Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 4 Chapter 20:28-38

Book 4: Chapter 20

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 4: Chapter 20: Verses 28-38 Lord Visnu manifests Himself in the sacrificial half of king Prthu Jealousy is sure to be aroused. O Lord of the universe, in (the mind of) Goddess Laksmi (the Mother of the universe) whose role (of devoted service to Your feet) it is my desire to share. But fond as You are of the meek, You make much even of their trifling services. And rejoicing as You do in Your own Self, You have nothing to do even with Her (Goddess Laksmi). It is therefore that even after attaining wisdom pious souls worship You alone, who dispel the delusion caused in the mind of Your devotees by the modes of Prakrti (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas). (As a matter of fact,) we know of no other purpose than the constant remembrance of Your feet in the life of noble souls, O Lord. The words "Ask (of Me) a boon (of your choice)" that You (just) addressed to me, engaged in worshipping You(ina disinterested spirit),I reckon as intended to delude the creatures (of the world). If the people were not bound by the cords of Your speech (the Veda), wherefore should they take to action (with interested motives) under a spell of delusion ? Indeed man has been split from You, his real Self, by Your Maya (deluding potency), O Lord: that is why the stupid fellow hankers for other things. (Nevertheless,) even as a father does what is good for his child of his own accord (without being asked by the child), You too should likewise strive for our good Maitreya went on : Extolled thus by Prthu (the first constitutional monarch on this earth), the all-seeing(omniscient) Lord said to him, "May you have devotion to Me, O king l Fortunately enough you have developed such a mental attitude towards Me, through which one is able to get over My Maya (deluding potency), so hard to escape from. Therefore, do My bidding carefully. O ruler of the people; for men who carry out My behest reap good results everywhere." Maitreya resumed : Thus welcoming the words of the royal sage Prthue (the son of Vena), which were full of deep meaning, and worshipped by him, the immortal Lord showered his grace on him and made up His mind to depart. Honoured by the king with (polite) words, wealth (rich presents), salutation (with joined palms) and devotion, and treated by him as (so many images of) Lord Visnu (the Ruler of all sacrifices), all the gods, Rsis, manes, Gandharvas (celestial musicians), Siddhas (a class of celestial beings. endowed with mystic powers from their very birth), Caranas (celestial bards), Nagas (a species of living beings with a human face and serpent-like lower extremities, inhabiting the subterranean regions), Kinnaras (a class of demigods with a human figure and the head of a horse, reckoned among the celestial choristers and celebrated as musicians), Apsaras (the dancing girls of heaven), human beings, birds and many other beings as well as the attendants of Lord Vaikuntha (Visou) left that place. Stealing away the mind as it were of that royal sage as well as that of his preceptor, the immortal Lord too returned to His own Abode. Bowing to the Lord, who is adorable even to the gods and is unmanifest by His very nature, and who, having revealed Himself (to Prthu) had become invisible once more, the king (also) retired to his capital. Thus ends the twentieth discourse in Book Four of the great and glorious Bhagavata-Purana, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhita.