Thursday, January 19, 2012

Sri Bhagavatam - Canto 5 (Skandah 5) Chapters 18 to 21

Vyasadev

Praneetha

The Mad Bhagavatam

Canto 5

Chapter 18: Prayers to the Different Avatâras

(The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa)

In this chapter Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the different varṣas of Jambūdvīpa and the incarnation of the Supreme Lord worshiped in each. The predominating ruler of Bhadrāśva-varṣa is Bhadraśravā. He and his many servants always worship the incarnation known as Lord Hayagrīva. At the end of each kalpa, when the demon Ajñāna steals the Vedic knowledge, Lord Hayagrīva appears and preserves it. Then He delivers it to Lord Brahmā. In the land known as Hari-varṣa, the exalted devotee Prahlāda Mahārāja worships Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva. (The appearance of Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva is described in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.) Following in the footsteps of Prahlāda Mahārāja, the inhabitants of Hari-varṣa always worship Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva to receive from Him the benediction of being engaged in His loving service. In the tract of land known as Ketumāla-varṣa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Lord Hṛṣīkeśa) appears in the form of Cupid. The goddess of fortune and the demigods living there engage in His service day and night. Manifesting Himself in sixteen parts, Lord Hṛṣīkeśa is the source of all encouragement, strength and influence. The conditioned living entity has the defect of being always fearful, but simply by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he can rid himself of this defect of material life. Therefore the Lord alone can be addressed as master. In the tract of land known as Ramyaka-varṣa, Manu and all the inhabitants worship Matsyadeva to this very day. Matsyadeva, whose form is pure goodness, is the ruler and maintainer of the whole universe, and as such He is the director of all the demigods, headed by King Indra. In Hiraṇmaya-varṣa Lord Viṣṇu has assumed the form of a tortoise (Kūrma mūrti) and is worshiped there by Aryamā, along with all the other residents. Similarly, in the tract of land known as Uttarakuru-varṣa, Lord Śrī Hari has assumed the form of a boar, and in that form He accepts service from all the inhabitants living there.

All the information in this chapter can be fully realized by one who associates with devotees of the Lord. Therefore in the śāstras it is recommended that one associate with devotees. This is better than residing on the banks of the Ganges. In the hearts of pure devotees reside all good sentiments as well as all the superior qualities of the demigods. In the hearts of nondevotees, however, there cannot be any good qualities, for such people are simply enchanted by the external, illusory energy of the Lord. Following in the footsteps of devotees, one should know that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the only worshipable Deity. Everyone should accept this proposal and worship the Lord. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (

5.18.1

śrī-śuka uvāca

tathā ca bhadraśravā nāma dharma-sutas tat-kula-patayaḥ puruṣā bhadrāśva-varṣe sākṣād bhagavato vāsudevasya priyāṁ tanuṁ dharmamayīṁ hayaśīrṣābhidhānāṁ parameṇa samādhinā sannidhāpyedam abhigṛṇanta upadhāvanti.

(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'The son of Dharmarâja known as Bhadras'ravâ, along with the leading nobles and all the inhabitants of Bhadrâs'va-varsha, directly worships the same way [as Lord S'iva does] the Supreme Lord Vâsudeva in His dearmost form as the director of the religion: His incarnation as Hayagrîva [or Hayas'îrsha]. Approaching Him they, absorbed in transcendence, chant the following.

5.18.2

bhadraśravasa ūcuḥ

oṁ namo bhagavate dharmāyātma-viśodhanāya nama iti.

(2) The ruler Bhadras'ravâ and his subjects say: 'My obeisances unto the Supreme Lord whom we worship because He is the source of all religious principles and the One who purifies us from all material contamination

5.18.3

aho vicitraṁ bhagavad-viceṣṭitaṁ
ghnantaṁ jano 'yaṁ hi miṣan na paśyati
dhyāyann asad yarhi vikarma sevituṁ
nirhṛtya putraṁ pitaraṁ jijīviṣati

(3) Alas! How wondrous the ways of the Lord are. Sure to be faced with death someone nevertheless doesn't see this and thinks of material happiness. When he does the wrong things he tries to enjoy and when he cremates his father or his sons he wishes to live for ever!

5.18.4

vadanti viśvaṁ kavayaḥ sma naśvaraṁ
paśyanti cādhyātmavido vipaścitaḥ
tathāpi muhyanti tavāja māyayā
suvismitaṁ kṛtyam ajaṁ nato 'smi tam

(4) The great sages traditionally insist that the universe is perishable and the philosophers and the scholars who see and know their real self state that as well. Still they are overcome by illusion o Unborn One, by Your outer energy, by Your miraculous ways. I offer You, the One Unborn, my obeisances.

5.18.5

viśvodbhava-sthāna-nirodha-karma te
hy akartur aṅgīkṛtam apy apāvṛtaḥ
yuktaṁ na citraṁ tvayi kārya-kāraṇe
sarvātmani vyatirikte ca vastutaḥ

(5) The Vedic literatures defend You as being aloof from Your activities of the creation, the maintenance and the annihilation of the entire universe. That You are not touched by them nevertheless does not amaze us, for we are united in You, the original cause of all causes and essence [the primal substance] in all respects.

5.18.6

vedān yugānte tamasā tiraskṛtān
rasātalād yo nṛ-turaṅga-vigrahaḥ
pratyādade vai kavaye 'bhiyācate
tasmai namas te 'vitathehitāya iti

(6) At the end of the Yuga the four Vedas were stolen by the personification of ignorance [the demon Madhu] and [retreiving them] from the lowest worlds they were by You, assuming the form of half a horse, half a man [Hayagrîva], returned to the supreme poet [Brahmâ] when he asked for them. Him, You whose resolve never fails, I offer my obeisances.

5.18.7

hari-varṣe cāpi bhagavān nara-hari-rūpeṇāste; tad-rūpa-grahaṇa-nimittam uttaratrābhidhāsye; tad dayitaṁ rūpaṁ mahā-puruṣa-guṇa-bhājano mahā-bhāgavato daitya-dānava-kula-tīrthīkaraṇa-śīlā-caritaḥ prahlādo 'vyavadhānānanya-bhakti-yogena saha tad-varṣa-puruṣair upāste idaṁ codāharati.

(7) In Hari-varsha, there is also the Supreme Personality of the Lord in a human form [as Nrisimhadeva]. The reason why He assumed that form most satisfying to the great personality of all good qualities Prahlâda, I'll explain to you later [see seventh canto]. That topmost devotee because of whose exalted character and qualities all the Daityas in his family were delivered, is, together with the people of that varsha, of an uninterrupted, unflinching devotional service and they worship Him chanting this:

5.18.8

oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya namas tejas-tejase āvir-āvirbhava vajra-nakha vajra-daṁṣṭra karmāśayān randhaya randhaya tamo grasa grasa oṁ svāhā; abhayam abhayam ātmani bhūyiṣṭhā oṁ kṣraum.

(8) 'O Supreme Lord Nrisimha, I bow for You, my obeisances to the power of all power that You are. Please manifest Yourself fully, o You whose nails and teeth are like thunderbolts. Please take away the desire to enjoy the untrue, be so good to drive away o Lord, the ignorance in the material world. May, with my oblations, there be freedom from all fear, I beg You o Lord, source of my prayer, to appear before my mind's eye.

5.18.9

svasty astu viśvasya khalaḥ prasīdatāṁ
dhyāyantu bhūtāni śivaṁ mitho dhiyā
manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje
āveśyatāṁ no matir apy ahaitukī

(9) Let there be good fortune for the entire universe, may all mischief turn into virtue, let all living beings find consciousness in a reciprocating mindfulness and may the mind be calm. Give us the experience of the Lord in the beyond, let our intelligence be absorbed in this without another motive.

5.18.10

māgāra-dārātmaja-vitta-bandhuṣu
saṅgo yadi syād bhagavat-priyeṣu naḥ
yaḥ prāṇa-vṛttyā parituṣṭa ātmavān
siddhyaty adūrān na tathendriya-priyaḥ

(10) Let there no longer be the attachment to one's house, wife, children, a bank balance, friends and relatives, but rather the association with persons who cherish the Lord, with people satisfied with the bare necessities of life who - contrary to those who cherish the senses - quickly succeed in self-realization.

5.18.11

yat-saṅga-labdhaṁ nija-vīrya-vaibhavaṁ
tīrthaṁ muhuḥ saṁspṛśatāṁ hi mānasam
haraty ajo 'ntaḥ śrutibhir gato 'ṅgajaṁ
ko vai na seveta mukunda-vikramam

(11) From having achieved the repeated association with those whose influence is uncommon and coming in touch with the holy places, the impurities of the mind are overcome. The unborn one who entered the core of the heart through the ears would indeed not be of service to impure matters - such is the way of Mukunda [the Lord of Liberation].

5.18.12

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā
manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ

(12) In those who free from ulterior motives are of service to the Fortunate One all the demigods manifest themselves and all good qualities are found - but where are the good qualities of a person who is not devoted to the Lord and with a busy mind constantly runs after the temporary matters of the outside world?

5.18.13

harir hi sākṣād bhagavān śarīriṇām
ātmā jhaṣāṇām iva toyam īpsitam
hitvā mahāṁs taṁ yadi sajjate gṛhe
tadā mahattvaṁ vayasā dampatīnām

(13) As desirable as water is to aquatics, the Supreme Lord is desirable as the true self, the (Super)soul, of all embodied beings. If one gives up on a personality as great as He is, one will get attached to a household life which for a couple having aged is then the [entire] greatness [that was accomplished].

5.18.14

tasmād rajo-rāga-viṣāda-manyu-
māna-spṛhā-bhayadainyādhimūlam
hitvā gṛhaṁ saṁsṛti-cakravālaṁ
nṛsiṁha-pādaṁ bhajatākutobhayam iti

(14) Household life is the root cause of fear and depression, passion, attachment, disappointment, anger, the desire for prestige and the cycle of repeated birth and death. Therefore one should give it up [to be attached this way] and thus be of worship for the feet of Lord Nrisimhadev who is the refuge of fearlessness.'

5.18.15 ketumāle 'pi bhagavān kāmadeva-svarūpeṇa lakṣmyāḥ priya-cikīrṣayā prajāpater duhitṝṇāṁ putrāṇāṁ tad-varṣa-patīnāṁ puruṣāyuṣāho-rātra-parisaṅkhyānānāṁ yāsāṁ garbhā mahā-puruṣa-mahāstra-tejasodvejita-manasāṁ vidhvastā vyasavaḥ saṁvatsarānte vinipatanti.

(15) The Supreme Lord resides in Ketumâla in the form of Kâmadeva [or also Pradyumna, see 4.24: 35] according to His wish to satisfy the Goddess of Fortune as well as the sons [the days] and the daughters [the nights] of the founding father [Samvatsara, the deity of the year] who rule the land and of whom there are as many as there are days and nights in a human lifetime. The fetuses of these daughters whose minds are upset by the radiation of the mighty weapon [the cakra] of the Supreme Personality, are ruined and after one year expelled dead [from the womb] as miscarriages.

5.18.16

atīva sulalita-gati-vilāsa-vilasita-rucira-hāsa-leśāvaloka-līlayā kiñcid-uttambhita-sundara-bhrū-maṇḍala-subhaga-vadanāravinda-śriyā ramāṁ ramayann indriyāṇi ramayate.

(16) So very beautiful in His movements and manifested pastimes, He with His mild smiles, playful glances, slightly raised attractive eyebrows and charming lotuslike face is a pleasure to the Goddess of Fortune and all the senses.

5.18.17

tad bhagavato māyāmayaṁ rūpaṁ parama-samādhi-yogena ramā devī saṁvatsarasya rātriṣu prajāpater duhitṛbhir upetāhaḥsu ca tad-bhartṛbhir upāste idaṁ codāharati.

(17) To that highest form of the Supreme Lord so affectionate to all, the Goddess of Splendor, in the absorption of yoga recites the following in her all year through - during the nights with the daughters of the Prajâpati, and during the days with the husbands - being of worship for Him:

5.18.18

oṁ hrāṁ hrīṁ hrūṁ oṁ namo bhagavate hṛṣīkeśāya sarva-guṇa-viśeṣair vilakṣitātmane ākūtīnāṁ cittīnāṁ cetasāṁ viśeṣāṇāṁ cādhipataye ṣoḍaśa-kalāya cchando-mayāyānna-mayāyāmṛta-mayāya sarva-mayāya sahase ojase balāya kāntāya kāmāya namas te ubhayatra bhūyāt.

(18) 'O Lord, hrâm hrîm hrûm [a mantra of propitiation], in respect of all Your qualities and properties I offer You, the Supreme Lord of the senses my obeisances. You are the Soul of all and master of action, knowing, function and relation; the One known as the sixteenfold [of the working, the knowing senses, the elements and the mind]. You as the Enjoyer of all rituals, the supplier of the food, He who awards eternal life, the All-pervading One of Power, the strength of the body and the senses, the Supreme Husband fulfilling all desires, I offer my respects - may there always be Your good fortune!

5.18.19

striyo vratais tvā hṛṣīkeśvaraṁ svato
hy ārādhya loke patim āśāsate 'nyam
tāsāṁ na te vai paripānty apatyaṁ
priyaṁ dhanāyūṁṣi yato 'sva-tantrāḥ

(19) Women ask in this world for another, self-sufficient husband by propitiating You, the Lord of the senses by means of sacred vows, because the dependent husbands are not capable to protect the sweet children, wealth and life of these women.

5.18.20

sa vai patiḥ syād akutobhayaḥ svayaṁ
samantataḥ pāti bhayāturaṁ janam
sa eka evetarathā mitho bhayaṁ
naivātmalābhād adhi manyate param

(20) That man would be a husband who is fearless and self-sufficient and fully capable of offering protection. You are that person [depending on no one else] for otherwise people would fear each other [in their dependence]. There is no attainment held higher in this world than the attainment of You.

5.18.21

yā tasya te pāda-saroruhārhaṇaṁ
nikāmayet sākhila-kāma-lampaṭā
tad eva rāsīpsitam īpsito 'rcito
yad-bhagna-yācñā bhagavan pratapyate

(21) A woman who, with that notion of You in mind, eagerly worships Your lotus feet, is by You, despite of all the desires she is addicted to, rewarded for just that wish; but when she wishing to worship You aims at something else o Supreme Lord, she having broken [with the original purpose], will feel pain.

5.18.22

mat-prāptaye 'jeśa-surāsurādayas
tapyanta ugraṁ tapa aindriye dhiyaḥ
ṛte bhavat-pāda-parāyaṇān na māṁ
vindanty ahaṁ tvad-dhṛdayā yato 'jita

(22) In order to obtain me [the Goddess of Fortune], the unborn one [Brahmâ], the mighty master [Îs'a or S'iva], the other gods as well as the unenlightened ones, undergo severe penances; but because I have my heart always in You, no one with a mind turned to the senses will obtain me, unless he with heart and soul is of service at Your feet o Unconquerable One.

5.18.23

sa tvaṁ mamāpy acyuta śīrṣṇi vanditaṁ
karāmbujaṁ yat tvad-adhāyi sātvatām
bibharṣi māṁ lakṣma vareṇya māyayā
ka īśvarasyehitam ūhituṁ vibhur iti

(23) I pray that You o Infallible one, place on my head the worshipable lotus hand that You also placed on the heads of the devotees. You carry my mark on Your chest o worshipable one, but that is misleading [that doesn't guarantee Your mercy]. Who can ever understand by reason and argument the motives of You, the Supreme Lord?'

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (

na tathā me priyatama
ātma-yonir na śaṅkaraḥ
na ca saṅkarṣaṇo na śrīr
naivātmā ca yathā bhavān

Here Kṛṣṇa plainly says that His devotees are more dear to Him than Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa (the original cause of creation), the goddess of fortune or even His own Self. Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (

nemam viriñco na bhavo
na śrīr apy aṅga saṁśrayā
prasādaṁ lebhire gopī
yat tat prāpa vimuktidāt

The Supreme Lord, who can award liberation to anyone, showed more mercy toward the gopīs than to Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva or even the goddess of fortune, who is His own wife and is associated with His body. Similarly, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (

nāyaṁ śriyo 'ṅga u nitānta-rateḥ prasādaḥ
svar-yoṣitāṁ nalina-gandha-rucāṁ kuto 'nyāḥ
rāsotsave 'sya bhuja-daṇḍa-gṛhīta-kaṇṭha-
labdhāśiṣāṁ ya udagād vraja-sundarīṇām

"The gopīs received benedictions from the Lord that neither Lakṣmīdevī nor the most beautiful dancers in the heavenly planets could attain. In the rāsa dance, the Lord showed His favor to the most fortunate gopīs by placing His arms on their shoulders and dancing with each of them individually. No one can compare with the gopīs, who received the causeless mercy of the Lord."

5.18.24

ramyake ca bhagavataḥ priyatamaṁ mātsyam avatāra-rūpaṁ tad-varṣa-puruṣasya manoḥ prāk-pradarśitaṁ sa idānīm api mahatā bhakti-yogenārādhayatīdaṁ codāharati.

(24) In Ramyaka in the past He was worshiped by [Vaivasvata] Manu [at the end of the Câkshusha-manvantara] as the foremost [living being], the Supreme Personality in the form of Matsya, the fish incarnation. He, the ruler of that land is even today in his devotional service of worship with the following prayer:

5.18.25

oṁ namo bhagavate mukhyatamāya namaḥ sattvāya prāṇāyaujase sahase balāya mahā-matsyāya nama iti.

(25) 'The Supreme Lord appearing in His first incarnation [as the mantra AUM] I offer my obeisances. My obeisances for Him who is pure goodness, the origin of life, the source of the vitality, the origin of all mental power and bodily strength in the form of the great fish.

Jayadeva Gosvāmī sings:

pralayo payodhi-jale dhṛtavān asi vedaṁ
vihita-vahitra-caritram akhedam
keśava dhṛta-mīna-śarīra jaya jagad-īśa hare

Soon after the cosmic creation, the entire universe was inundated with water. At that time Lord Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) incarnated as a gigantic fish to protect the Vedas. Therefore Manu addresses Lord Matsya as mukhyatama, the first incarnation to appear. Fish are generally considered a mixture of the modes of ignorance and passion, but we must understand that every incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely transcendental. There is never any deterioration of the Supreme Lord's original transcendental quality. Therefore the word sattvāya is used here, meaning pure goodness on the transcendental platform. There are many incarnations of the Supreme Lord: Varāha mūrti (the boar form), Kūrma mūrti (the tortoise form), Hayagrīva mūrti (the form of a horse) and so on. Yet we should never think any of Them material. They are always situated on the platform of śuddha-sattva, pure transcendence.

5.18.26

antar bahiś cākhila-loka-pālakair
adṛṣṭa-rūpo vicarasy uru-svanaḥ
sa īśvaras tvaṁ ya idaṁ vaśe 'nayan
nāmnā yathā dārumayīṁ naraḥ striyam

(26) Not seen by the leaders of the different worlds You are present within as well as without and one hears loudly the sounds [the mantras by which man, indicated by his different [varnâs'rama] names [for status and occupation], is brought under Your control like he was a wooden doll o Supreme Controller.

5.18.27

yaṁ loka-pālāḥ kila matsara-jvarā
hitvā yatanto 'pi pṛthak sametya ca
pātuṁ na śekur dvi-padaś catuṣ-padaḥ
sarīsṛpaṁ sthāṇu yad atra dṛśyate

(27) The leaders of the world suffer in politics from the fever of envy. They, separately or combined, endeavoring apart from You also try to offer protection, but they are not capable of realizing that, whatever two-legged, four-legged, crawling or non-moving creatures it might concern in this world.

5.18.28

bhavān yugāntārṇava ūrmi-mālini
kṣoṇīm imām oṣadhi-vīrudhāṁ nidhim
mayā sahoru kramate 'ja ojasā
tasmai jagat-prāṇa-gaṇātmane nama iti

(28) O Lordship, when this earth, the storehouse of all kinds of medicinal herbs, was in the stormy waves of the waters of devastation at the end of the Yuga, You with all Your power very quickly were there for [the rescue of] her and me o Unborn One. I offer You, the ultimate source of life of the entire universe, therefore my respectful obeisances [see also 8.24].'

5.18.29

hiraṇmaye 'pi bhagavān nivasati kūrma-tanuṁ bibhrāṇas tasya tat priyatamāṁ tanum aryamā saha varṣa-puruṣaiḥ pitṛ-gaṇādhipatir upadhāvati mantram imaṁ cānujapati.

(29) Residing in Hiranmaya the Supreme Lord manifests with the body of a tortoise [Kurma]. Aryamâ, the leader of the forefathers, worships together with the people of that realm that dearmost embodiment of Him, singing the following hymn.

5.18.30

oṁ namo bhagavate akūpārāya sarva-sattva-guṇa-viśeṣaṇāyānu-palakṣita-sthānāya namo varṣmaṇe namo bhūmne namo namo 'vasthānāya namas te.

(30) 'My Lord, our respects for You, the Supreme Lord in the form of a tortoise. You are the embodiment of all good qualities, again and again we offer You our obeisances whose position cannot be discerned, You the greatest one, He who reaches everywhere and the Shelter of All.

5.18.31

yad-rūpam etan nija-māyayārpitam
artha-svarūpaṁ bahu-rūpa-rūpitam
saṅkhyā na yasyāsty ayathopalambhanāt
tasmai namas te 'vyapadeśa-rūpiṇe

(31) This form of You of the visible cosmic complete which You manifested by Your creative potency and is known by so many appearances, is beyond any measure and we therefore cannot perceive it as it is - unto You, whose actual form cannot be expressed in words, our respects.

5.18.32

jarāyujaṁ svedajam aṇḍajodbhidaṁ
carācaraṁ devarṣi-pitṛ-bhūtam aindriyam
dyauḥ khaṁ kṣitiḥ śaila-sarit-samudra-
dvīpa-graharkṣety abhidheya ekaḥ

(32) What is born from a womb, born from humidity, born from an egg, born from the earth; what moves or does not move around, a god, a sage or forefather; what exists as the material elements, the senses, the higher worlds, the sky, the earthly worlds, the hills and mountains, the rivers, the oceans, the islands, the stars and the planets, thus are all different notions of one and the same [form of You].

5.18.33

yasminn asaṅkhyeya-viśeṣa-nāma-
rūpākṛtau kavibhiḥ kalpiteyam
saṅkhyā yayā tattva-dṛśāpanīyate
tasmai namaḥ sāṅkhya-nidarśanāya te iti

(33) From You, with Your countless different names, forms and features, the learned ones derive their notion of numerical proportions, enumerations and compositions, the truth of which they verify by observation. Unto Him who thus discloses Himself in analysis, You, I offer my obeisances [see also Kapila 3.28-33].'

5.18.34

uttareṣu ca kuruṣu bhagavān yajña-puruṣaḥ kṛta-varāha-rūpa āste taṁ tu devī haiṣā bhūḥ saha kurubhir askhalita-bhakti-yogenopadhāvati imāṁ ca paramām upaniṣadam āvartayati.

(34) Also in the northern territory called Kuru there is the Supreme Lord, the Original Person of Sacrifice, in His boar form [Varâha, see 3.13]. There He is over and over worshiped by the Goddess and this planet earth, together with the inhabitants of [Uttara-]Kuru who are unrelenting in their devotional service unto Him. In this worship the following Upanishad verses are repeated:

5.18.35

oṁ namo bhagavate mantra-tattva-liṅgāya yajña-kratave mahā-dhvarāvayavāya mahā-puruṣāya namaḥ karma-śuklāya tri-yugāya namas te.

(35) 'We offer the Supreme Lord our obeisances who is understood by means of the different mantras for the sacrifices, the rituals and all the great ceremonies that are part of His body. That great personality, the purifier of our karma who manifested Himself in all the three [previous] ages we offer our respects.

5.18.36

yasya svarūpaṁ kavayo vipaścito
guṇeṣu dāruṣv iva jāta-vedasam
mathnanti mathnā manasā didṛkṣavo
gūḍhaṁ kriyārthair nama īritātmane

(36) For the great scholars full of wisdom material nature with her modes constitutes Your form. Just like with fire that manifests itself in wood when one spins a stick, they in their spiritual investigations seeking the cause find You who remain hidden when one endeavors for results. Unto You, that Soul manifesting Himself, my respects.

5.18.37

dravya-kriyā-hetv-ayaneśa-kartṛbhir
māyā-guṇair vastu-nirīkṣitātmane
anvīkṣayāṅgātiśayātma-buddhibhir
nirasta-māyākṛtaye namo namaḥ

(37) Those whose intelligence stabilized, because of carefully considering all the different limbs of the yoga system, are thus completely freed from the mâyâ of Your external form, the illusion that is raised by the objects of the senses, the demigods [of the sun, the moon, the fire etc] who rule the senses, the body, the Time that rules [the Ruler], the doer [the ego] and the modes of nature, whom one all perceives as matters of fact. My repeated obeisances unto that Sublime Soul.

5.18.38

karoti viśva-sthiti-saṁyamodayaṁ
yasyepsitaṁ nepsitam īkṣitur guṇaiḥ
māyā yathāyo bhramate tad-āśrayaṁ
grāvṇo namas te guṇa-karma-sākṣiṇe

(38) You entertaining no desires with maintaining, annihilating and creating the universe, You who in Your supervision with guna and karma - like iron moving towards a magnet - wants to [take care of the souls] but does not desire [Your manifestation], You who are there as the witness to the actions and reactions, I offer my obeisances.

5.18.39

pramathya daityaṁ prativāraṇaṁ mṛdhe
yo māṁ rasāyā jagad-ādi-sūkaraḥ
kṛtvāgra-daṁṣṭre niragād udanvataḥ
krīḍann ivebhaḥ praṇatāsmi taṁ vibhum iti

(39) Before Him who in the original form of a boar, playful like an elephant, after killing the most formidable daitya opponent in the fight, emerged from the water of the Garbhodaka ocean keeping me, the earth, on top of His tusks [Hiranyâksha see 3.19] - before that Almighty Lord, I bow down.'

Chapter 19: The Prayers of Hanumân and Nârada and the Glories of Bhârata-varsha

(A Description of the Island of Jambūdvīpa)

This chapter describes the glories of Bhārata-varṣa, and it also describes how Lord Rāmacandra is being worshiped in the tract of land known as Kimpuruṣa-varṣa. The inhabitants of Kimpuruṣa-varṣa are fortunate because they worship Lord Rāmacandra with His faithful servant Hanumān. Lord Rāmacandra exemplifies an incarnation of Godhead who descends for the mission of paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām [Bg.

When Devarṣi Nārada descended to instruct Sārvaṇi Manu, he described the opulence of Bhārata-varṣa, India. Sārvaṇi Manu and the inhabitants of Bhārata-varṣa engage in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the origin of creation, maintenance and annihilation and who is always worshiped by self-realized souls. In the planet known as Bhārata-varṣa there are many rivers and mountains, as there are in other tracts of land, yet Bhārata-varṣa has special significance because in this tract of land there exists the Vedic principle of varṇāśrama-dharma, which divides society into four varṇas and four āśramas. Furthermore, Nārada Muni's opinion is that even if there is some temporary disturbance in the execution of the varṇāśrama-dharma principles, they can be revived at any moment. The effect of adhering to the institution of varṇāśrama is gradual elevation to the spiritual platform and liberation from material bondage. By following the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, one gets the opportunity to associate with devotees. Such association gradually awakens one's dormant propensity to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead and frees one from all the basic principles of sinful life. One then gets the opportunity to offer unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva. Because of this opportunity, the inhabitants of Bhārata-varṣa are praised even in the heavenly planets. Even in the topmost planet of this universe, Brahmaloka, the position of Bhārata-varṣa is discussed with great relish.

All the conditioned living entities are evolving within the universe in different planets and different species of life. Thus one may be elevated to Brahmaloka, but then one must again descend to earth, as confirmed in Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā (ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna [Bg.

At the end of this chapter, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes to Mahārāja Parīkṣit the eight sub-islands within the island of Jambūdvīpa.

5.19.1

śrī-śuka uvāca

kimpuruṣe varṣe bhagavantam ādi-puruṣaṁ lakṣmaṇāgrajaṁ sītābhirāmaṁ rāmaṁ tac-caraṇa-sannikarṣābhirataḥ parama-bhāgavato hanumān saha kimpuruṣair avirata-bhaktir upāste.

(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'In the land of Kimpurusha the supreme and greatest devotee Hanumân delighting in service at His feet is together with the people always engaged there in worship of the Supreme Lord Râmacandra, the Original Personality who as the elder brother of Lakshmana is so pleasing to Sîtâ.

5.19.2

ārṣṭiṣeṇena saha gandharvair anugīyamānāṁ parama-kalyāṇīṁ bhartṛ-bhagavat-kathāṁ samupaśṛṇoti svayaṁ cedaṁ gāyati.

(2) Together with Ârshthishena [the leader of Kimpurusha] attentively listening to the stories about his most auspicious master and Lordship being chanted by a company of Gandharvas, he [Hanumân] himself prays this:

5.19.3

oṁ namo bhagavate uttamaślokāya nama ārya-lakṣaṇa-śīla-vratāya nama upaśikṣitātmana upāsita-lokāya namaḥ sādhu-vāda-nikaṣaṇāya namo brahmaṇya-devāya mahā-puruṣāya mahā-rājāya nama iti.

(3) 'O my Lord, my obeisances unto You, the Sweet Lord discussed in the scriptures. All my respects for You who possess all the good qualities one also finds with the advanced devotees. My reverence for You as the One who is in control of His senses and is always remembered and worshiped by the people of all places. My salutations unto You as the touchstone of quality for any seeker of truth. I bow before You, the great personality and godhead of the brahmins, the King of Kings.

5.19.4

yat tad viśuddhānubhava-mātram ekaṁ
sva-tejasā dhvasta-guṇa-vyavastham
pratyak praśāntaṁ sudhiyopalambhanaṁ
hy anāma-rūpaṁ nirahaṁ prapadye

(4) Let me worship Him, the absolutely pure, supreme truth, that one measure for understanding the world who by His spiritual potency vanquishes the influence of the modes of nature. He is the inner peace of wisdom to be attained when one, beyond name and form, is free from ego.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, appears in various expansions, as stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (

rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan
nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu
kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who is always situated in various incarnations such as Rāma, Nṛsiṁha and many subincarnations as well, but who is the original Personality of Godhead known as Kṛṣṇa and who incarnates personally also." Kṛṣṇa, who is viṣṇu-tattva, has expanded Himself in many Viṣṇu forms, of which Lord Rāmacandra is one. We know that the viṣṇu-tattva is carried by the transcendental bird Garuḍa and is equipped with different types of weapons in four hands. Therefore we may doubt whether Lord Rāmacandra could be in the same category, since He was carried by Hanumān, not by Garuḍa, and had neither four hands nor the śaṅkha, cakra, gadā and padma. Consequently this verse clarifies that Rāmacandra is as good as Kṛṣṇa (rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā). Although Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Rāmacandra is not different from Him. Rāmacandra is unaffected by the modes of material nature, and therefore He is praśānta, never disturbed by those modes.

Unless one is saturated with love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot appreciate the transcendental value of Lord Rāmacandra; one cannot see Him with material eyes. Because demons like Rāvaṇa have no spiritual vision, they consider Lord Rāmacandra an ordinary kṣatriya king. Rāvaṇa therefore attempted to kidnap Lord Rāmacandra's eternal consort, Sītādevī. Actually, however, Rāvaṇa could not carry off Sītādevī in her original form. As soon as she was touched by Rāvaṇa's hands, she gave him a material form, but she maintained her original form beyond his vision. Therefore in this verse the words pratyak praśāntam indicate that Lord Rāmacandra and His potency, the goddess Sītā, keep themselves aloof from the influence of the material energy.

In the Upaniṣads it is said: yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyaḥ-labhyaḥ Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23. The Supreme Lord, Paramātmā, the Personality of Godhead, can be seen or perceived only by persons who are saturated with devotional service. As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (

premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

"I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, who is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of Śyāmasundara, situated within the heart of the devotee." Similarly, in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad it is stated, etās tisro devatā anena jīvena. In this verse of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad the word anena is used to distinguish the ātmā and Paramātmā as two separate identities. The words tisro devatā indicate that the body of the living entity is made of three material elements—fire, earth and water. Although the Paramātmā enters the heart of the jīvātmā, who is influenced and designated by a material body, the Paramātmā has nothing to do with the jīvātmā's body. Because the Paramātmā has no material connections, He is described here as anāma-rūpaṁ niraham. The Paramātmā has no material identity, whereas the jīvātmā does. The jīvātmā may introduce himself as an Indian, American, German and so on, but the Paramātmā has no such material designations, and therefore He has no material name. The jīvātmā is different from his name, but the Paramātmā is not; His name and He Himself are one and the same. This is the meaning of niraham, which means "without material designations." This word cannot possibly be twisted to mean that the Paramātmā has no ahaṅkāra, no "I-ness" or identity. He has His transcendental identity as the Supreme. This is the explanation given by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. According to another interpretation, given by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, niraham means nirniścayena aham. Niraham does not mean that the Supreme Lord has no identity. Rather, the stress given by the word aham proves strongly that He does have His personal identity because nir not only means "negative" but also means "strong ascertainment."

5.19.5

martyāvatāras tv iha martya-śikṣaṇaṁ
rakṣo-vadhāyaiva na kevalaṁ vibhoḥ
kuto 'nyathā syād ramataḥ sva ātmanaḥ
sītā-kṛtāni vyasanānīśvarasya

(5) Incarnated as a human being He was not only there as the Almighty One to kill the demon [Râvana], but also as the One instructing the mortals of this material world. For what other reason would there have been all the misery of Sîtâ's being separated from Him, the Supreme Lord, but to [offer the opportunity to] serve the One satisfied within, the original spiritual soul?

5.19.6

na vai sa ātmātmavatāṁ suhṛttamaḥ
saktas tri-lokyāṁ bhagavān vāsudevaḥ
na strī-kṛtaṁ kaśmalam aśnuvīta
na lakṣmaṇaṁ cāpi vihātum arhati

(6) In truth He, the Supreme Soul and best friend of the ones self-realized, is never attached to whatever within the three worlds. He is the Supreme Lord Vâsudeva who in fact never suffered from being separated from His wife Sîtâ or could be disturbed by [what happened with] Lakshmana [His brother and eternal associate].

5.19.7

na janma nūnaṁ mahato na saubhagaṁ
na vāṅ na buddhir nākṛtis toṣa-hetuḥ
tair yad visṛṣṭān api no vanaukasaś
cakāra sakhye bata lakṣmaṇāgrajaḥ

(7) It is not one's birth, one's fortune, one's eloquence, one's wit or one's physique that creates the satisfaction of the greatest One, for the brother of Lakshmana even accepted for His friends us the forest dwellers who miss all these qualities.

5.19.8

suro 'suro vāpy atha vānaro naraḥ
sarvātmanā yaḥ sukṛtajñam uttamam
bhajeta rāmaṁ manujākṛtiṁ hariṁ
ya uttarān anayat kosalān divam iti

(8) Therefore, being enlightened or not, a beast or a human being, anyone who's of the soul should worship Râma, the foremost one who is so easy to please, the Lord who appeared as a human being and thus led the inhabitants of Kosala [Ayodhyâ, northern India] back to heaven.'

5.19.9

bhārate 'pi varṣe bhagavān nara-nārāyaṇākhya ākalpāntam upacita-dharma-jñāna-vairāgyaiśvaryopaśamoparamātmopalambhanam anugrahāyātmavatām anukampayā tapo 'vyakta-gatiś carati.

(9) The Supreme Lord also present in the land of Bhârata is till the end of the millennium [*] known there as Nara-Nârâyana. He whose glories are inconceivable shows His causeless mercy there to those who aspire self-realization and practice austerities which are conducive to the religion, the spiritual knowledge, the detachment, the yogic mastery, the control over the senses and the freedom from false ego.

5.19.10

taṁ bhagavān nārado varṇāśramavatībhir bhāratībhiḥ prajābhir bhagavat-proktābhyāṁ sāṅkhya-yogābhyāṁ bhagavad-anubhāvopavarṇanaṁ sāvarṇer upadekṣyamāṇaḥ parama-bhakti-bhāvenopasarati idaṁ cābhigṛṇāti.

(10) The practice of analytic yoga on how one should understand the Personality of God as formulated by the Lord [Kapila, see 3.28 & 29], was instructed to Sâvarni Manu by the fortunate Nârada, who together with the followers of the system of status orientations [the varnâs'rama system, see B.G. 4: 13] living in the land of Bhârata [India] with great ecstatic love serves the Lord while he chants this:

5.19.11

oṁ namo bhagavate upaśama-śīlāyoparatānātmyāya namo 'kiñcana-vittāya ṛṣi-ṛṣabhāya nara-nārāyaṇāya paramahaṁsa-parama-gurave ātmārāmādhipataye namo nama iti.

