Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 1 Chapter 13:46-59

Book 1: Chapter 13

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 1: Chapter 13: Verses 46-59 Departure of Dhrtarastra and his wife Gandhari, for the forest at the instance of Vidura The handless (such as the quadruped) serve as the subsistence of those that have hands (such as human beings); those that have no feet (such as grass etc.) sustain the life of the four-footed animals; and (even among the handless) the smaller ones serve as the sustenance of the bigger ones. (In this way) life sustains life. All this, O king, is the one self-effulgent Lord, the Self of all embodied souls. It is He who appears as the subject and the object. Perceive Him as manifested in multitudinous forms through Maya (illusion). It is He, O mighty ruler-the same Lord who brings into being this living creation-who has now appeared on this earth as living Death (Kala) for the extermination of the enemies of gods. The work of the gods has now been (well-nigh) accomplished and the Lord awaits the completion of that which yet remains to be done. You too should wait so long as the Lord is still here: "Dhrtarastra with his younger brother and his own wife, Gandhari, has gone to the hermitage of sages to the south of the Himalayas, where the Ganga (the celestial river) has for the pleasure of the seven celebrated sages (Saptarsis as they are called) split herself into seven streams to flow through seven different channels, which they call Saptasrota. Bathing in the Saptasrota thrice a day (in the morning and evening as well as at midday), and pouring oblations into the sacred fire according to the scriptural ordinance, he is living on water alone, serene of mind and free from all cravings. Having controlled his pose (sitting in one pose continually for hours together) and breath and withdrawn his six senses (the five external senses and the mind, which is known as the sixth or internal sense) from their objects, he has shaken off through contemplation on Sri Hari the impurities of his mind in the shape of Rajas, Sattva and Tamas. Nay, merging his ego (sense of I-ness or individuality) in Buddhi (the principle of intelligence and the source of I-consciousness) and dissolving his Buddhi in the individual soul (the Ksetrajna as it is called), he has identified his individual soul with the Absolute (Brahma), the substratum of all, as the space within a jar is united with the unlimited space. Again, having thoroughly controlled his senses and mind, he has given up all enjoyment and uprooted the effects (in the shape of latent desires) of the Gunas of Maya. Nay, having abandoned all his duties, he sits motionless like a post now. Therefore, do not stand in his way (by trying to contact him). On the fifth day hence, O king, he will cast off his body, which will be reduced to ashes. Finding the body of her lord being consumed along with the hut (he is occupying) by the sacrificial fires, his virtuous wife, standing outside, will enter the fire in order to follow her husband. And, witnessing this wonder with a mixed feeling of joy and grief, O delight of the Kurus, Vidura will go out (again) on pilgrimage to sacred places." Having told him all this, the sag° Narada with Tumburu immediately ascended to heaven; and, treasuring up his words in his heart, Yudhisthira ceased sorrowing. Thus ends the thirteenth discourse, forming part of the story of the Naimisa forest, in Book One of the great and glorious Bhagavata-Purana, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhita.