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She gave the upward bent to life evolution and by the energy she Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 73 imparted minerals were able to shake off the rigidity and stability of gross matter, to develop the sense of touch and to become vegetable at last. In like manner vegetable became animal, and animals at last became men. Siva, the husband of Bhagavati or Durga, as Sati was now called, is the Purusha of Dissolution. Bhagavati is His Energy, Who guides the Monadic or Jiva Evolution of the Kalpa. It is the wear and tear, the process of destruction, that counteracts the cohesive strength of the particles forming mineral matter, which by its action becomes flexible and so receptive of outside influences. Cells by division and death become capable of the life process in themselves. Vegetables grow by the rejection of cells, which ne- cessitates a number of physiological processes. Death brings on life, waste, repair. If animals exist in one and the same body, progress will be limited, further evolution will be impossible. It is by death that we evolve. Bhagavati works out the evolution of life in different kingdoms till the stage of humanity is reached. At this point Aryaman, one of the Adityas, comes to the help of humanity. Through his influence the sons of humanity become endowed with the power of reasoning,—the faculty of discrimination. The sons of Aryaman are called Charshanis. The word Charshani literally means a cultivator. Its secondary sense given in the Vedic lexicon is one endowed with the discriminative faculty. The word Charshani is used in the Vedas for man. It is the equivalent of Arya or Aryan, the ploughman. But it is not as ploughmen or cultivators, that the Aryans had their high place in humanity, but as men endowed with the power of discrimination. And this we owe to Aryaman. This is why, though an Aditya, he is called the chief of Pitris by Sri Krishna. "Tam Aryaman of the Pitris."—Bhagavat Gita. We have thus the first stage in life evolution, when the spiritual Jiva had to descend from the elemental to the mineral form. Next we have the second stage, when minerals passed through higher forms of life till the Human Kingdom was reached. Then we have the third stage, when men became endowed with the power of discrimination. In the exercise of the discriminative faculty men were helped by 74 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana their elder brothers, the Rishis and Mahatmas of every period, and by Avataras Who apeared from time to time. Then the ground was prepared for further evolution. The Sacred Injunctions or the Vedas were revealed to men to give them a sense of right and wrong, of duties and prohibitions. The Vedas also held out to the developed sense of men the charming prospect of life in Svarga Loka with its lasting and alluring enjoyments. This may be called the stage of Karma Kanda. In following the stages of human evolution we have come down to Vaivasvatu Manvantara. Side by side with the efforts made to raise humanity in the scale of evolution, sin was accumulating in the great Atlantean continent which spread over the whole of what we now know as the Bay of Bengal. The Atlanteans had acquired a mastery over the five forces of nature, which they used for selfish objects and against the cause and current of evolution. Then there was a great revolution in Nature. The great Atlantean Continent went down with its load of sins. The sons of Sagar, the Atlantean king, became buried under the great ocean, which over- took the doomed continent, and to this day the sea is called in India, "Sagar" or relating to Sagar. There was a corresponding upheaval in the Himalayas, and the sacred river Ganga streamed forth from their sides, inaugurating the spiritual regeneration of the Universe. Much of what we now know as India must have been raised up at the time, and on its sacred soil appeared the great Avatara Rama, Who put an end to the disorgan- ising, chaos-loving sons of Lanka. The people of Lanka were called Rakshasas as they were working towards the destruction of all order, all progress in the Universe, and rendered everything topsy-turvy in Nature. Now it was time for Sri Krishna to appear, the greatest of all Avataras in our Kalpa, Who gave the last bent to the progress of hu- manity. He wedded Himself with all the principles that enter into the constitution of man, so that man may come up to Him. He taught the basic unity of all beings, and laid down the path of Service and De- votion. He established the reign of spiritual life, and ever since His lotus feet sanctified the soil of India, the Scriptures only re-iterate His teachings, and they all sing His glory for ever and ever. We shall Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 75 find in its true place the Service done by Lord Sri Krishna, and how by His Avatarship humanity has made one more advance in the scale of human evolution. When the Lord appeared, Bhagavati made her appearance too as the daughter of Nanda. It is with Her energy that Sri Krishna performed the mission of His Avatarship. This is a bare outline of what the Tables teach us, We shall con- sider them each in its own place. We shall find a detailed account as to how the Universe is preserved. We shall hear of great Rishis, of many Avataras, of the part played by Devas and Asurus. We shall see how the Monads pass through different stages of evolution, till the idea of perfect humanity is presented by Lord Krishna. The Tables sometimes speak of life Kingdoms, sometimes of hu- man races, sometimes of types and principles, and sometimes of in- dividuals. Sometimes, the names used convey a good deal of hidden meaning, sometimes they are used at random. In the line of Priyavratra, we find how globes are formed, how continents and countries appear. The solidification of earth is indi- cated by the muteness of Bharata. Bharata Varsa or India is called the first born of all countries, and other lands are enjoined to follow and to obey their eldest brother. TABLE A. SKANDHA IV. CHAP. 1. The names of the first table have been considered before. TABLE B. SKANDHA IV. CHAP. 1. Ruchi and Akuti both mean Wish, Desire. Yajna is sacrifice, Dak- shina means ordinarily the present made to a Brahmana for officiat- ing at a ceremony. It is also the present made for the performance of a Vedic sacrifice. No Vedic sacrifice is complete without the present of Dakshina to the officiating priest. Dakshina was married to Yajna, for they are inseparable. Possibly Yajna has reference to the elemen- tal or Devic character of life forms in the first Manvantara. That also explains why there was no Indra separate from the Avatara of the 76 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana Manvantara. The first Manvantara was one of Pravritti or Descent, Spirit could descend into matters only with the help of Desire. Desire is the father of Kama—Kama is the characteristic of Vedic Yajna. Yajna therefore guided the First Manvantara. He was the Avatara of Vishnu as well as the Indra of the Devas. The sons of Yajna were the Devas of the First Manvantara. The Bhagavata calls them Sushita or Bliss gods. The Vishnu Purana calls them Yama Devas. The Manvantara Devas have for their mission the carrying out of the cyclic work of the Manvantara. TABLE C. SKANDHA IV. CHAP. 1. Marichi means literally a ray of light. The word is frequently ap- plied to the sun’s ray. As the sun’s ray breaks up into the component colours, so the line of Marichi broke up into the life kingdoms. Kala means a digit of the moon. Kasyapa was the son of Marichi and Kala. He married the 13 daughters of Daksha, in the line Uttanapada. By his wives, Kasyapa was the father of Suras and Asuras, of elemen- tals, vegetables, animals and men. He is directly connected with the Monads. Marichi and Kala have a special significance in reference to Jivic evolution. Does the pair symbolise the sun’s ray reflected on the Moon or the Atmic ray reflected on Buddhi? Any how Marichi and Kala imply the divine ray in the Jivas or Atma-Buddhi. The monads of individuals are limited by the shells or bodies of Kasyapa’s line. (The word Kasyapa means primarily bed, seat). They come through Pirnima, daughter of Marichi. The sons of Pirnima are Viraja and Visvaga. Viraja is free from Rajas. Visvaga means one who goes all over the Universe. Viraja and Visvaga are Universal aspects of Jivic Intel- ligence. (Viraja is the father of Vairajas). Devakulya is the daughter of Purnima. She flowed from the washings of the feet of Vishnu and became the divine river Ganga. Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 77 TABLE D. SKANDHA IV. CHAP. 1. Atri = a (not ) + tri (three). Not three, but three in one. Anasuya = (not)+*asuya* (envy, intolerance, jealousy). Atri made severe Tapas for one hundred years for a son like unto the Lord of the Universe. The ascetic fire at last broke forth from his head and instantly Brahma, Vishnu and Siva appeared before him. "Lords!" said Atri, "I had only one of you in my mind, but you have all Three come to me!" The Trinity replied:—"We are three in one. You shall have three sons, one after each of us." Anasuya begot Soma or the Moon after Brahma, Datta or Dat- tatreya after Vishnu and Durvasas after Siva. [The Moon is thus a sort of Brahma or creator to the present Kalpa.] Atri represents the Creative, the Preservative and the Destruc- tive Intelligence in the individual, all united to carry out the complex process of evolution. The Brihat Aranyaka certainly refers to one of his aspects in the following passage:— "Speech is Attri; for by speech food is consumed; for Attri is verily derived from the root Attih (to eat, consume); he is the consumer of all." II-2-4. TABLE E. "Where was he, who thus established us?