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Maharishi Śounaka continued, “Parikshit, the son of Abhimanyu, is considered to be the most supreme amongst devotees. Please explain to us the details of his birth and his deeds which are astonishing. What was the reason for this supreme emperor, who brought great fame to the lineage of Pandavas, to give up all palatial luxuries and sit on the banks of Ganga awaiting death? Please explain all this to us.

Even enemy kings would, for their own safety and welfare, offer many forms of riches and gold to Parikshit and pay obeisance to his feet. Such was his valour and youth. How could such a great king give up in totality all those riches and luxuries, which is impossible under normal circumstances? What was the reason behind this development? Please explain in detail all these astonishing facts.

Only those who totally surrender to the Lord and who live solely for the wellbeing, prosperity and happiness of the world, behave in an exalted manner. Such people do not act out of selfish desires. Nor do they live for fulfillment of their selfish desires. Emperor Parikshit belonged to this category. After having attained dispassion (vairāgya) why did he give up his body, which was being used only to bring about the benefit of others in the universe?  What was the reason?

O great saint! Please answer all these questions of ours in detail. Barring some Vedic statements, you have attained great expertise in other forms of knowledge including all Shastras”.

In reply to these questions, Maharishi Suta said as follows-

“Dvāpare samanuprāpte tṛtīye yuga-paryaye

Jātaḥ parāśarād yogī vāsavyāṁ kalayā hareḥ

When Dwarpara Yuga, the third eon, was coming to an end the great Maharishi Vyasa was born to Maharishi Paraśara from the womb of Satyavati, daughter of Vasu. Maharishi Vyasa was a partial incarnation of Mahavishnu and He was supremely knowledgeable by birth.

One day, Maharishi Vyasa bathed in the River Saraswati during the early hours and selecting an isolated place sat down quietly. The great saint possessed divine vision and hence could see the past, present and future. He foresaw in the course of time, dharma (righteousness) depleting through the various different eons (Yugas) on earth. In addition he also foresaw the deterioration of the gross body and of its energies due to non-adherence to righteousness by the people of these eons. He realized that there would be deterioration of both the physical energy and intelligence amongst people. The unlucky people, due to lack of dedication, purity and goodness would be dull-headed and would have a very short span of life.

He sat there pondered about a solution by which welfare of all beings across all castes and all ashramas (stages of life) could be brought about.

In future people would be foolish, lazy, sleepy, will live only for food, will be full of desires, anger will rule them, diseases will overtake them. Dedication and purity will not be visible in them. They will not have longevity. Time is flying fast. In what way can these people be helped?

He realized that through the process of Vedic rituals these persons could be uplifted. Through these Vedic rituals the mind of the persons could be cleansed. With the intent that such Vedic rituals and Yagnas should continue without a break and that the all planes should prosper, this great Maharishi took the entire heap of Vedas, which was considered a single unit until that point of time, and divided it into four groups viz., Rig, Yujur and Sāma and Atharva. Puranas and itihasa (history) were called the fifth Veda.

Maharishi Paila became well versed in Rig Veda, Maharishi Jaimini in Sama Veda and Maharishi Vaishampayana in Yajur Veda. Maharishi Sumantu attained expertise in Atharva Veda. My father Romaharsha established himself in Itihasa and Purana” said Maharishi Suta.

He further continued, “The eminent saints, in turn, further divided the Veda that they had taken over, into many sub-divisions (śākhas). Then they handed over these śākhas to their disciples, disciples of their disciples and then again to the disciples of those disciples and so on. In this way many branches arose.

Due to extreme love and compassion towards the needy, Maharishi Vyasa divided Vedas into so many branches, in a way such that even dull headed human beings could grasp.

Vedas and the rituals prescribed by the Vedas are the tools for ultimate prosperity. But Vedas themselves declare that ladies, shudras (lowest caste) and men who have not undergone the thread ceremony are ineligible for Veda recitation. In order that even these people should benefit, the ever compassionate Maharishi Vyasa, composed the Mahabharata, which contains the entire essence of the Vedas. In this manner Maharishi Vyasa, for the welfare of all forms of living beings, utilized his entire energies to the maximum capacity”.

Here it only states that those who do not have the eligibility to chant the Gayatri mantra cannot undertake those tasks. It does not prohibit one and all in general. There are many other Puranas and other texts which others, who are not initiated into Gayatri mantra, can take up.

“Even after completing these supreme tasks, Maharishi did not attain mental peace. Even after working for the benefit of the entire mankind he was not at peace”.

Om Namo Narayana.

“When Krishna gave up his human body and returned to his abode in Vaikunta, together with his dharma and jnana, people became dull headed. They lost the divine eye of knowledge. In order to open the eyes of these dull headed beings this Sun called Bhagawatam Purana has arisen” said Maharishi Suta.

With this the 3^rd chapter of the first Canto comes to an end.

First Canto Chapter Four 

In this chapter the greatness of Maharishi Śuka, the dissatisfaction of Maharishi Vedavyasa and the arrival of Maharishi Nārada to the ashrama of Maharishi Vedavyasa are covered.

All the saints led by Śounaka Maharishi were keenly listening to this detailed narration of the specialities in the incarnations of the Supreme Lord. Amongst the saints who had assembled to perform the ‘deergha satra yāga’ ritual Maharishi Śounaka was the most supreme. He had more than 10,000 disciples and was an exponent in Rig Veda. This great Maharishi Śounaka extolled Maharishi Suta in various ways and said,

“Sūta sūta mahā-bhāga vada no vadatāṁ vara

Kathāṁ bhāgavatīṁ puṇyāṁ yad āha bhagavāñ śukaḥ

O Maharishi Suta! You are the most supreme amongst the orators! Please narrate to us the eternally pious stories of the Supreme Lord, the divine Bhāgawatam, which you had heard from Maharishi Śuka.

When did this sacred text originate? What were the reasons behind its origin? Which eon (yuga) does it belong to? What is it that inspired Maharishi Vedavyasa to compose this sacred text? Please explain all these in detail.

Maharishi Śuka, the son of Maharishi Vedavyasa, is an eminent learned scholar and an exponent in Self-knowledge. He is able to visualize the Self everywhere. He does not have feelings of differentiation (bheda buddhi). The mind of this great saint, which has awakened from the deep slumber called egoism (ahamkara), is eternally focussed upon the Lord. His greatness is not visible to this external eye. Therefore ordinary beings consider Him to be a fool.

When Maharishi Śuka left home and began to move about alone, his father Maharishi Vedavyasa followed him. As Maharishi Śuka was crossing a pond, divine damsels who were swimming naked in those waters were not even slightly perturbed upon seeing him. Happily, without any hesitation, they continued to play in those waters. A little time later, Maharishi Vedavyasa, an aged saint who was fully clothed arrived at same pond. Seeing Vyasa these damsels were deeply perturbed and bashfully hurried to cover their bodies with clothes.

Maharishi Vyasa was astonished with this behavior and asked the damsels, “Why was it that you were unperturbed with the presence of Śuka who is in the prime of his youth and who was naked? I am an old man and fully clothed. Why then are you disturbed with my presence?”

To this the damsels politely replied, “O Maharishi! You have not yet got over the male-female differentiation. Your son Maharishi Śuka, who is eternally pure and who possesses a divine eye, does not have any form of differentiation”.

How did the citizens of Hastinapura recognize Maharishi Śuka, who had arrived there after wandering through the Kuru and Jangāla kingdoms, and who roamed about like a mad, dumb and mentally retarded person?

O Suta Maharishi! How could Emperor Parikshit, who belonged to the lineage of the Pandavas, get this good association with Maharishi Śuka? How did the conversation between them progress? During that conversation how and in which manner did Śuka Yogi explain Bhāgawatam?

The house wherein this Śuka yogi places his foot, the place where he arrives and the pond where he enters are instantly rendered pure! Such a great saint Śuka stays in people’s houses only for that much time as is needed to milk a cow. He instantly thereafter leaves that place. How could such a great saint stay in the home of Parikshit, who was a householder, for a period of a week? Isn’t this surprising?

Śuka yogindra is an Avadhoota. We do not know whom he will bless with his vision. He does not stay for long at any place. We do not know with whom he will talk. He appears like a dumb mad man. He will run in any direction as it pleases him. Such a person cannot stay in any house for 7 continuous days. How could he stay for such a long period of time in the house of Parikshit?” in this way Maharishi Śounaka and others questioned Maharishi Suta.

Om Namo Narayana.

Maharishi Suta continued, “Knowledge is the form of the Supreme Lord!  Such a Lord does not need a gross body with hands, legs etc. when he has another carrier (body) which over and above the triguṇās, which is not subject to transformations, which is subtle, unseen and unheard. This body is known as subtle body (sookṣma sareera). This subtle body is responsible for re-births of the individual being.

When a person, with ripened knowledge, is able to understand that the gross and subtle bodies are not the Self (atma), he attains Self-realization! In other words he comes out of the delusion that the gross and subtle bodies were the Self. He now attains God realization and becomes Parabrahma!

