Sri Bhagavaam - Canto 4 (Skandah 4) Chapters 29 to 31

Vyasadev

Praneetha

The Mad Bhagavatam

Canto 4

Chapter 29: The Conversation of Nârada and King Prâcînabarhi

4.29.1

prācīnabarhir uvāca
bhagavaṁs te vaco 'smābhir
na samyag avagamyate
kavayas tad vijānanti
na vayaṁ karma-mohitāḥ

(1) King Prâcînabarhi said: 'O great sage, we never grasped the full meaning of your words. The wise may understand what they really mean, but we who are fascinated by fruitive activities will never fully comprehend them.'

4.29.2

nārada uvāca
puruṣaṁ purañjanaṁ vidyād
yad vyanakty ātmanaḥ puram
eka-dvi-tri-catuṣ-pādaṁ
bahu-pādam apādakam

(2) Nârada said: 'The person of Purañjana ['he who enjoys the city that is the body'] should be seen as the creator of his own situation of dwelling in a one [a ghost], two, three [as with having a stick] or four legged body or a body with many legs or no legs at all.

4.29.3

yo 'vijñātāhṛtas tasya
puruṣasya sakheśvaraḥ
yan na vijñāyate pumbhir
nāmabhir vā kriyā-guṇaiḥ

(3) The eternal friend and master of the person is He whom I described as unknown [Avijñâta, 4. 25: 10] because He by His names, activities and qualities is never [fully] understood by the living entities [compare Adhokshaja].

4.29.4

yadā jighṛkṣan puruṣaḥ
kārtsnyena prakṛter guṇān
nava-dvāraṁ dvi-hastāṅghri
tatrāmanuta sādhv iti

(4) When the living entity wants to enjoy the totality of the modes of material nature, he thinks that [to have a human form with] nine gates, two legs and two hands is something that suits him very well.

4.29.5

buddhiṁ tu pramadāṁ vidyān
mamāham iti yat-kṛtam
yām adhiṣṭhya dehe 'smin
pumān bhuṅkte 'kṣabhir guṇān

(5) The young woman [pramadâ or Purañjanî] then should be known as the intelligence responsible for the 'I' and 'mine' of taking to the shelter of the body by which this living being, sentient to the modes of material nature, suffers and enjoys.

4.29.6

sakhāya indriya-gaṇā
jñānaṁ karma ca yat-kṛtam
sakhyas tad-vṛttayaḥ prāṇaḥ
pañca-vṛttir yathoragaḥ

 (6) Her male friends represent the senses that lead to knowledge and action, the girl friends stand for the engagements of the senses, while the serpent refers to the life air in its five forms [upgoing air (udana), downgoing (apâna), expanding (vyâna), balanced (samâna) and the breath held high (prânavâyu)].

4.29.7

bṛhad-balaṁ mano vidyād
ubhayendriya-nāyakam
pañcālāḥ pañca viṣayā
yan-madhye nava-khaṁ puram

(7) The mind one should recognize as the very powerful [eleventh] leader of the two groups of the senses and the kingdom of Pañcâla stands for the five realms [or objects] of the senses in the midst of which the city with the nine apertures is found.

4.29.8

akṣiṇī nāsike karṇau
mukhaṁ śiśna-gudāv iti
dve dve dvārau bahir yāti
yas tad-indriya-saṁyutaḥ

(8) The two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, the genitals and rectum are likewise the two by two gates with the mouth [as the ninth] that one passes when one accompanied by the senses goes outside.

4.29.9

akṣiṇī nāsike āsyam
iti pañca puraḥ kṛtāḥ
dakṣiṇā dakṣiṇaḥ karṇa
uttarā cottaraḥ smṛtaḥ
paścime ity adho dvārau
gudaṁ śiśnam ihocyate

(9) The two eyes, the nostrils and the mouth are thus understood as the five gates in front [the east], with the right ear as the gate to the south and the left ear as the gate to the north, while downward in the west the two gates are found one calls the rectum and the genital.

4.29.10

khadyotāvirmukhī cātra
netre ekatra nirmite
rūpaṁ vibhrājitaṁ tābhyāṁ
vicaṣṭe cakṣuṣeśvaraḥ

(10) The ones named Khadyotâ and Âvirmukhî that were created at one place are the eyes by which the master can perceive with his sense of sight the form called Vibhrâjita ['the clearly seen', see 4.25: 47].

4.29.11

nalinī nālinī nāse
gandhaḥ saurabha ucyate
ghrāṇo 'vadhūto mukhyāsyaṁ
vipaṇo vāg rasavid rasaḥ

 (11) The ones named Nalinî and Nâlinî represent the two nostrils with [the city of] Saurabha named to the aroma. The [companion called] Avadhûta is the sense of smell. Mukhyâ stands for the mouth with [for his friends] the faculty of speech named Vipana and the sense of taste named Rasajña [see 4.25: 48-49].

4.29.12

āpaṇo vyavahāro 'tra
citram andho bahūdanam
pitṛhūr dakṣiṇaḥ karṇa
uttaro devahūḥ smṛtaḥ

(12) Âpana concerns the [domain of the] tongue and Bahûdana the [realm of the] variety of eatables, with [the gates of] the right ear having the name Pitrihû and the left ear being called Devahû [see 4.25: 49-51].

4.29.13

pravṛttaṁ ca nivṛttaṁ ca
śāstraṁ pañcāla-saṁjñitam
pitṛ-yānaṁ deva-yānaṁ
śrotrāc chruta-dharād vrajet

(13) Together with the companion of hearing called S'rutadhara following the path to [the southern and northern realms of] Pañcâla by the processes of sense enjoyment and detachment as described in the scriptures, one reaches [respectively] Pitriloka and Devaloka.

4.29.14

āsurī meḍhram arvāg-dvār
vyavāyo grāmiṇāṁ ratiḥ
upastho durmadaḥ prokto
nirṛtir guda ucyate

 (14) Next to the gate of the rectum called Nirriti there is on the lower side the sexual member called Âsurî, which is the gate for the sexuality of the common man [who in the area of Grâmaka] is attracted to the sexual act which is called [the friend] Durmada [see 4.25: 52-53].

4.29.15

vaiśasaṁ narakaṁ pāyur
lubdhako 'ndhau tu me śṛṇu
hasta-pādau pumāṁs tābhyāṁ
yukto yāti karoti ca

 (15) Vais'asa is [the realm of] hell and [the friend] called Lubdhaka is the organ of defecation. The blind ones you next heard about from me are the legs and hands with which the people engage in their work [see 4.25: 53-54].

4.29.16

antaḥ-puraṁ ca hṛdayaṁ
viṣūcir mana ucyate
tatra mohaṁ prasādaṁ vā
harṣaṁ prāpnoti tad-guṇaiḥ

 (16) The private quarters are the heart and [the servant named] Vishûcîna is the mind, the material nature of which is said to result in illusion, satisfaction and jubilation.

4.29.17

yathā yathā vikriyate
guṇākto vikaroti vā
tathā tathopadraṣṭātmā
tad-vṛttīr anukāryate

 (17) As soon as the mind is agitated and activates in association with the natural modes, the individual soul, who is [actually] the observer, is carried away by those activities [just like Purañjana falling for his queen, see 4.25: 56].

4.29.18-20

deho rathas tv indriyāśvaḥ
saṁvatsara-rayo 'gatiḥ
dvi-karma-cakras tri-guṇa-
dhvajaḥ pañcāsu-bandhuraḥ
mano-raśmir buddhi-sūto
hṛn-nīḍo dvandva-kūbaraḥ
pañcendriyārtha-prakṣepaḥ
sapta-dhātu-varūthakaḥ
ākūtir vikramo bāhyo
mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ pradhāvati
ekādaśendriya-camūḥ
pañca-sūnā-vinoda-kṛt

(18-20) The body is the chariot that, with the senses for its horses, in fact doesn't move ahead in the course of one's years. The two wheels constitute the activities of profit minded labor and piety, the flags are the three modes of nature and the bindings stand for the five types of air. The rein is the mind, the chariot driver is the intelligence, the sitting place is the heart, the duality is formed by the posts for the harnesses, the five weapons are the sense objects and the seven armor plates are the physical elements [of nails, skin, fat, flesh, blood, bone and marrow]. The five objectives and ways of approach constitute [together with the eleventh commander] the false aspiration of the eleven processes of the senses [the mind and the five senses of action and perception] by which one in envy is engaged for the sake of sensual pleasure [see again 4.26: 1-3].

4.29.21

saṁvatsaraś caṇḍavegaḥ
kālo yenopalakṣitaḥ
tasyāhānīha gandharvā
gandharvyo rātrayaḥ smṛtāḥ
haranty āyuḥ parikrāntyā
ṣaṣṭy-uttara-śata-trayam

(21) The year symbolizing [the passage of] time was called Candavega to which the three hundred and sixty men and women from heaven are to be understood as the days and nights that by their footsteps reduce the lifespan that one has on this earth [see 4.27: 13].

4.29.22

kāla-kanyā jarā sākṣāl
lokas tāṁ nābhinandati
svasāraṁ jagṛhe mṛtyuḥ
kṣayāya yavaneśvaraḥ

(22) The daughter of Time who was welcomed by no one and as the sister-in-law was accepted by the king of the Yavanas in favor of death and destruction, stood for jarâ, old age [see 4.27: 19-30].

4.29.23-25

ādhayo vyādhayas tasya
sainikā yavanāś carāḥ
bhūtopasargāśu-rayaḥ
prajvāro dvi-vidho jvaraḥ
evaṁ bahu-vidhair duḥkhair
daiva-bhūtātma-sambhavaiḥ
kliśyamānaḥ śataṁ varṣaṁ
dehe dehī tamo-vṛtaḥ
prāṇendriya-mano-dharmān
ātmany adhyasya nirguṇaḥ
śete kāma-lavān dhyāyan
mamāham iti karma-kṛt

 (23-25) His followers, the Yavana soldiers represent the disturbances of the mind and body who, at times when the living beings are in distress, very quickly rise to power with Prajvâra in the form of two kinds of fever [hot and cold, physical and mental conflict]. The one residing in the body which is moved by the material world is thus for a hundred years subjected to different sorts of tribulations that are caused by nature, other living beings and himself. [Therein] abiding by the fragmentary nature of sense enjoyment he meditates the 'I' and 'mine' of himself as being the doer and thus, despite of his transcendental nature, wrongly attributes to the soul the characteristics of the life force, the senses and the mind.

4.29.26-27

yadātmānam avijñāya
bhagavantaṁ paraṁ gurum
puruṣas tu viṣajjeta
guṇeṣu prakṛteḥ sva-dṛk
guṇābhimānī sa tadā
karmāṇi kurute 'vaśaḥ
śuklaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ lohitaṁ vā
yathā-karmābhijāyate

(26-27) When the person forgets the Supreme Soul, the Almighty Lord who is the highest teacher, he next surrenders himself to the modes of matter to find therein his happiness. Driven by those modes he thereupon takes to lives belonging to his karma. He therein is then helplessly controlled by the performance of fruitive activities that are of a white [a-karma or service in goodness], a black [vi-karma or ill deeds in ignorance] or a red nature [regular karma or work passionate after the profit; compare B.G. 13: 22 and 4: 17].

4.29.28

śuklāt prakāśa-bhūyiṣṭhāḹ
lokān āpnoti karhicit
duḥkhodarkān kriyāyāsāṁs
tamaḥ-śokotkaṭān kvacit

(28) Then ruled by the light of goodness one reaches better worlds, then with passion for one's work one ends up in distress and then at other times indulging in darkness one finds oneself in lamentation [see B.G. 18a: 37-39].

4.29.29

kvacit pumān kvacic ca strī
kvacin nobhayam andha-dhīḥ
devo manuṣyas tiryag vā
yathā-karma-guṇaṁ bhavaḥ

 (29) Sometimes one is a man, sometimes a woman and then one is neither of both. Then one has lost one's mind and then again you're a human being, a beast or a god. One is born according to one's karma with the modes of nature.

4.29.30-31

kṣut-parīto yathā dīnaḥ
sārameyo gṛhaṁ gṛham
caran vindati yad-diṣṭaṁ
daṇḍam odanam eva vā
tathā kāmāśayo jīva
uccāvaca-pathā bhraman
upary adho vā madhye vā
yāti diṣṭaṁ priyāpriyam

(30-31) Like a poor dog that overcome by hunger wanders from one house to an other in order to be rewarded or else be punished, the living entity similarly pursuing different types of higher and lower desires wanders high or low, or follows a middle course and thus according to his destiny reaches that what is pleasurable or not that pleasurable ['heaven' or 'hell'].

4.29.32

duḥkheṣv ekatareṇāpi
daiva-bhūtātma-hetuṣu
jīvasya na vyavacchedaḥ
syāc cet tat-tat-pratikriyā

(32) Even though he, being confronted with the different kinds of distress as caused by nature, others or himself, takes his countermeasures, it is for the living being not possible to stop the misery.

4.29.33

yathā hi puruṣo bhāraṁ
śirasā gurum udvahan
taṁ skandhena sa ādhatte
tathā sarvāḥ pratikriyāḥ

4.29.34

naikāntataḥ pratīkāraḥ
karmaṇāṁ karma kevalam
dvayaṁ hy avidyopasṛtaṁ
svapne svapna ivānagha

 (33-34) All that he in fact does is what a man carrying a heavy burden on his head does when he shifts his burden to his shoulder. In fact he o sinless one, in a state of illusion thinks that he can counter a dream with a dream. Counteracting one [karmic] activity with another one doesn't arrive at a definitive solution, only in counteracting the both of them that is the case.

4.29.35

arthe hy avidyamāne 'pi
saṁsṛtir na nivartate
manasā liṅga-rūpeṇa
svapne vicarato yathā

(35) Just as there is no end to the subtle form of reflection that was created by the mind as in a dream, there is also no end to wandering around in the material world that in truth is not a fixed reality

4.29.36-37

athātmano 'rtha-bhūtasya
yato 'nartha-paramparā
saṁsṛtis tad-vyavacchedo
bhaktyā paramayā gurau
vāsudeve bhagavati
bhakti-yogaḥ samāhitaḥ
sadhrīcīnena vairāgyaṁ
jñānaṁ ca janayiṣyati

(36 - 37) In order to put an end to the succession of unwanted things in material life it is therefore for the soul of essential importance to be of unalloyed devotional service with that what the spiritual teacher [the Lord] represents: to be engaged in the bhakti yoga in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Vâsudeva, by which the result is found of the completeness of knowledge and detachment.

4.29.38

so 'cirād eva rājarṣe
syād acyuta-kathāśrayaḥ
śṛṇvataḥ śraddadhānasya
nityadā syād adhīyataḥ

(38) That, o best of kings, will soon come about depending the cultivation of one's constant and faithful listening to the narrations about the Infallible One.

4.29.39-40

yatra bhāgavatā rājan
sādhavo viśadāśayāḥ
bhagavad-guṇānukathana-
śravaṇa-vyagra-cetasaḥ
tasmin mahan-mukharitā madhubhic-caritra-
pīyūṣa-śeṣa-saritaḥ paritaḥ sravanti
tā ye pibanty avitṛṣo nṛpa gāḍha-karṇais
tān na spṛśanty aśana-tṛḍ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥ

(39-40) From the place where one finds the great devotees, the broad-minded pure souls whose consciousness is bent on the regular reciting of and hearing about the qualities of the Supreme Lord o King, flow in all directions from the mouths of the great examples the countless streams of nectar concerning the exploits of the killer of Madhu. They who eagerly drink in that nectar can never get enough of it.  Hunger, thirst, fear, lamentation or illusion never get hold of those who are all ears [compare 3.25: 25].

4.29.41

etair upadruto nityaṁ
jīva-lokaḥ svabhāvajaiḥ
na karoti harer nūnaṁ
kathāmṛta-nidhau ratim

(41) But the individual soul who is always troubled by his worldly habits, is not attracted to the nectarean ocean of stories about the Lord.

4.29.42-44

prajāpati-patiḥ sākṣād
bhagavān giriśo manuḥ
dakṣādayaḥ prajādhyakṣā
naiṣṭhikāḥ sanakādayaḥ
marīcir atry-aṅgirasau
pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ
bhṛgur vasiṣṭha ity ete
mad-antā brahma-vādinaḥ
adyāpi vācas-patayas
tapo-vidyā-samādhibhiḥ
paśyanto 'pi na paśyanti
paśyantaṁ parameśvaram

(42-44) The father of the founding fathers Brahmâ, lordships like S'iva, Manu, and the rulers of mankind headed by Daksha, the strong celibates led by Sanaka, Marîci, Atri, Angirâ, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhrigu, Vasishthha and I myself finally, are all well versed, authoritative brahmin speakers. Even though we have insight because of our meditation, education and austerities, we can not fathom the Seer Himself, the Controller in the beyond.

4.29.45

śabda-brahmaṇi duṣpāre
caranta uru-vistare
mantra-liṅgair vyavacchinnaṁ
bhajanto na viduḥ param

 (45) Engaged in listening to the unlimited spiritual knowledge and with mantras singing the glories of the greatly extended partial powers [the demigods], one still doesn't know the Supreme. [see footnote 1] (1a, 2a) What now would the difference be between animals and human beings when the intelligence of all depends upon the animalistic maintenance of the body? After so many births having attained a human life out here the individual spiritual soul will become prominent when one on the path of spiritual knowledge has broken with that physicality, when one has given up the incorrect perception of being a gross or subtle body.

4.29.46

yadā yasyānugṛhṇāti
bhagavān ātma-bhāvitaḥ
sa jahāti matiṁ loke
vede ca pariniṣṭhitām

 (46) When He who showers His grace, the Supreme Lord, by a soul is realized, such a one will give up his worldly views as well as his attachment to Vedic rituals [see also B.G. 18: 66].

