Canto Ten - Chapter 89

Śrī Śuka said: O King, sages once held a sacrificial session on the bank of the Sarasvatī. A debate arose among them: which of the three presiding lords is greatest?

Eager to learn the answer, O King, they sent Brahmā's son Bhṛgu to discover it. He first entered Brahmā's assembly.

To test Brahmā's steadiness in goodness, Bhṛgu neither bowed nor offered praise. The lord became angry with him, blazing with his own power.

Yet the self-born Lord mastered within himself the anger that had arisen toward his own son, just as water, the offspring of fire, extinguishes fire.

Bhṛgu next went to Kailāsa. Seeing his brother, Lord Maheśvara rose joyfully and began to embrace him.

Bhṛgu refused, saying, 'You have abandoned the proper path.' Śiva grew angry, raised his trident, and with fierce eyes prepared to kill him.

The goddess fell at Śiva's feet and pacified him with words. Bhṛgu then went to Vaikuṇṭha, where Lord Janārdana resides.

There he kicked the chest of the Lord, who was reclining upon Śrī's lap. The Supreme Lord, destination of the saints, rose at once together with Lakṣmī.

Descending from His bed, He bowed His head to the sage and said, 'Welcome, brāhmaṇa. Please sit upon this seat for a moment. Master, forgive us for failing to notice your arrival.'

Purify Me, My realm, and the worlds of the guardians devoted to Me with the water from your feet, which makes even holy places holy.

My lord, today I have become the exclusive abode of Lakṣmī. Fortune will now dwell upon My chest, whose sins were destroyed by the touch of your foot.

Śrī Śuka said: As Lord Vaikuṇṭha spoke in this way with a deep, gentle voice, Bhṛgu became satisfied and fulfilled. Overwhelmed by devotion, his eyes filled with tears and he remained silent.

Bhṛgu returned to the sacrificial session of the sages who knew Brahman and described everything he had experienced, O King.

Hearing his account, the sages were astonished and freed from doubt. They placed the greatest faith in Viṣṇu, from whom arise peace and fearlessness.

From Him directly arise dharma, knowledge attended by detachment, the eightfold divine powers, and glory that removes the impurity of the self.

He is proclaimed the supreme destination of tranquil sages who have laid down the rod of violence, whose minds are equal, who possess nothing, and who are holy.

Pure goodness is His beloved form, and brāhmaṇas are His chosen deities. Peaceful persons of keen understanding worship Him without seeking material blessings.

The three kinds of beings, Rākṣasas, Asuras, and Suras, are created by His Māyā endowed with the modes. Among those modes, sattva is the means of attaining the sacred goal.

Thus the brāhmaṇas on the Sarasvatī dispelled humanity's doubt. By serving the Supreme Person's lotus feet, they attained His destination.

Śrī Sūta said: This fragrant nectar from the lotus mouth of the sage's son is a beautiful glorification of the Supreme Person and breaks the fear of worldly existence. A traveler who constantly drinks it through the cups of the ears abandons the fatigue of wandering the road of saṃsāra.

Śrī Śuka said: Once in Dvārakā, O descendant of Bharata, a brāhmaṇa's wife bore a son who died the moment the newborn touched the earth.

The brāhmaṇa carried the dead infant to the king's gate and laid him there. Afflicted and wretched, he lamented and spoke.

Because of the faulty conduct of this nominal kṣatriya, who hates brāhmaṇas, thinks deceitfully, is greedy, and lives for sense pleasure, my child has died.

Subjects who serve a violent king of bad character and uncontrolled senses languish in poverty and continual sorrow.

The brāhmaṇa sage lost his second child in the same way, and then his third. Each time he left the body at the royal gate and sang the same lament.

When the ninth child died, Arjuna happened to hear that lament while near Keśava, and he addressed the brāhmaṇa.

Brāhmaṇa, is there no bowman where you live? Are these merely contemptible relatives of kṣatriyas, behaving as though brāhmaṇas were gathered here only to perform sacrifices?

Where brāhmaṇas mourn the loss of wealth, wives, and children, the supposed rulers are actors wearing royal dress who merely sustain their own lives.

My lord, I shall protect the offspring of you two who suffer here. If I fail to fulfill my promise, I will enter the fire and burn away my sin.

The brāhmaṇa said: When Saṅkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna the finest bowman, and invincible Aniruddha could not protect my children, how can you?

Out of childishness you seek to perform a deed impossible even for the lords of the universe. We cannot believe you.

Śrī Arjuna said: Brāhmaṇa, I am neither Saṅkarṣaṇa nor Kṛṣṇa nor Kṛṣṇa's son. I am Arjuna, whose bow is Gāṇḍīva.

Do not belittle my strength, brāhmaṇa, for it satisfied three-eyed Śiva. I shall conquer Death in battle and bring back your children, master.

Reassured in this way by Phālguna, O scorcher of enemies, the brāhmaṇa heard of Pārtha's prowess and happily returned home.