(11) 'My respectful obeisances unto You o Lord, o master of the senses and freedom from attachment in person, my respects unto You who are the only asset of a person living in [voluntary] poverty. You Nara-Nârâyana, are the most exalted one of all the wise, the supreme spiritual master of all the paramahamsas [the swanlike realized masters] and the original person of the self-realized; again and again I thus offer You my reverential homage.'

5.19.12

gāyati cedam—
kartāsya sargādiṣu yo na badhyate
na hanyate deha-gato 'pi daihikaiḥ
draṣṭur na dṛg yasya guṇair vidūṣyate
tasmai namo 'sakta-vivikta-sākṣiṇe

(12) And he sings thereto: 'You are the doer overseeing this cosmic creation, the One who is not attached to being the master, nor do You, although You appear as a human being, suffer from hunger, thirst and fatigue. Nor is the vision of You, who are the seer of everything, ever polluted by the material qualities. I offer You, the unattached and pure, profound witness, my respects.

5.19.13

idaṁ hi yogeśvara yoga-naipuṇaṁ
hiraṇyagarbho bhagavāñ jagāda yat
yad anta-kāle tvayi nirguṇe mano
bhaktyā dadhītojjhita-duṣkalevaraḥ

(13) Having forsaken one's identification with the body, one must, at the end of one's time [of living], with a devotional attitude concentrate one's mind upon You who are transcendental to the material qualities. This forsaking constitutes the perfection of the practice of yoga as explained by the almighty Lord Brahmâ.

5.19.14

yathaihikāmuṣmika-kāma-lampaṭaḥ
suteṣu dāreṣu dhaneṣu cintayan
śaṅketa vidvān kukalevarātyayād
yas tasya yatnaḥ śrama eva kevalam

(14) A person driven by desire thinks in fear about the present and future of his children, wife and wealth, but anyone who knows about the hopelessness of this vehicle of time, considers such endeavors only a waste of time because the body is lost in the end.

5.19.15

tan naḥ prabho tvaṁ kukalevarārpitāṁ
tvan-māyayāhaṁ-mamatām adhokṣaja
bhindyāma yenāśu vayaṁ sudurbhidāṁ
vidhehi yogaṁ tvayi naḥ svabhāvam iti

(15) Therefore our master, o Lord in the beyond, I pray that we by dint of the [bhakti] yoga unto You very soon may forsake this fixed notion of 'I' and 'mine' about the banality of this vehicle of time, this illusory reality of Yours wich is so difficult to overcome, so that we may realize our original nature.'

5.19.16

bhārate 'py asmin varṣe saric-chailāḥ santi bahavo malayo maṅgala-prastho mainākas trikūṭa ṛṣabhaḥ kūṭakaḥ kollakaḥ sahyo devagirir ṛṣyamūkaḥ śrī-śailo veṅkaṭo mahendro vāridhāro vindhyaḥ śuktimān ṛkṣagiriḥ pāriyātro droṇaś citrakūṭo govardhano raivatakaḥ kakubho nīlo gokāmukha indrakīlaḥ kāmagirir iti cānye ca śata-sahasraśaḥ śailās teṣāṁ nitamba-prabhavā nadā nadyaś ca santy asaṅkhyātāḥ.

(16) Also in this land of Bhârata there are many mountains and rivers. There are mountains like the Malaya, Mangala-prastha, Mainâka, Trikûtha, Rishabha, Kûthaka, Kollaka, Sahya, Devagiri, Rishyamûka, S'rî-s'aila, Venkatha, Mahendra, Vâridhâra, Vindhya, S'uktimân, Rikshagiri, Pâriyâtra, Drona, Citrakûtha, Govardhana, Raivataka, Kakubha, Nîla, Gokâmukha, Indrakîla and Kâmagiri, as well as hundreds and thousands of other peaks with innumerable big and small rivers streaming down their slopes.

5.19.17-18

etāsām apo bhāratyaḥ prajā nāmabhir eva punantīnām ātmanā copaspṛśanti; candravasā tāmraparṇī avaṭodā kṛtamālā vaihāyasī kāverī veṇī payasvinī śarkarāvartā tuṅgabhadrā kṛṣṇāveṇyā bhīmarathī godāvarī nirvindhyā payoṣṇī tāpī revā surasā narmadā carmaṇvatī sindhur andhaḥ śoṇaś ca nadau mahānadī vedasmṛtir ṛṣikulyā trisāmā kauśikī mandākinī yamunā sarasvatī dṛṣadvatī gomatī sarayū rodhasvatī saptavatī suṣomā śatadrūś candrabhāgā marudvṛdhā vitastā asiknī viśveti mahā-nadyaḥ.

(17-18) The minds of the residents of Bhârata find purification by all these waters by touching [and bathing in] them or just mentioning their name. The big rivers are the Candravasâ, Tâmraparnî, Avathodâ, Kritamâlâ, Vaihâyasî, Kâverî, Venî, Payasvinî, S'arkarâvartâ, Tungabhadrâ, Krishnâvenyâ, Bhîmarathî, Godâvarî, Nirvindhyâ, Payoshnî, Tâpî, Revâ, Surasâ, Narmadâ, Carmanvatî, Sindhu [the present Indus], the two main rivers the Andha and the Sona, the Mahânadî, Vedasmriti, Rishikulyâ, Trisâmâ, Kaus'ikî, Mandâkinî, Yamunâ, Sarasvatî, Drishadvatî, Gomatî, Sarayû, Rodhasvatî, Saptavatî, Sushomâ, S'atadrû, Candrabhâgâ, Marudvridhâ, Vitastâ, Asiknî and the Vis'vâ.

5.19.19

asminn eva varṣe puruṣair labdha-janmabhiḥ śukla-lohita-kṛṣṇa-varṇena svārabdhena karmaṇā divya-mānuṣa-nāraka-gatayo bahvya ātmana ānupūrvyeṇa sarvā hy eva sarveṣāṁ vidhīyante yathā-varṇa-vidhānam apavargaś cāpi bhavati.

(19) In this tract of land the people, who took birth there out of goodness, passion ['redness'] or ignorance, lead a divine, human or hellish life according to the karma they acquired. Thus there are as a consequence of what one did in the past for each soul many goals demarcated in the sense of different [varnâs'rama] castes [or status orientation groups] who all [individually] may lead to the path of liberation.

In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (389), the great sage Parāśara Muni has recommended:

varṇāśramācāravatā
puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān
viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā
nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam
[Cc. Madhya

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, is worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varṇa and āśrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Lord." In the land of Bhārata-varṣa, the institution of varṇāśrama-dharma may be easily adopted. At the present moment, certain demoniac sections of the population of Bhāratavarṣa are disregarding the system of varṇāśrama-dharma. Because there is no institution to teach people how to become brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras or brahmacārīs, gṛhasthas, vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs, these demons want a classless society. This is resulting in chaotic conditions. In the name of secular government, unqualified people are taking the supreme governmental posts. No one is being trained to act according to the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, and thus people are becoming increasingly degraded and are heading in the direction of animal life. The real aim of life is liberation, but unfortunately the opportunity for liberation is being denied to people in general, and therefore their human lives are being spoiled. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, however, is being propagated all over the world to reestablish the varṇāśrama-dharma system and thus save human society from gliding down to hellish life.

5.19.20

yo 'sau bhagavati sarva-bhūtātmany anātmye 'nirukte 'nilayane paramātmani vāsudeve 'nanya-nimitta-bhakti-yoga-lakṣaṇo nānā-gati-nimittāvidyā-granthi-randhana-dvāreṇa yadā hi mahā-puruṣa-puruṣa-prasaṅgaḥ.

(20) By performing devotional service for the Fortunate One, the soul of all living beings - who is free from all attachment, cannot be expressed in words and who depends on no one -, by serving the Supersoul Vâsudeva free from ulterior motives and in bhakti-yoga doing that what belongs to all the different goals [of status], one can thus associating with the people [with devotees] of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cut with the cause of the bond of ignorance.

5.19.21

etad eva hi devā gāyanti—
aho amīṣāṁ kim akāri śobhanaṁ
prasanna eṣāṁ svid uta svayaṁ hariḥ
yair janma labdhaṁ nṛṣu bhāratājire
mukunda-sevaupayikaṁ spṛhā hi naḥ

(21) This is what the demigods chant: 'Oh, what kind of pious deeds have these people performed or what blessing has the Lord Himself pronounced being pleased with them, that they obtained a birth in the land of Bhârata-varsha, a birth favorable for serving Lord Mukunda that is our aspiration?

5.19.22

kiṁ duṣkarair naḥ kratubhis tapo-vratair
dānādibhir vā dyujayena phalgunā
na yatra nārāyaṇa-pāda-paṅkaja-
smṛtiḥ pramuṣṭātiśayendriyotsavāt

(22) What's the use of being engaged in difficult rituals, austerities, vows, charitable deeds or achieving the heavenly kingdom when one due to an excessive sensuality has lost the remembrance of the lotus feet of Lord Nârâyana?

5.19.23

kalpāyuṣāṁ sthānajayāt punar-bhavāt
kṣaṇāyuṣāṁ bhārata-bhūjayo varam
kṣaṇena martyena kṛtaṁ manasvinaḥ
sannyasya saṁyānty abhayaṁ padaṁ hareḥ

(23) Of greater value than achieving a position in life that lasts endlessly and leads to repeated births, is to be born in the land of Bhârata for a life of only hundred years. That is so because they who, as a mortal for such a short time being engaged, know to fix their mind attentively [on His feet] in full detachment [thus actually know to value life itself and then] achieve the Lord's abode where there is no fear.

5.19.24

na yatra vaikuṇṭha-kathā-sudhāpagā
na sādhavo bhāgavatās tadāśrayāḥ
na yatra yajñeśa-makhā mahotsavāḥ
sureśa-loko 'pi na vai sa sevyatām

(24) Those places - even those inhabited by the gods - where there is not the sweet stream of talks about Vaikunthha, nor the devotees are found who, always engaged in His service, take to His shelter, nor the performance takes place of those sacrifices for the Lord that are true festivals, are places not to be frequented.

5.19.25

prāptā nṛ-jātiṁ tv iha ye ca jantavo
jñāna-kriyā-dravya-kalāpa-sambhṛtām
na vai yaterann apunar-bhavāya te
bhūyo vanaukā iva yānti bandhanam

(25) Those souls who having achieved a human birth, with all the knowledge they have, their capacity of engaging in action and with all means at their disposition, despite of these attainments not endeavor for the elevation of not returning to this life again, will fall, just like birds [returning from their migration], back into bondage.

5.19.26

yaiḥ śraddhayā barhiṣi bhāgaśo havir
niruptam iṣṭaṁ vidhi-mantra-vastutaḥ
ekaḥ pṛthaṅ-nāmabhir āhuto mudā
gṛhṇāti pūrṇaḥ svayam āśiṣāṁ prabhuḥ

(26) They are by their faith divided in their performance of the rituals. With the oblations offered to the ruling deity reciting mantras according to the proper method, the One God is separately addressed with different names. He, complete in Himself, accepts that most happily because He is the bestower of all benedictions in person [B.G. 7: 19-25].

5.19.27

satyaṁ diśaty arthitam arthito nṛṇāṁ
naivārthado yat punar arthitā yataḥ
svayaṁ vidhatte bhajatām anicchatām
icchāpidhānaṁ nija-pāda-pallavam

(27) Even though He grants that what man prayed for, He [with the majority] is not the bestower of benedictions one asks for time and again [B.G. 7: 3], for He personally, even unasked, grants to those engaged in His service the lotus flower of His feet that put an end to all desires.

The devotees mentioned in the previous verse approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead with material motives, but this verse explains how such devotees are saved from those desires. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruṣaṁ param

"Whether one is freed from all material desires, is full of material desires, or desires to become one with the Supreme, he should engage in devotional service." In this way, not only will the devotee's desires be fulfilled, but the day will come when he will have no other desire than to serve the lotus feet of the Lord. One who engages in the service of the Lord with some motive is called a sakāma-bhakta, and one who serves the Lord without any motives is called an akāma-bhakta. Kṛṣṇa is so merciful that He turns a sakāma-bhakta into an akāma-bhakta. A pure devotee, an akāma-bhakta, who has no material motives, is satisfied simply to serve the lotus feet of the Lord. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā ( "My dear Lord, I am very satisfied simply to serve Your lotus feet. I do not want any material benefits." Sometimes it is found that a small child eats dirty things, but his parents take away the dirty things and offer him a sandeśa or some other sweetmeat. Devotees who aspire for material benedictions are compared to such children. The Lord is so kind that He takes away their material desires and gives them the highest benediction. Therefore, even for material motives, one should not worship anyone other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead; one must fully engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord so that all his desires will be fulfilled and at the end he can go back home, back to Godhead.

5.19.28

yady atra naḥ svarga-sukhāvaśeṣitaṁ
sviṣṭasya sūktasya kṛtasya śobhanam
tenājanābhe smṛtimaj janma naḥ syād
varṣe harir yad-bhajatāṁ śaṁ tanoti

(28) If there [after our heavenly pleasures] remains any merit from our perfect sacrifices, conscientious formulations and good deeds, then bless us with a birth in the land of Bhârata, the land that inspires us to remember the Lord of that place from where, through the devotees, all good fortune expands.'

5.19.29-30

śrī-śuka uvāca

jambūdvīpasya ca rājann upadvīpān aṣṭau haika upadiśanti sagarātmajair aśvānveṣaṇa imāṁ mahīṁ parito nikhanadbhir upakalpitān; tad yathā svarṇaprasthaś candraśukla āvartano ramaṇako mandarahariṇaḥ pāñcajanyaḥ siṁhalo laṅketi.

(29-30) S'rî S'uka continued: 'To the continent known as Jambûdvîpa o King [the Eurasian continent, see 5.1: 32], there are also, as some learned scholars describe it, eight smaller dvîpas [subsections or provinces] which were formed by the digging all around in the earth of the sons of Mahârâja Sagara [the Indian part or Bhârata-varsha] when they tried to retrieve their lost horse of sacrifice [see 9.8]. They carry the following names: Svarnaprastha, Candras'ukla, Âvartana, Ramanaka, Mandara-harina, Pâñcajanya, Simhala and Lankâ.

In the Kūrma Purāṇa there is this statement about the desires of the demigods:

anadhikāriṇo devāḥ
svarga-sthā bhāratodbhavam
vāñchanty ātma-vimokṣārtha-
mudrekārthe 'dhikāriṇaḥ

Although the demigods are situated in exalted positions in the heavenly planets, they nevertheless desire to descend to the land of Bhārata-varṣa on the planet earth. This indicates that even the demigods are unfit to reside in Bhārata-varṣa. Therefore if persons already born in Bhāratavarṣa live like cats and dogs, not taking full advantage of their birth in this land, they are certainly unfortunate.

5.19.31

evaṁ tava bhāratottama jambūdvīpa-varṣa-vibhāgo yathopadeśam upavarṇita iti.

(31) I have thus explained to you the divisions of the lands of Jambûdvîpa o best of the descendants of Bharata, just as they have been explained to me.'

*: Millennium refers here not to a period of thousand years, but to a period of thousand mahâyugas of 4320 millions of years each, a period also called a kalpa representing the duration of one day of Brahmâ's life which itself lasts a hunderd years.

Canto 5

In this chapter there is a description of various islands, beginning with Plakṣadvīpa, and the oceans that surround them. There is also a description of the location and dimensions of the mountain known as Lokāloka. The island of Plakṣadvīpa, which is twice as broad as Jambūdvīpa, is surrounded by an ocean of salt water. The master of this island is Idhmajihva, one of the sons of Mahārāja Priyavrata. The island is divided into seven regions, each with a mountain and a large river.

The second island is called Sālmalīdvīpa. It is surrounded by an ocean of liquor and is 3,200,000 miles wide, twice as wide as Plakṣadvīpa. The master of this island is Yajñabāhu, one of the sons of Mahārāja Priyavrata. Like Plakṣadvīpa, this island is also divided into seven regions, each with a mountain and a very large river. The inhabitants of this island worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of Candrātmā.

The third island, which is surrounded by an ocean of clarified butter and is also divided into seven regions, is called Kuśadvīpa. Its master is Hiraṇyaretā, another son of Mahārāja Priyavrata, and its inhabitants worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of Agni, the fire-god. The width of this island is 6,400,000 miles, or, in other words, twice the width of Sālmalīdvīpa.

The fourth island, Krauñcadvīpa, which is surrounded by an ocean of milk, is 12,800,000 miles wide and is also divided, like the others, into seven regions, each with a large mountain and a large river. The master of this island is Ghṛtapṛṣṭha, another son of Mahārāja Priyavrata. The inhabitants of this island worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of water.

The fifth island, Śākadvīpa, which is 25,600,000 miles wide, is surrounded by an ocean of yogurt. Its master is Medhātithi, another son of Mahārāja Priyavrata. It is also divided into seven regions, each with a large mountain and a large river. Its inhabitants worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of Vāyu, air.

The sixth island, Puṣkaradvīpa, which is twice as wide as the previous island, is surrounded by an ocean of clear water. Its master is Vītihotra, another son of Mahārāja Priyavrata. The island is divided in two by a large mountain named Mānasottara. The inhabitants of this island worship Svayambhū, another feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Beyond Puṣkaradvīpa there are two islands, one always lit by the sunshine and the other always dark. Between them is a mountain called Lokāloka, which is situated one billion miles from the edge of the universe. Lord Nārāyaṇa, expanding His opulence, resides upon this mountain. The area beyond Lokāloka Mountain is called Aloka-varṣa, and beyond Aloka-varṣa is the pure destination of persons who desire liberation.

Vertically, the sun-globe is situated just in the middle of the universe, in Antarikṣa, the space between Bhūrloka and Bhuvarloka. The distance between the sun and the circumference of Aṇḍa-golaka, the globe of the universe, is estimated to be twenty-five koṭi yojanas (two billion miles). Because the sun enters the universe and divides the sky, it is known as Mārtaṇḍa, and because it is produced from Hiraṇyagarbha, the body of the mahat-tattva, it is also called Hiraṇyagarbha.

Chapter 20: The Structure of the Different Dvîpas and the Prayers by their Different People

5.20.1

śrī-śuka uvāca

ataḥ paraḿ plakṣādīnāḿ pramāṇa-lakṣaṇa-saḿsthānato varṣa-vibhāga upavarṇyate

(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'Let me now describe the dimensions, characteristics and form of the divisions of Plaksha and the others dvîpas that are called varshas [or lands, see 5.1: 32].

5.20.2

jambūdvīpo 'yaḿ yāvat-pramāṇa-vistāras tāvatā kṣārodadhinā pariveṣṭito yathā merur jambv-ākhyena lavaṇodadhir api tato dvi-guṇa-viśālena plakṣākhyena parikṣipto yathā parikhā bāhyopavanena; plakṣo jambū-pramāṇo dvīpākhyākaro hiraṇmaya utthito yatrāgnir upāste sapta-jihvas tasyādhipatiḥ priyavratātmaja idhmajihvaḥ svaḿ dvīpaḿ sapta-varṣāṇi vibhajya sapta-varṣa-nāmabhya ātmajebhya ākalayya svayam ātma-yogenopararāma

(2) The way Mount Meru is surrounded by the dvîpa of Jambû, that dvîpa on its turn is [as seen from the inside] surrounded by a salty ocean that is just as wide. That ocean is surrounded, like a moat by a park, by the dvîpa of Plaksha which stretches out twice as much. It was named after the plaksha tree that is as tall as a jambû but twice as wide. At the root of that tree which rises magnificently splendorous, there is a fire that counts seven flames. The master of that dvîpa is the son of Priyavrata named Idhmajihva. When he retired for the yoga of self-realization he divided the dvîpa into seven varshas that he named after his seven sons.

5.20.3-4

śivaḿ yavasaḿ subhadraḿ śāntaḿ kṣemam amṛtam abhayam iti varṣāṇi teṣu girayo nadyaś ca saptaivābhijñātāḥ; maṇikūṭo vajrakūṭa indraseno jyotiṣmān suparṇo hiraṇyaṣṭhīvo meghamāla iti setu-śailāḥ aruṇā nṛmṇāńgirasī sāvitrī suptabhātā ṛtambharā satyambharā iti mahā-nadyaḥ; yāsāḿ jalopasparśana-vidhūta-rajas-tamaso haḿsa-patańgordhvāyana-satyāńga-saḿjñāś catvāro varṇāḥ sahasrāyuṣo vibudhopama-sandarśana-prajananāḥ svarga-dvāraḿ trayyā vidyayā bhagavantaḿ trayīmayaḿ sūryam ātmānaḿ yajante

(3-4) S'iva, Yavasa, Subhadra, S'ânta, Kshema, Amrita and Abhaya, are thus the varshas. They have seven rivers and mountains. The seven mountain ranges marking the varshas are known as Manikûtha, Vajrakûtha, Indrasena, Jyotishmân, Suparna, Hiranyashthhîva and Meghamâla. The main rivers are the Arunâ, Nrimnâ, Ângirasî, Sâvitrî, Suptabhâtâ, Ritambharâ and the Satyambharâ. Touching their water washes away the passion and darkness of the four types of men whom one there [according to their vocations] calls the Hamsas, Patangas, Ûrdhvâyanas and Satyângas [the swanlike ones, the rulers, the ambitious ones and the faithful ones]. For a thousand years they live there like gods with most beautiful bodies, having children and performing Vedic rituals at the gate to heaven. They worship the Supreme Lord, the Supersoul in the form of the sun god the way it is prescribed in the holy scriptures praying:

5.20.5

pratnasya viṣṇo rūpaḿ yat

satyasyartasya brahmaṇaḥ

amṛtasya ca mṛtyoś ca

sūryam ātmānam īmahīti

(5) 'Let us take to the shelter of Sûrya, the god of the sun who is a manifestation of Lord Vishnu, the authentic Soul of the truth of righteousness, of Brahman and of eternal life and death.'

In the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.16) it is said:

sa viśvakṛd viśvavidātmayoniḥ

jñaḥ kālākāro guṇī sarvavid yaḥ

pradhāna-kṣetrajña-patir guṇeśaḥ

saḿsāra-mokṣa-sthiti-bandha-hetuḥ

"The Supreme Lord, the creator of this cosmic manifestation, knows every nook and corner of His creation. Although He is the cause of creation, there is no cause for His appearance. He is fully aware of everything. He is the Supersoul, the master of all transcendental qualities, and He is the master of this cosmic manifestation in regard to bondage to the conditional state of material existence and liberation from that bondage."

Similarly, in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.8) it is said:

bhīṣāsmād vātaḥ pavate

bhīṣodeti sūryaḥ

bhīṣāsmād agniś candraś ca

mṛtyur dhāvati pañcamaḥ

"It is out of fear of the Supreme Brahman that the wind is blowing, out of fear of Him that the sun regularly rises and sets, and out of fear of Him that fire acts. It is only due to fear of Him that death and Indra, the King of heaven, perform their respective duties."

5.20.6

plakṣādiṣu pañcasu puruṣāṇām āyur indriyam ojaḥ saho balaḿ buddhir vikrama iti ca sarveṣām autpattikī siddhir aviśeṣeṇa vartate

(6) In Plaksha and the other four dvîpas the people are without exception born with the perfections of a long life, good sense, bodily and mental fortitude, physical power, intelligence and bravery.

5.20.7

plakṣaḥ sva-samānenekṣu-rasodenāvṛto yathā tathā dvīpo 'pi śālmalo dvi-guṇa-viśālaḥ samānena surodenāvṛtaḥ parivṛńkte

(7) Surrounded by an ocean of sugarcane juice equally wide, there is beyond Plakshadvîpa another dvîpa called S'âlmala which is twice as big and surrounded by an ocean of liquor [or wine; surâ*].

5.20.8

yatra ha vai śālmalī plakṣāyāmā yasyāḿ vāva kila nilayam āhur bhagavataś chandaḥ-stutaḥ patattri-rājasya sā dvīpa-hūtaye upalakṣyate

(8) That dvîpa received its name from a s'âlmalî tree as big as the plaksha tree and in that tree, so one says, Garuda the carrier bird of Vedic prayers unto Lord Vishnu, has his residence.

5.20.9

tad-dvīpādhipatiḥ priyavratātmajo yajñabāhuḥ sva-sutebhyaḥ saptabhyas tan-nāmāni sapta-varṣāṇi vyabhajat surocanaḿ saumanasyaḿ ramaṇakaḿ deva-varṣaḿ pāribhadram āpyāyanam avijñātam iti

(9) The son of Priyavrata called Yajñabâhu is the master of that dvîpa. He divided it into seven varshas according to the seven names of his sons: Surocana, Saumanasya, Ramanaka, Deva-varsha, Pâribhadra, Âpyâyana and Avijñâta.

5.20.10

teṣu varṣādrayo nadyaś ca saptaivābhijñātāḥ svarasaḥ śataśṛńgo vāmadevaḥ kundo mukundaḥ puṣpa-varṣaḥ sahasra-śrutir iti; anumatiḥ sinīvālī sarasvatī kuhū rajanī nandā rāketi

(10) The seven mountains there are known by the names of Svarasa, S'atas'ringa, Vâmadeva, Kunda, Mukunda, Pushpa-varsha and the Sahasra-s'ruti. The seven rivers are the Anumati, Sinîvâlî, Sarasvatî, Kuhû, Rajanî, Nandâ and Râkâ.

5.20.11

tad-varṣa-puruṣāḥ śrutadhara-vīryadhara-vasundhareṣandhara-saḿjñā bhagavantaḿ vedamayaḿ somam ātmānaḿ vedena yajante

(11) The people living in those varshas are known as the S'rutadharas, Vîryadharas, Vasundharas and Ishandharas [those who listen, are heroic, are wealthy and are obedient]. Fully conversant with the Vedic knowledge they worship the Supreme Lord in the form of Soma-âtmâ ['the true self of the sacrificial beverage' or the moon god]:

5.20.12

sva-gobhiḥ pitṛ-devebhyo

vibhajan kṛṣṇa-śuklayoḥ

prajānāḿ sarvāsāḿ rājā-

ndhaḥ somo na āstv iti

(12) 'With his effulgence he divides the time in the light and dark period of the month [s'ukla and krishna]. May he, that divinity of the moon and the grain to be distributed to the forefathers and the gods, may that king of all people, remain favorably disposed unto us.'

5.20.13

evaḿ surodād bahis tad-dvi-guṇaḥ samānenāvṛto ghṛtodena yathā-pūrvaḥ kuśa-dvīpo yasmin kuśa-stambo deva-kṛtas tad-dvīpākhyākaro jvalana ivāparaḥ sva-śaṣpa-rociṣā diśo virājayati

(13) Next there is outside of that ocean the dvîpa called Kus'a which, like the dvîpa mentioned before, is twice as big and surrounded by an ocean of ghee that is equally wide. The kus'a grass created by God gave that dvîpa its name because all directions are illumined by the effulgence of the young sprouting grass that glows like another kind of fire.

5.20.14

tad-dvīpa-patiḥ praiyavrato rājan hiraṇyaretā nāma svaḿ dvīpaḿ saptabhyaḥ sva-putrebhyo yathā-bhāgaḿ vibhajya svayaḿ tapa ātiṣṭhata vasu-vasudāna-dṛḍharuci-nābhigupta-stutyavrata-vivikta-vāmadeva-nāmabhyaḥ

(14) The son of Mahârâja Priyavrata called Hiranyaretâ o King divided as the master of that island, when he retired for his penance, his dvîpa among his seven sons with the names of Vasu, Vasudâna, Dridharuci, Nâbhigupta, Stutyavrata, Vivikta and Vâmadeva.

5.20.15

teṣāḿ varṣeṣu sīmā-girayo nadyaś cābhijñātāḥ sapta saptaiva cakraś catuḥśṛńgaḥ kapilaś citrakūṭo devānīka ūrdhvaromā draviṇa iti rasakulyā madhukulyā mitravindā śrutavindā devagarbhā ghṛtacyutā mantramāleti

(15) The seven mountain ranges of these varshas are the Cakra, Catuhs'ringa, Kapila, Citrakûtha, Devânîka, Ûrdhvaromâ and Dravina mountains and the rivers are the Ramakulyâ, Madhukulyâ, Mitravindâ, Srutavindâ, Devagarbhâ, Ghritacyutâ and Mantramâlâ.

5.20.16

yāsāḿ payobhiḥ kuśadvīpaukasaḥ kuśala-kovidābhiyukta-kulaka-saḿjñā bhagavantaḿ jātaveda-sarūpiṇaḿ karma-kauśalena yajante

(16) At those waters the inhabitants of Kus'advîpa who are named the Kus'alas, Kovidas, Abhiyuktas and Kulakas [or the grass sitters, the experienced ones, the competitors and the artisans] skilled in the rituals worship the Supreme Lord in the form of the fire god called Jâtaveda ['he who awards the wages']:

5.20.17

parasya brahmaṇaḥ sākṣāj

jāta-vedo 'si havyavāṭ

devānāḿ puruṣāńgānāḿ

yajñena puruṣaḿ yajeti

(17) 'Of all the demigods of the Supreme Brahman who constitute the limbs of the Original Person, you o god of the fire, are the one who personally carries the offerings of ghee and grains [to the Lord]. [Please accept] therefore our sacrifice for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.'

5.20.18

tathā ghṛtodād bahiḥ krauñcadvīpo dvi-guṇaḥ sva-mānena kṣīrodena parita upakḷpto vṛto yathā kuśadvīpo ghṛtodena yasmin krauñco nāma parvata-rājo dvīpa-nāma-nirvartaka āste

(18) Just as Kus'advîpa is surrounded by an ocean of ghee, Krauñcadvîpa outside of it and being twice as big, is surrounded by an ocean of milk [or plant juice] of the same size. The king of the mountains named Krauñca situated there gave that dvîpa its name.

5.20.19

yo 'sau guha-praharaṇonmathita-nitamba-kuñjo 'pi kṣīrodenā-sicyamāno bhagavatā varuṇenābhigupto vibhayo babhūva

(19) Even though Guha [the son of S'iva, Kârttikeya] destroyed the vegetation there with his weapons, he [the mountain] stands unafraid because he constantly bathes in the ocean of milk and enjoys the protection of the mighty Varuna [the demigod of the seas].

5.20.20

tasminn api praiyavrato ghṛtapṛṣṭho nāmādhipatiḥ sve dvīpe varṣāṇi sapta vibhajya teṣu putra-nāmasu sapta rikthādān varṣapān niveśya svayaḿ bhagavān bhagavataḥ parama-kalyāṇa-yaśasa ātma-bhūtasya hareś caraṇāravindam upajagāma

(20) Ghritaprishthha, the son of Mahârâja Priyavrata, the ruler of that dvîpa gave its seven sections, its varshas, the names of his sons whom he, all just as powerful as he was, appointed as their rulers. He thereafter resorted to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Hari, the Soul of all souls whose glories are so auspicious.

5.20.21

āmo madhuruho meghapṛṣṭhaḥ sudhāmā bhrājiṣṭho lohitārṇo vanaspatir iti ghṛtapṛṣṭha-sutās teṣāḿ varṣa-girayaḥ sapta saptaiva nadyaś cābhikhyātāḥ śuklo vardhamāno bhojana upabarhiṇo nando nandanaḥ sarvatobhadra iti abhayā amṛtaughā āryakā tīrthavatī rūpavatī pavitravatī śukleti

(21) Âma, Madhuruha, Meghaprishthha, Sudhâmâ, Bhrâjishthha, Lohitârna and Vanaspati were the sons of Ghritaprishthha and the seven mountain ranges were celebrated as the S'ukla and Vardhamâna, Bhojana, Upabarhina, Nanda, Nandana and Sarvatobhadra mountains. The seven rivers were the Abhayâ, Amritaughâ, Âryakâ, Tîrthavatî, Rûpavatî, Pavitravatî and the S'uklâ.

5.20.22

yāsām ambhaḥ pavitram amalam upayuñjānāḥ puruṣa-ṛṣabha-draviṇa-devaka-saḿjñā varṣa-puruṣā āpomayaḿ devam apāḿ pūrṇenāñjalinā yajante

(22) Sanctified by bathing in the pellucid waters of all those rivers the inhabitants of those varshas who are called the Purushas, the Rishabas, the Dravinas and the Devakas [or the authentic, the superior, the wealthy and the sporting ones], worship with folded hands filled with water [the Lord in the form of Varuna] the deity of water:

5.20.23

āpaḥ puruṣa-vīryāḥ stha

punantīr bhūr-bhuvaḥ-suvaḥ

tā naḥ punītāmīva-ghnīḥ

spṛśatām ātmanā bhuva iti

(23) 'O water, o might of the Original Personality, you sanctify the earth, its life, its paradise. May our touching this water, that because of its nature destroys the spirit of evil, purify our bodies.'

5.20.24

evaḿ purastāt kṣīrodāt parita upaveśitaḥ śākadvīpo dvātriḿśal-lakṣa-yojanāyāmaḥ samānena ca dadhi-maṇḍodena parīto yasmin śāko nāma mahīruhaḥ sva-kṣetra-vyapadeśako yasya ha mahā-surabhi-gandhas taḿ dvīpam anuvāsayati

(24) Beyond the ocean of milk the dvîpa of S'âka is situated measuring a 3.2 million yojanas wide. It is surrounded by an ocean of whey of the same width and owes its name to a most fragrant fig tree that can be smelled all over the dvîpa.

5.20.25

tasyāpi praiyavrata evādhipatir nāmnā medhātithiḥ so 'pi vibhajya sapta varṣāṇi putra-nāmāni teṣu svātmajān purojava-manojava-pavamāna-dhūmrānīka-citrarepha-bahurūpa-viśvadhāra-saḿjñān nidhāpyādhipatīn svayaḿ bhagavaty ananta ā-veśita-matis tapovanaḿ praviveśa

(25) Another son of Priyavrata named Medhâtithi is the ruler there. He also divided his dvîpa in seven varshas with the names of his seven sons Purojava, Manojava, Pavamâna, Dhûmrânîka, Citrarepha, Bahurûpa and Vis'vadhâra whom he appointed there as their rulers. He thereafter entered the forest for penance with his mind absorbed in the infinity of the Supreme Lord.

5.20.26

eteṣāḿ varṣa-maryādā-girayo nadyaś ca sapta saptaiva īśāna uruśṛńgo balabhadraḥ śatakesaraḥ sahasrasroto devapālo mahānasa iti anaghāyurdā ubhayaspṛṣṭir aparājitā pañcapadī sahasrasrutir nijadhṛtir iti

(26) The seven mountains forming the borders of the varshas are the Îs'âna, Urus'ringa, Balabhadra, S'atakesara, Sahasra-srota, Devapâla and Mahânasa mountains and the seven rivers there are the Anaghâ, Âyurdâ, Ubhayasprishthi, Aparâjitâ, Pañcapadî, Sahasra-s'ruti and the Nijadhriti.

5.20.27

tad-varṣa-puruṣā ṛtavrata-satyavrata-dānavratānuvrata-nāmāno bhagavantaḿ vāyv-ātmakaḿ prāṇāyāma-vidhūta-rajas-tamasaḥ parama-samādhinā yajante

(27) The people of those varshas, the Ritavratas, the Satyavratas, the Dânavratas and the Anuvratas [the varnas of the God-fearing ones, the ones vowed to the truth, the providers, and the followers] cleanse themselves of their passions and ignorance with the practice of regulating their breath which is ruled by the demigod Vâyu. They absorbed in transcendence worship him as the representative of the Supreme Personality with:

5.20.28

antaḥ-praviśya bhūtāni

yo bibharty ātma-ketubhiḥ

antaryāmīśvaraḥ sākṣāt

pātu no yad-vaśe sphuṭam

(28) 'You entering all living beings are the one Supersoul within, the direct controller who maintains by the functions of the inner airs. Please direct us, for you control the entire cosmos.'

5.20.29

evam eva dadhi-maṇḍodāt parataḥ puṣkaradvīpas tato dvi-guṇāyāmaḥ samantata upakalpitaḥ samānena svādūdakena samudreṇa bahir āvṛto yasmin bṛhat-puṣkaraḿ jvalana-śikhāmala-kanaka-patrāyutāyutaḿ bhagavataḥ kamalāsanasyādhyāsanaḿ parikalpitam

(29) Also beyond this ocean of whey there is another dvîpa named Pushkara which is twice as big as the previous one and surrounded by an ocean of sweet water of the same size. There a very big lotus flower is found with 100 million flower petals of pure gold that are like the flames of a blazing fire. This lotus is considered the sitting place of the all-powerful Lord of the Lotus [Brahmâ].

