From the Bhagavata Purana

[madanmohandas]

SB.1.16.19-24. Dharma in the form of a bull inquires from the Earth Goddess in the form of a cow.

(Dharma said)
O blessed one, is all with thee not well?
What ails thee dear mother, I pray the tell?
A dark shadow of grief your face distains,
Do you suffer from distemper and pains?
Or do you for a fond friend long absent,
In anguishing and sore distress lament? 19

Or are you haply lamenting for me,
With but one leg, now deprived of the three?
Or are you distressed and discomfited,
That you by wretches will be exploited?
Or is it again for the gods you grieve,
Who no longer due offerings receive?
Or are you fraught with anxious care and doubt,
That subjects will suffer from dearth and drought? 20

Or does the very thought cause you distress
For women and children who are helpless,
Whose guardians persist in cruel deeds,
Like one who on his fellow creatures feeds?
Do you sorrow for the Goddess of Speech,
When schools of brahmans unrighteousness teach?
Perhaps you sorrow for the brahmans wise,
In subjection to royal families? 21

Or do you see in rulers the decline,
In the course of inexorable time,
Where burdened with irremeable cares,
The order they corrupt of state affairs?
Or do you lament for the sorry state,
Of man in general degenerate,
Who follow not observance nor decree,
But eat and drink as bids necessity;
Who bathe and indulge their base appetites,
Enamoured of trivial vain delights? 22

Or haply, dear mother, you are aggrieved,
Since whilom your burden had been relieved,
When divine Hari incarnate took birth,
Is it not so, O blessed mother Earth?
His sublime exploits salvation afford;
Do you repine in absence of that Lord? 23

O blessed mother Earth, pray tell to me
The root cause of your dire perplexity,
Whereby you have of vigour been deprived;
Is it indeed by mighty time contrived?
It seems you have your blessed fortune lost,
Admired by the celestial host. 24

[madanmohandas]

Still on Srimad Bhagavatam, but skipping on a digression to Book 11, Ch 9, 5-10, where the Avadhuta brahman (Dattatreya) is discoursing on the lessons derived from the twenty four natural preceptors to the prince Yadu. This is the same Avadhuta who meets Prahlad in Book 7. Well, as for that, among the twenty four preceptors is the maiden and the bangles; the passage runs something like this,

A maiden once was sitting all alone,
Whose relatives had that day elsewhere gone;
A party arrived with the proposal
For the marriage of that same damosel;
Her polite welcome to them she expressed,
And honoured them as one should serve a guest. 5

She went into the kitchen to prepare
A meal to feed the guests of dainty fare,
But as the husky rice she gan to pound,
Her shell bangles emitted a loud sound. 6

That clever girl was embarrassed at this,
That the guests hearing might take it amiss;
Then one by one she broke the bangles there,
Leaving but two upon each wrist to wear. 7

But to her chagrin while she worked she found
The pairs of bangles clashed and made a sound,
And thus she snapped the other two in twain,
And now, without a noise, she husked the grain. 8

Thus from the girls' conduct I could discern
And as I roam the earth these lessons learn;
In this way, O subduer of the foe,
I seek to learn as here and there I go. 9

To domicile with many in a crowd
Will occasion indeed contention loud;
And even where but two alone remain,
There will be chat and conversation vain.
The maiden and the bangles have thus shown,
That one should wander free and live alone. 10

[madanmohandas]

Continuing with SB.1.16.25-34. In response to the inquiries of Dharma in the form of a bull, Dharani, the Earth, in the form of a cow makes the following speech. Note verses 26-29 enumerate certain qualities. I may have perhaps got some wrong, but my main intent was to arrive at the number of forty. Let me share here to footnote to the JL Shastri translation.
(In verses 27/28/29, the interpretation of SR. is mainly followed though other commentators emphasise slightly different shades of meaning of the qualities enumerated herein.
JG has listed sixty three attributes.....)
As for that, I have tried to stick to the BBT edition in so far as anyone scrutinising what I have done will have less grounds for objection.

(Dharani said)
O Dharma, all thou hast inquired of me,
Is already comprehended by thee,
Since erstwhile thou wert by four legs sustained,
And happiness in all the world maintained. 25

Truth, purity, tolerance and kindness,
Renunciation, pleased, straightforwardness,
Satisfied, fixed, pure equanimity,
Self-control, mind-control, austerity,
Wisdom, dispassion, duty, lordliness,
Heroic, wise, with power and prowess,
Independent, indiff'rent, dexterous,
Sober, gentle, potent, illustrious,
Diligent, determined, and mannerly,
Of perfect knowledge and sublime beauty,
Fortunate, profound and of firm intent,
Faithful and famous and pre-eminent,
Devoid of pride; such qualities divine,
In the Almighty One eternal shine;
That the wise and the great strive to attain,
Which, undiminished, e'er with him remain;
Who is the source of every quality,
And resting place of the great Goddess Shri. 26/29

I lament loss of fortune mine of late,
And of the peoples' pitiable state,
Now Kali's sinful influence hath spread,
I am grieving and much dispirited. 30

I also sorrow for myself, distressed,
O thou of the immortal ones the best,
I pity gods, manes and sages great,
The holy ones, and noble caste and state. 31

Whom Brahma and such other gods adore,
Prompted by desire, her grace implore,
And long penances and worship maintain,
The bounty of her gracious glance to gain;
Yet that same Shri forsook her lotus grove,
Enamoured of his lotus-feet and love. 32

And I was also with such fortune blest,
With his divine footprints on me impressed;
The lotus, thunderbolt, the flag and goad,
Imprinted on my bosom as he strode;
And thus decorated I did appear,
Surpassing splendour of the triple-sphere,
Such blessing of which I might proudly boast,
To me in the end has been sadly lost. 33

I was oppressed by the cumbersome load,
Of demon clans who of me made abode,
With hundreds of Akshauhinis arrayed,
He slew them all; you were also dismayed
Due to your want of legs, but he restored
Your vigour. That Supreme Almighty Lord,
Assumed a handsome form in Yadu's race,
To exercise his manliness and grace. 34

[madanmohandas]

Well, patient reader and laborious friend, now concludes in two stanzas SB.1.16.35-36.

Who can therefore from him severance bear,
The Supreme Lord Purushottama dear,
Who with his loving glances and his smiles,
And sweet talk, his proud lady love beguiles;
And when his lotus-feet o'er me would pass,
My hair bristled as sprouting blades of grass. 35

While Prithivi and Dharma were immersed,
And on those various subjects conversed,
The king, sagacious Pariksit by name,
To where Sarasvati flows eastward came. 36

Thus ends Chapter sixteen in Book one
of the great and glorious
Bhagavata Purana,
the text beloved of swan-like saints,
sung by the son of Vyasa.

[madanmohandas]

Venturing further into SB. Now Chapter 17 begins, The Punishment and Reward of Kali. Suta connects the events leading up to Pariksit's stern admonition; his consolation to the bovine couple; concessions made to Kali on the grounds of certain mitigating factors; all of which answers Shaunaka's inquiry in 16.5.

While on his tour of conquest, why did he
Merely restrain and but chastise Kali? etc.

Anyway, here are the four opening stanzas as preamble to Pariksit's speech.

SB.1.17.1-7

(Suta said)
The king beheld the bovine couple there,
Hard beaten as if they had no master;
Receiving with a rod a sound drubbing,
From a base villain, dressed up like a king. 1

White as lotus fibres, the bull divine,
In the convulsions of fear passed urine;
And though only upon one leg he trod,
The peasant struck him fiercely with his rod. 2

The cow also, distressed and poor besides,
Who virtue in the form of milk provides,
Without her calf, disconsolate and weak,
With tearful eyes for fresh green grass did seek. 3

The king upon his car, enchased in gold,
With thund'rous voice addressed the caitiff bold;
And raised his mighty bow and arrow dread,
And questioning the malefactor, said. 4

"You! who are you that beat without remorse,
That on the weak inflict vi'lence and force,
Upon my wards, in god-like kings' disguise,
Like a vile dancer, condemned by the wise? 5

Durst thou, deeming Krishna has gone from here,
And that archer who did Gandeeva rear,
That you may cause the innocent to cry?
It is expedient that you should die! 6

And you! white as lotus stems beautiful,
With but one leg, appearing as a bull,
Are you some god or demigod divine,
That causes us in distress to repine? 7

[madanmohandas]

Continuing SB.1.17.8-14

On all this earth protected by the arms
Of Pauravas*, none suffer dread alarms;
Aside from ye creatures weep not, somehow
I see you sore distressed and weeping now. 8

O scion of Surabhi, do not grieve,
From fear of this peasant I shall relieve.
O Mother mine, weep not, may all be well,
While I am here the wicked ones to quell. 9

If the subjects, O chaste one, are distressed,
And by the wicked in the state oppressed,
The king, deluded, loses his good name,
His life, his goal, his fortune and his fame. 10

It is the supreme duty of the king,
That succour to the sufferers he bring,
Therefore, this caitiff who delights in ill,
I must in righteousness and duty kill! 11

O scion of Surabhi, who is he
Who of four legs has deprived you of three?
Such deeds in the state had not been espied,
By kings who have Lord Krishna for their guide. 12

O taintless Bull, may all with you be well,
That I may ascertain the culprit, tell
Who has disfigured you, who is to blame,
Which brings on Pritha's descendants ill fame? 13

Whoso inflicts on the good violence,
On offenceless creatures commits offence;
But fearing me, when they have been subdued,
The good are thereby with blessings endued 14


*some editions read 'Kauravas'.

[madanmohandas]

The rash caitiff, insolent, unrestrained,
By whom the innocent are sorely pained,
I shall lop his offending arms and hands,
If he were even a god with armbands. 15

It is the highest duty of the king,
That to the good who to their duties cling,
He afford safety; while those who despise
Scripture, without reason, he must chastise. 16

(Dharma said)
Your speech befits one of the Pandu line,
Affording fearlessness, worthy, sublime;
Enamoured of their virtues, for whose sake,
Almighty Krishna as their envoy spake. 17

O best of men, O king, we cannot say,
Or ascertain the cause of misery;
For opinions diverse the cause ascribe
To things diverse, and diversely describe. 18

Some thinkers and philosophers maintain,
That unfulfilled desire causes pain;
Some say the self alone is sorrows' cause,
And others blame the stars, or Natures' laws. 19

Yet others, settled in conviction, tell,
The cause of pain is supernatural.
Therefore, O king, you may yourself attest,
Which of these propositions seemmeth best. 20

(Suta said)
O first and foremost of the twice-born men,
The emperor pondered awhile, and then
Perceived the essence of right conduct clear,
And spake unto the bull, as thou shalt hear. 21

(the king said)
O you who make virtue discernible,
O righteousness incarnate as a bull,
It seems those who would unrighteousness blame,
Must partake somewhat of the guilt and shame. 22

Therefore it is the Lords' Maya withal,
Whose ways, unknown, are inconceivable,
That neither mind nor speech can ascertain,
The sure causes of any creatures' pain. 23

Penance, cleanliness, compassion and truth,
In Krita are legs of virtue forsooth,
But vice hath undermined and broken three,
With pride, attachment and insanity. 24

[madanmohandas]

Continuing SB.1.17.25-34

O Dharma, yet your leg of truth remains,
And barely haltingly that truth sustains,
But Vice and Kali mutually contrive,
You of that last leg of truth to deprive. 25

This Earth, indeed, was fortunate of late,
With the Illustrious One incarnate,
When she of her great burden was relieved,
And blessedness when his footprints received; 26

But now from her the tears of grief are shed,
The chaste one now laments disquieted,
Thinking how the base, brahmans would destroy,
In guise of kings, and her bounty enjoy. 27

Thus Virtue and Earth as the bovine pair,
Were consoled by the great car warrior;
The king on the causes of Vice to deal
Stern punishment, took up his sword of steel. 28

Now when he saw the king intent to slay,
In fear he threw his royal garb away;
And laid at the feet of the king his head,
In perturbation of terror and dread. 29

But when he saw him at his feet resigned,
Our hero, to the distressed always kind,
Whose great quality high praises evoke,
Then, with a smile, compassionately spoke. 30

(The king said)
To one who has inherited the fame,
Of him who bore of Gudakesh the name,
Whoever with joined palms approaches near,
Can be assured and entertain no fear.
But you cannot be suffered to remain,
In my vasty and extensive domain,
Since you are the accomplice and the friend
Of Vice, I shall into banishment send. 31

With you present in ruling kings' disguise,
Avarice among the subjects doth rise.
Falsehood and theft and all iniquity,
Deception, misfortune, vulgarity,
Quarrel and arrogance and cheating too,
All these signs of Adharma follow you. 32

O friend of Vice, there you should not remain,
Where the good truth and righteousness maintain.
There should in Brahma-varta be no Vice,
Where worshippers perform due sacrifice;
Where they who are in wisdom consummate,
And the great Lord Yanja propitiate. 33

In sacrifice each high divinity,
Are aspects of illustrious Hari;
And those who worship thus welfare secure,
And the objects of desire procure.
He is the soul of all and doth abide,
Like air, within all beings and outside. 34

[madanmohandas]

from the Nava Yogendra dialogues. Prabudha's pragmatic address to Nimi Raja on how devotees should associate with each other. S.B.11.3.29-31

एवं कृष्णात्मनाथेषु मनुष्येषु च सौहृदम् ।
परिचर्यां चोभयत्र महत्सु नृषु साधुषु ॥ २९ ॥
evaṁ kṛṣṇātma-nātheṣu
manuṣyeṣu ca sauhṛdam
paricaryāṁ cobhayatra
mahatsu nṛṣu sādhuṣu

Thus one should cultivate a loving bond
With Krishna's devotees in friendship fond;
And serve all mankind with ministrations,
Especially the good and holy ones. 29

परस्परानुकथनं पावनं भगवद्यश: ।
मिथो रतिर्मिथस्तुष्टिर्निवृत्तिर्मिथ आत्मन: ॥ ३० ॥
parasparānukathanaṁ
pāvanaṁ bhagavad-yaśaḥ
mitho ratir mithas tuṣṭir
nivṛttir mitha ātmanaḥ

Thence learn mutual discourse to maintain,
On the Illustrious Ones' cleansing fame;
With mutual pleasure thus gratified,
The soul is shorn of grief and gratified. 30

स्मरन्त: स्मारयन्तश्च मिथोऽघौघहरं हरिम् ।
भक्त्या सञ्जातया भक्त्या बिभ्रत्युत्पुलकां तनुम् ॥ ३१ ॥
smarantaḥ smārayantaś ca
mitho ’ghaugha-haraṁ harim
bhaktyā sañjātayā bhaktyā
bibhraty utpulakāṁ tanum

Recalling and reminding mutually,
The pure and hollowed glory of Hari;
Devotion by devotion thus awakes,
The hair all bristles up, the body shakes. 31

[madanmohandas]

ŚB 1.18.23
अहं हि पृष्टोऽर्यमणो भवद्भ‍ि-
राचक्ष आत्मावगमोऽत्र यावान् ।
नभ: पतन्त्यात्मसमं पतत्‍त्रिण-
स्तथा समं विष्णुगतिं विपश्चित: ॥ २३ ॥
ahaṁ hi pṛṣṭo ’ryamaṇo bhavadbhir
ācakṣa ātmāvagamo ’tra yāvān
nabhaḥ patanty ātma-samaṁ patattriṇas
tathā samaṁ viṣṇu-gatiṁ vipaścitaḥ

As far as I have learnt I shall requite
Your worthy questions, sun-like sages bright;
Thus Vishnu's praises are sung by the wise,
According as they know and realise;
As even birds that mount the azure sky
Only as far as strength allows can fly.

Sri Vrindavan das observes,

paksi yena aakaasera anta naahi paaya/
yatadura sakti tatadura udi yaaya//

A bird upon the wing can only fly
So far by its strength in the boundless sky.

e mata caitanya-yasera anta naai/
yaare yata saktikrpaa sabhe tata gaaya//

So Chaitanya's endless deeds are expressed,
As far as one is capable and bless'd.

Chaitanya Bhagavata, Adi Kanda 17.148-149

[madanmohandas]

ŚB 2.4.15
यत्कीर्तनं यत्स्मरणं यदीक्षणं
यद्वन्दनं यच्छ्रवणं यदर्हणम् ।
लोकस्य सद्यो विधुनोति कल्मषं
तस्मै सुभद्रश्रवसे नमो नम: ॥ १५ ॥
yat-kīrtanaṁ yat-smaraṇaṁ yad-īkṣaṇaṁ
yad-vandanaṁ yac-chravaṇaṁ yad-arhaṇam
lokasya sadyo vidhunoti kalmaṣaṁ
tasmai subhadra-śravase namo namaḥ

Whose praise, whose recollection and whose sight,
Bowing to whom in homage and delight;
Hearing of whom and worshipping with love,
Doth straightway mans' iniquity remove;
All hail to him of pure hallowed renown,
To him in salutation I bow down.

[madanmohandas]

ŚB 2.4.13
भूयो नम: सद्वृजिनच्छिदेऽसता-
मसम्भवायाखिलसत्त्वमूर्तये ।
पुंसां पुन: पारमहंस्य आश्रमे
व्यवस्थितानामनुमृग्यदाशुषे ॥ १३ ॥
bhūyo namaḥ sad-vṛjina-cchide ’satām
asambhavāyākhila-sattva-mūrtaye
puṁsāṁ punaḥ pāramahaṁsya āśrame
vyavasthitānām anumṛgya-dāśuṣe

All hail to him again of puissant grace!
Who doth the sorrows of the good efface;
Who of the wicked quells the influence,
Whose form is eviternal existence;
Who endows truth seekers with wisdom pure;
And swan-like saints their cherished state secure.

[madanmohandas]

This and the above two verses are from Suka's hymn and selected according to Vishnu Puri's anthology Bhakti Ratnavali. Vishnu Puri has arranged his anthology under the heads of general observations followed by a chapter (strand) for each of the nine disciplines of bhakti.

ŚB 2.4.20
श्रिय: पतिर्यज्ञपति: प्रजापति-
र्धियां पतिर्लोकपतिर्धरापति: ।
पतिर्गतिश्चान्धकवृष्णिसात्वतां
प्रसीदतां मे भगवान् सतां पति: ॥ २० ॥
śriyaḥ patir yajña-patiḥ prajā-patir
dhiyāṁ patir loka-patir dharā-patiḥ
patir gatiś cāndhaka-vṛṣṇi-sātvatāṁ
prasīdatāṁ me bhagavān satāṁ patiḥ

Husband of Shree, of sacrifice the Lord,
Of subject creatures the Master adored;
The ruler of thought and the intellect,
Who doth the masters of the world direct;
Lord of the Earth, the Master and the guide
Of dynasties by firm friendship allied,
The clans of Andhaka and of Vrishni,
And Yadus of Satvata pedigree.
May that Almighty Illustrious One,
Lord of devotees, grant his benison.

[madanmohandas]

A random passage, well, where I'm currently at in Bhagavat nitya path, 8.6.1-5

(Sri Suka said)
The host of gods their ardent voices raised,
And divine Hari, thus having been praised,
Revealed himself manifest shining bright,
As if a thousand suns shot forth their light.

The gods were dazzled by the refulgence,
And blinded by his supreme radiance;
They saw not the sky, quarters, themselves, how
Could they behold the Lord amid that glow?

Virinchi and Sharva the Lord could see
His person of dark emerald beauty,
His eyes as the soft interior showed
Of lotus blooms; red as the dawn they glowed.

A yellow silken robe his loins enfold,
Which emitted the sheen of molten gold,
The beauty of his limbs and charming grace,
His curving eyebrows and his comely face;

He wore a lofty sparkling diadem,
And armbands that glistered with many a gem;
And the sparkling ear pendants he had on,
Upon his lotus-cheeks, reflective, shone..........etc.

[madanmohandas]

ŚB 9.9.49
यत् तद् ब्रह्म परं सूक्ष्ममशून्यं शून्यकल्पितम् ।
भगवान् वासुदेवेति यं गृणन्ति हि सात्वता: ॥ ४९ ॥
yat tad brahma paraṁ sūkṣmam
aśūnyaṁ śūnya-kalpitam
bhagavān vāsudeveti
yaṁ gṛṇanti hi sātvatāḥ

(Suka to Pariksit concluding the account of Khatvanga)

The state of Brahman, subtle, rarefied,
Although intangible, is not a void;
His votaries perceive divinity
As Vasudeva, Supreme, Almighty.

Visvanatha comments.
To whom does one surrender in servitude? This is described in this verse. He is famous as Brahman. He is extremely subtle, having a form without qualities. He is conceived as being void, since he is devoid of material attachment and desire. The devotees praise him as Vasudeva. Giving up his body, Khatvanga attained the Lord. This was alluded to earlier in Book II. (Purport from Bhanu Swami's trans.)

The royal seer Khatvanga, when he
Had learned that his life soon would ended be,
From that same hour all he did forswear,
And sought refuge in Hari without fear.
(2.1.13)