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Canto 5

Mahāmantra 1

 

 

Chapter 1: The Activities of Mahārāja Priyavrata*

(1) The King [Parīkchit] said: 'Why, oh sage, was Priyavrata, the great devotee content with the soul, so happy to stay at home, the place that is the root cause of bondage in karma and contempt [for the renounced order]? (2) Surely such a thing as indulgence in family affairs, oh wisest of the twice-born, cannot be desirable for that kind of people free from attachments? (3) It suffers no doubt that the consciousness of great souls finds its satisfaction in the shade of the feet of the Lord praised in the verses, and not so much in the mind of attachment to kith and kin. (4) This is my great doubt, oh brahmin: how can [as with Priyavrata] on account of the forces of one's wife, home, children and so on, perfection and an unfailing determination unto Krishna come about?'

(5)
S'rī S'uka said: 'You are perfectly right in what you said about the hearts of liberated persons and devotees that are absorbed in the nectarean honey of the talks at the lotuslike feet of their beloved Lord praised in the scriptures. Despite the setbacks they sometimes encounter, they practically never give up their most exalted position. (6) It is a well-known fact, oh King, that prince Priyavrata indeed was a supreme devotee who, in his service at Nārada's feet, very quickly became aware of the complete truth concerning the spiritual purpose that he constantly discussed in dedicated enthusiasm. Even though his father asked him to rule over the surface of the earth because he incorporated so many of the best qualities, he could not be happy with it. He did not want to be distracted in his great liking for, with all of his senses and actions, in yoga being absorbed in the Supreme Lord of the Soul of the Universe, but for no reason he could refuse to accept that post because, when he in any other way would forgo the untrue, that certainly would lead to [cultural] decay. (7) And so it happened that the first among the demigods Lord Brahmā,  surrounded by all his personal associates and the Vedas, descended from his abode. It is he who is always thinking of the welfare of the complete of this universal creation consisting of the three modes. He knows its ultimate purpose, the Supreme Soul, from which he originated himself. (8) Alike the moon in the sky among the stars, he on his way here and there by the leaders of the demigods was worshiped from their heavenly carriers. And the same was done by groups of perfected ones, inhabitants of heaven, refined ones, singers and  sages [respectively the Siddhas, the Gandharvas, the Cāranas, the Sādhyas and the Munis] when he thus as the radiating center reached the vicinity of the Gandhamādana mountains [where Priyavrata was meditating].A
                      Vishnu to worship (9) Recognizing the swan-carrier of his almighty father Lord Hiranyagarbha [Brahmā] the devarishi [Nārada], Priyavrata and his father [Svāyambhuva Manu] present there immediately rose to their feet with their hands folded in order to be respectfully of worship with all the paraphernalia. (10) Oh son of Bhārata, the Lord, the original person of the universe, who thus out of gratitude for the glory of his descent, according to the customs, was confronted with the articles of worship and the praise of his qualities in lofty language, then addressed Priyavrata, while he looked at him with a compassionate smile.

(11)
T
he great Lord said: 'My son, pay attention to the truth I am telling you. You should not be jealous of the Godhead who is beyond our ken. We, Lord S'iva, your father and this great Rishi [Nārada] all carry out His order and cannot deviate. (12) No living entity that accepted a material body can escape from what was decided by Him; not by austerity nor by education, not by yoga nor by one's strength or intelligence, nor can one ever defy His will by one's opulence, by the virtue of one's duty, with the help of someone else or by any personal endeavor. (13) Oh my dear, under the direction of the One Unseen, all living entities accept it to be connected to a material body for performing actions according to their karma and are thus always bound to birth and death, sadness and illusion, fear, happiness and distress. (14) My son, in our inevitable bondage to guna and karma we, just like the four-legged [bull] that with a rope through its nose is bound to the two-legged [driver], are tied to the long rope of Vedic instruction and to all [who within the varnās'rama system are] engaged in contributing to please the Lord. (15) Like blind men being led by someone who can see, my best one, we [being submitted to His Vedic rope] inevitably have to face the distress and happiness associated with the qualities and the work, depending the situation of the body that our Protector gave us. (16) Even a liberated person must for a lifetime maintain his body that he obtained as a consequence of the past, enjoying it free from erroneous conceptions. But as far as another material body is concerned [a repeated birth], he sees matters like someone who awakened from sleep; he will never follow the lead of its material qualities. (17) Someone not paying attention to this [someone not willing to control his senses] has, even when he resides in the forest, to fear because of the six co-wives [of the five senses and the mind]. But [on the other hand] what harm can a householder's existence do to a self-satisfied, learned man who has conquered his senses? (18) Having entered a household existence, anyone who wants to conquer those six adversaries must first try to master them from within that stronghold. For only when the unregulated desires of those firm enemies have lost their strength one, thus having ripened with experience, can move about freely. (19) When you have conquered these six opponents and are freed from attachments by these special orders of the Original Person, you, sheltered in this fortress by the safe haven of the lotus feet of Him with the lotuslike navel, can enjoy all pleasures in the world and thus find your way.'

