Source
Texts:
Lord
Krishna Instructs Vasudeva and Retrieves Devakî's
Sons
Text
1
The son of
Vyâsa said: 'Then, one day, came Sankarshana and Acyuta,
the two sons of Vasudeva, to him who, after They had honored
his feet, greeting Them spoke affectionately.
S'rî
Bâdarâyani said: One day the two sons of
Vasudeva - Sankarshana and Acyuta - came to pay him
respects, bowing down at his feet. Vasudeva greeted Them
with great affection and spoke to Them.
Text
2
Having
heard the words of the sages referring to the powers of his two
sons, had with him in regard of their valorous deeds the
conviction developed and said he, addressing Them by
name:
Having
heard the great sages' words concerning the power of his two
sons, and having seen Their valorous deeds, Vasudeva became
convinced of Their divinity. Thus, addressing Them by name,
he spoke to Them as follows.
Text
3
'Krishna,
o Krishna, o greatest yogî, o eternal Sankarshana, I know
You two are directly the primary nature [or
pradhâna]
and male principle [the purusha
or person] out here.
[Vasudeva
said:] O Krishna, Krishna, best of yogîs, O
eternal Sankarshana! I know that You two are personally the
source of universal creation and the ingredients of creation
as well.
Text
4
Whatever,
however or whenever, in, by, from, of or unto this
[universe] comes into existence, is all directly the
Predominator, the Supreme Lord, the primary nature and
person,
You
are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who manifest as the
Lord of both nature and the creator of nature
[Mahâ-Vishnu]. Everything that comes into
existence, however and whenever it does so, is created
within You, by You, from You, for You and in relation to
You.
Text
5
This
variegated universe created from Yourself, o Lord of the
Beyond, do You, o Unborn One, entering it by Yourself, maintain
as the Supreme Soul and principle of vitality and
individuality.
O
transcendental Lord, from Yourself You created this entire
variegated universe, and then You entered within it in Your
personal form as the Supersoul. In this way, O unborn
Supreme Soul, as the life force and consciousness of
everyone, You maintain the creation.
Text
6
Of
both [the animate, and inanimate] entities which,
different as they are, all belonging to the Supreme are thus
dependent, are You the One that sets into motion the creative
factors and potencies of the life air and that all in the
universe [see also 2.5:
32-33].
Whatever
potencies the life air and other elements of universal
creation exhibit are actually all personal energies of the
Supreme Lord, for both life and matter are subordinate to
Him and dependent on Him, and also different from one
another. Thus everything active in the material world is set
into motion by the Supreme Lord.
Text
7
The
glow, brilliance, luminosity, the particular of the moon, the
fire, the sun, the stars and the lightning
[B.G.
15: 12],
the permanence of the mountains and the fragrance and
sustaining power of the earth, are all in truth You
Yourself.
The
glow of the moon, the brilliance of fire, the radiance of
the sun, the twinkling of the stars, the flash of lightning,
the permanence of mountains and the aroma and sustaining
power of the earth - all these are actually You.
Text
8
The
quenching, the life-giving of water as also the water itself
and its taste are You o Lord; o Controller, Yours is the body
heat, the vigor mental and physical, the endeavor and the
movement [that are all said to be] of the air [see
also B.G.
11: 39].
My
Lord, You are water, and also its taste and and its
capacities to quench thirst and sustain life. You exhibit
Your potencies through the manifestations of the air as
bodily warmth, vitality, mental power, physical strength,
endeavor and movement.
Text
9
You
are the directions their spaces, the ether all around, the
elemental sound there based, the primeval vibration that is the
syllable of AUM and its differentiation in particular forms
[of language, see also B.G.
7: 8].
You
are the directions and their accommodating capacity, the
all-pervading ether and the elemental sound residing within
it. You are the primeval, unmanifested form of sound; the
first syllable, om; and audible speech, by which sound, as
words, acquires particular references.
Text
10
You
are of the senses the power to sense, their gods
[3.12:
26]
and of them the mercy; You are of the intelligence the power to
decide and of the living being the power to correctly recall
[B.G.
7: 10
15:
15].
You
are the power of the senses to reveal their objects, the
senses' presiding demigods, and the sanction these demigods
give for sensory activity. You are the capacity of the
intelligence for decision-making, and the living being's
ability to remember things accurately.
