Jayanthi 2008, Toronto

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Maha Periyava Jayanthi May 2008

Srimad Devi Bhagavatham - Second Book

Chapter IV

On the birth of the Vasus

1-8. Sûta said :-- On the king Pratîpa, ascending to the Heavens, the truly hero-king S’antanu went out a hunting tigers and other forest animals. Once, while he was roaming in a wild wilderness, on the banks of the Ganges, he saw a fawn-eyed well decorated beautiful woman. No sooner the king S’antanu saw her than he became addicted to her and thought within himself thus :-- “Certainly my father spoke of this beautiful faced woman who is looking like a second Laksmî, endowed with beauty and youth.” The king could not rest satisfied simply with seeing the lotus-like face. The hairs on his body stood on their ends and his heart was very much attracted to her. Gangâ Devî, too, knew him to be the king Mahâbhisa and became, in her turn, very much attached to him. She then went smiling towards the king. Seeing the blue-coloured lady looking askance at him, the king became very happy and consoled her in sweet words and said :-- “O, one of beautiful thighs! Are you Devî; Mânushî (human kind) Gandharvî; Yakshî, the daughter of Nâgas (serpents), or a celestial nymph? Whoever you may be, O beautiful one! be my wife; your sweet smiles, it seems, are brimful of love; so be my legal wife to-day.”

9-26. Sûta said :-- The king S’antanu could not recognise the lady to be Gangâ; but Gangâ knew that he is the king Mahâbhisa and is born as S’antanu. Hearing the above words of the king, Gangâ, out of her previous affections, spoke out to the king, smiling :-- “O king! I know that you are the son of the king Pratîpa. Behold! Though it is inevitable that woman will get their husbands, yet who is that beautiful lady that does not husband according to her liking and qualifications? But I can take you as my husband, if you make a certain promise to me. Hear my resolve afterwards I will marry you. O king! Whatever I will do, be it good or bad, auspicious or inauspicious, you must not hinder or interrupt me nor ever say that is not to your liking and satisfaction. Whenever you will break this my resolve, I will instantly quit you and go to another place wherever I like. The king S’antanu, then, said :-- “Well! That will be” and promised to the above effect; then Gangâ Devî recollected within herself Vasus' words and thought of the attachment of the king Mahâbhisa and accepted S’antanu as her husban

Thus married to the king S’antanu, the beautiful Gangâ in human form went to his abode. The king, on having got possession of her, began to enjoy in pleasant gardens. The lady, too, appreciated his mental feelings and began to serve him to his satisfaction. Thus many years elapsed in lovely enjoyments and intercourses between the couple who looked like Indra and his pair Sachî; and they did not feel at all how the time passed. The lady endowed with all qualities and the clever king, well-versed in the art of loving, began to enjoy incessantly like Laksmî and Nârâyana, in their divine palace.

Thus many years passed when the lovely eyed lady became pregnant of the king S’antanu's sperm and, in due time, gave birth to a son who was a Vasu. No sooner the son was born than Gangâ Devî threw it in the waters of the Ganges. Thus the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh sons were threwn successively on the waters. Then the king became very anxious and thought within himself :-- “What am I to do now? How my family be preserved? This my wife, incarnate of sin, has killed my seven sons; if I now desist her, she will instantly leave me and go away. Now this is the eighth pregnancy as desired by me. Now if I do not interrupt her, she will certainly throw my son in the Ganges. Whether a son will be born again or not is doubtful; and even if that be born, it is doubtful whether she will preserve that child; now what am I to do in this doubtful point? However I will try my best to continue the thread of my family line.”

27-46. Now, in due time, the Vasu who, having been influenced by his wife had stolen Vas’istha's cow Nandini, became born as the eighth son of Gangâ Devî; the king S’antanu, seeing this son fell unto Gangâ's feet and said :-- “O thin-bodied woman! I pray to you to give my life to-day; better nourish this my one son. O beautiful one! You killed in succession my seven exceedingly beautiful sons. O one of beautiful hips! I now fall at your feet. O beautiful one! save the life of this child of mine. If you ask from me any other thing to day, even that be very rare, I will give it to you; but you better now keep the thread of my family line. The Pundits, versed in the Vedas, say that he who has no issues cannot go to Heaven; so, O Beautiful one! To-day I pray to you to keep the life of this my eighth son.”

Though thus spoken by S’antanu, Gangâ Devî was eager to take away the son to throw in the waters; the king became very sorrowful and angrily spoke out “O vile and vicious woman! What are you going to do? Do you not fear hell! of what villain are you the daughter, that you are always doing this vicious deed? O Sinner! go away wherever you will or remain here as yon like, it matters little; but my son will remain here. When you attempt to bring my family to extinction, what use is there in living with you?” When the king thus spoke to the woman who was ready to take away the son she angrily spoke as follows :-- O King! When you have acted against my promise, my word is broken and my connection with you has stopped from to-day. Therefore I will take this son to the forest, where I will nourish him. I am Gangâ; to fulfil God's work I have come here. The high-souled Vas'istha cursed before the eight Vasus :-- “Better be born as men”; they became very anxious; and seeing me they prayed :-- “O Sinless one! let you be mother of us all.” O best of kings! I granted them what they desired; and then for the purpose of serving god's ends, I became your wife. Know this my history. The seven Vasus already were born and were freed; now this is the last Vasu and he will remain here for sometime as your son. O S’antanu! now take this son offered by Gangâ. Know this to be the Deva Vasu and enjoy the pleasure of having a son. O highly fortunate one! This son will be famous by the name of Gângeya (Gangâ's son) and will be the most powerful of all. O King! To-day I will take this son to the place where I chose you as my husband; I will nourish him and when he attains his youth, I will return him to you. For, this son, if deprived of mother, will not be happy nor will he live.” Thus saying, Gangâ vanished with the son; the King S’antanu became very sorrowful and passed away his time in his palace. The king thought always of the separation from his wife and son and thus painfully governed his kingdom.

47-69. Thus some time passed on, when, once on an occasion, the king S’antanu went out a hunting and killed, with arrows, buffaloes, boar, and other wild animals and came to the banks of the Ganges. Here he saw with great wonder that a boy was playing with a great bow and was shooting arrows after arrows. The king's attention was more attracted towards the boy, but whether that boy was his or not, did not at all come to his mind.

Looking at his extraordinary feats, his agility in shooting arrows with ease and quickness, his learning that can have no equal and his beautiful form, as if of Cupid, he became greatly surprised and asked him :-- “O Sinless one! whose son are you?” The hero boy did not reply anything but went away shooting his arrows. The king thought within himself “Who is this boy? Whose son is he? What to do now? To whom shall I go now?” Thus pondering, he recollected within himself and began to recite verses in praise of Gangâ; Gangâ, assuming her beautiful form as before, became visible to the king. Seeing her, the king said :-- “O Gangâ! Who is this boy that has just gone? Will you show him once more to me now?” Hearing these words of S’antanu, Gangâ said :-- “O king of kings! He is your son, he is that eighth Vasu. So long I have nourished him and now I hand him over to you. O Suvrata! This is the great ascetic Gângeya. He is the illustrious scion of your family. The glory of your line will be enhanced. I have taught him the whole science of archery. This pure son of yours dwelt in the hermitage of Vas'istha and has become versed in all the Vidyâs and skilled in all the actions. Your son knows everything that Jamadagni Paras'urâm knew. So, O king of kings! Take now your son and be happy. Thus saying, Gangâ gave him his son and vanished; the king also became very glad and embraced his son; he smelled his head and took him to his chariot and drove towards his own city. On returning to Hastinâpur, the king held a great festival (utsav) in honor of the arrival of his son; he called all his astrologers and enquired what day was auspicious. He then called all his subjects and ministers and installed Gângeya as the Crown Prince. The religious S’antanu became very happy on making Gângeya, the Crown Prince; he forgot the pains due to Gangâ's bereavement. Sûta said :-- “Thus I have described to you the cause of the curse on Vasus, the birth of Bhîsma from the womb of Gangâ, the union of Gangâ and S’antanu, etc., He who hears in this world this holy story of Gangâ's birth and the birth of the Vasu, is freed of all sins and gets mukti. O Munis! I have described these meritorious holy accounts, as I heard from the mouth of Vyâsa. Any body who hears this holy S’rîmad Bhâgavatam, endowed with five characteristics and filled with various anecdotes, that came out of the mouth of Vyâsa, finds all his sins destroyed and attains peace and blessedness. O Munis! Thus has been described completely to you this holy history.

