Sankarshanāya namah.
Kardama Prajāpati continued, “O Lord, this human plane is filled with innumerable desires and is tied with the rope called actions. Accepting the procedure adopted in this world, I too worship You, the embodiment of time, through varied rituals.
O Lord! Even those devotees who are inclined towards material desires withdraw from them and instead choose to sing or listen to Your divine glories. Being totally immersed in Your glorious stories, they forget even the basic needs of hunger and thirst. Under the umbrella called Your lotus feet, they rest happily.
Your wheel of time constantly rotates. Including Adhika māsa (occasional extra month), this wheel has 13 leaves. The 6 seasons are its 6 spokes. On this wheel limitless minutes and seconds are carved. If we consider four months as one set, then a year consists of three divisions. For this reason on this wheel there are 3 primary navel spokes. This wheel moves at unimaginable speeds and takes this world along with it towards destruction. Even then this wheel fails in reducing the longevity of your true devotees.
O Lord! Prior to creation You alone existed. You are the sole refuge and support for māya (illusory power). This illusory power which consists of traits of goodness, action and inertia (sattva, rajas, tamo guna) is not separate from You.
Just as a spider spins its web, You create this world from Yourself through the help of this illusory power, sustain it and then at time of dissolution pull it back into Yourself.
O Sarveshwara! Through the help of Your illusory power, You have expanded this creation which consists of subtle sense perceptions of smell, taste, form, touch and sound and which can be experienced through the medium of the senses. You do not like to gift it to us because You desire to give us, Your devotees, the ultimate gift of Supreme Knowledge. I seek that this creation, which is full of sensory pleasures, should direct me solely towards liberation, which is Your blessing!
This is because I am seeing that divine auspicious form of Yours adorned with the garland of Tulasi leaves which, due to the power of illusion appears to have limitations. The truth is that You are Parabrahma. You are devoid of action. Neither in actions nor in their results You show any inclination. Even then through Your illusory power You manage all the activities in these worlds. Your lotus feet are worthy of being prayed to.
You fulfill the desires of even insignificant persons like me when we pray to You. Again and again I offer my obeisance to You, O Lord”.
In this way, without even a trait of deceit, Kardama Prajāpati, whose heart was overflowing with devotion, glorified Lord Srihari who was seated on His vehicle Garuda.
With His affectionate charming smile Srihari pleasantly looked at Kardama. Moving His eyebrows gently and lifting His head up, He uttered these words that were extremely nectarous to the ears, “Kardama! I am aware of the desire in Your heart. That, for which you have undertaken this rigorous penance coupled with stringent disciplines, I have already readied for you.
Na vai jātu mṛṣaiva syāt prajādhyakṣa mad-arhaṇam
Bhavad-vidheṣv atitarāṁ mayi saṅgṛbhitātmanām
O Kardama Prajāpati! That worship done with the mind fixed exclusively upon Me will never go in vain. This is even more applicable for supreme beings like you.
Emperor Swayambhuva Manu is the son of Brahma. Seated in Brahmavarta he rules this entire earth consisting of seven continents. He is an exponent in righteousness and is a rāja-rishi (saintly emperor). The day after tomorrow this emperor together with his wife Shatarupa will visit you.
His daughter is of exemplary character and supreme noble qualities. She is of marriageable age. Manu will offer his daughter in marriage to you. O Maharishi! Your deep desire of many years to obtain a suitable wife will be quickly fulfilled. That princess will marry you and will serve you.
You will be blessed with nine daughters. They in turn will marry saints and will be blessed with progeny. You, who have an absolutely pure inner mind, will abide by my order diligently. Offering all actions as well as their fruits to Me, you will attain Me. You will conquer the senses. Being compassionate towards all forms of life you will take up sanyasa ashrama which gives protection to one and all. The knowledge that this entire universe, including you, rests in the Lord will be obtained by you. You will be able to see Me and this universe as the Self.
Sahāhaṁ svāṁśa-kalayā tvad-vīryeṇa mahā-mune
Tava kṣetre devahūtyāṁ praṇeṣye tattva-saṁhitām
O Maharishi! Along with your other children, I will also be born to your wife Devahuti, with my amsha (portion). I will preach the Sānkhya philosophy (Shastra) that explains the Supreme Essence.
Maitreya then said to Vidura, “Vidura! Only when one conquers the senses and they are turned completely inwards, vision of Srihari can be obtained! The Supreme Lord Srihari made Himself visible to Kardama and showered boons upon him. He then left for His abode from that lake called Bindu-sarovara which was surrounded completely by River Saraswati.
Srihari can be obtained purely through the path of knowledge. This is the Vaikunṭha Marga (path). Accomplished beings always follow and glorify this path. As Kardama was watching, Srihari departed on this path to Vaikunṭha. He travelled on this path listening to the Sāma veda recital that arose from the flapping of the Garuda’s wings and to the Rig Veda hymns being chanted by Garuda.
Thereafter Kardama Prajāpati seated in his ashrama located on the banks of lake Bindu sarovara, eagerly awaited the arrival of Emperor Manu.
Around that time, Emperor Manu mounted on his golden chariot, together with his wife and daughter, was travelling across the entire earth. Having completed his austerities Kardama Prajāpati was relaxing in his ashrama. Exactly as predicted by Srihari, on the appointed day, Emperor Manu approached the lake Bindu sarovara.
There is a reason for this lake to be addressed as Bindu sarovara. Srihari’s heart totally melted with compassion when He saw Kardama Prajāpati, who had totally surrendered to Him. His eyes were filled with tear of compassion. These drops fell near the Kardama’s ashrama and a lake was formed. As this lake was formed due to the tears that had dropped from the Lord’s eyes, it was called Bindu sarovara. That ever-pure lake is surrounded by River Saraswati on all sides.
Vasudevaya namah