Text
11
You, the
Originator before All, are the source of the physical elements
[tamas], the passions of the senses [rajas] and
the emotions changing with the choice of gods [sattva, see
also B.G.
14].
You
are false ego in the mode of ignorance, which is the source
of the physical elements; false ego in the mode of passion,
which is the source of the bodily senses; false ego in the
mode of goodness, which is the source of the demigods; and
the unmanifest, total material energy, which underlies
everything.
Text
12
Among the
entities that are subject to destruction in this world are You
the indestructible, just as the substance itself is, relative
to its transformations.
You
are the one indestructible entity among all the destructible
things of this world, like the underlying substance that is
seen to remain unchanged while the things made from it
undergo transformations.
Text
13
The modes of
goodness, passion and ignorance and their functions are this
way within You, within the Supreme Absolute Truth, regulated by
the internal potency [the yogamâyâ of Your
pastimes].
The
modes of material nature - namely goodness, passion and
ignorance - together with all their functions, become
directly manifest within You, the Supreme Absolute Truth, by
the arrangement of Your Yogamâyâ.
Text
14
On
that account are these entities not [really] destroyed
when they - at other times indeed being nonmaterial -
conditioned within You as products of creation, also have You
within them [as a believer, as caitanya,
a conscious soul or jivâtmâ,
see B.G
2: 12,
9:
4-5
& 8:
19].
Thus
these created entities, transformations of material nature,
do not exist except when material nature manifests them
within You, at which time You also manifest within them. But
aside from such periods of creation, You stand alone as the
transcendental reality.
Text
15
Those
then in this world are ignorant who, failing in understanding
the destination of the Soul of Everything, impelled by their
karma move around in the flow of the material
ocean.
They
are truly ignorant who, while imprisoned within the
ceaseless flow of this world's material qualities, fail to
know You, the Supreme Soul of all that be, as their
ultimate, sublime destination. Because of their ignorance,
the entanglement of material work forces such souls to
wander in the cycle of birth and death.
Text
16
Somehow
or other in this life having obtained the most suitable of the
human stature so difficult to achieve, may someone deluded by
the material energy [like Me], o Controller,
[still] have spent his entire life in confusion about
his own best interest.
By
good fortune a soul may obtain a healthy human life - an
opportunity rarely achieved. But if he is nonetheless
deluded about what is best for him, O Lord, Your illusory
Mâyâ will cause him to waste his entire
life.
Text
17
With
You tying up all in this world with the ropes of affection is
there to the body and the progeny and other relations the 'this
I am' and 'these are mine' to it. [see also e.g.
2.9:
2,
4.28:
17,
4.29:
5,
5.5:
8
and 6.16:
41].
You
keep this whole world bound up by the ropes of affection,
and thus when people consider their material bodies, they
think, "This is me," and when they consider their progeny
and other relations, they think, "These are mine."
Text
18
The two of You
are not our sons but evidently the Controllers of
pradhâna and purusha that descended to remove the burden
of rulers of the earth, as You Yourselves have said
[10.50:
7-10].
You
are not our sons but the very Lords of both material nature
and its creator [Mahâ-Vishnu]. As You Yourself
have told us, You have descended to rid the earth of the
rulers who are a heavy burden upon her.
Text
19
Therefore do I
today come for Your shelter, to the lotus feet which, with the
surrendered, the distressed, take away the fear of being
entangled, o Friend, and that is all; enough, enough of that
hankering for sense-enjoyment which makes me see myself as
being mortal and think of You, the One Supreme, as being my
child.
Therefore,
O friend of the distressed, I now approach Your lotus feet
for shelter - the same lotus feet that dispel all fear of
worldly existence for those who have surrendered to them.
Enough! Enough with hankering for sense enjoyment, which
makes me identify with this mortal body and think of You,
the Supreme, as my child.
Text
20
In
the maternity room You indeed said [see
10.3:
44]
that You, taking birth with us, were the Unborn One and thus so
age after age operate in defense of Your dharma, like a cloud
assuming and effacing various bodies [see B.G.
4:
8];
o, who can understand the mystic potency and manifold of You,
all-pervading, so greatly glorified?'
Indeed,
while still in the maternity room You told us that You, the
unborn Lord, had already been born several times as our son
in previous ages. After manifesting each of these
transcendental bodies to protect Your own principles of
religion, You then made them unmanifest, thus appearing and
disappearing like a cloud. O supremely glorified,
all-pervading Lord, who can understand the mystic, deluding
potency of Your opulent expansions?
Text
21
S'rî
S'uka said: 'This way hearing the statements of His father
replied the Supreme Lord, the best of the sâtvatas with
humility bowing, broadly smiling with a gentle
voice.
S'ukadeva
Gosvâmî said: Having heard His father's words,
the Supreme Lord, leader of the Sâtvatas, replied in a
gentle voice as He bowed His head in humility and
smiled.
Text
22
The Supreme
Lord said: 'I consider these words of You appropriate, o
father, since by referring to Us, your Sons, you expressed the
total reality.
The
Supreme Lord said: My dear father, I consider your
statements appropriate, since you have explained the various
categories of existence by referring to Us, your
sons.
Text
23
I,
you, He, My brother, and these residents of Dvârakâ
even, are all to be considered the same way (as expansions of
Me), o best of the Yadus, along with everything that moves and
not moves [B.G. 9:
5
& 15
and the siddhânta].
Not
only I, but also you, along with My respected brother and
these residents of Dvârakâ, should all be
considered in this same philosophical light, O best of the
Yadus. Indeed, we should include all that exists, both
moving and nonmoving.
Text
24
The
Supreme Soul indeed is one, self-luminous, eternal and
distinct; being free from the modes is it by the modes from
itself having created the material entities as their products,
seen as many.
The
supreme spirit, Paramâtmâ, is indeed one. He is
self-luminous and eternal, transcendental and devoid of
material qualities. But through the agency of the very modes
He has created, the one Supreme Truth manifests as many
among the expansions of those modes.
Text
25
It
is as with the ether, the air, the fire, the water and the
earth that, being one, depending their locations, in their
products, manifest or unmanifest, small or large, appear as
being many [see also B.G. 13:
31].'
The
elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth become
visible, invisible, minute or extensive as they manifest in
various objects. Similarly, the Paramâtmâ,
though one, appears to become many.
Text
26
S'rî
S'uka said: 'Of Vasudeva thus addressed by the Supreme Lord, o
King, was the thinking in separateness destroyed and was he
silent satisfied within.
S'ukadeva
Gosvâmî said: O King, hearing these instructions
spoken to him by the Supreme Lord, Vasudeva became freed
from all ideas of duality. Satisfied at heart, he remained
silent.
Text
27-28
Then
at that place, o best of the Kurus, asked loud and clear
Devakî, the worshipable goddess of all, from Krishna and
Râma that, as she to her utter amazement had heard of
[Their retrieving] the son of Their guru
[10.45],
that her own sons murdered by Kamsa be brought back; to the
memory of which she sadly remembering, distraught spoke with
tears in her eyes.
At
that time, O best of the Kurus, the universally worshiped
Devakî took the opportunity to address her two sons,
Krishna and Balarâma. Previously she had heard with
astonishment that They had brought Their spiritual master's
son back from death. Now, thinking of her own sons who had
been murdered by Kamsa, she felt great sorrow, and thus with
tear-filled eyes she beseeched Krishna and
Balarâma.
Text
29
S'rî
Devakî said: 'Râma, o Râma, o Immeasurable
Soul; o Krishna, Master of the Yogamasters, I know You both are
the Original Personalities, the Lords of the Creators of the
Universe [see also catur-vyûha].
S'rî
Devakî said: O Râma, Râma, immeasurable
Supreme Soul! O Krishna, Lord of all masters of yoga! I know
that You are the ultimate rulers of all universal creators,
the primeval Personalities of Godhead.
Text
30
You
now indeed descended to me for the kings who, living outside of
the scriptures with their good qualities destroyed by the time
[of kaliyuga],
became a burden to the earth.
Taking
birth from me, You have now descended to this world in order
to kill those kings whose good qualities have been destroyed
by the present age, and who thus defy the authority of
revealed scriptures and burden the earth.
