sribhagavatam - skandah - chapters - 13th to 15th

The Bhagavata Puranm


Chapter 13: Dhritarâshthra Quits Home

1.13.1

sūta uvāca
viduras tīrtha-yātrāyāṁ
maitreyād ātmano gatim
jñātvāgād dhāstinapuraṁ
tayāvāpta-vivitsitaḥ

(1) Sûta said: "Vidura [*] as he was traveling to the different places of pilgrimage, had received knowledge about the destination of the self from the great sage Maitreya, and since he by that knowledge was sufficiently acquainted with everything to be known, he returned to the city of Hastinâpura.

1.13.2

yāvataḥ kṛtavān praśnān
kṣattā kauṣāravāgrataḥ
jātaika-bhaktir govinde
tebhyaś copararāma ha

(2) After all the questions that Vidura put before Maitreya in his presence an undivided devotion unto Govinda had grown in him and he refrained from further questioning.

1.13.3-4

taṁ bandhum āgataṁ dṛṣṭvā
dharma-putraḥ sahānujaḥ
dhṛtarāṣṭro yuyutsuś ca
sūtaḥ śāradvataḥ pṛthā
gāndhārī draupadī brahman
subhadrā cottarā kṛpī
anyāś ca jāmayaḥ pāṇḍor
jñātayaḥ sasutāḥ striyaḥ

(3-4) Arriving in Hastinâpura he, o brahmins, was welcomed by Yudhishthhira and his younger brothers, Dhritarâshthra, Sâtyaki and Sañjaya, Kripâcârya, Kuntî, Gândhârî, Draupadî, Subhadrâ, Uttarâ, Kripî, other wives of the family members of the Pândavas and other ladies with their sons.

1.13.5

pratyujjagmuḥ praharṣeṇa
prāṇaṁ tanva ivāgatam
abhisaṅgamya vidhivat
pariṣvaṅgābhivādanaiḥ

(5) Like awakened from death they approached him in great delight to receive him with all respect with embraces and obeisances.

1.13.6

mumucuḥ prema-bāṣpaughaṁ
virahautkaṇṭhya-kātarāḥ
rājā tam arhayāṁ cakre
kṛtāsana-parigraham

(6) In their affection they emotionally shed tears because of the anxiety and grief they had felt because of the separation. King Yudhishthhira offered him a seat and then arranged for a reception.
1.13.7

taṁ bhuktavantaṁ viśrāntam
āsīnaṁ sukham āsane
praśrayāvanato rājā
prāha teṣāṁ ca śṛṇvatām

(7) After he was fed sumptuously, had rested and was seated comfortably, the king humbly bowed down to address him in front of everybody.

1.13.8

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
api smaratha no yuṣmat-
pakṣa-cchāyā-samedhitān
vipad-gaṇād viṣāgnyāder
mocitā yat samātṛkāḥ

(8) He said: 'Do you remember how we, brought up under the wings of your care, together with our mother were delivered from various calamities like poisoning and arson?

1.13.9

kayā vṛttyā vartitaṁ vaś
caradbhiḥ kṣiti-maṇḍalam
tīrthāni kṣetra-mukhyāni
sevitānīha bhūtale

 (9) How did you maintain your livelihood as you traveled the surface of the earth and in which holy places of pilgrimage have you been of service here on this planet?

1.13.10

bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatās
tīrtha-bhūtāḥ svayaṁ vibho
tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni
svāntaḥ-sthena gadābhṛtā

(10) Devotees like your goodness are converted into holy places themselves, o powerful one; having the Supreme Personality in your heart, you turn all places into places of pilgrimage.

1.13.11

api naḥ suhṛdas tāta
bāndhavāḥ kṛṣṇa-devatāḥ
dṛṣṭāḥ śrutā vā yadavaḥ
sva-puryāṁ sukham āsate

(11) Dear uncle, can you tell us what you saw or heard about our friends and well-wishers? Are the descendants of Yadu, who with Krishna are rapt in their love for God, all happy where they are living?'

1.13.12

ity ukto dharma-rājena
sarvaṁ tat samavarṇayat
yathānubhūtaṁ kramaśo
vinā yadu-kula-kṣayam

(12) Thus being questioned by the king he properly described, discussing one subject after the other, all he had experienced, but did not mention the destruction of the dynasty.

1.13.13

nanv apriyaṁ durviṣahaṁ
nṛṇāṁ svayam upasthitam
nāvedayat sakaruṇo
duḥkhitān draṣṭum akṣamaḥ

(13) Because he didn't want to upset them he was as graceful not to expound on this in fact so unpalatable and unbearable aspect of mankind's behavior.

1.13.14

kañcit kālam athāvātsīt
sat-kṛto devavat sukham
bhrātur jyeṣṭhasya śreyas-kṛt
sarveṣāṁ sukham āvahan

(14) The sage, who was treated like a god, thus resided for a few days with them so that he could mean something to his eldest brother and all would be happy.

1.13.15

abibhrad aryamā daṇḍaṁ
yathāvad agha-kāriṣu
yāvad dadhāra śūdratvaṁ
śāpād varṣa-śataṁ yamaḥ

(15) Because of a curse of Mandûka Muni [who under Yama's responsibility was treated unjustly], Vidura for the time of a hundred years had to play the part of a s'ûdra [a working class man]. During that time it was Aryamâ who [in his place] administered punishment as was suitable for the sinful ones [**].

1.13.16

yudhiṣṭhiro labdha-rājyo
dṛṣṭvā pautraṁ kulan-dharam
bhrātṛbhir loka-pālābhair
mumude parayā śriyā

(16) Yudhishthhira had seen that there was a grandson in the dynasty fit for ruling the kingdom that he had retrieved and enjoyed together with his politically gifted brothers a life of great wealth.

1.13.17

evaṁ gṛheṣu saktānāṁ
pramattānāṁ tad-īhayā
atyakrāmad avijñātaḥ
kālaḥ parama-dustaraḥ

(17) But Time, insurmountable and imperceptible in its being, surpasses  inimitably those who are inattentive and engrossed in the mind of attachment to family affairs.

1.13.18

viduras tad abhipretya
dhṛtarāṣṭram abhāṣata
rājan nirgamyatāṁ śīghraṁ
paśyedaṁ bhayam āgatam

(18) Vidura who knew this said to Dhritarâshthra: 'O King, [dear brother], please withdraw yourself without delay, just see how fear has taken the lead in your life.

1.13.19

pratikriyā na yasyeha
kutaścit karhicit prabho
sa eṣa bhagavān kālaḥ
sarveṣāṁ naḥ samāgataḥ

(19) In this material world there is no help of anyone or anything to escape from this fear, because that fear concerns the Supreme Lord who approaches us all in the form of eternal Time.

.13.20

yena caivābhipanno 'yaṁ
prāṇaiḥ priyatamair api
janaḥ sadyo viyujyeta
kim utānyair dhanādibhiḥ

(20) Inevitably overtaken by the pull of time a person must, just like that, give up this life as dear as it is to everyone, not to mention the wealth and such he has acquired.

1.13.21

pitṛ-bhrātṛ-suhṛt-putrā
hatās te vigataṁ vayam
ātmā ca jarayā grastaḥ
para-geham upāsase

(21) With your father, brother, well-wishers and sons all dead, with your life expended and your body decrepit, you live in another man's home.

