SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM: CANTO 5- CHAPTER 3

S'rî S'uka said: 'Nâbhi, the son of Âgnîdhra, desiring to have sons with Merudevî who was childless, with great attention offered prayers in worship of the Supreme Lord Vishnu, the enjoyer of all sacrifices.

S'ukadeva Gosvâmî continued to speak: Mahârâja Nâbhi, the son of Âgnîdhra, wished to have sons, and therefore he attentively began to offer prayers and worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, the master and enjoyer of all sacrifices. Mahârâja Nâbhi's wife, Merudevî, who had not given birth to any children at that time, also worshiped Lord Vishnu along with her husband. (Vedabase)

Text 2

When he assuredly with great faith and devotion and a pure mind was worshiping, manifested the Supreme Lord out of His love to fulfill the desires of His devotees, Himself in His most beautiful, unconquerable form that is pleasing to the mind and eyes with its captivating beautiful limbs, although that could not be achieved with the introductory pravargya ceremony as was initiated, and the ingredients, the right place and time, the hymns, the priests, the gifts to the priests and by means of the regulative principles themselves.

In the performance of a sacrifice, there are seven transcendental means to obtain the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead:. (1) by sacrificing valuable things or eatables,. (2) by acting in terms of place,. (3) by acting in terms of time,. (4) by offering hymns,. (5) by going through the priest,. (6) by offering gifts to the priests and. (7) by observing the regulative principles. However, one cannot always obtain the Supreme Lord through this paraphernalia. Nonetheless, the Lord is affectionate to His devotee; therefore when Mahârâja Nâbhi, who was a devotee, worshiped and offered prayers to the Lord with great faith and devotion and with a pure uncontaminated mind, superficially performing some yajña in the line of pravargya, the kind Supreme Personality of Godhead, due to His affection for His devotees, appeared before King Nâbhi in His unconquerable and captivating form with four hands. In this way, to fulfill the desire of His devotee, the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifested Himself in His beautiful body before His devotee. This body pleases the mind and eyes of the devotees. (Vedabase)

Text 3

After He manifested Himself most obviously in His four-handed form very bright, as the topmost of all living beings, with a yellow silk garment and the beauty of the S'rîvatsa mark He has on His chest, His conchshell, lotus flower, disc, flower garland, the Kaustubha-jewel and His club and such as are characteristic for Him, and radiating brilliantly with the helmet, earrings, bracelets, girdle, necklace, armlets, ankle bells etc. that ornamented His body, felt king Nâbhi, the priests and the others themselves like poor people having obtained a great treasure and with great regards and everything of worship they reverentially bent their heads.

Lord Vishnu appeared before King Nâbhi with four arms. He was very bright, and He appeared to be the best of all personalities. Around the lower portion of His body, He wore a yellow silken garment. On His chest was the mark of S'rîvatsa, which always displays beauty. He carried a conchshell, lotus flower, disc and club, and He wore a garland of forest flowers and the Kaustubha gem. He was beautifully decorated with a helmet, earrings, bangles, belt, pearl necklace, armlets, ankle bells and other bodily ornaments bedecked with radiant jewels. Seeing the Lord present before them, King Nâbhi and his priests and associates felt just like poor people who have suddenly attained great riches. They received the Lord and respectfully bent their heads and offered Him things in worship. (Vedabase)

Text 4-5:

The priests said: 'Please accept again and again, o most exalted one, the offering in worship of our respects, the obeisances of us, Your servants. Thus we're able to act thus far being instructed by the exalted ones; what man, whose mind not in the least capable is absorbed in the transformations of material nature, is capable of ascertaining, of the Supreme Controller above the influence of the material world, all the names, forms and qualities belonging to His position here! By most auspiciously speaking of the excellence of Your transcendental qualities, which wipe out all the sinful actions of mankind, we may know You but partially.

The priests began to offer prayers to the Lord, saying: O most worshipable one, we are simply Your servants. Although You are full in Yourself, please, out of Your causeless mercy, accept a little service from us, Your eternal servants. We are not actually aware of Your transcendental form, but we can simply offer our respectful obeisances again and again, as instructed by the Vedic literatures and authorized âcâryas. Materialistic living entities are very much attracted to the modes of material nature, and therefore they are never perfect, but You are above the jurisdiction of all material conceptions. Your name, form and qualities are all transcendental and beyond the conception of experimental knowledge. Indeed, who can conceive of You? In the material world we can perceive only material names and qualities. We have no other power than to offer our respectful obeisances and prayers unto You, the transcendental person. The chanting of Your auspicious transcendental qualities will wipe out the sins of all mankind. That is the most auspicious activity for us, and we can thus partially understand Your supernatural position. (Vedabase)

Text 6

It is by the worship indeed of Your servants, who in great ecstasy with faltering voices do their prayers, performing with water, fresh twigs of green, tulasî leaves and sprouts of grass, that You become satisfied.

O Supreme Lord, You are full in every respect. You are certainly very satisfied when Your devotees offer You prayers with faltering voices and in ecstasy bring You tulasî leaves, water, twigs bearing new leaves, and newly grown grass. This surely makes You satisfied. (Vedabase)

Text 7

Everything else of all the concern here about the things of use required in this, we acknowledge, is because of Your greatness not even needed.

We have engaged in Your worship with many things and have offered sacrifices unto You, but we think that there is no need for so many arrangements to please Your Lordship. (Vedabase)

Text 8

All the spiritual virtues - Your actual identity - self-sufficiently, undoubtedly at every moment, directly and without ever stopping do increase endlessly; but, o Lord, the always desiring of us in this for the blessings of material pleasure, may only exist for the purpose of obtaining Your grace.

All of life's goals and opulences are directly, self-sufficiently, unceasingly and unlimitedly increasing in You at every moment. Indeed, You are unlimited enjoyment and blissful existence itself. As far as we are concerned, O Lord, we are always after material enjoyment. You do not need all these sacrificial arrangements, but they are meant for us so that we may be benedicted by Your Lordship. All these sacrifices are performed for our fruitive results, aid they are not actually needed by You. (Vedabase)

Text 9

Although You, personally, by the abundance of Your causeless mercy and glory desiring to lay open the spiritual path [called apavarga], have come here and are presently seen like one can see any ordinary person, do we fall short in our worship for You for we, o Lord of lords, are as fools ignorant about that ultimate welfare of You.

O Lord of lords, we are completely ignorant of the execution of dharma, artha, kâma and moksha, the process of liberation, because we do not actually know the goal of life. You have appeared personally before us like a person soliciting worship, but actually You are present here just so we can see You. You have come out of Your abundant and causeless mercy in order to serve our purpose, our interest, and give us the benefit of Your personal glory called apavarga, liberation. You have come, although You are not properly worshiped by us due to our ignorance. (Vedabase)

Text 10

This then, because of in this sacrifice of the saintly king Nâbhi having become, o Lordship, o best of the benefactors, the object of the vision of us Your devotees, is no doubt the greatest benediction indeed, o most worshipable One.

O most worshipable of all, You are the best of all benefactors, and Your appearance at saintly King Nâbhi's sacrificial arena is meant for our benediction. Because You have been seen by us, You have bestowed upon us the most valuable benediction. (Vedabase)

Text 11

You are to them, of whom the endless impurity, having attained Your qualities, has been removed by the strength of detachment and the fire of knowledge, You are to those sages who self-satisfied, incessantly recounted all the good of You in telling Your stories, the supreme bliss produced.

Dear Lord, all the great sages who are thoughtful and saintly persons incessantly recount Your spiritual qualities. These sages have already burned up all the unlimited dirty things and, by the fire of knowledge, strengthened their detachment from the material world. Thus they have attained Your qualities and are self-satisfied. Yet even for those who feel spiritual bliss in chanting Your attributes, Your personal presence is very rare. (Vedabase)

Text 12

Still we somehow or other stumble along, hungrily fall down and yawn because of feeling misplaced and so on, and also are we of ourselves unable to remember You in the fever of our deathstruggle; may it be possible that we utter Your names and speak of Your activities and attributes, for they have the potency to drive away all our sins.

Dear Lord, we may not be able to remember Your name, form and qualities due to stumbling, hunger, falling down, yawning or being in a miserable diseased condition at the time of death when there is a high fever. We therefore pray unto You, O Lord, for You are very affectionate to Your devotees. Please help us remember You and utter Your holy names, attributes and activities, which can dispel all the reactions of our sinful lives. (Vedabase)

Text 13

Moreover aspires this pious king to be blessed by You with offspring, a son that he hopes to be exactly like You: a supreme controller of the benedictions of heaven and the path leading there; even though this king with You, the great love of the worship, with his idea of children as the ultimate goal of life, behaves like a poor man who asks a person of wealth and charity for a little grain.

Dear Lord, here is the great King Nâbhi, whose ultimate goal in life is to have a son like You. Your Lordship, his position is like that of a person approaching a very rich man and begging for a little grain. Mahârâja Nâbhi is so desirous of having a son that he is worshiping You for a son, although You can offer him any exalted position, including elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation back to Godhead. (Vedabase)

Text 14

Who, without respect for the feet of the great ones, is within this world of Yours not conquered by the unconquerable illusory energy of which one cannot find the path; who is in his intelligence not bewildered by the material enjoyment that is like poison; who is in his nature not checked by that stream?

Dear Lord, unless one worships the lotus feet of great devotees, one will be conquered by the illusory energy, and his intelligence will be bewildered. Indeed, who has not been carried away by the waves of material enjoyment, which are like poison? Your illusory energy is unconquerable. No one can see the path of this material energy or tell how it is working. (Vedabase)

Text 15

Because of indeed Your again being invited in this arena of sacrifice as the performer of many wonders - please tolerate out of Your sameness to all and everything therefore us, the ignorant ones, who, not very intelligent of disrespect for the divinity of You as the God of Gods, are aspiring a material outcome.'

O Lord, You perform many wonderful activities. Our only aim was to acquire a son by performing this great sacrifice; therefore our intelligence is not very sharp. We are not experienced in ascertaining life's goal. By inviting You to this negligible sacrifice for some material motive, we have certainly committed a great offense at Your lotus feet. Therefore, O Lord of lords, please excuse our offense because of Your causeless mercy and equal mind. (Vedabase)

Text 16

S'rî S'uka said: 'The Supreme Lord, the lead of the wise, thus extolled by the unbound recitation performed by them to whose feet even the emperor of Bhâratavarsha [India] bowed down, then spoke.

S'rî S'ukadeva Gosvâmî said: The priests, who were even worshiped by King Nâbhi, the Emperor of Bhârata-varsha, offered prayers in prose [generally they were in poetry] and bowed down at the Lord's lotus feet. The Lord of lords, the ruler of the demigods, was very pleased with them, and He began to speak as follows. (Vedabase)