राम

Viṣṇu-parva

Harivaṃśa · Adhyāya 95

18 versesSatyabhāmā Receives Garuḍa

Synopsis

Satyabhāmā is ever at Viṣṇu's side in the assembly, dear to him. Vāsudeva honors Garuḍa as a friend, gives him leave to go to his own home, and sends him off. Garuḍa pays his salute, rises into the sky as he pleases. In the middle, the Lord returns to the Ugrasena court and publishes what he has done: "Let the sages move freely in various austerity; the evil Naraka has been slain with his followers and his army." The chapter closes with the honoring of Sāndīpani the old teacher, the elder Vṛṣṇis greeted by age and seniority.

First-pass synopsis; pending review by a Sanskritist.

Verse commentary below

Garuḍa's Dismissal and the Reunion with Vasudeva: Verses 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 17: the dismissal of Garuḍa with honor, Kṛṣṇa seeing his aged father Ānakaduṃdubhi, the city criers announcing the evil Naraka slain and brahmin-haters destroyed, the delighted sages safe to pursue their tapas, Kṛṣṇa saluting his father along with Balarāma with eyes filled with tears, the greeting of each Dāśārha by name, and the two brothers sharing a golden seat placing Ugrasena in front. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

Verse 1

सत्यभामा सदा विष्णोः पार्श्वस्था संसदि प्रिया ततः संपूज्य गरुडं वासुदेवो ऽनुमान्य च सखिवच् चोपगृह्यैनम् अनुजज्ञे गृहं प्रति

satyabhāmā sadā viṣṇoḥ pārśvasthā saṃsadi priyā tataḥ saṃpūjya garuḍaṃ vāsudevo 'numānya ca sakhivac copagṛhyainam anujajñe gṛhaṃ prati

Satyabhāmā is ever at Viṣṇu's side in the assembly, dear. Then Vāsudeva, having honored Garuḍa and taken counsel, embracing him as a friend, granted him leave for home.

Verse 2

सो ऽनुज्ञातो हि सत्कृत्य प्रणम्य च जनार्दनम् ऊर्ध्वम् आचक्रमे पक्षी यथेष्टं गगनेचरः

so 'nujñāto hi satkṛtya praṇamya ca janārdanam ūrdhvam ācakrame pakṣī yatheṣṭaṃ gaganecaraḥ

Verse 3

स पक्षवातसंक्षुब्धं समुद्रं मकरालयम् कृत्वा वेगेन महता ययौ पूर्वं महोदधिम्

sa pakṣavātasaṃkṣubdhaṃ samudraṃ makarālayam kṛtvā vegena mahatā yayau pūrvaṃ mahodadhim

Verse 4

कृत्यकाल उपस्थास्य इत्य् उक्त्वा गरुडे गते कृष्णो ददर्श पितरं वृद्धम् आनकदुंदुभिम्

kṛtyakāla upasthāsya ity uktvā garuḍe gate kṛṣṇo dadarśa pitaraṃ vṛddham ānakaduṃdubhim

Verse 5

उग्रसेनं च राजानं बलदेवं च माधवः काश्यं सांदीपनिं चैव ब्रह्मगार्ग्यं तथैव च

ugrasenaṃ ca rājānaṃ baladevaṃ ca mādhavaḥ kāśyaṃ sāṃdīpaniṃ caiva brahmagārgyaṃ tathaiva ca

Verse 6

अन्यांश् च वृद्धान् वृष्णीनां तांश् च भोजान्धकांस् तथा रत्नप्रवेकैर् दाशार्हो वीर्यलब्धैस् तदार्चयत्

anyāṃś ca vṛddhān vṛṣṇīnāṃ tāṃś ca bhojāndhakāṃs tathā ratnapravekair dāśārho vīryalabdhais tadārcayat

Verse 7

हता ब्रह्मद्विशः सर्वे यजन्त्य् अन्धकवृष्णयः रणात् प्रतिनिवृत्तो ऽयम् अक्षतो मधुसूदनः

hatā brahmadviśaḥ sarve yajanty andhakavṛṣṇayaḥ raṇāt pratinivṛtto 'yam akṣato madhusūdanaḥ