5.20.30

tad-dvīpa-madhye mānasottara-nāmaika evārvācīna-parācīna-varṣayor maryādācalo 'yuta-yojanocchrāyāyāmo yatra tu catasṛṣu dikṣu catvāri purāṇi loka-pālānām indrādīnāḿ yad-upariṣṭāt sūrya-rathasya meruḿ paribhramataḥ saḿvatsarātmakaḿ cakraḿ devānām aho-rātrābhyāḿ paribhramati

(30) That dvîpa has one mountain range named Mânasottara that separates the varshas on the inner and the outer side. Measuring a 10.000 yojanas high and wide, it harbors in its four directions the cities of the four demigods ruling there [Indra, Yama, Varuna and Soma]. The chariot of the sun god Sûrya, circumambulating mount Meru on its highest point, moves around in an orbit that calculated in terms of the days and nights of the demigods [**] consists of one complete year.

5.20.31

tad-dvīpasyāpy adhipatiḥ praiyavrato vītihotro nāmaitasyātmajau ramaṇaka-dhātaki-nāmānau varṣa-patī niyujya sa svayaḿ pūrvajavad-bhagavat-karma-śīla evāste

(31) The ruler of that dvîpa, also a son of Priyavrata with the name Vîtihotra, named the two varshas there after his two sons Ramanaka and Dhâtaki and appointed them as their rulers when he, just as his other brothers did, restricted himself to virtuous activities to satisfy the Supreme Lord.

5.20.32

tad-varṣa-puruṣā bhagavantaḿ brahma-rūpiṇaḿ sakarmakeṇa karmaṇārādhayantīdaḿ codāharanti

(32) The people of those lands worship for the fulfillment of their desires with ritualistic activities the Supreme Lord in the form of Lord Brahmâ and pray the following:

5.20.33

yat tat karmamayaḿ lińgaḿ

brahma-lińgaḿ jano 'rcayet

ekāntam advayaḿ śāntaḿ

tasmai bhagavate nama iti

(33) 'Someone of a firm conviction must free from duplicity and peacefully, by consciously dealing with the illusion [with the help of ritualistic activities] worship the Supreme Personality in the form of him [Lord Brahmâ] who discloses the supreme Brahman. That almighty Lord we offer our obeisances.'
5.20.34

tataḥ parastāl lokāloka-nāmācalo lokālokayor antarāle parita upakṣiptaḥ

(34) Beyond that realm there is [outside of the ocean of sweet water] all around a formation named Lokâloka which is described as the boundary between the world of light and the world without light.

5.20.35

yāvan mānasottara-mervor antaraḿ tāvatī bhūmiḥ kāñcany anyādarśa-talopamā yasyāḿ prahitaḥ padārtho na kathañcit punaḥ pratyupalabhyate tasmāt sarva-sattva-parihṛtāsīt

(35) The realm [called Loka-varsha within that border] is as wide as the area between mount Meru and the Mânasottara range, [and changes outside into] another domain made of gold [called Aloka-varsha, the dark region] which is as smooth as a mirror. Anything dropped there can impossibly be retrieved and therefore the place is avoided by all living entities.

5.20.36

lokāloka iti samākhyā yad anenācalena lokālokasyāntarvar-tināvasthāpyate

(36) The formation Lokâloka [that is the outer shell of the universe] is situated in between the lands that one speaks of as being inhabited and not inhabited.

5.20.37

sa loka-trayānte parita īśvareṇa vihito yasmāt sūryādīnāḿ dhruvāpavargāṇāḿ jyotir-gaṇānāḿ gabhastayo 'rvācīnāḿs trīn lokān āvitanvānā na kadācit parācīnā bhavitum utsahante tāvad un-nahanāyāmaḥ

(37) That outer limit of the three worlds that was created all around by the Lord, is that far distant that it for the rays of all the luminaries - from the sun up to those of Dhruva's goal of liberation [the center of the universe, see 4.12: 12] -, is not possible to reach further.

5.20.38

etāvān loka-vinyāso māna-lakṣaṇa-saḿsthābhir vicintitaḥ kavibhiḥ sa tu pañcāśat-koṭi-gaṇitasya bhū-golasya turīya-bhāgo 'yaḿ lokālokācalaḥ

(38) The scholars who investigated the positions, characteristics and situations of all the worlds [the planets and stars], calculated that the area between the centre and the outer Lokâloka limit of the universe covers as much as half a billion yojanas, one quarter [of the size or total energy] of the celestial globe.

5.20.39

tad-upariṣṭāc catasṛṣv āśāsvātma-yoninākhila-jagad-guruṇādhiniveśitā ye dvirada-pataya ṛṣabhaḥ puṣkaracūḍo vāmano 'parājita iti sakala-loka-sthiti-hetavaḥ

(39) By the source of the self who is the spiritual teacher of the entire universe [Brahmâ] the four gaja-patis ['the best of all elephants'] Rishabha, Pushkaracûda, Vâmana and Aparâjit are established in the four directions on top of that [formation], in order to take care of the stability of the different planets in the universe.

5.20.40

teṣāḿ sva-vibhūtīnāḿ loka-pālānāḿ ca vividha-vīryopabṛḿhaṇāya bhagavān parama-mahā-puruṣo mahā-vibhūti-patir antaryāmy ātmano viśuddha-sattvaḿ dharma-jñāna-vairāgyaiśvaryādy-aṣṭa-mahā-siddhy-upalakṣaṇaḿ viṣvaksenādibhiḥ sva-pārṣada-pravaraiḥ parivārito nija-varāyudhopaśobhitair nija-bhuja-daṇḍaiḥ sandhārayamāṇas tasmin giri-vare samantāt sakala-loka-svastaya āste

(40) He [Lord Vishnu] is of all His locally ruling, personal divinities [His 'elephants'] and all the types of heroes who are expansions of His potency, the Supreme Lord, the foremost and greatest personality, the great master of all powers, the Soul of all souls and the True Self of the purest goodness characterized by religion, spiritual knowledge, detachment, all opulence and the eight great perfections [see 3.15: 45]. Decorated by the different weapons held up by His stout arms and surrounded by expansions like Vishvaksena and other representatives and eminent associates, He, for the benefit of all worlds, manifests His form on all sides of that greatest of all mountains.

5.20.41

ākalpam evaḿ veṣaḿ gata eṣa bhagavān ātma-yogamāyayā viracita-vividha-loka-yātrā-gopīyāyety arthaḥ

(41) For the duration of a kalpa the Supreme Lord assumes that appearance just to maintain the life in the different worlds that He evolved on the basis of His outer potency.

5.20.42

yo 'ntar-vistāra etena hy aloka-parimāṇaḿ ca vyākhyātaḿ yad bahir lokālokācalāt; tataḥ parastād yogeśvara-gatiḿ viśuddhām udāharanti

(42) About the area beyond the [uninhabitable, dark] realm [of Aloka-varsha] which stretches outside of Lokâloka as far as the width of the area inside, one says that it is the destination for those who free from all contamination walk the path of the Lord of Yoga.

5.20.43

aṇḍa-madhya-gataḥ sūryo

dyāv-ābhūmyor yad antaram

sūryāṇḍa-golayor madhye

koṭyaḥ syuḥ pañca-viḿśatiḥ

(43) In the center of the universe the suns are found situated between heaven and earth. That sunny globe in the middle consists of a quarter of a billion stars.

5.20.44

mṛte 'ṇḍa eṣa etasmin yad abhūt tato mārtaṇḍa iti vyapadeśaḥ; hiraṇyagarbha iti yad dhiraṇyāṇḍa-samudbhavaḥ

(44) Because of having entered the lifeless form of this globe at its time of creation, he [Brahmâ] is known as Mârtanda ['the god of the suns']. The designation known as Hiranyagarbha ['the gold inside' or Brahmâ] came about because he received his body from that [golden splendor].

5.20.45

sūryeṇa hi vibhajyante

diśaḥ khaḿ dyaur mahī bhidā

svargāpavargau narakā

rasaukāḿsi ca sarvaśaḥ

(45) Because of the sun god [Sûrya] we are able to differentiate between the directions, the ether, the planets above and the worlds below, as also tell the difference between all the heavenly abodes, the abodes for liberation and the hellish places such as Atala.

5.20.46

deva-tiryań-manuṣyāṇāḿ

sarīsṛpa-savīrudhām

sarva-jīva-nikāyānāḿ

sūrya ātmā dṛg-īśvaraḥ

(46) The sun god is the controller of all sorts of living beings, he is the life, soul and vision of the gods, the lower animals, the human beings and everything crawling and creeping.'

*: According to some modern interpretation these seas refer to the bodily fluids, with the dvîpas as sections in the virâth-rûpa universal body of the Lord: Lavana or salt sea (urine), cane juice sea (perspiration), Surâ or sea of wine (senses), Sarpi or sea of ghee (semen), Dadhi or buttermilk sea [yoghurt, whey] (mucus), the sea of milk (saliva), and the sea of pure water (tears).

**: A day and a night of the demigods consists of a so-called Uttarâyana course of the sun through the south and a Dakshinâyana course through the south, one solar year thus. A year of the god consists of 360 of such days.

Canto 5

This chapter informs us of the movements of the sun. The sun is not stationary; it is also moving like the other planets. The sun's movements determine the duration of night and day. When the sun travels north of the equator, it moves slowly during the day and very quickly at night, thus increasing the duration of the daytime and decreasing the duration of night. Similarly, when the sun travels south of the equator, the exact opposite is true — the duration of the day decreases, and the duration of night increases. When the sun enters Karkaṭa-rāśi (Cancer) and then travels to Siḿha-rāśi (Leo) and so on through Dhanuḥ-rāśi (Sagittarius), its course is called Dakṣiṇāyana, the southern way, and when the sun enters Makara-rāśi (Capricorn) and thereafter travels through Kumbharāśi (Aquarius) and so on through Mithuna-rāśi (Gemini), its course is called Uttarāyaṇa, the northern way. When the sun is in Meṣa-rāśi (Aries) and Tulā-rāśi (Libra), the duration of day and night are equal.

On Mānasottara Mountain are the abodes of four demigods. East of Sumeru Mountain is Devadhānī, where King Indra lives, and south of Sumeru is Saḿyamanī, the abode of Yamarāja, the superintendent of death. Similarly, west of Sumeru is Nimlocanī, the abode of Varuṇa, the demigod who controls the water, and north of Sumeru is Vibhāvarī, where the demigod of the moon lives. Sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight occur in all these places because of the movements of the sun. Diametrically opposite the place where the sunrise takes places and the sun is seen by human eyes, the sun will be setting and passing away from human vision. Similarly, the people residing diametrically opposite the point where it is midday will be experiencing midnight. The sun rises and sets with all the other planets, headed by the moon and other luminaries.

The entire kāla-cakra, or wheel of time, is established on the wheel of the sun-god's chariot. This wheel is known as Saḿvatsara. The seven horses pulling the chariot of the sun are known as Gāyatrī, Bṛhatī, Uṣṇik, Jagatī, Triṣṭup, Anuṣṭup and Pańkti. They are harnessed by a demigod known as Aruṇadeva to a yoke 900,000 yojanas wide. Thus the chariot carries Ādityadeva, the sun-god. Always staying in front of the sun-god and offering their prayers are sixty thousand sages known as Vālikhilyas. There are fourteen Gandharvas, Apsarās and other demigods, who are divided into seven parties and who perform ritualistic activities every month to worship the Supersoul through the sun-god according to different names. Thus the sun-god travels through the universe for a distance of 95,100,000 yojanas (760,800,000 miles) at a speed of 16,004 miles at every moment.

Chapter 21: The Reality of the Sun God Sûrya

5.21.1

śrī-śuka uvāca

etāvān eva bhū-valayasya sanniveśaḥ pramāṇa-lakṣaṇato vyākhyātaḥ

(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'This is what I could tell you about the size and characteristics of the general outline of the celestial sphere.

5.21.2

etena hi divo maṇḍala-mānaḿ tad-vida upadiśanti yathā dvi-dalayor niṣpāvādīnāḿ te antareṇāntarikṣaḿ tad-ubhaya-sandhitam

(2) The experts in this matter are with this outline of instruction about the division of the sky, which they describe as outer space consisting of two divisions adjoined like the two halves of a grain of wheat.

5.21.3

yan-madhya-gato bhagavāḿs tapatāḿ patis tapana ātapena tri-lokīḿ pratapaty avabhāsayaty ātma-bhāsā sa eṣa udagayana-dakṣiṇāyana-vaiṣuvata-saḿjñābhir māndya-śaighrya-samānābhir gatibhir ārohaṇāvarohaṇa-samāna-sthāneṣu yathā-savanam abhipadyamāno makarādiṣu rāśiṣv aho-rātrāṇi dīrgha-hrasva-samānāni vidhatte

(3) In the middle the most powerful master of all the governing heavenly bodies is situated, the burning sun that with its fire heats the three worlds and lights them with its rays. That sun globe passing through the north, through the south or crossing the equator, is known differently depending its slowness, swiftness or equality of movement. In its rising and setting or staying up in different positions, it is making long, short or equally long days while it as ordained moves through the different signs of the [astrological] zodiac beginning with the sign of Makara [Capricorn].

