Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 10 Chapter 51:46-52

Book 10: Fifty-one Chapter (Latter Half)

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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 10: Chapter 51: Verses 46-52

Mucukunda was told by the sage Vrddha Garga (the elder or senior Garga) that the Lord Himself would appear in the house of Vasudeva in the twenty-eighth round of Dwapara Yuga in the course of the present Manvantara and that the king would have the rare and unique privilege of beholding Him and talking to Him. Mucukunda prayed : Deluded by Your Maya (enchanting potency) and blind to the (highest) Reality (viz., Yourself), 0 Lord, this creature (man)--appearing (now) as male and (now as) female-does not worship You, but remains attached to the home, which is a (prolific) source of misery (alone), in search of happiness, of which (however) it is (ever) deprived. Having somehow (by grace of God) secured without (any) effort birth-which is (so) difficult to attain-in this land (of Bharatavarsa) as a human being sound of body and mind (and therefore fit for devotions), O sinless Lord, man does not take refuge in Your lotus- feet, his mind being set on the pleasures of sense (which are unreal), and remains sunk in household life even like a beast fallen into a well overgrown with grass (and is unable to get out of it). (All) this life of mine, 0 invincible Lord, has slipped in vain in endless anxiety, a ruler of the earth as I was with my pride puffed up by a royal fortune, viewing this mortal frame as my own self and remaining attached to children, wives, treasury and lands.
With the feeling about this body-which is as much apart from me as a jar or a wall-being my own self and a ruler of men, deeply rooted (in my mind), nay, traversing the earth in all directions, surrounded by generals commanding regiments of chariots, elephants, horses and foot-soldiers, and forgetting You (the Time-Spirit), I had grown very haughty. Alert as the serpent that grabs a rat, licking the ends of its lips through hunger, You (appearing) as Death suddenly overtake the embodied soul that is utterly forgetful (of You), engrossed as it is in the thought of its (worldly) projects, and not only hankers after the pleasures of sense (even though its aspirations are thwarted at every step) but finds its thirst (for enjoyment) immensely aggravated (even as its aspirations are realized). The same body which was formerly- while moving about in chariots adorned with gold ornaments or on (the back of) young elephants-bore the title of a ruler of men, (eventually) passes by the name of excrement (if left exposed and devoured by dogs, jackals or vultures and crows etc.) of worms (if interred) and of ashes (if cremated) when seized by You disguised as death, which is (so) hard to escape. Having fully conquered all the (four) quarters, with all possibility of (a future) conflict precluded, and occupying a high seat (the exalted throne of a universal monarch) and hailed by monarchs that were (once) his equals, the man, 0 Lord, is led (hither and thither) as a toy-deer of young women in (the precincts of) the home, which offers (no other charm than) sexual pleasures.

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