Narada and Angira Instruct King Chitraketu

Verse 1 (bhagavata.6.15.1)

श्रीशुक उवाच ऊचतुर्मृतकोपान्ते पतितं मृतकोपमम् । शोकाभिभूतं राजानं बोधयन्तौ सदुक्तिभिः ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca ūcatur mṛtakopānte patitaṁ mṛtakopamam śokābhibhūtaṁ rājānaṁ bodhayantau sad-uktibhiḥ

Shri Shukadeva said: To the king, who lay beside his dead son's body as if dead himself, overwhelmed with grief, those two sages spoke these words of wisdom, seeking to rouse him.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.6.15.2)

कोऽयं स्यात्तव राजेन्द्र भवान् यमनुशोचति । त्वं चास्य कतमः सृष्टौ पुरेदानीमतः परम् ॥ २ ॥

ko ’yaṁ syāt tava rājendra bhavān yam anuśocati tvaṁ cāsya katamaḥ sṛṣṭau puredānīm ataḥ param

O king of kings, who is this for whom you grieve? And in relation to him, who were you before in this creation, who are you now, and who will you be hereafter?

Verse 3 (bhagavata.6.15.3)

यथा प्रयान्ति संयान्ति स्रोतोवेगेन बालुकाः । संयुज्यन्ते वियुज्यन्ते तथा कालेन देहिनः ॥ ३ ॥

yathā prayānti saṁyānti sroto-vegena bālukāḥ saṁyujyante viyujyante tathā kālena dehinaḥ

Just as grains of sand, driven by the current's force, sometimes come together and sometimes scatter apart, so too do embodied beings, by the force of time, sometimes unite and sometimes part.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.6.15.4)

यथा धानासु वै धाना भवन्ति न भवन्ति च । एवं भूतानि भूतेषु चोदितानीशमायया ॥ ४ ॥

yathā dhānāsu vai dhānā bhavanti na bhavanti ca evaṁ bhūtāni bhūteṣu coditānīśa-māyayā

Just as of the seeds that are sown, some sprout and some do not, so too, driven by the Lord's maya, beings come forth among other beings — sometimes so, and sometimes not.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.6.15.5)

वयं च त्वं च ये चेमे तुल्यकालाश्चराचराः । जन्ममृत्योर्यथा पश्चात् प्राङ्नैवमधुनापि भोः ॥ ५ ॥

vayaṁ ca tvaṁ ca ye ceme tulya-kālāś carācarāḥ janma-mṛtyor yathā paścāt prāṅ naivam adhunāpi bhoḥ

We, and you, and all these moving and unmoving beings — all exist together only for a shared span of time. Just as this bond did not exist before birth, nor will it exist after death, so too, even now, it has no true permanence.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.6.15.6)

भूतैर्भूतानि भूतेशः सृजत्यवति हन्ति च । आत्मसृष्टैरस्वतन्त्रैरनपेक्षोऽपि बालवत् ॥ ६ ॥

bhūtair bhūtāni bhūteśaḥ sṛjaty avati hanti ca ātma-sṛṣṭair asvatantrair anapekṣo ’pi bālavat

The Lord of all beings, though he himself has no need of it, creates, sustains, and destroys beings through other beings — instruments of his own making, dependent on him alone — just as a child plays, indifferent to the outcome.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.6.15.7)

देहेन देहिनो राजन् देहाद्देहोऽभिजायते । बीजादेव यथा बीजं देह्यर्थ इव शाश्वतः ॥ ७ ॥

dehena dehino rājan dehād deho ’bhijāyate bījād eva yathā bījaṁ dehy artha iva śāśvataḥ

O King, just as one seed gives rise to another seed, so one body gives rise to another body. And just as the essence of the seed endures, so too does the embodied soul endure eternally.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.6.15.8)

देहदेहिविभागोऽयमविवेककृतः पुरा । जातिव्यक्तिविभागोऽयं यथा वस्तुनि कल्पितः ॥ ८ ॥

deha-dehi-vibhāgo ’yam aviveka-kṛtaḥ purā jāti-vyakti-vibhāgo ’yaṁ yathā vastuni kalpitaḥ

This division between the body and its possessor was, from the beginning, conceived only out of a lack of true discernment — just as the division of a single reality into genus and particular instance is itself merely a mental construction.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.6.15.9)

श्रीशुक उवाच एवमाश्वासितो राजा चित्रकेतुर्द्विजोक्तिभिः । विमृज्य पाणिना वक्त्रमाधिम्लानमभाषत ॥ ९ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca evam āśvāsito rājā citraketur dvijoktibhiḥ vimṛjya pāṇinā vaktram ādhi-mlānam abhāṣata

Shri Shukadeva said: Thus comforted by the words of the two brahmanas, King Chitraketu wiped his sorrow-worn face with his own hand and began to speak.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.6.15.10)

श्रीराजोवाच कौ युवां ज्ञानसम्पन्नौ महिष्ठौ च महीयसाम् । अवधूतेन वेषेण गूढाविह समागतौ ॥ १० ॥

śrī-rājovāca kau yuvāṁ jñāna-sampannau mahiṣṭhau ca mahīyasām avadhūtena veṣeṇa gūḍhāv iha samāgatau

The king said: Who are the two of you — so full of knowledge, greatest among the great — who have come here in the guise of avadhutas, your true identity concealed?

Verse 11 (bhagavata.6.15.11)

चरन्ति ह्यवनौ कामं ब्राह्मणा भगवत्प्रियाः । मादृशां ग्राम्यबुद्धीनां बोधायोन्मत्तलिङ्गिनः ॥ ११ ॥

caranti hy avanau kāmaṁ brāhmaṇā bhagavat-priyāḥ mādṛśāṁ grāmya-buddhīnāṁ bodhāyonmatta-liṅginaḥ

Brahmanas dear to the Lord wander this earth freely, as they wish; and to awaken minds as worldly as mine, they take on the guise of madmen.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.6.15.12)

कुमारो नारद ऋभुरङ्गिरा देवलोऽसितः । अपान्तरतमा व्यासो मार्कण्डेयोऽथ गौतमः ॥ १२ ॥

kumāro nārada ṛbhur aṅgirā devalo ’sitaḥ apāntaratamā vyāso mārkaṇḍeyo ’tha gautamaḥ

Sanat-kumara, Narada, Ribhu, Angira, Devala, Asita, Apantaratama (Vyasa), Markandeya, Gautama —

Verse 13 (bhagavata.6.15.13)

वसिष्ठो भगवान् रामः कपिलो बादरायणिः । दुर्वासा याज्ञवल्क्यश्च जातुकर्णस्तथारुणिः ॥ १३ ॥

vasiṣṭho bhagavān rāmaḥ kapilo bādarāyaṇiḥ durvāsā yājñavalkyaś ca jātukarṇas tathāruṇiḥ

Vasishtha, Bhagavan Parashurama, Kapila, Badarayani (Shukadeva), Durvasa, Yajnavalkya, Jatukarna, and Aruni —

Verse 14 (bhagavata.6.15.14)

रोमशश्च्यवनो दत्त आसुरिः सपतञ्जलिः । ऋषिर्वेदशिरा धौम्यो मुनिः पञ्चशिखस्तथा ॥ १४ ॥

romaśaś cyavano datta āsuriḥ sapatañjaliḥ ṛṣir veda-śirā dhaumyo muniḥ pañcaśikhas tathā

Romasha, Chyavana, Dattatreya, Asuri, together with Patanjali, the sage Dhaumya known as Vedashiras, and the sage Panchashikha —

Verse 15 (bhagavata.6.15.15)

