुरा भरतो नाम राजा विमुक्तदृष्टश्रुतसङ्गबन्धः । आराधनं भगवत ईहमानो मृगोऽभवं मृगसङ्गाद्धतार्थः ॥ १४ ॥

ahaṁ purā bharato nāma rājā vimukta-dṛṣṭa-śruta-saṅga-bandhaḥ ārādhanaṁ bhagavata īhamāno mṛgo ’bhavaṁ mṛga-saṅgād dhatārthaḥ

In a former life I was a king named Bharata, one already freed from bondage to whatever is seen or heard of worldly enjoyment, wholly engaged in the worship of the Lord — yet through my attachment to a deer, that gain was undone, and I myself became a deer.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.5.12.15)

सा मां स्मृतिर्मृगदेहेऽपि वीर कृष्णार्चनप्रभवा नो जहाति । अथो अहं जनसङ्गादसङ्गो विशङ्कमानोऽविवृतश्चरामि ॥ १५ ॥

sā māṁ smṛtir mṛga-dehe ’pi vīra kṛṣṇārcana-prabhavā no jahāti atho ahaṁ jana-saṅgād asaṅgo viśaṅkamāno ’vivṛtaś carāmi

O hero, that memory, born of my worship of Krishna, did not desert me even in the body of a deer. And so, ever since, I have kept myself apart from the company of men, wandering about warily, my true self undisclosed.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.5.12.16)

तस्मान्नरोऽसङ्गसुसङ्गजात- ज्ञानासिनेहैव विवृक्णमोहः । हरिं तदीहाकथनश्रुताभ्यां लब्धस्मृतिर्यात्यतिपारमध्वनः ॥ १६ ॥

tasmān naro ’saṅga-susaṅga-jāta- jñānāsinehaiva vivṛkṇa-mohaḥ hariṁ tad-īhā-kathana-śrutābhyāṁ labdha-smṛtir yāty atipāram adhvanaḥ

Therefore a man whose delusion has been severed, in this very life, by the sword of knowledge born of association with the unattached, and who, through hearing and speaking of Hari's own deeds, recovers the memory of his true self, crosses over to the farthest shore of this journey.