SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM: CANTO 1

Sûta said: 'Thus hearing from the great sage among the gods about his birth and exploits, the sage Vyâsadeva, the son of Satyavatî, asked him:

Sûta said: O brâhmanas, thus hearing all about S'rî Nârada's birth and activities, Vyâsadeva, the incarnation of God and son of Satyavatî, inquired as follows. (Vedabase)

Text 2

After the great devotees who instructed you in transcendental wisdom departed, what did you do before the beginning of your present life?

S'rî Vyâsadeva said: What did you [Nârada] do after the departure of the great sages who had instructed you in scientific transcendental knowledge before the beginning of your present birth? (Vedabase)

Text 3

How were the conditions of the life you spent after this initiation and how did you, in due course of time, attain to this body?

O son of Brahmâ, how did you pass your life after initiation, and how did you attain this body, having quit your old one in due course? (Vedabase)

Text 4

How could you, o great sage, remember this from a previous epoch in any detail, as time in due course annihilates all.'

O great sage, time annihilates everything in due course, so how is it that this subject matter, which happened prior to this day of Brahmâ, is still fresh in your memory, undisturbed by time? (Vedabase)

Text 5

S'rî Nârada said: 'The great sages gave me the transcendental knowledge I have at present and in my previous life I had to live by it after they had departed.

S'rî Nârada said: The great sages, who had imparted scientific knowledge of transcendence to me, departed for other places, and I had to pass my life in this way. (Vedabase)

Text 6

Having only one son, my mother, who was as a maidservant a simple woman, was tied to me, her offspring, by her affection, having no other alternative for protection.

I was the only son of my mother, who was not only a simple woman but a maidservant as well. Since I was her only offspring, she had no other alternative for protection: she bound me with the tie of affection. (Vedabase)

Text 7

Although she wanted to take care of me properly, could she, being dependent like a puppet on a string, not do so.

She wanted to look after my maintenance properly, but because she was not independent, she was not able to do anything for me. The world is under the full control of the Supreme Lord; therefore everyone is like a wooden doll in the hands of a puppet master. (Vedabase)

Text 8

While attending the school of the learned, I, being only five years old, lived depending on her, having no experience with the direction of time and the country.

When I was a mere child of five years, I lived in a brâhmana school. I was dependent on my mother's affection and had no experience of different lands. (Vedabase)

Text 9

When once she went out at night for milking a cow, she was bitten in the leg by a snake on the path and thus she fell victim of the supreme time.

Once upon a time, my poor mother, when going out one night to milk a cow, was bitten on the leg by a serpent, influenced by supreme time. (Vedabase)

Text 10

I took it as a benediction of the Lord who always desires the best for His devotees, and thinking that way, I headed for the north.

I took this as the special mercy of the Lord, who always desires benediction for His devotees, and so thinking, I started for the north. (Vedabase)

Text 11

There I found many flourishing big and small towns and villages with farms, mineral and agricultural fields in valleys with flower and vegetable gardens and forests.

After my departure, I passed through many flourishing metropolises, towns, villages, animal farms, mines, agricultural lands, valleys, flower gardens, nursery gardens and natural forests. (Vedabase)

Text 12

I saw hills and mountains full of gold, silver and copper and elephants pulling branches from the trees nearby delightful lakes and ponds full of the lotus flowers aspired by the denizens of heaven - and my heart was pleased by the birds and the amount of bees hovering about.

I passed through hills and mountains full of reservoirs of various minerals like gold, silver and copper, and through tracts of land with reservoirs of water filled with beautiful lotus flowers, fit for the denizens of heaven, decorated with bewildered bees and singing birds. (Vedabase)

Text 13

I passed through thickets of bamboo, sharp grass and weeds and through caves which were difficult to pass alone, and I came to deep and dangerous forests which were the playground of snakes, owls and jackals.

I then passed alone through many forests of rushes, bamboo, reeds, sharp grass, weeds and caves, which were very difficult to go through alone. I visited deep, dark and dangerously fearful forests, which were the play yards of snakes, owls and jackals. (Vedabase)

Text 14

Being physically and mentally tired, took I, hungry and thirsty, a bath and drank water, in the lake of a river finding relief from my fatigue.

Thus traveling, I felt tired, both bodily and mentally, and I was both thirsty and hungry. So I took a bath in a river lake and also drank water. By contacting water, I got relief from my exhaustion. (Vedabase)

Text 15

In that uninhabited forest I sat down under a banyan tree to meditate, intelligently taking shelter of the Supersoul situated within, as I had learned from the liberated souls.

After that, under the shadow of a banyan tree in an uninhabited forest I began to meditate upon the Supersoul situated within, using my intelligence, as I had learned from liberated souls. (Vedab a se)

Text 16

Thus meditating on the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality, all thinking, feeling and willing transformed into transcendental love, and being eager, tears rolled from my eyes as I saw the Lord appear in my heart without delay.

As soon as I began to meditate upon the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead with my mind transformed in transcendental love, tears rolled down my eyes, and without delay the Personality of Godhead S'rî Krishna appeared on the lotus of my heart. (Vedabase)

Text 17

Fully overwhelmed by an excess of love and transfixed in feelings of happiness all over my body, could I, o sage, being absorbed in an ocean of ecstasy, not distinguish Him from myself any longer.

O Vyâsadeva, at that time, being exceedingly overpowered by feelings of happiness, every part of my body became separately enlivened. Being absorbed in an ocean of ecstasy, I could not see both myself and the Lord. (Vedabase)

Text 18:

Thereafter not seeing anymore the form of the Lord who removes all disparity from the mind, I all of a sudden got up being perturbed like someone is who has lost something desirable.

The transcendental form of the Lord, as it is, satisfies the mind's desire and at once erases all mental incongruities. Upon losing that form, I suddenly got up, being perturbed, as is usual when one loses that which is desirable. (Vedabase)

Text 19

Desiring to experience that again saw I, having the mind concentrated on the heart, despite of my waiting, Him not, and got I very depressed being frustrated that way.

I desired to see again that transcendental form of the Lord, but despite my attempts to concentrate upon the heart with eagerness to view the form again, I could not see Him any more, and thus dissatisfied, I was very much aggrieved. (Vedabase)

Text 20

Thus trying in that lonely place heard I from the beyond pleasing words of gravity being spoken to me that mitigated my grief:

Seeing my attempts in that lonely place, the Personality of Godhead, who is transcendental to all mundane description, spoke to me with gravity and pleasing words, just to mitigate my grief. (Vedabase)

Text 21

'Listen, for the duration of your life you will not acquire the vision of Me here, because it is difficult to acquire the vision when one, immature with impurities, is guilty in one's being united.

O Nârada [the Lord spoke], I regret that during this lifetime you will not be able to see Me anymore. Those who are incomplete in service and who are not completely free from all material taints can hardly see Me. (Vedabase)

Text 22

That form was only shown once to raise your desire, o virtuous one, as by the increase of the desire of the devotee all the being caught in sleepiness will give way.

O virtuous one, you have only once seen My person, and this is just to increase your desire for Me, because the more you hanker for Me, the more you will be freed from all material desires. (Vedabase)

Text 23

With the but for a few days being of service to the Absolute having attained a steady intelligence unto Me will one, having given up on the deplorable of this world, head for and be of My associates.

By service of the Absolute Truth, even for a few days, a devotee attains firm and fixed intelligence in Me. Consequently he goes on to become My associate in the transcendental world after giving up the present deplorable material worlds. (Vedabase)

Text 24

Intelligence engaged this way in devotion can at no time be separated from Me because, whether beings are becoming or even waning, their remembrance, by My mercy, will continue.'

Intelligence engaged in My devotion cannot be thwarted at any time. Even at the time of creation, as well as at the time of annihilation, your remembrance will continue by My mercy. (Vedabase)

Text 25

Having thus spoken, stopped that great and wonderful sound of the Supreme authority and bowed I, being favored, my head in obeisance to the great and glorified.

Then that supreme authority, personified by sound and unseen by eyes, but most wonderful, stopped speaking. Feeling a sense of gratitude, I offered my obeisances unto Him, bowing my head. (Vedabase)

Text 26

Free from formalities exercising the holy name of the Unlimited One and being of the constant remembrance of His mysterious and benedictory activities, I traveled the earth liberated and contented, in all modesty without any envy awaiting my time.

Thus I began chanting the holy name and fame of the Lord by repeated recitation, ignoring all the formalities of the material world. Such chanting and remembering of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are benedictory. So doing, I traveled all over the earth, fully satisfied, humble and unenvious. (Vedabase)

Text 27

Thus being absorbed in Krishna and free from attachment to the material world, o Vyâsadeva, came in due course of time death to me as natural as the coincidence of illumination with lightening

And so, O Brâhmana Vyâsadeva, in due course of time I, who was fully absorbed in thinking of Krishna and who therefore had no attachments, being completely freed from all material taints, met with death, as lightning and illumination occur simultaneously. (Vedabase)

Text 28

Having been awarded with that transcendental body worthy an associate of the Lord, I quitted the body composed of the five material elements seeing my acquired karma ended.

Having been awarded a transcendental body befitting an associate of the Personality of Godhead, I quit the body made of five material elements, and thus all acquired fruitive results of work [karma] stopped. (Vedabase)

Text 29

At the end of the epoch took the Lord, having laid Himself down in the waters of devastation, me, with the creator and all, in within His breath.

At the end of the millennium, when the Personality of Godhead Lord Nârâyana lay down within the water of devastation, Brahmâ began to enter into Him along with all creative elements, and I also entered through His breathing. (Vedabase)

Text 30

A thousand ages later, when the creator again was expired reappeared I, together with all the rishis like Marîci.

After 4.300.000.000 solar years, when Brahmâ awoke to create again by the will of the Lord, all the rishis like Marîci, Angirâ, Atri and so on were created from the transcendental body of the Lord, and I also appeared along with them. (Vedabase)

Text 31

Unbroken in the vow traveling as well within the three words as in the beyond, am I, because of the mercy of Mahâ-Vishnu, free to go wherever and whenever I want.

Since then, by the grace of the almighty Vishnu, I travel everywhere without restriction both in the transcendental world and in the three divisions of the material world. This is because I am fixed in unbroken devotional service of the Lord. (Vedabase)

Text 32

This way I move constantly singing the message of the Lord, vibrating the transcendentally charged vînâ with which the Godhead has decorated Me.

And thus I travel, constantly singing the transcendental message of the glories of the Lord, vibrating this instrument called a vînâ, which is charged with transcendental sound and which was given to me by Lord Krishna. (Vedabase)

Text 33

Thus singing appears soon the sight of the Lord of the lotus feet, about whose actions one gladly hears, in the seat of my heart, as if I could summon Him.

The Supreme Lord S'rî Krishna, whose glories and activities are pleasing to hear, at once appears on the seat of my heart, as if called for, as soon as I begin to chant His holy activities. (Vedabase)

Text 34

I arrived at the insight that, for the ones so anxious in their desire for the objects of their senses, there is a boat to cross over the ocean of material nescience: the repeated recitation of the glories of the Lord.

It is personally experienced by me that those who are always full of cares and anxieties due to desiring contact of the senses with their objects can cross the ocean of nescience on a most suitable boat--the constant chanting of the transcendental activities of the Personality of Godhead. (Vedabase)

Text 35:

Desire and lust being curbed every time by the discipline of yoga certainly will not be as satisfying to the soul as the service of the Personality of Godhead.

It is true that by practicing restraint of the senses by the yoga system one can get relief from the disturbances of desire and lust, but this is not sufficient to give satisfaction to the soul, for this [satisfaction] is derived from devotional service to the Personality of Godhead. (Vedabase)

Text 36:

I, as you asked, described all this about my birth and activities to you who are without sin, so that as well the satisfaction of your as of my soul is served.

O Vyâsadeva, you are freed from all sins. Thus I have explained my birth and activities for self-realization, as you asked. All this will be conducive for your personal satisfaction also. (Vedabase)

Text 37:

Sûta said: "After thus addressing the powerful sage, took Nârada Muni leave of the son of Satyavatî, and left he for wherever, vibrating his enchanting vînâ.

Sûta Gosvâmî said: Thus addressing Vyâsadeva, S'rîla Nârada Muni took leave of him, and vibrating on his vînâ instrument, he left to wander at his free will. (Vedabase)

Text 38:

All success to the sage of the gods who takes pleasure in singing the glories of the Personality of Godhead, and thus, by his instrument, enlivens the distressed universe.

All glory and success to S'rîla Nârada Muni because he glorifies the activities of the Personality of Godhead, and so doing he himself takes pleasure and also enlivens all the distressed souls of the universe. (Vedabase)