Verse 8

प्रीताश् च मुनयः सर्वे रक्षिता यदुसत्तमाः इति प्रीता यदुवृषा वर्धयन्ति जनार्दनम् इति चत्वररथ्यासु द्वारवत्यां सुपूजितः चाक्रिको घोषयाम् आस पुरुषो मृष्टकुण्डलः

prītāś ca munayaḥ sarve rakṣitā yadusattamāḥ iti prītā yaduvṛṣā vardhayanti janārdanam iti catvararathyāsu dvāravatyāṃ supūjitaḥ cākriko ghoṣayām āsa puruṣo mṛṣṭakuṇḍalaḥ

Verse 9

निर्विघ्नं मुनयो राजंश् चरन्तु विविधं तपः निहतो नरको दुष्टः सानुगः सबलान्वितः ततः सांदीपनिं पूर्वम् उपगम्य जनार्दनः ववन्दे वृष्णिनृपतिम् आहुकं विनयान्वितः

nirvighnaṃ munayo rājaṃś carantu vividhaṃ tapaḥ nihato narako duṣṭaḥ sānugaḥ sabalānvitaḥ tataḥ sāṃdīpaniṃ pūrvam upagamya janārdanaḥ vavande vṛṣṇinṛpatim āhukaṃ vinayānvitaḥ

'Let the sages, O king, roam and perform various austerities without hindrance. Naraka the evil one is slain, with his followers and his army.' Then Janārdana first came to Sāndīpani and bowed with humility to the Vṛṣṇi king, to Āhuka.

Verse 10

अथाश्रुपरिपूर्णाक्षम् आनन्दगतचेतसम् ववन्दे सह रामेण पितरं वासवानुजः

athāśruparipūrṇākṣam ānandagatacetasam vavande saha rāmeṇa pitaraṃ vāsavānujaḥ

Verse 11

ततः शेषान् अभिक्रम्य सत्कृत्य च यथार्हतः सर्वेषां नाम जग्राह दाशार्हाणाम् अधोक्षजः

tataḥ śeṣān abhikramya satkṛtya ca yathārhataḥ sarveṣāṃ nāma jagrāha dāśārhāṇām adhokṣajaḥ

Verse 12

ततः सर्वाणि दिव्यानि सर्वरत्नमयानि च आसनाग्र्याणि विविशुर् उपेन्द्रप्रमुखास् तदा

tataḥ sarvāṇi divyāni sarvaratnamayāni ca āsanāgryāṇi viviśur upendrapramukhās tadā

Verse 13

ततस् तद् धनम् अक्षय्यं किंकरैर् यत् समाहृतम् सभां समानयाम् आसुः पुरुषाः कृष्णशासनात्

tatas tad dhanam akṣayyaṃ kiṃkarair yat samāhṛtam sabhāṃ samānayām āsuḥ puruṣāḥ kṛṣṇaśāsanāt

Verse 14

ततः स मानयाम् आस दाशार्हान् यदुसत्तमान् सर्वान् दुंदुभिशब्देन पूजयिष्यञ् जनार्दनः

tataḥ sa mānayām āsa dāśārhān yadusattamān sarvān duṃdubhiśabdena pūjayiṣyañ janārdanaḥ

Verse 15

ताम् आसनवतीं रम्यां मणिविद्रुमतोरणाम् सुदाशार्हीं सुदाशार्हा विविशुः कृष्णशासनात्

tām āsanavatīṃ ramyāṃ maṇividrumatoraṇām sudāśārhīṃ sudāśārhā viviśuḥ kṛṣṇaśāsanāt

Verse 16

ततः पुरुषसिंहैः सा यदुभिः सर्वतो वृता सर्वार्थगुणसंपन्ना सा सभा भरतर्षभ शुशुभे ऽभ्यधिकं शुभ्रा सिंहैर् गिरिगुहा यथा

tataḥ puruṣasiṃhaiḥ sā yadubhiḥ sarvato vṛtā sarvārthaguṇasaṃpannā sā sabhā bharatarṣabha śuśubhe 'bhyadhikaṃ śubhrā siṃhair giriguhā yathā

Verse 17

रामेण सह गोविन्दः काञ्चनं महद् आसनम् उग्रसेनं पुरस्कृत्य भेजे वृष्णिपुरस्कृतः

rāmeṇa saha govindaḥ kāñcanaṃ mahad āsanam ugrasenaṃ puraskṛtya bheje vṛṣṇipuraskṛtaḥ

Verse 18

तत्रोपविष्टांस् तान् वीरान् यथाप्रीति यथावयः समाभाष्य यदुश्रेष्ठान् उवाच मधुसूदनः

tatropaviṣṭāṃs tān vīrān yathāprīti yathāvayaḥ samābhāṣya yaduśreṣṭhān uvāca madhusūdanaḥ

Addressing those heroes there seated, each according to affection and age, the slayer of Madhu spoke to the best of the Yadus.