(20)
S'
rī S'uka said: 'The great devotee of [Brahmā,] the mighty Lord who is the spiritual master of the three worlds, thus being fully instructed, as a humble soul bowed his head in acceptance of his order and said: 'Yes I will' and respectfully carried out what he said. (21) With Priyavrata and Nārada in peace taking notice, the great Lord was also duly respected by Manu. Thereupon he left to return to his abode, the place above all places which is indescribable and unfathomable. (22) Manu who, as well supported by Lord Brahmā, executed his plan and with the permission of Nārada handed the responsibility for the maintenance and protection of all the worlds in the universe over to his son, was [therewith] personally relieved from his desires in the so very dangerous, poisonous ocean of the material world. (23) [Priyavrata, Manu's son who as] the emperor of the universe, according to the order of the Lord, thus was fully engaged in material affairs, was by constantly meditating on the two lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, the Original Person whose transcendental influence destroys all bondage, completely purified with all the dirt washed from his heart and ruled the material world with the only wish to honor the great souls. (24) He thereupon married Barhishmatī, the daughter of Vis'vakarmā, one of the founding fathers, and begot in her, next to a daughter who as the youngest of his children carried the name Ūrjasvatī, ten sons who in their character, qualities, activities, beauty and prowess were of a greatness equal to his own. (25) His sons he all gave the names of Agni, the god of fire: Āgnīdhra, Idhmajihva, Yajńabāhu, Mahāvīra, Hiranyaretā, Ghritaprishthha, Savana, Medhātithi, Vītihotra and Kavi. (26) Three of them, Kavi, Mahāvīra and Savana were celibate souls who motivated from within, from the beginning of their childhood lived for the transcendental knowledge, on the basis of which they, well conversant with the highest spiritual perfection, took to the renounced order [the paramahamsa-ās'rama]. (27) These transcendental sages lived, by the peace of the qualities of that celebrated order (*), for the protection of the association of all living beings who, in fear and anxiety about their material existence, have the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Vāsudeva, as their only shelter. In their constant remembrance they [the brothers], free from contaminations being purified by virtue of the highest form of yoga - the yoga of devotion - observed in their hearts the Supreme Lord of all living beings. They saw Him directly as situated within themselves and realized that they were equal to Him in their quality, that they [in that sense] did not differ from the Lord of the Supersoul. (28) In another wife he begot three more sons named Uttama, Tāmasa and Raivata, who all became rulers of the Manu period [of 71 mahāyugas long]. (29) After his sons were trained in the renounced order he [Priyavrata] thus became the master of the universe where he, endowed with powerful arms of command, together with them pulled the bowstring loudly to defeat all who opposed the dharma. Without interruption for 110 million years there was the rule of the great soul who with the daily increasing amiability, femininity, shyness, laughs, glances and exchanges of love [in his repeated births] with his wife Barhishmatī enjoyed a life of pleasure. But confounded and defeated by it he lost his discernment. (30) Not appreciating that the sun god, as long as he circumambulated mount Meru, lit up one side of the earth and left the other half in the dark, he who in his worship of the Fortunate One was of a supernatural power then said: 'I will make the night as brilliant as the day', and to enforce that he followed the orbit of the sun in a chariot, exactly seven times and with the same speed, like he was a second sun. (31) With the rims of the wheels of his chariot creating trenches, were by him thus operating the seven oceans brought about that divided the earth [Bhū-mandala] into the seven dvīpas [the continents or 'islands']. (32) Known as Jambū, Plaksha, S'ālmali, Kus'a, Krauńca, S'āka and Pushkara each of them is produced all around outside and twice as big as the one preceding it. (33) The seven oceans - [figuratively like a kind of body fluids] consisting of salt water, sugarcane juice, liquor, clarified butter, milk, fluid yogurt and sweet water - are of the same size as the islands that they, as the trenches [of his wheels], one after the other consecutively fully enclose. For each of the dvīpas separately the husband of Barhishmatī, beginning with Jambūdvīpa, installed as their ruler one of his faithful sons named Āgnīdhra, Idhmajihva, Yajńabāhu, Hiranyaretā, Ghritaprishthha, Medhātithi and Vītihotra.