Parameshwara is inherently the form of discriminatory intelligence (buddhi).  When illusion vanishes completely, the individual becomes enlightened. He attains Self- realization. This is what the enlightened saints declare! The individual who thus attains his original form enjoys supreme bliss. He will remain in that state itself.

The learned pundits describe in the following manner the births as well as the secretive actions (veda rahasya karma) of that Supreme Lord who resides within the hearts of one and all, who inherently is devoid of birth as well as action and which have come to Him on account of illusion (māya).

The ever-competent Lord playfully creates this universe, rules over it and finally wipes it out. But He does not develop any form of connection with this universe created by Him. Being unaffected, He remains an eternal witness. He does not develop any association with any living being. He has no inclination in matters pertaining to this material universe.

He seats himself within the hearts of all living beings, controls the 5 senses and mind, and appears as if He tastes the joys-sorrows of this universe. The truth is that He does not experience them; He appears to be experiencing them. He has no connection whatsoever with these happenings. Foolish, ignorant persons can never understand the playful activities of the Lord, who is protecting and ruling this world.

Only those who are honest and non-deceitful, who with full devotion are ever engaged in spiritual austerities, who lead a good righteous life and who smell the divine fragrance from His lotus feet can obtain His vision and understand the inner significance behind the playful activities of the Lord who holds the discus in His hand and who possesses unsurpassed valour.

It is imperative that the mind should be pure and full of devotion. A pure mind, a heart full of devotion,  a pure life, gentleness in speech, not hurting feelings of others, being respectful towards all objects in this creation and yet not developing any inclination towards them are the characteristics that every good devotee of the Lord cultivates. This comes from visiting the premises of the Lord. Only such a person can understand the essence of the Supreme Lord.

Therefore, O Maharishis! All of you are blessed. This is because you seek to know about the Supreme Lord Mahavishnu. In this birth itself you have obtained the required devotion and love towards the Lord. You could attain this in a single birth. Only when supreme love and devotion towards the Lord co-exist, this is possible.

Many speak eloquently about these qualities of love and devotion towards the Supreme; they preach a lot about it. They address huge gatherings and conduct large debates on this topic. They write books on the importance of developing unsurpassed devotion and love towards the Supreme. But in their life they are unable to convert this into action.

On the other hand, O Maharishis, you have been able to put this into practice. You are truly blessed. Those who possess minds with such pure feelings will not get trapped in this whirlpool of repeated re-births!”

Swamiji explains: Repeated births and deaths is a whirlpool. The moment the person is trapped in a whirlpool he cannot exit from it, no matter how good a swimmer he may be. For this reason expert swimmers estimate the location of the whirlpool before entering the waters of the lakes and rivers. They swim without touching this whirlpool. Those who have no such estimation about whirlpools, blindly jump in to swim and get trapped in the whirlpool. Once he is trapped, that’s the end. He has no escape.

Here the cycle of births and deaths have been compared to a whirlpool from which here is no escape. But even here there is hope. If the being perchance contemplates about the Lord or thinks of his glories, this dangerous whirlpool can do him no harm.

“Idaṁ bhāgavataṁ nāma purāṇaṁ brahma-sammitam

Uttama-śloka-caritaṁ cakāra bhagavān ṛṣiḥ

Bhagawān Vedavyasa, who was an incarnation of the Lord, composed this sacred Purāṇa called Bhāgawatam which is equivalent of the Vedas and which contains the glorious stories of the Lord.

Niḥśreyasāya lokasya dhanyaṁ svasty-ayanaṁ mahat

Tad idaṁ grāhayām āsa sutam ātmavatāṁ varam

With the intention of uplifting the human world, Maharishi Vedavyasa, composed this sacred scripture called Bhāgawatam which is greatly laudable and that which is the root for all forms of auspiciousness. He further taught this knowledge to his son Maharishi Śuka who was an exponent in the knowledge of Self-realization.

In this sacred Bhāgawatam the essence of all the Vedas is contained! Further the entire essence of Ramayana and Mahabharata is also embedded into this sacred text! Maharishi Śuka imparted this knowledge to Emperor Parikshit, who awaiting death had abstained from food, and who was seated on the banks of River Ganga surrounded by sages.

At that time when Maharishi Śuka who was of unparalled radiance preached this Bhāgawatam, I, seated amongst the saints, also understood a little of it. Now subject to my understanding, I shall preach the same to you as I have heard and understood” said Suta Maharishi.

“When Krishna gave up his human body and returned to his abode in Vaikunṭha together with his dharma (rules of righteousness) and jnana (knowledge) people became dull headed. They lost the divine eye of knowledge. In order to open the eyes of these dull headed persons this Sun called Bhagawata Purana has arisen”.

Om Namo Narayana.