4.29.47

tasmāt karmasu barhiṣmann
ajñānād artha-kāśiṣu
mārtha-dṛṣṭiṁ kṛthāḥ śrotra-
sparśiṣv aspṛṣṭa-vastuṣu

(47) O my dear Prâcînabarhi, therefore never ignorantly take the glamour of fruitive actions for the aim of life. However nicely that [acquiring] might ring in your ears, the real interest isn't served by it [compare B.G. 2: 42-43].

4.29.48

svaṁ lokaṁ na vidus te vai
yatra devo janārdanaḥ
āhur dhūmra-dhiyo vedaṁ
sakarmakam atad-vidaḥ

(48) The less intelligent ones speak of the [four] Vedas to the interest of rituals and ceremonies, but such people do not know [the real purport of the Vedas], they have no idea where the world of Lord Janârdana is to be found [of Vishnu, Krishna as the conqueror of wealth].

4.29.49

āstīrya darbhaiḥ prāg-agraiḥ
kārtsnyena kṣiti-maṇḍalam
stabdho bṛhad-vadhān mānī
karma nāvaiṣi yat param
tat karma hari-toṣaṁ yat
sā vidyā tan-matir yayā

(49) You  who [with your sons the Pracetâs] completely covered the face of the world with the kus'a grass pointing eastward [see 4.24: 10], take great pride in all the killing [of the sacrificial animals] and consider yourself very important. But you do not know what work must be performed, what labor would satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He who constitutes the guiding principle of reason.

4.29.50

harir deha-bhṛtām ātmā
svayaṁ prakṛtir īśvaraḥ
tat-pāda-mūlaṁ śaraṇaṁ
yataḥ kṣemo nṛṇām iha

 (50) The Supreme Lord Himself is the Supersoul of all who accepted a material body; He is the controller of material nature. His feet form the shelter by which all men in this world find their fortune.

4.29.51

sa vai priyatamaś cātmā
yato na bhayam aṇv api
iti veda sa vai vidvān
yo vidvān sa gurur hariḥ

(51) He indeed is the one loved the most, the Subtle One from whom there is no fear. He alone is in full knowledge, he alone who has learned this, is the spiritual master not different from the Lord.'  

4.29.52

nārada uvāca
praśna evaṁ hi sañchinno
bhavataḥ puruṣarṣabha
atra me vadato guhyaṁ
niśāmaya suniścitam

(52) Nârada said: 'After thus far having answered your questions o man of wisdom, now listen to the established opinion I am going to confide to you.

4.29.53

kṣudraṁ caraṁ sumanasāṁ śaraṇe mithitvā
raktaṁ ṣaḍaṅghri-gaṇa-sāmasu lubdha-karṇam
agre vṛkān asu-tṛpo 'vigaṇayya yāntaṁ
pṛṣṭhe mṛgaṁ mṛgaya lubdhaka-bāṇa-bhinnam

(53) [Think of] a deer safely grazing grass in a field of flowers. Undisturbed doing his business he has in his ears the charming song of  bumblebees, but he is not quite aware that in front of him there are tigers eager to kill and that behind him there is a hunter looking for a chance to pierce him with arrows. 

4.29.54

 (54) The flowers work just like a woman who with her sweet scent of flowers suggests the safety of a household existence as being the result of an innocent desire for sensual pleasures such as the plucking of flowers. Thus one fulfills one's desires [alike the deer] in always being absorbed in thoughts of sex with the wife and pleasures to the tongue. The sound of the different bumblebees that is so very attractive to the ears compares to the most attractive talks of the wife in the first place and also the children that occupy one's mind completely. The tigers together in front of him are alike all the moments of the days and nights that unnoticed in enjoying one's household take away one's life span. And from behind there is the hunter taking care not to be seen who crouches upon him like the superintendent of death by whose arrow one's heart is pierced in this world. You should see yourself in this as the one whose heart is pierced o King.

Materialistic life means forgetting one's constitutional position as the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, and this forgetfulness is especially enhanced in the gṛhastha-āśrama. In the gṛhastha-āśrama a young man accepts a young wife who is very beautiful in the beginning, but in due course of time, after giving birth to many children and becoming older and older, she demands many things from the husband to maintain the entire family. At such a time the wife becomes detestable to the very man who accepted her in her younger days. One becomes attached to the gṛhastha-āśrama for two reasons only—the wife cooks palatable dishes for the satisfaction of her husband's tongue, and she gives him sexual pleasure at night. A person attached to the gṛhastha-āśrama is always thinking of these two things—palatable food and sex enjoyment. The talks of the wife, which are enjoyed as a family recreation, and the talks of the children both attract the living entity. He thus forgets that he has to die someday and has to prepare for the next life if he wants to be put into a congenial body.

The deer in the flower garden is an allegory used by the great sage Nārada to point out to the King that the King himself is similarly entrapped by such surroundings. Actually everyone is surrounded by such a family life, which misleads one. The living entity thus forgets that he has to return home, back to Godhead. He simply becomes entangled in family life. Prahlāda Mahārāja has therefore hinted: hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta [SB

One has to understand one's position in family or worldly life. That is called intelligence. One should not remain always trapped in family life to satisfy his tongue and genitals in association with a wife. In such a way, one simply spoils his life. According to Vedic civilization, it is imperative to give up the family at a certain stage, by force if necessary. Unfortunately, so-called followers of Vedic life do not give up their family even at the end of life, unless they are forced by death. There should be a thorough overhauling of the social system, and society should revert to the Vedic principles, that is, the four varṇas and the four āśramas.

4.29.55

sa tvaṁ vicakṣya mṛga-ceṣṭitam ātmano 'ntaś
cittaṁ niyaccha hṛdi karṇa-dhunīṁ ca citte
jahy aṅganāśramam asattama-yūtha-gāthaṁ
prīṇīhi haṁsa-śaraṇaṁ virama krameṇa

(55) Place yourself in the consciousness of the grazing deer and give up the fixation upon that what you cherish in your heart. Give up that notion and those stories of a household life so abominably filled with sexual concerns and go, gradually becoming detached, exclusively for the shelter of all liberated souls.'

4.29.56

rājovāca
śrutam anvīkṣitaṁ brahman
bhagavān yad abhāṣata
naitaj jānanty upādhyāyāḥ
kiṁ na brūyur vidur yadi

(56) The king said: 'O brahmin, having heard what you said, I must say I had no clue. Why is it so that the honorable gentlemen [my teachers], if they knew that, didn't explain it to me?

4.29.57

saṁśayo 'tra tu me vipra
sañchinnas tat-kṛto mahān
ṛṣayo 'pi hi muhyanti
yatra nendriya-vṛttayaḥ

(57) But my doubts about this o brahmin, you have cleared as you spoke. Even they who have experience are indeed bewildered about everything not pertaining to the activities of the senses.

4.29.58

karmāṇy ārabhate yena
pumān iha vihāya tam
amutrānyena dehena
juṣṭāni sa yad aśnute

(58) Someone who forsakes his body in order to enjoy another body in a next life has to face the consequences of the karma he built up in this life. 

4.29.59

iti veda-vidāṁ vādaḥ
śrūyate tatra tatra ha
karma yat kriyate proktaṁ
parokṣaṁ na prakāśate

 (59) One thus knows the statement of the Vedic experts that says: of everything that one in this life wants to do one does not directly see the consequences.'

4.29.60

nārada uvāca
yenaivārabhate karma
tenaivāmutra tat pumān
bhuṅkte hy avyavadhānena
liṅgena manasā svayam

(60) Nârada said: 'From the karma a person engages in the consequences are to be faced in a next life, because [having died, in his unembodied state] nothing has changed to that what belongs to him: his proof of character [the subtle body or linga] and his mind about it stay the same.

4.29.61

śayānam imam utsṛjya
śvasantaṁ puruṣo yathā
karmātmany āhitaṁ bhuṅkte
tādṛśenetareṇa vā

 (61) The way a person, lying in bed and breathing, letting go [of the gross body in a dream] in his mind has to experience the actions he [in the waking state] was engaged in, the same way he will fare in a similar or another [animal] body or world [being reincarnated after his death].

4.29.62

mamaite manasā yad yad
asāv aham iti bruvan
gṛhṇīyāt tat pumān rāddhaṁ
karma yena punar bhavaḥ

(62) Whatever all this 'my' of the mind might entail in acceptance of an 'I', is by the living being taken along as the workload he acquired and by that karma he again enters a material existence.

4.29.63

yathānumīyate cittam
ubhayair indriyehitaiḥ
evaṁ prāg-dehajaṁ karma
lakṣyate citta-vṛttibhiḥ

(63) The way one derives a state of mind from one's sensual experiences and what one does in response to them, one is likewise mentally characterized by propensities that are the result of physical actions one engaged in in a previous life.

4.29.64

nānubhūtaṁ kva cānena
dehenādṛṣṭam aśrutam
kadācid upalabhyeta
yad rūpaṁ yādṛg ātmani

(64) Sometimes arbitrary forms pop up before one's mind's eye and that may happen without ever having heard, seen or experienced those images before.

4.29.65

tenāsya tādṛśaṁ rājaḹ
liṅgino deha-sambhavam
śraddhatsvānanubhūto 'rtho
na manaḥ spraṣṭum arhati

(65) O King believe me thereby when I tell you that to a living being confronted with a proof of life that as such rises in the body, not a single thing can manifest itself in the mind which hasn't been tried, experienced or understood before.

4.29.66

mana eva manuṣyasya
pūrva-rūpāṇi śaṁsati
bhaviṣyataś ca bhadraṁ te
tathaiva na bhaviṣyataḥ

(66) The mind of a man is indicative of the forms he has accepted in the past as well as - I wish you all the best - what birth he next will take or that he will not be born again.

4.29.67

adṛṣṭam aśrutaṁ cātra
kvacin manasi dṛśyate
yathā tathānumantavyaṁ
deśa-kāla-kriyāśrayam

 (67) That what someone has done in another time or at another place [thus] can be derived from the images one sometimes has in the mind of things one in this life hasn't seen or heard about before.

4.29.68

sarve kramānurodhena
manasīndriya-gocarāḥ
āyānti bahuśo yānti
sarve samanaso janāḥ

(68) Everything that is perceived through the senses, may in different ways of sequential ordering [or types of logic or individual perspectives] pop up  and vanish again in the heart; all persons have a mind [filled with past impressions].

4.29.69

sattvaika-niṣṭhe manasi
bhagavat-pārśva-vartini
tamaś candramasīvedam
uparajyāvabhāsate

(69) With the Fortunate One constantly at one's side abiding by a spirit of pure goodness [free from passion and ignorance], the world around oneself [the so-called 'here and now'] that [with all those impressions] can be as dark as the [new] moon, thus being connected will manifest itself crystal clear.

4.29.70

nāhaṁ mameti bhāvo 'yaṁ
puruṣe vyavadhīyate
yāvad buddhi-mano-'kṣārtha-
guṇa-vyūho hy anādimān

(70) A person is from this consciousness that is thus free from 'I' and 'mine' separated for as long as the eternal indweller [in the form of the subtle body of impressions, the linga] forms a distinct structure of material qualities consisting of intelligence, mind, senses and sense objects.

4.29.71

supti-mūrcchopatāpeṣu
prāṇāyana-vighātataḥ
nehate 'ham iti jñānaṁ
mṛtyu-prajvārayor api

(71) In deep sleep, when one faints or with the arrest of one's breathing in great shock one does not think of an 'I', nor is there such a notion when one has a high fever or when one dies.

4.29.72

garbhe bālye 'py apauṣkalyād
ekādaśa-vidhaṁ tadā
liṅgaṁ na dṛśyate yūnaḥ
kuhvāṁ candramaso yathā

 (72) Just like one with a new moon cannot see the moon itself, the self of typical life signs [the subtle body or the ego] can not be observed of a young person in the womb and during [early] childhood because of the immaturity of the eleven [of the senses and the mind].

4.29.73

arthe hy avidyamāne 'pi
saṁsṛtir na nivartate
dhyāyato viṣayān asya
svapne 'narthāgamo yathā

(73) Just as unwanted things in a dream have to run their own course [until one awakens], also for a soul - despite of not being there for the sake of the sense objects - material life does not cease when he is contemplating the enjoyment of the senses [***].

4.29.74

evaṁ pañca-vidhaṁ liṅgaṁ
tri-vṛt ṣoḍaśa vistṛtam
eṣa cetanayā yukto
jīva ity abhidhīyate

(74) The individual soul [the jîva] is understood as a combination of the life force with the in sixteen expanded and by the three modes of nature ruled typical self of signs, the linga [expanded to the five objects of the senses, the five working and knowing senses and the mind].

4.29.75

anena puruṣo dehān
upādatte vimuñcati
harṣaṁ śokaṁ bhayaṁ duḥkhaṁ
sukhaṁ cānena vindati

(75) By means of this [linga] the person acquires material bodies and gives them up again and  because he [the subtle body] thus is materially contained he finds enjoyment, lamentation, fear, misery and happiness [compare B.G. 2: 13].

4.29.76-77

yathā tṛṇa-jalūkeyaṁ
nāpayāty apayāti ca
na tyajen mriyamāṇo 'pi
prāg-dehābhimatiṁ janaḥ
yāvad anyaṁ na vindeta
vyavadhānena karmaṇām
mana eva manuṣyendra
bhūtānāṁ bhava-bhāvanam

(76-77) Just like a c  aterpillar doesn't disappear when it has to forsake its body [to become a butterfly], a  materially identified man doesn't vanish upon the termination of his karmic existence, for the mind [transported by the linga] is the ruler of man, it is the cause of the material existence of all the embodiments created.

4.29.78

yadākṣaiś caritān dhyāyan
karmāṇy ācinute 'sakṛt
sati karmaṇy avidyāyāṁ
bandhaḥ karmaṇy anātmanaḥ

 (78) When one thinking of success always [to the point of death] performs activities, one is by those actions bound to a[n other] physical body for as long as one continues to perform in ignorance [see B.G. 3: 9].

4.29.79

atas tad apavādārthaṁ
bhaja sarvātmanā harim
paśyaṁs tad-ātmakaṁ viśvaṁ
sthity-utpatty-apyayā yataḥ

(79) In order to counteract that therefore engage in devotional service unto the Lord with all your heart and soul and consider the cosmic manifestation thereto as consisting of His being by which there is maintenance, creation and annihilation [see footnote 2]. (1b) Being of devotion unto Krishna, of mercy towards others and in perfect knowledge of the True Self, liberation from being bound to a material life will be the consequence. (2b) The great secret of it all is that material existence dissolves in what we do not see as yet and have been seeing in the past, just like during one's sleep; in other words, everything that happened in the past, happens in the present and is going to happen in the future is but a dream.'

4.29.80

maitreya uvāca
bhāgavata-mukhyo bhagavān
nārado haṁsayor gatim
pradarśya hy amum āmantrya
siddha-lokaṁ tato 'gamat

(80) Maitreya said: 'After Nârada, the most powerful, pure and leading devotee had explained to him the position of the two swans [of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul who is the Lord], he took leave and departed for the abode of the perfected ones [Siddhaloka].

4.29.81

prācīnabarhī rājarṣiḥ
prajā-sargābhirakṣaṇe
ādiśya putrān agamat
tapase kapilāśramam

(81) After leaving orders for his sons to protect the common people, Prâcînabarhi, the wise king then left for practicing austerities in the spiritual resort of Kapila [at Gangâ-sâgara, where the Ganges flows into the bay of Bengal, see for Kapila Canto 3.24-33].

4.29.82

tatraikāgra-manā dhīro
govinda-caraṇāmbujam
vimukta-saṅgo 'nubhajan
bhaktyā tat-sāmyatām agāt

 (82) There, with a one-pointed mind living soberly at the lotus feet of Govinda he, continuously chanting, by his devotion managed to free himself from his attachments and attain sameness with the One Reality.

4.29.83

etad adhyātma-pārokṣyaṁ
gītaṁ devarṣiṇānagha
yaḥ śrāvayed yaḥ śṛṇuyāt
sa liṅgena vimucyate

(83) O sinless one, anyone who listens to or recounts this authoritative, spiritual discourse as narrated by Nârada, will be delivered from the physical concept of life.

4.29.84

etan mukunda-yaśasā bhuvanaṁ punānaṁ
devarṣi-varya-mukha-niḥsṛtam ātma-śaucam
yaḥ kīrtyamānam adhigacchati pārameṣṭhyaṁ
nāsmin bhave bhramati mukta-samasta-bandhaḥ

(84) Taken from the mouth of the leading divinity of wisdom, this story once it is uttered, will purify anyone's heart, for it sanctifies this world with the fame of the Lord of Liberation, Mukunda. He who chants it will return to the spiritual world and freed from all bondage being liberated no longer wander around in this material world.

4.29.85

adhyātma-pārokṣyam idaṁ
mayādhigatam adbhutam
evaṁ striyāśramaḥ puṁsaś
chinno 'mutra ca saṁśayaḥ

(85) This wonderful spiritual mystery [this allegory] you've now heard from me, about a person [Purañjana] who took shelter of his wife, puts an end to all doubts about [the matter of] life after death.'

4.29.1a, SB 4.29.2a, SB 4.29.1a-2a

sarveṣām eva jantūnāṁ
satataṁ deha-poṣaṇe
asti prajñā samāyattā
ko viśeṣas tadā nṛṇām
labdhvehānte manuṣyatvaṁ
hitvā dehādy-asad-graham
ātma-sṛtyā vihāyedaṁ
jīvātmā sa viśiṣyate

A desire to maintain body, wife and children is also observed in animal society. The animals have full intelligence to manage such affairs. If a human being is simply advanced in this respect, what is the difference between him and an animal? One should be very careful to understand that this human life is attained after many, many births in the evolutionary process. A learned man who gives up the bodily conception of life, both gross and subtle, will, by the enlightenment of spiritual knowledge, become a prominent individual spirit soul, as the Supreme Lord is also.

4.29.1b

bhaktiḥ kṛṣṇe dayā jīveṣv
akuṇṭha-jñānam ātmani
yadi syād ātmano bhūyād
apavargas tu saṁsṛteḥ

If a living entity is developed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is merciful to others, and if his spiritual knowledge of self-realization is perfect, he will immediately attain liberation from the bondage of material existence.

4.29.2b

adṛṣṭaṁ dṛṣṭavan naṅkṣed
bhūtaṁ svapnavad anyathā
bhūtaṁ bhavad bhaviṣyac ca
suptaṁ sarva-raho-rahaḥ

Everything happening within time, which consists of past, present and future, is merely a dream. That is the secret understanding in all Vedic literature.

* According to Vijayadhvaja Tîrtha, who belongs to the Madhvâcârya-sampradâya, the two following verses appear after verse 45 of this chapter.

** According to Vijayadhvaja Tîrtha, who belongs to the Madhvâcârya-sampradâya the two following verses appear after verse 79.

*** The first two lines of this verse are repeated from the first two lines in verse 35; contextually this results in this alternative translation.

Canto 4

Chapter 30: The Activities of the Pracetâs

4.30.1

vidura uvāca
ye tvayābhihitā brahman
sutāḥ prācīnabarhiṣaḥ
te rudra-gītena hariṁ
siddhim āpuḥ pratoṣya kām

(1) Vidura said: 'The sons of Prâcînabarhi you before spoke about o brahmin, all successfully satisfied the Lord with the song of Lord S'iva [see 4: 24]; what did they achieve that way?

4.30.2

kiṁ bārhaspatyeha paratra vātha
kaivalya-nātha-priya-pārśva-vartinaḥ
āsādya devaṁ giriśaṁ yadṛcchayā
prāpuḥ paraṁ nūnam atha pracetasaḥ

 (2) O disciple of Brihaspati, what was it that the Pracetâs arrived at after meeting the god of mountain Kailâsa [S'iva] who is so dear to the Lord of Emancipation and Beatitude? They must have attained the transcendental position, but what did they by chance obtain in this life or a next one?'
4.30.3

maitreya uvāca
pracetaso 'ntar udadhau
pitur ādeśa-kāriṇaḥ
japa-yajñena tapasā
purañjanam atoṣayan

(3) Maitreya said: 'The Pracetâs who at the lake carried out the orders of their father, satisfied by chanting mantras with their austerity the Indweller [the Supreme Lord]. 

4.30.4

daśa-varṣa-sahasrānte
puruṣas tu sanātanaḥ
teṣām āvirabhūt kṛcchraṁ
śāntena śamayan rucā

(4) After the ten thousand years of their severe austerity [see also 4.24: 14] the Original Person of the Eternal Reality then appeared before them, satisfying and pacifying them with His beauty.

4.30.5

suparṇa-skandham ārūḍho
meru-śṛṅgam ivāmbudaḥ
pīta-vāsā maṇi-grīvaḥ
kurvan vitimirā diśaḥ

(5) Sitting on the back of His carrier bird [Garuda] looking like a cloud on the summit of Mount Meru, He, wearing yellow garments and the jewel around His neck, dissipated all darkness around. 

4.30.6

kāśiṣṇunā kanaka-varṇa-vibhūṣaṇena
bhrājat-kapola-vadano vilasat-kirīṭaḥ
aṣṭāyudhair anucarair munibhiḥ surendrair
āsevito garuḍa-kinnara-gīta-kīrtiḥ

(6) Shining with golden ornaments He radiated with His helmet on His head, His dazzling face and His eight weapons while assiduously being served by an entourage of sages and demigods, with Garuda singing His glories like a superhuman being [a Kinnara]

4.30.7

pīnāyatāṣṭa-bhuja-maṇḍala-madhya-lakṣmyā
spardhac-chriyā parivṛto vana-mālayādyaḥ
barhiṣmataḥ puruṣa āha sutān prapannān
parjanya-nāda-rutayā saghṛṇāvalokaḥ

 (7) With in the midst of His eight stout arms hanging a flower garland that challenged the beauty of the Goddess of Fortune, the Original Personality of Godhead glancing mercifully addressed the surrendered sons of Prâcînabarhi with a voice resounding like thunder.

4.30.8

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
varaṁ vṛṇīdhvaṁ bhadraṁ vo
yūyaṁ me nṛpa-nandanāḥ
sauhārdenāpṛthag-dharmās
tuṣṭo 'haṁ sauhṛdena vaḥ

 (8) The Supreme Lord said: 'I am very pleased about your mutual friendship, about your occupation as friends in the same sense of duty o sons of the king. You therefore to your good fortune may ask Me for a boon.

4.30.9

yo 'nusmarati sandhyāyāṁ
yuṣmān anudinaṁ naraḥ
tasya bhrātṛṣv ātma-sāmyaṁ
tathā bhūteṣu sauhṛdam

(9) The human being who consequently remembers you every day in the evening will find friendship with his brothers and equality of soul with all living beings.

4.30.10

ye tu māṁ rudra-gītena
sāyaṁ prātaḥ samāhitāḥ
stuvanty ahaṁ kāma-varān
dāsye prajñāṁ ca śobhanām

 (10) Those persons who in the morning and the evening praise Me attentively with the song of S'iva, I shall reward with the fulfillment of all their wishes and a bright intellect. 

4.30.11

yad yūyaṁ pitur ādeśam
agrahīṣṭa mudānvitāḥ
atho va uśatī kīrtir
lokān anu bhaviṣyati

(11) Your shining glory will be known the world all over because you so gladly accepted your father's order.

4.30.12

bhavitā viśrutaḥ putro
'navamo brahmaṇo guṇaiḥ
ya etām ātma-vīryeṇa
tri-lokīṁ pūrayiṣyati

(12) There will be a famous son [of yours called Vis'ruta] who, in his qualities no way inferior to Lord Brahmâ, will populate the three worlds with his progeny.

4.30.13

kaṇḍoḥ pramlocayā labdhā
kanyā kamala-locanā
tāṁ cāpaviddhāṁ jagṛhur
bhūruhā nṛpa-nandanāḥ

(13) The lotus-eyed daughter sage Kandu had from [the girl of heaven named] Pramlocâ, was left to the care of the [divinity of the] trees, o sons of Prâcînabarhi.

4.30.14

kṣut-kṣāmāyā mukhe rājā
somaḥ pīyūṣa-varṣiṇīm
deśinīṁ rodamānāyā
nidadhe sa dayānvitaḥ

 (14) When she distressed with hunger cried, Soma, the King of the Moon, by means of his index finger poured the nectar compassionately into her mouth. 

4.30.15

prajā-visarga ādiṣṭāḥ
pitrā mām anuvartatā
tatra kanyāṁ varārohāṁ
tām udvahata mā ciram

(15) To fulfill the command of your father who follows My path, to beget children, without delay marry that daughter with the beautiful hips.

4.30.16

apṛthag-dharma-śīlānāṁ
sarveṣāṁ vaḥ sumadhyamā
apṛthag-dharma-śīleyaṁ
bhūyāt patny arpitāśayā

(16) May this well-behaved, slender-waisted girl be a wife fully dedicated to all of you, with the same character and sense of duty honoring the same righteous way as you do.

4.30.17

divya-varṣa-sahasrāṇāṁ
sahasram ahataujasaḥ
bhaumān bhokṣyatha bhogān vai
divyāṁś cānugrahān mama

 (17) By My mercy, for millions of heavenly years [one year on earth is one day in heaven see 3: 11] your power will exist without interruption and you will enjoy all the pleasures of heaven and earth.

4.30.18

atha mayy anapāyinyā
bhaktyā pakva-guṇāśayāḥ
upayāsyatha mad-dhāma
nirvidya nirayād ataḥ

 (18) Be therefore steadfast unto Me by means of devotional service; with your mind free from being contaminated by the modes, you will, not attached to a material existence attain My abode.

4.30.19

gṛheṣv āviśatāṁ cāpi
puṁsāṁ kuśala-karmaṇām
mad-vārtā-yāta-yāmānāṁ
na bandhāya gṛhā matāḥ

 (19) Even for persons who have entered a household life such a family existence is not considered a cause of bondage, when one spends every minute of one's time on [engaging in] good works and [listening to and recounting] the stories about Me.

4.30.20

navyavad dhṛdaye yaj jño
brahmaitad brahma-vādibhiḥ
na muhyanti na śocanti
na hṛṣyanti yato gatāḥ

 (20) Having attained this ever fresh Knower present in the heart as the Supreme Spirit of God the knowers of the Absolute Truth speak about, one will be free from bewilderment, lamentation and jubilation.'

4.30.21

maitreya uvāca
evaṁ bruvāṇaṁ puruṣārtha-bhājanaṁ
janārdanaṁ prāñjalayaḥ pracetasaḥ
tad-darśana-dhvasta-tamo-rajo-malā
girāgṛṇan gadgadayā suhṛttamam

(21) Maitreya said: 'When they heard Him, the Lord, the remover of all obstacles, thus speak about the supreme purpose of life, the Pracetâs in His presence were liberated from the darkness of the contamination of passion whereupon they with faltering voices and folded hands offered prayers to the greatest of all friends.

4.30.22

pracetasa ūcuḥ
namo namaḥ kleśa-vināśanāya
nirūpitodāra-guṇāhvayāya
mano-vaco-vega-puro-javāya
sarvākṣa-mārgair agatādhvane namaḥ

 (22) The Pracetâs said: 'Again and again we offer the destroyer of all distress our obeisances who established His name as the magnanimous One of the qualities always ahead of the fastest mind and tongue; all glories to Him whose course cannot be perceived by means of the senses. 

4.30.23

śuddhāya śāntāya namaḥ sva-niṣṭhayā
manasy apārthaṁ vilasad-dvayāya
namo jagat-sthāna-layodayeṣu
ghīta-māyā-guṇa-vigrahāya

(23) Unto the Most Peaceful and Pure One we offer our respects. With one's mind fixed on that what is His, the dual world appears meaningless. Our obeisances unto Him who, according to the modes of matter assumed the forms for the maintenance, creation and annihilation of the universe.

4.30.24

namo viśuddha-sattvāya
haraye hari-medhase
vāsudevāya kṛṣṇāya
prabhave sarva-sātvatām

(24) We bow before You, the perfect virtue of goodness, before You o Lord Hari whose intelligence liberates. You are the all-pervading Lord of consciousness Vâsudeva, Krishna, the promoter of all devotees. 

4.30.25

namaḥ kamala-nābhāya
namaḥ kamala-māline
namaḥ kamala-pādāya
namas te kamalekṣaṇa

(25) Our respects for You as the One with the lotus navel, the One with the lotus garland, the One of the lotus feet and the One with the lotus eyes.

4.30.26

namaḥ kamala-kiñjalka-
piśaṅgāmala-vāsase
sarva-bhūta-nivāsāya
namo 'yuṅkṣmahi sākṣiṇe

(26) We offer our obeisances unto Him whose garment with the saffron color of a lotus heart is spotless, unto the Supreme Witness, the shelter of all living beings. 

4.30.27

rūpaṁ bhagavatā tv etad
aśeṣa-kleśa-saṅkṣayam
āviṣkṛtaṁ naḥ kliṣṭānāṁ
kim anyad anukampitam

 (27) The form You revealed to us who suffer the material condition o Lord, puts an end to an unlimited amount of troubles; what greater mercy can one expect from You?

4.30.28

etāvat tvaṁ hi vibhubhir
bhāvyaṁ dīneṣu vatsalaiḥ
yad anusmaryate kāle
sva-buddhyābhadra-randhana

 (28) You who in Your compassion by Your expansions [and teachers] are visible to the humble devotees, are - with the necessary respect of time -  only this much [ - by Your beautiful embodiment and not by thousands of mantras -] always remembered in someone's devotional service o destroyer of all inauspiciousness. 

4.30.29

yenopaśāntir bhūtānāṁ
kṣullakānām apīhatām
antarhito 'ntar-hṛdaye
kasmān no veda nāśiṣaḥ

 (29) Therewith [with that form] all desires of the living beings are quieted, however deep they may have fallen in their laboring; why would You, hidden in our hearts, fail to know about all [those forms] that we desire?

4.30.30

asāv eva varo 'smākam
īpsito jagataḥ pate
prasanno bhagavān yeṣām
apavarga-gurur gatiḥ

(30) That You, o Father of the Universe, You as the Supreme Lord and spiritual master with whom one on the path of liberation reaches the ultimate goal, are satisfied with us, is the blessing we are looking for.

4.30.31

varaṁ vṛṇīmahe 'thāpi
nātha tvat parataḥ parāt
na hy antas tvad-vibhūtīnāṁ
so 'nanta iti gīyase

(31) Nevertheless we pray for a boon from You o Lord of transcendence above everything else. There is no limit to Your greatness and thus You are celebrated as Ananta [the Unlimited One].

4.30.32

pārijāte 'ñjasā labdhe
sāraṅgo 'nyan na sevate
tvad-aṅghri-mūlam āsādya
sākṣāt kiṁ kiṁ vṛṇīmahi

 (32) A bee completely happy in achieving the Pârijâta tree [the honey dripping celestial wish-fulfilling tree or kalpa-vriksha] doesn't resort to another tree, so, having approached Your lotus feet, with the root of everything directly before our eyes, what, o what would we further ask for? 

4.30.33

yāvat te māyayā spṛṣṭā
bhramāma iha karmabhiḥ
tāvad bhavat-prasaṅgānāṁ
saṅgaḥ syān no bhave bhave

(33) [It is about the following request:] as long as we are contaminated by Your illusory energy [mâyâ], we have to wander around in this world according to our workload [our karma]. Grant us [therefore], for as long as that is the case, the association of Your loving devotees, whatever the life [or world] we may have found.

4.30.34

tulayāma lavenāpi
na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam
bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya
martyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ

(34) To enjoy but for a moment the company of those who are attached to the Supreme Lord bears no comparison with the attainment of heaven, nor with the love of not being born again, not even mentioning the [so-called] benedictions reserved for mortal beings.

4.30.35

yatreḍyante kathā mṛṣṭās
tṛṣṇāyāḥ praśamo yataḥ
nirvairaṁ yatra bhūteṣu
nodvego yatra kaścana

(35) In that company the delightful stories are discussed because of which all material hankering is appeased and among the members there is no question of any envy or fear. 

4.30.36

yatra nārāyaṇaḥ sākṣād
bhagavān nyāsināṁ gatiḥ
saṁstūyate sat-kathāsu
mukta-saṅgaiḥ punaḥ punaḥ

(36) There where Lord Nârâyana, the ultimate goal of the renunciates, is worshiped, the Supreme Lord is personally present by dint of the repeated conversations about the truth of the ones who managed to break free from their attachments.

4.30.37

teṣāṁ vicaratāṁ padbhyāṁ
tīrthānāṁ pāvanecchayā
bhītasya kiṁ na roceta
tāvakānāṁ samāgamaḥ

(37) How can meeting those devotees who on foot travel to the holy places to bring there the purity, not be a pleasure to the ones who live in fear?

4.30.38

vayaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavan bhavasya
priyasya sakhyuḥ kṣaṇa-saṅgamena
suduścikitsyasya bhavasya mṛtyor
bhiṣaktamaṁ tvādya gatiṁ gatāḥ sma

(38) We for a moment personally having been in the presence of Lord S'iva, Your dearest friend o Lord, today  [therewith] have achieved the destination that You are, You the expert physician to cure us by Your company from death, the most difficult to cure disease of material existence.

4.30.39-40

yan naḥ svadhītaṁ guravaḥ prasāditā
viprāś ca vṛddhāś ca sad-ānuvṛttyā
āryā natāḥ suhṛdo bhrātaraś ca
sarvāṇi bhūtāny anasūyayaiva
yan naḥ sutaptaṁ tapa etad īśa
nirandhasāṁ kālam adabhram apsu
sarvaṁ tad etat puruṣasya bhūmno
vṛṇīmahe te paritoṣaṇāya

 (39-40) We who studied the scriptures, who pleased the teachers, the brahmins and the elderly; we who were good to the spiritually advanced ones [the civilized ones, the âryans] and who free from any envy honored their friends, brothers and all living beings; we who were of all that severe penance o Lord and for a long time by the water abstained from food, did all of that only for the benediction of seeing You, the most exalted Personality of God, satisfied. 

4.30.41

manuḥ svayambhūr bhagavān bhavaś ca
ye 'nye tapo-jñāna-viśuddha-sattvāḥ
adṛṣṭa-pārā api yan-mahimnaḥ
stuvanty atho tvātma-samaṁ gṛṇīmaḥ

(41) Manu, Brahmâ, the mighty Lord S'iva as also others purified their existence by austerity and knowledge but in the end couldn't see the full extent of Your glory. Nevertheless we offered our prayers to You to the best of our ability.

4.30.42

namaḥ samāya śuddhāya
puruṣāya parāya ca
vāsudevāya sattvāya
tubhyaṁ bhagavate namaḥ

 (42) Our obeisances unto You, the Supreme transcendental Person equal towards everyone and always pure, the Supreme omnipresent Lord of eternal goodness.' 

4.30.43

maitreya uvāca
iti pracetobhir abhiṣṭuto hariḥ
prītas tathety āha śaraṇya-vatsalaḥ
anicchatāṁ yānam atṛpta-cakṣuṣāṁ
yayau sva-dhāmānapavarga-vīryaḥ

(43) Maitreya said: 'Thus praised by the Pracetâs the Lord, the protector of the surrendered souls, being pleased said: 'So be it [may your prayers be fulfilled]', and  left for His heavenly abode, but they didn't desire His departure, for they hadn't seen enough of Him whose prowess is never defeated. 

4.30.44

atha niryāya salilāt
pracetasa udanvataḥ
vīkṣyākupyan drumaiś channāṁ
gāṁ gāṁ roddhum ivocchritaiḥ

(44) Thereafter the Pracetâs moved away from the water of the lake, but when they saw that the world had been covered by trees that had grown very tall as if they wanted to obstruct the way to heaven, they became frantic. 

4.30.45

tato 'gni-mārutau rājann
amuñcan mukhato ruṣā
mahīṁ nirvīrudhaṁ kartuṁ
saṁvartaka ivātyaye

(45) Like with the fire of devastation at the end of time, they then in their bitterness o King [Vidura as a ruler over the senses], with the help of the wind started a fire in order to remove the trees from the earth.