Thus ends the fourth Chapter on the birth of the Vasus in the Mahâpurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Srimad Devi Bhagavatham - Second Book

Chapter III

On the description of the curse on Gangâ, Mahâbhisa and Vasus

1-8. The Rishis said :-- “O Sinless Sûta! You have described to us in detail the birth of Vyâsa, of unrivalled fire, and of Satyavatî; but we have one great doubt in our minds though, O Knower of Dharma! which is not being removed by your words. O Sinless one! First, as regards the mother of Vyâsa, the all auspicious Satyavatî, we have this doubt how she came to be united to the virtuous S’antanu? The king S’antanu, of the family of Puru is a greatly religious man; how could he have married Satyavatî knowing her to be a fisherman's daughter and born of a low family? Now say who was the first wife of S’antanu and how Bhîsma, the intelligent son of S’antanu came to be born of the parts of Vasu? O Sûta! You have told before that Bhîshma, of indomitable valour, made the Satyavatî's son, the brave Chitrângada, king; and subsequent to his death made his younger brother Vichîtravîrya king. But when the elder brother Bhîsma, the greatly religious and beautiful was present, how was it that Chitrângada and Vichîtravîrya having been installed by Bhîsma himself could have reigned.”

9-12. Again on the demise of Vichîtravîrya, Satyavatî became very much grieved and got two sons born of her two son's wives by Vedavyâsa? How can we explain this fact? Why did she do this? Why did she not give to Bhîshma the kingdom? Why did Bhîsma not marry? And how was it that the elder brother Vyâsa Deva, of indomitable valour, did such an irreligious act as to beget two (Goloka) sons from the wives of the brothers? Vyâsa composed the Purânas and knew everything of religion; how then did he go to other's wives, especially, of his brother's wives?

13-14. O Sûta! Why did Vyâsa Deva do such a hateful act, in spite of his being a Muni? The actions of Vedas are inferred from their subsequent good conducts; how can this act of Vyâsa be calculated as one amongst them? O Intelligent one! You are the disciple of Vyâsa; therefore you are the best man to solve our doubts. We all of this Dharmakshettra Naimisâranya are very eager to hear this.

15-39. At this Sûta said :-- In ancient days there reigned a king named Mahâbhisa, in the family of Iksvâku endowed with all the qualities of a great king; he was the foremost of all the kings, truthful and religious. That highly intelligent king performed thousand horse-sacrifices (Asvamedhas) one hundred Vâjapeya sacrifices and thereby satisfied Indra, the king of the Devas and went to Heavens.

Once, on an occasion, that king went to the abode of Brahmâ; the other gods also went there to serve Prajâpati. The great river, Gangâ Devî, too, assuming the feminine form, went to Brahmâ to serve him. Now, in the interval, violent winds arose and the clothing of Gangâ Devî went off; at this the Devas did not look at her; rather kept their faces downwards; but the king Mahâbhisa continued gazing at her. Gangâ also came to know the king and that he had become attached to her. Brahmâ, seeing that both of them are love-stricken and are shameless, became angry and cursed them immediately :-- O king! you better take your birth again in the human world and practise great meritorious deeds and come again to this Heaven. Thus saying, Brahmâ looked at Gangâ, who was attached to the king, and addressed her :-- “You too better go to the human world and become his wife.” Both of them, the king as well as Gangâ, came out of Brahmâ's abode, very much grieved in their hearts. The king Mahâbhisa thought of coming to this world and reflected on the kings thereof and settled to make the king Pratîpa of Puru's family his father. At this time the eight Vasus with their wives wandering in various places and enjoying as they liked came to the hermitage of Vas'istha. Amongst the aforesaid eight Vasus Prithu and others, one Vasu Dyau's wife seeing Nandini, the sacrificial cow (Kâmadhenu) of Vas'istha asked her husband :-- “Whose is this excellent cow that I see? Vasu then replied as follows :-- “ O Beautiful one! This is Vas'istha's cow. Whoever, be he a man or woman drinks her milk gets his longevity extended to ten thousand years and his youth never ends.” Hearing this, the Vasu's wife said :-- “There is a very beautiful comrade (Sakhî) of mine, the daughter of the Rajarsî-Us'îna in the world, of auspicious qualities. O Mahâbhâga! Kindly bring to me from Vas'istha's hermitage that auspicious sacrificial milch cow Nandini together with her calf that yields all desires; my Sakhî will then drink her milk and be thereby free from disease, old age and become the chief amongst all mankind. Hearing thus, his wife's word, the Vasu Dyau, though sinless, stole away together with Prithu and the other Vasus the cow Nandini in utter defiance to the self-controlled Muni Vas'istha. When the cow Nandini had been stolen, the great ascetic Vas'istha came quickly to the hermitage with abundance of fruits.

The ascetic Muni Vas'ishtha, not finding, in his hermitage, his cow with her calf, searched for her in many forests and caves; but he, the son of Varuna, could not find out his cow even after prolonged searches; he, then, took recourse to meditation and came to know that the Vasus had stolen the cow and became angry. He expressed :-- “When the Vasus have stolen my cow in utter defiance to myself, they must be born amongst men.” When the religious Varuna's son Vas'ishtha thus cursed the Vasus, they became very sorry; all of them went to Vas'istha's hermitage and saw him there; they began to supplicate him as much as they could; and took refuge under him. Seeing the Vasus standing before him in an extremely distressed condition, the virtuous Muni Vas'ishtha said :-- “You all will be free from the curse within one year; but the Vasu Dyau will dwell amongst men for a long, long period as he had stolen my Nandini with her calf.”

40-60. While the Vasus, thus cursed, were returning, they saw on the way the chief river Gangâ Devî also cursed and therefore distressed; all of them bowed down to her simultaneously and said: “O Devî! A serious thought is troubling our minds, how can we, who live on nectar, take our birth in human wombs; so, O best river! You better be a woman and give birth to us. O Sinless one! You better be the wife of the sage King S’antanu and no sooner we be born of your womb, kindly throw us in the river Gangâ (your water). If you do thus, O Gangâ we will certainly be freed of our curse.” Gangâ Devî replied “Well so be it.” Thus spoken, the Vasus went to their respective places; and Gangâ Devî, too, thinking on the subject again and again, went out of that place. At this time Mahâbhisa became born as a son of the king Pratîpa and became known as S’antanu. He was exceedingly religious and true to his promise. One day while the King Pratîpa was praising the Sûrya Devî (the sun) of unequalled energy, Gangâ Devî assumed an extraordinarily beautiful feminine form and came out of the waters and sat on the right thigh, resembling like a sâl tree, of the king Pratîpa. The sage king Pratîp spoke out to the lady sitting on his right thigh, thus :-- “O beautiful faced one! Why, unasked, have you sat on my auspicious right thigh?” The lovely Gangâ then replied :-- “Hear why I have sat here. O best of Kurus! O king! Becoming attached to you, I have sat on your thigh; so please accept me.”

At this the king Pratîpa spoke to the beautiful lady, full of youth and beauty, “I never go, simply out of passion to another's wife. There is another point; you have sat on my right thigh; that is the seat of sons and son's wives; so, when my desired son will be born, you will then, be my son's wife. And certainly, by your good will, my son will be born.” The lady, of divine form, said, Well; that will be done! and went away. The king returned to his palace, thinking of the lady. After some time, he had a son born to him and when the son attained his teens, the king desired to lead a forest life and communicated this matter to his son. He said also, if the aforesaid beautifully smiling girl comes to you to marry, then marry her. And I am also ordering you not to question her anything “who are you” and so forth. If you take her as your legal wife, you will certainly be happy. Thus saying to his son, the king Pratîpa handed over all his kingdom to his son and gladly retired into the forest. The king practised tapasyâ in the forest and worshipped Ambikâ; on quitting his mortal coil, he went by his sheer merit to the Heavens. The highly energetic king S’antanu, on getting his kingdom, began to administer justice according to the laws of Dharma and governed his subjects.

Thus ends the third Chapter of the Second Skandha on the description of the curse on Gangâ, Mahâbhisa and Vasus in the Mâhapurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Mahaperiyava Jayanthi celebrated in Kanchi

NT Bureau | Wed, 21 May, 2008,03:54 PM

It is rare for people irrespective of their caste, creed or any other differences to come together for a single cause. Such an occasion was witnessed at Kanchipuram yesterday when the temple town was busy celebrating the 115th Jayanthi of the Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Swamigal, the omniscient saint of the prestigious Kanchi Kamakoti mutt.

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With the benign blessings of Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal and the unswerving co-operation of the disciples and devotees of the the mutt, a Bhagavatha Mela has been arranged for 10 days. Eminent bhagavathars of Tamilnadu are participating in the fete.Abishekams were performed at the sanctum of the Mahaperiyava. Ghee, milk, honey and other materials were used. In fact, around 100 litres of milk were used. The sanctum of the the 68th pontiff of the mutt was bedecked with flowers of all varieties and kinds. The devotees and disciples left no stone unturned for the event. Annadhanam went on from 7 am till 8 pm. Around 5000 people from nearby villages and other parts of the State and country partook of the prasadam. The devotees were served with 25 items maintaining utmost hygiene. Vedic pandits from many parts had come to take part in the grand celebrations of the Seer whose ken of knowledge knew no limits. K Ramanathan, a devotee, said ‘Mahaperiyava, an incarnation of Lord Shiva, always stood for unity among the different sects. He had a heart which reached out to all the sections of society without any differences’. Music concert by Radha Viswanathan, daughter of M Subbulakshmi, and a dance performance by Sindhuja, were also witnessed by the devotees. In the evening, there was a mandolin concert by U Srinivas and U Rajesh. Around 10,000 people had totally taken part in the festival. At around 9.30 pm, a magnificent palanquin which was 25 feet wide and around 15 feet tall housing Mahaperiyava went around the Kamakshi Amman temple. Speaking on the occasion, Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal referred to sudden burst of rains and strong winds (also in other parts of the State) and said that ‘Mahaperiyavah has blessed all of us and has once again pledged his continuous support to all those striving for the cause of dharma’. The presence of such a huge gathering at the Kanchi mutt stood testimony to the faith and love the devotees reposed on the 2,500-year-old mutt and on its gurus.

Srimad Devi Bhagavatham - Second Book

Chapter II

On the birth of Vyâsa Deva

1-10. Once on an occasion, the highly energetic Muni Parâs'ara went out on pilgrimage and arrived on the banks of the Yamunâ, and spoke to the religious fisherman who was taking his food then thus :-- “O fisherman! Take me on your boat and carry me to the other side of the river.” Hearing this, the fisherman spoke to the beautiful girl Matsyagandhâ :-- “O beautiful smiling one! This religious ascetic intends to cross the river; so take the boat and carry him to the other bank.” Thus ordered by her father, the exceedingly beautiful Vasu girl Matsyagandhâ began to steer the boat whereon sat the Muni. Thus while the boat was sliding on the waters of the Yamunâ; the Muni Parâs'ara saw the beautiful-eyed damsel Matsyagandhâ and became as if under the command of the great destiny, greatly enamoured of her. He desired to enjoy Matsyagandhâ, full of youth and beauty and with his right hand caught hold of her left hand; the blue coloured Matsya looking askance spoke out smilingly in the following words :-- O knower of Dharma! What are you going to do, pierced by the arrows of Cupid? What you desire now, is it worthy of your family or your study of the S’âstras or worthy of your Tapasyâ; see, you are born in the line of Vas'istha and you are well known as of good character. O best of Brâhmins! You are quite aware that the attaining of a man-birth in this world is very rare; and over and above this the attainment of Brâhminhood is, as far as my knowledge goes, particularly difficult.

11-14. O Prince of Brâhmins! You are the foremost and best as far as your family, goodness, and learning in the Vedas and other S’âstras are concerned; you are well versed in Dharma; how is it, then, that you are going to do this act, not worthy of an Ârya, though you see me possessed of this bad smell of fish throughout my body. O one of unbaffled understanding! O best of twice-born! What auspicious sign do you see in my body that you are stricken with passion on my account that you have caught hold of my hand to enjoy me? Why have you gotten your own Dharma? Thus saying, Matsyagandhâ thought within herself :-- “Alas! This Brâhmin has certainly lost his brains in order to enjoy me; certainly he will be drowned just now in his attempt to enjoy me in this boat; his mind is so much agitated with the arrows of Cupid that no body, it seems, can act against his will.” Thus thinking Matsyagandhâ spoke again to the Muni :-- “O highly fortunate one! Hold patience! let me first take you to the other side of the river; then you may do as you please.”

15-19. Hearing these reasonable words, the Muni let loose of her hand and took his seat on the boat and gradually got down on the other bank of the river. But the Muni, becoming again extremely passionate caught hold of Matsyagandhâ; when the young woman spoke to Parâs’ara, in front of her, shuddering :-- “O best of Munis! My body is emitting very bad smell; do you not feel this? You know very well that the sexual intercourse between male and female of similar types brings in happiness and comfort.” Thus spoken to, Parâs’ara made Matsyagandhâ emit sweet scent like that of musk to a distance of one Yojana (8 miles) and her body exceedingly lovely and beautiful and, becoming extremely passionate, again caught hold of her right hand.

20-34. Then the auspicious Satyavatî addressed Parâs’ara Muni, resolved to enjoy her, thus :-- “O Muni! Behold! all are looking at us; my father too, is there on the bank of the Yamunâ; so, O Muni! wait till night this beastly act before all is highly unsatisfactory to me. The wise persons declare it a great sin to commit sexual intercourse during day they have ordained night time as the best time of intercourse for men not the day time; the more so that many person's eyes are in this direction. So, O intelligent one! hold on your passion for a while; for the blame pronounced by the public is horrible.” Hearing these reasonable words, the liberal minded Parâs'ara created, by his influence of Tapasyâ, a dense fog so that both the banks of the Yamunâ became covered with darkness. Then Matsyagandhâ gently spoke to the Muni :-- “O best of Dvîjas! I am not as yet married; I am now a girl; you will go away after enjoying me; your semen virile is not fruitless; so Brâhman! What will be my fate? If I be pregnant today, what shall I say to my father? and what will be my future state? There is no doubt that, after enjoying me, you will go away; what will I do afterwards; kindly say.” Hearing these words of Matsyagandhâ, Parâs'ara said :-- “O beloved! after you have done my pleasant duty, you will remain a girl as you are now; yet, O timid one! ask from me any boon you like; I will grant it to you.” Satyavatî then said :-- “O best Brâhman, O giver of one's honour! grant me these things :-- That my father and mother do not know anything of this affair and that my virginity be again as ever the same. Also let an extraordinarily powerful energetic son be born to me like you; let this nice smell continue to remain always in my body and let my youth and beauty remain afresh and increase ever more.

Hearing this, Parâs'ara said :-- “O beautiful one! a son, very pure and holy, will be born to you, from Nârâyana's part! his name will be famous in the three worlds. O beautiful one! never before my heart was agitated with such passion. I do not know why I have become so much passionate for you. I saw the unrivalled beauties of Apsarâs but I never lost my patience; but seeing you, I have become attracted to you; it must be under the direction of Providence; know it certain that there must be some mysterious cause in this. However Fate is unavoidable to all; otherwise you are full of so bad smell; why shall I be fascinated by your sight? O beautiful one! your son will be famed in the three worlds; will compose the Purânas and will sub-divide the Vedas.

Thus saying, the Muni Parâs'ara enjoyed Matsyagandhâ, who became quite submissive; and after bathing in the Yamunâ, quickly went away. On the other hand, the chaste Satyavatî, too, became pregnant and immediately gave birth on the island of Yamunâ to a son beautiful, as if the Second Kâmadeva, the god of Love, Kâmadeva. No sooner that son, very fiery and highly potent, was born than he devoted his mind to tapasyâ and spoke to his own mother Satyavatî thus :--“O Mother! now go wherever you like; I will also go to perform tapasyâ. O highly fortunate one; No sooner you remember me, I will come to you. O Mother! where you will have any onerous duty, remember me and I will instantly come to you. Let all good be unto you; now I go. Avoid all cares and live happily. Thus saying, Vyâsadeva went out. Matsyagandhâ, too, went back to his father. Vyâsa was named also Dvaipâyan (born in an island, a Dvîpa) in as much as Satyavatî gave birth to him in a Dvîpa island); and as he was born of Visnu's parts, he grew up no sooner he was born.

The Muni Dvaipâyana bathed in every Tîrtha and performed the highest asceticism. Thus Dvaipâyan Vyâsa was born of Parâs'ara in Satyavatî’s womb. Seeing the advent of Kali Yuga, he adorned the tree of the Vedas with many S’âkhâs (branches). It is because he expanded the Vedas many S’âkhâs, that he is denominated also as VedaVyâsa; he composed eighteen Purânas, Samhitas, the excellent Mahâbhârat, subdivided the Vedas and made his disciples Sumantu, Jaimini, Paila, Vaisâmpâyana, Asita, Devala and his son S’uka to study them.

Sûta said :-- “O Munis! Thus I have described to you the birth of the holy Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî and all the causes. O Munis! Do not allow any doubt enter your mind as regards his birth; for it is always advisable to take up only the good things as far as the lives of great persons and Munis are concerned. There must be some extraordinary mysterious cause owing to which Satyavatî was born of a fish, and she was first united to Parâs'ara and then to Sântanu. Otherwise how can one account for the fact of the Muni Parâs’ara being so much agitated by passion and why he would behave like a mean low person in the committal of a a grossly blameable act? Now has been spoken the wonderful birth story of Vyâsa Deva together with all incidents, and enveloped under the great mystery. If any man hears this holy narrative, he will be freed from sins and will never fall into difficulties and will always be happy.

Thus ends the Second Chapter of the Second Skandha on the birth of Vyâsa Deva in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Srimad Devi Bhagavatham - Second Book

Chapter I

On the birth of Matsyagandhâ

1-5. The Rishis said :-- “O Sûta! Your words sound wonderful to us indeed! but you have not as yet definitely spoken to us the original events in detail; so a great doubt has arisen in our minds. We know that the king S’antanu married Vyâsa's mother, Satyavatî. Now say, in detail in how Vyâsa became her son? How such a chaste woman Satyavatî, remaining in her own house, came to be married again by S’antanu? and how the two sons came to be born of S’antanu's sperm and Satyavatî's' ovum? Now O highly fortunate Suvrata? Kindly describe in detail this highly sanctifying historical fact. These Rishis, who are observing vows, are desirous to hear of the birth of Veda Vyâsa and Satyavatî.”

6-23. Sûta said :-- I bow down with devotion to the Highest Primordial Force, the bestower of the four fold aims of existence of human life, who grants to all, their desires when so prayed by the help of the Vâgbhava Bîjamantra with their heart and soul, for the success of all their desires. The above bîja is so potent in its effect that even pronounced very lightly, even under a pretext, it grants all siddhis. So the Devî should be remembered by all means; and now saluting Her, I begin my narration of the auspicious Purânic events. In days gone by there reigned a king, named Uparichara; he ruled over the Chedi country and respected the Brâhmins; he was truthful and very religious. Indra, the lord of the Devas, became very pleased by his asceticism and presented him an auspicious celestial car (going in the air) made of pearls, and crystals, helping him in doing what he liked best. Mounting on that divine chariot, that religious king used to go everywhere; he never remained on earth; he used to remain always in the atmosphere and therefore be had his name as “Uparichara Vasu” (moving in the upper regions). He had a very beautiful wife, named Girikâ; and five powerful sons, of indomitable vigour, were born to him.

The king give separate kingdoms to each of his sons and made them kings.

Once on an occasion, Girikâ, the wife of the Uparichara Vasu, after her bath after the menstruation and becoming pure came to the king and informed him of her desire to get a son; but that very day his Pitris (ancestors) requested him also to kill deer, etc., for their Srâddha (solemn obsequies performed in honour of the manes of deceased ancestors). Hearing the Pitris, the king of Chedi became somewhat anxious for his wife; but thinking his Pitris words more powerful and more worthy to be obeyed, went out on an hunting expedition to kill deer and other animals, with the thought of his wife Girikâ in his breast. Then while he was in the forest, he remembered his Girikâ, who was equal in her beauty and loveliness to Kamalâ, and the emission of semen virile took place. He kept this semen on the leaf of a banyan tree and thought “How the above semen be not futile; my semen cannot remain unfruitful; my wife has just now passed her menstruous condition; I will send this semen to my dear wife.” Thus thinking the time ripe, he closed the semen under the leaves of the banyan tree and charging it with the mantra power (some power) addressed a falcon close by thus :-- “O highly fortunate one! Take this my semen virile and go to my palace. O Beautiful one! Do this my work: take this semen virile and go quick to my palace and hand it over to my wife Girikâ for to-day is her fit day to conceive.”

24. Sûta said :-- “O Rishis! Thus saying, the king gave that leaf with the virile therein to the falcon, who is capable of going quick in the air, took it and immediately rose high up in the air.

25-26. Another falcon, seeing this one flying in the air with leaf in his beak, considered it to be some piece of flesh and fell upon him. Immediately a gallant fighting ensued between the two birds with their beaks.

27. While the fighting was going on, that leaf with semen virile fell down from their beaks on the waters of the Jumnâ river. Then the two faIcons flew away as they liked.

28-39. O Rishis! While the two falcons were fighting with each other, one Apsarâ (celestial nymph) named Adrikâ came to a Brâhmin, who was performing his Sandhyâ vandanam on the banks of the Jumnâ. That beautiful woman began to bathe in the waters and took a plunge for playing sports and caught hold of the feet of the Brâhmana. The Dvija, engaged in Prânâyâma (deep breathing exercise), saw that the woman had amorous intentions, and cursed her, saying :-- “As you have interrupted me in my meditation, so be a fish.”

Adrikâ, one of the best Apsarâs, thus cursed, assumed the form of a fish Safari and spent her days in the Jumnâ waters. When the semen virile of Uparichara Vasu fell from the beak of the falcon, that fish Adrikâ came quickly and ate that and became pregnant. When ten months passed, a fisherman came there and caught in a net that fish Adrikâ. When the fish's belly was torn asunder, two human beings instantly came out the the womb. One was a lovely boy and the other a beautiful girl. The fisherman was greatly astonished to see this. He went and informed the king of that place who was Uparichara Vasu that the boy and the girl were born of the womb of a fish. The king also was greatly surprised and accepted the boy who seemed auspicious. This Vasu's son was highly energetic and powerful, truthful and religious like his father and became famous by the name of the king Matsyarâj. Uparichara Vasu gave away the girl to the fisherman. This girl was named Kâli and she became famous by the name of Matsyodarî. The smell of the fish came out of her body and she was named also Matsyagandhâ. Thus the auspicious Vasu's daughter remained and grew in that fisherman's house.

The Rishis said :-- The beautiful Apsarâ, cursed by the Muni, turned into fish; she was afterwards cut asunder and eaten up by the fisherman. Very well! What happened afterwards to that Apsarâ? How was she freed of that curse? and how did she go back to the Heavens?

Thus questioned by the Rishis, Sûta spoke as follows :-- When the Apsarâ was first cursed by the Muni, she was greatly astonished; she began to weep and cry like one greatly distressed and afterwards began to praise him. The Brâhmin, seeing her weeping, took pity on her and said :-- “O good one! Don't weep; I am telling you how your curse will expire. As an effect of having incurred my wrath, you will be born as a fish and when you will give birth to two human children, you will be freed of your curse.”

The Brâhmin having spoken thus, Adrikâ got a fish-body in the waters of the Jumnâ. Afterwards she gave birth to two human children and became freed of the curse when she, quitting the fish form assumed the divine form and went up to the Heavens. O Rishis! The beautiful girl Matsyagandhâ thus took her birth and was nourished in the fisherman's house and grew up there. When the extraordinarily lovely girl of Vasu, Matsyagandhâ attained her youth, she continued to do all the household duties of the fisherman and remained there.