हिरण्यनाभः कौशल्यः श्रुतदेव ऋतध्वजः । एते परे च सिद्धेशाश्चरन्ति ज्ञानहेतवः ॥ १५ ॥

hiraṇyanābhaḥ kauśalyaḥ śrutadeva ṛtadhvajaḥ ete pare ca siddheśāś caranti jñāna-hetavaḥ

Hiranyanabha, Kaushalya, Shrutadeva, and Ritadhvaja — these and other lords among the perfected wander the earth for no purpose but to spread knowledge, and you two must surely be among them.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.6.15.16)

तस्माद्युवां ग्राम्यपशोर्मम मूढधियः प्रभू । अन्धे तमसि मग्नस्य ज्ञानदीप उदीर्यताम् ॥ १६ ॥

tasmād yuvāṁ grāmya-paśor mama mūḍha-dhiyaḥ prabhū andhe tamasi magnasya jñāna-dīpa udīryatām

Therefore, O masters, kindle the lamp of knowledge for me — as dull-witted as a village animal, sunk deep in blinding darkness.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.6.15.17)

श्रीअङ्गिरा उवाच अहं ते पुत्रकामस्य पुत्रदोऽस्म्यङ्गिरा नृप । एष ब्रह्मसुतः साक्षान्नारदो भगवानृषिः ॥ १७ ॥

śrī-aṅgirā uvāca ahaṁ te putra-kāmasya putrado ’smy aṅgirā nṛpa eṣa brahma-sutaḥ sākṣān nārado bhagavān ṛṣiḥ

Shri Angira said: O King, I am the very Angira who, when you longed for a son, granted you that son. And this sage here is Narada himself, the illustrious son of Brahma.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.6.15.18)

इत्थं त्वां पुत्रशोकेन मग्नं तमसि दुस्तरे । अतदर्हमनुस्मृत्य महापुरुषगोचरम् ॥ १८ ॥

itthaṁ tvāṁ putra-śokena magnaṁ tamasi dustare atad-arham anusmṛtya mahāpuruṣa-gocaram

Seeing you thus sunk in the well-nigh impassable darkness of grief for your son — a state altogether unworthy of you — and wishing to recall you to remembrance of the Supreme Person,

Verse 19 (bhagavata.6.15.19)

अनुग्रहाय भवतः प्राप्तावावामिह प्रभो । ब्रह्मण्यो भगवद्भक्तो नावासादितुमर्हसि ॥ १९ ॥

anugrahāya bhavataḥ prāptāv āvām iha prabho brahmaṇyo bhagavad-bhakto nāvāsāditum arhasi

we two have come here, O lord, purely out of grace for you. It is not fitting that one so devoted to brahmanas and to the Lord himself should be brought so low.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.6.15.20)

तदैव ते परं ज्ञानं ददामि गृहमागतः । ज्ञात्वान्याभिनिवेशं ते पुत्रमेव ददाम्यहम् ॥ २० ॥

tadaiva te paraṁ jñānaṁ dadāmi gṛham āgataḥ jñātvānyābhiniveśaṁ te putram eva dadāmy aham

When I first came to your home, I could have given you this supreme knowledge then and there; but seeing your mind fixed on other, worldly attachment, I gave you only a son.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.6.15.21)

अधुना पुत्रिणां तापो भवतैवानुभूयते । एवं दारा गृहा रायो विविधैश्वर्यसम्पदः ॥ २१ ॥

adhunā putriṇāṁ tāpo bhavataivānubhūyate evaṁ dārā gṛhā rāyo vividhaiśvarya-sampadaḥ

Now you yourself are experiencing the anguish that belongs to those who have children. In just the same way, one's wife, home, wealth, and every kind of worldly opulence,

Verse 22 (bhagavata.6.15.22)

शब्दादयश्च विषयाश्चला राज्यविभूतयः । मही राज्यं बलं कोषो भृत्यामात्यसुहृज्जनाः ॥ २२ ॥