Lord Brahmā prays in his Brahma-saḿhitā (5.52):

yac cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāḿ

rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥ

yasyājñayā bhramati saḿbhṛta-kāla-cakro

govindam ādi-puruṣaḿ tam ahaḿ bhajāmi

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead under whose control even the sun, which is considered to be the eye of the Lord, rotates within the fixed orbit of eternal time. The sun is the king of all planetary systems and has unlimited potency in heat and light." Although the sun is described as bhagavān, the most powerful, and although it is actually the most powerful planet within the universe, it nevertheless has to carry out the order of Govinda, Kṛṣṇa. The sun-god cannot deviate even an inch from the orbit designated to him. Therefore in every sphere of life, the supreme order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is carried out. The entire material nature carries out His orders. However, we foolishly see the activities of material nature without understanding the supreme order and Supreme Person behind them. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ: [Bg. 9.10] material nature carries out the orders of the Lord, and thus everything is maintained in an orderly way.

5.21.4

yadā meṣa-tulayor vartate tadāho-rātrāṇi samānāni bhavanti yadā vṛṣabhādiṣu pañcasu ca rāśiṣu carati tadāhāny eva vardhante hrasati ca māsi māsy ekaikā ghaṭikā rātriṣu

(4) When the sun enters Mesha and Tulâ [Aries and Libra, or at the equinoxes], the days and nights are of an equal length. When it moves through the five first ones headed by Vrishabha [Taurus] the days [first] increase [for Taurus and Gemini] and then decrease by half an hour every month [depending on the latitude].

5.21.5

yadā vṛścikādiṣu pañcasu vartate tadāho-rātrāṇi viparyayāṇi bhavanti

(5) When it passes the five months beginning with Vris'cika [Scorpio] the lengthening and shortening of the days and nights works opposite.

5.21.6

yāvad dakṣiṇāyanam ahāni vardhante yāvad udagayanaḿ rātrayaḥ

(6) Until the sun moves towards the south [before the summer solstice] the days grow longer and until it moves towards the north [before the winter solstice] the nights get longer.

5.21.7

evaḿ nava koṭaya eka-pañcāśal-lakṣāṇi yojanānāḿ mānasottara-giri-parivartanasyopadiśanti tasminn aindrīḿ purīḿ pūrvasmān meror devadhānīḿ nāma dakṣiṇato yāmyāḿ saḿyamanīḿ nāma paścād vāruṇīḿ nimlocanīḿ nāma uttarataḥ saumyāḿ vibhāvarīḿ nāma tāsūdaya-madhyāhnāstamaya-niśīthānīti bhūtānāḿ pravṛtti-nivṛtti-nimittāni samaya-viśeṣeṇa meroś catur-diśam

(7) Thus encircling with an orbit before the Mânasottara mountains [thereabout] of ninety-five million one hundred thousand yojanas long, so the scholars teach us, one on the east of Meru finds Devadhânî, the city of King Indra, south of it the one named Samyamanî of Yamarâja, in the west the one named Nimlocanî of Varuna, and in the north the one of the moon named Vibhâvarî. At all the four sides of Meru [as the energetic pivot] thus creating sunrise, sunset, noontime and midnight, it brings about the particular times of the living beings to be active or to cease their activity [*].

5.21.8-9

tatratyānāḿ divasa-madhyańgata eva sadādityas tapati savyenācalaḿ dakṣiṇena karoti; yatrodeti tasya ha samāna-sūtra-nipāte nimlocati yatra kvacana syandenābhitapati tasya haiṣa samāna-sūtra-nipāte prasvāpayati tatra gataḿ na paśyanti ye taḿ samanupaśyeran

(8-9) Those who live in those places are by the sun in the position of the middle of the day always heated. It moves, turning left around the mountain [Meru], from the point where it rises to the diametrically opposite point where it sets. When one locally no longer sees the sun in the sky because it has set it causes the people to sleep, while diametrically opposite to that place the people are sure to have seen the sun rising which because of its heat makes them sweat.

5.21.10

yadā caindryāḥ puryāḥ pracalate pañcadaśa-ghaṭikābhir yāmyāḿ sapāda-koṭi-dvayaḿ yojanānāḿ sārdha-dvādaśa-lakṣāṇi sādhikāni copayāti

(10) When the sun in fifteen ghathikâs [six hours] moves from the residence of Indra to that of Yamarâja it covers a distance of 23.775.000 yojanas [a quarter of the circumference].

5.21.11

evaḿ tato vāruṇīḿ saumyām aindrīḿ ca punas tathānye ca grahāḥ somādayo nakṣatraiḥ saha jyotiś-cakre samabhyudyanti saha vā nimlo-canti

(11) Next it proceeds to the abode of Varuna, followed by the realm of the moon after which it returns to the place of Indra. Along with it also the other planets and stars headed by the moon are seen rising and setting in the celestial sky.

5.21.12

evaḿ muhūrtena catus-triḿśal-lakṣa-yojanāny aṣṭa-śatādhikāni sauro rathas trayīmayo 'sau catasṛṣu parivartate purīṣu

(12) Thus the vehicle of the sun god, which represents the three Vedic principles [of uniting by karma, jñâna and bhakti yoga], moves through the four realms covering 3.400.800 yojanas in a muhûrta [modern science: 39.163 million km/hr].

5.21.13

yasyaikaḿ cakraḿ dvādaśāraḿ ṣaṇ-nemi tri-ṇābhi saḿvatsarātmakaḿ samāmananti tasyākṣo meror mūrdhani kṛto mānasottare kṛtetara-bhāgo yatra protaḿ ravi-ratha-cakraḿ taila-yantra-cakravad bhraman mānasottara-girau paribhramati

(13) This vehicle has only one wheel with twelve spokes [the months], six segments [the seasons] and three pieces to its hub [four month periods], which in its entirety is known as a solar year [a samvatsara]. Its axle is fixed on the top of Meru with Mânasottara at the other end. The wheel of the chariot of the sun being fixed there rotates to the mountain range of Mânasottara like a wheel of an oil press machine.

5.21.14

tasminn akṣe kṛtamūlo dvitīyo 'kṣas turyamānena sammitas taila-yantrākṣavad dhruve kṛtopari-bhāgaḥ

(14) Fixed to the base of that axle there is a second one which, like with the axle of an oil press machine, measures a quarter of its length. Its upper portion is fixed to Dhruvaloka [the center of the stars].

5.21.15

ratha-nīḍas tu ṣaṭ-triḿśal-lakṣa-yojanāyatas tat-turīya-bhāga-viśālas tāvān ravi-ratha-yugo yatra hayāś chando-nāmānaḥ saptāruṇa-yojitā vahanti devam ādityam

(15) The inside of the vehicle measures 3.6 million yojanas long and a quarter of that distance wide, it is pulled by seven horses named after the Vedic meters [Gâyatrî, Brihati, Ushnik, Jagatî, Trishthup, Anushthup and Pankti] that, in order to carry the god of the sun, by Arunadeva are harnessed to a yoke as wide as the vehicle [the actual diameter of the sun itself is 1.392 million kilometers].

In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is stated:

gāyatrī ca bṛhaty uṣṇig

jagatī triṣṭup eva ca

anuṣṭup pańktir ity uktāś

chandāḿsi harayo raveḥ

The seven horses yoked to the sun-god's chariot are named Gāyatrī, Bṛhati, Uṣṇik, Jagatī, Triṣṭup, Anuṣṭup and Pańkti. These names of various Vedic meters designate the seven horses that carry the sun-god's chariot.

5.21.16

purastāt savitur aruṇaḥ paścāc ca niyuktaḥ sautye karmaṇi kilāste

(16) Even though Aruna, fulfilling his duties as the charioteer, sits in front of the sun god, he looks backward [not to show disrespect].

5.21.17

tathā vālikhilyā ṛṣayo 'ńguṣṭha-parva-mātrāḥ ṣaṣṭi-sahasrāṇi purataḥ sūryaḿ sūkta-vākāya niyuktāḥ saḿstuvanti

(17) There, in front of the sun god, the sixty thousand thumb-sized sages named the Vâlikhilyas are engaged in offering their prayers, which they express with eloquence [see also 4.1: 39].

5.21.18

tathānye ca ṛṣayo gandharvāpsaraso nāgā grāmaṇyo yātudhānā devā ity ekaikaśo gaṇāḥ sapta caturdaśa māsi māsi bhagavantaḿ sūryam ātmānaḿ nānā-nāmānaḿ pṛthań-nānā-nāmānaḥ pṛthak-karmabhir dvandvaśa upāsate

(18) So too fourteen others, viz. the sages, the Gandharvas, Apsaras, Nâgas, Yakshas, Râkshasas and the demigods, worship with a variety of names and different ceremonies, in seven groups of two with for every month different representatives, the Supreme Lord in the form of the sun god Sûrya, he who is the life of the universe and who carries different names [**].

In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is said:

stuvanti munayaḥ sūryaḿ

gandharvair gīyate puraḥ

nṛtyanto 'psaraso yānti

sūryasyānu niśācarāḥ

vahanti pannagā yakṣaiḥ

kriyate 'bhiṣusańgrahaḥ

vālikhilyās tathaivainaḿ

parivārya samāsate

so 'yaḿ sapta-gaṇaḥ sūrya-

maṇḍale muni-sattama

himoṣṇa vāri-vṛṣṭīṇāḿ

hetutve samayaḿ gataḥ

Worshiping the most powerful demigod Sūrya, the Gandharvas sing in front of him, the Apsarās dance before the chariot, the Niśācaras follow the chariot, the Pannagas decorate the chariot, the Yakṣas guard the chariot, and the saints called the Vālikhilyas surround the sun-god and offer prayers. The seven groups of fourteen associates arrange the proper times for regular snow, heat and rain throughout the universe.

5.21.19

lakṣottaraḿ sārdha-nava-koṭi-yojana-parimaṇḍalaḿ bhū-valayasya kṣaṇena sagavyūty-uttaraḿ dvi-sahasra-yojanāni sa bhuńkte

(19) The sun god thus traverses the 95.1 million yojanas of the circumference of the earthly sphere with a speed of two thousand and half a yojana in about a kshana [± 1.6 sec; see also verse 12].'

*: According to modern measurements the earth encircles the sun at an average distance of 92.960.000 miles or 149.591.000 km. The circumference of its orbit is about 940 million km. Considering that this calculation of the apparent geocentric path of the sun to an earthly Mânasottara range would result in a yojana of about 9.8 km in this context. With Meru as the energetic pivot is meant that everything in the galaxy spins around the center where the heap of stars is found of Brahmâ's golden globe. Thus the Pole Star whereabout the stars in the night sky seem to turn is also identified with that point and called Meru while the actual pivot of the stars around us - and thus also our sun - astronomically is found elsewhere, viz. in Sagittarius A.

**: The Vishnu Purâna states: 'Worshiping the most powerful demigod Sûrya, the Gandharvas sing in front of him, the Apsaras dance before the chariot, the Nis'âcaras follow the chariot, the Pannagas decorate the chariot, the Yakshas guard the chariot, and the saints called the Vâlikhilyas surround the sun god and offer prayers. The seven groups of fourteen associates arrange the proper times for regular snow, heat and rain throughout the universe [see further 12.11: 32].'

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

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Sri Bhagavatam - Canto 5 (Skandah 5) Chapters 18 to 21

(The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa)

5.18.1

tathā ca bhadraśravā nāma dharma-sutas tat-kula-patayaḥ puruṣā bhadrāśva-varṣe sākṣād bhagavato vāsudevasya priyāṁ tanuṁ dharmamayīṁ hayaśīrṣābhidhānāṁ parameṇa samādhinā sannidhāpyedam abhigṛṇanta upadhāvanti.

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(A Description of the Island of Jambūdvīpa)

5.19.1

kimpuruṣe varṣe bhagavantam ādi-puruṣaṁ lakṣmaṇāgrajaṁ sītābhirāmaṁ rāmaṁ tac-caraṇa-sannikarṣābhirataḥ parama-bhāgavato hanumān saha kimpuruṣair avirata-bhaktir upāste.

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