Thus ends the first chapter of the Second Skandha on the birth of Matsyagandhâ in the Mahâpurâna S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharshi Veda Vyâsa.

(contd.)

Srimad Devi Bhagavatham - First Book

Chapter XX

On Vyâsa doing his duties

1-8. The Risis said :-- “O Sûta! What did Veda Vyâsa do, when the highest Yogi S’ûka, Deva-like, acquired all the excellent supernatural powers? Kindly describe all these in detail.”

Hearing this question, Sûta spoke :-- O Rishis! Vyâsa already had with him many disciples Asita, Devala, Vais'ampâyana, Jaimini, Sumantu and others, all engaged in the study of the Vedas. After their studies were over, they all went out to propagate Dharma on the earth. Then Vyâsa , seeing that the disciples went to the earth and his son S’ûka Deva had got to the next world, became very much distressed with sorrow and wanted to go to some other place. He then decided to go to his birth place and went to the banks of the Ganges and there remembered his auspicious mother Satyavatî, forsaken by him before, very sorrowful, and the daughter of a fisherman. He then quitted that heaven-like mountain, the source of all happiness and came to his own birth place. Reaching the island where he was born, he enquired the whereabouts of the beautiful faced, the fisherman's daughter as well the wife of a king. The fishermen replied that their king had given her in marriage to the king S'antanu. Then the king of fishermen, seeing Vyâsa there, gladly worshipped him and gave him a cordial welcome and spoke with folded palms, thus :--

9-16. O Muni! When I have become so fortunate as to see you, rare even to the Devas, then my birth has been sanctified today and you have purified my family. O Brâhmin! Kindly say what for have you come? My wife, son and all my riches and every other thing that I have are at your disposal. Thus hearing the history of his mother Satyavatî, Vyâsa erected an Âs’rama on the beautiful banks of the river Sarasvatî and remained there in tapasyâ with an enlightened mind.

Some time elapsed when the highly energetic S’antanu got through his wife Satyavatî two sons. Vyâsa Deva considered them as his two brothers and became very glad, though he himself used to live in the forest. The first son of the king S’antanu was Chitrângada, endowed with all auspicious qualities, exceedingly beautiful, and tormenting his foes; the second son was Vichitra-vîrya; he was endowed with all qualities. The king S’antanu became very happy to get these children. S’antanu had one son before through his wife Gangâ; he was a great hero and very powerful; and the two sons of Satyavatî were equally powerful. The high souled S’antanu now seeing the three sons, all endowed with all auspicious qualities, began to think that the Devas were incapable to defeat him.

17-34. After some time, the religious S’antanu quitted his worn-out body as a man quits his clothes worn out in due time. After the king S’antanu had ascended the Heavens, the energetic Bhîs'ma performed duly his funeral obsequies and gave various things in charity to the Brâhmanas. He did not accept the kingdom himself; but placed Chitrângada on the throne and became known by the name of Devavrata (truthful in vow like the Devas). The pure souled Chitrângada, born of Satyavatî became so much powerful by sheer force of his arms, and became so great a hero that the enemies felt endless troubles. Now once on an occasion, the greatly powerful Chitrângada, surrounded by a great army, went on a hunting excursion to the forest in quest of rurû deer, etc., when the Gandarbha Chitrângada, seeing the king on the way, alighted from his chariot.

O ascetics! A fierce battle then ensued for three years on that sacred and wide expanse Kurukshettra between the two heroes, both equally powerful. In the battle, the king Chitrângada, the son of S’antanu was slain by the Gandarbha Chitrângada and went up to Heavens. Bhîs’ma, born of the womb of Gangâ, hearing the above news, expressed his sorrows and, being surrounded by the ministers completed all the funeral obsequies and installed Vichitravîrya on the throne. The beautiful Satyavatî became very much agitated by the death of her son; but when the ministers and the highsouled spiritual teachers consoled her, she became glad when she saw that her youngest son became king. Vyâsa Deva, too, felt himself glad to hear that his youngest brother had been made king. After some time when the all auspicious, Satyavatî's son Vichîtravîrya attained his youth, Bhîs’ma began to think of his marriage. At this time the king of Kâsî (Kâs'îrâj) called an assembly Svayamvara (where the kings are invited and the bride selects the bridegroom) for the marriage of her three daughters, endowed with all auspicious qualities, at one and the same time. Thousands and thousands of kings and princes from various countries were invited there in the assembly; and, worshipped duly, they went and decorated the hall. At that time the highly energetic fiery Bhîs’ma alone, mounting on his chariot, attacked the infantry and cavalry, and defeated all the kings assembled there, and perforce carried away the three daughters of Kâs'îrâj and took them to Hastinâpur. Bhîs’ma behaved towards those three daughters as if they were mothers, sisters or daughters and informed Satyavatî without any delay of everything that had happened.

35-39. Then he called for the astrologers and Brâhmins, versed in the Vedas and enquired about the auspicious day for their marriage. When the day was fixed and when every preparation was made, the religious Bhîs’ma wanted Vichitravîrya to marry them. At this time, the eldest daughter, beautiful-eyed spoke out modestly to the Gangâ's son Bhîs’ma :-- “O Gangâ's son, the illustrious son of your family and the best of the Kurus! You are the best knower of Dharma; therefore what more shall I say to you. In the Svayamvara assembly I mentally selected S'âlva and it struck me that he, too, looked on me with a very loving heart towards me. So, O tormentor of foes! Now do what is fit for that sacred family; O Gangâ's son! Not only you are extraordinarily powerful but you are also the foremost of the religious. Sâlva mentally wanted to marry me; now do as you like.”

40-44. When the eldest daughter spoke thus, Bhîs’ma asked the aged Brâhmanas, ministers and his mother “What ought to be done now” and, taking the opinions of all, spoke to that daughter :-- “O beautiful one! You can go wherever you like.” Thus saying, Bhîs’ma released her. Then the beautiful daughter of Kâsîrâj went to the house of Sâlvarâj and expressed to him her heart's desire :-- “O great king! Knowing me attached to yourself, Bhîs’ma has quitted me according to the laws of Dharma; I have therefore come to you now; marry me. O best of the kings! I will be your legal wife, for already I used to think you as my husband and you, too, must have thought me as your wife.”

45-47. S'âlva replied as follows :-- “O beautiful one! When Bhîs’ma caught hold of your arm before me and took you to his chariot, then I won't marry you. You can say yourself what intelligent man can marry a woman touched by another? Therefore I won't marry you, though Bhîs’ma has quitted you, in the light of another.” Hearing these words of S’âlva, the daughter of Kâsîrâj wept bitterly; yet S’âlva quitted her. Therefore, finding no other way, she went back to Bhîs’ma weeping, and said as follows :--

48-50. O great warrior! S’âlva did not consent to marry me, as you first took me to the chariot and afterwards left me. So, O Mahâbhâga! You better look to Dharma and marry me, as you know best what is Dharma. If you do not marry me, I will certainly quit my life.

Hearing her words Bhîs’ma said :-- O beautiful one! How can I accept you, when your mind has become attached towards another. So, O fair one! You better go back soon to your own father with a calm, clear mind. When Bhîs’ma said thus, that daughter of Kâsîrâj did not go back, out of sheer shame, to her father's house, but went to a forest and in a greatly solitary place of pilgrimage began to practise asceticism.

51-56. Now the other two daughters of Kâsîrâj, beautiful and all auspicious Ambâlikâ and Ambikâ became the wives of the king Vichîtravîrya. Thus the powerful king Vichîtravîrya began to enjoy various pleasures in the palace and in the gardens and thus passed his time. For full nine years the king Vichîtravîrya enjoyed the sexual pleasures and became attacked with consumption and fell into the jaws of death. Hearing the death news of her son Vichîtravîrya, Satyavatî became very sorry and surrounded by her ministers, performed his funeral obsequies. Then she spoke privately to Bhîs’ma with a grievous heart :-- “O highly fortunately son! now you better govern your father's kingdom and see that the family of Yayâti does not become extinct. So better take your brother's wife and try your best to continue your family line.