Incarnation as Prithu: In the ninth incarnation, the Lord, as an answer to the prayers of eminent saints, incarnated as King Pṛthu. He milked all the medicinal properties from Mother Earth, who was in the form of a cow. “O Maharishis, as a result of this, the incarnation as Emperor Pṛthu is considered very auspicious.”

Incarnation as fish (matsya): After the completion of the Chākśusa Manvantara, all oceans merged and entire land was inundated with sea waters. At that time the Lord took on the form of a fish and protected Vaivaswata Manu by keeping him on Earth, which was in the form of a boat.

Incarnation as tortoise (kurma): In the eleventh incarnation, the all pervading Mahavishnu, incarnated as a tortoise (kurma) at the time when the celestials and demons were engaged in a ferocious battle. He retained the Mandara Mountain on his back and supported it during the churning of the ocean.

Incarnation as Dhanvantri: This was the twelfth incarnation. Dhanvantri emerged from the ocean together with a pot of nectar and taught the knowledge of Ayurveda.

Incarnation as Mohini: This was the thirteenth incarnation. The Lord as Mohini enchanted the minds of the demons and ensured that the celestials (Devatas) drank nectar.

Incarnation as Narasimha: This was the fourteenth incarnation. As Narasimha He tore open, with his finger nails, the stomach and intestines of the demon king Hiranyakashipu by placing him on his thigh.

Incarnation as Vāmana: This was the fifteenth incarnation. With the intent that Heaven which was in the custody of Emperor Bali should be retrieved and handed it over to Lord Indra, the Lord went to the Yagna being conducted by the Emperor. On the pretext of seeking 3 feet of land, the Lord handed over Heaven to Lord Indra.

Incarnation as Paraśurāma: This was the sixteenth incarnation. Paraśurama was infuriated upon seeing the cruel behavior of kings who were arrogant and who totally disregarded the Vedas. He went around the Earth 21 times and freed it from all arrogant and cruel kings.

Tataḥ saptadaśe jātaḥ satyavatyāṁ parāśarāt

Cakre veda-taroḥ śākhā dṛṣṭvā puṁso ‘lpa-medhasaḥ

Incarnation as Vedavyāsa: This was the seventeenth incarnation. The Lord incarnated as Krishna dwaipāyana, the son of Maharishi Parāśara and Mother Satyavati. Seeing the dull headed humans, He segregated the vast tree called Veda and divided into various branches. Due to this work He was awarded the title of Vedavyasa. ‘Vedavyāsa’ means ‘He who has segregated the Vedas’.

Incarnation as Rāma: With the intent of destroying the demons such as Ravana, Kumbhakarna and others, the Supreme Lord incarnated for the eighteenth time as Prince Srirama. He performed many extraordinary deeds such as building a bridge across the ocean.

Incarnations as Balarama and Krishna: In the nineteenth and twentieth incarnations the Lord took birth in the lineage of Yadu. The nineteenth time He incarnated as Balarama. The twentieth incarnation was that of Srikrishna. In the form of these two brothers He reduced the burden of Mother Earth.

Incarnation as Buddha: In the twenty-first incarnation in the future period at the beginning of Kali Yuga, in order to delude the atheists, the Lord will incarnate as Buddha in the Kingdom of Magadha.

At the time when Maharishi Suta was teaching Bhāgawatam to Shounaka and other saints, the incarnation as Lord Buddha had not yet taken place. This is understood from this verse.

Incarnation as Kalki: Towards the end of Kali Yuga, when the rulers would have turned into robbers and would have usurped almost all the wealth belonging to the citizens, the Lord will incarnate as Kalki, the son of Vishnuyash. This will be the twenty-second incarnation of the Lord.

With this the twenty two incarnations of the Lord were briefly explained. We had said at first that we would be discussing twenty four incarnations of the Lord. If we add the incarnations as Hayagriva and Hamsa, which will be addressed in the future chapters, it totals to twenty four incarnations.

O Maharishis! Just like thousands of tiny streams emerge from the never ending lake filled with water, innumerable incarnations emerge from Lord Srihari, who is a personification of goodness. The Celestials, saints, emperors with commendable prowess, Manu and his descendents and various Prajapatis (leaders of people) are merely aspects/ portions of that Supreme Lord.

Ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam

Everyone is only the partial incarnations of the Supreme Lord. But Krishna is Mahavishnu himself! All these partial incarnations are taken up by the Lord to protect the world when it is unduly tortured by the demons. This takes place in every yuga (eon).

Janma guhyaṁ bhagavato ya etat prayato naraḥ

Sāyaṁ prātar gṛṇan bhaktyā duḥkha-grāmād vimucyate

The person who, with a pure mind, reads this sacred secretive scripture that contains the story of the Lord’s incarnation, twice daily, will obtain total relief from all his sufferings! He will be relieved of this bondage called samsāra (cycle of repeated re-births).

The Supreme Lord is formless. He is an embodiment of illumination (chaitanya). With the help of Mahat (cosmic intelligence) and other effectual energies (karya roopa) of the Lord’s illusory power (māya shakti), this entire world is created. However in reality this creation is contained purely within the Self (atma)!

Clouds take shelter in wind. Although the wind carries the clouds, people say that the sky carries them. Smoke is nothing but a transformation of the dust that belongs to the earth but yet this smoke is attributed to fire.

Likewise towards the Self (atma) the action of seeing (drśyatvam) is being imposed. Those who impose the ‘action of seeing’ upon the Self, which is nothing but a witness, are lacking in intelligence.

The Lord who has knowledge as His form does not have a gross body that consists of hands, legs etc. Instead He has another different body that is over and above the trigunās (three attributes) and which is not subject to transformation. It is unseen, unheard and of a subtle existence. This is called ‘subtle body’.

Om Namo Narayana.

In the universal form of the Lord there is not even a trace of passion/action (rajas) and ignorance (tamas). It is in the form of pure existence (suddha sattva) which is beyond any form of comparison. In other words, it is the form of total purity.

Paśyanty ado rūpam adabhra-cakṣuṣā

Sahasra-pādoru-bhujānanādbhutam

Sahasra-mūrdha-śravaṇākṣi-nāsikaṁ

Sahasra-mauly-ambara-kuṇḍalollasat

This universal form (Virad roopa) of the Lord glows resplendently in His earrings. Great saints see this Universal form of the Lord with their transcendental eye (jnana netra).

This Universal form i.e. the incarnation as Adi Nārāyana, is the foremost of all incarnations. From Him, many incarnations emerge and after the completion of their purpose, they merge back into Him! This universal form is a fractional part of the Supreme Lord.  Lord Brahma emerged as a fractional aspect of this Supreme Lord. From Him came Marichi and other eminent Maharishis. From them are born celestials, humans, animals, birds and all other forms of living beings.

24 incarnations of the Lord:

First incarnation: Lord Adi Nārāyana, who is the Universal form, accepted the forms of eminent Maharishis Sanaka, Sananda, Sanātana and Sanat kumara. In these four forms He practiced the most difficult and strenuous vow of Brahmacharya (walking on the path to realize God) without any hindrances.

Incarnation as a boar: The Supreme Lord is the Yagneshwara i.e. the Lord of all sacrificial rituals/ Yagnas. For the well-being of this earth He accepted the form of the boar (Yagna-varāha). He lifted and rescued the earth which had sunk into the nether regions (pātāla).

Incarnation as Maharishi Nārada: In the creation filled with saints, Lord Sriman Nārāyaṇa incarnated as the divine saint Maharishi Nārada. He taught to the devotees the Pancarātrāgama, which talks about actions (karma).

In the normal course, actions are the cause for all bondages. But due to adherence to good deeds (sat karmas) taught by Maharishi Nārada, the mind gets purified. This becomes conducive for attaining liberation. Through this approach, the Supreme Lord in the form of Nārada, preached liberation itself!

Incarnation as Nara-Nārayana: In the fourth incarnation, the Supreme Lord was born as Nara and Nārāyaṇa, the sons of King Dharma. These Maharishis totally controlled their minds and undertook severe strenuous austerities that were impossible for others to accomplish.

Incarnation as Maharishi Kapila: The Lord incarnated as Kapila Maharishi, the Lord of all Siddhas. He defined all the principles (tattvas) and preached the Sānkhya Shastra to Maharishi Āsuri. In course of time, this sacred scripture has vanished.

Incarnation as Dattātreya: The sixth incarnation of the Lord was Dattātreya, the Son of Maharishi Atri. He was born to Mother Anasuya as an answer to her prayers.  He taught the knowledge of the Self to Alarka, Prahlada, Yadu, Kartavirya and others.

Incarnation as Yagna: The Lord incarnated as Yagna, the son of Prajapati Ruci and his wife Ākuti. Together with his sons Yāma and other divine troops he saved the period of time known as Swāyambhuva manvantara. Yajna was the seventh incarnation.

Incarnation as Rṣabha:  The Lord who is all pervading and who can take huge steps, incarnated as Rṣabha, the Son of King Nābhi and his wife Merudevi. To those who possess right judgment and discriminative capacity he showed the path of ultimate knowledge which is revered by people from all orders of life.

Om Namo Narayana.