(34)
H
e further gave the daughter named Ūrjasvatī in marriage to the great sage Us'anā [S'ukrācārya who is also called Kavi or Kavya]. She gave birth to a daughter named Devayānī. (35) For the devotees of the Lord of the Great Steps [Urukrama, see 1.3: 19] who, by resorting to the dust of His feet, are able to conquer the six qualities [of material life: hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, old age and death **], such a[n achievement of] personal power is not that surprising at all, for even a fifth-class person [an outcaste] will  immediately forsake his material attachment when he only once utters the name of the Lord. (36) He [Priyavrata], thus unparalleled in strength and influence, one day understood that he, despite his surrender to the feet of the devarishi [Nārada], had fallen down because of his concern with the basic qualities of matter in which he found no satisfaction [compare 1.5: 17]. In a spirit of renunciation he then said to himself: (37) 'Oh what a wrong I have done, for I was completely absorbed in the nescience of a life of sense gratification! The dark well of material pleasure made me guilty of a lot of distress and look like a dancing monkey, insignificant and of no importance in the hands of my wife. Doomed and damned I am indeed!' Thus he criticized himself. (38) With his self-realization achieved by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the beyond, with handing over the earth to his faithfully following sons, with dividing the inheritance, with forsaking his queen whom he had enjoyed so much, with giving up the dead corpus of his great opulence and with his heart in perfect surrender having taken to renunciation, he was certain to be back on the path of the great saint Nārada and the stories about the Lord. (39) The following verses apply to him: 'What was done by Priyavrata no one could have done except for the Supreme Lord.' 'He dissipated the darkness and created the seven seas by the impressions of the rims of the wheels of his chariot.' (40) 'It was he who, in order to stop the fighting of the nations on the different continents, created the situation of the boundaries in this world in the form of rivers, mountain ranges and forests and such [compare 4.14: 45-46].' (41) 'He, as the most beloved follower of the Original Person, considered all opulence of the lower worlds, the heavens and the earth, as also that what is acquired by fruitive action and by yoga [the siddhis], to be nothing but hell.'***

 

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Third revised edition, loaded January 29, 2018.
  

 

 

Previous Aadhar edition and Vedabase links:

Text 1

The King [Parīkchit] said: 'Why, oh sage was Priyavrata, the great devotee content with the soul, so happy to stay at home, the place that is the root cause of bondage in karma and contempt [for the renounced order]?

The King said: 'Why, o sage, was Priyavrata, the great devotee of contentment with the soul, so happy to stay at home, that place which is the root cause of bondage in karma and the betrayal of transcendence? (Vedabase)

 

Text 2

Surely such a thing as indulgence in family affairs, oh wisest of the twice-born, cannot be desirable for that kind of people free from attachments?

Such a thing as indulgence in family-affairs, o wisest of the twiceborn, is for sure not possible with persons who are free from attachments. (Vedabase)

 

Text 3

It suffers no doubt that the consciousness of great souls finds its satisfaction in the shade of the feet of the Lord praised in the verses, and not so much in the mind of attachment to kith and kin.

It suffers no doubt that the consciousness of great souls that is satiated by the shade of the feet of the Lord praised in the verses, is there never in attachment to kith and kin. (Vedabase)

 

Text 4

This is my great doubt, oh brahmin: how can [as with Priyavrata] on account of the forces of one's wife, home, children and so on, perfection and an unfailing determination unto Krishna come about?'

This I greatly doubt, o brahmin: how can on account of the forces of wife, home, children and so on, perfection and an unfailing determination unto Krishna come about?' (Vedabase)

 

Text 5

S'rī S'uka said: 'You are perfectly right in what you said about the hearts of liberated persons and devotees that are absorbed in the nectarean honey of the talks at the lotuslike feet of their beloved Lord praised in the scriptures. Despite the setbacks they sometimes encounter, they practically never give up their most exalted position.

S'rī S'uka said: 'What you said about the nectarean honey of the glorification of the lotuslike feet of the Lord of the scriptures, the pleasing in which the hearts of liberated persons and the devotees are absorbed, is correct; even though they're sometimes checked by impediments, do they as good as never give up their most exalted position. (Vedabase)

 

Text 6

It is a well-known fact, oh King, that prince Priyavrata indeed was a supreme devotee who, in his service at Nārada's feet, very quickly became aware of the complete truth concerning the spiritual purpose that he constantly discussed in dedicated enthusiasm. Even though his father asked him to rule over the surface of the earth because he incorporated so many of the best qualities, he could not be happy with it. He did not want to be distracted in his great liking for, with all of his senses and actions, in yoga being absorbed in the Supreme Lord of the Soul of the Universe, but for no reason he could refuse to accept that post because, when he in any other way would forgo the untrue, that certainly would lead to [cultural] decay.