57-74. Bhîs’ma then said :-- "O Mother! Did you not hear of the promise that I already made before my father? So I cannot ever marry and govern the kingdom.” Hearing these words of Bhîs’ma, Satyavatî became anxious. She began to think as follows :-- “How now the continuity of the family be kept! And it is not advisable to remain idle when the kingdom has become kingless; no happiness can be derived in this state.” Thus thinking, she became exceedingly distressed; then the Gangâ's son, Bhîs’ma spoke to her :-- “O respected one! Do not worry your mind with cares; now take steps so as to secure a son from Vichîtravîrya's wife. Call some best Brâhmin, born of a good family and unite him with Vichîtravîrya's wife. There is no fault, as far as I know, in doing thus to keep up the family line. O sweet smiling one! Thus having begotten the grandson, give him this kingdom; I will also obey his commands.” Hearing these reasonable words of Bhîs’ma, Satyavatî remembered her own son, the sinless Vyâsa Deva, who was born to her during her virginity. As soon as Vyâsa was remembered, he, the great ascetic and effulgent like the sun, came there and bowed down to his mother. The highly energetic Vyâsa was then worshipped duly by Bhîs’ma and welcome by Satyavatî and began to rest there like a smokeless fire.

The mother Satyavatî then spoke to the chief Muni :-- “O son! Now procreate a beautiful son from your sperm and the ovum of Vichîtravîrya's wife.” Hearing the mother's words, Vyâsa considered them as Veda's injunction and thought they must be obeyed and promised before her that he must obey and and fulfil her orders. He remained there. Ambikâ bathed and had a sexual intercourse with Vyâsa and begot a very powerful son, but a blind one (since she closed her eyes at the sight of Vyâsa during her intercourse). Seeing the son born blind Satyavatî became exceedingly sorry; she, then, asked her other son's wife :-- “Go soon and get a son born of you in the aforesaid manner.” Ambâlikâ during the night time went to Vyâsa and mixed and became pregnant. In due time a son was born; that child became of a very pale colour; so Satyavatî thought the new child, too, unfit for the kingdom; therefore at the end of the year again asked her son's wife Ambâlikâ to go to Vyâsa . She asked Vyâsa also for the same purpose and sent Ambâlikâ to his bed room. But Ambâlikâ became afraid, and could not go herself but sent her maid servant for the purpose. Thus from the womb of the maid servant the high souled Vidura was born, having Dharma's parts and the most auspicious towards all. Thus Vyâsa begot three very powerful sons Dhritarâstra, Pandu and Vidura for the continuity of the family line. O sinless Maharshis! Thus I have described to you how my Guru Vyâsa Deva, who knows well all the Dharmas, kept up the continuity of his family and how he begot sons in the womb of his brother Vichîtravîrya's wives, according to the laws of Dharma, to keep up a family.

Thus ends the twentieth chapter of the 1st Skandha as well as the first Skandha on Vyâsa doing his duties in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharshi Veda Vyâsa.

Srimad Devi Bhagavatham - First Book

Srimad Devi Bhagavatham - First Book

Chapter XIX

On the description of the marriage of S’ûka

1-4. S’rî S’ûka said :-- O king! This great doubt arises in my mind how a man can be free from desires and the rewards of their actions, when he lives in the midst of this Samsâra, that is all full of Mâyâ? When even by the acquiring of wisdom of the S’âstras and the capability to judge which is real and which is unreal, the delusion of the mind is not dispelled until one resorts to the practice of Yoga, how then can freedom from desires and liberation come to a householder? The darkness of a room is not destroyed by the mere mention of lamp, light; so the wisdom acquired by reading the S’âstras can never dispel the darkness of delusion that reigns in the inside of a man. O lion of kings! If one wants Moksa, one ought not to commit any act of revenge or injury or killing any being; how can this be possible to a householder?

5-17. Your desires to acquire wealth, to enjoy royal pleasures and to get victory in battle have not yet subsided; how then can you be a Jivan mukta? O king! You consider yet a thief, thief and a saint, saint; you consider a man as your relative or other than that; these ideas have not vanished from you; how then can you be called Videha?

O king! You feel the pungent, bitter, astringent, sour tastes and the like; you feel good and bad rasas respectively; you become glad when success comes to you and you feel sorrow when you happen to fail; and you experience the three states, waking, dreaming, and deep sleep as an ordinary man does, how then can you be called to attain the Turîya (fourth) state? May I ask :-- Whether you cherish this idea that all these infantries, cavalries, chariots, and that all these elephants are mine; I am the lord of all the wealth and things? Or whether you do not cherish this idea? O king! I think you eat sweet and good things, and, at times, feel pleasure and, at other times, feel pain! So, O king! How can you look on the garland of flowers and the snake as one and the same? O king! He who is a Muktapurusa considers a lump of earth, a piece of stone, and gold as of one and the same value; he considers everything to be the same Âtmân and does good to all the beings. Whatever that may be, I do not find any pleasure at present with houses, wife, etc., or with anything, in fact. What my heart’s desire is that I roam alone always without any desires in my heart. Therefore I like not to have any companion; to be free from any attachment and to be peaceful, and calm; I do not wish to accept anything from anybody; I will forego all pleasures and pains from cold, warmth, etc., and I will sustain my life on roots, fruits, and leaves, obtained without any effort and will roam, as I like, like a deer. When I have not got the least attachment to the household life and when I am beyond all the attributes, what necessity have I then of house, wealth or a suitable wife? And when you think of various things with loving heart, and yet say that you are a Jivan mukta, that is nothing but a mere vanity of yours! O king! When you think and become anxious about your enemies, about your wealth or sometimes about your army, how then can you be said to be free from cares? What more can be said than the fact that many Munis, eating moderately and controlling their senses, and leading an anchorite's life, and knowing the unreality of the world, fall victims to the Mâyâ!

18-27. Then what need there is to talk of you? O king! know that the hereditary title “Videha” to your line of kings indicates downright insincerity; nothing can be other than this as the name “Vidyâ Dhara” (holder of knowledge) is applied to an illiterate man; as the name “Divâkara” (sun) is given to a born-blind man, as the name “Laksmîdhara” (holder of wealth) is given to even a poor man, as these names are quite useless to me. I have heard that the kings of your family who were your predecessors were called “Videha” in name only and not in deed. O king! In your family there reigned a king named “Nimi.” Once on a time that royal sage invited his Guru Vas’istha to perform a sacrifice, when Vas'istha said :-- “I have already invited by Indra, the lord of the Devas, to perform his sacrifice; so O king! let me first finish his work; I will then take up your work. Better go on collecting the sacrificial materials till that work is complete.” Thus saying, Vas'istha went away to perform Indra's sacrifice; on the other hand, the royal sage Nimi selected another priest and made him his Guru and began his sacrifice. Hearing all this, Maharsi Vas’istha became angry and cursed him thus :-- “O forsaker of your Guru! For the crime of forsaking your Guru, let thy body be destroyed today!” At this, the royal sage, too, cursed Vas'istha in his turn “Let your body fall off also.” Then the bodies of both the persons fell. But, O king! this curiousity came to my mind, how the royal sage, whose body fell before, cursed his own Guru afterwards.

28-35. Janaka said :-- O Lord of Brâhmins! what you have said is, in my opinion, all quite true; nothing is false. Still hear. Know what my most worshipful Guru Deva has spoken to me is, in fact, true (and nothing else). You are now intending to quit the company of your father and go to the forest; well and good! but even then you will undoubtedly have the company of deer, etc.; see, also, that when the five elements, earth, water, air, etc., are present, encompassing everywhere, how, then, can you expect to be free from all companions?

So, O Muni! when you will have to think always of your food, how, then, can you be said to be free from all cares? Again, even if you go to the forest, you will have to think there also for your staff, deer skin, etc.; so you can take my case, too, of thinking of my kingdom, whether I think or not, as your thinking of staff, deer skin, etc., your heart is tainted with Vikalpa Jñâna (knowledge of doubt, duality, etc.); and therefore you have come here from a far-off country. But my heart is free from any such doubt and I am remaining quite cheerful here. O best of Brâhmins! I have got no doubt whatsoever on any point, and therefore I take my food and go to sleep with great pleasure. “I am not bound up by this world” this idea gives me constant happiness of the highest degree. But you consider that you are bound and therefore you always feel constant pain. So leave off your idea that you are bound, and be happy. “This body is mine” this knowledge leads to my bondage; and “This body is not mine” this knowledge leads to freedom so know this verily that all this wealth, kingdom, etc., are not mine.