1.13.22

andhaḥ puraiva vadhiro
manda-prajñāś ca sāmpratam
viśīrṇa-danto mandāgniḥ
sarāgaḥ kapham udvahan

(22) You have been blind since you were born, don't hear that well anymore, your memory fails and recently your teeth loosened, your liver gives you trouble, and you are loudly coughing up mucus.

1.13.23

aho mahīyasī jantor
jīvitāśā yathā bhavān
bhīmāpavarjitaṁ piṇḍam
ādatte gṛha-pālavat

(23) Alas, how powerful  the living being its attachment to life is! It is that strong that it makes you, just like a household dog, eat the remnants of the food left over by Bhîma [your Pândava nephew].

1.13.24

agnir nisṛṣṭo dattaś ca
garo dārāś ca dūṣitāḥ
hṛtaṁ kṣetraṁ dhanaṁ yeṣāṁ
tad-dattair asubhiḥ kiyat

(24) How can you subsist on the grace of those whom you tried to burn and poison and whose wife you have insulted while usurping their kingdom?

1.13.25

tasyāpi tava deho 'yaṁ
kṛpaṇasya jijīviṣoḥ
paraity anicchato jīrṇo
jarayā vāsasī iva

(25) Whether you like it or not, you will, however much you value your life, have to face the fact that this miserly body will dwindle and deteriorate like an old garment.

1.13.26

gata-svārtham imaṁ dehaṁ
virakto mukta-bandhanaḥ
avijñāta-gatir jahyāt
sa vai dhīra udāhṛtaḥ

 (26) Someone is courageous and wise if he, unconcerned in being freed from all obligations, accepts that he has to head for an unknown destination when he is no longer able to use his body properly.

1.13.27

yaḥ svakāt parato veha
jāta-nirveda ātmavān
hṛdi kṛtvā hariṁ gehāt
pravrajet sa narottamaḥ

(27) Anyone in this world who, by his own understanding or having it learned from others, arrives at consciousness when he has awakened from his material attachment and next leaves home with the Lord installed in his heart, is certainly a first-class human being.

1.13.28

athodīcīṁ diśaṁ yātu
svair ajñāta-gatir bhavān
ito 'rvāk prāyaśaḥ kālaḥ
puṁsāṁ guṇa-vikarṣaṇaḥ

(28) Therefore, please leave for the north without letting your relatives know where you are heading for; hereafter soon the time will arrive of a general diminishing of the qualities of men [Kali-yuga].'

1.13.29

evaṁ rājā vidureṇānujena
prajñā-cakṣur bodhita ājamīḍhaḥ
chittvā sveṣu sneha-pāśān draḍhimno
niścakrāma bhrātṛ-sandarśitādhvā

(29) Having heard this the old king of the Ajamîdha family, in respect of the wisdom of his younger brother Vidura, broke determined with the strong family ties and left in that direction which was set for the path of liberation.

1.13.30

patiṁ prayāntaṁ subalasya putrī
pati-vratā cānujagāma sādhvī
himālayaṁ nyasta-daṇḍa-praharṣaṁ
manasvinām iva sat-samprahāraḥ

(30) He was followed by the chaste and worthy daughter of King Subala [Gândhârî] who went along with her husband to the Himalayas - the place that is the delight of those who took up the staff of renunciation like they were fighters accepting the legitimacy of a good beating.

1.13.31

ajāta-śatruḥ kṛta-maitro hutāgnir
viprān natvā tila-go-bhūmi-rukmaiḥ
gṛhaṁ praviṣṭo guru-vandanāya
na cāpaśyat pitarau saubalīṁ ca

(31) Returning to the palace he who considered no one his enemy [Yudhishthhira], having worshiped the demigods with oblations, obeisances and gifts for the brahmins, wanted to pay his respects to the elderly. But he couldn't find his two uncles or aunt Gândhârî.

1.13.32

tatra sañjayam āsīnaṁ
papracchodvigna-mānasaḥ
gāvalgaṇe kva nas tāto
vṛddho hīnaś ca netrayoḥ

(32) Anxious, he turned to Sañjaya the son of Gavalgana [the assistant who gave the blind Dhritarâshthra the account of the battle], and said to him: 'Where is our old, blind uncle?

1.13.33

ambā ca hata-putrārtā
pitṛvyaḥ kva gataḥ suhṛt
api mayy akṛta-prajñe
hata-bandhuḥ sa bhāryayā
āśaṁsamānaḥ śamalaṁ
gaṅgāyāṁ duḥkhito 'patat

(33) Where is my well-wisher Vidura and mother Gândhârî who was grieving over losing her offspring? Has the old king, ungrateful to me for having lost his sons, distressed in a mind of doubt about my offenses drowned himself together with his wife in the Ganges?

1.13.34

pitary uparate pāṇḍau
sarvān naḥ suhṛdaḥ śiśūn
arakṣatāṁ vyasanataḥ
pitṛvyau kva gatāv itaḥ

(34) After the downfall of my father King Pându they were the well-wishers who protected us all who were still small children - where have my uncles gone from here?' "

1.13.35

sūta uvāca
kṛpayā sneha-vaiklavyāt
sūto viraha-karśitaḥ
ātmeśvaram acakṣāṇo
na pratyāhātipīḍitaḥ

(35) Sûta said: "Sañjaya, who worried in the love for his master couldn't find him, was upset about the separation and could, being too aggrieved, not speak a word in reply.

1.13.36

vimṛjyāśrūṇi pāṇibhyāṁ
viṣṭabhyātmānam ātmanā
ajāta-śatruṁ pratyūce
prabhoḥ pādāv anusmaran

(36) Thinking about the feet of his master he with his hands wiped the tears from his face and tried to regain his composure to answer King Yudhishthhira.

1.13.37

sañjaya uvāca
nāhaṁ veda vyavasitaṁ
pitror vaḥ kula-nandana
gāndhāryā vā mahā-bāho
muṣito 'smi mahātmabhiḥ

(37) Sañjaya said: 'I do not know what your uncles or Gândhârî had in mind, o descendant of the Kuru dynasty - o great King, these great souls have led me by the nose.'

1.13.38

athājagāma bhagavān
nāradaḥ saha-tumburuḥ
pratyutthāyābhivādyāha
sānujo 'bhyarcayan munim

(38) At that moment the supreme personality Nârada appeared on the scene with his musical instrument and after Yudhishthhira and his younger brothers had gotten up from their seats to welcome him properly by offering him their obeisances, the king said:

1.13.39

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
nāhaṁ veda gatiṁ pitror
bhagavan kva gatāv itaḥ
ambā vā hata-putrārtā
kva gatā ca tapasvinī

(39) 'O Supreme One, I do not know in which direction my uncles and my ascetic aunt who is so aggrieved about the loss of her sons, have left.

1.13.40

karṇadhāra ivāpāre
bhagavān pāra-darśakaḥ
athābabhāṣe bhagavān
nārado muni-sattamaḥ

(40) Just like a captain on a ship in the great ocean you are the Lord to guide us to the other side.'

Thus being addressed the divine personality Nârada, the greatest among the wise philosophers of the eternal, began to speak:

1.13.41

nārada uvāca
mā kañcana śuco rājan
yad īśvara-vaśaṁ jagat
lokāḥ sapālā yasyeme
vahanti balim īśituḥ
sa saṁyunakti bhūtāni
sa eva viyunakti ca

(41) 'O King, never lament for whatever reason, for you are controlled by the Supreme Lord. All living beings and their leaders in this world perform their ceremonies in order to be protected. He is the one who brings everybody together and also disperses us again.

1.13.42

yathā gāvo nasi protās
tantyāṁ baddhāś ca dāmabhiḥ
vāk-tantyāṁ nāmabhir baddhā
vahanti balim īśituḥ

(42) The way a cow is tied by a rope through the nose, one is likewise tied by the hymns and precepts of the Veda so as to follow according the demands of the Supreme.

1.13.43

yathā krīḍopaskarāṇāṁ
saṁyoga-vigamāv iha
icchayā krīḍituḥ syātāṁ
tathaiveśecchayā nṛṇām

(43) The way in this world playthings at will are brought together and separated again, it also happens to the people who subjected to the game of the Lord are brought together and separated again.

1.13.44

yan manyase dhruvaṁ lokam
adhruvaṁ vā na cobhayam
sarvathā na hi śocyās te
snehād anyatra mohajāt

 (44) Whether one considers persons eternal [souls] or temporal [bodies] or else as both [embodied souls] or as neither of both [because of the Absolute Truth which is transcendental to all attributes], they never under any circumstance should constitute a reason for lamentation; one is only of that state because one is emotionally involved or has lost one's mind.

1.13.45

tasmāj jahy aṅga vaiklavyam
ajñāna-kṛtam ātmanaḥ
kathaṁ tv anāthāḥ kṛpaṇā
varteraṁs te ca māṁ vinā

(45) Therefore, o King, give up the anxiety you feel because of a lack of self knowledge, and stop thinking how these helpless poor creatures would be able to survive without you.

1.13.46

kāla-karma-guṇādhīno
deho 'yaṁ pāñca-bhautikaḥ
katham anyāṁs tu gopāyet
sarpa-grasto yathā param

(46) How is this body, which is made out of the five elements [fire, water, air, earth and ether] and is controlled by time, materially motivated action and the modes of nature [kâla, karma and the gunas], capable of protecting others when it is just as well bitten by that snake?

1.13.47

ahastāni sahastānām
apadāni catuṣ-padām
phalgūni tatra mahatāṁ
jīvo jīvasya jīvanam

 (47) Those who have no hands [the animals] are at the mercy of the ones who do have hands [the human beings]. Living beings without limbs [like grasses] are at the mercy of the four-legged ones [like the cows]. The weaker ones are at the mercy of the stronger ones and thus one living being feeds on the other.

1.13.48

tad idaṁ bhagavān rājann
eka ātmātmanāṁ sva-dṛk
antaro 'nantaro bhāti
paśya taṁ māyayorudhā

(48) Therefore only have eyes for the outer form of Him who by the power of illusion appears as a diversity; He, o King, is the Supreme Personality, the Supersoul who self-illuminating manifests Himself as the object as well as the subject of the different living beings.

1.13.49

so 'yam adya mahārāja
bhagavān bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
kāla-rūpo 'vatīrṇo 'syām
abhāvāya sura-dviṣām

(49) That Unborn One, the Father of Creation, has, o King, at present descended in this world in a form of [the all-devouring] Time in order to eliminate all the enemies of the enlightened.

1.13.50

niṣpāditaṁ deva-kṛtyam
avaśeṣaṁ pratīkṣate
tāvad yūyam avekṣadhvaṁ
bhaved yāvad iheśvaraḥ

(50) The Lord did for the enlightened souls what had to be done and is now awaiting the rest. You Pândavas the same way observe and wait for as long as He is present in this world.

1.13.51

dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ saha bhrātrā
gāndhāryā ca sva-bhāryayā
dakṣiṇena himavata
ṛṣīṇām āśramaṁ gataḥ

(51) Dhritarâshthra, his brother Vidura and his wife Gândhârî have departed for the southern side of the Himalayas where the sages have their refuge.

1.13.52

srotobhiḥ saptabhir yā vai
svardhunī saptadhā vyadhāt
saptānāṁ prītaye nānā
sapta-srotaḥ pracakṣate

 (52) The place is known as Saptasrota [seven sources] because the river of the heavens [the Svardhunî] sprouted there and to the satisfaction of the respective wise divided herself into the seven currents we know as her branches.

1.13.53

snātvānusavanaṁ tasmin
hutvā cāgnīn yathā-vidhi
ab-bhakṣa upaśāntātmā
sa āste vigataiṣaṇaḥ

(53) By bathing regularly there, sacrificing in the fire according the regulative principles and fasting on drinking water only, Dhritarâshthra has completely subdued his mind and senses and is thus freed from the dependency he had with his family.

1.13.54

jitāsano jita-śvāsaḥ
pratyāhṛta-ṣaḍ-indriyaḥ
hari-bhāvanayā dhvasta-
rajaḥ-sattva-tamo-malaḥ

 (54) With the help of sitting postures, breath-control and turning one's mind inward away from the six senses one can, absorbed in the Lord, conquer the contaminations of passion, goodness and ignorance.

1.13.55

vijñānātmani saṁyojya
kṣetrajñe pravilāpya tam
brahmaṇy ātmānam ādhāre
ghaṭāmbaram ivāmbare

(55) By allowing his self to merge in the wisdom and the wisdom to merge with the pure witness, he has united with the Absolute [brahman], the reservoir of pure being, the same way the air within a pot merges with the space outside of it.

1.13.56

dhvasta-māyā-guṇodarko
niruddha-karaṇāśayaḥ
nivartitākhilāhāra
āste sthāṇur ivācalaḥ
tasyāntarāyo maivābhūḥ
sannyastākhila-karmaṇaḥ

(56) With his breaking with the effects of the operation of the natural modes, his senses and mind will no longer be fed and come to a stop when he, no longer hindered in renouncing all his duties, sits concentrating his mind without moving a limb.

1.13.57

sa vā adyatanād rājan
parataḥ pañcame 'hani
kalevaraṁ hāsyati svaṁ
tac ca bhasmī-bhaviṣyati

(57) I expect that he will quit his body five days from now, o King, and will allow it to turn to ashes.

1.13.58

dahyamāne 'gnibhir dehe
patyuḥ patnī sahoṭaje
bahiḥ sthitā patiṁ sādhvī
tam agnim anu vekṣyati

(58) While she outside observes the body of her husband being [mystically set] afire along with his cottage, his chaste wife fully conscious will follow him in the fire.

1.13.59

viduras tu tad āścaryaṁ
niśāmya kuru-nandana
harṣa-śoka-yutas tasmād
gantā tīrtha-niṣevakaḥ

(59) Vidura, witnessing that wonderful incident, o son of the Kuru dynasty, will, with mixed feelings of delight and grief, leave that place to embark on an inspiring pilgrimage.'

1.13.60

ity uktvāthāruhat svargaṁ
nāradaḥ saha-tumburuḥ
yudhiṣṭhiro vacas tasya
hṛdi kṛtvājahāc chucaḥ

(60) After thus having addressed the king Nârada, along with his stringed instrument, rose up into heaven. Yudhishthhira, taking his instructions at heart, thereupon gave up all his lamentation."

*: Vidura is an younger brother of Dhritarâshthra. He was born as a s'ûdra, a laborer, because of being conceived by Vyâsa from a maidservant of the mother of Pându.
**: Aryamâ was a son of Aditi and Kas'yapa officiating for Yamarâja the Lord of punishment. Vidura is considered the s'ûdra incarnation of Yamarâja.

The Madbhagavatam

Chapter 14: The Disappearance of Lord Krishna

1.14.1

sūta uvāca
samprasthite dvārakāyāṁ
jiṣṇau bandhu-didṛkṣayā
jñātuṁ ca puṇya-ślokasya
kṛṣṇasya ca viceṣṭitam

(1) Sûta said: "Arjuna went to the city of Dvârakâ to see his friends and Krishna, the One Glorified by the Vedic Hymns, in order to know what His further plans were.

1.14.2

vyatītāḥ katicin māsās
tadā nāyāt tato 'rjunaḥ
dadarśa ghora-rūpāṇi
nimittāni kurūdvahaḥ

(2) After a few months, when Arjuna did not return from there, Yudhishthhira observed various fearful signs.

1.14.3

kālasya ca gatiṁ raudrāṁ
viparyastartu-dharmiṇaḥ
pāpīyasīṁ nṛṇāṁ vārtāṁ
krodha-lobhānṛtātmanām

 (3) The time had taken an inauspicious turn: he observed seasonal irregularities and saw that the people in their human sinfulness turned to anger, greed and falsehood in heartening their means of livelihood.

1.14.4

jihma-prāyaṁ vyavahṛtaṁ
śāṭhya-miśraṁ ca sauhṛdam
pitṛ-mātṛ-suhṛd-bhrātṛ-
dam-patīnāṁ ca kalkanam

 (4) There was cheating in ordinary transactions, misunderstanding rose in the regard of well-wishers, fathers, mothers and brothers and also between man and wife there was quarrel.

1.14.5

nimittāny atyariṣṭāni
kāle tv anugate nṛṇām
lobhādy-adharma-prakṛtiṁ
dṛṣṭvovācānujaṁ nṛpaḥ

 (5) The people gradually were acquiring godless habits as wantonness and such. The king facing these serious matters and bad omens, spoke with his younger brother about it.

1.14.6

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
sampreṣito dvārakāyāṁ
jiṣṇur bandhu-didṛkṣayā
jñātuṁ ca puṇya-ślokasya
kṛṣṇasya ca viceṣṭitam

(6) Yudhishthhira said [to Bhîma]: 'Arjuna went to see his friends and also wanted to know what Krishna's plans were.

1.14.7

gatāḥ saptādhunā māsā
bhīmasena tavānujaḥ
nāyāti kasya vā hetor
nāhaṁ vededam añjasā

(7) It is now seven months ago that your younger brother left, o Bhîmasena, and I do not know exactly why that is the case.

1.14.8

api devarṣiṇādiṣṭaḥ
sa kālo 'yam upasthitaḥ
yadātmano 'ṅgam ākrīḍaṁ
bhagavān utsisṛkṣati

(8) Is it so, as Nârada instructed, that the Supreme Personality has decided it is time to leave this manifest world?

1.14.9

yasmān naḥ sampado rājyaṁ
dārāḥ prāṇāḥ kulaṁ prajāḥ
āsan sapatna-vijayo
lokāś ca yad-anugrahāt

 (9) From Him we have our wealth, kingdom and wives - through Him the existence of the dynasty and the life of our subjects has become possible and by His mercy we could defeat our enemies and live for a better world.

1.14.10

paśyotpātān nara-vyāghra
divyān bhaumān sadaihikān
dāruṇān śaṁsato 'dūrād
bhayaṁ no buddhi-mohanam

 (10) Just look, o man with the strength of a tiger, at the position of the planets, how things are faring on earth and what is happening to the body and the mind. All these dreadful signs deluding our intelligence indicate a great danger in the near future.

1.14.11

ūrv-akṣi-bāhavo mahyaṁ
sphuranty aṅga punaḥ punaḥ
vepathuś cāpi hṛdaye
ārād dāsyanti vipriyam

(11) Again and again my thighs, eyes, arms and the left side of my body are quivering and I have heart palpitations due to the fear I have. This is all indicative of undesirable happenings.

1.14.12

śivaiṣodyantam ādityam
abhirauty analānanā
mām aṅga sārameyo 'yam
abhirebhaty abhīruvat

(12) See, o Bhîma, how the jackal frantically cries at sunrise and how the dog barks at me without any fear. (13) O tiger among man, the cows treat me indifferently and the asses and such are turning around me while my horses seem to weep.

1.14.13

śastāḥ kurvanti māṁ savyaṁ
dakṣiṇaṁ paśavo 'pare
vāhāṁś ca puruṣa-vyāghra
lakṣaye rudato mama

O Bhīmasena, tiger amongst men, now useful animals like cows are passing me on my left side, and lower animals like the asses are circumambulating me. My horses appear to weep upon seeing me.

1.14.14

mṛtyu-dūtaḥ kapoto 'yam
ulūkaḥ kampayan manaḥ
pratyulūkaś ca kuhvānair
viśvaṁ vai śūnyam icchataḥ

(14) The pigeon appears like a messenger of death and the shrieks of the owls and their rivals the crows make my heart tremble as if they wish the void of the cosmos.

1.14.15

dhūmrā diśaḥ paridhayaḥ
kampate bhūḥ sahādribhiḥ
nirghātaś ca mahāṁs tāta
sākaṁ ca stanayitnubhiḥ

(15) O Bhîma, see how smoke circles in the sky and how the earth is throbbing along with the hills and mountains with loud thunderbolts out of the blue of a cloudless sky.

1.14.16

vāyur vāti khara-sparśo
rajasā visṛjaṁs tamaḥ
asṛg varṣanti jaladā
bībhatsam iva sarvataḥ

 (16) The wind blows sharply creating darkness with the dust and rain pours like blood from the clouds as an omnipresent disaster.

1.14.17

sūryaṁ hata-prabhaṁ paśya
graha-mardaṁ mitho divi
sasaṅkulair bhūta-gaṇair
jvalite iva rodasī

 (17) The sun is shining less - see how the stars in the sky seem to clash into one another and how the living beings are confounded and agitated as if they are crying.

1.14.18

nadyo nadāś ca kṣubhitāḥ
sarāṁsi ca manāṁsi ca
na jvalaty agnir ājyena
kālo 'yaṁ kiṁ vidhāsyati

(18) Rivers and their tributaries, lakes and the mind are all perturbed while fire doesn't ignite with the help of butter. What is this extraordinary time? What is going to happen?

1.14.19

na pibanti stanaṁ vatsā
na duhyanti ca mātaraḥ
rudanty aśru-mukhā gāvo
na hṛṣyanty ṛṣabhā vraje

 (19) The calves don't suck the teats and the cows don't want to be milked looking afraid as if they're weeping, while the bulls don't take pleasure in the pasture ground.

1.14.20

daivatāni rudantīva
svidyanti hy uccalanti ca
ime jana-padā grāmāḥ
purodyānākarāśramāḥ
bhraṣṭa-śriyo nirānandāḥ
kim aghaṁ darśayanti naḥ

(20) The deities seem to be crying and perspiring as if they want to leave the temple and also the cities, villages, towns, gardens, mines and hermitages have lost their beauty being bereft of all happiness. What sort of calamities will befall us?

1.14.21

manya etair mahotpātair
nūnaṁ bhagavataḥ padaiḥ
ananya-puruṣa-śrībhir
hīnā bhūr hata-saubhagā

(21) I think that all these great upsurges manifest out of the need for the marks of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality - the earth bereft of the extraordinary quality of the Supreme Person will be unfortunate without those auspicious signs.'

1.14.22

iti cintayatas tasya
dṛṣṭāriṣṭena cetasā
rājñaḥ pratyāgamad brahman
yadu-puryāḥ kapi-dhvajaḥ

(22) O brahmin, while King Yudhishthhira who observed the bad omens thus was thinking to himself, Arjuna returned from the kingdom of the Yadus.

1.14.23

taṁ pādayor nipatitam
ayathā-pūrvam āturam
adho-vadanam ab-bindūn
sṛjantaṁ nayanābjayoḥ

(23) Bowing down at the feet of the king his dejection was unprecedented with the tears that fell from the lotus eyes of his downward looking face.

1.14.24

vilokyodvigna-hṛdayo
vicchāyam anujaṁ nṛpaḥ
pṛcchati sma suhṛn madhye
saṁsmaran nāraderitam

 (24) Seeing the anxious heart and pale appearance of Arjuna, the king, who remembered what Nârada had said, questioned him in the midst of the friends.

1.14.25

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
kaccid ānarta-puryāṁ naḥ
sva-janāḥ sukham āsate
madhu-bhoja-daśārhārha-
sātvatāndhaka-vṛṣṇayaḥ

(25) Yudhishthhira said: 'Are our Yadu relatives of Madhu, Bhoja, Das'ârha, Ârha, Sâtvata and Andhaka all happy passing their days in Dvârakâ?

1.14.26

śūro mātāmahaḥ kaccit
svasty āste vātha māriṣaḥ
mātulaḥ sānujaḥ kaccit
kuśaly ānakadundubhiḥ

(26) Is my respectable [maternal] grandfather S'ûrasena in good health passing his last days and are my [maternal] uncle Vasudeva and his younger brothers all well?

1.14.27

sapta sva-sāras tat-patnyo
mātulānyaḥ sahātmajāḥ
āsate sasnuṣāḥ kṣemaṁ
devakī-pramukhāḥ svayam

(27) Are my aunts - his wives - all seven sisters headed by Devakî in person, with their sons and daughters-in-law all happy?

1.14.28-29

kaccid rājāhuko jīvaty
asat-putro 'sya cānujaḥ
hṛdīkaḥ sasuto 'krūro
jayanta-gada-sāraṇāḥ
āsate kuśalaṁ kaccid
ye ca śatrujid-ādayaḥ
kaccid āste sukhaṁ rāmo
bhagavān sātvatāṁ prabhuḥ

 (28-29) Are King Ugrasena, whose son was the mischievous one [Kamsa], and his younger brother, Hridîka and his son Kritavarmâ and Akrûra, Jayanta, Gada, Sârana as well as S'atrujit and the rest all happy? Is also the Supreme Personality Balarâma, who is the protector of the devotees, all right?

1.14.30

pradyumnaḥ sarva-vṛṣṇīnāṁ
sukham āste mahā-rathaḥ
gambhīra-rayo 'niruddho
vardhate bhagavān uta

(30) Are the great warrior Pradyumna [a son of Krishna] and all others of the Vrishni family happy? And is the plenary expansion of Krishna Aniruddha [a grandson of Krishna] faring well?

1.14.31

suṣeṇaś cārudeṣṇaś ca
sāmbo jāmbavatī-sutaḥ
anye ca kārṣṇi-pravarāḥ
saputrā ṛṣabhādayaḥ

(31) And how are Sushena, Cârudeshna and Sâmba, the son of Jâmbavatî, doing, and the other eminent sons of Krishna as also their very best sons?

1.14.32-33

tathaivānucarāḥ śaureḥ
śrutadevoddhavādayaḥ
sunanda-nanda-śīrṣaṇyā
ye cānye sātvatarṣabhāḥ
api svasty āsate sarve
rāma-kṛṣṇa-bhujāśrayāḥ
api smaranti kuśalam
asmākaṁ baddha-sauhṛdāḥ

(32-33) Are likewise the constant companions of Krishna like S'rutadeva, Uddhava and others, Sunanda, Nanda and other leaders doing well? And are the other liberated souls, those best of men in order as well? And are all who are bound in friendship under the protection of Balarâma and Krishna also thinking of our well-being?

1.14.34

bhagavān api govindo
brahmaṇyo bhakta-vatsalaḥ
kaccit pure sudharmāyāṁ
sukham āste suhṛd-vṛtaḥ

 (34) Is the Supreme Lord, who is the pleasure of the cows and the senses and always cares for the devoted and the brahmins [the ones versed in sacred knowledge], enjoying the pious assembly of His friends around Him in Dvârakâ?

1.14.35-36

maṅgalāya ca lokānāṁ
kṣemāya ca bhavāya ca
āste yadu-kulāmbhodhāv
ādyo 'nanta-sakhaḥ pumān
yad bāhu-daṇḍa-guptāyāṁ
sva-puryāṁ yadavo 'rcitāḥ
krīḍanti paramānandaṁ
mahā-pauruṣikā iva

(35-36) For the benefit of the protection and elevation of all worlds the Original, Supreme Enjoyer together with Ananta [Balarâma] resides there in the company of the ocean of members of the Yadu dynasty. Because they deserve it the members of the Yadu family relish in His city under the protection of His arms the transcendental pleasure alike the residents of heaven.

1.14.37

yat-pāda-śuśrūṣaṇa-mukhya-karmaṇā
satyādayo dvy-aṣṭa-sahasra-yoṣitaḥ
nirjitya saṅkhye tri-daśāṁs tad-āśiṣo
haranti vajrāyudha-vallabhocitāḥ

(37) By most importantly managing the comforts at the feet, the sixteen thousand companions of the fair sex who are headed by Sathyabhâmâ, made the Lord subdue the denizens of heaven, so that they could enjoy what is normally the privilege of the wives of the controller of the thunderbolt.

1.14.38

yad bāhu-daṇḍābhyudayānujīvino
yadu-pravīrā hy akutobhayā muhuḥ
adhikramanty aṅghribhir āhṛtāṁ balāt
sabhāṁ sudharmāṁ sura-sattamocitām

(38) The Yadus, enjoying the protection of His arms, always fearlessly enter the Sudharmâ assembly hall which, procured by force [from Indra], was worthy of the best of gods.

1.14.39

kaccit te 'nāmayaṁ tāta
bhraṣṭa-tejā vibhāsi me
alabdha-māno 'vajñātaḥ
kiṁ vā tāta ciroṣitaḥ

(39) My dear brother, are you all healthy? You appear to have lost your luster. Is it because of missing the respect being neglected or, my brother, because you were away so long?

1.14.40

kaccin nābhihato 'bhāvaiḥ
śabdādibhir amaṅgalaiḥ
na dattam uktam arthibhya
āśayā yat pratiśrutam

(40) Have you lost your grip because you were addressed unfriendly or have been threatened, or couldn't you give in charity or keep to the hope of doing so?

1.14.41

kaccit tvaṁ brāhmaṇaṁ bālaṁ
gāṁ vṛddhaṁ rogiṇaṁ striyam
śaraṇopasṛtaṁ sattvaṁ
nātyākṣīḥ śaraṇa-pradaḥ

(41) Were you who are approached for the protection of the learned ones, the children, the cows, the old aged, the diseased and the women, unable to offer shelter to any living being who deserves your care?

1.14.42

kaccit tvaṁ nāgamo 'gamyāṁ
gamyāṁ vāsat-kṛtāṁ striyam
parājito vātha bhavān
nottamair nāsamaiḥ pathi

(42) Have you contacted a reprehensible woman or have you maybe treated an acceptable woman improperly or has your good self on the road been defeated after all by a superior power or by equals?

1.14.43

api svit parya-bhuṅkthās tvaṁ
sambhojyān vṛddha-bālakān
jugupsitaṁ karma kiñcit
kṛtavān na yad akṣamam

 (43) Have you disregarded old men or boys who deserved to dine together with you or did you do something abominable which is hard to forgive?

1.14.44

kaccit preṣṭhatamenātha
hṛdayenātma-bandhunā
śūnyo 'smi rahito nityaṁ
manyase te 'nyathā na ruk

(44) Or is it so that you in your relation to the one most dear, my brother Arjuna, your heart's friend Lord Krishna, you feel a void missing Him all the time? I can think of no other reason why you should suffer such a mental distress.' "









 Chapter 15: The Pândavas Retire

1.15.1

sūta uvāca
evaṁ kṛṣṇa-sakhaḥ kṛṣṇo
bhrātrā rājñā vikalpitaḥ
nānā-śaṅkāspadaṁ rūpaṁ
kṛṣṇa-viśleṣa-karśitaḥ

(1) Sûta said: "Arjuna, the friend of Krishna, emaciated as he was because of his separation from Krishna, thus was subjected to the various forms of doubt and speculation of his elder brother the king.

1.15.2

śokena śuṣyad-vadana-
hṛt-sarojo hata-prabhaḥ
vibhuṁ tam evānusmaran
nāśaknot pratibhāṣitum

(2) Because of his grief his mouth and lotuslike heart had dried up and his bodily luster had vanished. Preoccupied with thoughts about the Supreme Lord S'rî Krishna he wasn't able to reply properly.

1.15.3

kṛcchreṇa saṁstabhya śucaḥ
pāṇināmṛjya netrayoḥ
parokṣeṇa samunnaddha-
praṇayautkaṇṭhya-kātaraḥ

(3) The more he with great difficulty checked the force of his sadness while he wiped the tears out of his eyes, the more he eagerly thought about Him in his affection and the more distressed he became.

1.15.4

sakhyaṁ maitrīṁ sauhṛdaṁ ca
sārathyādiṣu saṁsmaran
nṛpam agrajam ity āha
bāṣpa-gadgadayā girā

(4) Remembering Him as well-wisher, benefactor, intimate associate and charioteer, Arjuna, overwhelmed and heavily breathing, began to speak to his eldest brother the king.

1.15.5

arjuna uvāca
vañcito 'haṁ mahā-rāja
hariṇā bandhu-rūpiṇā
yena me 'pahṛtaṁ tejo
deva-vismāpanaṁ mahat

(5) He said: 'O my King, the Personality of Godhead Hari who treated me like His intimate friend has left me. Now I am bereft of the astounding power that even astonished the gods.

1.15.6

yasya kṣaṇa-viyogena
loko hy apriya-darśanaḥ
ukthena rahito hy eṣa
mṛtakaḥ procyate yathā

(6) I lost Him from whom being separated but for a moment all universes appear unfavorable and void of all life, like they are all dead bodies.

1.15.7

yat-saṁśrayād drupada-geham upāgatānāṁ
rājñāṁ svayaṁvara-mukhe smara-durmadānām
tejo hṛtaṁ khalu mayābhihataś ca matsyaḥ
sajjīkṛtena dhanuṣādhigatā ca kṛṣṇā

(7) By the strength of His mercy I could vanquish all the princes who lusted for power during the selection of the bridegroom at King Drupada's palace where I gained Draupadî's hand by piercing the fish-target with my bow.

1.15.8

yat-sannidhāv aham u khāṇḍavam agnaye 'dām
indraṁ ca sāmara-gaṇaṁ tarasā vijitya
labdhā sabhā maya-kṛtādbhuta-śilpa-māyā
digbhyo 'haran nṛpatayo balim adhvare te

(8) Because of His support I was able to defeat Indra and his godly associates, I managed to enable the god of fire to set ablaze his forest, and we could realize our wonderfully decorated assembly house built by Maya [out of gratitude for saving him from that fire in the forest named Khândava] where all the princes assembled to your honor bringing presents collected from everywhere.

1.15.9

yat-tejasā nṛpa-śiro-'ṅghrim ahan makhārtham
āryo 'nujas tava gajāyuta-sattva-vīryaḥ
tenāhṛtāḥ pramatha-nātha-makhāya bhūpā
yan-mocitās tad-anayan balim adhvare te

(9) Under His influence our younger brother [Bhîma], who has the strength of a thousand elephants, for the sake of the [râjasûya] sacrifice managed to kill him [Jarâsandha] who was worshiped by many a king. It was He who saved the kings who by Jarâsandha had been brought [to his capital] to be sacrificed to the lord of the ghosts [Mahâbhairava]. They all paid you tribute afterwards.

1.15.10

patnyās tavādhimakha-kḷpta-mahābhiṣeka-
ślāghiṣṭha-cāru-kabaraṁ kitavaiḥ sabhāyām
spṛṣṭaṁ vikīrya padayoḥ patitāśru-mukhyā
yas tat-striyo 'kṛta-hateśa-vimukta-keśāḥ

(10) He [in turn] took the life of the husbands of the wives [of the Kurus] whose hair was condemned to be loosened because of the fact that the cluster of your wife's [Draupadî's] hair had been loosened, which was beautifully dressed and blessed for the great ceremony. Being caught by the miscreants [the Kurus headed by Duhs'âsana] she in tears fell down at the Feet.

1.15.11

yo no jugopa vana etya duranta-kṛcchrād
durvāsaso 'ri-racitād ayutāgra-bhug yaḥ
śākānna-śiṣṭam upayujya yatas tri-lokīṁ
tṛptām amaṁsta salile vinimagna-saṅghaḥ

(11) He protected us when we ran into trouble, being endangered in the forest by the intrigue of our enemies in association with Durvâsâ Muni who arrived there to eat with his ten thousand disciples. By simply before they came to it accepting the remnants of the food, He satisfied the three worlds as well as the munis who at the moment were bathing, by giving them the thought that they had been fed already.

1.15.12

yat-tejasātha bhagavān yudhi śūla-pāṇir
vismāpitaḥ sagirijo 'stram adān nijaṁ me
anye 'pi cāham amunaiva kalevareṇa
prāpto mahendra-bhavane mahad-āsanārdham

(12) Under His influence I once could astonish the Personality of God with the Trident [Lord S'iva] and his wife the daughter of the Himalaya, because of which he and other gods rewarded me with their own weapons. And thus I living in this body succeeded to obtain a half-elevated seat in the House of Indra.

1.15.13

tatraiva me viharato bhuja-daṇḍa-yugmaṁ
gāṇḍīva-lakṣaṇam arāti-vadhāya devāḥ
sendrāḥ śritā yad-anubhāvitam ājamīḍha
tenāham adya muṣitaḥ puruṣeṇa bhūmnā

(13) As a guest of that heaven I could with both my arms, with my bow Gândîva, Indra and all the gods, because of being empowered by Him, the Supreme Personality whom at present I am bereft of, kill the demon Nivâtakavaca o descendant of King Ajamîdha.

1.15.14

yad-bāndhavaḥ kuru-balābdhim ananta-pāram
eko rathena tatare 'ham atīrya-sattvam
pratyāhṛtaṁ bahu dhanaṁ ca mayā pareṣāṁ
tejāspadaṁ maṇimayaṁ ca hṛtaṁ śirobhyaḥ

(14) Because of His friendship alone I, seated on the chariot, could cross the insurmountable ocean of the invincible existence of the military strength of the Kauravas, and thanks alone to His friendship, I could return with the enormous wealth of the enemy; the brilliance of all the jewels I by force took from their heads.