4.30.46

bhasmasāt kriyamāṇāṁs tān
drumān vīkṣya pitāmahaḥ
āgataḥ śamayām āsa
putrān barhiṣmato nayaiḥ

(46) Seeing that they had turned [almost] all the trees into ashes, the Great Father [Brahmâ] came to pacify the sons of Barhishmân by means of reason.

4.30.47

tatrāvaśiṣṭā ye vṛkṣā
bhītā duhitaraṁ tadā
ujjahrus te pracetobhya
upadiṣṭāḥ svayambhuvā

(47) The remaining trees who were very afraid, then, on the advise of Brahmâ, delivered their daughter to the Pracetâs [see verse 13].

4.30.48

te ca brahmaṇa ādeśān
māriṣām upayemire
yasyāṁ mahad-avajñānād
ajany ajana-yonijaḥ

 (48) By the order of Brahmâ they all married her, named Mârishâ, from whom the son of the Instigator [the son of Brahmâ] again took his birth because he had disrespected the Great One [S'iva see 4: 2]. 

4.30.49

cākṣuṣe tv antare prāpte
prāk-sarge kāla-vidrute
yaḥ sasarja prajā iṣṭāḥ
sa dakṣo daiva-coditaḥ

(49) He was no one but Daksha, the one who inspired by God during the previous manvantara [period of Manu*] called Câkshusha [the present one being called Vaivasvata*] had put as much people on earth as he liked and was destroyed in the course of time.

"By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahmā's one day. And such also is the duration of his night." Brahmā's one day consists of one thousand cycles of the four yugas—Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali. In that one day there are fourteen manvantaras, and out of these manvantaras this Cākṣuṣa manvantara is the sixth. The various Manus existing in one day of Lord Brahmā are as follows: (1) Svāyambhuva, (2) Svārociṣa, (3) Uttama, (4) Tāmasa, (5) Raivata, (6) Cākṣuṣa, (7) Vaivasvata, (8) Sāvarṇi, (9) Dakṣasāvarṇi, (10) Brahma-sāvarṇi, ( 11) Dharma-sāvarṇi, (12) Rudra-sāvarṇi, (13) Deva-sāvarṇi and (14) Indra-sāvarṇi.

Thus there are fourteen Manus in one day of Brahmā. In a year there are 5,040 Manus. Brahmā has to live for one hundred years; consequently, the total of Manus appearing and disappearing during the life of one Brahmā is 504,000. This is the calculation for one universe, and there are innumerable universes. All these Manus come and go simply by the breathing process of Mahā-viṣṇu. As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā:

yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya
jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ
viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
[Bs.

The word jagad-aṇḍa-nātha means Lord Brahmā. There are innumerable jagad-aṇḍa-nātha Brahmās, and thus we can calculate the many Manus. The present age is under the control of Vaivasvata Manu. Each Manu lives 4,320,000 years multiplied by 71. The present Manu has already lived for 4,320,000 years multiplied by 28. All these long life-spans are ultimately ended by the laws of material nature. The controversy of the Dakṣa-yajña took place in the Svāyambhuva manvantara period. As a result, Dakṣa was punished by Lord Śiva, but by virtue of his prayers to Lord Śiva he became eligible to regain his former opulence. According to Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Dakṣa underwent severe penances up to the fifth manvantara. Thus at the beginning of the sixth manvantara, known as the Cākṣuṣa manvantara, Dakṣa regained his former opulence by the blessings of Lord Śiva.

4.30.50-51

yo jāyamānaḥ sarveṣāṁ
tejas tejasvināṁ rucā
svayopādatta dākṣyāc ca
karmaṇāṁ dakṣam abruvan
taṁ prajā-sarga-rakṣāyām
anādir abhiṣicya ca
yuyoja yuyuje 'nyāṁś ca
sa vai sarva-prajāpatīn

 (50-51) He who just after his birth with the brilliance of his luster outshone the brilliance of everyone else, was for being a great expert in fruitive activities [sacrifices] called Daksha ['the expert']. He, appointed by the first living being, by Brahmâ, to generate and sustain all the people on earth, also made sure he engaged all the other founding fathers in the process.'

* The Manus existing in one day of Lord Brahmâ are the following: (1) Svâyambhuva, (2) Svârocisha, (3) Uttama, (4) Tâmasa, (5) Raivata, (6) Câkshusha, (7) Vaivasvata, (8) Sâvarni, (9) Daksha-sâvarni, (10) Brahma-sâvarni, ( 11) Dharma-sâvarni, (12) Rudra-sâvarni, (13) Deva-sâvarni and (14) Indra-sâvarni [see also 3: 11].

Canto 4

Chapter 31: Nârada Instructs the Pracetâs

4.31.1

maitreya uvāca
tata utpanna-vijñānā
āśv adhokṣaja-bhāṣitam
smaranta ātmaje bhāryāṁ
visṛjya prāvrajan gṛhāt

(1) Maitreya said: '[The Pracetas] thereafter [after the marriage with Mârishâ] arrived at a ripened vision. Remembering what the Lord in the Beyond had said [about the value of detachment] they soon handed the care for their wife over to their son and left home.

4.31.2

dīkṣitā brahma-satreṇa
sarva-bhūtātma-medhasā
pratīcyāṁ diśi velāyāṁ
siddho 'bhūd yatra jājaliḥ

 (2) Heading in the western direction for the seashore where sage Jâjali resided they, as his pupils joined in the spirit of the Absolute, arrived at the perfection of insight in the soul [residing within everyone].

4.31.3

tān nirjita-prāṇa-mano-vaco-dṛśo
jitāsanān śānta-samāna-vigrahān
pare 'male brahmaṇi yojitātmanaḥ
surāsureḍyo dadṛśe sma nāradaḥ

 (3) Mastering the sitting postures they all achieved the full control over their breath, mind, words and vision. Keeping their bodies straight with their minds freed from impurities they, pacified in being engaged in the transcendental spirit, then saw Nârada appear who [traditionally] is worshiped by the enlightened as well as the unenlightened ones

4.31.4

tam āgataṁ ta utthāya
praṇipatyābhinandya ca
pūjayitvā yathādeśaṁ
sukhāsīnam athābruvan

. (4) When he appeared they all got up, offered their obeisances to welcome him and addressed him, after they with the necessary respect had offered him a comfortable seat.

4.31.5

pracetasa ūcuḥ
svāgataṁ te surarṣe 'dya
diṣṭyā no darśanaṁ gataḥ
tava caṅkramaṇaṁ brahmann
abhayāya yathā raveḥ

(5) The Pracetâs said: 'Be welcome, o sage of the enlightened ones! What a fortune to have today your audience; your arrival here is like the sun moving in the sky o great brahmin, it dispels all fear.

4.31.6

yad ādiṣṭaṁ bhagavatā
śivenādhokṣajena ca
tad gṛheṣu prasaktānāṁ
prāyaśaḥ kṣapitaṁ prabho

(6) Overly attached to family matters we almost forgot o master, what was instructed by Lord S'iva and the Lord in the Beyond [Vishnu].

4.31.7

tan naḥ pradyotayādhyātma-
jñānaṁ tattvārtha-darśanam
yenāñjasā tariṣyāmo
dustaraṁ bhava-sāgaram

 (7) But seeing you now before our eyes, kindly [re]awaken in us the transcendental knowledge of the Absolute Truth by which we can easily cross over the formidable ocean of nescience.'

4.31.8

maitreya uvāca
iti pracetasāṁ pṛṣṭo
bhagavān nārado muniḥ
bhagavaty uttama-śloka
āviṣṭātmābravīn nṛpān

(8) Maitreya said: 'Thus petitioned by the Pracetâs the kings received an answer from the great Nârada who with his mind always being absorbed in thoughts about the Lord Praised in the Verses was of the greatest wisdom.

4.31.9

nārada uvāca
taj janma tāni karmāṇi
tad āyus tan mano vacaḥ
nṛṇāṁ yena hi viśvātmā
sevyate harir īśvaraḥ

 (9) Nârada said: 'The Supreme Personality is the Controller of that birth, that life, that fruitive labor, that mind and those words of the people by which the Soul of All Worlds is served.

4.31.10

kiṁ janmabhis tribhir veha
śaukra-sāvitra-yājñikaiḥ
karmabhir vā trayī-proktaiḥ
puṁso 'pi vibudhāyuṣā

 (10) Whether one acts according to what is human or what the Vedas say or whether one lives as long as a demigod, what's the use of the three births in this world of being born from semen, by initiation, or by the labor of sacrifice?

4.31.11

śrutena tapasā vā kiṁ
vacobhiś citta-vṛttibhiḥ
buddhyā vā kiṁ nipuṇayā
balenendriya-rādhasā

 (11) What's the use of  Vedic education, austerities or eloquence, mental speculation, a sharp intellect, physical strength or sense control?

