SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM: CANTO 3

(1) S'aunaka said: "Having restored the position of the earth, o Sûta, what did Svâyambhuva Manu (see 2.7: 2, 3.12: 54, 3.13: 2) do to show those to be born the path? (2) Vidura, the great unalloyed devotee and intimate friend of Lord Krishna, was abandoned by his elder brother [Dhritarâshthra] who was thus, along with his hundred sons, a great offender of Krishna. (3) Born from the body of Vyâsa and in no way inferior to him in greatness, he with all his heart took shelter of Lord Krishna and followed those devoted to Him. (4) What did this hero of purity visiting the holy places ask Maitreya, the foremost knower of the spiritual life, whom he had met at Kus'âvarta [Hardwar] where he resided? (5) When the two had their conversation, o Sûta, did verily the spotless narrations arise that like the waters of the Ganges vanquish all sins once one has taken shelter of the Lord His lotus feet. (6) Tell us about those talks of greatness worth reciting and may all good befall you! Drinking the nectar of the Lord His pastimes a devotee who relates with Him would verily find satisfaction."

(7) Sûta, thus being questioned by the sages assembled in the Naimishâranya forest, with his mind dedicated to the Lord then said to them: "Just listen to this".

(8) Sûta said: "Vidura, having heard about the Lord assuming the body of a boar, who through His own potency uplifted the earth from the bottom of the ocean and sportively killed the negligent Hiranyâksha, was overjoyed and addressed the sage. (9) Vidura said: 'O holy sage, knower of that which is beyond our scope, please tell me what Brahmâ began after bringing forth the Prajâpatis, the progenitors of mankind. (10) How did the learned ones headed by Marîci indeed live up to the brahminical order of Svâyambhuva Manu and how did they develop this world? (11) Did they operate being married, did they remain independent or did all of them work together as they brought this all about?'

(12) Maitreya said: 'From the elevated position of the Fortunate One [Mahâ-Vishnu] got - and this is difficult to explain - by the power of divine ordinance and the operation of eternal time, the equilibrium of the three modes in nature disturbed, so that the complete of the material elements was produced. (13) From the greatness of the cosmic intelligence [the mahat-tattva], took as ordained by the divine, in groups of five [five elements, five senses, five sense objects, five sense organs], beginning with the [spatial force field of the] ether the birth of the basic reality of the material elements place, in the threefold nature of which the element of passion [or quality of movement] predominates. (14) Those elements, which on themselves could not produce the material universe, having combined with the union of the divine produced a globe that shone like gold. (15) It lay in the waters of the causal Ocean as an egg in an unconscious state for a rainy season of in fact quite a bit longer than a thousand years before the Lord [as Garbhodakas'âyî Vishnu] entered it. (16) Of the Lord His navel sprouted up the lotus of a thousand and more suns with a dazzling splendor [the galaxy, see 2.2: 24-25] which altogether was a resting place for the conditioned souls where he himself, the self-born one [Lord Brahmâ, the Creator] came about. (17) When the Lord, who was sleeping in the Causal Ocean, entered Brahmâ's heart, was by him according his own scheme the universe created as it was before.

(18) First of all was with his shadow ignorance created in five varieties called tâmisra [forgetfulness], andha tâmisra [the illusion of death], tama [not knowing oneself], moha [the illusion of being matter] and mahâmoha [mad after matter, craving; compare 3.12: 2]. (19) Dissatisfied did Brahmâ throw off this body of ignorance which was then taken hold of by Yakshas [evil spirits] and Râkshasas [wild men, demons] to be the darkness, the source of hunger and thirst. (20) Overcome by that hunger and thirst they hunted to eat him crying out in their affliction: 'Do not spare him!' (21) The godhead then anxiously told them: 'Do not eat me, but protect me, as you Râkshasas and Yakshas are my sons!'

(22) The demigods who, shining with the glory of the fear of God, first were created, took hold of the effulgent form of the daytime which as the vehicle of God was left behind. (23) The god then from his backside gave birth to the godless who fond of sex approached the Creator in lust for copulation. (24) It first made the worshipful Lord laugh to be followed by the shameless ones of darkness, but then terrified he, irritated, hurried to get away. (25) He turned to take shelter with Him who bestows all boons and whose feet are sought, the Lord who dispels distress and who, for showing His mercy to His devotees, manifests Himself in a suitable form: (26) 'Protect me o Supersoul, by Your order I created those sinful living beings who approach me for having sex, o Master. (27) Only You can verily relieve the people afflicted with misery of their hindrances; only You can stop those who do not take shelter of Your feet.'

(28) He who without fail can see into each soul, seeing the distress of Lord Brahmâ, then told him: 'Cast off your impure body' and thus commanded he cast it off. (29) That body [in the form of a woman] was intoxicating with tinkling ankle bells, adorable feet, overwhelming eyes and a gold-ornamented shining girdle around hips covered by fine cloth. (30) The breasts were, closely pressed together, highly raised, the nose was well formed, the teeth beautiful, the smile lovely and the glance sportive. (31) She hid herself out of shyness and, o Vidura, in fancying the tresses of her dark hair, were all the godless ones captivated by the woman: (32) 'O what a beauty, what a grace; o what a budding youth; that she walks with us, so desirous after her; as if she's free from passion!' (33) Indulging in speculations of all kind on the evening twilight [of their passion] that had taken the form of a young woman, did the wicked-minded ones fond of her full of respect question her: (34) 'Who are you? Whom do you belong to, o pretty one? Why have you come here, o passionate lady? You are tantalizing us, unfortunate ones, with the priceless commodity of your beauty! (35) Whosoever you may be, o beautiful girl, by the fortune of seeing you is the mind of us, the onlookers you agite, a ball to play with. (36) By your moving your lotus feet about, o beautiful woman, you bounce that ball with the palm of your hand; the weight of your full grown breasts must be tiresome for that waist of yours; you look as if you're tired, loosen the binding of your hair!'

(37) This way was the twilight of the evening by the godless seen in an alluring wanton form and bewildered thinking it to be a woman, they seized her. (38) With a smile of deep significance, the worshipful Lord then, by the sweetness of Himself by Himself, created the hosts of celestial musicians and dancing girls [the Gandharvas and Apsaras]. (39) That beloved form of in fact the shining moonlight he gave up and the Gandharvas headed by Vis'vâvasu gladly took possession of it. (40) When Lord Brahmâ, from laziness having created the ghosts and evil spirits, saw them naked and with disorderly hair, he closed his two eyes. (41) The body known as yawning that the master of creation threw off and of which one sees the living beings drooling in their sleep in an unclean state, is the bewilderment of which one speaks as insanity. (42) Recognizing himself as being full of energy did the worshipful Brahmâ, the master of all beings, from his invisible form create the hosts of Sâdhyas and Pitâs [the invisible demigods and departed souls]. (43) They, the Pitâs, accepted that body, the source of their existence, and it is through that body that those well versed in the rituals do their oblations [called s'râddha] to these Sâdhyas and Pitâs. (44) The Siddhas [the ones of special powers] and also the Vidyâdharas [the knowledgeable spirits] were created by his faculty of remaining hidden from vision. To them he gave that wonderful form of himself known as Antardhâna [of being present but remaining unseen]. (45) From admiring himself seeing his reflection in the water the master created by himself the Kinnaras and Kimpurushas. (46) They took possession of the form of the shadow he left behind, for the reason of which they exactly at daybreak gathering with their spouses praise his exploits in song. (47) Once fully stretching his body lying down he with great concern saw that the creation lacked in progress, whereupon he out of anger gave up that body also. (48) From the hairs dropping out from that body were they, the limbless, created, o Vidura, that took birth as snakes from whose crawling bodies the vicious cobra's big hoods of their necks are seen.

(49) Contented with himself as if he had accomplished the object of his life, at last then from his mind came about the Manus for promoting the welfare of the world. (50) Them he gave the form of his own self-assured personal body, upon the sight of which those earlier created, celebrated the Prajâpati [the father of mankind] in welcome: (51) 'O Creator of the Universe, how well you did produce and, oh, how soundly did you establish all the ritualistic customs with which we shall share in the sacrificial oblations! (52) By penance, worship, connected in yogic discipline and in the finest absorption, did the first seer, the controller of the senses, evolve the sages, his beloved sons. (53) To each of them did he, the unborn one, give a part of his own body that carried deep meditation, yogic union, supernatural ability, penance, knowledge and renunciation.'

S'aunaka said: "Having restored the position of the earth, o Sûta, what did Svâyambhuva Manu [see 2.7: 2, 3.12: 54, 3.13: 2] do to show those to be born the path?

S'rî S'aunaka inquired: O Sûta Gosvâmî, after the earth was again situated in its orbit, what did Svâyambhuva Manu do to show the path of liberation to persons who were to take birth later on? (Vedabase)

Text 2

Vidura, the great unalloyed devotee and intimate friend of Lord Krishna, was abandoned by his elder [Dhritarâshthra] brother who was thus, along with his hundred sons, a great offender of Krishna.

S'aunaka Rishi inquired about Vidura, who was a great devotee and friend of Lord Krishna and who gave up the company of his elder brother because the latter, along with his sons, played tricks against the desires of the Lord. (Vedabase)

Text 3

Born from the body of Vyâsa and in no way inferior to him in greatness, he with all his heart took shelter of Lord Krishna and followed those devoted to Him.

Vidura was born from the body of Veda-vyâsa and was not less than he. Thus he accepted the lotus feet of Krishna wholeheartedly and was attached to His devotees. (Vedabase)

Text 4

What did this hero of purity visiting the holy places ask Maitreya, the foremost knower of the spiritual life, whom he had met at Kus'âvarta [Hardwar] where he resided?

Vidura was purified of all passion by wandering in sacred places, and at last he reached Hardwar, where he met the great sage who knew the science of spiritual life, and he inquired from him. S'aunaka Rishi therefore asked: What more did Vidura inquire from Maitreya? (Vedabase)

Text 5

When the two had their conversation, o Sûta, did verily the spotless narrations arise that like the waters of the Ganges vanquish all sins once one has taken shelter of the Lord His lotus feet.

S'aunaka inquired about the conversation between Vidura and Maitreya: There must have been many narrations of the spotless pastimes of the Lord. The hearing of such narrations is exactly like bathing in the water of the Ganges, for it can free one from all sinful reactions. (Vedabase)

Text 6

Tell us about those talks of greatness worth reciting and may all good befall you! Drinking the nectar of the Lord His pastimes a devotee who relates with Him would verily find satisfaction."

O Sûta Gosvâmî, all good fortune to you! Please narrate the activities of the Lord, which are all magnanimous and worth glorifying. What sort of devotee can be satiated by hearing the nectarean pastimes of the Lord? (Vedabase)

Text 7

Sûta, thus being questioned by the sages assembled in the Naimishâranya forest, with his mind dedicated to the Lord then said to them: 'Just listen to this'.

On being asked to speak by the great sages of Naimishâranya, the son of Romaharshana, Sûta Gosvâmî, whose mind was absorbed in the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, said: Please hear what I shall now speak. (Vedabase)

Text 8

Sûta said: " Vidura, having heard about the Lord assuming the body of a boar, who through His own potency uplifted the earth from the bottom of the ocean and sportively killed the negligent Hiranyâksha, was overjoyed and addressed the sage.

Sûta Gosvâmî continued: Vidura, the descendant of Bharata, was delighted to hear the story of the Lord, who, having assumed by His own divine potency the form of a boar, had enacted the sport of lifting the earth from the bottom of the ocean and indifferently killing the demon Hiranyâksha. Vidura then spoke to the sage as follows. (Vedabase)

Text 9

Vidura said: 'O holy sage, knower of that which is beyond our scope, please tell me what Brahmâ began after bringing forth the Prajâpatis, the progenitors of mankind.

Vidura said: Since you know of matters inconceivable to us, tell me, O holy sage, what did Brahmâ do to create living beings after evolving the Prajâpatis, the progenitors of living beings? (Vedabase)

Text 10

How did the learned ones headed by Marîci indeed live up to the brahminical order of Svâyambhuva Manu and how did they develop this world ?

Vidura inquired: How did the Prajâpatis [such progenitors of living entities as Marîci and Svâyambhuva Manu] create according to the instruction of Brahmâ, and how did they evolve this manifested universe? (Vedabase)

Text 11

Did they operate being married, did they remain independent or did all of them work together as they brought this all about?'

Did they evolve the creation in conjunction with their respective wives, did they remain independent in their action, or did they all jointly produce it? (Vedabase)

Text 12

Maitreya said: 'From the elevated position of the Fortunate One [Mahâ-Vishnu] got - and this is difficult to explain - by the power of divine ordinance and the operation of eternal time, the equilibrium of the three modes in nature disturbed, so that the complete of the material elements was produced.