1.15.15

yo bhīṣma-karṇa-guru-śalya-camūṣv adabhra-
rājanya-varya-ratha-maṇḍala-maṇḍitāsu
agrecaro mama vibho ratha-yūthapānām
āyur manāṁsi ca dṛśā saha oja ārcchat

(15) It was He who by the power of His glance ended the mental agitation that sprouted from the motivation for results of all the fighters who with the wealth of their chariots were positioned on the battlefield o great King, and from whose ranks I stepped forward with before my eyes the immensity of great royal personalities like Bhîshma, Karna, Drona and S'alya.

1.15.16

yad-doḥṣu mā praṇihitaṁ guru-bhīṣma-karṇa-
naptṛ-trigarta-śalya-saindhava-bāhlikādyaiḥ
astrāṇy amogha-mahimāni nirūpitāni
nopaspṛśur nṛhari-dāsam ivāsurāṇi

(16) Under His protection the very powerful invincible weapons wielded by Drona, Bhîshma, Karna, Bhûris'ravâ, King Sus'armâ, S'alya, King Jayadratha, Bâhlika [a brother of Bhîshma] etc., could not touch me, just like when Prahlâda [the famous devotee of Nrisimhadev, the lion-incarnation] was threatened by the demons.

1.15.17

sautye vṛtaḥ kumatinātmada īśvaro me
yat-pāda-padmam abhavāya bhajanti bhavyāḥ
māṁ śrānta-vāham arayo rathino bhuvi-ṣṭhaṁ
na prāharan yad-anubhāva-nirasta-cittāḥ

 (17) Thinking erroneously of Him as being only my chariot driver He to whose feet the intelligent for the sake of salvation render service delivered me. By His mercy my enemies were absentminded and didn't attack me when I alighted for my thirsty horses.

1.15.18

narmāṇy udāra-rucira-smita-śobhitāni
he pārtha he 'rjuna sakhe kuru-nandaneti
sañjalpitāni nara-deva hṛdi-spṛśāni
smartur luṭhanti hṛdayaṁ mama mādhavasya

(18) With His smiling face He made jokes and being frank with me He addressed me with 'son of Prithâ', 'friend' and 'son of the Kuru dynasty' and such; heartfelt sayings of my Mâdhava [Krishna] that touch and overwhelm my soul as I remember them.

1.15.19

śayyāsanāṭana-vikatthana-bhojanādiṣv
aikyād vayasya ṛtavān iti vipralabdhaḥ
sakhyuḥ sakheva pitṛvat tanayasya sarvaṁ
sehe mahān mahitayā kumater aghaṁ me

(19) When we were sleeping, sitting, walking and dining together and truthfully confronted each other and so on, I took Him by mistake for a friend just like me, while He, despite of my seeing Him lower in my offenses, tolerated me in the glory of His magnanimity the way a friend accepts a friend or a father accepts his child.

1.15.20

so 'haṁ nṛpendra rahitaḥ puruṣottamena
sakhyā priyeṇa suhṛdā hṛdayena śūnyaḥ
adhvany urukrama-parigraham aṅga rakṣan
gopair asadbhir abaleva vinirjito 'smi

(20) O Emperor, without the Supreme Personality, my dear most friend and well-wisher, my heart and soul are vacant. Recently I, just like a weak woman, was defeated by infidel cowherds while I was protecting Krishna's wives.

1.15.21

tad vai dhanus ta iṣavaḥ sa ratho hayās te
so 'haṁ rathī nṛpatayo yata ānamanti
sarvaṁ kṣaṇena tad abhūd asad īśa-riktaṁ
bhasman hutaṁ kuhaka-rāddham ivoptam ūṣyām

 (21) Having the same bow, arrows, chariot and horses, and being the same Arjuna and chariot fighter to whom all the kings offered their respects, all of this in a single moment, with me missing Him, has become as useless as butter offered to ashes, as money obtained by magic or as seeds sown on barren land.

1.15.22-23

rājaṁs tvayānupṛṣṭānāṁ
suhṛdāṁ naḥ suhṛt-pure
vipra-śāpa-vimūḍhānāṁ
nighnatāṁ muṣṭibhir mithaḥ
vāruṇīṁ madirāṁ pītvā
madonmathita-cetasām
ajānatām ivānyonyaṁ
catuḥ-pañcāvaśeṣitāḥ

(22-23) O King, in reply to your question about our friends and relatives in Dvârakâ I can say that they were cursed by the brahmins. As a consequence of that curse they, being drunk with rice wine, like fools killed one another with sticks, not even recognizing each other in that intoxicated state. Only four or five of them remained.

1.15.24

prāyeṇaitad bhagavata
īśvarasya viceṣṭitam
mitho nighnanti bhūtāni
bhāvayanti ca yan mithaḥ

 (24) It is the Supreme Personality, our Lord, His program that sometimes the living beings kill and at other times protect each other.

1.15.25-26

jalaukasāṁ jale yadvan
mahānto 'danty aṇīyasaḥ
durbalān balino rājan
mahānto balino mithaḥ
evaṁ baliṣṭhair yadubhir
mahadbhir itarān vibhuḥ
yadūn yadubhir anyonyaṁ
bhū-bhārān sañjahāra ha

(25-26) Like in the ocean where the bigger ones eat the smaller and the stronger ones devour the weaker o King, the same way the Omnipotent One removed the burden of all the Yadus in one stroke from the earth by having the stronger Yadu kill the weaker one and the bigger Yadu kill the smaller one in a fight.

1.15.27

deśa-kālārtha-yuktāni
hṛt-tāpopaśamāni ca
haranti smarataś cittaṁ
govindābhihitāni me

 (27) Bearing in mind the words spoken by Govinda, I remember how attractive they are, and how they, imbued with importance and appropriate to the time and circumstance, put an end to the pain in the heart.' "

1.15.28

sūta uvāca
evaṁ cintayato jiṣṇoḥ
kṛṣṇa-pāda-saroruham
sauhārdenātigāḍhena
śāntāsīd vimalā matiḥ

(28) Sûta said: "Thus thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord and what He had instructed in the intimacy of deep friendship, Arjuna with his mind freed from all material concerns found his calm.

1.15.29

vāsudevāṅghry-anudhyāna-
paribṛṁhita-raṁhasā
bhaktyā nirmathitāśeṣa-
kaṣāya-dhiṣaṇo 'rjunaḥ

(29) Constantly remembering the feet of Vâsudeva, Arjuna's devotion increased rapidly and the endless ruminations ended.

1.15.30

gītaṁ bhagavatā jñānaṁ
yat tat saṅgrāma-mūrdhani
kāla-karma-tamo-ruddhaṁ
punar adhyagamat prabhuḥ

 (30) Recalling the instructions of the Supreme Lord about the transcendental in the midst of the battle and thinking of His time and actions he dispelled the darkness of his ignorance and became master of his senses.

1.15.31

viśoko brahma-sampattyā
sañchinna-dvaita-saṁśayaḥ
līna-prakṛti-nairguṇyād
aliṅgatvād asambhavaḥ

(31) Free from lamentation, by his spiritual capacity managing to cut with the doubts that were raised by the duality of being identified with the material world, he, due to the transcendence of being without a material form, was freed from the entanglement of birth and death.

1.15.32

niśamya bhagavan-mārgaṁ
saṁsthāṁ yadu-kulasya ca
svaḥ-pathāya matiṁ cakre
nibhṛtātmā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ

32) Listening to the deliberations about the disappearance of the Supreme Lord to His abode and the end of the Yadu dynasty, Yudhishthhira for the sake of the soul decided to withdraw and also left.