36-45. Sûta said :-- Hearing these words of the royal sage, S’ûka Deva became exceedingly glad and pronounced “Sadhu” “Sâdhu” (true saint, indeed a true saint, well said) and went away without any delay to the pleasant Âs’rama of Vyâsa. Vyâsa, too, seeing his son come back, became very glad and embraced him and took the smell of his head and asked about his welfare again and again. Then S’ûka Deva, well conversant with the S’âstras and ever ready in studying the Vedas, sat by the side of his father, with an enlightened mind, in his lovely Âs’rama and thinking of the state of the highsouled Janaka in his kingdom, began to feel the highest peace. Though S’ûka adopted the path of Yoga, yet he married the daughter of a Muni, named Pivarî, very beautiful, fortunate, enhancing the glory of her father's family. Then were born first the four sons named Krishna, Gauraprabha, Bhûri, and Devas'ruta out of the sperm of S’ûka and the ovum of Pivari; and next a daughter was born named Kîrti of them. Vyâsa's son S’ûka, endowed with the fire of asceticism gave the daughter Kîrti in marriage in due time with the high-souled Anûha, the son of Vibhrâja. As time passed on, a son was born of the womb of Kîrti and the sperm of Anûha, a son who became the powerful king Brahmadatta, the knower of Brahmâ and endowed with wealth and prosperity. Some time elapsed when Anûha, the son-in-law of S’ûka Deva, getting from Nârada the Mâyâvîja and highest knowledge of Yoga handed over his kingdom to his son and went to the hermitage of Vadarikâ and became liberated.

The Devarshî Nârada gave him the mantra, the bîja of Mâyâ; and by the influence of that mantra and by the grace of the Devî, the knowledge of the Supreme Brahmâ, arose in him without any obstacle and gave him liberation.

46-51. On the other hand S’ûka Deva, always averse to any company, left his father and went to the beautiful mountain Kailâs'a. He began to meditate on the unmoving Brahmâ and thus remained there. After some time the highly energetic S’ûka Deva attained Siddhi (supernatural powers) Animâ, Laghimâ, etc., rose up high in the air from the top of the mountain and began to roam there, and then he appeared like a second Sun. When S’ûka arose from the peak, it severed into two and various ominous signs became visible. When S’ûka Deva, appearing like a second Sun by the dazzling brilliancy of his body, suddenly vanished away like air and became diluted in the Paramâtman, entering into everything and became invisible, then the Devarshis began to chant hymns to him. On the other hand, Vyâsa Deva became very much distressed with the separation from his son and cried out frequently “Oh, my son! Alas! my son Where have you gone?” and went to the summit of the mountain where S’ûka did go and wept bitterly. Then S’ûka Deva, who was then residing as the Paramâtman, the Internal controller of all the beings and with all the beings, knowing Vyâsa Deva as very much fatigued, distressed, and crying, spoke out as an echo from the mountains and trees thus :-- “O Father! There is no difference between you and me, considered in the light of Âtman; then why are you weeping for me?”

52-59. Even today the above echo is clearly heard (almost daily). Seeing Vyâsa Deva grieved very much for the separation from his son and always crying “Oh! my son! Oh! my son!” Bhagavân Mahes'vara came there and consoled him saying “O Vyâsa Deva! your son is the foremost of the Yogis; he has attained the highest state, so very rare to the ordinary persons that are not self controlled. So do not be sorry any more. O Sinless One! when you have realised the Brahmâ-tattva, then you ought not to express any sorrow for your S’ûka who is now stationed in that Brâhman. Your fame is now unrivalled, only on account of your having got a son like him.” Vyâsa Deva said :-- “O Lord of the Devâs! O Lord of the world! What am I to do now? My grief does not quit my heart anyhow or other. My eyes are as yet satisfied in seeing my son; they like still to see the son.” Hearing these sorrowful words of Vyâsa, Bhagâvan Mahâdeva said :-- “O Muni Sârdula! I grant this boon to you that you will see the form of your son abiding in shadow, very beautiful, by the side of you. O Destroyer of enemies! Now abandon your grief by seeing that shadow form of your son.”

When Bhagavân Mahes'vara said so, Vyâsa began to see the bright shade form of his son. Granting thus the boon, Bhagavân Mahâdeva vanished then and there. When He vanished away, Vyâsa became very much distressed with sorrow for the bereavement of his son and returned with heavy heart to his own hermitage.

Thus ends the nineteenth chapter of the first Skandha on the description of the marriage of S’ûka in the Mahâpurâna S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Srimad Devi Bhagavatham - First Book

Chapter XVIII

On Janaka’s giving instructions on truth to S’ûka Deva

1-22. Sûta said :-- Mahârshis! When the king Janaka heard of the arrival of S’ûka Deva, the son of his Guru, he took his priest before him and attended by his ministers came before him in pure spirit. Then he duly worshipped S’ûka, offering him Pâdya, Arghya and an excellent seat, and a cow, yielding milk and then enquired about his welfare. S’ûka Deva accepted duly all the things offered by the king; and informed him of his well-being and asked the king in return, of his welfare and took his seat at ease on the Âsana. The king Janaka asked the son of Vyâsa, full of peace :-- “O Mahâbhâga Muni Sattama! You are devoid of any attachment and you have no desires. May I enquire why such a person as your honoured self has come to me.” S’ûka Deva said :-- O great king! my father told me thus :-- O child; take a wife; for the house-holder's life is the best of all the âs'ramas but I thought that will be the source of my bondage to this world and therefore did not obey his word, though he was my highest Guru. He then again said to me :-- If one takes a household life, it does not at once follow that he will be held in bondage; yet I did not agree to that. Then the Muni, thinking me still to be in some doubt, spoke this word of advice to me :-- “O Son! Do not be sorry; go to Mithilâ and have your doubts solved. There my disciple the king Janaka, is governing his kingdom without any source of danger. He is Jivanamukta (liberated while living) and is free from the ideas of body, etc., so everybody knows. When that royal sage, Janaka, though governing his kingdom, is not seen tied up by Mâyâ, then O Son! why are you afraid of this Samsâra, when you are living this forest life.

Therefore, O Mahâbhâga! Trust me and marry; and in case you doubt very much, then go and see the king Janaka; ask him and remove your doubts. He will certainly solve your doubts. But, O Son! After hearing him, come again quickly to me.” O king! When my father spoke thus, by his permission I have come now to your capital. O king! I don't want any thing, save Moksa (liberation); therefore O Sinless one! Kindly advise what am I to do, so that I attain Moksha. O Lord of kings! Practising asceticism, going to the holy places of pilgrimage, holding vratas (vows), performing sacrifices, studying the Vedas, or earning wisdom, whatever is the cause of Moksha, kindly say that.

Hearing this, Janaka said :-- “O son of my Guru! I am telling what ought to be done by the Brâhmanas, following the path of Moksa; listen. After having the holy thread, a Brâhmin should live in the house of his Guru to study the Vedas, the Vedântas and pay the Dakshinâ (the fee) to the Guru according to rules; he will then return home and marry and enter into the householder's life; he should lead a life of contentment, be free from desires, sinless and truthful and earn his livelihood with a pure heart and according to the sanction of justice and conscience. He is to perform the Agnihotra and other sacrifices; and after getting sons and grandsons, he is to leave his wife under the care of his son and then to take the life of a Vânaprastha (3rd stage of life). That Brâhman, the knower of Dharma, must practise tapasyâ and become master of his six passions (enemies); and when he gets disgusted with the world and when the Vairâgyam (dispassion) will arise within him, he would enter into the fourth Âs'rama. For, the man is first to enter into the householder's life and when he will be quite dispassionate towards the world, he will then have a right to take the Âs’rama of Sannyâsa (Renunciation). A course contrary to this can never entitle one to the Âs’rama of Sanyâsa.

