rule


 

Canto 1

Govinda jaya jaya

 


Chapter 4: The Appearance of S'rī Nārada

(1) The elderly and learned S'aunaka, the head of the long-standing ceremony the sages were gathered for, congratulated Sūta Gosvāmī and said the following to him: (2) "Oh most fortunate one of those who are respected to speak, please tell us about the message of the Bhāgavatam the way it was discussed by S'ukadeva Gosvāmī. (3) When, where, on what ground and wherefrom inspired could this literature be compiled by sage Vyāsadeva? (4) His son, who, being equipoised and unwavering, always had his mind fixed on the One, was a great devotee and an awakened soul, but unexposed he appeared to be ignorant. (5) Naked bathing beauties covered their bodies out of shyness when they once saw sage Vyāsa in clothes following his son, whereas they astonishingly, by him being asked about his son, replied that [they did not feel ashamed before him because] he looked at them purely without any sexual discrimination. (6) How was he [S'uka], appearing like a retarded dumb madman as he wandered through the Kuru-jāngala provinces, recognized by the inhabitants of Hastināpura [now: Delhi] the moment he reached the city? (7) How could the discussion covering this Vedic truth [about Krishna], oh dear soul, take place between the saint and the descendant of Pāndu, the wise king? (8) He, as a pilgrim sanctifying the places he visits, stayed at the door of the householders only for the time it takes to milk a cow. (9) Please tell us about Parīkchit, the son of Abhimanyu, who is said to be a first-class devotee whose birth and activities are all wonderful. (10) For what reason did the emperor, who was an honor to the name of Pāndu, neglect the opulences of his kingdom and sat down at the Ganges to do penance until his death? (11) Oh why did he, at whose feet all enemies surrendered their wealth for their own sake, in the prime of his life give up his so difficult to relinquish life of royal riches? (12) Men devoted to the One Hailed in the Verses, live for the welfare, the affluence and prosperity of all living beings and not for any selfish purpose; for what reason relinquished he, freed from all attachment, his mortal body that was the shelter for others? (13) Explain to us clearly all that we asked you about this subject, for we consider you fully acquainted with all the meanings of the words in the scriptures, except for those of the Vedic hymns."

(14) Sūta Gosvāmī said: "When Dvāpara-yuga had entered its third [last] phase [*] and the age expired, the sage [Vyāsa], a partial expansion of the Lord, was begotten by Parās'ara in the womb of the daughter of Vasu [Satyavatī]. (15) One morning when the sun globe rose above the horizon he, after being cleansed by the water of his morning duties, sat down at the bank of the river Sarasvatī to focus his mind. (16) The rishi knowing the past and the future, saw that gradually irregularities were developing in the dharma of his time. It was something that can be observed more often in the different eras on earth as a consequence of unseen, irresistible forces. (17-18) The sage with his infallible eye of knowledge noticed that the common man was unlucky and short-lived and that, with the dullness and impatience of faithless people lacking in goodness, the natural capacity - the talent - of all types of men as also of other creatures was declining. Therefore the muni with his transcendental vision contemplated on what would benefit the welfare of all vocations and stages in life. (19) According to the insight that there were four sacrificial fires for purifying the work effort of the people, he divided the one original Veda into four divisions for the sake of the continuation of the sacrificial activities. (20) Rig, Yajuh, Sāma and Atharva were the names of the four separate Vedas while the Itihāsas [the single histories] and the Purānas [the collections of histories] were called the fifth Veda. (21) The Rig Veda thereupon was propagated by the rishi Paila, the Sāma Veda by the learned Jaimini, while Vais'ampāyana was the only one versed enough to qualify for the defense of the Yajur Veda. (22) Angirā - also called Sumantu Muni -  in his formidable devotion took care of the Atharva Veda while the Itihāsas and the Purānas were defended by my father Romaharshana. (23) All these scholars in their turn distributed the knowledge entrusted to them to their disciples who did the same with their following who also did that with their pupils, and thus the different branches of followers of the Vedas came about. (24) In order to assure that the Veda would be assimilated as much by the less intellectual people, the great sage Vyāsa, the Lord in these matters, took care to edit it for the ignorant ones. (25) For the sake of the women [see 6.9: 6 & 9], the working class and the friends of the twice-born for whom, [in case] of a lesser intelligence, this knowledge is not accessible, the sage was as merciful to write down the story of the Mahābhārata so that they also could succeed in the performance of their duties.

(26) Dear brahmins, thus always being engaged in working for the welfare of all living beings, he in his heart nevertheless at that time by no means could be satisfied.  (27) In seclusion being purified, residing at the bank of the Sarasvatī, he thought about it and, knowing the dharma, therefore from the dissatisfaction of his heart said to himself: (28-29) 'Strictly adhering to my vows, I sincerely was of proper worship and also respected the spiritual masters in my performance of the sacrifices according to the traditional Vedic instructions. Even for women, the working class and others I, by compiling the Mahābhārata, have properly explained what according to the disciplic succession should be stated about the path of religion. (30) Despite, so it seems, having been complete in relation to the glory of the Absolute Truth in my discussion of the Supreme Soul as being situated in the body, and even having discussed my own self, I feel something is missing. (31) I might not have given sufficient directions about the devotional service so dear to the perfect souls and the Infallible One.'

(32) While Krishna Dvaipāyana Vyāsa thus regretfully thought about his shortcomings, Nārada, as I stated before, reached his cottage. (33) Seeing the great fortune of it, he quickly got up to honor him with the same respect the godly souls offer to Brahmājī, the creator."


Read the inspiration to this chapter by Anand Aadhar
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Third revised edition, loaded january 19, 2016.

 

 

 

Previous Aadhar edition and Vedabase links:

Text 1

The elderly and learned S'aunaka, the head of the long-standing ceremony the sages were gathered for, congratulated Sūta Gosvāmī and said the following to him:

The elderly and learned S'aunaka, the head of the ceremony the sages were gathered for, congratulated Sūta Gosvāmī thanking him thus: (Vedabase)

 

Text 2

"Oh most fortunate one of those who are respected to speak, please tell us about the message of the Bhāgavatam the way it was discussed by S'ukadeva Gosvāmī.

"O most fortunate one of the ones respected to speak, tell us of the message of the Bhāgavatam, as spoken by S'ukadeva Gosvāmī. (Vedabase)

 

Text 3

When, where, on what ground and wherefrom inspired could this literature be compiled by sage Vyāsadeva?

When, where, on what ground and wherefrom inspired could this literature be compiled by Vyāsadeva? (Vedabase)

 

Text 4

His son, who, being equipoised and unwavering, always had his mind fixed on the One, was a great devotee and an awakened soul, but unexposed he appeared to be ignorant.

His son, a balanced monist with his mind always fixed on the One, was a great devotee, but unexposed he appeared ignorant. (Vedabase)

 

Text 5

Naked bathing beauties covered their bodies out of shyness when they once saw sage Vyāsa in clothes following his son, whereas they astonishingly, by him being asked about his son, replied that [they did not feel ashamed before him because] he looked at them purely without any sexual discrimination.

Seeing the sage Vyāsa following his son, naked bathing beauties covered their bodies out of shyness, whereas astonishingly asked of his son they replied him that they did not do so for him as he regarded them purely without sexual discrimination. (Vedabase)

 

Text 6

How was he [S'uka], appearing like a retarded dumb madman as he wandered through the Kuru-jāngala provinces, recognized by the inhabitants of Hastināpura [now: Delhi] the moment he reached the city?

How was he [S'uka], appearing like a retarded dumb madman, upon reaching the Kuru-jāngala provinces recognized by the inhabitants when he entered Hastināpura [now: Delhi]? (Vedabase)

 

Text 7

How could the discussion covering this Vedic truth [about Krishna], oh dear soul, take place between the saint and the descendant of Pāndu, the wise king?

How could the discussion of this sage with king Parīkchit take place about this essence of the Vedas? (Vedabase)

 

Text 8

He, as a pilgrim sanctifying the places he visits, stayed at the door of the householders only for the time it takes to milk a cow.

He, pilgering, only for the time of milking a cow stayed at the door of the householders sanctifying the residence. (Vedabase)

 

Text 9

Please tell us about Parīkchit, the son of Abhimanyu, who is said to be a first-class devotee whose birth and activities are all wonderful.

Please tell us about Parīkchit, the son of Abhimanyu, who is said to be a first class devotee whose birth and activities are all wonderful. (Vedabase)

 

Text 10

For what reason did the emperor, who was an honor to the name of Pāndu, neglect the opulences of his kingdom and sat down at the Ganges to do penance until his death?

For what reason did the emperor who enriched the name of Pāndu, neglect the opulences of his kingdom, sitting down for penance at the Ganges until his death? (Vedabase)

 

Text 11

Oh why did he, at whose feet all enemies surrendered their wealth for their own sake, in the prime of his life give up his so difficult to relinquish life of royal riches?

Why did he, at whose feet all enemies surrendered their wealth for their own sake, in full youth exclaim to give up his life of royal riches? (Vedabase)

 

Text 12

Men devoted to the One Hailed in the Verses, live for the welfare, the affluence and prosperity of all living beings and not for any selfish purpose; for what reason relinquished he, freed from all attachment, his mortal body that was the shelter for others?

How could he, giving shelter and living for the welfare of others, being as a man unattached and unselfish by devotion to the cause, give up his mortal body? (Vedabase)

 

Text 13

Explain to us clearly all that we asked you about this subject, for we consider you fully acquainted with all the meanings of the words in the scriptures, except for those of the Vedic hymns."

Explain this all to us as we consider you fully acquainted with as good as all the meaning of the words in the scriptures." (Vedabase)

 

Text 14

Sūta Gosvāmī said: "When Dvāpara-yuga had entered its third [last] phase [*] and the age expired, the sage [Vyāsa], a partial expansion of the Lord, was begotten by Parās'ara in the womb of the daughter of Vasu [Satyavatī].

Sūta Gosvāmī said: "When the second millennium that ran into the third, ended, was the sage [Vyāsa] born to Parās'ara from the womb of the daughter of Vasu as a full aspect of the Lord. (Vedabase)


Text 15

One morning when the sun globe rose above the horizon he, after being cleansed by the water of his morning duties, sat down at the bank of the river Sarasvatī to focus his mind.

One morning at sunrise, after being cleansed by the water of his morning duties, he sat down at the bank of the river Sarasvatī to concentrate. (Vedabase)

 

Text 16

The rishi knowing the past and the future, saw that gradually irregularities were developing in the dharma of his time. It was something that can be observed more often in the different eras on earth as a consequence of unseen, irresistible forces.

Knowing past and future, he saw from the different ages that in the religion of his time gradually anomalies were accruing. (Vedabase)

 

Text 17-18

The sage with his infallible eye of knowledge noticed that the common man was unlucky and short-lived and that, with the dullness and impatience of faithless people lacking in goodness, the natural capacity - the talent - of all types of men as also of other creatures was declining. Therefore the muni with his transcendental vision contemplated on what would benefit the welfare of all vocations and stages in life.

In the dull and impatient of the faithless lacking in goodness, he saw a decline in the natural power in material actions. By his transcendence seeing the people in general being short-lived and unlucky, he who is full in knowledge contemplated for the welfare of all the vocations and stages in life. (Vedabase)

 

Text 19

According to the insight that there were four sacrificial fires for purifying the work effort of the people, he divided the one original Veda into four divisions for the sake of the continuation of the sacrificial activities.
After seeing that there were four sacrificial fires for purifying the work of the people, he expanded the one Veda accordingly into four. (Vedabase)

 

Text 20

Rig, Yajuh, Sāma and Atharva were the names of the four separate Vedas while the Itihāsas [the single histories] and the Purānas [the collections of histories] were called the fifth Veda.

Rig, Yajuh, Sāma and Atharva were the names of these four parts while the original source of knowledge, the purānas were called the fifth Veda. (Vedabase)

 

Text 21

The Rig Veda thereupon was propagated by the rishi Paila, the Sāma Veda by the learned Jaimini, while Vais'ampāyana was the only one versed enough to qualify for the defense of the Yajur Veda.

After that the Rig Veda was propagated by the rishi Paila, the Sāma Veda by Jaimini, while Vais'ampāyana was the one well versed enough to be qualified to defend the Yajur Veda. (Vedabase)

 

Text 22

Angirā - also called Sumantu Muni -  in his formidable devotion took care of the Atharva Veda while the Itihāsas and the Purānas were defended by my father Romaharshana.

The serious respect for the Atharva Veda was with Angirā [Sumantu Muni], while the records of history, the purānas, were defended by my father Romaharshana. (Vedabase)

 

Text 23

All these scholars in their turn distributed the knowledge entrusted to them to their disciples who did the same with their following who also did that with their pupils, and thus the different branches of followers of the Vedas came about.

They in their turn handed the knowledge entrusted to them down to their disciples who did the same with their following and thus the different branches of followers of the Vedas came about. (Vedabase)

 

Text 24

In order to assure that the Veda would be assimilated as much by the less intellectual people, the great sage Vyāsa, the Lord in these matters, took care to edit it for the ignorant ones.

In order to have the Veda assimilated as much by the less intellectual ones, the great sage of lordship Vyāsa took care to edit it for the masses. (Vedabase)

 

Text 25

For the sake of the women [see 6.9: 6 & 9], the working class and the friends of the twice-born for whom, [in case] of a lesser intelligence, this knowledge is not accessible, the sage was as merciful to write down the story of the Mahābhārata so that they also could succeed in the performance of their duties.

Thinking this way, for the welfare of the more foolish women [see 6.9: 6 & 9], the working class and the friends of the twice-born who themselves do not work for understanding, from the mercy of the sage the benefit of the completion of the history of the Mahābhārata was achieved. (Vedabase)

 

Text 26

Dear brahmins, thus always being engaged in working for the welfare of all living beings, he in his heart nevertheless at that time by no means could be satisfied.

O dear twice-born, by no means could he, who was always working for the welfare of all, find satisfaction at that time. (Vedabase)

 

Text 27

In seclusion being purified, residing at the bank of the Sarasvatī, he thought about it and, knowing the dharma, therefore from the dissatisfaction of his heart said to himself:

Knowing what religion is, he, purified in seclusion at the bank of the Sarasvatī, thus from the dissatisfaction of his heart said to himself: (Vedabase):


Text 28-29

'Strictly adhering to my vows, I sincerely was of proper worship and also respected the spiritual masters in my performance of the sacrifices according to the traditional Vedic instructions. Even for women, the working class and others I, by compiling the Mahābhārata, have properly explained what according to the disciplic succession should be stated about the path of religion.

'With strict discipline I sincerely did proper worship to the tradition of the vedic hymns, respecting the masters and doing the sacrifices. For women, s'ūdras and others I properly explained of the disciplic succession what is necessary to know of the path of religion by compiling the Mahābhārata. (Vedabase)

 

Text 30

Despite, so it seems, having been complete in relation to the glory of the Absolute Truth in my discussion of the Supreme Soul as being situated in the body, and even having discussed my own self, I feel something is missing.

Although it appears that I did enough for the Supreme to the demands of the vedantists, I feel something is missing. (Vedabase)

 

Text 31

I might not have given sufficient directions about the devotional service so dear to the perfect souls and the Infallible One.'

I might not have given sufficient directions about the devotional service so dear to as well the perfect as to the Infallible One.' (Vedabase)

 

Text 32

While Krishna Dvaipāyana Vyāsa thus regretfully thought about his shortcomings, Nārada, as I stated before, reached his cottage.

While Krishna-dvaipāyana Vyāsa was regretfully thinking this way of his shortcomings, Nārada, whom I spoke of before, reached his cottage. (Vedabase)

 

Text 33

Seeing the great fortune of it, he quickly got up to honor him with the same respect the godly souls offer to Brahmājī, the creator."

Seeing the auspicious arrival of the muni he quickly got up and venerated him with the respect equal to the respect the godly pay Brahmājī the creator." (Vedabase)

 

*:  S'rīla Vis'vanātha Cakravartī Thhakur remarks in his Sārārtha-dars'inī commentary here: "All yugas are divided into three parts: the beginning portion (sandhyā-rūpa), the middle portion (yuga-rūpa) and the end portion (sandhyāms'a-rūpa)."


 

 

 

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