The Passing of Rishabhadeva

Verse 1 (bhagavata.5.6.1)

राजोवाच न नूनं भगव आत्मारामाणां योगसमीरितज्ञानावभर्जितकर्मबीजानाम् ऐश्वर्याणि पुनः क्लेशदानि भवितुम् अर्हन्ति यदृच्छयोपगतानि ॥ १ ॥

rājovāca na nūnaṁ bhagava ātmārāmāṇāṁ yoga-samīrita-jñānāvabharjita-karma-bījānām aiśvaryāṇi punaḥ kleśadāni bhavitum arhanti yadṛc-chayopagatāni.

The king said: My lord, how could yogic powers, once they come unbidden to those who delight in the self alone and whose seeds of karma have already been burned away by the knowledge born of yoga, ever again become a cause of suffering for them?

Verse 2 (bhagavata.5.6.2)

ऋषिरुवाच सत्यमुक्तं किन्त्विह वा एके न मनसोऽद्धा विश्रम्भमनवस्थानस्य शठकिरात इव सङ्गच्छन्ते ॥ २ ॥

ṛṣir uvāca satyam uktaṁ kintv iha vā eke na manaso ’ddhā viśrambham anavasthānasya śaṭha-kirāta iva saṅgacchante.

The sage said: What you say is true; yet in this matter, some never place their full trust in this unsteady mind, just as a cunning hunter never fully trusts even the animal he has tamed.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.5.6.3)

तथा चोक्तम्— न कुर्यात्कर्हिचित्सख्यं मनसि ह्यनवस्थिते । यद्विश्रम्भाच्चिराच्चीर्णं चस्कन्द तप ऐश्वरम् ॥ ३ ॥

tathā coktam — na kuryāt karhicit sakhyaṁ manasi hy anavasthite yad-viśrambhāc cirāc cīrṇaṁ caskanda tapa aiśvaram

As it is said: one should never make friends with this unsteady mind, for it is by trusting it that even divine austerity, practiced over a long time, comes crashing down.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.5.6.4)

नित्यं ददाति कामस्यच्छिद्रं तमनु येऽरयः । योगिनः कृतमैत्रस्य पत्युर्जायेव पुंश्चली ॥ ४ ॥

nityaṁ dadāti kāmasya cchidraṁ tam anu ye ’rayaḥ yoginaḥ kṛta-maitrasya patyur jāyeva puṁścalī

For the yogi who has made friends with it, this mind continually opens a breach for lust and its fellow enemies to enter, just as an unfaithful wife continually gives opportunity to her husband's enemies.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.5.6.5)

कामो मन्युर्मदो लोभः शोकमोहभयादयः । कर्मबन्धश्च यन्मूलः स्वीकुर्यात्को नु तद् बुधः ॥ ५ ॥

kāmo manyur mado lobhaḥ śoka-moha-bhayādayaḥ karma-bandhaś ca yan-mūlaḥ svīkuryāt ko nu tad budhaḥ

Lust, anger, arrogance, greed, grief, delusion, fear and the rest, together with bondage to karma — all are rooted in this very mind; what wise man, then, would place his trust in it?

Verse 6 (bhagavata.5.6.6)

अथैवमखिललोकपालललामोऽपि विलक्षणैर्जडवदवधूतवेषभाषाचरितैरविलक्षितभगवत्प्रभावो योगिनां साम्परायविधिमनुशिक्षयन् स्वकलेवरं जिहासुरात्मन्यात्मानमसंव्यवहितमनर्थान्तरभावेनान्वीक्षमाण उपरतानुवृत्तिरुपरराम ॥ ६ ॥

athaivam akhila-loka-pāla-lalāmo ’pi vilakṣaṇair jaḍavad avadhūta-veṣa-bhāṣā-caritair avilakṣita-bhagavat-prabhāvo yogināṁ sāmparāya-vidhim anuśikṣayan sva-kalevaraṁ jihāsur ātmany ātmānam asaṁvyavahitam anarthāntara-bhāvenānvīkṣamāṇa uparatānuvṛttir upararāma.

