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"as the first of all of them," of all that were desirous of obtaining the state of Prajapati, consumed by the perfect exercise of reflection on works and knowl- edge of all the sins of contact which are obstacles to the acquirement of the state of Prajapati,—because such was the case, therefore he is called Purusha, because he is Purvam Aushad, (first burnt). As that Prajapati, by consuming all opposite sins, became this Purusha Pra- japati, so also any other consumes, reduces all to ashes by the fire of the practice of reflection on knowledge and works, or only by the force of his knowledge, and He verily "consumes" Whom? "Him who before this sage strives to obtain the state of Prajapati." The sage is pointed out as he who thus knows, who according to his power man- ifests his reflection on knowledge. "But is it not useless for any one to strive for the state of Prajapati, if he is consumed by one who thus knows? There is no fault in this; for consuming means here only that the highest state, that of Prajapati, is not obtained, because the eminence of reflection on knowledge is wanting. Therefore by the words, "He consumes him" is meant, that the perfect performer ob- tains the highest state of Prajapati; he who is less perfect does not Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 383 obtain it, and by no means that the less perfect performer is actually consumed by the perfect; thus it is said in common life, that a warrior who first rushes into battle, consumes his combatants, which means that he exceeds them in prowess. In order to understand this better, let us consider the scheme of human evolution. Atma is the same in all beings and, when free from the limitations of individual life, it becomes all pervading. Sympathy and compassion open the door to the liberation of Atma. The Upadhi, or vehicle of Atma, or the body of its manifestation, becomes less and less gross, as Atma proceeds in its course of liber- ation, the body becomes better able to do good to all mankind and it does not act as a barrier to communion with the real self. The most highly evolved beings become universal and not indi- vidual, and they live normally on the spiritual plane. They at last reach the state of divinity. Then they may become Avataras. When these Avataras have to work on the physical and in- tellectual planes, they assume a body and become born, like ordinary beings. They have then to come down from their normal state, but their vision and power remain undestroyed. When their mission is over, they reach again their normal state. The Avataras have not to work out their own Karma. They are liberated Atmas, staying back for the liberation of other individuals in the universe. Karma-less themselves, they bear the Karma of the universe upon their shoul- ders. The thin veil that separates their state from the state of the ab- solute Brahma is Maya, which is the highest manifestation of Prakriti which enables them to assume cosmic responsibility out of their un- bounded compassion for all beings. The Avataras may cast off their veil at will, but as long as they choose to keep that veil, the whole universe is at their command and they guide the whole course of universal evolution. Now of all Avataras one takes upon himself to hold all individuals in His bosom, to sustain them all and to make Him the field of their Involution and Evolution, in the Kalpa. He is called Virat Purusha. He is practically the Ishvara of our universe. 384 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana The body of this Purusha, called the First Avatara, the Second or Virat Purusha, and the Egg-born, is formed by the Tatvas, num- bered twenty-four in the Sankhya philosophy. These Tatvas collect together to form an Egg and the Second Purusha breaks forth from that Egg and becomes the Thousand-headed Purusha of the Upan- ishads. For the sake of meditation, He is imagined to be seated on the Serpent Ananta. The lotus stalk grew out of his navel. The Tatvas themselves are brought into manifestation by the awaking of the First Purusha. The Second Purusha enters into all beings as their Atma, becom- ing three-fold in his aspect viz. Adhi-Atma, Adhi-bhuta and Adhi- deva. Then He is called the Third Purusha. Says the Satvata Tantra, as quoted by Sridhara:— "There are three forms of Vishnu known as Purusha—the first is the creator of Mahat, the Second is the permeator of the cosmic Egg, and the third is the permeator of all beings." Virat Purusha is the seat af all Avataras. Therefore all Avataras are called parts of the Virat Purusha. Speaking of other Lila Avataras, Bhagavata calls them parts and aspects of the Second Purusha; "but Krishna is Bhagavat Himself." Bhagavat is here the First Purusha. I. 3 XXVIII. In the Tenth Skandha, Raja Parikshit says: "Tell us the mighty deeds of Vishnu, incarnated as a part in the line of Yadu." X. 1 IL. Later on again:— "The supreme Purusha, Bhagavat Himself, shall be born in the house of Vasudeva." X. 1 XXIII. The Devas said, addressing Devaki:—"Rejoice mother, the Supreme Purusha, Bhagavat Himself, is in thy womb by His part" X. 2 XII. The Purusha, seated on Ananta, addressed Arjuna and Krishna as Nara and Narayana. The Mahabharata also calls them Incarnations of Nara and Narayana. These Rishis are invoked all throughout the Mahabharata. They were the sons of Dharma by Marti, daughter of Daksha. Nara and Narayana are looked upon as two in one and they were adored by the Devas, as manifestations of Purusha Himself. (IV. 1 XLVI). Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 385 They went after their birth to Gandha Madana. (IV. 1 XLVIIL) It is these Rishis, parts of Bhagavat Hari, who have now appeared for the removal of her load from the Goddess Earth, as Krishnas, in the lines of Yadu and Kuru. (IV. 1 XLIX.) Krishna in the line of Kuru is Arjuna. In explaining this Sloka, Sridhara quotes the following from a Vaishnava Tantra:— "In Arjuna, there is only the Avesa (suffusing) of Nara. Krishna is Narayana Himself." Sri Krishna said to Arjuna:—"I have passed through many births as well as thou. I know them all. Not so thou." This shows that Arjuna was not Nara himself, the supplement of Narayana, for in that case he would have remembered his previous births. But, as the Tantra says, "Arjuna was possessed by the Nara aspect of the dual Rishi." Sri Krishna said to Devaki:— "At my first birth, in the Svayam-bhuva Manvantara, thou wert born as Prisni and this Vasudeva was named Prajapati Sutapas I was born as your son, Prisni-garbha. I was also born of you, when you were Aditi and Vasudeva was Kasyapa, as Upendra, also called the Vamana or Dwarf Avatara. At this third birth, I am your son again, with the same body." X. 3 XXXII. to XLIIL These are the three Incarnations of Nara Narayana, mentioned in the Bhagavata. They are certainly not the many births to which Sri Krishna alludes in the Gita. Those many births took place in previ- ous Kalpas of which we know nothing. In this Kalpa, however, he appeared at the turning points in the Evolution of our universe. He appeared in the First Manvantara, the Manvantara of manifestation, as Prisni-garbha. We do not know the good done by Him in His first birth. As Vamana, however, he restored the Triloki to the Devas and asserted the supremacy of the spiritual forces. The Earth was again overpowered by the Asuras. The Kalpa was about to be half over. The last struggle was to be made. Satva had to be infused into all beings, even into the materials composing them. Every thing in the universe was to be wedded to the Lord of Preser- vation. An upward trend was to be given to the whole course of 386 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana evolution. Materialism could not be stamped out all at once. But henceforth there was to be a steady fall of Materiality and rise of Spirituality, subject to such variations as minor Cycles might cause. Sri Krishna is therefore the greatest Avatara of our Kalpa. "For the good of those that seek Atma, Nara Narayana shall perform Tapas in Bharata Varsha, unknown to others, till the end of the Kalpa." V. 19-9 Sri Krishna as Bhagavat is greater than the Second Purusha. To the devotees, he is greater than the Purusha manifestation. He now appeared as the preserver of the Universe, the embodi- ment of Satva, the force of ascent. And the Tatvas had to be wedded to him, so that they might acquire the energy of higher evolution in them. Unless there was change in the innate downward tendency of the Tatvas, the spiritual ascent of the universe was not possible. The Lord brought about this change by permeating the whole uni- verse with His Satva body, or becoming something like the spiritual soul in every being. Therefore Lord Krishna is in the hearts of all be- ings and can be perceived by all in meditation. He is everywhere, in every atom. Whether Sri Krishna is Bhagavat Himself or some man- ifestation of Bhagavat makes no difference whatever. By His works, He is Bhagavat. His worshippers are bound for the abode of Bha- gavat. They have not to wait in Brahma or Satya Loka, till the end of Brahma’s life. Those who worship. Hiranya garbha or Brahma cannot pass beyond the limits of Brahma Loka. In answer to Raja Parikshit, Suka Deva delineated the Paths to be followed after death. I. The Prompt Path of Liberation (Sadyo Mukti). Those who med- itate on the abstract Absolute, called Brahma, attain prompt libera- tion. The All-pervading principle is abstracted from the phenomenal universe, there is no thought of man, no thought of fellow beings, no thought of the universe, there is the pure abstraction by the process of "Not this." "Not this" liberates one from all phenomenal connections. This is Sadyo Mukti. (II. 2 XV. to XXL.) II.