1.15.33

pṛthāpy anuśrutya dhanañjayoditaṁ
nāśaṁ yadūnāṁ bhagavad-gatiṁ ca tām
ekānta-bhaktyā bhagavaty adhokṣaje
niveśitātmopararāma saṁsṛteḥ

(33) Also Queen Kuntî, who had overheard what Arjuna told about the end of the Yadus and the disappearance of the Lord, found, as well as all the others did who were undivided in their devotion for the Lord's transcendence, in her soulful commitment release from her material existence.

1.15.33

pṛthāpy anuśrutya dhanañjayoditaṁ
nāśaṁ yadūnāṁ bhagavad-gatiṁ ca tām
ekānta-bhaktyā bhagavaty adhokṣaje
niveśitātmopararāma saṁsṛteḥ

(34) By taking away the burden of the world that body [of the Yadu dynasty] by the Unborn One was relinquished the way a thorn is thrown away after having been used to extract another thorn, because all those thorns to the Lord are one and the same.

1.15.35

yathā matsyādi-rūpāṇi
dhatte jahyād yathā naṭaḥ
bhū-bhāraḥ kṣapito yena
jahau tac ca kalevaram

 (35) Just like with His Matsya incarnation and other incarnations, as a magician giving up one body in order to accept another, He relinquished the body He manifested to diminish the burden of the world.

1.15.36

yadā mukundo bhagavān imāṁ mahīṁ
jahau sva-tanvā śravaṇīya-sat-kathaḥ
tadāhar evāpratibuddha-cetasām
abhadra-hetuḥ kalir anvavartata

(36) When Mukunda [the Lord of Liberation] the Fortunate One so worthwhile to hear about, left this earth from that very day on Kali[-yuga] manifested itself in full, being inauspicious to all whose minds have not awakened.

1.15.37

yudhiṣṭhiras tat parisarpaṇaṁ budhaḥ
pure ca rāṣṭre ca gṛhe tathātmani
vibhāvya lobhānṛta-jihma-hiṁsanādy-
adharma-cakraṁ gamanāya paryadhāt

(37) Yudhishthhira who keenly in his capital, state and home as also in the self saw things grow worse with the vicious circle of avarice, falsehood, dishonesty, irreligion and violence and such, understood that it was time to leave and dressed himself accordingly.

1.15.38

sva-rāṭ pautraṁ vinayinam
ātmanaḥ susamaṁ guṇaiḥ
toya-nīvyāḥ patiṁ bhūmer
abhyaṣiñcad gajāhvaye

(38) His grandson [Parîkchit], who was properly trained and as for his qualities was alike himself in all respects, was by the emperor for the occasion in the capital of Hastinâpura enthroned as the master of all land bordered by the seas.

1.15.39

mathurāyāṁ tathā vajraṁ
śūrasena-patiṁ tataḥ
prājāpatyāṁ nirūpyeṣṭim
agnīn apibad īśvaraḥ

 (39) At Mathurâ he made Vajra [the son of Aniruddha] king of S'ûrasena, after which he had a prâjâpatya sacrifice performed for being able to find the fire in himself in order to attain his goal.

1.15.40

visṛjya tatra tat sarvaṁ
dukūla-valayādikam
nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ
sañchinnāśeṣa-bandhanaḥ

(40) Renouncing his belt, ornaments and all of that, he became uninterested perfectly being detached from the unlimited bondage.

1.15.41

vācaṁ juhāva manasi
tat prāṇa itare ca tam
mṛtyāv apānaṁ sotsargaṁ
taṁ pañcatve hy ajohavīt

 (41) He withdrew his speech into his mind, his mind with his other senses into his breath, his breath he withdrew in death, and in full dedication he united that with the body made of the five elements.

1.15.42

tritve hutvā ca pañcatvaṁ
tac caikatve 'juhon muniḥ
sarvam ātmany ajuhavīd
brahmaṇy ātmānam avyaye

 (42) Having offered those five elements to the three qualities of nature, he united the thoughtfulness in one indifference, fixing the sum total of that in the soul directed to the spiritual soul of the inexhaustible Brahman.

1.15.43

cīra-vāsā nirāhāro
baddha-vāṅ mukta-mūrdhajaḥ
darśayann ātmano rūpaṁ
jaḍonmatta-piśācavat
anavekṣamāṇo niragād
aśṛṇvan badhiro yathā

(43) Accepting torn clothes, refusing solid food, stopping to talk and untying his hair, he began to look like a dumb madman and an unengaged urchin not listening to anyone as if he had become deaf.

1.15.44

udīcīṁ praviveśāśāṁ
gata-pūrvāṁ mahātmabhiḥ
hṛdi brahma paraṁ dhyāyan
nāvarteta yato gataḥ

(44) Heading for the north he trod, as all others do who go there, the path of his mindful forefathers, passing his days constantly thinking from within his heart of the Supreme Beyond wherever he went.

1.15.45

sarve tam anunirjagmur
bhrātaraḥ kṛta-niścayāḥ
kalinādharma-mitreṇa
dṛṣṭvā spṛṣṭāḥ prajā bhuvi

(45) In accord with their friend seeing that the Age of Kali and its irreligion had overtaken the citizens on earth, all the brothers followed the eldest one and left home.

1.15.46

te sādhu-kṛta-sarvārthā
jñātvātyantikam ātmanaḥ
manasā dhārayām āsur
vaikuṇṭha-caraṇāmbujam

(46) All of them having performed with all the virtue and knowledge of holiness, kept themselves, with the ultimate goal of the living being in mind, steadfast to the lotus feet of the Lord of Vaikunthha.

1.15.47-48

tad-dhyānodriktayā bhaktyā
viśuddha-dhiṣaṇāḥ pare
tasmin nārāyaṇa-pade
ekānta-matayo gatim
avāpur duravāpāṁ te
asadbhir viṣayātmabhiḥ
vidhūta-kalmaṣā sthānaṁ
virajenātmanaiva hi

(47-48) That is the destination of those who by positive meditation being purified in devotion found liberation in fixing their mind on the transcendental feet of the One Nârâyana. They with their material contaminations washed away, attained in the same bodies as they were born with, the abode which for the materialists absorbed in material concerns is so very difficult to attain.

1.15.49

viduro 'pi parityajya
prabhāse deham ātmanaḥ
kṛṣṇāveśena tac-cittaḥ
pitṛbhiḥ sva-kṣayaṁ yayau

(49) Also Vidura who with his mind and actions was devoted to Krishna returned to his own abode [Yama's realm] after quitting his physical self at Prabhâsa in the company of his forefathers.

1.15.50

draupadī ca tadājñāya
patīnām anapekṣatām
vāsudeve bhagavati
hy ekānta-matir āpa tam

(50) Also Draupadî who realized that her husbands didn't care anymore, concentrated on Lord Vâsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and reached Him thus.

1.15.51

yaḥ śraddhayaitad bhagavat-priyāṇāṁ
pāṇḍoḥ sutānām iti samprayāṇam
śṛṇoty alaṁ svastyayanaṁ pavitraṁ
labdhvā harau bhaktim upaiti siddhim

(51) Anyone who with devotion hears about this departure for the ultimate goal of the sons of Pându who are so dear to the Supreme Lord, will find nothing but good fortune and purity and will, gaining in perfection, thus arrive at the devotional service of the Lord."