Thus, though the very foremost of all rulers of the worlds, He concealed His divine majesty beneath the strange, seemingly dull ways, dress and speech of an avadhuta, and, teaching the yogis the manner of the final passing, desiring now to give up His body, beholding His own Self within Himself as undivided, as no different from Him, He ceased from all activity.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.5.6.7)

तस्य ह वा एवं मुक्तलिङ्गस्य भगवत ऋषभस्य योगमायावासनया देह इमां जगतीमभिमानाभासेन सङ्क्रममाणः कोङ्कवेङ्ककुटकान्दक्षिणकर्णाटकान्देशान् यदृच्छयोपगतः कुटकाचलोपवन आस्यकृताश्मकवल उन्माद इव मुक्तमूर्धजोऽसंवीत एव विचचार ॥ ७ ॥

tasya ha vā evaṁ mukta-liṅgasya bhagavata ṛṣabhasya yoga-māyā-vāsanayā deha imāṁ jagatīm abhimānābhāsena saṅkramamāṇaḥ koṅka-veṅka-kuṭakān dakṣiṇa-karṇāṭakān deśān yadṛcchayopagataḥ kuṭakācalopavana āsya kṛtāśma-kavala unmāda iva mukta-mūrdhajo ’saṁvīta eva vicacāra.

Thus, though truly freed even of any subtle body, the form of Bhagavan Rishabha, by the residual power of yogamaya alone, went on moving through this world as though under some semblance of ego. Arriving, as it happened, in the lands of Konka, Venka and Kutaka in southern Karnataka, He wandered in the grove near Mount Kutaka, a mouthful of stones held in His mouth, His hair unbound, and utterly unclothed, like a madman.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.5.6.8)

अथ समीरवेगविधूतवेणुविकर्षणजातोग्रदावानलस्तद्वनमालेलिहानः सह तेन ददाह ॥ ८ ॥

atha samīra-vega-vidhūta-veṇu-vikarṣaṇa-jātogra-dāvānalas tad vanam ālelihānaḥ saha tena dadāha.

Then a fierce forest fire, born of bamboo stalks rubbing together as they were tossed by the force of the wind, swallowed up that whole forest, and along with it, His body.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.5.6.9)

यस्य किलानुचरितमुपाकर्ण्य कोङ्कवेङ्ककुटकानां राजार्हन्नामोपशिक्ष्य कलावधर्म उत्कृष्यमाणे भवितव्येन विमोहितः स्वधर्मपथमकुतोभयमपहाय कुपथपाखण्डमसमञ्जसं निजमनीषया मन्दः सम्प्रवर्तयिष्यते ॥ ९ ॥

yasya kilānucaritam upākarṇya koṅka-veṅka-kuṭakānāṁ rājārhan-nāmopaśikṣya kalāv adharma utkṛṣyamāṇe bhavitavyena vimohitaḥ sva-dharma-patham akuto-bhayam apahāya kupatha-pākhaṇḍam asamañjasaṁ nija-manīṣayā mandaḥ sampravartayiṣyate.

Hearing of His conduct, the king of Konka, Venka and Kutaka, named Arhat, imitating Him, and bewildered — as was fated by the rising tide of unrighteousness in the age of Kali — will abandon the safe, well-worn path of his own dharma, and, deluded by his own reasoning, that foolish man will set going a misguided and incoherent heresy.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.5.6.10)

येन ह वाव कलौ मनुजापसदा देवमायामोहिताः स्वविधिनियोगशौचचारित्रविहीना देवहेलनान्यपव्रतानि निजनिजेच्छया गृह्णाना अस्नानानाचमनाशौचकेशोल्लुञ्चनादीनि कलिनाधर्मबहुलेनोपहतधियो ब्रह्मब्राह्मणयज्ञपुरुषलोकविदूषकाः प्रायेण भविष्यन्ति ॥ १० ॥

yena ha vāva kalau manujāpasadā deva-māyā-mohitāḥ sva-vidhi-niyoga-śauca-cāritra-vihīnā deva-helanāny apavratāni nija-nijecchayā gṛhṇānā asnānānācamanāśauca-keśolluñcanādīni kalinādharma-bahulenopahata-dhiyo brahma-brāhmaṇa-yajña-puruṣa-loka-vidūṣakāḥ prāyeṇa bhaviṣyanti.

Because of that very influence, in Kali-yuga base men, bewildered by the Lord's illusory power and stripped of their scripture-ordained duties, purity and good conduct, will take up, of their own choosing, self-styled vows that mock the Lord — giving up bathing, ritual sipping and cleanliness, plucking out their own hair, and, their minds corrupted by an age steeped in unrighteousness, will become mockers of the Veda, of brahmanas, of the Lord of sacrifice, and of the saintly.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.5.6.11)

ते च ह्यर्वाक्तनया निजलोकयात्रयान्धपरम्परयाऽऽश्वस्तास्तमस्यन्धे स्वयमेव प्रपतिष्यन्ति ॥ ११ ॥

te ca hy arvāktanayā nija-loka-yātrayāndha-paramparayāśvastās tamasy andhe svayam eva prapatiṣyanti.

Trusting only in their own base way of life, a mere succession of one blind man following another, they will, of their own doing, plunge into the blackest darkness.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.5.6.12)

अयमवतारो रजसोपप्लुतकैवल्योपशिक्षणार्थः ॥ १२ ॥

ayam avatāro rajasopapluta-kaivalyopaśikṣaṇārthaḥ.

This incarnation, indeed, took place solely to teach the path of liberation to an age overwhelmed by the mode of passion.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.5.6.13)

तस्यानुगुणान् श्लोकान् गायन्ति— अहो भुवः सप्तसमुद्रवत्या द्वीपेषु वर्षेष्वधिपुण्यमेतत् । गायन्ति यत्रत्यजना मुरारेः कर्माणि भद्राण्यवतारवन्ति ॥ १३ ॥

tasyānuguṇān ślokān gāyanti — aho bhuvaḥ sapta-samudravatyā dvīpeṣu varṣeṣv adhipuṇyam etat gāyanti yatratya-janā murāreḥ karmāṇi bhadrāṇy avatāravanti

In keeping with his glory, these verses are sung: "How wondrous — of all the islands and lands of this earth, girded by its seven seas, this Bharatavarsha is the most blessed, where the people sing of the auspicious deeds of Murari's incarnations."

Verse 14 (bhagavata.5.6.14)

अहो नु वंशो यशसावदातः प्रैयव्रतो यत्र पुमान् पुराणः । कृतावतारः पुरुषः स आद्य- श्चचार धर्मं यदकर्महेतुम् ॥ १४ ॥

aho nu vaṁśo yaśasāvadātaḥ praiyavrato yatra pumān purāṇaḥ kṛtāvatāraḥ puruṣaḥ sa ādyaś cacāra dharmaṁ yad akarma-hetum

"How radiant with glory is the line of Priyavrata, where that ancient, primeval Person Himself took incarnation and lived out that dharma which frees one from the bondage of action!"

Verse 15 (bhagavata.5.6.15)

को न्वस्य काष्ठामपरोऽनुगच्छे- न्मनोरथेनाप्यभवस्य योगी । यो योगमायाः स्पृहयत्युदस्ता ह्यसत्तया येन कृतप्रयत्नाः ॥ १५ ॥

ko nv asya kāṣṭhām aparo ’nugacchen mano-rathenāpy abhavasya yogī yo yoga-māyāḥ spṛhayaty udastā hy asattayā yena kṛta-prayatnāḥ

"What other yogi could ever follow, even in his imagination, to that ultimate height reached by the unborn Lord, who cast aside as worthless those very yogic powers that other seekers strive so hard to attain?"