When his wife again approached the time of birth, that best of brāhmaṇas came to Arjuna in distress and cried, 'Protect my child, protect it!'

Arjuna touched pure water, bowed to Maheśvara, recalled his celestial weapons, and took up Gāṇḍīva with its string fastened.

With arrows empowered by many weapons, Pārtha enclosed the birthing chamber, creating a cage of arrows across, above, and below.

The brāhmaṇa's wife then bore a son. After crying repeatedly, the newborn suddenly vanished bodily into the sky.

Before Kṛṣṇa, the brāhmaṇa denounced Vijaya: 'See my folly! I trusted the boasting of an impotent man.'

When neither Pradyumna nor Aniruddha nor Rāma nor Keśava could protect my child, what other lord could possibly do so?

Condemn Arjuna the liar! Condemn the braggart's bow! Foolishly he sought to bring back one seized by destiny.

While the brāhmaṇa sage cursed him in this way, Phālguna invoked mystic knowledge and swiftly went to Saṃyamanī, where Lord Yama dwells.

Not seeing the brāhmaṇa's child there, Arjuna went armed to the realms of Indra, Agni, Nirṛti, Soma, Vāyu, and Varuṇa, then to Rasātala, the summit of heaven, and every other celestial station.

Still unable to find the brāhmaṇa's son and having failed to fulfill his promise, he prepared to enter fire. Kṛṣṇa stopped him and spoke.

I shall show you the brāhmaṇa's sons. Do not despise yourself. The very people who now reproach us will establish our stainless fame.

After speaking thus, the Supreme Lord mounted His divine chariot with Arjuna and entered the western direction.

Crossing the seven islands with their oceans and seven ranges of mountains on each, and then Lokāloka, He entered a vast darkness.

Within that darkness the horses Śaibya, Sugrīva, Meghapuṣpa, and Balāhaka lost their way, O best of Bharatas.

Seeing them, Lord Kṛṣṇa, supreme master of the greatest masters of yoga, sent His disc ahead, blazing like a thousand suns.

With its immensely powerful radiance, the swift Sudarśana disc split apart the dense, dreadful darkness born of the great unmanifest principle and entered it at the speed of thought, as Rāma's arrow pierces an army.

Following the path opened by the disc, they passed through that darkness to the boundless supreme light. Its all-pervading brilliance struck Phālguna's eyes, and he closed them both.

They then entered an ocean adorned with immense waves stirred by a mighty wind. There stood a wondrous and supremely radiant palace, splendid with a thousand shining jeweled pillars.

Within it Arjuna saw the enormous and wondrous Ananta, resplendent with the light of the gems upon His thousand hoods, formidable with twice as many eyes, white as a mountain of snow, with dark-blue necks and tongues.

Upon Ananta's comfortable serpent couch he saw the all-pervading, greatly glorious Lord, supreme even among the supreme persons. His complexion resembled a dense rain cloud; He wore beautiful yellow garments, His face was serene, and His broad eyes were lovely.

The brilliance of great jewels upon His crown and earrings surrounded His abundant curls. His eight handsome arms extended gracefully; He bore the Kaustubha gem and the mark of Śrīvatsa and was encircled by a forest garland.

His personal attendants headed by Sunanda and Nanda served Him, as did His own weapons, beginning with the disc, in embodied forms. Puṣṭi, Śrī, Kīrti, Ajā, and all divine powers attended that Lord of the highest rulers.

Acyuta bowed to His own infinite Self, and Jiṣṇu also bowed, filled with awe at the vision. As the two stood with joined palms, the all-powerful Lord of the highest rulers smiled and addressed them in a commanding voice.

I brought the brāhmaṇa's sons here because I wished to see you both. You descended by portions to protect dharma on earth. After killing the demons who burden the world, quickly return to Me.

Though all your desires are fulfilled, you two are the sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa, foremost among those who practice dharma. For the preservation of dharma, continue to act for the welfare of the world.

Thus instructed by the Supreme Lord, the highest ruler, the two Kṛṣṇas replied, 'Om.' They bowed to the all-powerful Lord and took the brāhmaṇa's sons.

Delighted, they returned by the route they had come to their own abode and gave the brāhmaṇa his sons, each in the same form and at the same age as when he had disappeared.

After seeing Viṣṇu's abode, Pārtha was supremely astonished. He understood that whatever power human beings possess comes through Kṛṣṇa's grace.

Displaying many such heroic deeds in this world, the Lord enjoyed ordinary human pleasures and performed sacrifices of immense power.

Established in supremacy, the Supreme Lord showered all desired blessings upon His subjects, beginning with the brāhmaṇas, at the proper time, just as Indra sends rain.

Having slain the most lawless kings and caused others to be slain by Arjuna and his companions, the Lord easily established dharma through Dharma's son Yudhiṣṭhira and the other righteous rulers.