Maitreya said: When the equilibrium of the combination of the three modes of nature was agitated by the unseen activity of the living entity, by Mahâ-Vishnu and by the force of time, the total material elements were produced. (Vedabase)

Text 13

From the greatness of the cosmic intelligence [the mahat-tattva], took as ordained by the divine, in groups of five [five elements, five senses, five sense objects, five sense organs], beginning with the [spatial force field of the] ether the birth of the basic reality of the material elements place, in the threefold nature of which the element of passion [or quality of movement] predominates.

As impelled by the destiny of the jîva, the false ego, which is of three kinds, evolved from the mahat-tattva, in which the element of rajas predominates. From the ego, in turn, evolved many groups of five principles. (Vedabase)

Text 14

Those elements, which on themselves could not produce the material universe, having combined with the union of the divine produced a globe that shone like gold.

Separately unable to produce the material universe, they combined with the help of the energy of the Supreme Lord and were able to produce a shining egg. (Vedabase)

Text 15

It lay in the waters of the causal Ocean as an egg in an unconscious state for a rainy season of in fact quite a bit longer than a thousand years before the Lord [as Garbhodakas'âyî Vishnu] entered it.

For over one thousand years the shiny egg lay on the waters of the Causal Ocean in the lifeless state. Then the Lord entered it as Garbhodakas'âyî Vishnu. (Vedabase)

Text 16

Of the Lord His navel sprouted up the lotus of a thousand and more suns with a dazzling splendor [the galaxy, see 2.2: 24-25] which altogether was a resting place for the conditioned souls where he himself, the self-born one [Lord Brahmâ, the Creator] came about.

From the navel of the Personality of Godhead Garbhodakas'âyî Vishnu sprouted a lotus flower effulgent like a thousand blazing suns. This lotus flower is the reservoir of all conditioned souls, and the first living entity who came out of the lotus flower was the omnipotent Brahmâ. (Vedabase)

Text 17

When the Lord, who was sleeping in the Causal Ocean, entered Brahmâ's heart, was the universe as before created by his own intelligence.

When that Supreme Personality of Godhead who is lying on the Garbhodaka Ocean entered the heart of Brahmâ, Brahmâ brought his intelligence to bear, and with the intelligence invoked he began to create the universe as it was before. (Vedabase)

Text 18:

First of all was with his shadow ignorance created in five varieties called tâmisra [forgetfulness], andha tâmisra [the illusion of death], tama [not knowing oneself], moha [the illusion of being matter] and mahâmoha [mad after matter, craving; compare 3.12: 2]

First of all, Brahmâ created from his shadow the coverings of ignorance of the conditioned souls. They are five in number and are called tâmisra, andha-tâmisra, tamas, moha and mahâ-moha. (Vedabase)

Text 19:

Dissatisfied did Brahmâ throw off this body of ignorance which was then taken hold of by Yakshas [evil spirits] and Râkshasas [wild men, demons] to be the darkness, the source of hunger and thirst.

Out of disgust, Brahmâ threw off the body of ignorance, and taking this opportunity, Yakshas and Râkshasas sprang for possession of the body, which continued to exist in the form of night. Night is the source of hunger and thirst. (Vedabase)

Text 20:

Overcome by that hunger and thirst they hunted to eat him crying out in their affliction: 'Do not spare him!'

Overpowered by hunger and thirst, they ran to devour Brahmâ from all sides and cried, "Spare him not! Eat him up. (Vedabase)!"

Text 21:

The godhead then anxiously told them: 'Do not eat me, but protect me, as you Râkshasas and Yakshas are my sons!'

Brahmâ, the head of the demigods, full of anxiety, asked them, "Do not eat me, but protect me. You are born from me and have become my sons. Therefore you are Yakshas and Râkshasas. (Vedabase)"

Text 22:

The demigods who, shining with the glory of the fear of God, first were created, took hold of the effulgent form of the daytime which as the vehicle of God was left behind.

He then created the chief demigods, who were shining with the glory of goodness. He dropped before them the effulgent form of daytime, and the demigods sportingly took possession of it. (Vedabase)

Text 23:

The god then from his backside gave birth to the godless who fond of sex approached the Creator in lust for copulation.

Lord Brahmâ then gave birth to the demons from his buttocks, and they were very fond of sex. Because they were too lustful, they approached him for copulation. (Vedabase)

Text 24:

It first made the worshipful Lord laugh to be followed by the shameless ones of darkness, but then terrified he, irritated, hurried to get away.

The worshipful Brahmâ first laughed at their stupidity, but finding the shameless asuras close upon him, he grew indignant and ran in great haste out of fear. (Vedabase)