SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM: CANTO 5

(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'At the time the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who is directly the enjoyer of all sacrifices, took His second step [as Lord Vâmana, see 2.7: 17 ], pierced He with the nail of the big toe of His left leg the upper covering of the universe. The flow of water, that from the outside entered through the hole, does, having turned pink in washing away the red powder of His lotus feet, vanquish the sins of all the world getting in touch with it; as emanating directly from the Supreme Lord His feet it is described as completely pure and is thus given that name [the Ganges as the Vishnupadî] after it, after a long time, from the sky descended on the head of that which they call the refuge of Vishnu.

(2) There, at that point, indeed does our most exalted, firmly determined devotee, the famous son [Dhruva, see 4: 8] of Uttânapâda, bathe himself in the water of the lotus feet of the family deity, with the pair of his flowerlike eyes slightly opened showing tears as a symptom of the ecstasy in his body. Having the great anxiety in his heart a good deal softened and his spontaneous devotional service to the Lord constantly increased, does he with the uncontaminated water emanating, even now bear it on his own head with great reverence. (3) Thereafter do as well the seven wise [of Marîci, Vasishthha, Atri and so on, see 3.12: 22], well known with the blessing, even at the present moment carry it on their matted hair with great honor; they indeed consider it of all austerities the ultimate perfection to be this much of continuous devotional service in bhakti-yoga with the Supreme Lord, the all pervading Vâsudeva. Simply by achieving this platform they sure were of neglect for any other means of attaining the perfection, like a [nirvis'esha-vâdi or impersonal] liberation, or for that what by persons is attained by other means of seeking salvation [like economic development, sense gratification, or religion]. (4) Thereafter does it fall down to the abode of Brahmâ, in its descent inundating the sphere of the moon so congested by the thousands and millions of types of divine palaces [vimânas, also called: 'airplanes'] of the gods in their high conduct. (5) There it is divided into four branches each profusely flowing in the four directions towards their great reservoir the ocean, entering there with the names of Sîtâ and Alakanandâ, Cakshu and Bhadrâ. (6) The Sîtâ originating from the city of Brahmâ, flows downwards from the tops of the Kesarâcala and of other great mountains. Fallen on the top of the Gandhamâdana Mountain does it within the province of Bhadrâs'va going in the western direction enter into the salty ocean. (7) This way too falling down from the top of Mâlyavân Mountain flows the water thereafter uninterrupted in the western direction through the land of Ketumâla to enter the ocean there. (8) The Bhadrâ, from Mount Meru falling from the top of the Kumuda Mountain, in the north passes the mountains Nîla and S'ringavân to flow from those peaks northways through the entire area of Kuru to enter the ocean in the north. (9) Similarly does the Alakanandâ from Brahmâpuri by the southern side pass over many mountain tops and flows the Ganges with a greater, fiercer force, from the Hemakûtha and Himakûtha to cut through Bhârata-varsha from all sides, heading there southways for the ocean. For the one who entered it for bathing is so the result of great sacrifices like the As'vamedha and the Râjasûya at every step not difficult to obtain. (10) Many kinds of other rivers and streams run through each tract of land, and the hundreds of them should all be considered as being daughters of Mount Meru.

(11) Of all these varshas is the land known as Bhârata-varsha understood as [India] the field for working at one's karma, while the remaining other eight varshas for the meritorious ones of good deeds are designated to be the heavenly places on earth to enjoy the pleasures of life. (12) There do all for thousands of years enjoy their lives; they who, just like gods, are as strong as a thousand elephants with bodies like thunderbolts. Youthful and in excitement about a great deal of sexual pleasure do they bond as man and woman, conceiving a child at the end of their term of mating; they have times there of harmonious living, that are like one had existing in Tretâ-Yuga [the period mankind lived in piety]. (13) In each of those lands do the godlike leaders to their own conduct of service never run short of valuables and have they in all seasons lots of flowers as well as fruits of which the branches heavily bend down. The gardens to their many divine refuges are full of beautiful trees and creepers with many lakes of crystal clear water in the valleys of the mountain ranges that demarcate their lands. In those lakes one finds all kinds of fragrant fresh lilies with humming bumblebees, enthused great swans, ducks, cranes and other aquatic birds. They enjoy all kinds of water sports there, lusty courting the attractive godlike women who, smiling with their playful glances, entertain themselves freely with great joy, an eager look and a charmed mind. (14) Certainly proves the Supreme Lord Narâyâna, the great personality, His mercy for His devotees in all these nine varshas by personally inciting the reality of the soul [through his quadruple forms of Vâsudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha see 4.24: 35-36]; to the present day He thus stays near his devotees to accept their service (*).