4.31.12

kiṁ vā yogena sāṅkhyena
nyāsa-svādhyāyayor api
kiṁ vā śreyobhir anyaiś ca
na yatrātma-prado hariḥ

(12) Of what use would the practice of yoga be, analytic study, accepting the renounced order, reading the scriptures or all the other auspicious activities, when there is never the [true] satisfaction of the Supreme Self of the Lord?

4.31.13

śreyasām api sarveṣām
ātmā hy avadhir arthataḥ
sarveṣām api bhūtānāṁ
harir ātmātmadaḥ priyaḥ

(13) It suffers no doubt that the Supreme Self is factually the goal of all auspicious activities and that the Lord is the Supersoul who delivers our original cherished identity [our self-realization].

4.31.14

yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā

(14) Just as one with watering the root of a tree satisfies the trunk, branches, and twigs and one likewise by offering food sustains the life of the [entire] sensory apparatus, so too each and everyone [the fellow human being, the demigods] is honored when one is of worship for the Infallible One.

4.31.15

yathaiva sūryāt prabhavanti vāraḥ
punaś ca tasmin praviśanti kāle
bhūtāni bhūmau sthira-jaṅgamāni
tathā harāv eva guṇa-pravāhaḥ

 (15) Just as the sun gradually will evaporate the water that rained down and all the moving and non-moving living beings will return to earth ['to dust'], it unmistakably likewise will happen to the emanation of material nature [that in the end will be withdrawn] in the Lord.

4.31.16

etat padaṁ taj jagad-ātmanaḥ paraṁ
sakṛd vibhātaṁ savitur yathā prabhā
yathāsavo jāgrati supta-śaktayo
dravya-kriyā-jñāna-bhidā-bhramātyayaḥ

(16) The way sunshine belongs to the sun, the image offered by the senses in one's sleep belongs to the active forces of the sense objects and the spiritual knowledge that manifests is associated with vanquishing the different misconceptions, this creation we inhabit belongs to the transcendental Soul of the Universe from which it appeared.

4.31.17

yathā nabhasy abhra-tamaḥ-prakāśā
bhavanti bhūpā na bhavanty anukramāt
evaṁ pare brahmaṇi śaktayas tv amū
rajas tamaḥ sattvam iti pravāhaḥ

 (17) Just as there is the consecutive existence and non-existence of the clouds and the likewise changes of darkness and illumination in the sky o Kings, there is also the continuous change of the consecutive appearance and disappearance of the energies of passion, ignorance and goodness [the gunas] in the Supreme Absolute [of Brahman].

4.31.18

tenaikam ātmānam aśeṣa-dehināṁ
kālaṁ pradhānaṁ puruṣaṁ pareśam
sva-tejasā dhvasta-guṇa-pravāham
ātmaika-bhāvena bhajadhvam addhā

(18) All of you united in His quality be therefore engaged in the devotional service of directly the Supreme Lord who is the actual cause [pradhâna] of Time, the original Person and the One Supreme Soul of the unlimited number of individual souls*, He who by His spiritual power is aloof from all emanations of the self.

nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve
na kutaścana bibhyati
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ
(SB

It does not matter to the pure devotee if he has to go to hell to preach. The Supreme Lord lives in the heart of a hog, although the Lord is in Vaikuṇṭha. Even while preaching in hell, a pure devotee remains a pure devotee by his constant association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To attain this state, one has to control his senses. The senses are automatically controlled when one's mind is engaged in the service of the Lord.

4.31.19

dayayā sarva-bhūteṣu
santuṣṭyā yena kena vā
sarvendriyopaśāntyā ca
tuṣyaty āśu janārdanaḥ

 (19) When one is of mercy for all living beings, some or another way abides by peace and has all one's senses under control, Janârdana, the torment of the atheists [a name of Lord Krishna] will soon be satisfied.

4.31.20

apahata-sakalaiṣaṇāmalātmany
aviratam edhita-bhāvanopahūtaḥ
nija-jana-vaśa-gatvam ātmano 'yan
na sarati chidravad akṣaraḥ satāṁ hi

 (20) Called into the heart of His people who with all desires vanquished and a soul free from impurities constantly grow in their devotion, the Imperishable One [Vishnu] in His receptivity for the truthful ones will not retreat anymore than space [will retreat from the reality of matter and time].

4.31.21

na bhajati kumanīṣiṇāṁ sa ijyāṁ
harir adhanātma-dhana-priyo rasa-jñaḥ
śruta-dhana-kula-karmaṇāṁ madair ye
vidadhati pāpam akiñcaneṣu satsu

 (21) Never He accepts that what persons with an impure heart have to offer, while those who with faith in the soul and with feelings for Him are of sacrifice without striving for possessions are dear to Him. Anyone taking pride in education, a good birth, riches and fruitive labor is [factually] doing the devotees wrong who are without material interests [beyond the necessary].

4.31.22

śriyam anucaratīṁ tad-arthinaś ca
dvipada-patīn vibudhāṁś ca yat sva-pūrṇaḥ
na bhajati nija-bhṛtya-varga-tantraḥ
katham amum udvisṛjet pumān kṛta-jñaḥ

(22) He never worries about the goddess of fortune who follows Him, nor about the rulers of man and the demigods who aspire her favor, for He exists for His own sake. How [then] can a grateful person give up on Him whose main interest it is to side with the servants on His path?'

4.31.23

maitreya uvāca
iti pracetaso rājann
anyāś ca bhagavat-kathāḥ
śrāvayitvā brahma-lokaṁ
yayau svāyambhuvo muniḥ

(23) Maitreya said: 'O King [Vidura], the sage, the son of Brahmâ, after thus informing the Pracetâs about the topics concerning the Lord, then returned to his spiritual abode [Brahmaloka].

4.31.24

te 'pi tan-mukha-niryātaṁ
yaśo loka-malāpaham
harer niśamya tat-pādaṁ
dhyāyantas tad-gatiṁ yayuḥ

(24) After they from the mouth of Nârada had heard about the glorification of the Lord who destroys the sins of the world, they meditating the feet of Hari also attained His abode.

4.31.25

etat te 'bhihitaṁ kṣattar
yan māṁ tvaṁ paripṛṣṭavān
pracetasāṁ nāradasya
saṁvādaṁ hari-kīrtanam

 (25) In response to what you asked me o Vidura, I described the glories of the Lord. This is all I had to tell you about the conversation between Nârada and the Pracetâs.'

4.31.26

śrī-śuka uvāca
ya eṣa uttānapado
mānavasyānuvarṇitaḥ
vaṁśaḥ priyavratasyāpi
nibodha nṛpa-sattama

4.31.27

yo nāradād ātma-vidyām
adhigamya punar mahīm
bhuktvā vibhajya putrebhya
aiśvaraṁ samagāt padam

(26-27) S'rî S'ukadeva said: 'O best of kings [Parîkchit], after this faithful description of the dynasty of the son of Svâyambhuva Manu, Uttânapâda, now also hear from me about the dynasty of Priyavrata [the other son of Svâyambhuva, see 3.12: 56, 4.1 and 4.8: 7] who as someone who from Nârada learned about the knowledge of the soul, after again and again having enjoyed [his righteous rule] divided the earth among his sons and [on his turn] achieved the transcendental position.

4.31.28

imāṁ tu kauṣāraviṇopavarṇitāṁ
kṣattā niśamyājita-vāda-sat-kathām
pravṛddha-bhāvo 'śru-kalākulo muner
dadhāra mūrdhnā caraṇaṁ hṛdā hareḥ

 (28) When all of this was described by Maitreya and Vidura thus heard about the transcendental message of the stories about the Invincible One, his ecstasy intensified so much that it brought tears to his eyes. Overwhelmed with the Lord in his heart he placed the feet of the sage on his head.

4.31.28

imāṁ tu kauṣāraviṇopavarṇitāṁ
kṣattā niśamyājita-vāda-sat-kathām
pravṛddha-bhāvo 'śru-kalākulo muner
dadhāra mūrdhnā caraṇaṁ hṛdā hareḥ

(29) Vidura said: 'By that what you've shown me today so mercifully of the opposite side of darkness o great yogi, someone free from material motives can reach the Lord.'

4.31.29

vidura uvāca
so 'yam adya mahā-yogin
bhavatā karuṇātmanā
darśitas tamasaḥ pāro
yatrākiñcana-go hariḥ

(30) S'uka said: 'Thus reverencing him Vidura who wished to see his family, asked permission to depart for the city of Hastinâpura, whereupon he with his mind in peace left that place.

4.31.30

śrī-śuka uvāca
ity ānamya tam āmantrya
viduro gajasāhvayam
svānāṁ didṛkṣuḥ prayayau
jñātīnāṁ nirvṛtāśayaḥ

 (31) O King, he who hears this story about kings who gave their life and soul to the Lord, will achieve the good fortune of a long life, wealth, material opulence and a good reputation as also the ultimate goal of life.'

* Time, the ingredient and the Creator combined, are called tritayâtmaka, the three causes by which everything in this material world is created.

** There are four orders of creation: heaven, earth, the living beings and their societal order.

Thus the fourth Canto of the S'rîmad Bhâgavatam ends named: The Creation of the Fourth Order**. 

(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Swamyjis, Philosophers, Scholars and Knowledge Seekers for the collection )