Because, indeed, o King, prince Priyavrata was a supreme devotee became he, in service of Nārada's feet, quickly aware of the complete truth of the transcendental subject matter, continuously discussing the spiritual in dedicated zeal without deviating from the sum total of the highest qualities as directed in the scriptures. He was asked by his father to rule over the surface of the earth, but because of having such a love for the with all his senses and actions in yoga being absorbed in the all-pervading of the Supreme Lord, did he not welcome it, although that post for no reason could be refused by him as surely deterioration could be foreseen if he would deal any other way with the untrue. (Vedabase)


Text 7

And so it happened that the first among the demigods Lord Brahmā,  surrounded by all his personal associates and the Vedas, descended from his abode. It is he who is always thinking of the welfare of the complete of this universal creation consisting of the three modes. He knows its ultimate purpose, the Supreme Soul, from which he originated himself.

So it happened that the Lord and first among the demigods [Brahmā] surrounded by all his personal associates and the Vedas, descended from his abode; he who is always thinking of the welfare of the whole of this universal creation of the three modes and of whom one knows the ultimate purpose of the Universe as being the Supreme Soul from which he himself found his existence. (Vedabase)

 

Text 8

Alike the moon in the sky among the stars, he on his way here and there by the leaders of the demigods was worshiped from their heavenly carriers. And the same was done by groups of perfected ones, inhabitants of heaven, refined ones, singers and  sages [respectively the Siddhas, the Gandharvas, the Cāranas, the Sādhyas and the Munis] when he thus as the radiating center reached the vicinity of the Gandhamādana mountains [where Priyavrata was meditating].

When he reached the vicinity of the Gandhamādana Mountains [where Priyavrata was meditating] was he, under the cover of the sky, alike the moon illumined by the stars, left and right flanked by the leaders of the demigods, who from their heavenly carriers worshiped him all the way, as also one after the other in groups did the perfect ones, the inhabitants of heaven, the refined, the singers and the sages [respectively the Siddhas, the Gandharvas, the Cāranas, the Sādhyas and the Munis].  (Vedabase)


Text 9

Recognizing the swan-carrier of his almighty father Lord Hiranyagarbha [Brahmā] the devarishi [Nārada], Priyavrata and his father [Svāyambhuva Manu] present there immediately rose to their feet with their hands folded in order to be respectfully of worship with all the paraphernalia.

There rose the devarishi [Nārada], recognizing the swan-carrier of his almighty father Lord Hiranyagarbha [Brahmā], together with Priyavrata and his father immediately to their feet to worship him with respect with their hands folded and with all the paraphernalia. (Vedabase)

 

Text 10

Oh son of Bhārata, the Lord, the original person of the universe, who thus out of gratitude for the glory of his descent, according to the customs, was confronted with the articles of worship and the praise of his qualities in lofty language, then addressed Priyavrata, while he looked at him with a compassionate smile.

O son of Bhārata, as the Lord was confronted with all the articles of worship according the customs and as his qualities were praised in high language in gratitude for the glory of his descend, addressed he, the original person of the universe, Priyavrata, with a compassionate smile looking at him. (Vedabase)

 

Text 11

The great Lord said: 'My son, pay attention to the truth I'm telling you. You should not be jealous of the Godhead who is beyond our ken. We, Lord S'iva, your father and this great Rishi [Nārada] all carry out His order and cannot deviate.

The great Lord said: 'Pay attention to the true I'm telling you, you should not be jealous with the Godhead who is beyond our powers of control; we, Lord S'iva, your father and this great Rishi [Nārada], all, not being able to deviate, carry out His orders. (Vedabase)

 

Text 12

No living entity that accepted a material body can escape from what was decided by Him; not by austerity nor by education, not by yoga nor by one's strength or intelligence, nor can one ever defy His will by one's opulence, by the virtue of one's duty, with the help of someone else or by any personal endeavor.

No living entity in acceptance of a material body can escape His order; not by austerity, nor by education, not by yoga, nor by one's strength or intelligence and for sure never either by one's opulence, the virtue of one's duty, by an external power or by any personal endeavor. (Vedabase)

 

Text 13

Oh my dear, under the direction of the One Unseen, all living entities accept it to be connected to a material body for performing actions according to their karma and are thus always bound to birth and death, sadness and illusion, fear, happiness and distress.

Directed by the unseen, do the living entities accept it with a material body to be bound to birth, death, sadness, illusion, constant fear, happiness and distress and to whatever they should do according their karma. (Vedabase)

 

Text 14

My son, in our inevitable bondage to guna and karma we, just like the four-legged [bull] that with a rope through its nose is bound to the two-legged [driver], are tied to the long rope of Vedic instruction and to all [who within the varnās'rama system are] engaged in contributing to please the Lord.

In our being tied to the modes and the fruitive labor so difficult to avoid [within the varnās'rama system], my son, are we, like the four-legged ones [like bulls] by the nose bound to the two-legged [driver], t


Text 15

Like blind men being led by someone who can see, my best one, we [being submitted to His Vedic rope] inevitably have to face the distress and happiness associated with the qualities and the work, depending the situation of the body that our Protector gave us.

Like blind men led by someone with eyes do we, my dearest, inevitably have to accept the distress or happiness associated with the qualities and the work that belong to the condition we are situated in with the body that our Protector gave us. (Vedabase)

 

Text 16

Even a liberated person must for a lifetime maintain his body that he obtained as a consequence of the past, enjoying it free from erroneous conceptions. But as far as another material body is concerned [a repeated birth], he sees matters like someone who awakened from sleep; he will never follow the lead of its material qualities.

Even a liberated person must for the time of his life maintain his body that was obtained as a result of the past, accepting unmistaken that what he went through as one who has awakened from sleep; but for another material body [a repeated birth] he would never give in to the material qualities. (Vedabase)
 
Text 17

Someone not paying attention to this [someone not willing to control his senses] has, even when he resides in the forest, to fear because of the six co-wives [of the five senses and the mind]. But [on the other hand] what harm can a householder's existence do to a self-satisfied, learned man who has conquered his senses?

When even residing in the forest there must be the fear of being bewildered because of living with the six co-wives [of the mind and the five senses], what harm indeed could household life then do to such a self-satisfied, learned one who has conquered the senses? (Vedabase)

 

Text 18

Having entered a household existence, anyone who wants to conquer those six adversaries must first try to master them from within that stronghold. For only when the unregulated desires of those firm enemies have lost their strength one, thus having ripened with experience, can move about freely.

Anyone who has entered a householder's life must first of all eagerly try to conquer the six adversaries so that, as soon as - as from a fortified place - he has decreased the very strong enemies of the lusty desires, he as a man of experience can go wherever he likes. (Vedabase)
 

 

Text 19

When you have conquered these six opponents and are freed from attachments by these special orders of the Original Person, you, sheltered in this fortress by the safe haven of the lotus feet of Him with the lotuslike navel, can enjoy all pleasures in the world and thus find your way.'

You then, having taken to the shelter of the stronghold of the cavity of the lotus feet of Him whose navel is alike a lotus, and having conquered the six enemies, enjoy in this world everything there is to be enjoyed, finding yours in being liberated from attachments in your position, through these special orders of the Original Person.' (Vedabase)

 

Text 20

S'rī S'uka said: 'The great devotee of [Brahmā,] the mighty Lord who is the spiritual master of the three worlds, thus being fully instructed, as a humble soul bowed his head in acceptance of his order and said: 'Yes I will' and respectfully carried out what he said.

S'rī S'uka said: 'The great devotee of the mighty Lord who is the spiritual master of the three worlds, thus fully instructed, as a subordinate soul bowed his head down upon his order and said: 'Yes sir, so will it, with all respect, be carried out'.  (Vedabase)

 

Text 21

With Priyavrata and Nārada in peace taking notice, the great Lord was also duly respected by Manu. Thereupon he left to return to his abode, the place above all places which is indescribable and unfathomable.

The great Lord, also by Manu duly respected as he deserves, with Priyavrata and Nārada in peace taking notice, then returned to his abode, departing for the place above all places which is indescribable and unfatomable. (Vedabase)

 

Text 22

Manu who, as well supported by Lord Brahmā, executed his plan and with the permission of Nārada handed the responsibility for the maintenance and protection of all the worlds in the universe over to his son, was [therewith] personally relieved from his desires in the so very dangerous, poisonous ocean of the material world.

Manu thus, also with his support, executed what he had in mind and with the permission of Nārada by his son establishing the maintenance of the protection of all worlds in the entire universe, found he personally relief from the desires of the so very dangerous, poisonous ocean of material affairs. (Vedabase)


Text 23

[Priyavrata, Manu's son who as] the emperor of the universe, according to the order of the Lord, thus was fully engaged in material affairs, was by constantly meditating on the two lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, the Original Person whose transcendental influence destroys all bondage, completely purified with all the dirt washed from his heart and ruled the material world with the only wish to honor the great souls.

So indeed as ordered by the Controller, was he [Manu's son, Priyavrata], fully engaged in material affairs as the emperor of the universe, by constant meditation on the two lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, the Original Person of whom the influence of transcendence destroys all bondage, fully engaged in material affairs as the emperor of the universe completely pure with all dirt washed out of his heart and ruled he the material world just to honor the great ones. (Vedabase)


Text 24

He thereupon married Barhishmatī, the daughter of Vis'vakarmā, one of the founding fathers, and begot in her, next to a daughter who as the youngest of his children carried the name Ūrjasvatī, ten sons who in their character, qualities, activities, beauty and prowess were of a greatness equal to his own.

He afterwards also married the daughter Barhishmatī of Vis'vakarmā, one of the founding fathers and begot in her gloriously a daughter who as the youngest of all carried the name Ūrjasvatī, as well as ten sons, whose magnanimity was exactly alike his in character, qualities, course of action, beauty and prowess. (Vedabase)

 

Text 25

His sons he all gave the names of Agni, the god of fire: Āgnīdhra, Idhmajihva, Yajńabāhu, Mahāvīra, Hiranyaretā, Ghritaprishthha, Savana, Medhātithi, Vītihotra and Kavi.

The sons all got the names of Agni, the god of fire: Āgnīdhra, Idhmajihva, Yajńabāhu, Mahāvīra, Hiranyaretā, Ghritaprishthha, Savana, Medhātithi, Vītihotra and Kavi. (Vedabase)

 

Text 26

Three of them, Kavi, Mahāvīra and Savana were celibate souls who motivated from within, from the beginning of their childhood lived for the transcendental knowledge, on the basis of which they, well conversant with the highest spiritual perfection, took to the renounced order [the paramahamsa-ās'rama].

Three of them, Kavi, Mahāvīra and Savana were celibates from the inner drive who, living in transcendental knowledge right from the beginning of their childhood, were well conversant with the highest spiritual perfection, of wich they free from doubts kept the order [the paramahamsa-ās'rama]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 27

These transcendental sages lived, by the peace of the qualities of that celebrated order (*), for the protection of the association of all living beings who, in fear and anxiety about their material existence, have the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Vāsudeva, as their only shelter. In their constant remembrance they [the brothers], free from contaminations being purified by virtue of the highest form of yoga - the yoga of devotion - observed in their hearts the Supreme Lord of all living beings. They saw Him directly as situated within themselves and realized that they were equal to Him in their quality, that they [in that sense] did not differ from the Lord of the Supersoul.

In that so confidently kept renounced order of life (*) resides the sum total of all great sages who are there for the individual souls who, anxious about their material existence, take to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Vāsudeva who is the only shelter. In constant remembrance perceived they, by virtue of the supreme of the yoga of devotion, free from contaminations purified, within their hearts the Supreme Lord of all beings as situated within themselves, thereby directly realizing their souls as being qualitatively equal, as being non-different from the Supersoul. (Vedabase)

 

Text 28

In another wife he begot three more sons named Uttama, Tāmasa and Raivata, who all became rulers of the Manu period [of 71 mahāyugas long].

It was in another wife that he also begot three sons named Uttama, Tāmasa and Raivata who so became rulers of the Manu period [that is 71 mahāyugas long]. (Vedabase)


Text 29

After his sons were trained in the renounced order he [Priyavrata] thus became the master of the universe where he, endowed with powerful arms of command, together with them pulled the bowstring loudly to defeat all who opposed the dharma. Without interruption for 110 million years there was the rule of the great soul who with the daily increasing amiability, femininity, shyness, laughs, glances and exchanges of love [in his repeated births] with his wife Barhishmatī enjoyed a life of pleasure. But confounded and defeated by it he lost his discernment.

Endowed with powerful arms of prowess and strength who together pulled the bowstring loudly defeating all who opposed the righteous rule, became they, all his well qualified sons, masters of the universe and thus was there without interruption for a 110 million years the expansion of Priyavrata's rule as a great soul, a soul who of his wife Barhishmatī her amiability, femininity, shyness, coy, laughs and glances and exchanges of love [in his repeated births] enjoyed a life of pleasure; but in his true knowledge was he defeated by it like a less intelligent one. (Vedabase)

 

Text 30

Not appreciating that the sun god, as long as he circumambulated mount Meru, lit up one side of the earth and left the other half in the dark, he who in his worship of the Fortunate One was of a supernatural power then said: 'I will make the night as brilliant as the day', and to enforce that he followed the orbit of the sun in a chariot, exactly seven times and with the same speed, like he was a second sun.

Not appreciating that the sun-god, as long as he circumambulated mount Meru, lit up one side of the earth and left the other half in the dark, said he who in his worship of the Fortunate One was of a superhuman power: 'I'll make the night as brilliant as the day', and to that he followed in a chariot the orbit of the sun, which he, like a second sun, performed ecactly seven times and with the same speed. (Vedabase)

 

Text 31

With the rims of the wheels of his chariot creating trenches, were by him thus operating the seven oceans brought about that divided the earth [Bhū-mandala] into the seven dvīpas [the continents or 'islands'].

His proceeding that way with the wheels of his chariot was, making trenches with the rims, responsible for bringing about the seven oceans which divided the heavenly sphere around the earth [Bhū-mandala] in the seven islands [the realms of planetary interest]. (Vedabase)

Text 32

Known as Jambū, Plaksha, S'ālmali, Kus'a, Krauńca, S'āka and Pushkara each of them is produced all around outside and twice as big as the one preceding it.

Known as Jambū, Plaksha, S'ālmali, Kus'a, Krauńca, S'āka and Pushkara measures each of them twice the size of the preceding one and was there, all around outside of them, that what they produced. (Vedabase)

 

Text 33

The seven oceans - [figuratively like a kind of body fluids] consisting of salt water, sugarcane juice, liquor, clarified butter, milk, fluid yogurt and sweet water - are of the same size as the islands that they, as the trenches [of his wheels], one after the other consecutively fully enclose. For each of the dvīpas separately the husband of Barhishmatī, beginning with Jambūdvīpa, installed as their ruler one of his faithful sons named Āgnīdhra, Idhmajihva, Yajńabāhu, Hiranyaretā, Ghritaprishthha, Medhātithi and Vītihotra.

The seven oceans that like trenches to the seven islands inside of them were filled with salt water, sugercane-juice, liquor, fluid butter, milk, fluid yogurt and sweet water, were of an equal proportion to the islands they enclosed at the outside, the separate islands that one after the other to the number of seven were situated in a row all around. To each of the islands installed the husband of Barhishmatī as their rulers one of his faithful sons of which there were also seven: Āgnīdhra, Idhmajihva, Yajńabāhu, Hiranyaretā, Ghritaprishthha, Medhātithi and Vītihotra. (Vedabase)

 

Text 34

He further gave the daughter named Ūrjasvatī in marriage to the great sage Us'anā [S'ukrācārya who is also called Kavi or Kavya]. She gave birth to a daughter named Devayānī.

What he also did was to give the daughter named Ūrjasvatī to the great sage Us'anā [S'ukrācārya] unto whom was born a daughter named Devayānī. (Vedabase)

 

Text 35

For the devotees of the Lord of the Great Steps [Urukrama, see 1.3: 19] who, by resorting to the dust of His feet, are able to conquer the six qualities [of material life: hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, old age and death **], such a[n achievement of] personal power is not that surprising at all, for even a fifth-class person [an outcaste] will  immediately forsake his material attachment when he only once utters the name of the Lord.

Of no surprise is to the devotees the personal influence of the One of the Great Steps [Urukrama, see 1.3: 19], by the lotus feet of whom the sixfold material whip [of hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, old age and death] is conquered, when a fifth-class person [an outcaste] only once uttering His holy name immediately gives up his material bondage. (Vedabase)


Text 36

He [Priyavrata], thus unparalleled in strength and influence, one day understood that he, despite his surrender to the feet of the devarishi [Nārada], had fallen down because of his concern with the basic qualities of matter in which he found no satisfaction [compare 1.5: 17]. In a spirit of renunciation he then said to himself:

He [Priyavrata] thus unparalleled in strength and influence, who once surrendered himself to the feet of the devarishi [Nārada] but thereafter fell down because of his concerns with the modes of matter not finding satisfaction [compare 1-5: 17], then, thinking about himself, in a spirit of renunciation said this: (Vedabase)


Text 37

'Oh what a wrong I have done, for I was completely absorbed in the nescience of a life of sense gratification! The dark well of material pleasure made me guilty of a lot of distress and look like a dancing monkey, insignificant and of no importance in the hands of my wife. Doomed and damned I am indeed!' Thus he criticized himself.

'Alas, I did wrong for I was completely absorbed by the nescience of a sensual life; the dark well of material pleasure made me guilty of a lot of distress making me look like a dancing monkey, insignificant and of no importance, in the hands of my wife; doomed and damned I am indeed!', thus he criticized himself. (Vedabase)

 

Text 38

With his self-realization achieved by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the beyond, with handing over the earth to his faithfully following sons, with dividing the inheritance, with forsaking his queen whom he had enjoyed so much, with giving up the dead corpus of his great opulence and with his heart in perfect surrender having taken to renunciation, he was certain to be back on the path of the great saint Nārada and the stories about the Lord.

By the selfrealization obtained through the mercy of the God Beyond, handing over the earth to his sons who followed him exactly, dividing the inheritance he enjoyed in so many ways, with the queen and the great opulence giving up the deadness of his body and with himself in his heart in perfect surrender taking to the renunciation, he with that attitude was sure to again put himself on the right track in combination with the stories of the Lord at the feet of that greatest of saints Nārada. (Vedabase)

 

Text 39

The following verses apply to him: 'What was done by Priyavrata no one could have done except for the Supreme Lord.' 'He dissipated the darkness and created the seven seas by the impressions of the rims of the wheels of his chariot.'

To him apply all these verses: 'What was done by Priyavrata no one could have done except for the Supreme Controller', 'By the impressions of the rims of the wheels of his chariot he dissipated the darkness, creating the seven seas'. (Vedabase)

 

Text 40

'It was he who, in order to stop the fighting of the nations on the different continents, created the situation of the boundaries in this world in the form of rivers, mountain ranges and forests and such [compare 4.14: 45-46].'

'To stop the fighting of the different nations on the various continents was it he who created the situation in the world of the separation by means of rivers, mountain ranges and forests [compare 4.14: 45-46] and such.' (Vedabase)

 

Text 41

'He, as the most beloved follower of the Original Person, considered all opulence of the lower worlds, the heavens and the earth, as also that what is acquired by fruitive action and by yoga [the siddhis], to be nothing but hell.'

'He was the one most dear on the path after the Original Person; he was the one to whom all opulence of the lower worlds, the heavens or the earth, as acquired by fruitive action and the power of yoga, was just like hell.' (Vedabase)
 
*: There are four stages in accepting the renounced order: 1) Kuthīcaka: one stays outside one's village in a cottage, and one's necessities, especially one's food, are supplied from home. 2) Bahūdaka: one no longer accepts anything from home: instead, one, mādhukarī, with the "profession of the bumblebees", collects one's necessities, especially one's food, from many places.  3) Parivrājakācārya: one travels all over the world to preach the glories of Lord Vāsudeva collecting one's necessities, especially one's food, from many places, and 4) Paramahamsa: he finishes his preaching work and sits down in one place, strictly for the sake of advancing in spiritual life.

**: According to Sāstrī Goswami and S'rīla Vishvanātha Cakravarti Thhākura these 'six qualities' can also be understood as the five senses and the mind.

***: There seems to be a gross contradiction between the description of the universe found in the Bhāgavatam and the modern scientific, materialistic, view of the universe. For this reason many insufficiently trained Vaishnava bhaktas became disappointed studying the book, having arrived at Canto 5. In 5-1: 30-35, seven islands are mentioned, or continents, separated by seven oceans in a concentric way. These would have been created by the wheels of a ruler named Priyavrata who moved in circles after the sun in a chariot because the sun ''always illumined only half of the world''. One should know that Vyāsa in this chapter explains also, in verse 29, that this ruler, even though a great devotee, lost his discrimination for being attached to a householder's existence. But especially the statements that these oceans consisted of sugarcane juice, milk, clarified butter and liquor and such fluids, baffled many and made some of them bloop or never take the Bhāgavatam (the Lord in a literary form!) serious again.

It is important to understand in this context that in the different Cantos different styles of logic, types of intelligence, or views are exercised. In epistemology - the theory of knowledge - these matters are well known and holy books like the Bhāgavatam of course must give evidence of a full coverage of the different types of logic that belong to a divine type of comprehension, a full approach of the understanding of and logical reasoning about what we call 'reality'. Thus, in these verses in the fifth Canto evidently things must not only be considered in the context of discussing the pros and cons of a householder's life, but also must not, and cannot be, taken literally. Straight literal materialistic interpretations of holy texts constitute a classical offense. These verses display the logic of art and literature, like: "He ran in circles after the sun, to fight the darkness of its shadow, he made trenches with his wheels, separating islands that men know etc. etc" - It is an analytic approach, called samkhya - that is more interested in concise abstracted divisions and figures of speech without further explanation like one also finds in fairy tales, fictional novels and other works of art.

So, with Vyāsa entering this type of literary, artful logic in Canto 5, not giving further explanations - like he by contrast did before in 4.27 with the allegory of Purańjana's nine gate city -, these oceans seem to represent fluids belonging to the social body where water, milk, ghee and liquor are found everywhere like in oceans. The universe thus is equated with the social body. The material world as the body of the Lord was several times before stressed as a central theme in this Purāna. Therefore no further explanation anymore by Vyāsa. The reader is supposed to know by now. The concentric tracks made by Priyavrata's wheels, thus seen, represent the time factor - also a recurring essential theme - and the continents or islands then represent different types of societies or cultures - historically developing one after the other like concentric circles do in a pond after a stone is thrown in - that find peace by boundaries, a feat for which Priyavrata is later commemorated (in verse 40).

This is how this text can make sense as good concise effective literature. Just give up the mistaken notion that only one type of logic would cover the entirety of the Absolute Truth (!). Evidently India runs on at least six types of logic or philosophical views. These are called 'shad-darshana' and are essential for a comprehensive approach of what is called 'ātmatattva', of Vedic spiritual knowledge, a type of epistemological knowledge one may also translate with the term - as coined by me - of filognosy: "the love for the knowledge of self-realization". Please read my books (e.g. 'The Person' at http://filognosy.org) for an in depth discussion of this epistemological matter.

 

 

 

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The picture shows Lord Brahmā riding the swan. Murshidabad, 19th c. Source.
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