(15) In Ilâvrita-varsha is certainly Lord S'iva the only overlord; for sure will any other man besides Him, with force entering there, come to know what leads to the curse of Bhavânî [His wife], and turn into a woman; on that I shall dilate later [see 9.1].

(16) In the company of Bhavânî there are ten billion women by whom the into four expanded Supreme Lord is always being served. The fourth expansion of the Supreme Personality, known as Sankarshana, is to the form of Himself in the mode of darkness the source; he, Lord S'iva, in trance meditating on Him, brings Him close as he in worship clearly chants the following. (17) The powerful Lordship says: 'I bow for You o Supreme Lord, o greatest Original Personality and reservoir of all transcendental qualities; You are the unlimited and unmanifested One within this world whom I revere. (18) O worshipable one whose feet ward off all danger; You of whom we have all the different opulences, are the best, the ultimate shelter invaluable to the devotees to whose satisfaction You manifest Yourself in different forms; I sing the glory of You who puts an end to the repetition of birth and death, You, the Supreme Controller, who art the origin of the creation. (19) Who of us not in control of the force of anger, but aspiring to conquer the senses, willing to control, would not be of worship unto You, whose vision glancing over, is never, not even in the slightest degree, affected by the restless mind to the qualities of mâyâ? (20) For someone with an eye for the untrue do You appear with copper-red eyes, as if You'd be inebriated under the influence of mâyâ, having drunken honeysweet liquor; but it was not because of their bashfulness that the ones espoused to the serpent demon were unable to proceed in touching Your feet - it was because their senses were agitated. (21) By You, so say all the sages, is the world maintained, created and annihilated, while You Yourself are without these three; as the unlimited One, You do not feel the universes situated on the hundreds and thousands of Your hoods, as weighing more than a mustard seed. (22-23) From You, from whom there is the most powerful Lord Brahmâ, the beginning, the total energy of the incarnation of the material qualities, was I born, endowed with the threefold, who from my material prowess could settle for all the senses, the godlike and the material elements. Of You, that greater reality, of whom all this and we, the great personalities, are under control in a position like that of a vulture bound to a rope, do I and the liberated, all of us, by Your mercy, proclaim the order over the matter and the senses in this material world. (24) By the illusory energy, brought about by You, that at any given time ties the knots of karma, does a person, bewildered by the qualities of the creation, not know how to escape from being caught in it; unto that Supreme [without whom we thus can't live], unto You in whom everything finds its end and beginning, my respectful homage.'

S'rî S'uka said: 'At the time the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who is directly the enjoyer of all sacrifices, took His second step [as Lord Vâmana, see 2.7: 17 ], pierced He with the nail of the big toe of His left leg the upper covering of the universe. The flow of water, that from the outside entered through the hole, does, having turned pink in washing away the red powder of His lotus feet, vanquish the sins of all the world getting in touch with it; as emanating directly from the Supreme Lord His feet it is described as completely pure and is thus given that name [the Ganges as the Vishnupadî] after it, after a long time, from the sky descended on the head of that which they call the refuge of Vishnu.

S'ukadeva Gosvâmî said: My dear King, Lord Vishnu, the enjoyer of all sacrifices, appeared as Vâmanadeva in the sacrificial arena of Bali Mahârâja. Then He extended His left foot to the end of the universe and pierced a hole in its covering with the nail of His big toe. Through the hole, the pure water of the Causal Ocean entered this universe as the Ganges River. Having washed the lotus feet of the Lord, which are covered with reddish powder, the water of the Ganges acquired a very beautiful pink color. Every living being can immediately purify his mind of material contamination by touching the transcendental water of the Ganges, yet its waters remain ever pure. Because the Ganges directly touches the lotus feet of the Lord before descending within this universe, she is known as Vishnupadî. Later she received other names like Jâhnavî and Bhâgîrathî. After one thousand millenniums, the water of the Ganges descended on Dhruvaloka, the topmost planet in this universe. Therefore all learned sages and scholars proclaim Dhruvaloka to be Vishnupada ["situated on Lord Vishnu's lotus feet"]. (Vedabase)

Text 2

There, at that point, indeed does our most exalted, firmly determined devotee, the famous son [Dhruva, see 4: 8] of Uttânapâda, bathe himself in the water of the lotus feet of the family deity, with the pair of his flowerlike eyes slightly opened showing tears as a symptom of the ecstasy in his body. Having the great anxiety in his heart a good deal softened and his spontaneous devotional service to the Lord constantly increased, does he with the uncontaminated water emanating, even now bear it on his own head with great reverence.

Dhruva Mahârâja, the famous son of Mahârâja Uttânapâda, is known as the most exalted devotee of the Supreme Lord because of his firm determination in executing devotional service. Knowing that the sacred Ganges water washes the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu, Dhruva Mahârâja, situated on his own planet, to this very day accepts that water on his head with great devotion. Because he constantly thinks of Krishna very devoutly within the core of his heart, he is overcome with ecstatic anxiety. Tears flow from his half-open eyes, and eruptions appear on his entire body. (Vedabase)

Text 3

Thereafter do as well the seven wise [of Marîci, Vasishthha, Atri and so on, see 3.12: 22], well known with the blessing, even at the present moment carry it on their matted hair with great honor; they indeed consider it of all austerities the ultimate perfection to be this much of continuous devotional service in bhakti-yoga with the Supreme Lord, the all pervading Vâsudeva. Simply by achieving this platform they sure were of neglect for any other means of attaining the perfection, like a [nirvis'esha-vâdi or impersonal] liberation, or for that what by persons is attained by other means of seeking salvation [like economic development, sense gratification, or religion]

The seven great sages [Marîci, Vasishthha, Atri and so on] reside on planets beneath Dhruvaloka. Well aware of the influence of the water of the Ganges, to this day they keep Ganges water on the tufts of hair on their heads. They have concluded that this is the ultimate wealth, the perfection of all austerities, and the best means of prosecuting transcendental life. Having obtained uninterrupted devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they neglect all other beneficial processes like religion, economic development, sense gratification and even merging into the Supreme. Just as jñânîs think that merging into the existence of the Lord is the highest truth, these seven exalted personalities accept devotional service as the perfection of life. (Vedabase)

Text 4

Thereafter does it fall down to the abode of Brahmâ, in its descent inundating the sphere of the moon so congested by the thousands and millions of types of divine palaces [vimânas, also called: 'airplanes'] of the gods with their high conduct.

After purifying the seven planets near Dhruvaloka [the polestar], the Ganges water is carried through the spaceways of the demigods in billions of celestial airplanes. Then it inundates the moon [Candraloka] and finally reaches Lord Brahmâ's abode atop Mount Meru. (Vedabase)

Text 5

There it is divided into four branches each profusely flowing in the four directions towards their great reservoir the ocean, entering there with the names of Sîtâ and Alakanandâ, Cakshu and Bhadrâ.

On top of Mount Meru, the Ganges divides into four branches, each of which gushes in a different direction [east, west, north and south]. These branches, known by the names Sîtâ, Alakanandâ, Cakshu and Bhadrâ, flow down to the ocean. (Vedabase)

Text 6

The Sîtâ originating from the city of Brahmâ, flows downwards from the tops of the Kesarâcala and of other great mountains. Fallen on the top of the Gandhamâdana Mountain does it within the province of Bhadrâs'va going in the western direction enter into the salty ocean.

The branch of the Ganges known as the Sîtâ flows through Brahmapurî atop Mount Meru, and from there it runs down to the nearby peaks of the Kesarâcala Mountains, which stand almost as high as Mount Meru itself. These mountains are like a bunch of filaments around Mount Meru. From the Kesarâcala Mountains, the Ganges falls to the peak of Gandhamâdana Mountain and then flows into the land of Bhadrâs'va-varsha. Finally it reaches the ocean of salt water in the west. (Vedabase)

Text 7

This way too falling down from the top of Mâlyavân Mountain flows the water thereafter uninterrupted in the western direction through the land of Ketumâla to enter the ocean there.

The branch of the Ganges known as Cakshu falls onto the summit of Mâlyavân Mountain and from there cascades onto the land of Ketumâla-varsha. The Ganges flows incessantly through Ketumâla-varsha and in this way also reaches the ocean of salt water in the West. (Vedabase)

Text 8

The Bhadrâ, from Mount Meru falling from the top of the Kumuda Mountain, in the north passes the mountains Nîla and S'ringavân to flow from those peaks northways through the entire area of Kuru to enter the ocean in the north.

The branch of the Ganges known as Bhadrâ flows from the northern side of Mount Meru. Its waters fall onto the peaks of Kumuda Mountain, Mount Nîla, S'veta Mountain and S'ringavân Mountain in succession. Then it runs down into the province of Kuru and, after crossing through that land, flows into the saltwater ocean in the north. (Vedabase)

Text 9

Similarly does the Alakanandâ from Brahmâpuri by the southern side pass over many mountain tops and flows the Ganges with a greater, fiercer force, from the Hemakûtha and Himakûtha to cut through Bhârata-varsha from all sides, heading there southways for the ocean. For the one who entered it for bathing is so the result of great sacrifices like the As'vamedha and the Râjasûya at every step not difficult to obtain.

Similarly, the branch of the Ganges known as Alakanandâ flows from the southern side of Brahmapurî [Brahma-sadana]. Passing over the tops of mountains in various lands, it falls down with fierce force upon the peaks of the mountains Hemakûtha and Himakûtha. After inundating the tops of those mountains, the Ganges falls down onto the tract of land known as Bhârata-varsha, which she also inundates. Then the Ganges flows into the ocean of salt water in the south. Persons who come to bathe in this river are fortunate. It is not very difficult for them to achieve with every step the results of performing great sacrifices like the Râjasûya and As'vamedha yajñas. (Vedabase)

Text 10

Many kinds of other rivers and streams run through each tract of land, and the hundreds of them should all be considered as being daughters of Mount Meru.

Many other rivers, both big and small, flow from the top of Mount Meru. These rivers are like daughters of the mountain, and they flow to the various tracts of land in hundreds of branches. (Vedabase)

Text 11

Of all these varshas is the land known as Bhârata-varsha understood as [India] the field for working at one's karma, while the remaining other eight varshas for the meritorious ones of good deeds are designated to be the heavenly places on earth to enjoy the pleasures of life.

Among the nine varshas, the tract of land known as Bhârata-varsha is understood to be the field of fruitive activities. Learned scholars and saintly persons declare the other eight varshas to be meant for very highly elevated pious persons. After returning from the heavenly planets, they enjoy the remaining results of their pious activities in these eight earthly varshas. (Vedabase)

Text 12

There do all for thousands of years enjoy their lives; they who, just like gods, are as strong as a thousand elephants with bodies like thunderbolts. Youthful and in excitement about a great deal of sexual pleasure do they bond as man and woman, conceiving a child at the end of their term of mating; they have times there of harmonious living, that are like one had existing in Tretâ-Yuga [the period mankind lived in piety].

In these eight varshas, or tracts of land, human beings live ten thousand years according to earthly calculations. All the inhabitants are almost like demigods. They have the bodily strength of ten thousand elephants. Indeed, their bodies are as sturdy as thunderbolts. The youthful duration of their lives is very pleasing, and both men and women enjoy sexual union with great pleasure for a long time. After years of sensual pleasure--when a balance of one year of life remains--the wife conceives a child. Thus the standard of pleasure for the residents of these heavenly regions is exactly like that of the human beings who lived during Tretâ-yuga. (Vedabase)

Text 13

In each of those lands do the godlike leaders to their own conduct of service never run short of valuables and have they in all seasons lots of flowers as well as fruits of which the branches heavily bend down. The gardens to their many divine refuges are full of beautiful trees and creepers with many lakes of crystal clear water in the valleys of the mountain ranges that demarcate their lands. In those lakes one finds all kinds of fragrant fresh lillies with humming bumblebees, enthused great swans, ducks, cranes and other aquatic birds. They enjoy all kinds of water sports there, lusty courting the attractive godlike women who, smiling with their playful glances, entertain themselves freely with great joy, an eager look and a charmed mind.

In each of those tracts water fowls of land, there are many gardens filled with flowers and fruits according to the season, and there are beautifully decorated hermitages as well. Between the great mountains demarcating the borders of those lands lie enormous lakes of clear water filled with newly grown lotus flowers. Aquatic birds such as swans, ducks, water chickens, and cranes become greatly excited by the fragrance of lotus flowers, and the charming sound of bumblebees fills the air. The inhabitants of those lands are important leaders among the demigods. Always attended by their respective servants, they enjoy life in gardens alongside the lakes. In this pleasing situation, the wives of the demigods smile playfully at their husbands and look upon them with lusty desires. All the demigods and their wives are constantly supplied with sandalwood pulp and flower garlands by their servants. In this way, all the residents of the eight heavenly varshas enjoy, attracted by the activities of the opposite sex. (Vedabase)

Text 14

Certainly proves the Supreme Lord Narâyâna, the great personality, His mercy for His devotees in all these nine varshas by personally inciting the reality of the soul [through his quadruple forms of Vâsudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha see 4.24: 35-36]; to the present day He thus stays near his devotees to accept their service. (*)

To show mercy to His devotees in each of these nine tracts of land, the Supreme Personality of Godhead known as Nârâyana expands Himself in His quadruple principles of Vâsudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. In this way He remains near His devotees to accept their service. (Vedabase)

Text 15

In Ilâvrita-varsha is certainly Lord S'iva the only overlord; for sure will any other man besides Him, with force entering there, come to know what leads to the curse of Bhavânî [His wife], and turn into a woman; on that I shall dilate later [see 9.1].

S'ukadeva Gosvâmî said: In the tract of land known as Ilâvrita-varsha, the only male person is Lord S'iva, the most powerful demigod. Goddess Durgâ, the wife of Lord S'iva, does not like any man to enter that land. If any foolish man dares to do so, she immediately turns him into a woman. I shall explain this later [in the Ninth Canto of S'rîmad-Bhâgavatam]. (Vedabase)

Text 16

In the company of Bhavânî there are ten billion women by whom the into four expanded Supreme Lord is always being served. The fourth expansion of the Supreme Personality, known as Sankarshana, is to the form of Himself in the mode of darkness the source; he, Lord S'iva, in trance meditating on Him, brings Him close as he in worship clearly chants the following.

In Ilâvrita-varsha, Lord S'iva is always encircled by ten billion maidservants of goddess Durgâ, who minister to him. The quadruple expansion of the Supreme Lord is composed of Vâsudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Sankarshana. Sankarshana, the fourth expansion, is certainly transcendental, but because his activities of destruction in the material world are in the mode of ignorance, He is known as tâmasî, the Lord's form in the mode of ignorance. Lord S'iva knows that Sankarshana is the original cause of his own existence, and thus he always meditates upon Him in trance by chanting the following mantra. (Vedabase)

Text 17

The powerful Lordship says: 'I bow for You o Supreme Lord, o greatest Original Personality and reservoir of all transcendental qualities; You are the unlimited and unmanifested One within this world whom I revere.

The most powerful Lord S'iva says: O Supreme Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You in Your expansion as Lord Sankarshana. You are the reservoir of all transcendental qualities. Although You are unlimited, You remain unmanifest to the nondevotees. (Vedabase)

Text 18:

O worshipable one whose feet ward off all danger; You of whom we have all the different opulences, are the best, the ultimate shelter invaluable to the devotees to whose satisfaction You manifest Yourself in different forms; I sing the glory of You who puts an end to the repetition of birth and death, You, the Supreme Controller, who art the origin of the creation.

O my Lord, You are the only worshipable person, for You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all opulences. Your secure lotus feet are the only source of protection for all Your devotees, whom You satisfy by manifesting Yourself in various forms. O my Lord, You deliver Your devotees from the clutches of material existence. Nondevotees, however, remain entangled in material existence by Your will. Kindly accept me as Your eternal servant. (Vedabase)

Text 19:

Who of us not in control of the force of anger, but aspiring to conquer the senses, willing to control, would not be of worship unto You, whose vision glancing over, is never, not even in the slightest degree, affected by the restless mind to the qualities of mâyâ?

We cannot control the force of our anger. Therefore when we look at material things, we cannot avoid feeling attraction or repulsion for them. But the Supreme Lord is never affected in this way. Although He glances over the material world for the purpose of creating, maintaining and destroying it, He is not affected, even to the slightest degree. Therefore, one who desires to conquer the force of the senses must take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Then he will be victorious. (Vedabase)

Text 20:

For someone with an eye for the untrue do You appear with copper-red eyes, as if You'd be inebriated under the influence of mâyâ, having drunken honeysweet liquor; but it was not because of their bashfulness that the ones espoused to the serpent demon were unable to continue touching Your feet, it was because their senses were agitated.

For persons with impure vision, the Supreme Lord's eyes appear like those of someone who indiscriminately drinks intoxicating beverages. Thus bewildered, such unintelligent persons become angry at the Supreme Lord, and due to their angry mood the Lord Himself appears angry and very fearful. However, this is an illusion. When the wives of the serpent demon were agitated by the touch of the Lord's lotus feet, due to shyness they could proceed no further in their worship of Him. Yet the Lord remained unagitated by their touch, for He is equipoised in all circumstances. Therefore who will not worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead? (Vedabase)

Text 21:

By You, so say all the sages, is the world maintained, created and annihilated, while You Yourself are without these three; as the unlimited One, You do not feel the universes situated on the hundreds and thousands of Your hoods, as weighing more than a mustard seed.

Lord S'iva continued: All the great sages accept the Lord as the source of creation, maintenance and destruction, although He actually has nothing to do with these activities. Therefore the Lord is called unlimited. Although the Lord in His incarnation as S'esha holds all the universes on His hoods, each universe feels no heavier than a mustard seed to Him. Therefore, what person desiring perfection will not worship the Lord? (Vedabase)

Text 22-23:

From You, from whom there is the most powerful Lord Brahmâ, the beginning, the total energy of the incarnation of the material qualities, was I born, endowed with the threefold, who from my material prowess could settle for all the senses, the godlike and the material elements. Of You, that greater reality, of whom all this and we, the great personalities, are under control in a position like that of a vulture bound to a rope, do I and the liberated, all of us, by Your mercy, proclaim the order over the matter and the senses in this material world.

From that Supreme Personality of Godhead appears Lord Brahmâ, whose body is made from the total material energy, the reservoir of intelligence predominated by the passionate mode of material nature. From Lord Brahmâ, I myself am born as a representation of false ego known as Rudra. By my own power I create all the other demigods, the five elements and the senses. Therefore, I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than any of us and under whose control are situated all the demigods, material elements and senses, and even Lord Brahmâ and I myself, like birds bound by a rope. Only by the Lord's grace can we create, maintain and annihilate the material world. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Being. (Vedabase)

Text 24:

By the illusory energy, brought about by You, that at any given time ties the knots of karma, does a person, bewildered by the qualities of the creation, not know how to escape from being caught in it; unto that Supreme [without whom we thus can't live], unto You in whom everything finds its end and beginning, my respectful homage.'

The illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead binds all of us conditioned souls to this material world. Therefore, without being favored by Him, persons like us cannot understand how to get out of that illusory energy. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who is the cause of creation and annihilation. (Vedabase)

*: In some of the sâtvata-tantras, there is a description of the nine varshas and the predominating Deity worshiped in each:. (1) Vâsudeva,. (2) Sankarshana,. (3) Pradyumna,. (4) Aniruddha,. (5) Narâyâna,. (6) Nrisimha,. (7) Hayagrîva,. (8) Mahâvarâha, and. (9) Brahmâ.