Creation

"The Story of The Fortunate One"

CANTO 1

Chapter 1 Questions by the Sages

Chapter 2 Divinity and Divine Service

Chapter 3 Krishna is the Source of all Incarnations.

Chapter 4 The Appearance of S'rî Nârada.

Chapter 5 Nârada's Instructions on S'rîmad Bhâgavatam for Vyâsadeva

Chapter 6 Conversation between Nârada and Vyâsadeva

Chapter 7 The Son of Drona Punished

Chapter 8 Prayers by Queen Kuntî and Parîkchit Saved

Chapter 9 The Passing Away of Bhîshmadeva in the Presence of Lord Krishna

Chapter 10 The Departure of Lord Krishna for Dvârakâ

Chapter 11 Lord S'rî Krishna's Entrance into Dvârakâ

Chapter 12 The Birth of Emperor Parîkchit

Chapter 13 Dhritarâshthra Quits Home

Chapter 14 The Disappearance of Lord Krishna

Chapter 15 The Pândavas Retire

Chapter 16 How Parîkchit Received the Age of Kali

Chapter 17 Punishment and Reward of Kali

Chapter 18 Mahârâja Parîkchit Cursed by a Brahmin Boy

Chapter 19 The Appearance of S'ukadeva Gosvâmî

Introduction
This book relates the story of the Lord and His Incarnations since the earliest records of the vedic history. It is verily the Krishna-Bible of the Hindu-Universe. The Bhagavad Gîta compares to it like the sermon on the mountain by Lord Jesus to the full Bible. It has 18.000 verses and consists of 12 books also called Cantos. These books tell the complete history of the Vedic culture with the essence of all its classical stories called Purânas and includes the cream of the Vedic knowledge compiled from all the literatures as well as the story of the life of Lord Krishna in full (Canto 10). It tells about His birth, His youth, all His wonderful proofs of His divine nature and the superhuman feats of defeating all kinds of demons up to the great Mahabharat war at Kurukshetra.

Chapter 1: Questions by the Sages

Let there be the salutation of the original appearance of Him, Vâsudeva, the Fortunate One, from whom, being present here and in the beyond, for the purpose of recollection and full independence, the Vedic knowledge in the heart was imparted of the first created being [Lord Brahmâ]. About Him are the enlightened [as surely also the ordinary] souls, like with a mirage of water to the [fire of the] sun, in a state of illusion wherein, through the action and reaction of the modes of material nature, there is the illusion of the factual. Upon Him I meditate who is always self-sufficient and of the transcendental, the negation free from illusion and the Absolute of the truth.

Herein [in this book] is rejected deceitful religiosity [of ulterior motives], and finds one the highest, comprehensible to selfless truth-loving ones. Herein is offered the factual substance of well-being that uproots the threefold miseries [as caused by oneself, others and by nature]. What is the need of other stories when in here is found the beautiful story of the Fortunate One as compiled by the great sage [Vyâsadeva] which, with help of the ones pious and diligently of service, forthwith in the heart confines the Controller. It is the ripened fruit from the desire tree of the Vedic literatures that flowing from the lips of S'ukadeva manifested as sweet nectar perfect in every way; o you expert and thoughtful ones delighting in devotion, ever relish the home of the S'rîmad Bhâgavatam!

 In the forest of Naimishâranya, a spot favored by Vishnu, sages headed by the sage S'aunaka performed a thousand-year sacrifice for the Lord of heaven and the devotees on earth. One morning, burning the sacrificial fire, with due respect, the sages asked S'rîla Sûta Gosvâmî, who was offered a seat of honor, the following: "You, free from all vice as you are and familiar with the stories and historical records, are said to be well versed in the religious scriptures that you explained as well. As the eldest of the scholars of the Vedas you know Vyâsadeva, the Lord among them - and Sûta, you know as well the other ones well versed in physical and metaphysical knowledge. Being so conversant, pure and simple by their grace, tell us, your honor, of the secrets you have learned from those spiritual masters as a submissive disciple. Being blessed thereof with ease and a long life, from your goodness please tell us, what you could ascertain to be the absolute and ultimate good that all people deserve. In general, o honorable one, are the people in this age of Kali lazy, misguided, unlucky and above all disturbed. There are many scriptures with as many prescribed duties each separately demanding attention. Therefore o sage, tell us for the good of all living beings what, to the best of your knowledge, is the essence by which the soul is satisfied. Be blessed Sûta, you know the purpose for which the Supreme One, the protector of the devotees, appeared in the womb of Devakî as the son of Vasudeva. Please, for the good and upliftment of all living beings explain it to us, aching for it, as you should [after the tradition]. Entangled in the complications of birth and death will we, even not being fully conscious, find liberation if we respect the name of the Lord who is feared by fear itself. O Sûta, simply associating in devotion will sanctify us directly, as Ganges water would do but only after using it. Who, eager for liberation, wouldn't rather want to hear of the Lord His worshipable virtuous deeds and His glories as the sanctifier in the Age of Quarrel [Kali]? He is hailed by the great souls for His transcendental glories. Please tell us, who are eager to believe, about the pastimes of His descend in time. Therefore, describe to us, o sagacious one, the auspicious adventures and pastimes of the multiple incarnations of the Supreme Controller His personal energies. We, relishing the palatable at every step, are never tired of associating with the One Glorified and hearing about His adventures. In the guise of a human being was He with Balarâma [His elder brother] of a superhuman performance. Knowing of the onset of the Age of Kali, we for a longer period have assembled to sacrifice here at this place reserved for the devotees, taking our time to listen to the stories about the Lord. By providence we met your goodness to help us as the captain of the ship through this insurmountable age of Kali that is so threatening to the good qualities. Please tell us with whom we should take shelter, now the Lord of Yoga S'rî Krishna, who is the Absolute Truth and the protector of the religion, has left for His own abode."

Chapter 2: Divinity and Divine Service

Completely satisfied with the correct questions of the sages there, the son of Romaharshana [Sûta] tried to reply after thanking them for their words. Sûta said: "He [S'ukadeva] who went away to live with the renounced order without the prescribed ceremony of reform of the sacred thread, made Vyâsadeva, being afraid of the separation exclaim: 'O my son!', and all the trees and all living beings responded sympathizing in the heart of the sage. Let me offer my obeisance to him, who from his experience of life, as the only transcendental torchlight in desiring to overcome the darkness of material existence of materialistic men, assimilated the cream of the Vedas and out of his causeless mercy conveyed the very confidential holy story as the master of the great sages. After offering first one's obeisance to Nara-Nârâyana, the [Lord as the] super most human being, the goddess of learning and Vyâsadeva, let then all be announced that is needed for the conquering.

O sages, your questions about Lord Krishna are of relevance for the welfare of the world because they satisfy the true self. That duty no doubt is for mankind the highest, of which there is the causeless, uninterrupted devotional service unto Krishna as the One in the Beyond [Vishnu] that leads to the full satisfaction of the soul. The practice of connecting oneself in devotion unto Vâsudeva, the Personality of Godhead, very soon leads to the detachment and spiritual knowledge that relies on its own power. What mankind does in its duties according to each his own position, is useless labor leading nowhere, if it does not lead to the message of Vishvaksena [Krishna as the Supreme Commander]. One's occupational activities are certainly meant for ultimate liberation and not for the end of material gain, neither is, according to the sages, the material progress of the dutiful ones in devotional service meant for the attainment of sense-gratification. One's longing is not so much there for sense-gratification, profit and self-preservation, one's work is instead there for no other purpose than inquiring after the Absolute Truth. The learned souls say that the reality of nondual knowledge is known as Brahman, Paramâtmâ, and Bhagavân [the impersonal, localized and personal aspect]. The sages who with the good of knowledge and detachment are of serious inquisition, will see within themselves and the Supersoul in devotional service, exactly that, what they have heard from in the Vedas. So by the human being, o best of the twice born, the highest perfection of occupational duties according to the divisions of status and vocation is achieved in the pleasing of the Lord. Therefore should one with a one-pointed mind constantly hear about, glorify, remember and worship the Supreme Lord, the protector of the devotees. Who would not attend to this message of intelligently remembering the Lord which gives one the sword for cutting through the bonds of materially motivated labor [karma]? One who listens with care and attention in respect of Vâsudeva, will find affinity with the message through the devotional service rendered to pure devotees, o learned ones, and be purified from all vice. Those who developed this hearing of Krishna His own words will find virtue listening and singing and will certainly in their hearts see their desire to enjoy purified by the benefactor of the truthful. By regular attention to that fortune [of the book and the devotee] will as good as all the inauspicious lose its hold, and will thus serving the Supreme Lord with transcendental prayers irrevocably loving service come into being. At that time will the consciousness not being spoiled by the effects of passion and ignorance such as lust, greed and whatever else, be fixed in goodness and find happiness. The mind, in contact with the devotional service of the Lord thus cleared, becomes, of the association liberated, then effective in the knowledge of wisdom regarding the Fortunate One. Seeing the [true] self that way as being the master for sure will cut the knots in the heart to pieces, put an end to all doubts and terminate the chain of materially motivated actions [karma]. Therefore all transcendentalists have for certain always delighted in the service to Lord Krishna - it enlivens the soul. The ultimate benefit of the Transcendental Personality, that is associated with as well the material qualities of nature of goodness, passion and ignorance as with the maintainer Vishnu, the creator Brahmâ and the destroyer Siva, is of course for the human being found in the form of the quality of goodness [Vishnu]. As we have the firewood from sacrifices stemming from the earth producing smoke, so we also have passion stemming from ignorance leading to the goodness from which the essential nature is realized.

Whoever follows these sages who before thus rendered service to the transcendental Lord above these three modes of nature, deserves the same benefit. For that reason do they who desire liberation reject the less attractive forms of the demigods, and are they sure to worship, without any envy, the many forms of the all-blissful Lord Vishnu [Nârâyana]. Those who are ignorant and of passion, desire wealth, power and progeny, clinging to forefathers and other beings of cosmic control with a likewise character. But Vâsudeva is the object of knowledge, the purpose of the sacrifices and the yoga, the controller of all material activity, and the supreme knowledge, austerity, quality, religion and goal of life. From the beginning of the manifestation He, by this internal potency, has been the cause and effect of all forms and the transcendental Absolute of the modes of nature. Although He, manifesting by the modes, having entered into them, appears to be affected by the modes, is He the full manifestation of all wisdom. He, as the Supersoul, pervades all living beings as the source of the creation like fire does in wood and shines forth as different living entities, at the same time being the Absolute Person. That Supersoul, created the subtle senses influenced by the modes of nature by entering the living beings in His own creation, causing them to enjoy those modes. Thus He maintains all in the mode of goodness, being incarnated Himself in the performance of His pastimes mastering all worlds of divine, human and animalistic beings."

Chapter 3: Krishna is the Source of All Incarnations

Sûta said: "In the beginning assumed the Supreme Lord, for the creation of the worlds, the form of the Original Person[: the integrity of the material realm] composed of the sixteen elements [of the ten knowing and working senses, the mind and the five elements] and the cosmic intelligence and such. Resting in His meditative slumber was in that water, out of the lotus that spread from the lake of His navel, Brahmâ manifested, the master of the progenitors in the universe. One believes the different worlds [as expansions] to be part of the form of the Fortunate One, that truly is the excellence of the purest existence. His form seen perfectly thus has numerous legs, thighs, arms and faces, with wonderful heads, ears, eyes and noses, all glowing with garlands and dresses. This multifarious source of the incarnations is the imperishable seed from which the plenary portions and portions thereof again, the gods, the human beings and the animals originate.

 First were the sons of Brahmâ [the Kumâras] disciplined in austerity for the realization of continuation. Incarnated next for the sake of its welfare, He, like a boar, uplifted the world out of the lower regions. Thirdly accepted He [in the form of Nârada Muni] His presence among the learned for the sake of evolving vedic knowledge for service in devotion without further material motives. Fourth born as the twin sons of king Dharma in the form of Nara-Nârâyana He underwent severe penances to attain control over the senses. Fifth with the name of Kapila He gave an exposition to the brahmin Âsuri on the nature of metaphysics and the elements of creation because in the course of time the knowledge was lost. Sixth, born as the son of Atri [called Dattâtreya] from Anasûyâ who prayed for Him, He lectured to Alarka, Prahlâda and others about the transcendental. Seventh born from Âkûti as Yajña, the son of Prajâpati Ruci He, assisted by the godly, ruled over the change of the period of Svâyambhuva Manu together with His son Yama and others. Eighth, from the wife of King Nâbhi, Merudevî He took birth as King Rishabha and showed the path of perfection respected by people of all stages of life. Accepting His ninth incarnation from prayers by the sages, He ruled [as Prithu] the earth for the sake of its cultivation and produces, which made it beautifully attractive. Like a fish [Mâtsya] in the water He kept Vaivasvata Manu after the period of Câkshusha Manu on a boat of protection afloat the waters when the world was deeply inundated. Eleventh as a tortoise [Kurma] He sustained the Mandarâcala Hill of the theists and atheists which served as a pivot in the ocean. Twelfth was Dhanvantari [Lord of medicine] and thirteenth He appeared as an alluring beautiful woman to the atheists while giving nectar to the godly. His fourteenth incarnation He appeared as Nrisimha, who with His nails half as a Lion on His lap tore apart the king of the atheists like a carpenter does cane. Fifteenth He assumed the form of Vâmana [the dwarf-brâhmana] who, from the arena of sacrifice of Mahârâja Bali, begged only for three steps of land, while at heart willing to return to the kingdom of the three worlds. In His sixteenth incarnation [as Bhrigupati or Paras'urâma] He acted twenty-one times against the ruling class that negated the intelligentsia. Seeing the common people as being less intelligent He seventeenth incarnated as Vyâsadeva from Satyavatî by Parâs'ara Muni, to divide the desire tree of the Veda into several branches. Next He performed superhuman in controlling the Indian Ocean having assumed the form of a divine human being [Râma] in order to act for the sake of the Godly. Nineteenth as well as twentiest He appeared as Balarâma and Krishna from the Vrishni-family and thus Bhagavân removed the burden from the world. Thereafter in the Age of Kali His birth as Lord Buddha from Añjanâ in Gayâ will take place in order to delude the ones envious with the theists. Following that at the conjunction of two yugas when there is hardly a ruler found that is not a plunderer, the Lord of Creation will take birth with the name of Kalki as the son of Vishnu Yas'â.

O Twice-born, from the ocean of goodness are the Lord His incarnations as innumerable as the thousands of streams found from lakes. All the powerful sages, the godly, the Manus and their progeny, as well as the Prajâpatis [founding fathers] are aspects of the Lord. All these are part of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Lord [Bhagavân] in person who gives protection in all ages and worlds against the enemies of the king of heaven [Indra]. Those who in the morning and the evening carefully recite these mysterious births of the Lord, will find relief from all miseries of life. All these forms of the Lord are certainly of the one without a form that is transcendental; they came about in the self from the modes of the material energy with its elements. To the less intelligent seer they are as clouds in the sky and dust in the air in order to perceive. This unmanifested beyond, which is without a form that is affected by the modes of nature and is alike that what is unseen and unheard - thàt is the living being that takes birth repeatedly. Whenever one realizes that all these gross and subtle forms originate from the ignorance in the self, at that time is one in association with the divine. With the illusory energy subsided there is enrichment with the full knowledge of enlightenment and knowing in the glories of the Self. Thus the inactive unborn Lord of the Heart with His births and activities has been described by the learned as being undetectable even in the Vedas. Being within every living being He, the omnipotent master of the senses who's play is spotless, is independent and unaffected by creation, destruction and maintenance. Acting like an actor in a drama, can by His manipulations the ones with little knowledge not know Him in His activities, names and forms by means of speculation and oration. Only he can know of the transcendental glories of the Creator all-powerful with the wheel of the chariot in His hand, who renders unconditional, uninterrupted, favorable service to His fragrant lotus feet. In this world one can be successful if one knows in full about the Personality of Godhead who embraces all of His universes and inspires for the complete of the spirit of ecstasy in which one will never find the dreaded repetitions of the worldly interest."

This book about the story of the Personality of Godhead and His devotees compiled by the wise man of God is, as a supplement to the Vedas, there for the ultimate good of all people, bringing success, happiness and perfection. S'rîla Vyâsadeva delivered it, as the cream extracted from all the Vedic literatures and histories, to his son, the most respectful among the self-realized. He on his turn spoke it to emperor Parîkchit who sat at the Ganges surrounded by the wise in penance until his death. With Krishna having left for His abode along with the proper conduct and its spiritual insight, has now this purâna bright as the sun risen for all the persons who in the Age of Quarrel [Kali-yuga] have lost their vision. When I heard the story from that powerful great sage, I as well managed to understand it, being perfectly attentive by his mercy, so that I can also tell it to you from my own realization."

Chapter 4: The Appearance of S'rî Nârada

The elderly and learned S'aunaka, the head of the long-standing ceremony the sages were gathered for, congratulated Sûta Gosvâmî thanking him thus: "O most fortunate of the ones respected to speak, tell us of the message of the Bhâgavatam, as spoken by S'ukadeva Gosvâmî. When, where, on what ground and wherefrom inspired could this literature be compiled by Vyâsadeva? His son, who equipoised and unwavering with his mind was always fixed on the One, was a great devotee and an awakened soul, but unexposed he appeared ignorant. Seeing the sage Vyâsa following his son, naked bathing beauties covered their bodies out of shyness, whereas astonishingly asked of his son they replied him that they did not do so for him as he regarded them purely without sexual discrimination. How was he [S'uka], appearing like a retarded dumb madman wandering the Kuru-jângala provinces, recognized by the inhabitants when he reached Hastinâpura [now: Delhi]? How could, o dear soul, between the saint and the descendant of Pându, the wise king, the discussion take place in which this vedic truth about Krishna came to pass? He, pilgrimaging, only for the time of milking a cow stayed at the door of the householders sanctifying the residence. Please tell us about Parîkchit, the son of Abhimanyu, who is said to be a first class devotee whose birth and activities are all wonderful. For what reason did the emperor who enriched the name of Pându, neglect the opulences of his kingdom, sitting down for penance at the Ganges until his death? Why did he, at whose feet all enemies surrendered their wealth for their own sake, in the full of his youth exclaim to give up his so difficult to relinquish life of royal riches? Men of devotion for the One Hailed in the Verses, live for the welfare, the affluence and prosperity of all living beings and not for any selfish purpose; for what reason gave he, freed from all attachment, up his mortal body that was the shelter for others? Clearly explain to us all we by this have asked you, for we consider you fully acquainted with all the meanings of the words in the scriptures, except for those of the vedic hymns."

Sûta Gosvâmî said: "When the second age that ran into the third, ended, was the sage [Vyâsa] born to Parâs'ara from the womb of the daughter of Vasu as a full aspect of the Lord. One morning at the rise of the sun globe, after being cleansed by the water of his morning duties, he sat down at the bank of the river Sarasvatî to concentrate. Knowing past and future, he saw, as it happens from unseen forces in the different ages, that in the religion of his time gradually anomalies were accruing. Seeing in his transcendence how with the dull and impatient of the faithless lacking in goodness, there was a decline in the natural power in all types of men as well as in other creatures, and that the common man being unlucky was short-lived, devoted the sage his transcendental vision to the welfare of all the vocations and stages in life. With the insight that there were four sacrificial fires for purifying the work of the people, divided he the one Veda accordingly into four to ensure the continuance of sacrifice. Rig, Yajuh, Sâma and Atharva were the names of these four Vedas while the Itihâsas (the single histories) and the Purânas (the collections of histories) were called the fifth Veda. After that the Rig Veda was propagated by the rishi Paila, the Sâma Veda by the learned Jaimini, while Vais'ampâyana was the only one versed enough to qualify for the defense of the Yajur Veda. The serious respect for the Atharva Veda was with Angirâ, also called Sumantu Muni, while the Itihâsas and the Purânas, were defended by my father Romaharshana. All these scholars on their turn distributed the knowledge entrusted to them to their disciples who did the same with their following who did so with their pupils, and thus the different branches of followers of the Vedas came about. In order to have the Veda assimilated as much by the less intellectual ones, the great sage of lordship Vyâsa took care to edit it for the ignorant. Thinking this way, for the welfare of the more foolish working class, the women [see 6.9: 6 & 9], and the friends of the twice-born who themselves do not work for understanding, was the sage as merciful to take to their benefit down the story of the Mahâbhârata.

O dear twice-born, by no means could he, who was always working for the welfare of all living beings, find satisfaction at that time.. Knowing what religion is, said he, purified in seclusion at the bank of the Sarasvatî, thus from the dissatisfaction of his heart to himself: 'With strict discipline I sincerely did proper worship to the tradition of the vedic hymns, respecting the masters and doing the sacrifices. Even for women, the working class and others did I, by compiling the Mahâbhârata, properly explain, of the disciplic succession, what should be said of the path of religion. Despite of answering, so it appears, sufficiently to the demands of the vedantists in my realizing the might of the Supreme Soul as situated in the body and even the might of my own self, I feel something is missing. I might not have given sufficient directions about the devotional service so dear to as well the perfect as to the Infallible One.'

While Krishna-dvaipâyana Vyâsa was regretfully thinking this way of his shortcomings, reached Nârada, whom I spoke of before, his cottage. Seeing the fortune of that he quickly got up to honor him with the respect equal to the respect the godly pay to Brahmâjî, the creator."

Chapter 5: Nârada's Instructions on S'rîmad Bhâgavatam for Vyâsadeva

Sûta said: "Comfortably seated next to him, the pleased rishi of God - who has a vînâ in his hands - addressed the learned wise. He said: 'O greatly fortunate son of Parâs'ara, is the confrontation with the body and the mind in the self-realization of your soul to your satisfaction? You have done your full enquiries and being well versed, you have prepared the great and wonderful Mahâbhârata adding your extensive explanations. Despite of the full of your deliberations about the Absolute and Eternal are you, dear master, lamenting not having done enough.'

Vyâsa said: 'What you said is certainly true and my soul has found no peace with it. What is the root I missed, I ask you who originated from the soul as a man of unlimited knowledge. You have the all-inclusive knowledge as a confidential devotee of the Supreme Personality, who is the Original Controller of the material and spiritual and in whose mind only, from the transcendence above its modes, the universe is created and destroyed. In your goodness you travel the three worlds penetrating the heart of everyone like the all-pervading air as the selfrealized witness. Please point out what my deficiency is in my being absorbed in the Absolute with discipline and vow concerning matters of cause and effect'.

S'rî Nârada said: 'You hardly praised the glories of the Fortunate One who is spotless and who, I gather, is not really pleased by that lesser vision. Although you, great sage, repeatedly were writing for the sake of the four principles of religion [dharma, artha, kâma, moksha or righteousness, economy, sense gratification and liberation], you have not been doing so for the sake of Vâsudeva. Only sparsely using the words describing the glories of the Lord who sanctifies the universe, is something the saintly think of as pilgrimaging to a place for crows; not as something where the perfect of the transcendental take pleasure in. That creation of words revolutionizing the sins of the people in which, although imperfectly composed, each verse depicts the names and glories of the unlimited Lord, is heard, sung and accepted by the purified and honest. In spite of self-realization free from material motives, the transcendental knowledge of the infallible does not look well letting go of designations. What good will it bring to work time and again inauspiciously for a result when one misses the Lord with it? That leads nowhere! Therefore, for the sake of liberation from universal bondage, should you as a highly fortunate, spotless and famous perfect seer dedicated to the truth and fixed in the qualities, Him whose actions are supernatural.

Whatever you want to describe that is of a vision separate from Him, will only lead to names and forms that agitate the mind like a boat that is taken by the wind from its place. For the matter of religion have you instructed the people according their natural inclinations [to kill animals for their food e.g.], which is in truth reprehensible and quite unreasonable. The people fixed on such instructions for good conduct will not think of the prohibitions. For understanding the unlimited Lord do they qualify who are expert in withdrawing from material enjoyment, and therefore must those, who by the modes attached are missing the spiritual knowledge, by your goodness been shown the ways and activities of the Lord.

Inexperienced in devotional service at the lotus feet one may fall down in that position forsaking one's true nature, but then what inauspiciousness would befall the nondevotee who, engaged in his occupational duties, doesn't get to anything of His interest? The philosophically inclined should endeavor, for that reason, only for that which is not so much found wandering from high to low; in the course of time, so impetuous and subtle, one will find - just like the miseries - the enjoyment as a result of one's work automatically everywhere. Failing for some or another reason the devotee has a different experience than others: once he in his material life has the taste will he, remembering the feet of the Lord of Liberation he embraced, never want to give it up. By your good self, you know that all of this cosmos is the Lord Himself, even though He differs from it; He is the source and the end of its creation; I am only giving you a synopsis. Please give a vivid description of the pastimes of the Supreme Lord, as from the perfect vision of your own soul you can reach an understanding of the transcendence of the Personality of the Supersoul, of which you are a full aspect having taken birth for the well-being of the whole world. This attainment of all to the descriptions of the transcendental qualities by means of austerities, study, sacrifice, attending lectures, fostering intelligence and charity, is, according the acknowledged scholars, the infallible interest of the divine verses hailing the Supreme One.

"In the previous millennium I took, o sage, birth from the maidservant of certain followers of this conclusion [the Vedânta] and was I, just a boy, engaged in their service while living together during the months of the rainy season. These followers of wisdom were unto me, an obedient, well-mannered, self-controlled and silent boy without much interest in games and sport, of a special mercy, despite of their impartiality towards believers. When the twice-born, during that period, once allowed me to enjoy the remnants of their food, was I, by that action, freed from all my sins and manifested itself, with me thus being engaged with purity, the attraction to that dharma. Thereafter, hearing each day the descriptions of the life of Krishna, managed I through their respect for me, o dear Vyâsa, to pay good notice and thus develop my taste with every step I took. O great sage, that time achieving the taste, I found continuity with the Lord and thus I saw that all the gross and subtle is accepted in one's own ignorance concerning the Supreme of transcendence. Thus for two seasons, autumn and the rainy season, constantly hearing of nothing but the glories chanted by the sages, began of those great souls my devotional service to flow, with the modes of passion and ignorance receding. That way attached, as a boy in obedience being freed from sins, did I of the faithful manage to subjugate the senses and strictly follow the principles. By the purity of those devotees full of care for the meek, received I, as they left, the instruction on this most confidential knowledge which is directly propounded by the Lord Himself. Through that could I easily grasp the influence of the deluding material energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vâsudeva, the supreme creator, and how one thus can reach the refuge that He is.

O learned one, it is said that to dedicate one's actions to the Supreme Lord is the remedy for the threefold misery of life. O good soul, isn't it so that the cure for a disease is found in the same thing that caused it? The same way will all the material dealings of man put an end to their own materialism once competence develops in dedication to the transcendent. Whatever one does in this world to please the Lord and what thereto is done in the dependence on knowledge is bhakti yoga [yoga of devotion]. When one performs one's duties remembering the will of the Fortunate One, takes the mind constantly to the names and qualities of S'rî Krishna. Let us meditate upon the name and glory of Vâsudeva and His full expansions Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Sankarshana. The person who has the Lord without a form represented in the sound-form of a mantra, is, thus of worship for [Lord Vishnu] the Original Person of Sacrifice, of a perfect vision. This way engaged, o learned one, knowing well the confidential part of the vedic knowledge, was bestowed upon me the knowledge of His transcendental opulences as well as the intimate personal affection for Lord Krishna [Kes'ava]. You, dear good soul, vast in your vedic knowledge, who has also heard of the Almighty of whom the wise always have found satisfaction to learn about the transcendental, please describe His activities for the mitigation of the suffering of the masses of common people for whom there is no other way of relief."

Chapter 6: Conversation Between Nârada and Vyâsadeva

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: 'After the great devotees who instructed you in transcendental wisdom departed, what did you do before the beginning of your present life? 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? How could you, O great sage, remember this from a previous epoch in any detail, as time in due course annihilates all.'

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. 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. Although she wanted to take care of me properly, could she, being dependent like a puppet on a string, not do so. 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 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. Thus meditating on the lotusfeet 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. 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. 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. 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. Thus trying in that lonely place heard I from the beyond pleasing words of gravity being spoken to me that mitigated my grief: '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. 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. 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. 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.'

'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. 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 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. 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. 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 in His breath. A thousand ages later, when the creator again was expired I, together with all the rishis like Marici, appeared again. 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. This way I move constantly singing the message of the Lord, vibrating the transcendentally charged vînâ with which the Godhead has decorated Me. Thus singing, the sight of the Lord of the Lotusfeet, about whose actions one gladly hears, appears soon, in the seat of my heart, as if I could summon Him. 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. Desire and lust being curbed every time by the discipline of yoga evidently will not the same way be as satisfying to the soul as the service of the Personality of Godhead. 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'."

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

Chapter 7: The Son of Drona Punished

S'rî S'aunaka said: "What did, upon the departure of Nârada Muni, the great lordship of Vyâsadeva do after having heard from the great sage what he wanted to know"

Sûta replied: "On the western bank of the Sarasvatî where sages meditate there is at S'amyâprâsa an âs'rama for the promotion of transcendental activities. There, in his own place sat Vyâsadeva surrounded by berrytrees concentrating his mind after his oblations of water. With his mind aligning in the devotion of yoga saw he, being perfectly fixed without material concerns, the entirety of both the Original Person [the purusha] and the external energy depending on Him. The living entities conditioned to the modes of nature take, in spite of the transcendental of their soul, the unwanted for granted and undergo the reactions thereof. For the common people unaware of the cessation of the unwanted that is found in the yoga of devotion to the One in the Beyond, compiled the sage, who saw this, the different stories relating to the Absolute Truth. Simply attending to the literatures about the supreme personality of Krishna will make the devotional sprout that takes away lamentation, illusion and fear. After having assembled and revised the collections of stories, taught he them his son S'ukadeva Gosvâmî, the wise intent upon self-realization."

S'aunaka asked: "Why should he, fully on the path of self-realization, being contented within in divine indifference, undergo this vast study?"

Sûta said: "Such are His wonderful qualities that, in spite of taking pleasure in the soul, as well the common people as the sages freed from all material bondage are of pure devotional service unto Lord Vishnu, Urukrama. With the quality of being absorbed in the thought of the Supreme Lord, was S'uka, as the son of Vyâsa, beloved with the devotees for the fact that he had taken up the regular study of this great narration. So let me now tell you the stories of Krishna about the birth, activities and deliverance of king Parîkchit, the rishi among the kings, as well as of the renunciation of the sons of Pându.

When on the battlefield of Kurukshetra the warriors of the Pândavas and the Kauravas had found their heroic fate and the son of King Dhritarâshthra [Duryodhana] was lamenting his broken spine due to being beaten by the club of Bhîma, thought the son of Dronâcârya [As'vatthâmâ] that he could please his master Duryodhana by delivering the heads of the sleeping sons of Draupadî as a prize - but when the master came to see this, he disapproved of this heinous act. The mother of the children [of the Pândavas], hearing of the massacre cried bitter tears in lamentation. Arjuna [who headed the Pândavas], trying to pacify her, said: 'I can only take the tears from your eyes away o gentle lady, when the head of that degraded brahmin aggressor is severed by the arrows of my bow Gândîva. I will present it to you so you can put your foot on it and then, after the cremation of your sons, may take a bath.' Satisfying her with this choice of words got Arjuna, he who is guided by the Infallible One, being armed and equipped on his chariot to persecute As'vatthâmâ, the son of his martial teacher. When he from a distance saw him in hot pursuit, fled the child murderer with his chariot in great speed to save his life, like Sûrya did fleeing from S'iva [*]. Seeing himself unprotected when his horses got tired, resorted [As'vatthâmâ] the brahmin son, only thinking of himself, to the ultimate weapon [the brahmâstra]. With his life in danger, he touched water and concentrated to recite the mantras, without knowing how to stop the process though. A glaring light spread in all directions that fierce, that seeing the life threat Arjuna turned to the Lord [who drove his chariot] and said: 'O, Krishna, Krishna, You are the Almighty who takes away the fears of the devotees, You alone are the path of liberation for those suffering in their material existence. You are the transcendental, original enjoyer and direct controller of the material energy; You are the one who, by His own internal potency, in the bliss and knowledge of Your own Self casts off the material illusion. From that position are You in Your might, in the heart of the ones materially entangled, arranging in the first place for the ultimate good of the righteousness [of dharma: truth, purity, penance and compassion]. Thus You incarnate to remove the burden of the material world and for the satisfaction and remembrance of Your friends and pure devotees. O Lord of Lords, I don't know where this highly dangerous, dazzling light spreading all around originates from.' The Supreme Lord said: 'Take it from Me that it is of the son of Drona, who, faced with the imminence of his death, launched the weapon of mantras, not even knowing how to retract it. Nothing else can counter this weapon but another one; in fact you will have to subdue this immense glare by means of the dazzle of your own martial expertise'."

Sûta said: "After hearing what the Supreme Lord said, sipped Arjuna, circumambulating the Lord, water himself and took he up the supreme weapon to curb the one of his opponent. Thereupon was of the combined glare of the two weapons the whole firmament as well as outer space covered by an expanding ball of fire as bright as the sun. When the inhabitants of the three worlds saw how the heat of both of the weapons scorched them severely, reminded that them of the fire of annihilation at the end of time [sâmvartaka]. Realizing the disturbance it all created for the common people and their places, retracted Arjuna, on the instigation of Vâsudeva, both the weapons. Then arrested Arjuna, angered with eyes red as copper, the son of Gautamî, binding him skillfully with ropes as if it concerned an animal. When he with force had bound the enemy and was about to take him to the military camp, said the Supreme Lord, looking on with His lotus eyes, to the angered Arjuna: 'Never let this relative of the learned go, punish him, for he has killed innocent boys in their sleep. One who knows the principles of religion is afraid to kill an enemy who is careless, intoxicated, insane, asleep, of tender age, a woman, foolish, a surrendered soul or someone who lost his chariot. But someone who shameless and cruel thinks he can rightly maintain his own life at the cost of the lives of others, certainly deserves to be stopped in his path for his own good, because the person [of the criminal as well as the one permissive] is brought down by crime. I personally heard you making the promise to the daughter of the King of Pâñcâla: 'I will bring you the head of the one you consider the murderer of your sons.' He, being not more than the burnt ashes of his family, an offending sinner who is responsible for the assassination of your sons and is someone who displeased his own master, must therefore be sentenced.' "

Sûta said: "Although Arjuna, by Krishna being put to a test concerning the matter of his duty, was encouraged to do so, didn't he aspire to kill the son of his teacher, despite of the fact that he was the heinous murderer of his sons. Thereafter having reached his own camp, along with his dear friend and charioteer Govinda, he entrusted the assassin to his dear wife who was lamenting over her murdered sons. Upon seeing the criminal thus brought in like an animal tied in ropes and being silent from his heinous act, Draupadî, of the beauty of her nature out of compassion showed the son of the teacher due respect. She couldn't bear the sight of him brought in ropes and said: 'Release him, for he is a learned one [a brâhmana], our teacher'. By his [Drona's] mercy you yourself have received the confidential knowledge of the martial arts and the release and control of all kinds of weapons. The lordship of Drona for certain still exists in the form of his son, because his other half Kripî [his wife] with a son present didn't follow her husband into death [by means of satî]. Therefore, o most fortunate one in knowing the dharma, by the goodness that is in you, cause no grief to the ever respectable and honorable family. Do not make his mother, Drona's devoted wife, cry the way I do, in constantly shedding tears in distress over a lost child. If the noble administration is of no restraint in relating to the order of the learned, will that rule burn up in no time and will, together with its family members, come to grief'."

Sûta said: "o learned ones, the king [of the Pândavas, Yudhishthhira] supported the statements of the queen as they were in accord with the dharma, were of justice, merciful, without duplicity and glorious in equity. And so did Nakula and Sahadeva [the younger brothers of the king] and also Sâtyaki, Arjuna, the Supreme Lord the son of Devakî, as well as the ladies and others. Thereupon said Bhîma indignantly: 'For his for no reason, nor for himself nor for his master, having killed sleeping children, is death declared to be the reward.' The four-armed one [Lord Krishna], after hearing the words spoken by Bhîma and Draupadî and having seen the face of His friend [Arjuna], said, like He was smiling: 'The relative of a brahmin is not to be killed, although one kills an aggressor - this both is by Me certainly prescribed to be carried out abiding by the rules. You have to keep to the truth as promised by pacifying your wife and also act to the satisfaction of as well Bhîma as of Me'."

Sûta said: "Immediately understanding what the Lord meant, separated he with his sword the jewel from the head of the twice-born one along with his hair. After releasing him from the ropes, had he [As'vatthâmâ], next to the loss of his bodily luster because of the infanticide, also lost his strength being deprived of his jewel and was he driven out of the camp. Cutting the hair, taking the wealth and banishment are the forms of corporal punishment reserved for the relatives of the learned, not any other method of dealing with the body. Thereafter performed the sons of Pându together with Draupadî, overtaken by grief, the duties needed in respect of deceased family members."

Footnote

When the sun-god chased the demon Vidyunmâlî, darted Lord S'iva in anger against him with his trident. The sugod fleeing toppled at Kâsi, where he became known as Lolârka.

Chapter 8: Prayers by Queen Kuntî and Parîkchit Saved

Sûta said: "Thus headed they, along with Draupadî and the women put in front, to the Ganges, with the wish to perform the water duties for their relatives. After each had done his offering of water and sufficiently had mourned, took they a bath in the water of the Ganges that is purified by the dust of the lotus feet of the Lord. There sat the king of the Kurus [Yudhishthhira] with his younger brothers, Dhritarâshthra and Ghândârî in deep bereavement together with Kuntî, Draupadî and the Lord Himself. Lord Krishna together with the munis there pacified the shocked and affected family who had lost their friends and family members, by showing how each is subjected to the Time that cannot be avoided. Because of cheating Yudhishthhira [the eldest of the Pândavas], who had no enemies, had the unscrupulous [Duryodhana and his brothers] been killed, who cleverly seized the kingdom and had shortened their lifespan by their insult of touching the queen [Draupadî] her hair. By the proper performance of three horse sacrifices spread his [Yudhishthhira's] fame in all directions like the fame of Indra who performed that sacrifice a hundred times.

Worshiped by the wise and the learned, invited the Lord, in response to their farewell, the sons of Pându along with Uddhava [another relative and friend of Krishna]. Seated on His chariot saw He, just as He wanted to leave for Dvârakâ, Uttarâ [the mother expecting Parîkchit] hurrying towards Him in fear. She said: 'Protect me, protect me, o Greatest of the Yogis, Worshiped One of the Worshiped and Lord of the Universe, apart from You I see no one fearless in this world of death and duality. O all-powerful Lord, a fiery iron arrow is coming towards me. Let it burn me, o Protector, but save my embryo!' "

Sûta said: "Patiently hearing her words understood the Supreme Lord, who is the caretaker of the devotees, that this was the result of a brahmâstra weapon of the son of Drona who wanted to end the existence of all Pândava descendants. O chief of the munis [S'aunaka], seeing the glaring brahmâstra heading towards them, the Pândavas each took up their own five weapons. Seeing that they were in great danger with no other means available, took the Almighty One up His Sudars'ana disc for the protection of His devotees. From within the soul of all living beings, shielded the Supreme Lord of Yoga, by means of His personal energy, the embryo of Uttarâ in order to protect the progeny of the Kuru dynasty. O S'aunaka, even though the brahmâstra weapon can't be stopped by counteractions, was it, being confronted with the strength of Vishnu, neutralized. But do not regard all of this, of all the mysterious and infallible we know of Him, as something special. The unseen godhead is by means of His material potency of creation, maintenance and annihilation.

Being saved from the radiation of the weapon, addressed the chaste Kuntî along with her sons Lord Krishna who was about to leave. Kuntî said: 'My obeisances to You, the Purusha, the Original Controller of the Cosmos who is invisible and beyond all existing both within and without. Covered by the deluding [material] curtain, being irreproachably transcendent and not discerned by the foolish, You are like an actor dressed up as a player. You are there for the advanced transcendentalists and philosophers, who can discriminate between spirit and matter, to execute the science of uniting themselves in devotion; but how must we women then be of respect for You? Therefore my respectful obeisances to You, the Protector of the cows and the senses, the Supreme Lord, the son of Vasudeva and Devakî, of Nanda and the cowherd men of Vrindâvana. My respects unto You, who has a lotuslike depression in His abdomen, who is always decorated with lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as a lotus flower and whose footprints show the mark of lotusflowers. You are the master of the senses and have released the distressed Devakî [mother of Krishna] from a long imprisonment by the envious [uncle] King Kamsa, and o Lordship, You have protected me and my children against a constant threat. Saving us in the past from poison, a great fire, man-eaters, a vicious assembly, sufferings from exile in the forest and against the weapons in battles with great generals, You have now fully protected us against the weapon of the son of Drona. If we would only have more of those calamities, o Master of the Universe, so that we can meet You again and again, because meeting You means that we no longer see the repetition of births and death. The ones intoxicated by striving for a good birth, opulences, education, and beauty will never ever deserve to address You, who are easily approached by the ones destitute. All honor to You, the wealth of the ones living in poverty, who transcendental to the affection with the material modes, are the selfcontented and most gentle one; all my respect for You who are the Master of the Beatitude. I consider You the personification of Eternal Time, the Lord without a beginning or an end, the All-pervasive One distributing Your mercy everywhere equally among the beings who live in dissent with each other. O Lord, no one understands Your pastimes, that appear to be as conflictuous as the exploits of the common man; people think You are partial, but You favor or dislike no one. O Soul of the Universe, with Your being of the vital energy taking birth although You are unborn and acting although You are inactive, are You veritably bewildering in Your manifesting Yourself with the animals, the human beings, the wise and the aquatics. It bewilders me that when the gopî [Yas'odâ, the cowherd foster mother of Krishna] took up a rope to bind You because You were naughty, You were afraid and cried the make-up off Your eyes, even though You are feared by fear personified. Some say that You, like sandalwood appearing in the Malaya Hills, are born from the unborn for the glory of the pious kings or the pleasure of the family of dear King Yadu. Others say that You descended from the unborn for the good of Vasudeva and Devakî who prayed for You and the demise of the ones envious with the godly. Still others say that You, like a boat on the sea, came to take away the burden of extreme worldly grief and were born from the prayers of Lord Brahmâ. And yet others say that You appeared for the ones suffering from desire and nescience in the materially motivated world so that they may perform in hearing, remembering and worshiping You. Those people who take pleasure in continuously hearing, chanting and remembering Your activities, certainly very soon will see Your lotus feet, who put the recurrence of rebirths to an end. O Lord, with all that You did for us, are You, today going to the kings engaged in enmity, leaving us behind - Your intimate friends living by Your mercy alone in dependence on Your lotus feet. We, without You, will, along with the Yadus and Pândavas, be without the fame and name, like a body is without the senses after the spirit has left. The land of our kingdom will no longer appear as beautiful as it does now, being dazzled by the marks of Your footprints. All these cities and towns, because of Your glances, flourished more and more with their wealth of herbs, vegetables, forests, hills, rivers and seas. Therefore, o Lord of the Universe, Personality of the universal form, cut my tie of deep affection for my kinsmen the Pândavas and the Vrishnis. Make my attraction to You pure and continuously overflowing, like the Ganges flowing down to the sea. O Krishna, friend of Arjuna and chief of the Vrishnis, annihilator of the rebellious dynasties on this earth, with Your unrelenting bravery You relieve the distressed cows, the twice-born and the godly, o Lord of Yoga incarnate, universal preceptor and original proprietor, unto You my respectful obeisances'."

Sûta said: "Thus being worshiped in His universal glories by the choice of words of queen Kuntî, gave the Lord mildly a smile as captivating as His mystic power. Thus accepting all that and after further paying respects to other ladies in the palace of Hastinâpura, the Lord, upon leaving for His own residence, was stopped by the love of [Yudhishthhira] the king. By the learned, the sages and Lord Krishna, the One of superhuman accomplishment Himself, could he, distressed as he was, not be convinced nor could he find any solace in the classical stories. King Yudhishthhira, son of Dharma, thinking to the material conception of the loss of his friends, was, o sages, carried away by the delusion of his affection as he spoke: 'O, just look at me in my ignorance of heart, being immersed in the sin of with this body, which is meant to serve others, having killed so many formations of warriors. Having killed many boys, twice-born ones, caretakers, friends, elders, brothers and teachers, will I for sure never, not even for a million years, find liberation from hell. It is no sin for a king to kill fighting with his enemies for the right cause of protecting his people, but those words, instituted for the satisfaction of the administration, do not apply to me. All the enmity that accrued because of the friends that I have killed who had women, I cannot expect to be undone by dint of working for material welfare. Just like one cannot filter mud through mud or clear wine stains with wine, is it of no avail to counteract one's having killed with a reglementary sacrificing of animals. ' "

Chapter 9: The Passing Away of Bhîshmadeva in the Presence of Lord Krishna

Sûta said: "In fear because of having killed, went Yudhishthhira thereafter, for the sake of the full knowledge of the religious duty, to the battlefield, where he found the dying Bhîshmadeva lying down. Drawn by the best horses decorated with golden ornaments, followed all the brothers him there, accompanied by Vyâsa, Dhaumya [the priest of the Pândavas] and other rishis. The Supreme Lord also followed him with Arjuna on the chariot, O sages among the learned, and thus appearing very aristocratic he was like Kuvera [the treasurer of the demigods] and his companions. Upon seeing Bhîshma lying on the ground like a demi-god fallen from heaven, bowed Yudhishthhira, together with his brothers and the Lord with the disc, Krishna, down before him. There were present the rishis of goodness amongst the learned, together with the godly and the kings, just to see the chief of the descendants of King Bharata [the common ancestor].. Parvata Muni, Nârada, Dhaumya, Lord Vyâsa, Brihadas'va, Bharadvâja and Paras'urâma were there with their disciples as also Vasishthha, Indrapramada, Trita, Gritsamada, Asita, Kakshîvân, Gautama, Atri and Kaus'ika as well as Sudars'ana. O learned ones, also many other sages like S'ukadeva, the instrument of God,, the instrument of God, and other pure souls as Kas'yapa and Ângirasa arrived there accompanied by their disciples.

Bhîshmadeva, the best amongst the Vasus, knowing well how to behave religiously according time and circumstances, welcomed all the great and powerful ones who had assembled there. Knowing of His glories he also in worship welcomed Lord Krishna, the Lord of the Universe who, situated in the heart, manifests His form through His internal potency. Seeing the sons of Pându sitting silently by his side, congratulated Bhîshma them warmheartedly. In ecstacy overtaken by feelings of love about the gathering, had he tears in his eyes. He said: 'O how painful and unjust it has been for you good souls, sons of righteousness, to have had a life of suffering you never deserved under the protection of the learned, the religion and the Infallible One. After the death of the great general Pându, Kuntî, my daughter in law, having young children, suffered a great deal and that continued because of what you all did, even after the boys had grown up. All the unpleasant I think, is the inescapable effect of Time, because you, just as the whole world with its ruling demigods, fall under that control like the clouds carried by the wind. How else could there be misfortune with the presence of Yudhishthhira, the son of the ruler of religion, Bhîma with his mighty club, Arjuna carrying his Gândîva and our well-wisher Lord Krishna? No one knows what His intentions are, o King; even great philosophers engaged in exhaustive inquiries for sure are bewildered. Therefore, I assure you, o best of the descendants of Bharata, that this was only due to His providence, His desire; o ruler, just take care of the helpless subjects o master. He [Krishna] who inconceivably moves amongst the Vrishni family, is no one else but the Supreme Lord, the original, primordial, supreme enjoyer Nârâyana who bewilders each by His energies. O King, it are Lord S'iva, the sage among the godly Nârada and the great Lord Kapila who have direct knowledge of the most confidential glories of His Lordship. He is the same person you consider your maternal cousin, dearest friend, ardent well-wisher, counselor, messenger, benefactor and charioteer. He who is present in everyone's heart, who is equal to all, who from the Absolute never falsely identifies Himself, is in His consciousness of differentiating at each moment and in all He does, free from whatever predilection. Yet, despite of His invariability with the devotees, see, o King, how Krishna directly, at the end of my life, cared to be present at my side. Those yoga-adepts who in their words meditate devoutly on His holy name, singing His glories, will, upon abandoning the material conception of life, find release from the desire of their materially motivated actions. May He, the God of the Gods, the Supreme Lord, in the line of my meditation on the four-handed one [Vishnu], await me with His cheerful smile, His eyes red like the morning sun and His decorated lotus face, the moment I leave this material body'."

Sûta said: "Yudhishthhira hearing that from him who was lying down on a bed of arrows, asked him, with the rishis listening, about the diverse religious duties. Bhîshma described to him the different stages of life and the vocations as determined by the qualities of the person next to the way how to deal systematically with both the symptoms of attachment and detachment. He explained about the duties of charity, rulership and liberation by giving their divisions and gave the general outline of the duties of women and devotional service. Knowing the truth, he described, o sages, the [four basic civil virtues of] religious dutifulness, the economy, the fulfillment of desires and the liberation, citing from the various known histories. At the time when Bhîshma described the duties, the sun ran over the northern hemisphere which is the exact desired time preferred by the mystics for leaving this world. Then Bhîshmadeva, the protector of thousands of sciences and arts, fell silent, and with a mind freed from all bondage fixed he his eyes opened wide upon the Original Person Lord S'rî Krishna, the Fourhanded One who was standing before him in yellow garments. Simply looking at Him, the Annihilator of the Inauspicious, purified his meditation and disappeared his pain from the arrows instantly - and while he prayed before the material tabernacle ceased all the activities of his senses as he quit for the Controller of All Living Beings. S'rî Bhîshmadeva said: 'Let me, being freed from desires, prepare my mind for the Supreme Lord, the Leader of the Devotees, the Great Self-contented One who in the realization of His transcendental joy at times takes pleasure in accepting this material world with its creation and destruction. He is the most desirable from the high, low and middle worlds, bluish like a tamâla tree, wears His dress shining like the golden rays of the sun, has a body decorated with sandalwood pulp and a face like a lotus - may my love free from material motives repose in the friend of Arjuna. Let the mind be directed towards S'rî Krishna who, with His scattered hair on the battlefield turned ashen from the dust of the hoofs, His face decorated with perspiration and His skin pierced by my sharp arrows, with His protecting armor took pleasure in all of it. After hearing the command of His friend He drove His chariot between the opposing forces, where positioned He diminished the lifespan of the enemy by simply looking at them - let there be my love for that friend of Arjuna. With the soldiers looking from a distance, He with His transcendental knowledge eradicated the ignorance of him who, from a polluted intelligence, was reluctant to kill his kinsmen - let there be the transcendence of my attraction for His feet. Against His own word got He, to nullify my promise of factually being more of it [of violence], down from His chariot, took He up it's wheel, and paced He towards me like a lion about to kill an elephant, meanwhile dropping His outer garment. Wounded by the sharp arrows and without His shield, He, smeared with blood, in the angry mood of the great aggressor, began to move for the purpose of killing me - may that Supreme Lord who awards salvation become my destination. Let me, at this hour of death, be of love for the Personality of Godhead who, controlling the horses with a whip in His right hand and the reins in the left, so elegant to behold by all means protected the chariot of Arjuna; it was by looking at Him that those who died in this world attained their original form. Watching the attractive movements of His supremely spirited, fascinating acts and sweet smiles, found the gopîs of Vrajadhâma [the village of Krishna's youth] imitating Him in ecstasy, their original nature. In a royal performance of sacrifice of King Yudhishthhira, where the great sages and kings were assembled, received He, with me personally present recognizing Him as my object of attraction, the respectful worship of all the members of the elite. Him, now present before me, do I, having experienced the absorption of being freed from the misconceptions of duality, know to be the Unborn One of the conditioned body. It is He who, though being One alike the sun, in His being situated as the Supersoul in the heart of all that are created by Him, is looked different upon from every angle."

Sûta said: "With his mind, speech, sight and activities thus fixed on Krishna only, he fell silent and stopped breathing, having merged in the living being of the Supersoul. After hearing this all from Bhîshmadeva as he merged into the Supreme Absolute and Unlimited, everyone fell silent like birds at the end of the day. Thereafter from everywhere sounded drums beaten by gods and men, with heartfelt praise from the pious royal order and showers of flowers falling from the sky. O descendant of Bhrigu [S'aunaka], after having performed the funeral rites for the dead body, was Yudhishthhira for a moment afflicted. Then, the sages, satisfied and happy by the confidentiality of the glories of Lord Krishna, went back to their own hermitages with Him installed in their hearts. King Yudhishthhira with Lord Krishna went to Hastinâpura to console his uncle [Dhritarâshthra] and ascetic aunt Ghândhârî. With the approval of his uncle and consent of Lord Vâsudeva he thereafter, to the greatness of his forefathers, executed the royal duties over the kingdom."

Chapter 10: The Departure of Lord Krishna for Dvârakâ

S'aunaka Muni asked: "How did King Yudhishthhira, the greatest of the strict followers of the religion, with his younger brothers rule the kingdom after having killed the aggressors who wanted to usurp the legal inheritance? The joys of life had to be restricted, isn't it?"

Sûta said: "After the exhausting bamboo fire of the Kuru dynasty, was the Lord, the maintainer of the creation, pleased to see how the seedling of Yudhishthhira his own kingdom had been restored. After having heard what Bhîshma and the Infallible One had said, was Yudhishthhira, enlightened by perfect knowledge, freed from his bewilderment and ruled he, followed by his brothers and protected by the invincible Lord, over the earth and the seas like he was the king of heaven [Indra]. All the rain that was needed showered, the earth yielded everything desired and the cows out of sheer joy moistened the pastures with their filled udders. The rivers, oceans and hills assured him in every season of all necessary vegetables, greenery and medicinal herbs. Never was, because of themselves, nature or because of others, any living being troubled by anxieties, diseases or extreme temperatures, as always happens with a king who has no enemies.

In order to appease His family and please His sister [Subhadrâ, who was married with Arjuna], stayed the Lord for a few months in the city of Hastinâpura. After that time was He, duly asking permission, permitted to leave, and after embracing and bowing down with the king ascended He His chariot, receiving from others the same respects and embraces. His sister, [the wife of the Pândavas] Draupadî, [their mother] Kuntî, [Parîkchit's mother] Uttarâ and also [the blind grandfather] Dhritarâshthra and [his wife] Gândhârî, [their son] Yuyutsu, [the Kuru priest] Kripâcârya, [the twin brothers] Nakula and Sahadeva together with Bhîma, and [the Pândava priest] Dhaumya as also other ladies from the palace and [Vyâsa's mother] Satyavatî, had great difficulty bearing the separation from the One with the conch in His hands, and almost fainted. An intelligent person will, concerning the fame that is sung, being liberated from materialistic association by the right company, never think of giving it up, when he but once has heard the pleasing. How could the Pândavas who gave Him their heart then tolerate it to be separated from Him having seen Him face to face and touching, sleeping, sitting and eating together with Him? All of them, looking at Him with wide open eyes, melted for Him and bound as they were by pure affection, they were moving restlessly. The ladies of the family who came out of the palace, had difficulty checking their tears from overflowing, as they were afraid that because of it inauspicious things might happen to the son of Devakî. At that time mridangas [drums used in devotional service], conchshells, horns, strings, flutes and more drums, bells and other rhythm-instruments were sounded. To have a good view the ladies of the Kuru dynasty got on the roof of the palace, from where they showered flowers upon Krishna with love and shy smiles. For the Most Beloved of the Beloved took [Arjuna] the conqueror of sleep up an embroidered sun-shade decorated with perls and lace with a handle inlaid with jewels. He, as the master of Madhu, resplendent sitting on flowers scattered all around was on His way fanned by Uddhava, His cousin brother and His driver Sâtyaki.

From everywhere were heard the truthful respects and sayings of the brahmins which to the occasion were neither befitting or unbefitting considering the Absolute Truth present there in a form subjected to the modes of nature. The ladies of the capital of the king of the Kurus were with their hearts absorbed in talking amongst each other about the Supreme, so hailed by the scriptures, in such a manner that it sounded more attractive than the hymns of the Vedas themselves: 'Him we will definitely remember as the Personality of Godhead, as the Original One who existed materially unmanifested in His own Self before the creation of the modes of nature; He, that Supersoul, that Supreme Lord, in whom the living beings merge, with their energies suspended, as if during the night. He in the role of the compiler of the revealed scriptures thus, by the performance of His own personal potency, gave the individual soul time and again names and forms in the re-creation of the outer illusion of material nature; names He assigns to that what factually cannot be named. He happens to be the same Personality of Godhead as the one seen by those great devotees who managed to control their senses and life and who, by the grace of their devotion, may see the development of a pure mind; it is they who from this, only this, deserve a purified existence. O friends, this is He who for His excellent pastimes, confidentially described in the Vedas as also discussed by the intimate devotees, is respected as the one and only Supreme Controller and Supersoul of the complete creation, who, by the manifestation of His pastimes creates, maintains and destroys, without ever becoming attached to it. Whenever there are rulers, who ignorantly, like animals, go against the divine principles, manifests He, for sure out of goodness, His supreme power and positive truth, mercy and wonderful activities, in various forms, for the sake of maintaining [the dharma] in the different periods and ages. O, how supremely glorified is the dynasty of King Yadu and how elevated is the virtue of the land of Mathurâ, because this, of all the living beings, is the supreme leader and husband of the goddess of fortune who has appeared and roamed here. How wonderful is Dvârakâ [the island where Krishna resides], that place that, adding to the virtue and fame of the earth, defeats the glory of the heavenly worlds and whose inhabitants are used to constantly see the soul of the living being [Krishna] bestowing His grace with the benediction of His smiling glance. For the wives He married to relish His lips again and again, must they certainly by vow, bath, fire-sacrifice and such have been of perfect worship with the Lord, o friends; often fainted the damsels of Vraja with their minds set on that! Of the lady of Dvârakâ [Rukminî, Krishna's first wife], who with great valor was taken away by Him from the open selection of the bridegroom as the price that had to be paid by the harassing powerful kings headed by S'is'upâla, and of the other ladies that were similarly brought home after the killing of thousands of wicked kings [headed by Bhaumâsura], there are children like Pradyumna, Sâmba and Amba. All these very fine women of the highest stature who were bereft of their individuality and purity were by their lotus-eyed husband who touched them in drawning them near in the heart, thus never left alone in their homes.'

While the ladies of the capital were praying and talking this way about Him, He granted them the grace of His glance and greeting them with a smile on His face the Lord departed. Yudhishthhira, the man without enemies, out of affection and being anxious, engaged four divisions of soldiers [on horseback, elephant, chariot and foot] for the protection of the enemy of the atheists. After thus having accompanied Him for a long distance, persuaded the Lord politely and full of affection the determined Pândavas to return who were overtaken by the thought of their future separation, after which He with His dear companions proceeded towards Dvârakâ. Through Kurujâñgala [the province of Delhi] and Pâñcâlâ [part of Punjab] and S'ûrasenâ and Brahmâvarta [Uttar Pradesh its North] and the districts along the Yamunâ river, He came along Kurukshetra where the battle was fought and the province of Matsyâ, Sârasvatân [another part of Punjab] and so on. Then through the land of deserts [Rajasthan] and the land where there is hardly any water [Madhya Pradesh], and after passing through the provinces of Sauvîra [Saurastra] and Âbhîra [part of Gujarat], He, o S'aunaka, finally reached the western side of the province of Dvârakâ with His horses slightly overtaken by fatigue of the long journey. At different places it so happened that the Lord was welcomed and served variously when He arrived in the evening after the sun had passed the eastern sky to be gone where the ocean is."

Chapter 11: Lord Srî Krishna's Entrance into Dvârakâ

Sûta said: "Reaching the border of the land of the Ânartas [the land of the ones free from the unwanted, Dvârakâ], He sounded for the arrival at His own prosperous city His conchshell [the Pâñcajanya], which, evidently, ended the dejection of the inhabitants. The brilliant white of the round form of the conchshell, although reddened by the lips of the Great Adventurer, as it was being loudly sounded in His hands, looked like a swan ducking at the stems of lotusflowers. Having heard the sound that is a threat to the ones fearing for a material existence, proceeded all the citizens rapidly in the direction of the sound in order to have the audience with the protector of the devotees they for so long had awaited. Thereupon they offered their presentation of welcome which could be considered like offering a lamp to the sun relative to the Self-contented One who, by His own potency, was their unrelenting provider. With cheerful, affectionate faces they ecstatically gave gladdened speeches before the Father, the way friends and protégées do for their guardian.

They said: 'We have always bowed down to Your lotusfeet like one does with the worship of Brahmâ and His sons and the king of heaven, because You, for the one who desires the supreme welfare in this life, are the Master of Transcendence upon whom the inevitable time has no grip. For the sake of our welfare be the Creator of our world and be also our mother, well-wisher, husband, father, Lord and spiritual master; following in the foorsteps of You as our idol and supreme one have we succeeded in our lives. Oh how lucky we are to see Your all-auspicious form, to be again under the protection of Your good Self, , because even by the demigods is the sight of Your affectionate, lovingly smiling face rarely seen. Whenever, o lotus-eyed One, You leave from here to meet Your friends and relatives among the Kurus [in Hastinâpura] and the people of Mathurâ, o Infallible One, seems each moment to take a million years, and are our eyes as useless as they would be without the sun. How can we, with You being elsewhere, live without the satisfaction of Your glance that vanquishes the miseries of the world; how can we live without seeing Your beautiful smiling and decorated, attractive face?'

With from the citizens the sound of these words in His ears, entered the caretaker of the devotees, He who teaches humanity humaneness by the distribution of His glances, the city of Dvârakâ. Like the city of Bhogavatî was protected by the Nâgas, was Dvârakâ protected by the strength of the descendants of Vrishni [Krishna's family], Bhoja, Madhu, Das'ârha, Arha, Kukura, Andhaka etc. [together called the Yadus], who were all as good as Krishna Himself. During all seasons was there the wealth of orchards and flower gardens that with their trees, plants and also with the hermitages that were found there, formed beautiful parks around ponds filled with lotuses which made the city extra beautiful. The gateway of the city as well as the different roads were decorated with arches and flags which, painted with all the known signs, were casting shadows in the sunshine. The lanes, alleys, the marketplace and public meeting places were thoroughly cleansed, sprinkled with scented water and strewn with fruits, flowers and unbroken seeds. At the door of each residential house there was a display of curd, unbroken fruits, sugar cane, decorations, pots of water and articles for worship like incense and lamps. Hearing that their dearest one was coming home, were His father Vasudeva and the magnanimous Akrûra, Ugrasena, Krishna's superhumanly powerful elder brother Balarâma, Pradyumna, Cârudeshna and Sâmba the son of Jâmbavatî, all by the force of an extreme happiness alerted from their resting, sitting and dining. Headed by elephants, with auspicious articles, the sound of conchshells and the glorifying chanting of hymns, hurried they, together with the brâhmins exited in cheerfull expectancy, on their chariots towards Him. Hundreds of courtesans very anxious to meet Him followed with their vehicles, with dazzling earrings enhancing the beauty of their cheeks. There were entertainers, dancers, singers, historians, genealogists and learned speakers who spirited sang the praises of the superhuman activities of the Lord. The Supreme Lord approached each of the friends and citizens who came to receive and welcome Him, as it should, with due honor and respect. He, the Almighty One, with the encouragement of His glancing smile bowed His head, greeting them in words, embracing them and shaking hands with them, down to the lowest as desired giving His benedictions. Then, accompanied by the esteemed elders and the brahmins and their wives, entered He the city where He was also welcomed with blessings and praises from other admirers.

While passing over the public roads of Dvârakâ, got the ladies of standing on the rooftop of their houses, o learned ones, to feast their eyes on the sight of Him. Even though it was their habit to look at Him like this, could the inhabitants of Dvârakâ never get enough of the compelling sight of the reservoir of beauty that was the embodiment of the Infallible One. In His chest resides the Goddess of Fortune, from the cup of His face are the eyes drinking, by His arms the ruling demigods abide, and His lotus feet are the shelter for the singing and talking devotees. Being served by a white parasol, fans and a road covered by a shower of flowers and with His yellow garments and flower garlands, resembled the Lord a cloud surrounded by the sun, the moon, lightening and a rainbow together.

But after entering His parental home was He embraced by His seven mothers [His own mother, the wife of the priest, of the guru and of the king, the cow, the nurse and mother earth] who joyously were headed by Devakî to whom He bowed His head down in obeisance. After they all had put Him on their laps, got their breasts wet of their affection and delight and the water of the tears that overwhelmed them. Thereafter He entered His personal quarters which, inhabited by His wives who numbered over sixteen thousand, offered all that one could wish for. Within their minds rejoicing got the ladies, from a distance seeing their husband now returned home, at once up from their seats and meditations with a coyly looking face. At the sight of Him sending their sons, embraced the shy ones Him in their hearts in an insuperable ecstasy first, but, o leader of the Bhrigus, in spite of that choked they up with tears that inadvertently fell like water from their eyes. Although He was ever present at their side, even when they were alone, appeared His feet nevertheless every time completely new to them - after all, who could let go of the feet of the Eternal One that are never abandoned by the goddess of fortune? He without being part of it Himself created the enmity between the rulers who became a burden to the earth, born as they were with their military control over their surroundings. He gave relief by killing them alike the wind that creates fire from the friction between bamboos. The Supreme Lord, from His own causeless mercy, out of His own appeared among all those who are part of this human world, to enjoy a life, with the worthiest of women, as if it concerned an ordinary worldly affair. Even though they were spotless and exciting with their charming smiles, the way they with their grave expression looking from the corners of their eyes even convinced Cupid to give up his bow, were they, as maddening, first class women, never able to perturb His senses with their magic. Ordinary people seeing how He, in spite of His detachment, is actively engaged, consider in their ignorance Him for that reason a human being full of attachment as affected as they are. Such is the divinity of the Personality of Godhead that He, despite of being in touch with material nature, is never affected by its qualities; and the same is true for the intelligence of the ones situated in the eternal of the Lord who is their refuge. The women in their simplicity and weakness thought it was true that He would be like someone following who is dominated and isolated by his wife. They were unaware of the glories of their husband, the way the atheists think of Him who do not know Him as the supreme controller."

Chapter 12: The Birth of Emperor Parîkchit

S'aunaka said: "The [embryo in the] womb of Uttarâ, that was tormented by the enormous heat of the invincible weapon released by As'vatthâmâ, was brought back to life by the Lord. How did the birth of Emperor Parîkchit, who was highly intelligent and proved to be a great soul, take place? How excactly took his demise place and where did that death take him? Please tell it us, we all want to hear everything about what you deem worth mentioning about him; we are of the greatest respect for you to whom S'ukadeva Gosvâmî delivered the knowledge of the Supreme."

Sûta said: "King Yudhishthhira brought wealth the way his father did, in pleasing his subjects without, in his observance of Krishna's feet, being motivated for the ulterior of any material gain or sense gratification. The fame of his wealth, sacrifices, what he stood for, his queens, his brothers and his sovereignty over the planet earth where we are living, even spread to the heavens. But, just as only food may satisfy a hungry man and nothing else, was also he in his hunger as a God-fearing person, o brahmins, not moved by all those earthly desirables for which even the denizens of heaven aspire.

At the time Parîkchit the great fighter, as a child in his mother's womb, was suffering from the heat of the brahmâstra weapon, o son of Bhrigu, could he see the purusha [the original person] in a shining appearance. In the blaze saw he at the size of no more than a thumb the transcendental, infallible Lord beautiful with a dark skin, a golden helmet and lightening clothes. With the riches of His four arms, earrings of the purest gold, bloodshot eyes and a club in His hands, was He moving about constantly circling the club around like it was a torch. Vanquishing the radiation of the brahmâstra like the sun evaporating dew drops, He was observed by the child that wondered who He was. Seeing how the all-pervading Supersoul, the Supreme Lord and protector of righteousness, took away the glare, disappeared from his sight all of a sudden the Lord who stretches in all directions. Thereupon, with the gradual evolving of the good signs of a favorable position of the stars, took, as the heir apparent of Pându, he his birth who would prove himself as being of a prowess equal to that of Pându. King Yudhishthhira, gladdened, had priests like Dhaumya and Kripa perform the birth ritual with the recitation of auspicious hymns. He, knowing where, when and how, rewarded with gifts of gold, cows, land, housing, elephants and horses, in charity, together with good food, the learned ones for the occasion. Gladdened addressed the brahmins the king, the chief amongst the Purus, communicating that they felt very obliged to the descent in the line of the Purus [of the descendants of their ancestor King Puru]. They said: 'For the purpose of obliging you to Him has this son by the all-pervasive and all-powerful Lord been saved from being destroyed by the irresistible, supernatural weapon. Therefore he shall become well known in all the worlds as being protected by Vishnu; no doubt will he be a most fortunate, supreme devotee endowed with all good qualities.'

The good king said: 'O best of the truthful, will he follow in the footsteps of all the great souls of this family of saintly kings, will he, answering to their name, be meritorious and true to his word in his achievements?'

The brahmins answered: 'O son of Prithâ [Kuntî], he will be the maintainer of all living entities, exactly like King Ikshvâku, the son of Manu, and he will be faithful to his promises and respectful with the learned just like Râma, the son of Das'aratha, was. He will be as charitable as King S'ibi of Us'înara and protect the ones of surrender, and like Bharata, the son of Dushyanta who performed many sacrifices, he will spread the name and fame of his family. Amongst the archers he will be as good as the two Arjunas [his grandfather and the king of Haihaya], being as well as irresistible as fire as as unsurpassable as the ocean. As powerful as a lion and as worthy for taking shelter as the Himalayas, will he be as forbearing as the earth and as tolerant as his parents. With a spirit as good as that of the original father Brahmâ, will he be as generous and equanimous as Lord S'iva and be the refuge of all living beings like the Supreme Lord with whom the goddess of fortune resides. Following in the footsteps of Lord Krishna will he be of the majesty of all divine virtues, he will have the greatness of King Rantideva and be as pious as Yayâti. As patient as Bali Mahârâja will this child be as devoted as Prahlâda was unto Lord Krishna and will he perform As'vamedha [horse] sacrifices and be faithful to the elderly and experienced. He will bring forth kings as good as sages, will chastise the upstarts and crush the quarrelsome for the sake of worldpeace and the religion. After having heard of his personal death, as caused by a snakebird sent by the son of a brahmin, will he free himself from his attachments and take to the shelter of the Lord. Having inquired about the right self-knowledge from the son of the sage Vyâsa he, o King, will abandon his material life on the bank of the river the Ganges and will attain a life of fearlessness.'

After they thus had informed the king and generously were rewarded, returned the ones learned in matters of astrology and birth ceremonies to their homes. He, o master [S'aunaka], would become famous in this world as Parîkchit, the examiner, because he, from what he had seen before his birth, constantly would be examining all men, keeping Him in mind. Under the care of his protective parents grew the royal prince day by day soon up to what he would be, as certain as the waxing moon is growing day by day.

King Yudhishthhira, desiring to perform a horse-sacrifice to be freed from the burden of having fought his kinsmen, thought about acquiring funds because he only received from collecting taxes and fines. In respect of his mindful wishes his brothers, advised by the Infallible One, went north to collect sufficient riches. With the result result of that collected wealth managed the pious king Yudhishthhira who was so anxious, to conduct three horse sacrifices, by which he worshiped Lord Hari perfectly. The Supreme Lord, by whose help the twice-born could perform the sacrifices, then stayed, thereto by the king invited, for a few months more to please the one's who loved Him. Thereafter, dear brahmins, went He, with the permission of the king, Draupadî and His relatives, back to Dvârakâ accompanied by Arjuna and other members of the Yadu dynasty."

Chapter 13: Dhritarâshthra Quits Home

ûta said: "Vidura* while traveling to the different places of pilgrimage, had received knowledge of the destination of the self from the great sage Maitreya, and by that knowledge sufficiently acquainted with everything to be known, returned he to the city of Hastinâpura. With all the questions he had asked having grown one in devotion to Govinda in the presence of Maitreya, had Vidura refrained from questioning any further. Arriving there, was he, o brahmins, welcomed by Yudhishthhira and his younger brothers, Dhritarâshthra, Sâtyaki and Sañjaya, Kripâcârya, Kuntî, Gândhârî, Draupadî, Subhadrâ, Uttarâ, Kripî, other wives of the family members of the Pândavas, and other ladies with their sons. As if they had been awakened from death they approached him in great delight to receive him with all respect with embraces and obeisances. In their affection they emotionally shed tears because of the anxiety and grief they had felt from the separation. King Yudhishthhira then arranged for a reception getting him seated.

After being fed sumptuously, having rested and being seated comfortably, bowed the king humbly down to address him in the presence of everybody. He said: 'Do you remember how we, brought up under the wings of your care, along with our mother were released from various calamities like poisoning and arson? How did you maintain your livelihood as you traveled the surface of the earth and in which holy places of pilgrimage have you been of service here on this planet? Devotees like your goodness are converted into holy places themselves, o powerful one; having the Supreme Personality in your heart, you turn all places into places of pilgrimage. Dear uncle, can you tell us what you saw or heard about our friends and well-wishers? Are the descendants of Yadu, who with Krishna are rapt in their love for God, all happy where they are living?'

Thus being asked by the king, described he properly, one subject after the other, all he had experienced, without mentioning the destruction of the dynasty. Because he didn't want to upset them was he as graceful not to expound on this in fact so unpalatable and unbearable way of mankind's behaving. Thus resided the sage, who was treated like a god, for a few days with them, so that he could make a difference with his eldest brother and all would be happy. For the time that Vidura played the part of a s'ûdra [a working class man], because of a hundred year curse of the sage Mandûka Muni [who under his responsability was treated unjustly], was it Aryamâ** who administered punishment as was suitable for the sinful ones.

When Yudhishthhira saw that there was a grandson in the dynasty fit for ruling the kingdom he had retreived, enjoyed he together with his politically capable brothers a life of great wealth. The insurmountable and imperceptible, eternal Time surpasses, superior, all those who are inattentive and engrossed in the mind of attachment to family affairs. Vidura, knowing this, said to Dhritarâshthra: 'O King, please withdraw yourself from here without delay, just see how fear has taken the lead in your life. In this material world there is no one or anything to escape from this fear, for that fear concerns the Supreme Lord approaching us all in the form of eternal Time. Inevitably overtaken by the pull of time must a person, just like that, give up this life dear as it is to everyone, not to mention the wealth and such he has acquired. With your father, brother, well-wishers and sons all dead, with your life expended and your body decrepit, you live in another man's home. You have been blind since you were born, don't hear that well anymore, your memory fails and recently your teeth loosened, your liver gives you trouble, and you are loudly coughing up mucus. Alas, how powerful is the living being its attachment to life! It is that strong that it makes you, like a household-dog, eat the remnants of the food left over by Bhîma [your Pândava nephew]. How can you subsist on the grace of those whom you tried to set afire, poison and whose wife you insulted usurping their kingdom? Whether you like it or not, you will, however much you value your life, have to face the fact that this miserly body will dwindle and deteriorate like an old garment. Someone is courageous and wise if he, unconcerned in being freed from all obligations, accepts that he has to head for an unknown destination when he is no longer able to use his body properly. Anyone in this world who, by his own understanding or having learned it from others, arrives at consciousness in having awakened from his material attachment and next leaves home with the Lord installed in his heart, is certainly a first class human being. Therefore, please leave for the North without letting your relatives know where you are heading for; hereafter will soon the time arrive of a general diminishing of the qualities of men [Kali-yuga].' Having heard this broke the old king of the Ajamîdha family, in respect of the wisdom of his younger brother Vidura, determined with the strong family ties and left he in that direction which was set for the path of liberation. He was followed by the chaste and worthy daughter of King Subala [Gândhârî] who went along with her husband to the Himalayas - the place that is the delight of those who took up the staff of renunciation like they were fighters accepting the legitimate of a good beating.

Returning to the palace was it he who considered no one his enemy [Yudhishthhira], who, having worshiped the demigods with oblations, obeisances and gifts for the brahmins, wanted to pay respects to the elderly, but he couldn't find his two uncles or aunt Gândhârî. Anxious, he turned to Sañjaya the son of Gavalgana [the assistant who gave the blind Dhritarâshthra the account of the battle], and said to him: 'Where is our old, blind uncle? Where is my well-wisher Vidura and mother Gândhârî who was grieving over losing her offspring? Has the old king, ungrateful to me for having lost his sons, in a mind doubtful of my offenses, drowned himself together with his wife in the Ganges in his distress? After the fall down of my father King Pându, were they the well-wishers protecting us all, small children still - where have my uncles gone from here?' "

Sûta said: "Sañjaya anxious in his compassion not to see his master, was upset about the separation, and could, being too aggrieved, not speak a word in reply. Thinking of the feet of his master with his hands wiping the tears of his face, tried he with all that was in him to regain his mind and answer King Yudhishthhira. Sañjaya said: 'I do not know of the determination of your uncles or Gândhârî, o descendant of the Kuru dynasty - o great King, these great souls have led me astray.' At that moment appeared the supreme personality Nârada on the scene with his musical instrument and after Yudhishthhira and his younger brothers had gotten up from their seats and, properly welcoming the sage, had offered him their obeisances, said the king: 'O Supreme One, I do not know in which direction my uncles and my ascetic aunt, who is so aggrieved over the loss of her sons, have left from here. Like the captain on a ship in the vast ocean are you the Lord to direct us to the other side.'

Thus being addressed began the divine personality Nârada, the greatest among the wise philosophers of the eternal, to speak: 'O King, never lament for whatever reason, for you are under the control of the Supreme Lord. All living beings and their leaders in this world perform for that reason their ceremonies to be protected. He is the one who brings all together and also disperses them. The way a cow is bound by a rope through the nose, is one likewise bound by the hymns and precepts of the Veda to follow according the demands of the Supreme. The way in this world playthings at will are brought together and set apart again, it happens also to the people who subjected to the game of the Lord are brought together and set apart again. Whether one considers persons to be eternal [souls] or temporal [bodies] or else as being both [embodied souls] or neither of both [because of the Absolute Truth which is transcendental to all atributes], they never under any circumstance should be a reason for lamentation; one is only of that state because one is emotionally involved or out of ones mind. Therefore, o King, give up the anxiety you feel because of a lack of self knowledge, and stop thinking how these helpless poor creatures would be able to survive without you. How is this body which is made up of the five elements [fire, water, air, earth and ether] and is controlled by time, materially motivated action and the modes of nature [kâla, karma and gunas], capable of protecting others when it is just as well bitten by that snake? Those who have no hands [the animals] are delivered to the ones who do have hands [the human beings]; living beings without limbs [like grasses] are delivered to the four-legged [like the cows]; the weaker ones are delivered to the stronger ones and thus is one living being feeding on another. Therefore have only eyes for the outer form of Him who by the power of illusion appears as a diversity; He, o King, is the Supreme Personality, the Supersoul who self-illuminating manifests Himself as well as the object as the subject of the different living beings. That Unborn One, the Father of Creation, has, o King, at present descended in this world in a form of time, in order to eliminate all the enemies of the enlightened. For the enlightened souls has the Lord performed what needed to be done, and the rest remains to be seen; till that time, that is to say, for as long as He is still present on earth, may you all follow Him in that.

Dhritarâshthra, his brother Vidura and his wife Gândhârî have departed for the southern side of the Himalayas where sages take shelter. The place is known as Saptasrota [seven sources] because the river of the heavens [the Svardhunî] sprouted there and to the satisfaction of the respective wise divided herself into the seven currents we know as her branches. By bathing regularly there, sacrificing in the fire according the regulative principles and fasting on drinking water only, has Dhritarâshthra completly subdued his mind and senses and is he thus freed from the dependency he had with his family. From sitting postures, breath-control and turning inward from the six senses can one, absorbed in the Lord, conquer the contaminations of passion, goodness and ignorance. By allowing his self to merge in the wisdom and merging in wisdom with the pure witness, has he united with the Absolute [brahman], the reservoir of pure being, the way the air within a pot merges with the space outside. With the ending of the material modes and the suspension of their effects, will his senses and mind no longer being fed come to a stop when he, not hindered by renouncing all duties, sits concentrating without moving a limb. I expect that he will quit his body five days from today, o King, and will allow it to turn to ashes. While outside observing the body of her husband being [mystically set] afire along with his cottage, will his chaste wife in full consciousness follow him in the fire. Vidura, witnessing that wonderful incident, o son of the Kuru dynasty, will, affected by delight and grief, leave from there to embark on an inspiring pilgrimage. After thus having addressed the king rose Nârada, along with his stringed instrument, up into heaven. Yudhishthhira, taking his instructions at heart, then gave up all his lamentation."

Footnotes:

Vidura is a younger brother of Dhritarâshthra. He was born as a s'ûdra, a laborer, because of being conceived by Vyâsa from a maidservant of the mother of Pându.

Aryamâ was a son of Aditi and Kas'yapa officiating for Yamarâja the Lord of punishment. Vidura is considered the s'ûdra incarnation of Yamarâja

Chapter 14: The Disappearance of Lord Krishna

Sûta said: "Arjuna went to the city of Dvârakâ to see his friends and Krishna, the One Glorified by the Vedic Hymns, in order to know what His further plans were. After a few months, when Arjuna did not return from there, Yudhishthhira observed various fearful signs. He saw a fearful reversal of the direction of eternal time, observed seasonal irregularities and saw that the people in their human sins turned to anger, greed and falsehood in heartening their means of livelihood. There was cheating in ordinary transactions, misunderstanding rose in the regard of well-wishers, fathers, mothers and brothers and also between man and wife there was quarrel. The people gradually were acquiring godless habits as wantonness and such. The king facing these serious matters and bad omens, spoke with his younger brother about it.

Yudhishthhira said [to Bhîma]: 'Arjuna went to see his friends and also wanted to know what Krishna's plans were. It is now seven months ago that your younger brother left, o Bhîmasena, and I do not know exactly why that is the case. Is it so, as Nârada instructed, that the Supreme Personality has decided it is time to leave this manifest world? From Him we have our wealth, kingdom and wives - through Him the existence of the dynasty and the life of our subjects has become possible and by His mercy we could defeat our enemies and live for a better world. Just look, o man with the strength of a tiger, at the position of the planets, how things are faring on earth and what is happening to the body and the mind; all these dreadful signs deluding our intelligence, indicate a great danger in the near future. Again and again my thighs, eyes, arms and the left of my body are quivering and I have heart palpitations due to the fear I have. This is all indicative of undesirable happenings. See, o Bhîma, how the jackal frantically cries at sunrise and how the dog barks at me without any fear. O tiger among man, cows keep me to their left and asses and such are turning around me while my horses seem to weep. The pigeon appears like a messenger of death and the shrieks of the owls and their rivals the crows make my heart tremble as if they wish the void of the cosmos. O Bhîma, see how smoke circles in the sky and how the earth is throbbing along with the hills and mountains with loud thunderbolts out of the blue of a cloudless sky. The wind blows sharply creating darkness with the dust and rain pours like blood from the clouds as an omnipresent disaster. The sun is shining less - see how the stars in the sky seem to clash into one another and how the living beings are confused and agitated as if they are crying. Rivers and their tributaries, lakes and the mind are all perturbed while with the help of butter the fire doesn't ignite - what is this extraordinary time? What is going to happen? The calves don't suck the teats and the cows don't want to be milked looking afraid as if weeping, while the bulls don't take pleasure in the pasture ground. The deities seem to be crying and perspiring as if they want to leave the temple and also the cities, villages, towns, gardens, mines and hermitages have lost their beauty, bereft of all happiness - what sort of calamities will befall us? I think that all these great upsurges manifest out of the need for the marks of the lotusfeet of the Supreme Personality - the earth bereft of the extraordinary of the Supreme Person will be unfortunate without those auspicious signs.

O brahmin, while King Yudhishthhira, observing the bad omens, was thus thinking to himself, returned Arjuna from the kingdom of the Yadus. While he bowed at the feet of the king was his dejection unprecedented with tears falling from the lotus eyes of his downward looking face. Seeing the anxious heart and pale appearance of Arjuna, questioned the king, who remembered what Nârada had said, him in the midst of friends. Yudhishthhira said: 'Are our relatives Madhu, Bhoja, Das'ârha, Ârha, Sâtvata, and Andhaka of the Yadus all happy passing their days in Dvârakâ? Is my respectable [maternal] grandfather S'ûrasena in good health passing his last days and are my [maternal] uncle Vasudeva and his younger brothers all well? Are my aunts - his wives - all seven sisters headed by Devakî in person, with their sons and daughters-in-law all happy? Are King Ugrasena, whose son was the mischievous one [Kamsa], and his younger brother, Hridîka and his son Kritavarmâ and Akrûra, Jayanta, Gada, Sârana as well as S'atrujit and the rest all happy? Is also the Supreme Personality Balarâma, who is the protector of the devotees, all right? Are the great warrior Pradyumna [a son of Krishna] and all others of the Vrishni family happy - and is the plenary expansion of Krishna Aniruddha [a grandson of Krishna] faring well? And how are Sushena, Cârudeshna and Sâmba, the son of Jâmbavatî, and others - the chieftain sons of Krishna and their sons doing? Are likewise the constant companions of Krishna like S'rutadeva, Uddhava and others, Sunanda, Nanda and other leaders doing well, and are the other liberated souls as well in order who are the best of men? And are all who are bound in friendship under the protection of Balarâma and Krishna also remembering our well-being? Does the Supreme Lord, who is the pleasure of the cows and the senses and always cares for the devoted and the brahmins [the ones versed in sacred knowledge], enjoy the pious assembly of His friends around Him in Dvârakâ? For the protection and elevation of the good of all and all their worlds is there in their company, in the ocean of the Yadu dynasty, the Original, Supreme Enjoyer and Ananta [Balarâma]. In His own city are the members of the Yadu family, as they deserve it, under the protection of His arms, relishing the transcendental pleasure like the residents of heaven. By most importantly managing the comforts at the feet, made the sixteen thousand companions of the fair sex who are headed by Sathyabhâmâ, the Lord subdue the denizens of heaven, so that they, as the wives of the Controller of the thunderbolt, could enjoy what is normally the privilege of the demigods. The Yadus, enjoying the protection of His arms, always fearlessly enter the Sudharmâ assembly hall which, procured by force [from Indra], was worthy of the best of gods.

My dear brother, are you all healthy? It appears to me that you have lost your luster. Is it because of missing the respect being neglected or, my brother, because you were away so long? Have you lost your grip because you were addressed unfriendly or have been threatened, or couldn't you give in charity or keep to the hope of doing so? Couldn't you, being approached for the protection of the learned ones, the children, the cows, the old aged, the diseased and the women, give shelter to any living being deserving your care? Did you contact a reprehensible woman or have you improperly treated an acceptable woman maybe, or has your good self on the road been defeated after all by a superior power or by equals? Have you disregarded old men or boys deserving to dine with you together or did you do something abominable which is hard to forgive? Or is it that to the most dear one, my brother Arjuna, your heart's friend Lord Krishna, you feel a void missing Him all the time? I can think of no other reason why you should suffer such a mental distress."

Chapter 15: The Pândavas Retire

Sûta said: "Thus was Arjuna, the friend of Krishna, emaciated as he was because of his separation from Krishna, subjected to the various forms of doubt and speculation of his elder brother the king. Because of his grief had his mouth and lotuslike heart dried up and had his bodily luster vanished. Preoccupied with thoughts about the Supreme Lord S'rî Krishna wasn't he able to reply properly. The more he with great difficulty checked the force of his sadness while he wiped the tears out of his eyes, the more he eagerly thought about Him in his affection and the more distressed he became. Remembering Him as well-wisher, benefactor, intimate associate and charioteer, began Arjuna, overwhelmed and heavily breathing, to speak to his eldest brother the king. He said: 'O my King, the Personality of Godhead Hari who treated me like His intimate friend has left me. Now I am bereft of the astounding power that even astonished the gods. I lost Him of whom being separated but for a moment certainly would make all universes appear unfavorable and void of all life, like they were all dead bodies. By the strength of His mercy could I vanquish all the princes who lusted for power at the selection of the bridegroom at King Drupada's palace where I gained Draupadî's hand by piercing the fish-target with my bow. Because of His support was I able to defeat Indra and his godly associates, managed I to enable the god of fire to set ablaze his forest, and could we realize our wonderfully decorated assembly house built by Maya [out of gratitude for saving him from that fire in the forest named Khândava] where all the princes assembled to your honor bringing presents collected from everywhere. Under His influence could our younger brother [Bhîma], who has the strength of a thousand elephants, for the sake of the [râjasûya] sacrifice kill him [Jarâsandha] who was worshiped by many a king. It was He who saved the kings who by Jarâsandha had been brought [to his capital] to be sacrificed to the lord of the ghosts [Mahâbhairava]. They all paid you tribute afterwards. He [in turn] took the life of the husbands [the Kurus] of the wives whose hair was condemned to be loosened because of the fact that the cluster of your wife's [Draupadî's] hair had been loosened, which was beautifully dressed and blessed for the great ceremony. Being caught by the miscreants [the Kurus headed by Duhs'âsana], fell she in tears down at the Feet. He protected us when we ran into trouble, endangered in the forest by the intrigue of our enemies associated with Durvâsâ Muni, who arrived there to eat with his ten thousand disciples. By simply before they came to it accepting the remnants of the food, satisfied He all the three worlds as well as the munis, who at the moment were bathing, by giving them the thought that they had been fed already. Under His influence could I once astonish the Personality of God with the Trident [Lord S'iva] and his wife the daughter of the Himalaya, because of which He and other gods rewarded me with their own weapons. And thus succeeded I, living in this body, to obtain a half-elevated seat in the House of Indra. As a guest of that heaven could I with both my arms, with my bow Gândîva, Indra and all the gods, because of being empowered, o descendant of King Ajamîdha, by Him, the Supreme Personality whom at present I am bereft of, kill the demon Nivâtakavaca. Because of His friendship alone could I, seated on the chariot, cross the insurmountable ocean of the invincible existence of the military strength of the Kauravas, and thanks alone to His friendship, could I return with the enormous wealth of the enemy; the brilliance of all the jewels I by force took from their heads. It was He who by the power of His glance ended the mental agitation sprouting from the motivation for results of all the fighters who with the wealth of their chariots were positioned on the battlefield, o great King, and from whose ranks I stepped forward with before my eyes the immensity of great royal personalities like Bhîshma, Karna, Drona and S'alya. Under His protection could the very powerful invincible weapons wielded by Drona, Bhîshma, Karna, Bhûris'ravâ, King Sus'armâ, S'alya, King Jayadratha, Bâhlika [a brother of Bhîshma] etc., not touch me, just like when Prahlâda [the famous devotee of Nrisimhadev, the lion-incarnation] was threatened by the demons. Thinking erroneously of Him as only my chariot driver delivered He me, whose feet are rendered service by the intelligent for the sake of salvation. By His mercy were my enemies absentminded and didn't they attack me when I alighted for my thirsty horses. With His smiling face He made jokes and frank with me addressed He me with 'son of Prithâ','friend'and'son of the Kuru dynasty'and such; heartful sayings of my Mâdhava [Krishna] that touch and overwhelm my soul remembering them. When sleeping, sitting, walking and dining together, truthfully confronting one another and so on, I took Him by mistake for a friend alike me, while He, despite of my seeing Him lower in my offenses, tolerated me in the glory of His magnanimity like a friend accepting a friend or a father accepting his child. O Emperor, without the Supreme Personality, my dearmost friend and well-wisher, my heart and soul are vacant. Recently was I, like a weak woman, defeated by infidel cowherds while I was protecting Krishna's wives. Having the same bow, arrows, chariot and horses, I am the same Arjuna and chariot fighter to whom all the kings offered their respects - all this became in a single moment, missing Him, as useless as butter offered to ashes, as money obtained by magic or as seeds sown on barren land.

O King, to your question about our friends and relatives in Dvârakâ I can say that they were cursed by the brahmins as a consequence of which they, being drunk with rice wine, like fools killed one another with sticks, not even recognizing each other in that intoxicated state. Only four or five of them remained. It is the Supreme Personality, our Lord, His program that sometimes the living beings kill and at other times protect each other. Like in the ocean where the bigger ones eat the smaller and the stronger ones devour the weaker, o King, took the same way the Omnipotent One the burden of all the Yadus in one stroke away from the earth, by having the stronger Yadu kill the weaker one and the bigger Yadu kill the smaller one in a fight. Bearing in mind the words spoken by Govinda, I remember how attractive they are, and how they, imbued with importance and appropriate to the time and circumstance, put an end to the pain in the heart'."

Sûta said: "Thus thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord and what He had instructed in the intimacy of deep friendship, found Arjuna his calm with his mind freed from all material concerns. Constantly remembering the feet of Vâsudeva, increased Arjuna's devotion rapidly and ended the endless ruminations. Recalling the instructions of the Supreme Lord about the transcendental in the midst of the battle and thinking of His time and actions he dispelled the darkness of his ignorance and became master of his senses. Free from lamentation, by his spiritual capacity managing to cut with the doubts raised by the duality of being identified with the material world, was he, due to the transcendence being without the material form, freed from the entanglement of birth and death. Listening to the deliberations about the disappearance of the Supreme Lord to His abode and the end of the Yadu dynasty, Yudhishthhira decided to withdraw himself and also leave for the sake of the soul. Also Queen Kuntî, who had overheard what Arjuna told about the end of the Yadus and the disappearance of the Lord, found, as well as all the others did who were undivided in their devotion for the Lord's transcendence, in her soulful commitment release from her material existence. By taking away the burden of the world was that body [of the Yadu dynasty] relinquished by the Unborn One the way a thorn is thrown away when it is used to extract another thorn, because those thorns to the Lord are one and the same. Like with His Matsya incarnation and others, as a magician giving up one body to accept another one, relinquished He the body He manifested to diminish the burden of the world. When Mukunda [the Lord of Liberation] the Fortunate One so worthwhile to hear about, left this earth - manifested from that very day on Kali[-yuga] itself in full, inauspicious to all whose minds have not awakened.

 Yudhishthhira keenly in his capital, state and home as also in the self seeing things grow worse with the vicious circle of avarice, falsehood, dishonesty, irreligion and violence and such, understood that it was time to leave and dressed himself accordingly. His grandson [Parîkchit], who was properly trained and equal to himself in all respects by his qualities, was by the emperor to that in the capital of Hastinâpura enthroned as the master of all land bordered by the seas. At Mathurâ he made Vajra [the son of Aniruddha] king of S'ûrasena, after which he had a prâjâpatya sacrifice performed for being able to find the fire in himself to attain his goal. Renouncing his belt, ornaments and all of that, he became uninterested perfectly being detached from the unlimited bondage. He withdrew his speech into his mind, his mind with his other senses into his breath, his breath he withdrew in death, and in full dedication he united that with the body made of the five elements. Having offered those five elements to the three qualities of nature, he united the thoughtfulness in one indifference, fixing the sumtotal of that in the soul directed to the spiritual soul of the inexhaustible Brahman. Accepting torn clothes, refusing solid food, stopping to talk and untying his hair, he began to look like a dumb madman and an unengaged urchin not listening to anyone as if he had become deaf. Heading for the north he trod, as all others going there, the path of his mindful forefathers, passing his days constantly thinking from within his heart of the Supreme Beyond wherever he went.

In accord with their friend seeing that the Age of Kali and its irreligion had overtaken the citizens on earth, followed all the brothers the eldest one and left they from home. They all, having performed with all the virtue and knowledge of holiness, kept themselves, with the ultimate goal of the living being in mind, steadfast to the lotusfeet of the Lord of Vaikunthha. That is the destination of those who by positive meditation purified in devotion found liberation in fixing their mind on the transcendental feet of the One Nârâyana. They attained, with their material contaminations washed off, in the same bodies as they were born with the abode which for the materialists absorbed in material concerns is so very difficult to attain. Also Vidura who with his mind and actions was devoted to Krishna, returned after quitting his physical self at Prabhâsa in the company of his forefathers to his own abode [Yama's realm]. Draupadî also, who then had to miss the care of her husbands, concentrated, one-pointed in the full knowledge of Him, herself on Lord Vâsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and reached Him thus. Anyone who hears with devotion of this departure for the ultimate goal of the sons of Pându so dear to the Supreme Lord, will find nothing but good fortune and purity and will gaining in perfection thus arrive at devotion for the Lord."

Chapter 16: How Parîkchit Received the Age of Kali<

 Sûta said: "o learned ones, thereafter ruled Parîkchit, the great devotee, over the earth under the instructions of the twice-born with the qualities that the astrologers, predicting the future at the time of his birth, had thought he would have. He married Irâvatî, the daughter of King Uttara, and begot four sons in her with Janamejaya as the first. At the Ganges he performed three horse sacrifices with proper rewards for Kripâcârya, whom he selected for his spiritual master, and the God-conscious who came into view with it. Once on a chastising campaign managed he, the valiant hero, by dint of his prowess to rebuke the master of Kali-yuga who, disguised as a king, but lower than a s'ûdra was hurting the legs of a cow and a bull."

S'aunaka inquired: "Why did he just reprimand the master of Kali during his campaign - he was dressed up like a king, but as someone lower than a s'ûdra striking the legs of a cow. Please describe, o fortunate one, all that to us as far as it relates to the topics of Krishna. Because, what would, for the ones liberated who relish the honey at His lotusfeet, be the use of wasting their life with endless illusory discussions? O Sûta, only short is the life of the human beings who are sure to meet death. The eternal is of those who desire herein to call for the representative of the Lord, Yamarâja, the controller of death, to limit the performances. No one will die as long as the one who causes death is present here, for the reason of which he as the great lord has been invited by the sages - let the ones under his grip drink of the nectar of the narrations about His pastimes. Those who are lazy, of trivial interest and short-lived pass their days, the way they do sleeping at night, with activities without a purpose." Sûta said: "When Parîkchit, residing in the Kuru capital, heard that the signs of Kali-yuga had entered the domain of his jurisdiction, thought he the news not very palatable and took he, in his responsibility for military action, up his bow and arrows. Well decorated under the protection of the lion in his flag and with black horses pulling his chariot, he left the capital accompanied by charioteers, cavalry, elephants and infantry troops for the purpose of conquering. Bhadrâs'va, Ketumâla, Bhârata, the northern countries of Kuru and Kimpurusha behind the Himalayas were the lands on earth he conquered keeping strength exacting tribute. Everywhere he went he continuously heard what great souls his forefathers were and found he also indications of the glorious acts of Lord Krishna with the people he met. He as well heard about his own deliverance from the powerful rays of the weapon of As'vatthâmâ and about the devotion amongst the descendants of Vrishni and Parthâ for Lord Kes'ava [Krishna as the killer of the demon Kes'î, the mad horse]. Extremely pleased rewarded he, with his eyes wide open of joy, the people magnanimously with clothes, necklaces and other riches. Figuring as a chariot driver, presiding in assemblies, acting as a servant, being a friend and a messenger and keeping the watch at night had the one of Vishnu, who was universally obeyed Himself [Krishna], acted with prayers and obeisances in relating to the God-fearing sons of Pându. This filled the king with devotion for His lotus feet. " You may now hear from me about how astonishingly he, day after day, kept himself close in being absorbed in such thoughts about the good of the forefathers. The wandering personality of the religion, who stood on one leg only [the so called'bull'of dharma whose legs stand for the four fundamental human values], met with the aggrieved cow [mother Earth] who had tears in her eyes like a mother who has lost her child. He said: 'Madam, are you hale and hearty? Looking aggrieved with a gloomy face you appear to be affected by a disease or to be preoccupied with a friend far away, o mother. Are you lamenting about the diminishing of my legs as I stand on one only, or is it because the offensive meat-eaters want to exploit you? Or is it because the theists are bereft of their share due to a lack of sacrifices or because the living beings increasingly suffer from scarcity, famine and drought? Are you grieving about the unhappy women and children on earth who are without the protection of their men or are you sorry about the way one speaks in the families of the learned against the principles of the goddess [of knowledge]? Or do you lament about the way most of them act against the culture of learning taking shelter with the ruling class? Is it because the unworthy administrators are bewildered under the influence of Kali-yuga and here and there have messed up the affairs of the state? Or is it because of the way society is inclined to take its food and drink and how one sleeps, bathes and has intercourse? Could it be, o mother Earth, that you are thinking of the salvation brought by the activities of the incarnation of the Lord who decreased your heavy load but is now out of sight? Please inform me, o reservoir of all riches, about the reason of your tribulations that reduced you to such weakness. Is it mother, that your good fortune that was adored by even the godly, was forcibly taken away by the very powerful influence of time?'

Mother Earth replied: 'O personality of religion ['Dharma'], I will do my best to answer the series of questions that you have asked me. You are with your four legs [the vidhi] present in all the worlds to bring there the happiness. Truthfulness, cleanliness, compassion, self-control, magnanimity, contentment, straightforwardness, concentration, sense-control, responsibility, equality, tolerance, equanimity and loyalty. And certainly also knowledge, detachment, leadership, chivalry, influence, power, dutifulness, independence, dexterity, beauty, serenity and kindheartedness, as well as ingenuity, gentility, mannerliness, determination, knowledgeability, propriety, pleasantness, joyfulness, immovability, faithfulness, fame and dignity - all these and many others are the everlasting qualities of the Supreme Lord, the never diminishing higher nature which can be attained by those who are worthy of that greatness. By Him am I myself, just as the goddess of fortune, such a reservoir of qualities, but in the absence of Him as the being the resting place, is Kali, the source of all sins, seen in all the worlds. I am lamenting for me as well as for you, as well as for the best of the godly, the gods and the ancestors in heaven, the sages and the devotees, as well as for all in their status orientations in society. Lakshmî [the goddess of fortune] whose grace was sought by demigods like Lord Brahmâ and for whom the gods many times were doing penance in surrender to the Lord, has for the sake of worship forsaken her own abode in the forest of lotus flowers out of attachment to the all-blissful feet. From Him, having myself obtained the special powers of the lotus flower, thunderbolt, flag and driving rod, could I, impressed by the marks of the feet of the Supreme Lord, the owner of all opulence, being decorated that way magnanimously be victorious in the three worlds - but in the end, when I was feeling so fortunate, has He left me. He who relieved me of the burden of the hundreds of military divisions of atheist kings, incarnated also for you in the Yadu family, and that He did for the reason that you lacking in strength had difficulty to keep standing. Who therefore can tolerate it to be separated from the love, glances, smiles and hearty appeal of the Supreme Original Person who conquered the passionate wrath and gravity of women like Satyabhâmâ and made my hair [my grasses] stand on end out of the pleasure of being imprinted by His feet.'

" While the earth and the personality of religion were thus conversing, arrived Parîkchit, who was renown for being the saint among the kings, at the Sarasvatî river which was flowing to the east."

Chapter 17: Punishment and Reward of Kali

Sûta said: "It was there [at the Sarasvatî river] that the king observed that a cow and bull were beaten with a club as if they had no owner, by a s'ûdra [one of the lowest class] dressed up as a king. The bull, that was as white as a lotus, was terrified of being beaten by the s'ûdra and urinated and trembled out of fear, standing on one leg only. The cow also, on itself a religious example but now rendered poor and distressed from the s'ûdra who had beaten her legs, was without a calf and had tears in her eyes being very weak hankering after some grass to eat. From his with gold embossed chariot questioned Parîkchit, well equipped with bow and arrows, with a thundering voice: 'Who are you, that under my protection, at this place, you think you can violently kill the helpless! Although you appear to be of strength having dressed up like a man of God as if you're an actor, you behave like someone who never saw the light of culture [to be twice born]. Do you think that because Lord Krishna and the carrier of the bow the Gândîva [Arjuna] have disappeared from the scene, you can secretly beat an innocent cow? Being a culprit that way you deserve it to be killed!'

'And you', he said turning to the bull,'are you just a bull that, as white as a lotus, moves on one leg and has lost three legs or are you some demigod who in the form of a bull makes us sad? Except for the case of you having tears in your eyes because of someone else, has under the protection [the arms] of any of the kings of the Kuru dynasty there never been such grieving on earth. O son of Surabhi [the celestial cow], in my kingdom there will be no lamentation, so do not fear the s'ûdra, and dear mother cow, do not cry; as long as I am alive as the ruler and subduer of the envious will you fare well! O chaste one, he will lose his fame, longevity, fortune and a good birth, in whose state the living beings are terrified of miscreants. It is certainly the supreme duty of the kings to subdue in order to put an end to the misery of the ones who suffer and therefore I shall kill this most wretched man who is so violent with other living beings. Who is the one who has cut your legs, o son of Surabhi - what happened to you has never happened before in this royal state of kings who live in respect of Lord Krishna. O bull, you are honest and without offenses, tell me therefore about him who mutilated you and tarnished the reputation of the sons of Parthâ. Those who make the sinless suffer may fear me wherever they are, for I will curb the actions of the miscreants and restore the welfare of the ones who are honest. The upstart who offends innocent living beings, I shall forthwith defeat, whether he's a demigod from heaven with armor and decorations or not. It is certainly the holy duty of the head of state to always protect the ones who live in faith and rule safely according the scriptures over those who prove to have strayed from the path.'

The personality of religion said: 'All you said speaking for the freedom from anxiety of the sufferers just befits one of the Pândava dynasty by whose qualities even Lord Krishna acted as a servant. O greatest among the human beings, from the bewilderment of the person by all the differences of opinion, we cannot tell what would be the cause of all human suffering. Some who deny all kinds of duality declare that it is from one self that one suffers, others say that it is from the superhuman, while still others say that it is all due to the activities of material nature or of adopting outside authorities. Some also concluded that it defies explication and comprehension; which of them herein is right, o sage amongst the kings, you may judge by your own power of intelligence'."

Sûta said: "Parîkchit, who attentively heard the personality of religion thus speak, o best among the brahmins, mindfully replied. The king said: 'O knower of the duties, with you in the form of a bull do you as the personality of religion profess that [just like with a guru taking up the karma] the position of the one acting against the religion also becomes the position of the one identifying the problem. In other words: the Lord His ways with the material world are inconceivable and to all it is clear that nor thinking nor speaking is of avail. Austerity, cleanliness, compassion and truthfulness [tapas, s'auca, dayâ, sathya] are the legs that established the age of truth [Sathya Yuga, the' old days'], but from ireligiosity three of them broke in pride, too much association with women and intoxication. At present, o personality of religion, you are hobbling along on the one leg of truthfulness while quarrel personified [Kali], flourishing on deceit, irreligiously tries to destroy that leg too. A great burden was taken from the face of the earth by the Supreme Lord personally and others also - His all-auspicious footprints brought good fortune everywhere. Lamenting with tears in her eyes, the unfortunate and chaste one [mother earth] deserted by Him, is now enjoyed by the lower-class who, devoid of the culture of learning, pose themselves as rulers in my place.'

Thus the personalities of religion and mother earth were pacified by the great warrior, who took up his sharp sword in order to kill Kali, the root cause of irreligion. Knowing that the king prepared to kill him, abandoned Kali, under the pressure of fear, the royal dress and fully surrendered himself bowing his head at the feet. Out of compassion, he who is kind to the poor and capable of handling worship, with a smile refrained from killing the one fallen at the feet of the hero of whom it is said that he is worthy of being sung. The king said: 'Do not fear as you surrendered with folded hands; we certainly inherited the fame of Arjuna, but there can be no question either of being allowed to stay in my kingdom as you are the friend of irreligion. With you present in the body as a god of men, everywhere all the irreligion of greed, falsehood, robbery, incivility, treachery, misfortune, cheating, quarrel and vanity will be abound in the masses. Therefore, o friend of irreligion, you do not deserve to remain with the religion and truth in a place of sacrifice where one duly and expertly is offering in service to the Lord of Sacrifices. In such sacrificial ceremonies the Supreme Personality of God, the Lord, is being worshiped as the soul of all worshipable deities, in the form of which He spreads welfare, for He is the inviolable Supersoul to all desires being inside as well as outside like the air is to all the moving and unmoving.'

Sûta said: "That way being addressed by king Parîkchit, the personality of Kali was trembling seeing him ready with a raised sword speaking like Yamarâja, the Lord of Death. Kali said: 'Wherever that I may live under your order, o Emperor, I will always see the reign of your bow and arrows as well. Therefore please, o chief of the protectors of the religion, allot me a place where I for certain may find a permanent residence under your rule'."

Sûta said: "Thus being petitioned, gave he Kali at that time the permission to dwell in places where the four sinful activities of gambling, drinking, prostitution and animal slaughter [dyûtam, pânam, striyah, sûnâ] were taking place. Next to that gave the master him, upon his insistent begging, the place where there is gold as gold by passion is the fifth sin bringing falsity, intoxication, lust and enmity. Thus were under the direction of the son of Uttarâ the five dwelling places given to Kali where indeed irreligion is encouraged. For that reason should a person desiring his well-being never resort to any of these places, especially not those on the path of liberation, the royalty, the state officials and the teachers. By encouraging activities restoring the three lost legs of austerity, cleanliness and compassion of the bull, was [by King Parîkchit] the earth perfectly improved. Of him is the present rule; the throne that was handed over by the grandfather king [Yudhishthhira] who desired to withdraw in the forest. From that rule, that sage among the kings and chief of the Kuru dynasty, is now known in Hastinâpura as the most fortunate and famous emperor. Because of this experience of the son of Abhimanyu, the king, may, thanks to his rule over the earth, you all have the initiation of the performance of sacrifices like this."

Chapter 18: Mahârâja Parîkchit Cursed by a Brâhmana Boy

Sûta said: "The one who was sure not to be burned by the weapon of the son of Drona in the womb of his mother, met his death by the mercy of the Supreme Lord S'rî Krishna who's acts are wondrous. Cursed by a brahmin to die by a snake-bird, he was never overwhelmed with the great fear of death because he had consciously surrendered himself to the Supreme Lord After leaving behind all the associates around him he understood the actual position of the Invincible One, giving up his own material body at the bank of the Ganges as a disciple of the son of Vyâsa [S'ukadeva Gosvâmî]. Never will those who live on and are engaged in service to the One Glorified in the Hymns suffer from misconceptions at the end of their own time, if they then also remember His lotusfeet. Even though present everywhere, the personality of Kali cannot flourish as long as the great powerful Lord, the son of Abhimanyu, is the factual emperor. The moment the Supreme Lord left this earth aside, at that time he, Kali, promoting irreligion, followed in this world. Never being envious with the personality of Kali, the emperor was a realist going for the essence, like a bee does for the nectar, knowing that auspicious things lead to immediate success, while for the inauspicious one must perform attaining never. What to the weak ones might be a powerful Kali was, to the one who existed like a tiger among men, a challenge of self-control facing the fearful and a mission of taking care facing the careless. As you asked me what could be stated by me in connection with the narrations about Vâsudeva concerning the pious Parîkchit, I have now described almost everything to you about this. Those desiring their own welfare ought to hear, of all the topics that I spoke of, whatever they are about, as they concern the Supreme Lord His wonders, transcendental qualities and uncommon deeds."

The sages said: "O Sûta, may you live a long, grave and particularly eternally famous life, because speaking so nicely about Lord Krishna you grant us mortals certainlYour nectar of eternity. In this performance of sacrifice with an uncertain outcome, our bodies and minds are blackened by the smoke, but the pleasing by your good self of Govinda's feet is like the honey from a lotus flower. Attaining higher words or the liberation from matter, not mentioning the worldly benedictions of those who are heading for their death, is of no compare to the finding of one's balance but for a moment in the association of a devotee of the Lord. What man of good taste would ever have enough of relishing the nectar of the stories about the greatest and only refuge among the living beings, of whom the end of the transcendental qualities never could be established by even the greatest masters of mystic union like Lord Brahmâ and Lord S'iva? Therefore describe to us who are eager to hear about it, His impartial transcendental activities, as you from your goodness for certain relate to the Supreme Lord as the greatest of the great exclusively. For certain Parîkchit, who was a first-class devotee, had fixed his intelligence on liberation by means of the knowledge that was spoken by the son of Vyâsa after having taken to the feet that are the shelter of the king of the birds, Garuda [the bird by which Vishnu travels]. For that reason tell us about the supreme and purifying so wonderfully contained in bhakti [devotion] and describe to us, of the Unlimited One, the activities that are so particularly dear to the pure devotees, the way it was spoken to Parîkchit."

Sûta said: "See how, being connected to the great ones in conversation, we, although we are from a mixed background, clearly are promoted in taking birth [in the Lord] today, so that in service of the ones advanced in knowledge we most quickly become purified from the sufferings of a disqualifying birth. And, again, what to speak about the ones taking exclusively to the shelter of the great devotees chanting the holy name of He who is called Ananta as He is unlimited in His potency and unmeasurably great by His attributes. It is now ascertained that it needs no description that by the immeasurability of His attributes there is no one equal to Him. And that leaving aside others who ask for the favor of the Goddess of Fortune who herself serves the dust of the feet of He who does not demand for that service. Who else would be worth the position of carrying the name of Supreme Lord besides Mukunda [Lord Krishna as the one granting liberation] of whose toenails the water [of the Ganges] collected by Brahmâjî emanated that via Lord S'iva purifies the whole universe. Those who are firmly attached to Him certainly can all of a sudden leave the attachments of the gross body and the subtle mind aside and go away to take shelter of the highest stage of perfection [sannyâsa] in the nature of which non-violence and renunciation is found. To you, who are as powerful as the sun, I may, as you asked my humble self, describe the knowledge of Vishnu from the learned - as far as permitted by my knowledge herein the way similarly birds in the sky fly as far as they can."

 "Once upon a time when Parîkchit was hunting stags with bow and arrows, he got very fatigued, hungry and thirsty. Looking for a reservoir of water he entered the hermitage of the famous rishi S'amîka where he saw the sage silently sitting down with his eyes closed. Having restrained his sense organs, breath, mind and intelligence he had, in quality equal with the Supreme Absolute, ceased all activity remaining unaffected in transcendence over the three modes of consciousness [wakefulness, dream and unconsciousness]. He was covered with his long compressed hair as also by the skin of a stag. The king, whose palate was dry of thirst, asked for water. Not being received with a place to sit, water and nice words, he felt neglected and became angry that way. Although he was distressed of the circumstance of being hungry and thirsty, his anger and envy against the brahmin was unprecedented, o learned ones. Having lost his respect he picked up a lifeless snake with the tip of his bow and placed it in anger on the shoulder of the sage as he left to return to his palace. There he wondered whether or not the meditative state of withdrawing from the senses with closed eyes by the sage was a false pretended trance to remain in avoidance of seeing a lower ruler.

"At the time the sage's son, who was a very powerful personality, heard, as he was playing with childish kids, of the distress the king had occasioned his father, he had said this: 'Just see how the irreligion of the rulers, with one who was brought up to behave like a crow and watchdog to his master, has led to what is a sin to servants. To the learned the sons of the ruling class are verily watchdogs - on what grounds can he who is supposed to stay at the door think that he deserves to enter the house of the master and eat from the same pot? Krishna, the Supreme Lord and ruler of those upstarts has departed being our protector - today I shall punish them myself, just witness my power.' Thus speaking with red-hot eyes to his playmates, the son of the rishi touched the water of the Kaus'ika river and discharged the following thunderbolt of words: 'Because of breaking the etiquette, a snakebird, at the seventh day, will for certain bite the wretched one of the dynasty who offended my father.' Thereafter when the boy had returned to the hermitage, he saw the snake on his fathers shoulder and of that sorry plight he cried out aloud."

 O S'aunaka, on hearing his son crying in distress, the rishi who was born in the family of Angirâ, gradually opened his eyes and saw the dead snake on his shoulder also. Throwing it aside, he asked'My dear son, what are you crying about? Has someone done something wrong?'Thus being asked, the boy told him everything. After hearing of the cursing of the king, who should never have been condemned as he was the best among man, he did not compliment his son, but in stead lamented: 'Alas! What a great sin you have committed yourself today awarding such a heavy punishment for such an insignificant offense. In fact no one may ever place a transcendental man of God on an equal footing with common man - your command of intelligence is immature... by his unsurpassable prowess his subjects enjoy prosperity being completely protected. O my boy, once this monarchical representative of the Lord who carries the wheel of the chariot is abolished, this world will be full of thieves instantly vanquishing the unprotected as if they were lambs. For this reason, from this day on, the reaction upon this sin will overtake us causing great social disruptions because of abolishing the monarch - the wealth will be plundered by thieves and between one another there will be killing and injuring and the stealing of animals and women. At that time the righteous civilization of human progress in the vocations and stages of life to the respect of the vedic injunctions, is systematically vanquished, whereafter economic development for the sake of sense-gratification only will result in an unwanted population on the level of dogs and monkeys. The protector of the religion, the king, is a highly celebrated emperor; a direct devotee first class of the Lord and a saint amongst the royal order; a great performer of horse sacrifices - and when from hunger and thirst he is stricken with fatigue he never deserves to be cursed by us like this'.

To pardon for the great sin committed by the child immature of intelligence to a sinless, deserving and subordinate one, he then turned himself to the Supreme All-pervading Lord: 'Whether they are defamed, cheated, cursed, disturbed of negligence, or even being killed, for certain never for all of this will the forbearing devotees of the Lord avenge themselves.' Thus the sage regretted the sin of his son while he personally did not think of the king his insulting him as a sin. Generally are the saints in this world not distressed being engaged by others in duality, nor do they take pleasure in it because they are situated in the transcendence of the soul."

Chapter 19: The Appearance of S'ukadeva Gosvâmî

Sûta said: "While going home the king thought that the act of what he had done was abominable and he was very depressed saying to himself: 'Alas, it was uncivilized and evil what I did to the faultless, grave and powerful brahmin. For sure it is because of going against the injunctions that very soon I will meet with a very troublesome calamity. I certainly hope that that will happen as soon as possible, so that I shall be relieved of my sins and never do something like that again. May I, on this very day, burn with my kingdom, strength and wealth of riches in the fire ignited by the brahmin community, so that the inauspiciousness of sinning against the Lord, the culture and the cows may not return to me.' While he thought like this he came to hear of the curse of death of the sage's son, which he accepted as well and good to happen in the nearby future as the fire of the snakebird caused by the indifference of being too attached. Thus giving up this and the next world, thinking of all that happened before as being insignificant, he sat down at the bank of the transcendental river to fast in service of Krishna's feet, considering it the greatest achievement. That river, always floating mixed with tulasî-leaves (a plant used in worship], carries the auspicious water with the dust from the feet of Lord Krishna that sanctifies both the worlds inside and outside as well as the Lord of Destruction [Lord S'iva] - who else but the one about to die any moment is to worship that river? Thus having decided he, the worthy decendant of the Pândavas, sat down at the feet of Vishnu to fast until the death of giving himself up to the mercy of Mukunda without deviation from the spirit of the vows of sages in being freed from all kinds of association."

"There as good as on the plea of pilgrimaging came together all the world's power of grace of great minds and thinkers along with their disciples that sanctify all places of pilgrimage by their presence: Atri, Cyavana, S'aradvân, Arishthanemi, Bhrigu, Vasishthha, Parâs'ara, Vis'vâmitra, Angirâ, Paras'urâma, Uthathya, Indrapramada, Idhmavâhu, Medhâtithi, Devala, Ârshthisena, Bhâradvâja, Gautama, Pippalâda, Maitreya, Aurva, Kavasha, Kumbhayoni, Dvaipâyana and the great personality Nârada. The many other wise of God, saintly brahmins, the best of the holy kings and Arunâdayas [a special rank of them] and many other heads of the dynasties of sages who assembled there in worship, were welcomed by the emperor who bowed his head. With all sitting down in comfort and after again having offered them his obeisances, he thereupon humbly with folded hands present before them spoke, as one whose mind is detached from worldly affairs, of his decision to fast. The king said: 'We indeed are grateful to be the most fortunate of all the kings trained to get favors from the great souls, as to the feet of the brahmins the royal orders are but refuse to be kept at a distance on account of condemnable activities. Because of my sins, the Controller of the transcendental and mundane worlds was sure to curse me via that twice-born one because of my attachment of always thinking about family affairs - and taking that form will He inspiring with fear very soon overtake my mundane attachment. Therefore just accept me, o brahmins, as one who in surrender has taken to the divine mother Ganges with the Lord in his heart. Let the snakebird, or whatever magical thing the twice-born called for, bite me forthwith; please continue reciting the deeds of Lord Vishnu. And again let it be so that wherever that, unto the Supreme Unlimited Lord and the association He attracts in the material world, I may take my birth, I will find friendly relations everywhere in obeisance to the twice-born.'

"Thus, as persevering as in the past, the king sat himself on kus'a-grass laid down to the east in selfcontrol facing the north from the southern bank of the wife of the sea [the Ganges], while having given the administration over to his son. To that, from the sky seeing that the king would fast until his end, all the gods in praise scattered the earth with flowers, continually beating celestial drums in pleasure. All the great sages that had assembled there thus praised him wise and approvingly said, from the power of their goodness to the living beings, that is in quality as beautifull as the divine praised in the scriptures: 'It is not astonishing that this saintly king, the chief of all of us who are strict in following Krishna, seated on the throne decorated with the helmets of kings, immediately gave up desiring to achieve association with the Fortunate One. All of us, will stay as long at this place as it takes the king to give up his body to attain to the world of the Supreme where this foremost devotee returns to complete freedom from worldy concerns and lamentation.'

After hearing the assembled sages speaking thus impartially, sweet to hear, grave and perfectly true, Parîkchit complimented them all with the appropriate presentation and, desiring to hear of the activities of Vishnu, he said: 'You all have assembled here as the representation of the one above the three worlds [Brahmâ], with no other purpose in this world or a world hereafter, but to act, to your innate nature, for the good of others. From this, I am begging you, as trustworthy vedic learned ones, to tell me therefore what out of all the different duties of all and especially of those who are about to die, to your opinion would be the proper and befitting conduct.''

At that moment, as if called for, the powerful son of Vyâsa, S'ukadeva Gosvâmî, appeared who, satisfied in self-realization, traveled around disinterested without any concerns of identity, surrounded by children and dressed in neglect of others [naked]. Being only sixteen years of age he had delicate legs, hands, thighs, arms, shoulders, forehead and body. His eyes were beautifully wide and with a high nose and similar ears he had a face with nice brows and a neck as well formed as a conchshell. With a fleshy collarbone, a broad chest and a deep navel he had a striped abdomen and was naked with curly scattered hair and elongated hands with the hue of the best among the gods [Krishna; a dark complexion]. Even though he covered his nakedness, the sages, who had a keen eye for physiognomy, recognized the symptoms of the blackish skin, the beauty of young age and the attraction for the fair sex with his beautiful smiles - and they all stood up from their seats. To welcome the guest arriving, the one always protected by Vishnu [Parîkchit], bowed before him offering his obeisances, upon which his less intelligent following of boys and women was sure to withdraw itself as he took his exalted seat in reception of the respect. S'ukadev, surrounded there by the greatest of the great saints amongst the brahmins, the kings and the godly ones, well deserved made a supreme and able presence, that compared to the moon surrounded by planets, heavenly bodies and stars. Sitting down in calm and self-assured of intelligence the sage was approached by the great devotee, the king, who properly bowed down with folded hands inquiring in sweet polite words.

Parîkchit said: 'O brahmin, today have we from the ruling class become eligible to serve the devotee and to be alike friends by your mercy - as in making your presence as a guest, your good self brings about all the good qualities. Thinking of your person certainly instantly purifies all the places we inhabit, not mentioning what it means to see you, touch you, wash your feet and offer you a seat. On account of your being present, o great mystic, are our sins in spite of their invulnerability immediately vanquished, just like the person not so enlightened is in the presence of Vishnu. Definitely, the Supreme Lord granted us the pleasure of Krishna so dear to the sons of Pându, accepting us as a friend in relating to the father like cousins do to the satisfaction of the descent. Otherwise, how could you, specifically for me in my last hours before death, out of your own free will appear here to meet us, while normally you are invisible among the common man, being all-perfect as you are? Therefore I beg you, as the supreme spiritual master of all ascetics, what for a person in this life would be the perfection, the final beatitude, and what all would be the duty of someone about to die. Please explain what the people in general, o master, should hear and chant about, what they should do, what they should remember and share, as also what would be against the principle. This because, o supreme devotee, in the house of the householders one rarely sees you staying for longer than the exact time of milking a cow'."

Sûta said: "Thus pleasantly being addressed and questioned by the king, began the supreme son of Vyâsadeva so well versed in the knowledge of the true duty, with his reply."



Thus ends the first Canto (Book) of the S'rîmad Bhâgavatam, The Story of the Fortunate One.