|
|
Devi Bhagavatam (Devi
Puranam)
Chapter XXVI
On the description by Nārada of his own Moha
1-13. Vyāsa said :-- O King! When I asked him why this delusion overtook me,
Maharsi Nārada smiled and said :-- O son of Parāsara! You are thoroughly
acquainted with all the Purānas. Why then are you making this question about
the cause of my Moha (delusion). No embodied soul can exist in this Samsāra
without this Moha. Brahmā, Visnu, Rudra, and the other Devas, Sanaka,
Kapila and the other Risis, all these are surrounded by Māyā and are thus
travelling in this path of Samsāra. The people know me as a Jńānin; but I,
too, am deluded like an ordinary man. I am now speaking to you as certain as
anything my of previous history now. I was deluded by Māyā; hear it
attentively. O Son of Vāsavī! Great troubles and pains were felt by me
before, due to this Moha, for my wife. One day Parvata and I, the two
Devarsis, went out together from the Devaloka to see the excellent portion
of the earth named Bhārata and came to the Martyaloka or the land of the
mortals. We then began to travel over various places and saw the places of
pilgrimages and the holy places and the beautiful hermitages of the Munis.
Before we went out from the Devaloka, we consulted with each other and
entered into this agreement that we would not hide our feelings from each
other, whether they be good or bad, while we would travel over the face of
the earth. Whether it be our desire to get food, or wealth or women for
enjoyment, whatever arises in the mind of any of us, we would express that
freely amongst ourselves. Thus making an agreement, we went out in right
earnest as Munis to travel over the face of this earth. Thus roaming all
over the face of the earth, at the end of the summer season, when the rainy
season commenced we came to the beautiful city of the King named Sanjaya.
The King showed us great respect and worshipped us with devotion. Since then
we remained for four months at his house.
14-33. During the four months of the rainy season, the roads are always
almost impassable; it is, therefore, wise to stay at one place. For eight
months, the Dvījas should always remain abroad on some work or other.
Thinking all these, we two began to stay in the house of the King Sanjaya.
That liberal minded King gladly and with respect kept us as his guests and
tendered to us all our requirements. The King had a very beautiful daughter
named Damayantī, with good teeth. The King ordered her to take care of us.
That large-eyed princess, of great discrimination, was very energetic, day
and night. She began to serve both of us. In due time she gave us water for
our bath, excellent meat, food, towels for cleaning and rubbing our faces,
in fact, everything what we desired. She kept ready for us whatever we
desired, fans, seats, beds, whatever were necessary for us. Thus she began
to serve. We were also engaged in the study of our Vedas and in those
practises that were approved by the Vedas. O Dvaipāyana! I used to sing,
then, with lute in my hands, the sweet lovely Sāma Gāyatrī songs in tunes
and good Svaras. The princess herself appreciated the songs and when she
heard these Sāma songs ravishing to ones mind, she became attached to me
and showed signs of affection. Day by day the attachment towards me grew
stronger. Seeing her attached to me, my mind also became attached to her.
Thus that princess indulged in amorous sentiments towards me and began to
make slight distinctions between the food and other things offered to me and
Parvata. I got warm water for my bath and Parvata used to get cold water; I
got nice curds when food was served to me whereas Parvata got only whey. I
got nice white bedding for myself to sleep on whereas Parvata had merely a
dirty sheet to lie down. Thus the princess began to serve me with great love
and devotion but not so she served Parvata. The fair lady began to look at
me with eyes of love; not so towards Parvata. Parvata was very much
surprised to see all this and thought within himself, What is this?
Parvata, then, asked me in private :-- O Nārada! Speak out to me truly in
detail. The princess shews with much gladness and affection her deep love
towards you; she serves you with dainty dishes but she behaves not so with
me. I therefore suspect when I see all these distinctions made between you
and me, that the daughter of the King Sanjaya wants with her heart and soul
to make you her husband. And you also want to make her your wife. 1 have
come to know this by signs and symptoms; for affection and love reigning
inside can be made out by outward expressions of eyes and face. Whatever
this be, O Muni! Now speak truly to me; do never tell a lie. When we went
out from the Heavens, we made out that agreement; now remember that.
34-42. Nārada said :-- Thus questioned suddenly by Parvata, I became very
much abashed and said :-- O Parvata! This large-eyes princess is ready to
marry me and I am also very much attracted towards her. When Parvata heard
all these, he became very much angry and uttered repeatedly, Fie! O Nārada!
Fie! O Nārada! First you swore on oath and then you deceived me afterwards.
Therefore, O Deceiver of friends! I curse you and let your face become that
of a monkey. When the high-souled Parvata cursed thus, the face turned
immediately into that of a monkey, elongated and distorted. I did not excuse
him, though he was my sisters son. I also got angry and cursed him,
Certainly, your journey to the Heavens will be stopped. You will not be
able to go to Heaven. O Parvata! When you cursed me so heavily for so
trivial a fault of mine, I see you are very mean. Whatever it be, you will
have to remain on earth so long. At this Parvata became very sad and went
out of the city. My face became immediately like that of a monkey. The
daughter of the King became very sorry to see my face thus distorted into
that of a monkey. I did not see her glad as she was before; but her desire
to hear my playing with my lute remained the same as before.
43-52. Vyāsa said :-- O Muni! What happened next? How did you get yourself
rid of your curse and how did you get your man-like face? Whither did
Parvata Risi go! When and how did you again re-unite with each other? Kindly
describe all these to me in detail. Nārada said :-- O Highly Intelligent
One! What shall I say about the nature of Māyā? When Parvata went away
angrily, the daughter of the King began to serve me with greater care than
before. I remained there, though Parvata went away, and seeing my face
monkey-like, I became very dejected and sorry and was specially troubled
with the care and anxiety what would happen to me hereafter? The King
Sanjaya saw that his daughter Damayantī was slipping into her youth and
asked the prime minister about her marriage. He said :-- The time of
marriage of my dear daughter has now come; I will now marry her in
accordance with due rites and ceremonies. Now tell me particularly about a
prince worthy of her, as we like, in beauty, qualifications,
largeheartedness, calmness, patience and heroism and who is of a good
family. The minister said :-- O King! There are many princes on the face
of this earth, worthy in all respects, of your daughter. Whomever you like,
you can call on him and give him your daughter with elephants, horses,
chariots, wealth, gems and jewels.
53-57. Damayantī, knowing the intention of his father informed the King of
her own desire by her nurse and attendant. The nurse went to the King and
said :-- When my father will sit at his ease and comfort you would go and
speak to him in private that I am enchanted with the enchanting Nāda sound
of the great lute played by the Maharsi Nārada and have selected him as my
bridegroom. No other person will be dear to me. O Father! Marry me with
Nārada and thus fulfil my desire; O Knower of Dharma! I wont marry anybody
but Nārada. O Father! I am now merged in the Nāda-ocean (sound ocean) of
bliss, sweet and joyful, void of anything destructive of happiness, void of
Nakra, alligators, and fishes, Timingala, etc. (injurious animals) and
without any salty taste; my mind wont be satisfied with any other thing.
Here ends the Twenty sixth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the description by
Nārada of his own Moha in the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa
Chapter XXVII
On the marriage of Nārada and his face getting transformed into that of a
monkey
1-13. Nārada said :-- On hearing these words of her daughter from her nurse,
the King addressed the queen Kaikeyī, of lovely eyes, standing close by,
thus :-- Have you heard what the nurse has said? Damayantī has mentally
chosen the monkey-faced Nārada as her husband. What has she thought?
Whatever it be, it is no doubt, an act of great foolishness. His face is
monkey-like; how can I betroth my daughter to him? Where is an ugly beggar
Nārada? And where is my daughter Damayantī? The marriage between them is
quite unjust; never it should take place. O Beautiful One of good hairs!
Better call her before you in private and show her reasons approved of the
Sāstras and of the aged persons and make her desist from such a rash
course. On hearing her husbands words, the mother of Damayantī called her
in private and said :-- O Child! Where is your this beautiful face? And
where is the monkey-like face of Nārada? You are smart and quick; how have
you been, then, deluded by such a Moha? O Child! You are the daughter of a
king! Your body is gentle like a creeper. And Nārada always besmears his
body with ashes; so his body is very rough. O Spotless One! How will you
change your words with him? Why do you shew your attachment to an ugly
person? What pleasure do you feel thereby? You would be married to a
beautiful prince; never follow this rash course; your father is very sorry
to hear these from your nurse. O One of soft body! Judge this yourself, what
intelligent man is there that is not sorry at the soft Mālatī creeper
entwining a thorny tree? Even a stupid silly man would never feed a camel,
that likes thorns, with soft betel-leaves. When your marriage time arrives,
say yourself, who will not be sorry to see you going to Nārada and embracing
him by his arms! Nobody likes to speak with an ugly faced one; how will you
be able to spend your time with him till your death!
14-29. Nārada said :-- On hearing the mothers words, the gentle Damayantī,
with her mind intently fixed on me, spoke to her mother, very much depressed
in her spirits. O Mother! What good face and beautiful form will avail, who
is not in the path of love and who is quite ignorant of amorous feelings and
sentiments! And what will the wealth and kingdoms of that unskilled
illiterate person avail! The deer, that roam in the forest, getting
enchanted by the Nāda (sound) Rasa, give up their lives even to the singers.
So they are fortunate. But fie to the persons who are illiterate and void of
feelings of love! O Mother! Nārada Risi is well conversant with the science
of music with seven Svaras. No other man save Mahā Deva knows this. Living
with an illiterate person is courting death at every moment. One devoid of
qualifications should be always avoided, by all means, though he be wealthy
and of a beautiful form. Fie on the friendship with kings that are
illiterate and puffed up with vain arrogance! A well-qualified man, be he
even a beggar, is far better to be cultivated friendship with. Leaving other
circumstances out of account, even to change words with such a well
qualified man, makes one highly delighted. The man is very rare in this
world, though he be weak, if he be well versed in the science of music and
if he knows Svara, Grāma, Murchchanā and be skilled in eight sentiments of
love. [Note :-- Svara - Sadaja, Risabha, Gāndhāra, Madhyama, Panchama,
Dhaivata and Nisāda. Grāma - the gradual increase and decrease in Svaras.
Murchchana - the rising of sounds, an intonation; a duly regulated rise and
fall of sound conducting the air and the harmony through the keys in a
pleasing manner; changing the key or passing from one key to another;
modulation; melody]. The man versed in the knowledge of Svara leads one to
the Heaven of Kailāsa as the rivers Ganges and Sarasvatī by their own
merits lead one to Kailāsa. There is not the least doubt in this. He is a
Deva in his human body who knows the Svara measure; and he who does not know
the Svara and its seven grades is a beast though he has a human form - he
who finds no delight when he hears the tune regulated by Murchchanā and the
seven Svaras. Do not consider the deer as beasts for they get enchanted when
they hear the musical notes. The venomous snakes, though they have no ears,
get delighted to hear the enchanting Svara Nāda by their eyes. They even are
to be praised; but fie on those human beings who have ears but who do not
find any delight when they hear the Nāda! The little children feel intense
pleasure to hear the music, but fie, fie on those elders who are void of
this musical sentiments! Does not my father know that Nārada is ornamented
with many qualifications? Who is there in the three worlds like him in
singing the Sāma songs! For this very reason, indeed! I have already
selected him as my husband; afterwards, due to a curse, the Muni, the ocean
of qualifications, got his face changed into that of a monkey. The Kinnaras,
skilled in the science of music, have their faces horse-like; but are they
not dear to all? What business have they to get good faces? They enchant the
Devas even by their sweet ravishing songs. O Mother! Kindly tell my father
that I have already chosen Nārada as my husband. Therefore let him deliver
me to his hands, without making any further requests in this matter.
30-40. Nārada said :-- On hearing the words of her daughter Damayantī, that
unblameable pure queen knowing her attachment deep towards me, spoke to the
King thus :-- O King! Now celebrate in an auspicious day and on an
auspicious moment the auspicious marriage of Damayantī; the daughter has
said that she has already selected Nārada as her bridegroom and it cannot be
other-wise. Thus prompted by the queen, the King Sanjaya performed the
marriage ceremony of her daughter in accordance with due rites and customs
and in an exceedingly becoming manner. O Risi! Thus I entered into the
married life and remained there though my heart constantly burned with the
thought of my monkey-face. Whenever the princess used to come to me for my
service, I used to get tormented with the remembrance of my monkey-face; but
her face beamed with gladness whenever she saw me; never she became sorry
nor dejected, even for a moment, to see my face monkey-like. Thus time
passed on. One day the Muni Parvata suddenly came there, after making his
sojourn to many places of pilgrimages. I showed him a great respect and
gladly loved him and greeted him duly; he got himself seated in an excellent
Āsana and became very sorry to see me. I am his uncle and have entered into
a married life; my face has become monkey-like. Therefore I am very much
depressed in spirits and worried with the sad thought and has become lean
and thin. Seeing this he was overwhelmed with pity. He then said :-- O Muni!
The curse that I cast on you before out of my anger, I now withdraw. Hear. O
Maharsi! Let your face be by my merits, again as good as it was before; I
now feel pity for the daughter of the King.
41-52. Hearing thus, my heart also became gentle and instantly with a view
to free him of my curse, I said :-- Let your journey to the Heavens be
re-established. I now make this special favour on you as regards my curse on
you before. O Dvaipāyana! At his word, before our sight, my face became
exceedingly handsome as it was before. The princess Damayantī became very
glad and instantly she went to the mother and said :-- O Mother! At the
word of Parvata, the great Muni, the curse of your son-in-law has been
removed and his face has become handsome as before and the lustre of his
body has also increased. The queen was very much filled with ecstasy and
joy at Damayantīs words and went hurriedly and informed the King. The King
Sanjaya gladly went at once to see the Muni. The great King became very
glad and gave lots of wealth, gems and jewels to me and my nephew Parvata as
a dowry. O Dvaipāyana! Thus I have described to you my old story how I felt
the strong influence of Māyā. O Fortunate One! Owing to the illusory nature
of the Gunas, like a magic, no embodied being in this world could have been
happy before, or he is happy now or he will be happy hereafter. Lust, anger,
greed, jealousy, attachment, egoism, and vanity, each one of these is very
powerful; nobody is able to conquer these. O Muni! The three Gunas Sāttva,
Rājas and Tāmas are the entire causes of the coming into this bodily
existence of every being. O Dvaipāyana! Once I was passing with Bhagavān
Visnu, laughing and joking, making merriments through a forest, when
suddenly I was transformed into a woman. Next I became the wife of a king
enchanted by Māyā, I remained in his house and gave birth to many children.
53-56. Vyāsa said :-- O Devarsi! A great doubt has now arisen in my mind at
your word. O Muni! You are very wise; how then did you get womanhood; how
again did you regain your manhood? Who was the king at whose house you
stayed and how did you give birth to children; describe fully and satisfy my
curiosity. Describe to me, now, the nature of Māyā, extremely wonderful, by
which this entire universe, moving and non-moving, all are enchanted. O Muni!
Though I have heard your nectar-like words, capable to remove all the
doubts, embodying the essence of all the Sāstras, yet I am not fully
satiated.
Here ends the Twenty-seventh Chapter of the Sixth Book on the marriage of
Nārada and his face getting transformed into that of a monkey in Srī Mad
Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXVIII
On Nāradas getting the feminine form
1-11. Nārada said :-- O Thou whose only wealth consists in asceticism! I am
now describing to you all those good stories; hear attentively. O Muni! This
Māyā and Her Power are incomprehensible even by those who are the foremost
amongst the Yogins. This whole Universe, moving and non-moving, from Brahmā
to the blade of grass, is enchanted by that Unborn and Incomprehensible Māyā;
therefore no one can escape from the hands of that Māyā. One day I wanted to
see Hari, of wonderful deeds, and went out with lute in my hand from
Satyaloka, to the lovely Sveta Dvīpa (the residence of Visnu) singing the
beautiful Sāma hymns in tune with the seven Svaras. I saw there Gadādhara,
the Deva of the Devas, with four arms holding disc in one of his hands. He
resembled a newly-formed rain-cloud of Syāma colour. He was illumined with
the lustre of the Kaustubha jewel in his breast. He was wearing an yellow
apparel. His head was beautified with a lustrous crown. Thus the Bhagavān
Nārāyana was playing in amorous movements with the daughter of the ocean,
fully capable to give one delight and enjoyment. Seeing me, the lovely Devī
Kamalā, dear to Vāsudeva, full of youth and beauty, decorated with
ornaments, endowed with all auspicious signs, superior to all the women,
went away at once (to another room) from the presence of Janārdana. The
breast of Laksmī Devī was becoming visible even through the cloth thrown
over it; therefore she went hurriedly to the inner compartment. Seeing this
I asked Janārdana, the Deva of the Devas, the Lord of the worlds, and
holding a garland of forest grown flowers thus :-- O Bhagavān! O Slayer of
Mura! O Padmanābha! Why has Kamalā Devī, the Mother of all the Lokas, on
seeing me coming here, gone out of Your presence. O Lord of the worlds! I am
not a rogue nor a cheat; I have conquered my passions and am become an
ascetic; I have conquered even Māyā. Therefore O Deva! What is the cause of
the departure of the Kamalā Devī from here? Kindly explain this to me.
12-20. Nārada said :-- O Dvaipāyana! Hearing my words, expressive of my
pride, Janārdana smiled and spoke to me in words sweet like the sound of a
lute :-- O Nārada! The rule in such cases is this :-- The wife of any man
whatsoever ought not to stay before any other male outsider than her
husband. O Nārada! It is very hard to conquer Māyā; even those, who by
Prānāyāma have conquered their Prāna Vāyu, their organs of senses and their
food, even those Sāmkhya Yogins and the Devas are not able to conquer Māyā.
The words that you have just now uttered that you have conquered Māyā are
not fit to come out of your mouth; for by your knowledge of music, it seems
that you are enchanted with the sounds of the music. Brahmā, I, Siva, and
the other Munis, none of us has been able as yet to conquer that Unborn Māyā;
how, then, can it be possible that you or any other man can conquer that
Māyā! Any embodied being, be he a Deva, a human being, or a bird, no one is
able to conquer that Māyā Unborn. Whoever is endowed with the three Gunas,
be he a knower of the Vedas, or a Yogin, or conqueror of his passions, or
all knowing, is not able to conquer Māyā. The Great Time (Kāla) though
formless, is one form of Māyā and fashions this universe. All the Jīvas are
subservient to this Kāla, be he a good literary person, or of a mediocre
nature, or an illiterate brute. This Kāla sometimes makes even a religious
man that knows Dharma confounded and deluded; so you know the nature of Māyā
is very incomprehensible and Her ways mysterious. (Note: This Kāla is of
the fourth dimension, time and space.)
21-23. O Dvaipāyana! Thus saying, Visnu stopped. I was greatly astonished
and asked that Eternal Vāsudeva, the Deva of the Devas, the Lord of the
World, O Lord of Ramā! What is the form of Māyā? How is She? What is the
measure of Her strength? Where She resides? Whose substratum is She? Kindly
tell these to me. O Preserver of the Universe! I am greatly desirous to see
Māyā; Shew Her to me quickly. O Lord of Ramā! I am very eager to know Māyā.
Be graciously pleased to describe tome the glory of Māyā.
24-36. Visnu said :-- Māyā resides everywhere throughout this whole
Universe; Her nature consists of the three Gunas; She is the substratum of
all; She is omniscient, and acknowledged by all; invisible, and of diverse
forms. O Nārada! If you want to see Māyā, then come quickly and mount with
me on Garuda; we both will go elsewhere and I will shew you that Māyā,
invincible by those who have not conquered themselves. O Son of Brahmā!
Dont be depressed when you see Māyā. Thus saying, Janārdana Hari remembered
Garuda and instantly he came to Hari. Janārdana mounted on him and gladly
made me also get up on his back and took me with Him. In a moment Garuda,
went, at his command, with the speed of wind to the forest where the
Bhagavān desired to go. Mounting on Garuda we passed and saw on our way
beautiful forests, nice lakes, rivers, towns, villages, huts of cultivators,
towns close to the mountains, huts for cow-keepers in cowsheds, the
beautiful hermitages of the Munis, lovely Jhils, tanks and lakes beautified
with big lotuses, flocks of ewes, packs of wild boars, etc., till, at last,
we came to a place close to Kanauj. I saw there a beautiful divine tank;
nice lotuses blossomed there, spreading their sweet fragrance all around;
the bees were making lovely humming noise and ravishing away the minds of
men; various flowers, lilies, etc., were beautifying the place; Geese,
Kārandavas, and Chakravākas and other acquatic fowls were playing with their
cackling noise, the water was very sweet like milk; the tank was defying, as
it were the ocean. Seeing such a wonderful tank, the Bhagavān told me :-- O
Nārada! See, how beautiful is this deep tank with its clear waters, and
adorned all over with lotuses! The sweet voiced flamingoes are roaming on
the lake making lovely sounds!
37-54. We will bathe in this tank and then go to the city Kanauj. Thus
saying, He made me descend quickly from Garuda and He himself also got down.
Then the Bhagavān smilingly caught hold of my fore-finger and repeatedly
praising the glory of the tank took me to its bank. We rested a while on the
cool umbrageous beautiful bank when Srī Bhagavān said :-- O Muni! Better
bathe you first in this tank; next I will bathe in this very holy pool of
water. O Nārada! Look! Look! How clear crystal-like is the water of this
pool like the heart of a saint; see how it smells also fragrantly in contact
with the lotuses on it. When the Bhagavān spoke thus to me; I kept my lute
and deer skin aside and gladly went to the edge of the tank. Washing then my
hands and feet I tied my hair lock and, taking Kusa grass, I performed my
Āchaman and, purifying myself, began to bathe myself in that tank. While I
was bathing, Hari was looking at me; by the time I took a dip, I saw that I
quitted my male form and got a beautiful female form. Hari took away, then,
my deer skin and lute and mounting on Garuda went away in a moment to His
own residence. Getting the female form and decorated with excellent
ornaments, my memory of my previous male form vanished at once; I forgot all
about my famous lute and forgot also Jagannātha, the Deva of the Devas. I
then came out of the tank in that enchanting woman form, saw the pool of
water filled with clear limpid water and adorned with lotuses. Seeing that,
I began to think :-- What is this? and I became very much astonished.
While I was thus meditating in my woman form, a king, named Tāladhvaja, came
there, all on a sudden, on a chariot, accompanied by numerous elephants and
horses. The King looked like a second Cupid; he was decorated with various
ornaments on his various limbs; he was just entering into his youth and he
looked very enchanting. The King saw me at once and looking at me decked
with divine ornaments and my moon-like face, was greatly astonished and
asked me :-- O Kalyāni! Who are you? Are you the daughter of a man or of a
Nāga (serpent) or of a Gandharva or of a Deva? I see you are now in your
youth; why are you alone here? O Lovely-eyed!
Has any fortunate person married you? Or are you still unmarried? Speak all
these truly to me. O Fair-haired One! What are you looking at in this tank?
O One enchanting, as it were, like the Cupid! What is your desire? Say, O
Slanting-eyed! My mind is ravished to hear your cuckoo-like voice. O One of
thin waist! Choose me as your husband and enjoy various excellent things as
you like.
Here ends the Twenty-eighth Chapter of the Sixth Book on Nāradas getting
the feminine form in the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXIX
1-11. Nārada said :-- O Dvaipāyana! When the King Tāladhvaja asked me thus,
I thought over earnestly and said thus :-- I do not know whose daughter I
am; nor do I know quite certainly where are my father and mother; one man
placed me here on this tank and has gone away, whither I do not know. O
King! I am now an helpless orphan; what shall I do now? Where to go? What to
do by which I can have my welfare? I am all the while thinking on these. O
King! The Destiny is powerful; I have not the least control over it; you
know Dharma and you are a King. Do now as you like. O King! Do nourish me; I
have no father, no mother, nor any acquaintances and friends; there is no
place for me also to stand on; therefore I am now your dependent. When I
spoke thus, the King looked at my face and became love-stricken for me; he
then told his attendants to bring an excellent rectangular and spacious
palanquin to be carried on four mens shoulders, gilt and adorned with
jewels and pearls, where soft sheets were spread inside and covered all over
with silken cloths. Instantly the servants went away and brought for me a
beautiful palanquin. I got on it to serve the best wishes of the King. The
King also gladly took me home. In an auspicious day and in an auspicious
moment he married me in accordance with due rites and ceremonies in the
presence of the Holy Fire.
12. I became dearer to him than even his own life and the King, with great
fondness, kept my name as Saubhāgya Sundarī.
13-20. The King then began to sport with me amorously according to the rules
of the Kāma Sāstra in various ways and with great enjoyments and pleasures.
He then left all his kingly duties and state affairs and he began to remain
day and night with me deeply immersed in amorous sports; so much his mind
was merged in me in these plays that he could not notice the long time that
passed away in the interval. He used to drink the Vārunī wine and, forsaking
all the state affairs, began to enjoy me in nice gardens, beautiful lakes,
lovely palaces, beautified houses, excellent mountains and enviable forests
and became completely subservient to me. O Dvaipāyana! Being incessantly
engaged with the King in amorous sports and remaining obedient to him, my
previous body, male ideas, or the birth of Muni, nothing whatsoever came in
my memory. I remained always attached to him, being obedient to him with a
view to be happy and I constantly thought over that this King is very much
attached to me, I am his dearest wife to all others; always he thinks of me,
I am his chief consort, capable to give him enjoyment. My mind became
entirely his and I completely forgot the eternal Brahmajńān and the
knowledge of the Dharma Sāstras.
21-31. O Muni! Thus engaged in various amorous sports, twelve years passed
away as if a moment and I could not perceive that. Then I became pregnant;
and the King became very glad and performed all the ceremonies pertaining to
my impregnation and holding of the child in my womb. In order to satisfy me,
the King used to ask me always what things I liked; I used to be very much
abashed; seeing this, the King used to be still more glad. Ten months thus
passed away and in an auspicious Lagna and when the asterism was favourably
strong, I gave birth to a son; the King became very glad and great
festivities were held on the birth ceremony of the child. O Dvaipāyana! When
the period of the birth-impurity was over, the King saw the face of the
child and was greatly delighted; I then became the dearest wife of the King.
Two years after again I became impregnated; the second auspicious son was
born. The King gave the name Sudhanvā to the second son and on the authority
of the Brāhmins, kept the name of the eldest son as Vīravarmā. Thus I gave
birth to twelve sons, in due course of time, to the Kings great liking; and
I was engaged in rearing up those children and thus I remained enchanted.
Again in due course, I gave birth to eight sons; thus my household was
filled with happiness. The King performed the marriage ceremonies of all
those children duly and befittingly; and our family became very large with
sons and their wives.
32-52. Then I had some grandsons and they increased my attachment and the
consequent delusion with their all sorts of playful sports. Sometimes I felt
happy and prosperous and sometimes I felt pain and sorrow when my sons fell
ill. Then my body and mind became very much troubled with sorrows. Again the
quarrels amongst my sons and my daughters-in-law, brought terrible pain and
remorse in my mind. O Best of Munis! Thus I was greatly immersed in the
terrible ocean of these imaginary thoughts, sometimes happy and sometimes
painful, and I forgot my previous knowledge and the knowledge of the
Sāstras. I was merged in the thought of myself being a woman and lost
myself entirely in doing the household affairs. I began to think that I
have so many daughters-in-law; so many powerful sons of mine are playing
together in my house; Oh! I am fortunate and full of merits amongst women
and thus my egoistic pride increased. Not for a moment even occurred the
thought that I had been Nārada; the Bhagavān had deceived me by His Māyā. O
Krisna Dvaipāyana! I was deluded by Māyā and passed away my time in the
thought that I am the kings wife, chaste and of good conduct following
good Āchāra; I have so many sons and grandsons; I am blessed in this Samsāra
and that I am so happy and prosperous. One powerful king of a distant
country turned out an inveterate enemy of my husband and came to the city of
Kanauj to fight with my husband, accompanied by chariots, and elephants and
the fourfold army. That enemy besieged the city with his army; my sons and
grandsons went out and fought valiantly with him but owing to the great
Destiny, the enemies killed all my sons. The King retreated and returned to
his palace. Next I heard that powerful King killed all my sons and grandsons
and had gone back to his country with his army. I then hurriedly went to the
battlefield, crying loudly. O Long-lived One! Seeing my sons and grandsons
lying on the ground, in that horrible and distressed state, I became merged
in the ocean of sorrows and lamented and wept loudly and wildly, O my Sons!
Where have you gone leaving me thus? Alas! The pernicious Fate is very
dominant, and very painsgiving and indomitable. It has killed me today. By
this time, the Bhagavān Madhusūdana came to me there in the garb of a
beautiful aged Brāhmin. His dress was sacred and lovely; it seemed he was
versed in the Vedas. Seeing me weeping distressedly in the battlefield he
said :-- O Devī! O cuckoo-voiced One! It seems you are the mistress of a
prosperous house and you have got husband and sons! O thin-bodied One! Why
are you thus lamenting and feeling yourself distressed! All this is simply
illusion caused by Moha; think; who are you? whose sons are these? Now think
of your best hereafter; Dont weep, get up and be comfortable, O Good-eyed
one!
53-54. O Devī! To shew respect to your sons, etc., gone to the other worlds,
offer them water and Til. The friends of the deceased ought to take their
bath in a place of pilgrimage; never they should bathe in their houses. Know
this as ordained by Dharma.
55-66. Nārada said :-- O Dvaipāyan! When the old Brāhmin thus addressed me,
I and the King and other friends got up. The Bhagavān Madhusūdana causing
this creation, in the form of a Brāhmana, led the way and I followed him
quickly to that sacred place of pilgrimage. The Visnu Bhagavān, the Lord
Janārdana Hari, in the form of a Brāhmin, kindly took me to the tank named
Pumtīrtha (male tīrtha) and said :-- O One going like an elephant! Better
take your bath in this tank; forego your sorrows that are of no use; now the
time has arrived to offer water to your sons. Better think that you had
millions of sons born to you in your previous births and for that your
millions of sons and daughters lost their lives; you had millions of
fathers, husbands, and brothers and you lost them again; O Devī! Now tell me
for whom you will now grieve? All these, then, are merely mental phenomena;
this world is full of delusion, false like a mirage and dream-like; the
embodied souls, simply get pains and sorrows and nothing else. Nārada said
:-- On hearing his words, I went to bathe in that Pumtīrtha, as ordered by
him. Taking a dip, I found that, in an instant, I became a man; the Bhagavān
Hari, in his own proper form, was standing on the edge with a lute in his
hand. O Brāhmin! When getting out of the water, I came to the bank and saw
the lotus-eyed Krisna, pure consciousness then flashed in my heart. Then I
thought that I am Nārada; I have come to this place and being deluded by
the Māyā of Hari, I got the female form. When I was thinking thus, Hari
exclaimed, O Nārada! Get up; what are you doing, standing in the water? I
was astonished; and, recollecting my feminine nature, very severe indeed,
began to think why I was again transformed into a male form.
Here ends the Twenty-ninth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the Nāradas getting
again his male form in the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXX
On the glory of Mahā Māyā
1-14. Nārada said :-- O Best of Munis! The King was greatly astonished to
see me dip in the tank in a female figure and get up from the tank in a male
figure and thought, Where is my dearest wife? And how is this Nārada Muni
suddenly come here! The King, not seeing his wife, lamented very much and
cried frequently, O my dear Wife! Where have you gone, leaving me here
thus. Without you, O One of spacious hips! My life, palace and kingdom, all,
are quite useless. O Lotus-eyed one! What shall I do? O Smiling One! Why is
not my life getting out of my body, suffering thus from thy separation?
Without you, my sentiment of love has left me for ever. O Large-eyed One!
Now I am lamenting for you. O Dear! Better give me your sweet reply; the
love that you expressed at our first union, where has it gone now? O One
with good eyebrows! Are you sunk in the water and have you given up your
life? Or are you devoured by fishes or crocodiles? Or are you carried away
by Varuna, the Deva of the waters, to my great misfortune? O One of
beautiful limbs! You are blessed, as you have gone away with your sons; O
sweet-speaking One! Your affection for them was not artificial. Is it right
for you to go up to the Heavens, attached by affection for your sons,
leaving me your distressed husband alone, thus weeping for your separation?
O Dear! I have lost both, you and my sons; yet death is not carrying me
away; O! How hard is my lot! What to do? Where to go? Rāma is not now in
this world. He knew what was the pain caused by the separation from ones
dearest wife. Oh! The cruel Fate has ordained very unwisely with great
inconsistency the periods of parting from one another at different periods;
when their minds and all other things are exactly the same in all
circumstances of pleasure and pain. The practice of Satī (burning with ones
deceased husband), as ordained by the Munis, is certainly for the good of
the chaste women; but it would have been good no doubt, were there such
practices allowed for the men to burn themselves with their deceased wives.
Bhagavān Hari then spoke to the lamenting King in reasonable words and
consoled him thus :-- O King! Why are you thus troubling yourself with pain
and sorrow? Where has gone your dearest wife? Have you not heard anything of
Sāstras? or Have you not taken any shelter of any wise man!
15-27. Who was your wife? Who are you? Of what nature was your union and
disunion and where did it take place? The union of wives and sons in this
Samsāra is momentary like the meetings of persons on boats, while crossing
a river. O King! Now go home, there is no use in your weeping thus in vain;
the union and disunion of men are always under the control of Fate, the
Daiva; therefore the wise should not lament for them. O King! Your union
with the woman took place here; and now you have lost that beautiful,
thin-bodied, large-eyed woman here also. Her father and mother you have not
seen; you have got her like what is heard in the story of the crow and the
Tāl fruit; as you got her wonderfully, so you have lost her wonderfully. O
King! Do not grieve; Time cannot be ruled over; go home and enjoy yourself
subservient to Time. That beautiful woman has gone away in the manner she
came to you; you ought to do your stately affairs in the way as you used to
do before as the ruler of all. O King! Consider that if you weep day and
night, that women will never return; why then are you giving vent to your
sorrows in vain? Go now and have recourse to the path of the Yoga and thus
while away your time. The enjoyable things come in course of time and they
go away again in due course; therefore in this world of no gain whatsoever,
the wise should never lament. Continuous pleasure or continuous pain does
not always take place; pleasure and pain are never steady; they rotate
always like a rotary instrument. Therefore, O King! Make your mind calm and
quiet and rule happily your kingdom; or make over the charge of the kingdom
to your sons and retire to the forest. This human body is seldom obtained;
it is frail; therefore getting that body it is advisable to practise the
realisation of the Supreme. O King! This organ of generation and this tongue
reside also with the beasts, the peculiarity of human body is that knowledge
can be realised in it; not in any other inferior births. Therefore leave
your home, leave your sorrows for your wife; all this is the Māyā of
Bhagavān; by Her the world is deluded.
28-37. Nārada said :-- Bhagavān Hari speaking thus, the King bowed down to
Him, the Deva of the Devas and finishing the bathing duties returned to his
home. He then became possessed of dispassion and discrimination and making
over the charge of his kingdom to his grandsons retired to the forest and
realised the Supreme Knowledge. When the King went away, the Bhagavān began
to laugh and laugh, seeing me again and again. I then told him, O Deva! You
have deceived me. I now come to know how great is the power of Māyā. O
Janārdana! Now I remember all that I did in my feminine form. Tell me, O
Hari! O Deva of the Devas! How I lost my previous consciousness, when I got
down into the tank and bathed in it. O Lord of the world! Why was I
enchanted, when I got the female form and when I got the King as my husband
like Sachīs getting Indra. The same mind I had; the old Jivātmā was there
and the previous subtle body was there; how, then, I lost their memories? O
Lord! Give out the cause of it and clear my doubts; a great doubt has arisen
in my mind. Many enjoyments I had in my female form, drinking liquor and
other prohibited things I tasted; O Slayer of Madhu! What is the cause of
all these? I could not know then that I was Nārada, as I now recognise
clearly what I was in and what I did in my female form. Say the Why of all
these things.
38-53. Visnu said :-- Know, O Intelligent Nārada! That all this is merely
the Pastime of Māyā. There are many states going on in the bodies of all the
living beings. The embodied beings have got their waking, dream, deep sleep
and Tūriya (beyond all the three above-mentioned) states; then why you doubt
that when there is another body, there would be also the change in the
states? When a man sleeps, he knows not anything, he does not hear anything;
but when he gets awake, he again comes to know everything completely. The
Chitta gets itself moved by sleep; then mind gets different states by dreams
and there arises a variety of feelings. A mad elephant is coming to kill me,
and I am not able to fly away. What to do? Where to go? There is no place
where I can quickly go; thus, in dreams, there arise different mental
states. Sometimes we see in dreams that our departed grandfathers are come
in our houses. I am seeing them, talking with them and I am dining with
them. Whatever pain and pleasure are felt in dreams, when they awake, they
know of what happened in their dreams and can also describe in details,
recollecting what had then happened. O Nārada! Know the power of Māyā
incomprehensible as the things seen in dreams cannot be certainly known that
all those are false. O Muni! Neither I, nor Sambhu, nor Brahmā can measure
the power wielded by Māyā and Her three Gunas, very hard to fathom. How,
then, can any ordinary mortal know them! Therefore, O Nārada! None is able
to fathom the Māyā. This world, moving and non-moving, is fashioned out of
the triple Gunas of the Māyā; nothing whatsoever can exist without them. The
predominant Guna in Me is Sāttva; but Rājas and Tāmas exist in me; being the
Lord of this world, I cannot override the three Gunas. So your father,
Brahmā, is predominant in Rājo Guna; but Sāttva and Tāmas never leave Him,
Our Mahā Deva is predominant in Tāmo Guna, but Sāttva and Rājo are always
with him. Therefore, no being can exist as separate from the three Gunas;
this point I have settled in Sruti. Therefore, O Lord of the Munis! Quit
this endless Moha for the world, caused by Māyā, and very hard to get over
and worship Bhagavatī, Who is of the nature of Brāhman. O Intelligent One!
Now you have seen the power of Māyā; and you have enjoyed many things
produced by Māyā and you have realised the extremely wonderful nature of
Her. Then why do you ask me further on this point?
Here ends the Thirtieth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the glory of Mahā Māyā
in the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devi Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda
Vyāsa.
Chapter XXXI
On the glory of Māyā
18-22. O Muni! When my Father learnt the cause of my cares, he smiled and
spoke to me in sweet words :-- O Child! The Devas, the high-souled Munis,
the wise ascetics and the Yogis subsisting on air only are not able to
conquer this Māyā. O Nārada! The power of Māyā is so very great that I,
Visnu and Sambhu, the Lord of Umā, none are able to know Her power. That
Mahāmāyā is creating, preserving and dissolving this world by Time, Karma,
and Nature and other efficient causes. O Child! Know Her to be inconceivable
and unapproachable. O Intelligent One! Do not be sorry nor should you be
surprised about Māyās great strength, for we all are deluded by Her.
23-25. O Dvaipāyan! Thus advised by my Father, my wonder disappeared. I then
asked permission of my Father Padma Yoni (Lotus-born) and went out on tour
round the sacred places of pilgrimages and on my way, seeing by and by the
chief Tīrthas, I have now come here. Therefore, O Muni! Dost thou relinquish
your sorrows for the extinction of the Kurus family and remain here and
pass your time in great joy and happiness. One must bear the fruits of ones
Karma, good or bad; knowing this fully roam at your will wherever you like.
26-40. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Maharsi Nārada thus kindling knowledge in me,
went away; I also thought over his words. On the banks of the river
Sarasvatī, I composed this Devī Bhāgavat to pass away my time during the
excellent period of Sārasvata Kalpa. This Purānam is excellent; it is
composed on the authority of the the Vedas; all doubts are removed by it;
many nice events are narrated here. Therefore, O King! Not the least doubt
should be entertained. As a magician makes the wooden dolls dance in his
hands at his will, so this world-enchanting Māyā is making this world,
moving and non-moving, dance from Brahmā down to the blades of grass and all
human beings. O King! Know Māyās triple Gunas to be the cause of this mind
consisting of five organs of senses, that follows the Chitta (mind, buddhi
and Ahamkāra). Actions arise from the causes thereof; there is no doubt in
this; what doubt, then, there can arise that all these creatures of
different temperaments will come out of the different Gunas of Māyā.
Peaceful, terrible and stupid become the persons in contact with the Mayic
Gunas. How, then, can they exist, bereft of them? As the cloth cannot exist
without threads, so the embodied beings cannot exist in the world without
the triple Gunas of Māyā. There is no doubt in this. As a pot cannot be made
without clay, so these bodies, Devas, human or birds, cannot be created
without the Gunas. Brahmā, Visnu and Siva, too, are possessed of those
three Gunas and therefore they become sometimes happy and satisfied,
sometimes unhappy and dissatisfied and sometimes they become sad and
remorseful as they are then under the influence of one Guna or the other.
Brahmā happens at times to be full of wisdom and knowledge, his temper
peaceful, sweet and pleasant and his soul rapt in Samādhi, when he becomes
possessed of Sāttva Guna; again when he is void of Sāttva and filled with
Rājo Guna, His temper becomes unpleasant and his appearance gets dark and
awful everywhere; and when he becomes grossly Tāmasic, He becomes sorrowful
and bereft entirely of intelligence.
41-51. Visnu, when resting in Sāttva, becomes peaceful, sweet-tempered, and
full of knowledge; when Rājo Guna preponderates in Him, He becomes void of
sweetness and becomes awful to all the beings. Rudra becomes, too, peaceful
and pleasant under the Sāttva Guna, awful and void of sweetness under the
Rājo Guna, and becomes sad and stupid under the Tāmo Guna. O King! When
Brahmā, Visnu, Mahesvara and the solar and lunar Kings, the fourteen lords
of Manvantaras, Manu and others are under the control of the mayic Gunas,
what to speak of other ordinary mortals, men and the other Jīvas. The whole
world is under the control of Māyā; the Devas, men and all other beings.
None should doubt on this point. All the embodied beings labour under the
directions of Māyā; never can they work independently. This Māyā is again
always residing in the Highest Essence, the Samvit or the Universal Pure
Consciousness. Thus Māyā is dependent on the Highest Goddess, Who is of the
nature of Samvit, and, stimulated by Her, resides in the hearts of all the
Jīvas. Therefore one ought to meditate, worship and bow down before the
Bhagavatī, the Creatrix of Māyā and Who is of the nature of Samvit, Pure
Existence, Intelligence and Bliss. Thus She becomes gracious and merciful
and liberates the Jīvas, giving them Her realisation and drawing together
Her own Māyā away from them. This whole cosmos is nothing but Māyā and the
Consciousness (Samvit) of the nature of Brāhman is the Lord of Māyā. For
this reason that Beautiful One in the triple worlds, the Devī Bhagavatī is
known by the name Bhuvanesvarī, the Great Lady of the worlds.
52-60. O King! If the Jīvas can fix their hearts on that Samvit, then Māyā,
born of the real and unreal, is quite unable to do any harm to them. No
other Deva than the Bhuvanesvarī, of the nature of pure existence,
intelligence and bliss is able to remove this Māyā. O King! Darkness cannot
destroy darkness; the Sun, Moon, Lightning or Fire can destroy it. Therefore
it is highly incumbent on us to worship the Lady of Māyā, the Samvit, the
Mother with a cheerful heart to remove the Māyā and Her Gunas. O King! Now I
have narrated to you all the events concerning the killing of Vritrāsura
that you asked. What more do you want to hear now. O One devoted to vows! I
have now described the first half of that Purāna, which describes in detail
the glory of Srī Devī Bhagavatī. This Purāna, the secret of this Mother of
the whole Universe, is not to be disclosed indiscriminately to anybody.
Those that are peaceful, self-restrained, devoted, and possessed of Bhakti
to the Devī, the disciples that are devoted to their Gurus and the eldest
son, those are the fit recipients thereof. Whoever reads or hears with
greatest devotion this Mahāpurānam, equivalent to the Vedas, fraught with
sound proofs and the essence of all talks, becomes, in this world, possessed
of great wealth, becomes wise and passes his time in the greatest happiness.
There is no doubt in this.
Here ends the Thirty-first Chapter on the Sixth Book on the glory of Māyā in
the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda
Vyāsa.
The Sixth Book Finished.
Next >
Devi Puranam index
Email
this page to a friend
|
|