This is the beneficial word of the Vedas and it must hold true; it cannot be false; this is my firm belief. O S’ûka! In the Vedas are mentioned forty-eight Samskâras (consecrations; purificatory rites); out of which the learned Mahâtmas have reserved forty Samskâras for the householders and the last eight Samskâras (S'ama, Dama, etc.,) for the Sannyâsins. And this good usage is heard to come down from very ancient times. A Brâhmana ought to complete his previous Âs’ramas successively and then enter into the succeeding Âs’rama.

23-30. S’ûka said :-- If the pure Vairâgyam (dispassion) arising out of knowledge and wisdom (jñân and Vijñân) already arises (before taking to the grihasth Âs'ram), is it still necessary to pass through house holder’s life, Vânaprastha life, etc., or is one entitled then to take up at once the Sannyâsa Âs'rama, quit everything and reside in the forest?

Janaka said :-- O! One giving honour to the S’âstras and Gurus! Though the powerful passions seem to be under control in the period of unripened Yoga (the imperfect yogic state), yet one ought not to trust them; for, it is generally seen, many imperfect Yogins find themselves disturbed by one or other of the senses.

If the mind of one who has already entered into the Sannyâsa Âs’ram gets perturbed in his course, then, how can he, you can see this for yourself, satisfy desires of eating good things, sleeping nicely, seeing his son, or wishing any other desires, knowing them to lead to his degradation? He is then in a very serious state. The net of desires is very difficult to be conquered by men; that can never die out. Therefore, to put an end to them, the advise is to cut them slowly and slowly. He who sleeps on an elevated place has the danger of tumbling down; but one who sleeps in a low place has no such danger. So any man who has once taken the highest dharma Sannyâsa, and if he be fallen, then he never gets hold of the real track. As an ant begins to get from the root of tree, and, by and by, gets to the topmost part of the branches, so human beings go by degrees from one Âs'rama to another till they go to the highest; then and then only they are able to get easily their desired truth. The birds without anticipating any danger, get up to the skies very quickly and soon they get tired and cannot go to their desired place but the ant goes with rest to its desired place. This mind is very difficult to be controlled; for this reason the men of unripened minds, cannot conquer it all at once; and are advised to conquer it, by and by, observing the laws of one Âs’rama after another.

31-37. See also if anybody, remaining in his household life be of a quiet temper and of good intellect, and if he takes success and failure in the same light, and be not elated in times of pleasure and not depressed in times of pains and does his duty for duty’s sake without troubling his mind with cares, and anxieties, then that householder acquires pure happiness by the realisation of his self and acquires Moksha. There is no manner of doubt in this. O Sinless One! See, I am liberated while living, though I am engaged in preserving kingdom; if any source of pain or pleasure arises, I am not in any way affected by them. As I will attain in the end Videha Mukti (liberation from bodies) though I am always wandering at my free will, enjoying various things as I like and do various things as it pleases me, so you can do your duties and then be liberated in the end.

O Son of my Guru! When this material world, the cause of all error according to the Vedanta S’âstras, is simply an object of sight then how can this material substance, an object of sight, be the source of bondage to the Âtman, the Self? O Brâhman! Though the five material elements can be seen, their qualities or Gunas can be known only by inference, so the self is to be inferred; it can never be an object of sight; and also this self, known by inference, changeless and without any impurity or stain can never be bound by the visible changeful material thing. O Brâhman! This impure heart is the source of all pleasure and pains; so when the heart becomes pure and quiet, all the things then become fully pure, O Brâhmana!

38-41. If going often and often to all Tirthas and bathing there, do not make one's heart pure and holy, then all one's troubles are taken in vain. O Destroyer of enemies! It is the mind that is the cause of bondage or freedom; and not the body, nor the Jivâtmâ (the embodied soul), nor the senses. The Self or Âtman is always pure consciousness and is ever free so, truly speaking, it can never be bound. Bondage and freedom reside on in the mind; so when the Mind gets peace, the bondage of Samsâra is also at an end. He is an enemy, he is a friend, he is neither an enemy nor friend, all these different thoughts reside in the mind and arise out of duality; how can the ideas of differences exist, when everything has become all one pervading self?

42-47. Jîva is Brahmâ; I am that Brahmâ and nothing else; there is nothing to be discussed here. It is owing to the dualities that monism appears not clear and differences between Jîva and Brahmâ arise. O Mahâbhâga! This difference is due to Avidyâ and by which this difference vanishes, that is termed Vidyâ.

This difference between Vidyâ and Avidyâ ought to be always kept in view, by those that are clever.

How can the pleasure from the cooling effect of the shadow, be felt, if the heating effect of the rays of the Sun be not previously experienced? So how Vidyâ is to be experienced if Avidyâ be not felt before? Sattva, Rajas and Tamo Gunas reside naturally in things, made of Gunas; and the five principal elements reside naturally in substances made up of elements; so the senses reside naturally in their own forms, etc.; so how can there be any stain to the Âtman which is unattached?

Yet to teach humanity, the high souled persons preserve always with greatest care the respect of the Vedas. If they do not do this, then, O Sinless One! the ignorant persons would act lawlessly according to their wishes, like the Chârvâkas; and Dharma will become extinct. When Dharma will become extinct, the Varnâs’rama will gradually die out; so the well-wishers should always follow the path of the Vedas.

48-56. S’ûka said :-- “O King! I have now heard all that you have said; still my doubt remains; it is not solved. O King! In the Dharma of the Vedas, there is Himsâ (act of killing and injuring); and we hear that there is much of Adharma (sin) in the above Himsâ. So how can the Dharma of the Vedas give Moksha? O King! One can see before one's eyes that the drinking of Soma rasa, the killing of animals, the eating of fish and flesh and so are advised in the Vedas; so much so that in the sacrificial ceremony named Sautrâmana the rule of drinking wine and many other vratas are clearly mentioned; even gambling is advised in the Vedas. So how can Mukti be obtained by following the Veda Dharma? It is heard that, in ancient times, there was a great king, named S'as'avindu, very religious, truthful, and performing sacrifices, very liberal; he protected the virtuous, and chastised those that were wicked and going astray. He performed many Yajñas, where many cows and sheep were sacrificed according to the rules of the Vedas and abundant Dakshinâs (sacrificial fees) were presented to every one that performed their parts in the sacrifices. In these sacrifices, the hides of the cows that were sacrificed as victims, were heaped to such an enormous extent that they looked liked a second Bindhyâchal mountain. Then the rains fell and the dirty water coming out of that enormous heap of skins flowed down and gave rise to a river which was thence called the Charmanvatî river. And what a wonder? That cruel king left behind him an ineffaceable fame and went to Heavens. Whatever it may be, it can never come to my head that I should perform the Veda Dharma, filled with so many acts of killing and cruelties. Again, when the man find pleasure in sexual intercourses and when they do not have that intercourse, they experience pain, how can you expect such persons to attain liberation.”

57-61. Janaka said :-- “The killing of animals in a sacrificial ceremony is not killing; it is known as Ahimsâ; for that himsâ is not from any selfish attachment; therefore when there is no such sacrifice and the animals are killed out of selfish attachment, then that is real himsâ; there is no other opinion in this. Smoke arises from a fire when fuels are placed in it; and smoke is not seen when no fuel is added.

So, O Munisattama! The himsâ, as prescribed in the Vedas, is free from all blemishes, selfish attachment, etc., and therefore it is unblameable. So it follows the himsâ committed by persons attached to objects, is the real himsâ; that can be blamed, but the himsâ of those persons who have no desires is not that sort of himsâ. Therefore the learned men that know the Vedas declare that the himsâ done by the dispassionate persons, with their hearts free from egoism, is no himsâ done at all. O Dvija! Really speaking, the killing of animals done by the house-holder attached to senses and their objects, and done under their impulses can be taken into account as a real act of killing; but, O Mahâbhâga of those whose hearts are not attached to anything of those self controlled persons, desirous of moksa, if they do an act of Himsâ out of a sense of duty, with no desires of fruits and with their hearts free from egoism that can never be reckoned as a real act of killing.”

Thus ends the 18th Chapter of the 1st Skandha on Janaka's giving instructions on truth to S’ûka Deva in the Mahâpurânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam.