Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 6 Chapter 4:36-54

Book 6: Chapter 4

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 6: Chapter 4: Verses 36-54 Daksa extols the Lord who appears in person before him He had His feet (legs) flung across the shoulders of Garuda (the king of the birds) and was possessed of eight mighty and exceptionally long arms, in which He carried a discus, a conch, a sword, a shield, an arrow, a bow, a noose and a mace. Clad in yellow and dark-brown as a cloud, He had a cheerful countenance and eyes sparkling with joy. His body was adorned with a garland of sylvan flowers (extending up to His feet) and bore the brilliant mark of Srivatsa (a curl of hair covering the footprint of Bhrgu) and the (famous) Kaustubha gem. He wore a large crown (on His head) and precious bangles (about His ankles) and a shining pair of alligator-shaped ear-rings, and was (further) adorned with a girdle, rings, bracelets, anklets and armlets. Possessed of a form that captivated (the people of) all the three worlds, the Lord of the whole universe (consisting of the three spheres, viz., earth, heaven and the intermediate region) was surrounded by His (own) attendants-Narada, Nanda, and so on-as well as by the chief among the gods (the guardians of the spheres) and extolled by Siddhas (a class of demigods possessed of mystic powers from their very birth), Gandharvas (heavenly musicians) and Caranas (celestial bards), who were singing songs (of praise) behind Him. Filled with awe and yet extremely rejoiced at heart to behold that most wonderful beauty, Daksa (a lord of created beings) fell prostrate on the ground and could not speak anything because of his senses (the channels for the outflow of the mind) being flooded with intense delight as rivers with mountain-torrents. To that Prajapati, who was a (great) devotee (of the Lord) and desired to be blessed with progeny, and who was (still) crouching as aforesaid, Lord Visnu (who is supplicated by men), the Knower of the mind of all living beings, spoke as follows. The Lord said : O highly blessed Daksa (the son of the Pracetas), you have fully achieved your end through asceticism in that you have developed supreme devotion to Me, thanks to your reverence solely directed towards Me. I am pleased with you, O lord of created beings, inasmuch as your asceticism is conducive to the growth of this creation; (for) it is My wish (too) that all created beings should thrive. Brahma (the creator), Lord Siva (the source of the universe), yourselves (the lord of created beings), the Manus (the progenitors of mankind, presiding over different Manvantaras or periods covering seventy-one and odd revolution of the four Yugas), and the chief of the gods (the guardians of the spheres, Indra and others)-indeed these are My glorious manifestation making for the prosperity of (all) created beings. Asceticism (in the form of contemplation accompanied by the practice of Yamas and Niyamas) is My (very) heart; worship (in the form of the muttering of prayers with all auxiliary practices, Nyasa etc.), My body (because it gives a concrete shape to meditation and serves as a protective covering for it even as the body protects the heart); the (mental) activity (preliminary to meditation in the shape of forming a conceptual image of the object to be meditated upon), My exterior; sacrifices well-performed are the (various) members of My body; the merit resulting from such scrifices, My mind (which has its seat in the heart, i.e., has its source in meditation); and the gods (enjoying a share in the sacrificial oblations) are My vital airs (which are sated through such oblations). Before creation I alone existed and that too in a state of absolute inactivity; there was nothing else in the form of the perceiving subject or the percieved object. I was mere consciousness and unmanifest (too); it seemed as if a state of deep sleep prevailed on all sides. When in My infinite Being, possessed of endless attributes, sprang up through Maya this cosmos made up of the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas), there arose in that very cosmos Brahma, (the self-born), the cause (creator) of all, not born of a mothers womb. When that great god girded up his loins for the work of creation, he as a matter of fact thought himself unequal to it as it were, though supplemented with My energy. That all-powerful divinity accordingly practised severe austerities as enjoined by Me, by recourse to which he evolved at the very outset nine lords of creation including yourself (your previous incarnation). This daughter of Pancajana, a lord of created beings (like you), Asikni by name, should (now) be accepted (by you), O dear Daksa, as wife. Following the righteous course of sexual intercourse between a (duly) married couple, you shall again beget progeny in large numbers through her, who will (also) follow (like you) the prescribed course of sexual union between a (duly) wedded couple. All created beings (coming) after you will be born (again in the form of their children) (only) by copulating with My Maya (enchanting potency in the form of woman) and bear offerings to Me. Sri Suka went on : Having spoken thus, Lord Sri Hari, the Promoter of the universe, disappeared on that very spot, like an object seen in a dream, (even) as Daksa looked on. Thus ends the fourth discourse in Book Six of the great and glorious Bhagavata-Purana, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhita.