SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM: CANTO 4

(1) Sûta said [to the rishis at Naimishâranya]: "The hearing of the description of Maitreya of Dhruva's ascent to the abode of Vaikunthha, made Vidura's love for the Supreme Lord, who cannot be seen by one's normal eyes, grow and again he made an effort to question Maitreya Muni.

(2) Vidura asked: 'Who where they, you called the Pracetâs? What was the renown of their family and who were their sons, o best among the sworn, and what sacrifice did they perform? (3) I think that Nârada is the greatest of all the devotees; he saw God in the eye and he spoke about the procedure of rendering service in devotion unto the Lord [kriyâ-yoga or the pâñcarâtrika-method]. (4) When these men were doing their duties of sacrifice in worship of the Supreme Lord, was He by Nârada full of devotion described. (5) O brahmin, be so kind to tell me in full, what stories about the Lord were all narrated there by the devarishi.'

(6) Maitreya said: 'Utkala, the son of Dhruva, did, after his father departed for the forest, not desire the royal seat of his father with all its lands and opulence. (7) From his very birth, he was a satisfied, unattached soul, who equipoised, saw the Supersoul spread everywhere in the world and all the world as resting in the Supersoul. (8-9) Relating to the holy spirit had, for his spiritual soul, ended the separation from heaven [nirvâna] and by a continuing yoga-practice he had increased his bliss, that as fire burnt all the impurities of karma out of his mind; thus realizing his constitutional position he then saw nothing but the Supreme Soul. (10) Out on the road appeared he, to the less intelligent, to be like a fool, blind, deaf, dumb and mad, but actually was his intelligence more like a fire of which the flames are tempered. (11) Thinking Utkala to be void of intelligence and mad, appointed the elders of the family and the ministers of state Vatsara, the younger son of Bhrami, the ruler of the world. (12) Svarvîthi, King Vatsara's dearest wife, gave birth to six sons: Pushpârna, Tigmaketu, Isha, Ûrja, Vasu en Jaya. (13) Pushpârna had two wives Doshâ and Prabhâ and of Prabhâ there was the happiness of seeing the sons Prâtar, Madhyandinam and Sâyam. (14) Pradosha, Nis'itha and Vyushtha were likewise the three sons of Doshâ. Vyushtha begot in his wife Pushkarinî a son named Sarvatejâ [the all powerful one]. (15-16) His wife, called Âkûti, gave birth to Câkshusha Manu who indeed was the [sixth] Manu. Free from passion he from his queen Nadvalâ gave the world the sons Puru, Kutsa, Trita, Dyumna, Satyavân, Rita, Vrata, Agnishthoma, Atîrâtra, Pradyumna, S'ibi en Ulmuka. (17) In Pushkarinî begot Ulmuka six very good sons: Anga, Sumanâ, Khyâti, Kratu, Angirâ and Gaya. (18) The wife of Anga, Sunîthâ gave birth to Vena who was very crooked and because of his bad character left the saintly king Anga disappointed the city. (19-20) He [Vena] was cursed by the great sages, whose angry words struck him like thunder; after that he then died, and being without a king, all the inhabitants of the world then suffered from thieves and rogues. They churned his right hand, upon which a partial incarnation [ams'a-avatâra] of Nârâyana called Prithu descended, who became the original Lord of the Earth.'

(21) Vidura said: 'When King Anga was such a reservoir of good character and a saintly person, a lover of brahminical culture and a great soul, how could his son be so bad that he became indifferent and left? (22) Why did the sages conversant with the religious principles, finding fault, desire to award Vena the brahmin's curse while it was he himself who carried the rod of punishment? (23) The king is never to be insulted by the citizens however sinful he may be, because he maintains of all the local officials the power by his personal influence. (24) Please describe all this about the activities of the son of Sunîthâ to me, your faithful devotee, o brahmin, as you are well conversant with the things above and below.

(25) Maitreya answered: 'King Anga once executed a great as'vamedha sacrifice, but to that great offering all the godly ones, although invited by the officiating brahmins, never attended. (26) Puzzled about it they then told the institutor of the sacrifice: 'The godly ones do not accept the priests their oblations in the fire. (27) O King, there is nothing impure with the offerings that you with great care collected, nor is there anything wrong with the proper execution of the mantras by the qualified brahmins. (28) In this connection we cannot find the least insult or neglect in respect of the godly ones because of which the ones of divinity, that are to witness the sacrifice, wouldn't accept their own share.'

(29) Maitreya said: 'King Anga, the performer of the sacrifice, was, after hearing what the twice-born said, very depressed about it and then with their permission he addressed the priests to be further informed: (30) 'Being invited the ones of God are not coming to accept their shares of the sacrifice; my dear priests, please tell me what the nature of the offense is that I committed?'

(31) The leading priests said: 'O god of man, in this life you not even committed the slightest sin, but in your previous life there is a sin from which in this life you are accordingly without any son. (32) Therefore - all good fortune to you - execute the sacrifice to get a good son, o King; the Lord, the enjoyer of the sacrifice, worshiped by you desiring a son, will deliver you one. (33) Thereupon will all the men of God accept their share in the sacrifice, because for the purpose of a son then directly the Supreme Personality has been invited. (34) The Lord being worshiped will award the person whatever the objects desired, when it is sure that accordingly He for the people is the desired outcome.'

(35) Having decided thus engaged the learned ones their means of sacrifice in offering to Vishnu, the Lord of the Flames, for the purpose of the king to get a son. (36) From the sacrificial fire a person in white garments appeared with a golden garland and a golden pot in which he carried rice boiled in milk. (37) He, the king, fixed in the noble mind, with the permission of the learned took the in milk boiled rice in his joined palms which he, after smelling it with great delight, offered to his wife. (38) She, the queen, eating from the food that would give her a child, indeed, conceiving from the husband, became pregnant and thus she in due time gave birth to the son that she, missing one, needed to appear.

(39) That child, a boy indeed, appeared partly following his maternal grandfather's irreligion of death; and of that he became an offender of the holy duty. (40) He used to take up his bow as a hunter, going into the forest to kill innocent deer and thus all the people would cry 'There he is, the cruel Vena!'. (41) While playing in the playground with boys of his age he very cruelly by force merciless killed them as if he was slaughtering animals. (42) Seeing how cruel his son was, was the king by different kinds of punishments not able to get a grip on him and thus he became greatly aggrieved thinking: (43) 'Those who are without a son must have honored God; they do not have to suffer this unbearable sorrow to live at home with such a bad son. (44) From a bad son's sinful reputation and unrighteousness will there be a great discord among men and an endless anxiety among all people. (45) Who would want such a so-called son? No doubt means he for the soul a bondage to illusion; which intelligent man would value one who brings miserey to one's home? (46) I think it is better to have a bad son than a good one because one, from the grief, becomes detached from one's home, that as the source of all grief, turns the life of a mortal man into a heap of trouble.'

(47) Thus grown indifferent got he, the king, unable to sleep, up in the middle of the night to give up his home so opulent from the blessings of the great souls and left he, not seen by anyone, Vena's mother deep asleep. (48) As soon as was understood that the king, no longer caring, had left, searched all the citizens, priests and ministers, friends and the rest of the people the earth in great bereavement, just as inexperienced yogis are looking outside for what's hidden in the person. (49) Not finding a trace of their father of state, o Kaurava, returned the citizens disappointed to their city and informed they with tears in their eyes, after offering their respects, the sages assembled about the absence of the king.

Sûta said [to the rishis at Naimishâranya]: "The hearing of the description of Maitreya of Dhruva's ascent to the abode of Vaikunthha, made Vidura's love for the Supreme Lord, who cannot be seen by one's normal eyes, grow and again he made an effort to question Maitreya Muni.

Sûta Gosvâmî, continuing to speak to all the rishis, headed by S'aunaka, said: After hearing Maitreya Rishi describe Dhruva Mahârâja's ascent to Lord Vishnu's abode, Vidura became very much enlightened in devotional emotion, and he inquired from Maitreya as follows. (Vedabase)

Text 2

Vidura asked: 'Who where they, you called the Pracetâs? What was the renown of their family and who were their sons, o best among the sworn, and what sacrifice did they perform?

Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O greatly advanced devotee, who were the Pracetâs? To which family did they belong? Whose sons were they, and where did they perform the great sacrifices? (Vedabase)

Text 3

I think that Nârada is the greatest of all the devotees; he saw God in the eye and he spoke about the procedure of rendering service in devotion unto the Lord [kriyâ-yoga or the pâñcarâtrika-method].

Vidura continued: I know that the great sage Nârada is the greatest of all devotees. He has compiled the pâñcarâtrika procedure of devotional service and has directly met the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Vedabase)

Text 4

When these men were doing their duties of sacrifice in worship of the Supreme Lord, was He by Nârada full of devotion described.

While all the Pracetâs were executing religious rituals and sacrificial ceremonies and thus worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead for His satisfaction, the great sage Nârada described the transcendental qualities of Dhruva Mahârâja. (Vedabase)

Text 5

O brahmin, be so kind to tell me in full, what stories about the Lord were all narrated there by the devarishi.'

My dear brâhmana, how did Nârada Muni glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and what pastimes were described in that meeting? I am very eager to hear of them. Kindly explain fully about that glorification of the Lord. (Vedabase)

Text 6

Maitreya said: 'Utkala, the son of Dhruva, did, after his father departed for the forest, not desire the royal seat of his father with all its lands and opulence.

The great sage Maitreya replied: My dear Vidura, when Mahârâja Dhruva departed for the forest, his son, Utkala, did not desire to accept the opulent throne of his father, which was meant for the ruler of all the lands of this planet. (Vedabase)

Text 7

From his very birth, he was a satisfied, unattached soul, who equipoised, saw the Supersoul spread everywhere in the world and all the world as resting in the Supersoul.

From his very birth, Utkala was fully satisfied and unattached to the world. He was equipoised, for he could see everything resting in the Supersoul and the Supersoul present in everyone's heart. (Vedabase)

Text 8-9:

Relating to the holy spirit had, for his spiritual soul, ended the separation from heaven [nirvâna] and by a continuing yoga-practice he had increased his bliss, that as fire burnt all the impurities of karma out of his mind; thus realizing his constitutional position he then saw nothing but the Supreme Soul.

By expansion of his knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, he had already attained liberation from the bondage of the body. This liberation is known as nirvâna. He was situated in transcendental bliss, and he continued always in that blissful existence, which expanded more and more. This was possible for him by continual practice of bhakti-yoga, which is compared to fire because it burns away all dirty, material things. He was always situated in his constitutional position of self-realization, and he could not see anything else but the Supreme Lord and himself engaged in discharging devotional service. (Vedabase)

Text 10

Out on the road appeared he, to the less intelligent, to be like a fool, blind, deaf, dumb and mad, but actually was his intelligence more like a fire of which the flames are tempered.

Utkala appeared to the less intelligent persons on the road to be foolish, blind, dumb, deaf and mad, although actually he was not so. He remained like fire covered with ashes, without blazing flames. (Vedabase)

Text 11

Thinking Utkala to be void of intelligence and mad, appointed the elders of the family and the ministers of state Vatsara, the younger son of Bhrami, the ruler of the world.

For this reason the ministers and all the elderly members of the family thought Utkala to be without intelligence and, in fact, mad. Thus his younger brother, named Vatsara, the son of Bhrami, was elevated to the royal throne, and he became king of the world. (Vedabase)

Text 12

Svarvîthi, King Vatsara's dearest wife, gave birth to six sons: Pushpârna, Tigmaketu, Isha, Ûrja, Vasu en Jaya.

King Vatsara had a very dear wife whose name was Svarvîthi, and she gave birth to six sons, named Pushpârna, Tigmaketu, Isha, Ûrja, Vasu and Jaya. (Vedabase)

Text 13

Pushpârna had two wives Doshâ and Prabhâ and of Prabhâ there was the happiness of seeing the sons Prâtar, Madhyandinam and Sâyam.

Pushpârna had two wives, named Prabhâ and Doshâ. Prabhâ had three sons, named Prâtar, Madhyandinam and Sâyam. (Vedabase)

Text 14

Pradosha, Nis'itha and Vyushtha were likewise the three sons of Doshâ. Vyushtha begot in his wife Pushkarinî a son named Sarvatejâ [the all powerful one].

Doshâ had three sons--Pradosha, Nis'itha and Vyushtha. Vyushtha's wife was named Pushkarinî, and she gave birth to a very powerful son named Sarvatejâ. (Vedabase)

Text 15-16:

His wife, called Âkûti, gave birth to Câkshusha Manu who indeed was the [sixth] Manu. Free from passion he from his queen Nadvalâ gave the world the sons Puru, Kutsa, Trita, Dyumna, Satyavân, Rita, Vrata, Agnishthoma, Atîrâtra, Pradyumna, S'ibi and Ulmuka

Sarvatejâ's wife, Âkûti, gave birth to a son named Câkshusha, who became the sixth Manu at the end of the Manu millennium. Nadvalâ, the wife of Câkshusha Manu, gave birth to the following faultless sons: Puru, Kutsa, Trita, Dyumna, Satyavân, Rita, Vrata, Agnishthoma, Atîrâtra, Pradyumna, S'ibi and Ulmuka. (Vedabase)

Text 17

In Pushkarinî begot Ulmuka six very good sons: Anga, Sumanâ, Khyâti, Kratu, Angirâ and Gaya.

Of the twelve sons, Ulmuka begot six sons in his wife Pushkarinî. They were all very good sons, and their names were Anga, Sumanâ, Khyâti, Kratu, Angirâ and Gaya.. (Vedabase)

Text 18:

The wife of Anga, Sunîthâ gave birth to Vena who was very crooked and because of his bad character left the saintly king Anga disappointed the city.

The wife of Anga, Sunîthâ, gave birth to a son named Vena, who was very crooked. The saintly King Anga was very disappointed with Vena's bad character, and he left home and kingdom and went out to the forest. (Vedabase)