Post by madanmohandas on Oct 23, 2019 4:36:07 GMT -6
Bhagavata Purana
These are just bits an pieces, the whole text is quite likely beyond finishing in this life.
Book I, Canto I
Let us on that supreme truth meditate,
Who did from his own self the world create;
From whom the mighty elements evolve,
In whom they rest, and into whom dissolve;
The self-willed and supreme divinity,
The one possessed of omni-potency;
Who did the primal poet’s heart infuse,
With sacred truths, that still the wise confuse.
In matter’s flowing realm, the radiance
Of truth is clouded by the influence
Of tripartite illusion, whose dark night
Is driven back by his superior light.
Abandoning that virtue which deceives,
This only one from malice free receives;
This text proclaims divine reality,
And grants the blessing of felicity,
Uproots the branching tree of three-fold pains;
And the sure path of righteousness maintains.
Having composed this text, the mighty seer,
Makes, in the heart, the Lord's image appear
To those devoted souls who this book hear.
Of any other text what is the need?
This holy Bhagavat persist to read.
Ripe fruit from scripture's wish fulfilling tree,
Distilled from Suka's lips and flowing free;
Drink deep this Bhagavat, pure rapture's store,
Ye wise aesthetes on earth, for evermore.
In Naimisha aranya's sacred wood,
Where always dwells the ever-wakeful god,
Shaunaka and a host of holy seers,
Made sacrifice to last a thousand years;
To gain access into the blest abodes,
The shining mansions of immortal gods.
One day, having their morning duties sped,
With pious care the holy fire was fed,
The sages then addressed the worthy man
Suta, and thus with eloquence began,
"O sinless one! in learning most profound,
Who chronicles and histories expound,
Whose insight into scripture does excel,
Well have you heard, and justly can you tell.
O worthy Suta! whatever was known
To holy teachers, has to you been shown;
Whatever Vyas and others have revealed,
Whatever, in their wisdom, have concealed,
All that and more is known to you, therefore,
You are of sacred truth the boundless store.
O long-lived one! from your vast wisdom deign
To teach us how a mortal man may gain
Salvation and ultimate good attain.
In this contentious age of woe and strife,
How short is the duration of man's life;
Their life in indolence and folly pass,
( With no more brains than a dull-witted ass).
Misfortune and adversity assail
Their undertakings, always doomed to fail.
So vast and varied in its diverse parts
Is scripture, and the lessons it imparts;
Therefore that holy text expound to us,
Drawn from the ocean of your genius;
To us who are with pious faith endued,
That we thereby might gain beatitude.
O noble Suta! be thou blest, and tell,
For we perceive that you know very well,
What reason could induce the mighty lord,
Who to the good protection does afford,
To take from Vasudev and Devaki
His birth in the great Yadu dynasty.
To us, most eager, and who long to hear,
The tidings of the lord who has no peer,
Recount his noble deeds and pure intent,
When, incarnate, he made on earth descent,
Which true joy and ultimate welfare brings,
In vast abundance, to all living things.
E'en one who calls his name in sore distress,
Or in a state of utter helplessness,
Is certainly at once from danger clear,
For even Fear himself holds him in fear.
Those who, O worthy Suta, refuge take
At his feet, bound by love which naught can break,
They by their presence straightway purify
Whoever gains their close proximity;
Yet even holy Ganga, thought to be
The greatest sanctifying agency,
The taint of sin can only wash away,
By bathing in her current every day.
Who is there then who will not lend his ear,
The hallowed virtues of the lord to hear,
If he would sanctify his mind, and be
Free from the foul pollution of Kali?
Again his mighty deeds to us rehearse,
Which mystic bards and saints recount in verse;
Relate to us, endued with fervent zeal,
How, through his parts, he did the world reveal?
To what great artifice does he resort,
And manifest the world as if in sport?
O Suta, of sagacious mind, pray tell
How Hari, by his innate mystic spell,
Descends as incarnations, and displays
His lordly attributes and playful ways.
We never tire of hearing of his fame,
Whose mighty acts choicest verses acclaim;
Those connoisseurs, who with attentive ear,
With ever renewing novelty hear;
Each verse and phrase, nay even half a line,
Augments the rapture of their love divine.
The wondrous deeds of Keshava relate,
When he, with Rama, deigned to incarnate;
What deeds the mighty self-born did perform,
Deceiving all in covert human form.
We now perceive that Kali has arrived,
Thus in this sanctu'ry we have contrived
A long laborious sacrifice to hold,
And hear the fame of Hari thus extolled.
For in this holy shrine, to Vishnu dear,
We joy in Vishnu's attributes to hear.
You have indeed, been sent by destiny,
A helmsman, guiding us across the sea,
Where contentious Kali now holds the sway,
And takes man's virtue and good sense away.
Moreover, we would also learn from you,
When Krishna, the upholder of virtue,
The stay of yogins, and of brahmans wise,
Withdrew his person far beyond men's eyes,
Where did virtue a stable refuge find,
When Hari disappeared from humankind?
These are just bits an pieces, the whole text is quite likely beyond finishing in this life.
Book I, Canto I
Let us on that supreme truth meditate,
Who did from his own self the world create;
From whom the mighty elements evolve,
In whom they rest, and into whom dissolve;
The self-willed and supreme divinity,
The one possessed of omni-potency;
Who did the primal poet’s heart infuse,
With sacred truths, that still the wise confuse.
In matter’s flowing realm, the radiance
Of truth is clouded by the influence
Of tripartite illusion, whose dark night
Is driven back by his superior light.
Abandoning that virtue which deceives,
This only one from malice free receives;
This text proclaims divine reality,
And grants the blessing of felicity,
Uproots the branching tree of three-fold pains;
And the sure path of righteousness maintains.
Having composed this text, the mighty seer,
Makes, in the heart, the Lord's image appear
To those devoted souls who this book hear.
Of any other text what is the need?
This holy Bhagavat persist to read.
Ripe fruit from scripture's wish fulfilling tree,
Distilled from Suka's lips and flowing free;
Drink deep this Bhagavat, pure rapture's store,
Ye wise aesthetes on earth, for evermore.
In Naimisha aranya's sacred wood,
Where always dwells the ever-wakeful god,
Shaunaka and a host of holy seers,
Made sacrifice to last a thousand years;
To gain access into the blest abodes,
The shining mansions of immortal gods.
One day, having their morning duties sped,
With pious care the holy fire was fed,
The sages then addressed the worthy man
Suta, and thus with eloquence began,
"O sinless one! in learning most profound,
Who chronicles and histories expound,
Whose insight into scripture does excel,
Well have you heard, and justly can you tell.
O worthy Suta! whatever was known
To holy teachers, has to you been shown;
Whatever Vyas and others have revealed,
Whatever, in their wisdom, have concealed,
All that and more is known to you, therefore,
You are of sacred truth the boundless store.
O long-lived one! from your vast wisdom deign
To teach us how a mortal man may gain
Salvation and ultimate good attain.
In this contentious age of woe and strife,
How short is the duration of man's life;
Their life in indolence and folly pass,
( With no more brains than a dull-witted ass).
Misfortune and adversity assail
Their undertakings, always doomed to fail.
So vast and varied in its diverse parts
Is scripture, and the lessons it imparts;
Therefore that holy text expound to us,
Drawn from the ocean of your genius;
To us who are with pious faith endued,
That we thereby might gain beatitude.
O noble Suta! be thou blest, and tell,
For we perceive that you know very well,
What reason could induce the mighty lord,
Who to the good protection does afford,
To take from Vasudev and Devaki
His birth in the great Yadu dynasty.
To us, most eager, and who long to hear,
The tidings of the lord who has no peer,
Recount his noble deeds and pure intent,
When, incarnate, he made on earth descent,
Which true joy and ultimate welfare brings,
In vast abundance, to all living things.
E'en one who calls his name in sore distress,
Or in a state of utter helplessness,
Is certainly at once from danger clear,
For even Fear himself holds him in fear.
Those who, O worthy Suta, refuge take
At his feet, bound by love which naught can break,
They by their presence straightway purify
Whoever gains their close proximity;
Yet even holy Ganga, thought to be
The greatest sanctifying agency,
The taint of sin can only wash away,
By bathing in her current every day.
Who is there then who will not lend his ear,
The hallowed virtues of the lord to hear,
If he would sanctify his mind, and be
Free from the foul pollution of Kali?
Again his mighty deeds to us rehearse,
Which mystic bards and saints recount in verse;
Relate to us, endued with fervent zeal,
How, through his parts, he did the world reveal?
To what great artifice does he resort,
And manifest the world as if in sport?
O Suta, of sagacious mind, pray tell
How Hari, by his innate mystic spell,
Descends as incarnations, and displays
His lordly attributes and playful ways.
We never tire of hearing of his fame,
Whose mighty acts choicest verses acclaim;
Those connoisseurs, who with attentive ear,
With ever renewing novelty hear;
Each verse and phrase, nay even half a line,
Augments the rapture of their love divine.
The wondrous deeds of Keshava relate,
When he, with Rama, deigned to incarnate;
What deeds the mighty self-born did perform,
Deceiving all in covert human form.
We now perceive that Kali has arrived,
Thus in this sanctu'ry we have contrived
A long laborious sacrifice to hold,
And hear the fame of Hari thus extolled.
For in this holy shrine, to Vishnu dear,
We joy in Vishnu's attributes to hear.
You have indeed, been sent by destiny,
A helmsman, guiding us across the sea,
Where contentious Kali now holds the sway,
And takes man's virtue and good sense away.
Moreover, we would also learn from you,
When Krishna, the upholder of virtue,
The stay of yogins, and of brahmans wise,
Withdrew his person far beyond men's eyes,
Where did virtue a stable refuge find,
When Hari disappeared from humankind?