Verse 16 (bhagavata.5.6.16)

इति ह स्म सकलवेदलोकदेवब्राह्मणगवां परमगुरोर्भगवत ऋषभाख्यस्य विशुद्धाचरितमीरितं पुंसां समस्तदुश्चरिताभिहरणं परममहामङ्गलायनमिदमनुश्रद्धयोपचितयानुशृणोत्याश्रावयति वावहितो भगवति तस्मिन् वासुदेव एकान्ततो भक्तिरनयोरपि समनुवर्तते ॥ १६ ॥

iti ha sma sakala-veda-loka-deva-brāhmaṇa-gavāṁ parama-guror bhagavata ṛṣabhākhyasya viśuddhācaritam īritaṁ puṁsāṁ samasta-duścaritābhiharaṇaṁ parama-mahā-maṅgalāyanam idam anuśraddhayopacitayānuśṛṇoty āśrāvayati vāvahito bhagavati tasmin vāsudeva ekāntato bhaktir anayor api samanuvartate.

Thus has been told this most pure conduct of Bhagavan Rishabha, the supreme teacher of all the Vedas, of the worlds, of the gods, of the brahmanas and of the cows — conduct that carries away every evil deed of mankind and is itself the abode of supreme auspiciousness. Whoever hears or recounts it attentively and with faith will, of its own accord, come to attain unswerving devotion to Bhagavan Vasudeva.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.5.6.17)

यस्यामेव कवय आत्मानमविरतं विविधवृजिनसंसारपरितापोपतप्यमानमनुसवनं स्नापयन्तस्तयैव परया निर्वृत्या ह्यपवर्गमात्यन्तिकं परमपुरुषार्थमपि स्वयमासादितं नो एवाद्रियन्ते भगवदीयत्वेनैव परिसमाप्तसर्वार्थाः ॥ १७ ॥

yasyām eva kavaya ātmānam avirataṁ vividha-vṛjina-saṁsāra-paritāpopatapyamānam anusavanaṁ snāpayantas tayaiva parayā nirvṛtyā hy apavargam ātyantikaṁ parama-puruṣārtham api svayam āsāditaṁ no evādriyante bhagavadīyatvenaiva parisamāpta-sarvārthāḥ.

In this very narration, the saintly repeatedly bathe themselves — their selves ever afflicted by the manifold sorrows of worldly existence — and so attain such supreme contentment that liberation itself, the highest of all human goals, comes to them of its own accord; and yet they pay it no special regard, since, belonging as they do to the Lord, every purpose of theirs is already fulfilled.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.5.6.18)

राजन् पतिर्गुरुरलं भवतां यदूनां दैवं प्रियः कुलपतिः क्व च किङ्करो वः । अस्त्वेवमङ्ग भगवान् भजतां मुकुन्दो मुक्तिं ददाति कर्हिचित्स्म न भक्तियोगम् ॥ १८ ॥

rājan patir gurur alaṁ bhavatāṁ yadūnāṁ daivaṁ priyaḥ kula-patiḥ kva ca kiṅkaro vaḥ astv evam aṅga bhagavān bhajatāṁ mukundo muktiṁ dadāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam

O King, for you and your Yadu kinsmen, Bhagavan Mukunda is indeed master, teacher, worshipable deity, dearest friend, and head of the family — and He even becomes your servant. And yet, though this is so, the Lord sometimes readily grants liberation to those devoted to Him, but bhakti-yoga itself He never grants so easily.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.5.6.19)

नित्यानुभूतनिजलाभनिवृत्ततृष्णः श्रेयस्यतद्रचनया चिरसुप्तबुद्धेः । लोकस्य यः करुणयाभयमात्मलोक- माख्यान्नमो भगवते ऋषभाय तस्मै ॥ १९ ॥

nityānubhūta-nija-lābha-nivṛtta-tṛṣṇaḥ śreyasy atad-racanayā cira-supta-buddheḥ lokasya yaḥ karuṇayābhayam ātma-lokam ākhyān namo bhagavate ṛṣabhāya tasmai

To Him who, ever aware of His own eternally self-realized fulfillment, is free of every craving, and who, out of sheer compassion, proclaimed to a world whose understanding has long lain asleep amid its own false constructions, the fearless truth of the self — to that Bhagavan Rishabha, I offer my obeisance.