SRIMADBHAGAVATHAM

Introduction to srimadbhagavatham

Ithihasas and Puranas are composed for the purpose of explaining the messages in the vedas in such a way that even common people can understand. That is why they are known as suhrdsamhitha, counselling like a friend,suhrd, while vedas are called prabhu samhitha, command of the master as they contain injunctions and prohibitions.Hence Puranas are not fairy tales.

Leelasuka in his krishna karnamrtha advises those who are tired of trying to learn the difficult meanings of upanishads to go to Gokula and see the essence of the upanishads tied to the mortar. This shows the lucidity of the puranas in teaching the obtruse truths thst are contained in the upanishads.

PurAnam means purA api navam, it is ever new. This explains the popularity of the ithihasas and puranas even now.Of all the puranas Bhagavathapurana is most important as it is the only one prefixed with 'sri' as Srimadbhagavatha puranam.

Bhagavatha purana was composed by Vyasa advised by the sage Narada to cure him of his mental depression and he taught this to his son Suka who told it to Parikshit. Sootha pouranika who belonged to the clan of story tellers of yore retold it to the sages in Naimisaranya and thus it was spread in the world.

The Bhagavathapurana is extolled as the essence of the vedas,is of supreme merit and is called adhyAthmadeepa, the light of the self,it is loved by good men free from blemishes of character. It is beneficial to the whole humanity,and removes the three kinds of duhkha, namely, Adhidaivika, calamities due to karma or fate, Adhibouthika,obstacles due to other beings, and adhyAthma, troubles that come from one's own nature.It is said that when one wishes to read or hear Bhagavatha the Lord appears in his heart.

Bhagavathapuranam is an incomparable work on bhakthi. It is related by Suka who is a brahmajnani. Bhakthi is extolled as being even greater than mukthi.

Bhagavathapurana was told to Parikshit in seven days. On the first day, it was till varahavathara, on second day till jatabharatha episode, on the third till amrthamathanam,on the fourth till krishnavathara, on the fifth till Rukminikalyanam, on the sixth day it was till uddhavasamvAdha and the last day the purana was finished. It has been the practice to read Bhagavatham in the same order for seven days which is known as BhagavathasapthAham. We shall now enjoy the nector of srimadbhAgavatham in detail.

The first four slokas of srimadbhagvatham are very important and they will be dealt with in detail.The first sloka of the purana is,

janmAdhyasya yathah anvayAdhithrathschArTHEshvabhijnah
 thEnE brahma hrdhA ya AdhikavayE muhyanthi yathsoorayah
 thEjO vAri mrdhAm yaTHA  vinimayO yathra thrisargO mrshA
 DHAmnA svEna sadhA nirastha kuhakam sathyam param DHeemahi

Let us meditate on that Reality, the Brahman,who shines always pure with His own light who is cognised through the method of agreement and difference as the source from whom everything arises, who is the indweller of all beings and cogniser of all and self- illumined, who instructed the veda, incomprehensible even to the sages, to the creator, Brahma, who is the substratum of this world formed from the combination of the three gunas resulting in the gross elements , water,fire and earth and which is unreal in the sense that Brahman alone is the self of all and the sole reality.

'janmAdhyasaya yaTHah' is the second suthra of the Brahmasuthra, padha,I adhikarana,I.The first suthra 'aTHAtho brahmajinjnaaASa,' which means 'then therefore the enquiry into Brahman,' emphasises the necessity for acquiring the knowledge of Brahman and the second suthra' janmAdhyasya yathah,' explains the subject matter of the enquiry, that is, Brahman.It means, 'that from which the creation, sustenance and the dissolution proceeds.This has reference to the upanishadic statement 'yathO vA imAni bhootthAni jAyanthE, yEna jAthAni jeevanthi ,yasmin abhisamvisanthi , thadhvijijnAsasva thadhbrahma,'which means ,'know that to be  Brahman from whom all beings emerge by whom they are sustained and into whom they merge back.This is implied by janmadhyasya yathah, the first two words with which the Bhagavatha purana starts. That which is the source of sentient and insentient beings is brahma, Brahman who is sathyam param the supreme truth or reality.and let us meditate on that, DHeemahi.

Brahman is cognised through the method of agreement, anvaya and that of difference,vyathireka. Brahman can be inferred to be the source of the world by texts that speak of identity between Brahman and the jiva which are examples of anvaya, such as 'sarvam khalu idham brahma,' all this is Brahman , ' ayam AthmA brahma,' this self is Brahman, 'EthadhAthmyam idham sarvam,' all this is ensouled by that(Brahman) and 'thatthvamasi,' that thou art etc.

The other texts that are specified by itharathah in the sloka are those that imply difference between the jiva and Brahman such as 'thadhAikshatha bahu syAm prajAyEya, that willed to become many,' denoting the creation and 'yah Athamani thishTan Athmanah antharah yam AthmA na vedha yasya AthmAsariram yah AthmAnamantharah yamayathi.' This text ,meaning 'He who stands inside the individual self, as its innerself, whom the individual self did not know, to whom the individual self is the sarira and who controls the individual self from within,' denotes that Brahman is the self of all.

Brahman is the abhijna, the knower in all things, arTHa. He gave the vedas to Brahma , the Adhikavi by HIs will,(thEnE hrdhA AdhikavayE) To undertand the true meaning of the vedas is difficult even for the wise and learned who get confused, muhyanthi yathsoorayah. Brahman always shines in His own light, sadhA svEna DhAmnA.

The creation consisting of three gunas that make the gross elements , water, fire and earth that constitute the gross world which is mrshA, unreal in the sense that Brahman is the self of all sentient and insentient beings which form His sarira or prakAra,mode, and therefore Brahman is the only reality.This is indicated by the word nirasthakuhakam in the sloka, meaning nishkalanka, without blemishes. Kuhaka means vanchakavasthu or things that deceive and He is nirastha devoid of that. His jnana is sathya and asankuchitha , real and uncontracted, all pervasive and therefore nirasthakuhakam.The words DHAma, sathyam and param denote jnAnam sathyam and anantham.

The Mangalasloka indicates the entire subject of the purana to be the parabrahman, synonymous with Vasudeva. JanmAdhyasya denotes the jagathkAranathva , the causality of Brahman and being the only reality, He is both the material cause, upAdhAna kAraNa and efficient cause, nimittha kAraNa.

The second sloka refers to the anubanDha chathushtayam. That is, a granTHa or written work must have four requisites, namely,granTHa, the name of the work, vishaya, the subject matter,aDHikAri, one who is qualified to read and understand it and phala , the fruit of the endeavour.The second sloka runs thus:

dharmO prOjjitha kaithavO athra paramO nirmathsarANAm sathAm vEdhyam vasthavamathra vasthu sivadham thApathrayOnmoolanam

srimadbhAgavathE mahAmunikrthE kim vA paraih eesvarah sadhyO hrdhyavaruDHyathE krthibhih susrooshubhisthathkshaNAth

In this srimadbhAgavatha the highest dharma, without deceit, has been expounded by the great sage(Vyasa) for the sake of the good souls who are devoid of meanness. The object to be cognised through this is that which is the reality, which gives auspicious results and which roots out the thApathraya, the three kinds of duhkha. The Lord is established immediately in the heart of those who are meritorious and desire to listen to Bhagavatha and hence what more can be achieved than this!

Here the granTha is specified by name as Srimadbhagavatha.The subject matter is denoted as paramO dharmah,the highest dharma. This does not mean that Bhagavatha teaches the dharma alone which it definitely does, but this should be understood in the sense of the answer of Bhishma to yudhishtira who asked him 'ko dharmassarvadharmANAm paramah,'which is the highest dharma of all.Bhishma replies that 'Esha mE sarvadharmANAm dharmO aDhikathamO mathah, "this is the dharma which is highest in my opinion" and he elaborates on that.

Here the word ‘sarvadhrmAnaam’ implies the four kinds of dharma laid out in the sastras.

1. aihika dharma, the actions pertaining to the life in this world. This includes the natural duties of a householder.

2.Amushmika dharma, those performed for the welfare  in the life- after, like the yajnas,  sacrificial rites, dhAna, acts of charity, done  for attaining heaven or better life in the next birth.

3. The actions that are undertaken in order to attain salvation , by those who are free from attachment,  through yoga and meditation.

4. The path of devotion, through acts of love towards the Lord like kirtana, smarana and padasEvana, singing His names thinking about Him ad worshipping Him.

            The last dharma is extolled by Bhishma as the supreme dharma.  Lord Krishna has specified the same in the Gita by the charamasloka, ‘SarvadharmAn parithyajya mAmEkam saranam vraja.’ Bhishma says ‘ yadbhakthyA pundareekAksham sthavairarchEth narah esha dharmassanAthanah,’ the worship of the Lotus eyed Lord is the age old dharma. This is Adhikyena abhimatham, considered the greatest because it can be done without depending on anything or anybody and without disturbing others. 

The adhikarithva, the qualification for the seeker to approach this grantha is denoted by the words nirmathsara, those who do not cavil, sathah, good, krthee , one who has done meritorious deeds as otherwise he will not have the propensity to listen or read such works and susrooshuh,(srothum icchuh) one who wishes to hear the Bhagavatha. The phala of hearing this is given as 'eesvarah hrdhi sadhyah avaruDHyathE,' the Lord being established in the heart immediately.

The third sloka refers to the narrator of Bhagavatha, that is Shukhabrahmam, and it is very beautiful.

NigamakalpatharOh galitham phalam

shukamukhAthadbhuthadhravasamyutham

pibatha bhAgavatham rasamAlayam

muhurahO rasikA bhuvi bhAvukAh

Oh connoisseurs of the world! you who understand the nuances of tastes, drink again and again, the nectar-like juice of this fruit from the wish-fulfilling tree called veda nigamakalpatharu, which fell, galitham from the mouth of the parrot ,shukamukhAth (shuka denotes a parrot as well as shukabrahma maharshi, who was supposed to have the face of a parrot)

To acquire the desire of listening to Bhagavatha requires poorvajanmapunya and it removes all the other desires because it consists only of dharma in the form of Isvara aradhana, which, when done with the desire of other things is called kaithava, deceitful, while doing that only for pleasing the Lord is prOjjithakaithavadharma, a dharma devoid of deceit as made out in the previous sloka.

Bhagavatha is compared to the fruit that fell out of the mouth of shuka, the parrot,and came from the nigamakalpatharu, the tree that fulfills all desires ,that is veda.This fruit is full of rasa, juice,and the rasikas, connoisseurs who are bhavukas, discerning,are invited to drink the juice again and again, muhurmuhuh till they merge with the Lord.The fruit which was at the tree veda, hard to get, became easy to reach because it fell from the shukamukha. The juice is adbhuthadhravasamyutham, being paramAnandha eva rasah, the supreme bliss of Brahman.This has reference to the upanishadic statement 'rasO vai sah,' and rasam hyEvAyam labdhvaAnandheebhavathi.' Brahman is the essence of all beings attaining whom one becomes blissful.

The fourth sloka describes the circumstances under which the Bhagavthapurana is related by the soothapouranika to the sages assembled in Namisaranya.

naimishE animishakshEthrE rshayah sounakaAdhayah

sathram svargAya lOkAya sahasra samam Asatha

Tha sage sounaka and others did sathra yaga for thousand years to attain the world desired even by the denizens of heaven in The land of naimisaranya .where the Lord is abiding with unblinking eyes.

In NaimisaraNya is where the Lord is present in the form of forest or aranya and He is animisha , not blinking His eyes,directing His glance unceasingly there. The word naimisa means nemih seeryathe yathra, the wheel of mind released by the creator is blunted here.The edge of mind is compared to a wheel. This means that the karma which makes the mind revolve in samsara will be blunted or stopped.The reason as to why this happens is that here the Lord is directing His glances permanently not even blinking His eyes.The word svargAya lOkAya means the world which is extolled in svarga, svrgE geeyathe ithi, meaning the paramapadha or Moksha.

After this the story begins.The sages assembled in Naimisaranya asked the soothapouraNika six questions and he related the Bhagavathapurana as the answer.

The questions were,

1. what is the essence of all sasthras? 'sarvasAsthrasAram EkAnthikam broohi.'

2.Why did Lord Hari took birth as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki?

3. Tell us the story of His incarnations.

4.What are His noble deeds in His manifestations as the trinity, brahma, vishnu and siva.

5.Describe His superhuman deeds in Krishnavathara.

6.To whom dharma resorted as its refuge when Krishna left this world?

Chapter2 - The message of Bhakthi

The soothapouranaika, named Ugrasravas, the son of Romaharshana saluted his guru Vyasa and the Lord before commencing to speak. He said,

yam pravrajantham anupEtham apEtha krthyam

dhvaipAyanO virahakAthara AjuhAva

puthrEthi thanmayathayA tharavOabhinEdhuh

tham sarvabhootha hrdhayam munim Anatho asmi

"Salutations to Shuka, who started alone, renouncing the world, not being interested in karmamarga and whom Vyasa called 'my son' due to the grief of separation, when all the trees answered him, and not shuka, because he was a brahmajnAni and has become one with the entire universe."

Shuka who was born as a brahmajnani left his father being indifferent to karmamarga, renouncing the world.Vyasa was smitten with grief due to his attachment towards his son and called him 'puthra' in order to stop him but shuka never answered and went away. Instead, the trees and other beings in the forest answered him because his son was shukabrahmam, and has become one with the entire universe.

Then sootha praised shuka with another verse.

yassvAnubhAvam akhilasruthisAramEkam

aDHyAthmadheepam athithitheershathAM thamo anDHam

samsAriNAm karuNayA Aha purANaguhyam

tham vyAsasoonum upayAmi gurum muneenAm

"I surrender to the son of VyAsa, the preceptor of the sages, who, out of mercy for the souls in samsara who wish to cross over the dense darkness of ignorance, told this Bhagavathpurana which is the secret that provides the experience of the Self, the essence of the vedas,of supreme merit and is like the lamp for self knowledge."

Then sootha starts to narrate the purana after the customery invocation verse,

nArAyaNam namaskrthya naram chaiva narOtthamam

dheveem sarasvatheem vyAsam thathO jayam udheerayETh

The purana known as Jaya should be told after salutations to Narayana and Nara, the supreme purusha an sage Vyasa and goddess Sarasvathi.

Usually Mahabharatha is only known as Jaya but here Bhagavatha purana is also referred to as Jaya in the sense, 'jayathi anEna samsAram ithi jayah,' one conquers samsara with this.

The word 'jaya' denotes the number 18 according to katapayAdhi sankhya and Mahabharatha was called jaya as it is connected with the number 18. It contains 18 parvas and the mahabharatha war went on for 18 days and the Bhagavatgita, the crest jewel of Mahabharatha contains 18 chapters.Bhagavtha also contains 18000 slokas and 18 is the number of Krishnamanthra.

Sootha answers the question number 1, that is,'sarvasAsthra sAram EkAnthikam srEyO broohi,tell us about the essence of all sasthras and the most beneficial.' It is the devotion to Lord Krishna which is the greatest dharma of all and it is most beneficial. The devotion is termed as ahaithukee, spontaneous, that is not expecting any thing in return and`aprathihathA, not impeded by any obstacle.The devotion to Vasudeva brings in its wake vairAgya, detachment and nishkAmajnAna, knowledge that is not desire-motivated.Any dharma that does not evoke pleasure in the stories of Bhagavan is futile.

Dharma should be pursued for Moksha and artha for dharma and not for kama. The supreme dharma is that which is followed till the acquiring of self knowledge, induced by the detachment of other things which in its turn is induced by the devotion to the Lord.The adhvitheeya jnana, means svathulya abhyaDHika vasthu rahithathvam, the knowledge about that which has nothing equal or higher than itself, and this truth is denoted by the words Brahman,paramAthmA and bhaghavAn.

Bhakthi associated with vairagya and jnana makes it possible to see the Lord inside one's heart and the sages acquire devotion through hearing the story of the Lord with faith and perceive the Lord in themselves.So the complete fulfilment of varNAsramadharma is the propitiation of the Lord. this means that all dhatma should be followed for bhagavathpreethi only and should be discharged as an offering to the Lord.

Then Sootha explains the progress of devotion. Bhagavan who is the Lord of the good should be worshipped by sravana, keerthana, dhyana and pooja. Who will not desire for the hearing of the story of Him,by persistent meditation on whom, the wise cut off their knot of karma, 'yadhanuDhyAsinA yukthA karmabanDHa nibanDHanam, cchindhanthi kOvidhAh thasya Ko na kuryAth kaTHA rathim?'(SB-1-2-15)This kaTHArathi, love of His stories is the result of desire and faith in sravana which, in its turn, is the result of the darsan of holy men by visiting the holy places. Lord Krishna, hearing about and singing or talking about whom is meritorious,who is the friend of the good, enters the heart of one who hears about Him and destroys all bad impulses.'srNvathAm svakaTHAm krishnah puNyasravaNakirthanah;hrdhyanthasTHOhyabhadhrANi viDHunOthi suhrtsathAm.'(SB.1-2-17) Bad vAsanas are destroyed by nithyabhAgavathasEvA which leads to devotion of BhagavAn. Bhakthi when arises cleanses the mind of rajas and thamas and establishes satthva.Thus when the mind becomes prasanna, equanimous with bhagavathbhakthi, which removes attachment, the knowledge of the real nature of bhagavAn, bhagavththatthvajnana arises by itself.

The upanishad says, 'bhidhyanthE hrdhayagranTHih cchidhyanthE sarvasamsayAh ksheetanthE asya karmANi thasmin dhrstE parAvarE,all knots of the heart are broken, all doubts are demolished and all karma is destroyed when one has the darsan of the supreme self.' This is the idea elaborated here. The prakrthi is constituted of three gunas namely, satthva, rajas and thamas,and the supreme purusha assumes the role of the creator, protector and annihilator manifesting the three gunas, rajas,satthva and thamas respectively.Vasudeva represents the supreme self above the trinity and He alone is the object of worship. It is through the sAtthvik manifestation of Vasudeva one attains salvation. The bhagavatha purana declares that He is the highest goal.'vAsudhEva parA vEdhAh vAsudhEva parA makhAh vAsudhEva parAyOgavasudhEva parA kriyAh;vAsudhEva param jnAnam vAsudhEva param thapahvAsudhEva parO dharmO vAsudhEva parA gathih,'(SB.1-2-28.29) the vedas are about Vasudeva,the sacrifices pertain to Vasudeva,The yogas are to attain Vasudeva,all actions are offering to Vasudeva.The object of knowledge is Vasudeva, the one who is pleased by austerities is Vasudeva,the goal of dharma is Vasudeva and all paths are towards Vasudeva. He is the parAkAshTA parAgathih. the ultimate goal.

Sath, the real and asath, the unreal, both are manifested by the mAyA of the Lord and the mAyA is constituted of three gunas. But He is aguna, without guna ,that is, not affected by the three gunas.'guNEshu guNavan iva anthah pravishtah nAnA bhAthi yaTHA vahnih dhArushu,(SB.1-2-31) says Bhagavatha purana. He entering inside all beings appears variegated as though He is connected with the gunas as the fire in firewood which creates the appearance of existence in the wood but actually not connected with it.Thus the first question is answered. Then Sootha starts telling them about the lEElavathAras of the Lord in dhevamanushyathiryangyoni, as deva, manushya and animal forms.`

Chapter-3-Avatharas

The Lord wishing to create the universe and assumed the form of Purusha consisting of the sixteen kalas that originated from the thathvas mahath etc. The physical forms of creation started from prakrthi, the premordial nature from which mahath or buddhi originated,which gave rise to the three kinds of ahamkara, sAthvik, rAjasik and ThAmasik which in their turn gave rise to the evolutes , namely ten indhriyas , manas and the five subtle elements which are denoted here by the sixteen kalas.This will be described in detail in the third skandha of Bhagavatha dealing with Kapilavathara.`

There came from Him innumerous incarnations like springs from a lake out of which 24 are said to be prominent.They are,purusha, kumara, varaha.narada,nara and narayana,kapila,dhatthathreya, yajna,rshabha,prthu,mathsya,koorma,dhanvanthri,mohini,nrsimha,vamana,parasurama,vyasa,raghurama,balarama, krishna,buddha and kalki.`

The rshis, manus,devas and the sons of manus are all amsa of the Lord. But Krishnavathara is the complete incarnation.'Krishnasthu bhagavAn svayam.'

Then Sootha started to talk about Bhagavatha and its origin.The Bhagavatha is called purANArkah, that is, the sun which has risen to remove the darkness due to kali, after krishna left this world.This is in answer to the question no. 6, namely, 'to whom dharma took as refuge when Lord Krishna left this world?'

The origin of Bhagvatha is related in the next chapter. Now we shall see about the philospophical aspects of this chapter.

1. One becoming many.Upanishad says, 'sadhEva soumya idham agra Aseeth, EkamEva adhvitheeyam,' That alone was existing in the beginning, one only without a second and that willed to become many, 'thadhaikshatha bahusyAm prajAyeya.'

2.The absolute reality is synonymous with Lord Narayana.

3.jnana will arise only through bhakthi and jnana with bhakthi secures mukthi.

4.All actions and thoughts are to be directed to Him only.

5. The only reality is Brahman or Bhagavan who appears to be many as the statement of the upanishad, 'ajAyamAnO bahuDHA vijAyathE,' the one who is unborn becomes many.As such all beings sentient and insentient are the amsa of the Lord and His avatharas are inuumerable.

6. The bhagavatha purana is the essence of all vedas and upanishads and ithihasas.

Chapter-4-Vedavyasa and his work

The rshis asked Sootha about the circumstances that were instrumental for Vyasa composing Bhagavatha Purana and also about the situation which the led the narration of Bhagavatha by Shuka to Parikshith. The reason why the king Parikshith, who was deemed to be a MahabhAgavatha, took the vow of prAyopavesa, that is, fast until death.

Shuka was praised by the rshis as being more evolved that his father. 'Thasya puthro mahayOgeesamdhrg nirvikalpakah, EkAnthamathirunnidhrO gooDO mooDa ivEyathe.' (SB.1-4-4) He is a great yogi, equanimous, sees no duality, with steady mind,awake from the sleep of maya, disguised as though he does not know anything. Once when Vyasa was following his son , some women were bathing in the river. When Shuka went there the never bothered but when Vyasa folloed him they covered themselves. Vyas asked them as to why they did not do so when his son who was a young man came but covered themselves when he, an old man passed by they replied that shuka had no sense of duality and saw no distinction between man and woman whereas Vyasa was not so.

Then the rshis expressed their surprise that Shuka stayed so long with Parikshith to relate the Bhagavatha because the renounced souls will stay in a place only for a short time enough to milk the cow, 'GodhOhana mAthram' in the houses of grhasthas to bless them and to purify the place.

Sootha started answering the questions and narrated Bhagavatha.VYasa was born to Sathyavathi through Parasara, at the end of dvAparayuga and was considered an amsa of Bhagavan. He re-edited and codified the vedas and came to be known as Vedavyasa.He also wrote Mahabharatha which is called the panchamo vedah, the fifth veda.Even then he did not derive contenment and he asked himself as to why his heart was agitated inspite of his following the rituals enjoined in the vedas and even after the meaning of the vedas were brought out in Mahabharatha. When he was upset in not having mental peace the sage Narada came there. The sage Narada by the Lord's will always appears when a pure soul needs guidance.

chapter-5-`The unrest of Vyasa and The advice of Narada

Narada is well known to appear whenever and whereever someone needed enlightenment.When Narada asked Vyasa about his being unhappy Vyasa disclosed the nature of his grief and entreated the celestial sage to diagnose the cause of his mental unrest. Narada replied that Even though Vyasa had composed the Mahabharatha which consists all dharma and arTHa it did not describe the exploits of the Lord Hari and the work which is rich in linguistic skills but does not speak about the Lord is like ' vAyasam theerTham' , a ditch for crows in which 'hamsA na niramanthi,' the swans will not relish. The swans refered to here are the paramahamsas, those with the knowledge of Brahman.On the other hand even a work is full of mistakes will be able to dispell the sins of the reader if it is adorned with the glorious names of the Lord, 'nAmnAni ananthasyayaSonkithAni.' That alone will the sadhus hear, sing and accept, srNvanthi, gAyanthi grhNanthi sAdhavah.'

Therefore Narada instructed Vyasa to go into samAdhi meditating on the leelas of Hari and proclaim them to the world.Vyasa was praised by Narada as being qualified for the task as he is amOghadhrk, one having infallible purpose,SuchiSravah,of pure fame, sathyarathi, has love for truth and DHrthavratah, of firm resolve. He is fortunate because the work will release all who resort to it from bondage.The reason for the unrest of Vyasa was due to the fact that the Mahabharatha dealt only with pravrtthi marga (pursuing dharma, artha and kama only) and said nothing on Nivrtthimarga, means of attainment of Mokha.It was a narration of kAmya karma, desire motivated activities which lead people to disaster like a boat agitated by strong winds.

Then Narada started telling Vyasa about himself. He was the son of a maidservant, who was engaged in serving the yogis in his previous birth. As a boy he was disciplined and was dedicated to their setrvice.Pleased with him they gave him the instruction on the knowledge which they acquired from the Lord Himself, out of mercy. He became purified in mind by that and experienced the whole world as the manifestation of the Maya of the Lord and felt that he did not have a separate existence apart from the Lord. Devotion rose in his mind after quelling rajas and thamas and when the sages left the place they imparted the highest knowledge as they thought that he was a fit disciple.

The glory of karma blended with bhakthi is described by Narada. Karma combined with bhakthi is capable of removing the three kinds of suffering, namely, through past karma, from doings of others and from one's own actions. When a disease is caused by some disagreeing object it will not stop giving trouble by mere treatment but only on removing it.All actions result in bondage only and the worship and service to the Lord alone has the power to remove the result of bad karma. The jnana coupled with bhakthi does only that.

In the next chapter Narada continues his story.

Chapter-6-The story of Narada

When the sages left the place Narada lived with his mother who had great attachment for him as she had no one else in the world.Once a snake bit her and she died.Narada took it as the will of God who always does what is good for the devotee and started towards north and reaching a forest uninhabited by humans sat in meditation under a tree. Lord appeared in his mind slowly which made him experience the bliss with tears flowing from his eyes when the form of Lord Hari disappeared. On regaining his consciousness of the world, he felt unhappy in not able to see the form of the Lord anymore. He tried to go into dhyana again but could not succeed.Then he heard the voice of the Lord, gambhera ,resonant and SlakshNa, pleasant and nice saying, "You cannot see Me in this birth because I do not appear to those whoare not attained a maturity in yoga and not free from karmavasana.I showed it once to inducein you the longing for Me as the one who turns his desire towards Me gets rid of all the other desires." Further The voice said that Narada has already turned his thoughts on the Lord as the result of the service to the sages eventhough it was for a short time and reassured him that he will become a pArishadha of the Lord (like Garuda and Anantha) and will have steady devotion which will not change even during creation and dissolution..

Narada spent the rest of his life singing the praise of the Lord and thinking about Him ,waiting for the end of his life. When the time came for him to attain a divine body of a pArishadha of Bhagavan the physical body made up of the five elements came to an end. At the end of the kalpa when Brahma entered into Lord Narayana, Narada also entered in the breath of Brahma.

when Brahma started the creation after 1000 chathuryugas Narada was born as the mAnasaputhra of Brahma along with Marici and others.He became a thriloka sancharee, able to go to any place at will in all the three worlds through the grace of the Lord, singing His glory, playing the veena given to him by the Lord Himself.The Lord, he said , appeared in his heart the moment he was called ' Ahooya iva mE Seeghram dharsSanam yAthi chEthasi.'

Narada told Vyasa that the doings of the Lord, Harileela, is like a boat to cross over the sea of samsara and the mind never gets peace by any other means as by the service of the Lord.After clearing the doubt in the mind of vyasa ,Narada went his way singing the names of the Lord.

chapter7- End of the War

As an introduction to the narration of Bhagavatha Sootha told the rshis about the events that took place after the Mahabharatha war leading to the prayOpavEsa of Parikshith.After the war When DhuryOdhana fell down with his thigh broken by Bhima, AsvatthAma, the son of acharya DhrOna wishing to please DuryOdhana killed all the children of Dhroupadhi while they were sleeping which act was repugnant even to DhuryOdhana. Arjuna wishing to take revenge pursued Asvatthama with Krishna acting as his charioteer.He defeated AsvatthAma and bound him and brought him to their camp.Krishna urged Arjuna to kill him because he committed a grievious sin in killing young sons of Dhroupadhi and said that one should not kill those who are not in their senses, sleeping , unconscious , a woman or a child.But Arjuna did not want to kill the son of his acharya and brought him to Dhroupadhi.

But Droupadhi was moved with pity and said as he is the son of the guru he should not be killed.Droupadhi was described as vAmasvabhava, of right conduct and as such sho did want to do adharma even when she has lost her sons. She said that Krpi, the mother of Asvatthama should not undergo the same sorrow like herself by losing her only son, for which she was praised by Dharmaputhraa.But Bhima out of anger wanted to kill AasvatthAma and Krishna intervened and told Arjuna to use his discretion. First when Krishna told him that Asvatthama was a sinner and has to be killed it was only to test the sense of dharma in Arjuna which is confirmed by his words at this juncture.Krishna said 'brahmabanDHurna hanthavyah AthathAyee vaDHArhaNah,mayAiva ubhayam AmnAtham paripAhi anuSAsanam.' A man even if he is low minded and sinner should not be killed as he is a relative of a brahmin( brahmabanDhu is usually used to denote a brahmin who has fallen low in the sense that he is only related to a brahmin and not real brahmin) but a sinner AthathAyee should be killed. 'Both was ordained by Me only,' says Krishna, meaning the Lord Narayana, synonymous with Brahman who has given out the vedas by "Me" and not the Devaki sutha , and asks Arjuna to use his discretion and do the right thing.

AthathAyee is the one who sete fire,gives poison,kills one who is without defence, confiscates property and appropriates another man's wife.

Arjuna understood Krishna's implication and acted in a manner as to satisfy both Dhroupadhi and Bhima. He cut off the shikha of AsvatthAma along with its gem and drove him away.AsvatthAma who lost his lustre due to sisuhatthi now lost his brahmathejas with the tuft of hair as well and the gem which adorned it. It is said in the dharmasasthras that shaving the head, confiscating the possessions and demoting from his position are equivalent to killing a brahmin and not physical killing which is prohibited. AsvatthAma lived to repent his sins.

chapter-8- Krishna saved the child Parikshit and Kunti's hymn.

When Krishna was about to leave for Dvaraka after consoling the Pandavas and Droupadi, he saw Utthara running towards him with a plea to save her foetus The words of Utthara were significant. She said 'nAnyamthavdhabhayam paSyE yathra mrthuh parasparam.' "In this world where everyone is the enemy of every one else, I do not see any other saviour than you." She told Krishna that she is being burnt inside with the missile as though with a red hot iron and prayed that her foetus should be saved even at the cost of her life.Then Krishna understood that this is the Asthra sent by Asvatthama to demolish the clan of Pandavas and protected the foetus with His sudarsana chakra as a shield by entering inside the womb of Utthara.

'anthasThah sarvabhoothAnAm AthmA yogEsvarO harih;svamAyayAvrNOth garbham vairAtyAh kuruthanthavE.' The Lord who is the inner self of all and resides in all covered the foetus with His mAya for the sake of propagating the clan of Kurus. Actually the Lord is capable of protecting the child without entering inside the womb as He is the antharyami of all but he appeared inside in a minute form to grace Parikshit, who later became a great bhagavatha. He came to be called Parikshit because as a child he was examining (pareekshaNam) everyone who came near, desirous of finding the divine being who appeared to him while he was in the womb of his mother. The asthra Asvatthama sent was the Brahmasthra and was infallible .Hence even though the foetus was saved the child was born charred. Then Krishna touched the body with His foot and by the padhsparsa of the Lord the child came to life.

When at last Krishna started for Dvaraka Kunti came to him and praised him with a hymn, which is wellknown as Kuntisthuthi and very beautiful for its import.

Kunthisthuthi:

"You are 'Adhya Purushah eeSvarah prakrthEh parah,' the prime purusha, who resides within all beings without they being aware of it.You are not recognised by the ignorant, like an actor who is well disguised in his costume. You are hidden behind the curtain of your maya. You are adhOkshaja, beyond sense-cognition and avyaya,immutable. When you are not seen even by sages and paramahamsas how can a mere woman like me understand you."

The famous verse 'krishnAya vasudhEvaya dgEvakeenandhanAyacha,nandhagopakumAraya govindhAya namOnamah,' occurs only in this sthuthi. The next verse is also beautiful, 'namsthe pankajanAbhAya namasthe pankajamAlinE; namah pankaja nEthrAya namasthE pankajAnghraye, salutations to you having lotus in your navel,and wearing garland of lotuses, of lotus-eyed and lotus feet.'

Then Kunti continued thus:

"You have been our saviour whenever we faced troubles and let us face more and more trouble if it would only secure us your darsan whcih will free us from bondage. You are akinchanagochara, accessible only to simple folk who do not have anything except your bhakthi and you are agochara ,inaccessible to those who are arrogant due to wealth,birth or learning.Being the innerself of all, taking different sariras is a play for you."

Then Kunthi remembered his balaleela.She said that she is filled with wonder in imagining his tear-filled face, when his mother tied him to a mortar, as though in fear because even fear will be afraid to come to him 'bheerapi yadhbibhEthi.'

Kunthi then prayed to Krishna to free her from attachments and make her think about Him only. As the river reaches the sea inspite of the impediments on the way she prayed that her thoughts should reach Him only, cutting off all other attachments, aided by the current of devotion.

The last verse of her sthuthi is as follows:

srikrishna krishnasakha vrshnivrshabha avanidhrug

rAjanyavamSadhahanAnapavargaveerya

gOvindha gOdhvijasurArthiharavathara

yOgESvarAkhilagurO bhagavnnamasthE

It means "salutations to you Krishna,the friend of Arjuna(who also had a name krishna), the bull among the yadhavas, You are like the forest fire for the bamboos in the form of wicked kings.You have incarnated for removing the suffering of cattle, brahmins and devas and you are the Yogesvara and Jagatguru."

Sootha said that on hearing this Krishna smiled a little as though bewitching every one through his mAya. Then he started towards Dvaraka only to be stopped by Yudhishtira who was not consoled thinking about the effects of war which he tried his level best to avoid and thought that he could never be expiated from his sin. This again was the leela of the Lord who wanted to take him to Bhishma to listen to the instruction on dharma and also for gracing Bhishma in his last days and exrtract sahasranama from him.

chapter9-Bhishma and Vishnusahasranama

All went to the place where Bhishma was lying on the bed of arrows waiting for UttharAyaNa puNyakAla to leave his body as he had the boon from his mother Gangadevi to do so. All the rshis also went with Krishna to hear Bhishma speak of dharma. Bhishma looked like 'nipathitham bhoomou dhivah chyutham iva amaram' a deva slipped and fell on the earth, implying his minimal contact with the earth. In fact he was one of the ashtavasus who was born as a human due to curse.

Krishna on appraching Bheeshma bowed down to him proving the truth of the dharma and sahasranama yet to be told by Bhishma, that is, 'AchAraprabhavO dharmah dharmasyapraburachyuthah' Achyutha is the lord of dharma which is based on propriety.Hence He is called in the sahasranama 'amAnee mAnadhO mAnyah,' which means that the Lord does not think twice in showing reverence and honouring His devotees while He Himself is the most revered.

Bhishma was highly elated to see brhmarshis, rajarshis and dvarshis because the darsana of mahatmas will secure salvation at the last moments even without bhagavathsmaraNa. Seeing Krishna Bhishma worshipped Him as hrdhisTha as well as Aseena, one who is in his heart as well as in front, because Bheeshma was one of the few who understood the real nature of Krishna as the Lord of the universe. He did manasa pooja seeing the Lord in his heart as he was unable to do so externally.

Bhishma expressed his concern that the pandavas had to suffer a lot inspite of having Yudhishtira, the righteous, Bhima, the fierce, Arjuna , the valiant and Krishna as their saviour and said that he considered it as kAlakrtha, play of time, like the clouds being agitated by the wind. he said that it is impossible to fathom the will of Isvara, which cannot be ascertained even by sages. Then Bhishma pointed out to Krishna and said 'Eshavai bhagavAn sAkshAth AdhyO nArayaNah pumAn;mohayanmAyaya lokamgooDascharathi vrishNishu, this is the Lord Narayana Himself who is moving about among the yadhavas incognito, deluding the world by His mAya. Only Lord Siva, Narada and Kapila knew His real nature.' Bhishma wondered that such an entity has served the pandavas in various capacities such as advisor, messenger and charioteer.

Further Bhishma said 'sarvAthmanah samadhrSOh hyadhvayasyAnahamkrthEh; thathkrtham mathivaishamyam niravadhyasya na kvachith.' For Bhagavan who is the inner self of all, who sees all equally,who has no equal, free from ahamkara,has no partiality. It is strange that Bhishma who was on the bed of arrows due to Arjuna ,who had the support of Krishna, said this, which shows that he was a jnani.

The natural doubt would be that if the Lord is equal to all why should he only help His devotees. The answer for this is supplied by Sri Ramakrishna. He gives two examples to illustrate this point.

1. Eventhough the wind is favourable, one has to open his sails for it to help the motion of the boat.

2. Even if the light is on, one has to open his eyes to see it.

Similarly The Lord is there for everyone who asks his help but it is left to you to approach Him and ask for it.

He says 'samOham sarva bhoothEshu na mE dhvEshyosthi na priyah,' in the Gita. That is , "I am equal to all beings and there is no friend or foe for Me." But if one considers Him as a foe He comes to Him in that form.

At this juncture Yudhishtira asked Bhishma the question 'ko DHarmassarvaDHarmANAm bhavathah paramO mathah,' as to which is the greatest dharma in his opinion.The answer to this was the VishnusahasranAma, Bhishma saying 'EshamE sarvaDHarmANAm DHarmO aDHikathamO mathah,this (meaning the worship of the Lord by repeating His thousand namas) is the greatest Dhrama of all.After all, did He not say in the Gita 'sarvaDHarmAn parithyajya mAmEkam SaraNam vraja!'

Bhishma illustrated the karuNA of Bhagavan to His EkAnthabhaktha by pointing out the fact that He has come to grace Bhishma at this moment when he was about to leave his body. And he prayed that the Lord Krishna should remain in front with His four arms and lotus-like eyes and with His enchanting smile till the last moment of his life, because He is the Devadeva, by meditating on whom with devotion and singing whose name, a yogi gives up his life in order to be released from bondage of karma, 'bhakthyAdhESya manO yasmin vAchA yannAmakirthayan thyajan kalEbaram yOgee muchyathE kamakarmabhih.'

Then Yudhishtira questioned Bhishma about various dharmas as Krishna told him to do. The instruction on dharma by Bhishma runs to 500 chapters in the Mahabharatha.When Bhishma witnessed the Lord in front of him he never asked anything for himself but was engrossed in talking about dharma and Bhagavan, and the rshis also heard the discourse of Bhishma. Here Vyasa refers to Bhishma as cchandhamrthyu, one who can die at will. He took his own time looking at Krishna and savouring the presence of the Lord.

The BhishmOpadheSa is extolled by Krishna Himself in Mahabharatha as 'yaccha thvam vakshyathE bheeshma pAndavAyanuprcchathe;vEdhapravAdhA iva thE sThAsyanthi prthveethalE.' That is, the words of Bhishma will stand forever on earth like the vedavakyas.

It is said 'geethA viDHuravAkyAni DharmAh SAnthanavErithAh;na sruthA bhArathE yEna janma thasya nirarThakam.' The life of one, who has not heard the Gita, the Vidhuravakya and the discourse on dharma by Bhishma, is in vain.

Then the UttharAyaNa puNyakAla , eagerly awaited by Bhishma arrived. The Lord appeared to him in all splendour and Bhishma became free from all pain and turning his mind and senses inward he started praising Bhagavan. Bhishmasthuthi in short, is as follows:

" May i always have pure bhakthi towards the friend of Arjuna, who is thribhuvanakamana, enchants the three worlds with His appearance,ThamAlavarna, of dark hue like the thamala flower, who is wearing ravikara goura varAmbaram, the pithambara shining like the sun, alaka kulAvrathAnanAbjam, His lotus -like face surrounded by curly hair.

May I have bhakthi towards the Parthasarathy, who led the chariot of Arjuna in between the two armies and took away the life from the enemies of Pandavas by His looks.

He forsake His promise of not to wield a weapon in the war in order to fuflfil my vow that I will make Him take weapon and advanced towards me with His discus in hand like a lion attacking an elephant.

It is beautiful to see Him holding the reins and the horsewhip ,seated in front of the chariot of Arjuna and those who died seeing Him acquired release. May I have devotion towards Him.

I perceive Him as residing in the heart of each of His creations like the sun reflected in each eye. And I resort to Him being free from the delusion of difference."

Thus speaking Bhishma breathed his last and was united with the Lord. After doing the last rites of him Yudhishtira returned to hasthinapur and started ruling his kingdom.

Chapter10- The reign of Dharmaputhra and

chapter11- Krishna's return to Dvaraka.

The reign of Yudhishtira

The reign of dharmaputra is described in glowing terms in Bhagavatham.

kamam vavarsha parjanyah sarvakAma dhuha mahee

sishivu sma vrajAn gAvah payasODhasvathee mudhA

There was enough rain and the earth gave plenty like the kamadhenu. The cows heavy with milk showered the whole gokula with it.

nADHayOvyADhayah klESA dhaivabhoothAthma hEthavah

ajatha Sathrou abhavath janthoonAm rAjni karhichith

When Yudhishtira was ruling there were no Adhi, vyAdhi or kleSa, the results of AdhyAthmika, Adhibouthika and Adhidhaivika kind of misery.

Adhi is the affliction of mind due to AdhyAthmika, the shortcomings of one'e own self.Vyadhi s the physical illness due to the Adhibouthika, irregularities of the elements of nature , which the body consists of and the klEsa or suffering is due to adhidhaivika, force of destiny.

Krishna starts for Dvaraka

Then after sometime Krishna left for Dvaraka and the Pandavas had to control their tears. The women of kuru clan directed at him, from the top of their palaces, their glances full of love, shyness and joy and showered flowers on him.

Krishna left with Uddhava and Sathyaki in a chariot with Arjuna holding the white royal umbrella decorated with gems on its handle and pearls around it and Sathyaki and Uddhava were wielding the chamaras and flowers were strewn all over his path.Then Krishna sent back the Pandavas who accompanied him for quite a distance and proceeded towards Dvaraka.

Krishna arrives in Dvaraka

Krishna blew his conch, Panchajanya, when he neared Dvaraka. Panchajanya is described as a rajahamsa calling from the midst of a lotus flower. The lips and hands of Krishna resembled the lotus and the blue hue of his face is compared to the water of the lake and the white conch is likened to a rajahamsa.This is one of the places where the poet in Vyasa comes to the forefront.

Hearing the sound of his conch all people came running to see him with offerings.Krishna greeted everyone as they deserved,some by saluting, others by embracing, shaking hands, smiling and glancing etc. and entered the city, blessed by elders and preceptors.

chapter12-Birth of Parikshith

On an auspicious day the son of Uttara was born and was named VishnurAtha by the gurus like Dhoumya and Krpa because he was protected by Krishna(Vishnu). He came to be called Parikshith later as he examined the face of everyone to find out the one who appeared to him while he was in the womb of his mother. He grew up with the care of his grandfathers like the moon in suklapaksha.

Chapter13-Vidura's return and end of Dhrtharashtra

Vidura returned from his thirthayathra acquiring brahmajnana from Maithreya and after he has been fed and rested Yudhishtira asked him about his thirthayathra.From this we learn the proper etquette to be observed when someone visits us or returns from a visit. First they should be offered food and should be allowed to rest before asking them about their business or their experiences on travelling. We normally pounce on anyone,especially a member of the family, who returns home, and want to learn everything before even giving them a glass of water! This is not to be done!

Vidura told them everything except the destruction of yadhukula in order not to upset them and lived ther for sometime. He knew that Dhrtharashtra was nearing his end and hence influenced him to leave the palace and retire to the forest to spend his last days.He told Dhrtharashtra to give up the attachment of the world pointing to him that even after losing all his children and kith and kin, he is living, supported by those to whom he and his sons had done great harm. Saying that it is not worth clinging to this life in such a manner, Vidura advised him to give up attachment and to leave the knigdom without the knowledge of any one and spend the rest of his days by meditating on the Lord. Dhrtharashtra thus enlightened, left the palace with his wife and went towards Himalayas with Vidura.

Yudhishtira was grieved in not finding them in the palace and became worried when Narada came there and told him not to worry thinking that Dhrthrashtra and Gansdhari were old and cannot survive without his support.Narada said that this body is made up of five elements and is bound to be destroyed one day or other. He advised Yudhishtira to try to see the Lord alone, who is the inner self of all, through the manifestations of that self into all beings. Narada told Yudhishtira that Krishna is waitng for the end of His incarnation and advised the pandavas to stay on earth as long as He remains there.Narada also told Yudhishtira that Dhrtharashtra with his wife was then in the hermitage of the rshis near Himalayas and entered into samadhi giving up all his attachments and he should not be disturbed. Dhrtharashtra, said the sage, is going to give up his body in five days when his hut will be on fire and Gandhari, his wife will also give her body up in the flames. Vidura also will be going again on Thirtha yathra after that.

Chapter14-Yudhishtira's anguish

Arjuna who was sent to Dvaraka to learn the news about yadhavas and Krishna did not return for a long time and that made Yudhishtira worry and he expressed his anguish as to whether the departure of Krishna from this earth as predicted by Narada has already taken place.He became anxious because he could see all bad omens around, like the rivers and lakes becoming turbid like his mind and the fire has lost its brilliance, the calves no longer drink milk from their mothers and the cows too were not giving milk. They were shedding tears and the idols of gods were sweating as though crying and the villages have lost lustre.

Chapter 15-Krishna departs and Arjuna returns

Arjuna returned from Dvaraka and seeing his face without its lustre Yudhishtira asked him the reason.Arjuna informed him that Krishna has left this world.Arjuna lamented about it narrating the incidents in their life when they were saved and helped by Krishna, like the incident when he took a few vegetables left in the vessel and saved them from the wrath of Durvasa,who came when there was no food left,instigated by Duryodhana, and due to Krishna's act he and his disciples felt satisfied without eating food.Then Arjuna related the protection given to him during the battle by Krishna who served as his charioteer.

He was grieved to think that he treated the Lord as his own companion and friend without realising the greatness of Krishna, thus echoing the sentiments expressed by him during the discourse of Bhagavatgita, 'sakhEthi mathvA prasabham yadhuktham---thathkshAmaye thvAm aham aprameyam,' when he asked the forgiveness of Krishna for treating him lightly.Then Arjuna told Yudhishtira that he had lost his valour when Krishna left this earth and was defeated by hunters while returning from Dvaraka with the womenfolk.He also informed Yudhishtira that except a few all the rest of the yadhavas were destroyed by their own doing due to the curse of the sages whom they ridiculed an the Dvaraka itself was immersed in water. At this juncture through the grace of the Lord he remembered the teaching of the Gita and regained his mental equipoise.

Kunthi learning about Krishna's departure left her body and attained His feet through ananya bhakthi, unswerving devotion.Yudhishtira decided to leave this earth and go to heaven shedding his mortal coil and made Parikshith the king of Hasthinapura and Vajra, the son of Aniruddha, the king of Mathura.Then he renounced the world and started walking towards north till his body fell of its own accord, followed by his brothers and Droupadhi, who saw the age of kali advancing on earth. Vidura also left his body in PrabhAsathirTha and attained his abode as Yamadharma, who being cursed, was born as a sudra and while he was on earth as Vidura, the Sungod was acting on his behalf as the god of death.

Chapter16-Parikshith becomes the king

After the pandavas departed, Parikshith was ruling the kingdom. He married Iravathi and had Janamejaya and other three sons.He seemed to have conquered the whole Asia, (Badhrasva KethumAla, BhArathotthara kuruvarsha, kimpurushadhi dvipas.)(These are described in a later skandha.)

Parikshith after hearing the stories of Krishna and His connection with his forefathers and what all Krishna did for them, became a great devotee In the meanwhile there was a wonderful incident that happened during his travels in Kurukshethra.

Chapter 17-Parikshith meets kalipurusha

Parikshith came across a cow which stood with a bull. The bull had only one leg and the cow was without her calf and was shedding tears.The cow was the earth,prthivee and the bull was Dharma.There stood kalipurusha in the form of a man wearing king"s costume.He was beating the bull and kicking the cow.The bull asked the cow the reason for the tears.The cow answered that she was grieving because Krishna has left the earth due to which the world fell into the clutches of kali and the bull had lost its legs and all the evils have come into the world.

At that time Parikshith came there and saw the bull and the cow being tormented by the man and threatened to kill him. He asked the identity of the two animals and they replied that they do not know their idrentity nor that of the man because their intellect is confused due to the self contradicting speeches of people in the world.

kEchith vikalpavasanA Ahur AthmAnam Athmanah

dhaivam anyE parE karma svabhAvam aparE prabhum

apratharkyAth anirdhESyAth ithi kEshvapi niSchayah

athrAnuroopam rajarshe vimarSa svamaneeshayA

Some misinterpret the truth and say that they are their own masters, others either name God, actions or one's own nature as the ruler of their destiny.Some others say that everything that has happened is due to something that is inexplicable and inestimable. So you, a rajarshi, can discriminate and find out which is true.

Here the reference is to the different schools of philosophy like vedanta, Nyaya, chArvaka,sankhya etc. Though all interpretations are based on veda only, they differ due to the different outlooks.The meaning is that by all these different arguments the world and dharma are baffled.Srimadbhagavatham stresses the importance of bhakthi over all other means of attaining salvation.

The king surmised that the bull is the dharmadhevatha, (the word vrsha means dharma ) and told the bull that it had four legs in krthayuga, namely tapas, austerity, Soucham, purity, dhayA, mercy and sathya truth.In the course of time, the first three legs have been destroyed by smaya,pride,sanga,attachment and madha, arrogance, which are the traits of adharma. Now the bull had only one leg, namely sathya, which the kalipurusha is trying to destroy , because he represents asathya.the cow, the earth, was shedding tears on the Lord being left the world to which he descended to lessen te burden of the earth.

So saying the king attempted to kill kalipurusha and told him that he should not live on earth where people follow the vedic rites and worship the Lord and which is the place for dharma and sathya.Then Kali asked the king to tell him the place he could go to, where he can live without the fear 0f the king pursuing him. Parikshit marked out the four places where adharma prevails, namely, gambling, drinking, prostitution and murder over which adhrma has its reign.

But Kali was not satisfied and said that coming to know this incident people may avoid these four which are actions of adharma fearing the effects of kali and hence he wanted a place where all the four reside, so that getting into it people cannot avoid the effects of kali. Then Parikshit pointed out gold (which implies money and the desire for it) as the abode for Kali, who went away satisfied, because by pursuing wealth men will succumb to the power of the other four evils.

Parikshit did not destroy Kali because he was doing only what was ordained in the cycle of the ages, in which it is inevitable that the four yugas must follow each other but only forbidden him to show his power in the land ruled by the king.

Next chapter explains how the kalipurusha influenced even the king later to show that no one can change the result of karma.

chapter18-Parikshit incurs a curse

Sootha praised Parikshit saying that he was a great bhaktha who did not get upset even when he knew that he was cursed to die in seven days and became the disciple of Sukha and renouncing everything left this world contemplating only on the Lord , hearing His story. This was because 'nOtthamaSlOka vArthAnAm jushathAm thathkaTHAmrtham;syAth sambhramO anthakAlE api smarathAm ththpadhAmbujam.' This means, those who speak of the Lord, hears His stories and think about His lotus feet, do not lose their calm even at the time of death.

Parikshit did not punish Kali, said Sootha, because he saw a very good trait in kali. In kaliyuga, punya or meritorious deeds give result even at the time of thinking about them but the evil deeds give result only when actually done.

Then the rshis asked him about the curse of parikshit and his end. Sootha started telling them about it.

Once when the king went on a hunt he wandered away from his men and lost the way. Getting hungry and thirsty he approached a rshi who was in samadhi and asked him for some water. Seeing the rshi sitting quietly without answering, overcome with hunger and thirst, he got angry and took a dead snake that was nearby and put it on the neck of the rshi and went out.The rshi was unaware of what happened but his son returning to the asrama got angry and knowing what happened through his yogic power cursed the king that he wil die in seven days from thence bitten by serpent Thakshaka.The rshi, who as a great devotee, coming out of his samadhi felt bad for what his son has done and said that the punishment is too big for such a small thoughtless act.He said that the king was a righteous man and a great devotee and prayed God that his son might be forgiven for what he has done.

Here it is worthy to note that even a young tapasvi had the power to curse a king in those days.It also shows that the good need not fear the effects of kali but kali waits to catch those who are thoughtless and uncaring and do some wrong as Parikshit did, which was thoughtless though not intentional.The influence of kali will be exerted only when one is weak as the king was, when he became hungry and thirsty.

Chapter 19

Parikshit regretted for what he had done on returning to his kingdom and when he came to know about the curse, accepted it as the will of God.He decided to do prayaschittha at the banks of Ganges.He sat on the seat made of darba grass with their tips pointing to east, on the south bank of the river,facing north.All the sages came there with their sishyas which shows that when one has attained vairagya, detachment, then the acharyas will come on their own accord to instruct him.They told Parikshit to follow the means of attaining moksha such as yajna, dhana thapas etc. which made the king a little confused and he asked them to tell him what should a man do with pure heart at the time of death.

At this moment Suka, the son of Vyasa came their as though by chance. He was looking most handsome and attractive and was of 16 years of age. He was a realised soul and did not bear any mark of varnasrama. In Srimadbhagavatham there are four slokas describing Suka. The king and the rshis got up from their seats and bowed down to him and the king honoured him duly and said, 'api mE bhagavn preethah krishnah pAndusuthapriyah;paithrshvasEya preethyarTham thathgOthrasyAtthabAndhavah, surely the Lord Krishna , the friend of the pandavas is merciful even towards me;Due to his love towards his cousins he wants to do good to me also.' Parikshit said otherwise he would not have been able to see Suka,who cannot be seen by people as he usually wandered only in the forest, especially at the time of his death.

Parikshit asked Suka,

yacchrothavyam athO japyam yathkarthavyam nrbhih prabhO;smarthavyam bajaneeyam vA broohi yadh vA viparyayam.

"Please tell me oh Master,what is to be heard, to be chanted, to be done by men,what should be comntemplated on, worshipped and also what should not be done."

Parikshit considered himself to be very fortunate as Suka who never stays in the residence of a householder more than the time needed to milk the cow , had come to grace him and instruct him.

Then Suka started to speak.

The first skandha of Srimadbhagavatham concluded.