śabdādayaś ca viṣayāś calā rājya-vibhūtayaḥ mahī rājyaṁ balaṁ koṣo bhṛtyāmātya-suhṛj-janāḥ

sense objects like sound, the fleeting splendor of a kingdom, land, dominion, army, treasury, servants, ministers, and friends —

Verse 23 (bhagavata.6.15.23)

सर्वेऽपि शूरसेनेमे शोकमोहभयार्तिदाः । गन्धर्वनगरप्रख्याः स्वप्नमायामनोरथाः ॥ २३ ॥

sarve ’pi śūraseneme śoka-moha-bhayārtidāḥ gandharva-nagara-prakhyāḥ svapna-māyā-manorathāḥ

O lord of the Shurasenas, all of these bring only grief, delusion, fear, and pain; they are like a mirage-city of the Gandharvas, no more real than the desires spun by a dream or an illusion.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.6.15.24)

दृश्यमाना विनार्थेन न दृश्यन्ते मनोभवाः । कर्मभिर्ध्यायतो नानाकर्माणि मनसोऽभवन् ॥ २४ ॥

dṛśyamānā vinārthena na dṛśyante manobhavāḥ karmabhir dhyāyato nānā- karmāṇi manaso ’bhavan

That these things appear before us, without any true, lasting purpose behind them, does not make them real — they arise from the mind alone; and by dwelling upon past deeds, the mind gives rise, again and again, to ever new resolves toward action.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.6.15.25)

अयं हि देहिनो देहो द्रव्यज्ञानक्रियात्मकः । देहिनो विविधक्लेशसन्तापकृदुदाहृतः ॥ २५ ॥

ayaṁ hi dehino deho dravya-jñāna-kriyātmakaḥ dehino vividha-kleśa- santāpa-kṛd udāhṛtaḥ

This body of the embodied soul — a composite of matter, the senses of knowledge, and the organs of action — is declared to be, for that soul, the very source of manifold affliction and torment.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.6.15.26)

तस्मात् स्वस्थेन मनसा विमृश्य गतिमात्मनः । द्वैते ध्रुवार्थविश्रम्भं त्यजोपशममाविश ॥ २६ ॥

tasmāt svasthena manasā vimṛśya gatim ātmanaḥ dvaite dhruvārtha-viśrambhaṁ tyajopaśamam āviśa

Therefore, with a composed mind, reflect carefully upon the true nature and destiny of the self; give up all trust in the permanence of anything within this world of duality, and enter into peace.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.6.15.27)

श्रीनारद उवाच एतां मन्त्रोपनिषदं प्रतीच्छ प्रयतो मम । यां धारयन् सप्तरात्राद् द्रष्टा सङ्कर्षणं विभुम् ॥ २७ ॥

śrī-nārada uvāca etāṁ mantropaniṣadaṁ pratīccha prayato mama yāṁ dhārayan sapta-rātrād draṣṭā saṅkarṣaṇaṁ vibhum

Shri Narada said: Receive from me, with a purified and devoted mind, this secret mantra — by holding it in your heart, within seven nights you shall behold, face to face, the all-pervading Lord Sankarshana.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.6.15.28)

यत्पादमूलमुपसृत्य नरेन्द्र पूर्वे शर्वादयो भ्रममिमं द्वितयं विसृज्य । सद्यस्तदीयमतुलानधिकं महित्वं प्रापुर्भवानपि परं न चिरादुपैति ॥ २८ ॥

yat-pāda-mūlam upasṛtya narendra pūrve śarvādayo bhramam imaṁ dvitayaṁ visṛjya sadyas tadīyam atulānadhikaṁ mahitvaṁ prāpur bhavān api paraṁ na cirād upaiti

O lord of men, taking refuge at whose lotus feet Lord Shiva and the other gods, in ages past, cast off this delusion of duality and at once attained his own matchless, unsurpassed glory — that same supreme state you too shall soon attain.