Text
31
O Soul of All
that Be, today came I for shelter to Him, You, who by a partial
expansion [the modes] of an expansion [the material
energy] of an expansion [Nârâyana]
gives rise to the generation, prospering and dissolution of the
universe [see also 2.5].
O
Soul of all that be, the creation, maintenance and
destruction of the universe are all carried out by a
fraction of an expansion of an expansion of Your expansion.
Today I have come to take shelter of You, the Supreme
Lord.
Text
32-33
It
is heard that ordered by Your guru to retrieve his for a long
time dead son, You brought him from the place of the
forefathers to Your spiritual master as a gift of gratitude to
the teacher. Please, o You two Masters of the Yoga Masters,
fulfill the same way my desire: I'd like to see brought back my
sons that were killed by
Kamsa' [see
10.4].
It
is said that when Your spiritual master ordered You to
retrieve his long- dead son, You brought him back from the
forefathers' abode as a token of remuneration for Your
guru's mercy. Please fulfill my desire in the same way, O
supreme masters of all yoga masters. Please bring back my
sons who were killed by the King of Bhoja, so that I may see
them once again.
Text
34
The rishi
[S'uka] said: 'Thus entreated by their mother, o
descendant of Bharata entered Râma and Krishna utilizing
their internal potency the nether world of Sûtala
[see 5.24:
18].
The
sage S'ukadeva said: Thus entreated by Their mother, O
Bhârata, Balarâma and Krishna employed Their
mystic Yogamâyâ potency and entered the region
of Sûtala.
Text
35
Having
entered there stood the daitya king [Bali] immediately
up to bow to Them together with his entourage, being
overwhelmed with joy of seeing Them, the Supreme Soul and
Godhead of the Universe and especially himself.
When
the King of the Daityas, Bali Mahârâja, noticed
the arrival of the two Lords, his heart overflowed with joy,
since he knew Them to be the Supreme Soul and worshipable
Deity of the entire universe, and especially of himself. He
immediately stood up and then bowed down to offer respects,
along with his entire entourage.
Text
36
Bringing
them royal seats, was he, as they sat, happy to take, of the
two Great Souls of Them, the feet to wash, of which he together
with his followers up to Brahmâ took the purifying water
[on their heads].
Bali
took pleasure in offering Them elevated seats. After They
sat down, he washed the feet of the two Supreme
Personalities. Then he took that water, which purifies the
whole world even up to Lord Brahmâ, and poured it upon
himself and his followers.
Text
37
He,
with offering the wealth of himself and his family, thus
worshiped Them with the most valuable riches, garments,
ornaments, fragrant pastes, betel nut, lamps, nectarean food
and so on [*].
He
worshiped Them with all the riches at his disposal -
priceless clothing, ornaments, fragrant sandalwood paste,
betel nut, lamps, sumptuous food and so on. Thus he offered
Them all his family's wealth, and also his own self.
Text
38
He
who had conquered Indra [see 8.15],
over and over taking hold of the Supreme Lord's feet, spoke,
with a heart melting of love, tears in his eyes of ecstasy and
his hairs erect, o King, choked up in his words.
Taking
hold of the Lords' lotus feet again and again, Bali, the
conqueror of Indra's army, spoke from his heart, which was
melting out of his intense love. O King, as tears of ecstasy
filled his eyes and the hair on his limbs stood on end, he
began to speak with faltering words.
Text
39
Bali
said: 'My respects for Ananta, the Greatest Being; my
obeisances to Krishna, the Absolute Truth, the Supersoul, the
Disseminator and Creator of the analytical knowledge
[sânkhya,
see 3.25-32]
and science of [bhakti-]yoga.
King
Bali said: Obeisances to the unlimited Lord, Ananta, the
greatest of all beings. And obeisances to Lord Krishna, the
creator of the universe, who appears as the impersonal
Absolute and the Supersoul in order to disseminate the
principles of sânkhya and yoga.
Text
40
The
vision of You indeed is, though by the living beings rarely
achieved, yet still for people like us, whose natures are in
passion and ignorance, not difficult to obtain with You
endeavoring to reach us on Your own accord
[see B.G.
3:
21-23].
Seeing
You Lords is a rare achievement for most living beings. But
even persons like us, situated in the modes of passion and
ignorance, can easily see You when You reveal Yourself by
Your own sweet will.
Text
41-43
The
sons of Diti and Dâna, the singers of heaven, the
perfected, the scientific, the venerable, the wealthkeepers,
the wild, the carnivorous and the paranormal, the mystics, the
politicians, we and others like them are constantly fixed with
a grudge toward the Direct Embodiment of Pure Goodness whose
divine form comprises the revealed scriptures; some are
especially obstinate with hatred, some are of devotion with
ulterior motives, while the enlightened and the rest,
infatuated in the goodness, are not so attracted [but
still, compare: the atmarâma-verse 1.7:
1].
Many
who had been constantly absorbed in enmity toward You
ultimately became attracted to You, who are the direct
embodiment of transcendental goodness and whose divine form
comprises the revealed scriptures. These reformed enemies
include Daityas, Dânavas, Gandharvas, Siddhas,
Vidyâdharas, Câranas, Yakshas, Râkshasas,
Pis'âcas, Bhûtas, Pramathas and Nâyakas,
and also ourselves and many others like us. Some of us have
become attracted to You because of exceptional hatred, while
others have become attracted because of their mood of
devotion based on lust. But the demigods and others
infatuated by material goodness feel no such attraction for
You.
Text
44
O Controller
when not even the masters of yoga know Your illusional yoga for
the greater part characterized in terms like this
[svarûpa
and vis'esha
game of identity], what then of us?
What
to speak of ourselves, O Lord of all perfect yogîs,
even the greatest mystics do not know what Your spiritual
power of delusion is or how it acts.
Text
45
Therefore o
shelter of the lotus feet, searched for by the selfless, be
merciful to us and lead us out of the blind well of household
life, so that I in peace may wander alone or else with the
friends of all, those [saints, devotees, vaishnavas,
desire
trees]
helpful to all the world at whose feet the subsistence [the
'vritti']
is obtained.
Please
be merciful to me so I may get out of the blind well of
family life - my false home - and find the true shelter of
Your lotus feet, which selfless sages always seek. Then,
either alone or in the company of great saints, who are the
friends of everyone, I may wander freely, finding life's
necessities at the feet of the universally charitable
trees.
Text
46
Please direct
us o Controller of the ones controlled, make us sinless o
master, make us a person executing with faith that becomes free
from [scriptural] fixations.'
O
Lord of all subordinate creatures, please tell us what to do
and thus free us of all sin. One who faithfully executes
Your command, O master, is no longer obliged to follow the
ordinary Vedic rites.
Text
47
The Supreme
Lord said: 'Once, during the first Manu, there were of
Marîci six sons born from Ûrnâ, demigods, who
laughed at seeing the yes [of 'kam', or Brahmâ
in this case] of preparing for copulation with a daughter
[called Vâk, see 3.12:
28-35, compare
3.20:
23].
The
Supreme Lord said: During the age of the first Manu, the
sage Marîci had six sons by his wife Ûrnâ.
They were all exalted demigods, but once they laughed at
Lord Brahmâ when they saw him preparing to have sex
with his own daughter.
Text
48-49
By that entered
they, of the unenlightened of the improper act, immediately a
womb to be born to Hiranyakas'ipu, after which they, brought
over by Yogamâyâ, were born from the womb of
Devakî, o King, and by Kamsa were murdered. She laments
for them as her own sons; they, these same sons are living here
with you [see also **
and 10.2*].
Because
of that improper act, they immediately entered a demoniac
form of life, and thus they took birth as sons of
Hiranyakas'ipu. The goddess Yogamâyâ then took
them away from Hiranyakas'ipu, and they were born again from
Devakî's womb. After this, O King, Kamsa murdered
them. Devakî still laments for them, thinking of them
as her sons. These same sons of Marîci are now living
here with you.
Text
50
We want to take
them from here in order to dispel their mother's sadness; after
that will they, with the curse lifted, free from the fever go
to their own world.
We
wish to take them from this place to dispel their mother's
sorrow. Then, released from their curse and free from all
suffering, they will return to their home in heaven.
Text
51
By
My grace will these six - Smara [Kîrtimân, see
10.1:
57],
Udgîtha, Parishvanga, Patanga, Kshudrabhrit and
Ghrinî - return to the destination of the
saintly.'
By
My grace these six - Smara, Udgîtha, Parishvanga,
Patanga, Kshudrabhrit and Ghrinî - will return to the
abode of pure saints.
Text
52
Thus speaking
took They, both honored by Bali, them back to
Dvârakâ and presented They the sons to their
mother.
[S'ukadeva
Gosvâmî continued:] After saying this, Lord
Krishna and Lord Balarâma, having been duly worshiped
by Bali Mahârâja, took the six sons and returned
to Dvârakâ, where They presented them to Their
mother.
Text
53
Seeing the boys
made the breasts of the goddess out of her affection for her
sons flow, and placing them on her lap embraced she them, over
and over smelling their heads.
When
she saw her lost children, Goddess Devakî felt such
affection for them that milk flowed from her breasts. She
embraced them and took them onto her lap, smelling their
heads again and again.
Text
54
Bewildered by
Vishnu's illusory energy of which the creation comes into
being, allowed she lovingly her sons to drink from her breasts
wet on their touching them.
Lovingly
she let her sons drink from her breast, which became wet
with milk just by their touch. She was entranced by the same
illusory energy of Lord Vishnu that initiates the creation
of the universe.
Text
55-56
Having drunk
her nectarean milk, the remnants of what the Wielder of the
Club drank [before Vasudeva carried Him to Gokula],
regained they by the touch of the body of Nârâyana
the perception of their original selves. Bowing down to
Govinda, Devakî, their father and Balarâma went
they, with all the people looking, to the abode where the gods
live.
By
drinking her nectarean milk, the remnants of what Krishna
Himself had previously drunk, the six sons touched the
transcendental body of the Lord, Nârâyana, and
this contact awakened them to their original identities.
They bowed down to Govinda, Devakî, their father and
Balarâma, and then, as everyone looked on, they left
for the abode of the demigods.
Text
57
Seeing
this return and departure of the dead, thought Devakî
divine in great amazement about the magic arranged by Krishna,
o King.
Seeing
her sons return from death and then depart again, saintly
Devakî was struck with wonder, O King. She concluded
that this was all simply an illusion created by
Krishna.
Text
58
Of Krishna, the
Supreme Soul unlimited in His valor, are there a countless
number of feats like this, o descendant of
Bharata.
S'rî
Krishna, the Supreme Soul, the Lord of unlimited valor,
performed countless pastimes just as amazing as this one, O
descendant of Bharata.
Text
59
S'rî
Sûta [at Naimishâranya, 1.1:
4] said:
'Whoever devoutly hears or recounts this pastime of
Murâri to whose glories there is no end, as described by
Vyâsa's respected son, will, by this true delight for His
devotees' ears that totally destroys the sins of the living
being, fixing his mind on the Supreme Lord, go to His
all-auspicious heavenly abode.
S'rî
Sûta Gosvâmî said: This pastime enacted by
Lord Murâri, whose fame is eternal, totally destroys
the sins of the universe and serves as the transcendental
ornament for His devotees' ears. Anyone who carefully hears
or narrates this pastime, as recounted by the venerable son
of Vyâsa, will be able to fix his mind in meditation
on the Supreme Lord and attain to the all-auspicious kingdom
of God.
*
The paramparâ adds here that there are nine standard
processes of devotional service as Prahlâda points out in
7.5:
23-24,
and that the last, âtma-samarpanam, the handing over of
one's wealth as modeled by Bali Mahârâja for the
sake of the âtma-nivedanam of self communication with the
Lord, is the culmination toward which every endeavor should
aim. If one tries to impress the Lord with wealth, power,
intelligence and so on but fails to humbly understand oneself
to be His servant, one's so-called devotion is only a
presumptuous show. The paramparâ thus warns here against
the false religion of pompous ceremony without regard for the
yogîc retreat as of Daksha in 4.2.
See also B.G
2.42-43.
**
The paramparâ explains with the Âcâryas
S'rîdhara Svâmî and Vis'vanâtha
Cakravartî that after taking Marîci's six sons from
Hiranyakas'ipu, Lord Krishna's Yogamâyâ first made
them pass through one more life as children of another great
demon, Kâlanemi [the previous incarnation of Kamsa,
see 10.1:
68],
and then she finally transferred them to the womb of
Devakî. For the full story see footnote 10.1***.