Verse commentary

Garuḍa's Dismissal and the Reunion with Vasudeva

गरुडविसर्जनं पितुर् अभिवन्दनं च

Verses 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 17: the dismissal of Garuḍa with honor, Kṛṣṇa seeing his aged father Ānakaduṃdubhi, the city criers announcing the evil Naraka slain and brahmin-haters destroyed, the delighted sages safe to pursue their tapas, Kṛṣṇa saluting his father along with Balarāma with eyes filled with tears, the greeting of each Dāśārha by name, and the two brothers sharing a golden seat placing Ugrasena in front. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

HV 95 is the short but tender chapter between Kṛṣṇa's arrival at Dvārakā and the great assembly-scene of HV 96. It is the chapter of specific reunions and greetings. Garuḍa is dismissed with honor ('I shall stand by when the time of work comes'); Kṛṣṇa approaches his aged father Vasudeva with eyes filled with tears; the criers move through the streets announcing that the evil Naraka has been killed and the brahmin-haters destroyed, so the sages may pursue their *tapas* in peace. Kṛṣṇa then greets each Dāśārha by name, accepts no throne above Ugrasena, and seats himself with Balarāma on a single golden seat. The chapter is the Harivaṃśa's model of re-entering one's community — Garuḍa first, father next, sages third, elders fourth, each greeted in the right order.

HV 95.2

सो ऽनुज्ञातो हि सत्कृत्य प्रणम्य च जनार्दनम् । ऊर्ध्वम् आचक्रमे पक्षी यथेष्टं गगनेचरः ॥

so 'nujñāto hi satkṛtya praṇamya ca janārdanam | ūrdhvam ācakrame pakṣī yatheṣṭaṃ gagane-caraḥ

That bird, having been dismissed with honor and having bowed to Janārdana, rose upward — going through the sky at will.

The Living Words

*Anujñātaḥ satkṛtya*, 'dismissed with honor'. *Praṇamya*, 'bowing'. *Ūrdhvam ācakrame*, 'rose upward'. *Yatheṣṭaṃ gagane-caraḥ*, 'moving through the sky at will'.

The Heart of It

The verse captures the right dismissal of a great servant. *Anujñātaḥ satkṛtya* — 'dismissed with honor'. Garuḍa is not commanded away; he is honored and given leave. The Varkari tradition's close attention: the great bird goes *yatheṣṭaṃ*, 'at will', only because he was sent *satkṛtya*, with honor. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's teaching on how the bhakta releases the forces that have served him — the breath, the word, the prayer-beads — always with *satkāra*, never with dismissal-without-honor, has HV 95.2 as its Sanskrit model. Even Garuḍa's freedom is honored before it is used.

HV 95.4

कृत्यकाल उपस्थास्य इत्य् उक्त्वा गरुडे गते । कृष्णो ददर्श पितरं वृद्धम् आनकदुंदुभिम् ॥

kṛtya-kāla upasthāsya ity uktvā garuḍe gate | kṛṣṇo dadarśa pitaraṃ vṛddham ānakaduṃdubhim

Saying 'I shall stand by when the time of work comes' — Garuḍa gone — Kṛṣṇa saw his aged father Ānakaduṃdubhi.

The Living Words

*Kṛtya-kāla upasthāsye*, 'at the time of work I shall stand by' — Garuḍa's promise. *Pitaraṃ vṛddham ānakaduṃdubhim*, 'the aged father Ānakaduṃdubhi (Vasudeva)'.

The Heart of It

The verse is a pivot between two relationships. *Garuḍe gate kṛṣṇo dadarśa pitaram* — the bird leaves, the son sees his father. The Varkari tradition's lucid teaching: one cannot attend the father while the bird is still perched; one honor must be completed before the next is taken up. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's counsel on the *krama* of reunion — who to greet first, who second — has HV 95.4 as its Sanskrit paradigm. And *pitaraṃ vṛddham* — 'the aged father' — names the verse's quiet weight: Kṛṣṇa's father is old.

HV 95.7

हता ब्रह्मद्विशः सर्वे यजन्त्य् अन्धकवृष्णयः । रणात् प्रतिनिवृत्तो ऽयम् अक्षतो मधुसूदनः ॥

hatā brahma-dviṣaḥ sarve yajanty andhaka-vṛṣṇayaḥ | raṇāt pratinivṛtto 'yam akṣato madhusūdanaḥ

'All the brahmin-haters are slain; the Andhakas and Vṛṣṇis offer sacrifice. From combat, Madhusūdana has returned unwounded.'

The Living Words

*Hatā brahma-dviṣaḥ sarve*, 'all the brahmin-haters slain'. *Yajanty andhaka-vṛṣṇayaḥ*, 'the Andhakas and Vṛṣṇis offer sacrifice'. *Akṣataḥ*, 'unwounded'. The criers' announcement.

The Heart of It

The verse is the city's good-news proclamation. *Hatā brahma-dviṣaḥ sarve* — 'all the brahmin-haters are slain'. The Varkari tradition's reading: the Lord's victories are announced not as his glory but as *brahma-dviṣaḥ hatāḥ*, the removal of specific threats against specific classes who needed protection. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh understands — the Name's work is measured not by what the Name gains, but by whom the Name has protected. *Akṣataḥ madhusūdanaḥ* — the Lord himself has returned unwounded — is almost an afterthought, not the headline.

HV 95.8

प्रीताश् च मुनयः सर्वे रक्षिता यदुसत्तमैः । इति प्रीता यदुवृषा वर्धयन्ति जनार्दनम् ॥

prītāś ca munayaḥ sarve rakṣitā yadu-sattamaiḥ | iti prītā yadu-vṛṣā vardhayanti janārdanam

'The sages are all pleased, protected by the best of Yadus.' Thus pleased, the Yadu-bulls exalt Janārdana.

The Living Words

*Prītāḥ munayaḥ sarve*, 'all the sages pleased'. *Rakṣitā yadu-sattamaiḥ*, 'protected by the best of Yadus'. *Prītāḥ yadu-vṛṣāḥ*, 'pleased Yadu-bulls'. *Vardhayanti janārdanam*, 'exalt Janārdana'.

The Heart of It

The verse names a triple-circuit of gladness. Sages are pleased; Yadu-bulls are pleased at the sages' pleasure; and they exalt Janārdana who made the sages' pleasure possible. The Varkari tradition's teaching on how devotion propagates: *prīti* begets *prīti*, and each circle of gladness lifts the name of the Lord at its center. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's rising circles of kīrtan — householder pleasing sādhu, sādhu pleasing sant, sant pleasing Lord — are exactly this HV 95.8 dynamic.

HV 95.10

अथाश्रुपरिपूर्णाक्षम् आनन्दगतचेतसम् । ववन्दे सह रामेण पितरं वासवानुजः ॥

athāśru-paripūrṇākṣam ānanda-gata-cetasam | vavande saha rāmeṇa pitaraṃ vāsavānujaḥ

Then, with eyes full of tears, his mind gone to joy, the younger-brother-of-Indra bowed — together with Rāma — to his father.

The Living Words

*Aśru-paripūrṇa-akṣam*, 'eyes full of tears'. *Ānanda-gata-cetasam*, 'mind gone to joy'. *Vavande saha rāmeṇa*, 'bowed together with Rāma'. *Vāsavānujaḥ*, 'Indra's younger brother' (Upendra, Kṛṣṇa).

The Heart of It

The verse shows the Lord himself weeping at the feet of his father. *Aśru-paripūrṇa-akṣam... vavande pitaram* — 'eyes full of tears, bowed to his father'. The Varkari tradition's long meditation: even the Lord's own reunion with his father has tears. *Pitṛ-pūjā* is not a duty one outgrows; it is the posture that even *vāsava-anuja*, the younger brother of Indra, maintains. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's tender attention to parents — in the tradition's own songs to Nivṛttināth, to Vasudeva, to Tukaram's father — has HV 95.10 as its Sanskrit exemplar.

HV 95.11

ततः शेषान् अभिक्रम्य सत्कृत्य च यथार्हतः । सर्वेषां नाम जग्राह दाशार्हाणाम् अधोक्षजः ॥

tataḥ śeṣān abhikramya satkṛtya ca yathārhataḥ | sarveṣāṃ nāma jagrāha dāśārhāṇām adhokṣajaḥ

Then, approaching the rest and honoring each according to merit, Adhokṣaja took the name of all the Dāśārhas.

The Living Words

*Śeṣān abhikramya*, 'approaching the rest'. *Satkṛtya yathārhataḥ*, 'honoring according to merit'. *Sarveṣāṃ nāma jagrāha*, 'took the name of all'. *Adhokṣajaḥ*, Kṛṣṇa's epithet.

The Heart of It

The verse names a practice the Varkari tradition treasures. *Sarveṣāṃ nāma jagrāha* — 'he took the name of all'. Kṛṣṇa did not greet them as a class; he named each by name. The bhakta at Paṇḍharpūr who greets each fellow-warkari by name — this is the practice grounded in HV 95.11. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's insistence on *nāma-grahaṇa*, the taking of individual names (including the Name of the Name), has as its paradigm the Lord himself, who takes each Dāśārha's name. Devotion's grammar is naming, not categorizing.

HV 95.17

रामेण सह गोविन्दः काञ्चनं महद् आसनम् । उग्रसेनं पुरस्कृत्य भेजे वृष्णिपुरस्कृतः ॥

rāmeṇa saha govindaḥ kāñcanaṃ mahad āsanam | ugrasenaṃ puraskṛtya bheje vṛṣṇi-puraskṛtaḥ

Govinda, with Rāma, sat on the great golden seat — placing Ugrasena in front, himself placed-in-front by the Vṛṣṇis.

The Living Words

*Rāmeṇa saha govindaḥ*, 'Govinda with Rāma'. *Kāñcanaṃ mahad āsanam bheje*, 'sat on the great golden seat'. *Ugrasenaṃ puraskṛtya*, 'having placed Ugrasena in front'. *Vṛṣṇi-puraskṛtaḥ*, 'placed-in-front by the Vṛṣṇis'.

The Heart of It

The verse is one of the Harivaṃśa's great humilities. *Ugrasenaṃ puraskṛtya vṛṣṇi-puraskṛtaḥ* — Kṛṣṇa places Ugrasena in front while himself being placed-in-front by the Vṛṣṇis. The reciprocal *puras-kṛta* names the entire ethics of honor-cycling. The Varkari tradition's teaching: the honored must always place someone else in the front. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's long attention to *vṛddha-puras-kāra*, placing the elders in the front, has HV 95.17 as its most elegant Sanskrit formulation. The Lord himself is *vṛṣṇi-puraskṛta*, placed-in-front by his own clan — and he immediately places Ugrasena in front of himself.

Thread

The seven verses trace the chapter's ordered greetings: Garuḍa dismissed with honor (95.2), the father seen after the bird leaves (95.4), the criers announcing the brahmin-haters killed (95.7), the sages' pleasure lifting the Name (95.8), the Lord weeping at his father's feet (95.10), each Dāśārha greeted by specific name (95.11), and the reciprocal puras-kāra of Ugrasena and the Vṛṣṇis placing each other in front (95.17). The Harivaṃśa's model of the orderly re-entry into one's community.

Echo in the saints

HV 95 is the chapter the Warkari tradition reads when teaching how to return home from a pilgrimage. The order Kṛṣṇa keeps — beast-honored, father-saluted, criers-announcing, sages-pleased, elders-named, seat-shared — is the Warkari householder's model of *gṛha-praveśa*, re-entering the home after the vari. And HV 95.17's *ugrasenaṃ puraskṛtya vṛṣṇi-puraskṛtaḥ* is cited by Warkari elders when the Warkari community confers honor: the honored one must immediately place another in the front. The Lord himself teaches the rule.

Scripture references

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 17.14

The great-souled one honors those who serve him.

देवद्विजगुरुप्राज्ञपूजनं शौचमार्जवम् । ब्रह्मचर्यमहिंसा च शारीरं तप उच्यते ॥

deva-dvija-guru-prājña-pūjanaṃ śaucam ārjavam | brahma-caryam ahiṃsā ca śārīraṃ tapa ucyate

The worship of gods, brāhmaṇas, gurus, and the wise; purity, straightness, chastity, and non-violence — this is called the austerity of the body.

HV 95.10's Kṛṣṇa with tear-filled eyes saluting his father is the Gītā 17.14's śārīra-tapas enacted: deva-dvija-guru-pūjana. The Lord himself demonstrates that pitṛ-pūjā is not an inferior act but the paradigmatic tapas of the body.

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BORI critical edition, ed. P. L. Vaidya (1969). Digital text from the GRETIL Zurich constituted text. Distributed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.