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"He who bears love towards Isvara friendship towards his depen- dents, kindness toward the ignorant, and indifference towards his enemies belongs to the next class of Bhagavatas. "He who worships an image as Hari with faith, but has no regard for Bhaktas and for other beings is only a beginner as a Bhakta. "The highest Bhagavata perceives the objects with his senses, but does not feel either aversion or pleasure. He looks upon the universe as the Maya of Vishnu. "By constant meditation on Hari, he is not affected by the changes of life. Desires have no place in his mind, so devoted is he to Va- sudeva. He is the favourite of Hari, who does not take pride in his birth, Karma, caste or Asrama. "The highest Bhagavata does not know "Mine" and "Thine," either in wealth or in body. He looks upon all beings with equal eyes, His mind is always at peace. "Even for the sake of all the three Lokas, the Vaishnava will not for a moment forget the lotus feet of Bhagavat. Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 397 "And more, he is the greatest of all Bhagavatas, to whose heart Hari is bound down by the tie of Love." Ill. Nimi asked:—"What is then this Maya of the Supreme Lord?" Antariksha replied:— "Maya of Bhagavat is that which causes the creation, preservation and dissolution of this universe." IV. Nimi asked:—"How can one whose mind is not controlled and who is of dull understanding easily cross over this Maya? Prabuddha replied:— "Have recourse to a Guru, who knows the Truth and is fixed in the supreme. Learn the duties of Bhagavatas from him. Practise non- attachment, keep company with Sadhus. Be kind to your inferiors, friendly to your equals and respectful to your superiors. Keep your body and mind pure. Regulate your life by fixed rules. Have forgive- ness. Do not talk idly. Read the sacred books. Be upright. Be tem- perate. Be harmless to all beings. Bear good and evil, pleasure and pain with equanimity. Find out Atma and Ishvara everywhere. Free yourself from all connections. Do not bind yourself down to your house. Have that which is easily got for your clothing. Be content with anything and everything. Have faith in the Bhagavata Sastra, but do not blame any other Sastra. Control your mind, speech and actions. Speak the truth. Control your inner and outer senses. Hear, recite and meditate on the deeds and Avataras of Hari. Let all your exertions be for Him. Offer up all, even your wife, children and your own life, to Him. In the company of Bhagavatas, interchange devo- tion and love, remind each other and speak to each other of the glory of Bhagavat, till your hair stands on end, and you will sometimes dance and sometimes sing, maddened by your devotional thoughts about Achyuta. "These are the duties of a Bhagavata and by practising these, he may easily cross over Maya." V. Nimi asked:—"How can one be fixed in devotion to Narayana?" 398 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana Pippalayana replied:— "When through the desire of attaining the feet of Vishnu, one has strong devotion, the impurities of one’s mind are destroyed. When the mind is purified, it becomes fixed in Atma." VI. Nimi asked:—"Tell me about Karma Yoga, by the performance of which Karma is speedily destroyed." Avirhotra replied:— "Vedic Karma does not directly lead to Moksha. Offer up your Vedic Karma to Ishvara, and perform it, without any worldly attach- ment, however. "He who wants speedily to cut asunder the tie of Ahankara shall worship Vishnu in the way prescribed in the Tantras or Agama. (Vedic Karma at first consisted of Vedic Yajna. The Gita gave a death blow to the performance of Vedic Yajnas. Nishkama Karma took the place of Kamya Karma, The Vedic Karma however survived in the Sandhya Mantras, which conform themselves to the Path of Upasana. "The Vedic Sandhya is however meant only for Brahmanas. "The Tantric Sandhya is an imitation of the Vedic Sandhya, adapted to all classes of men, and it supplements the Vedic Sand- hya by laying down a method of worshipping the Lord in the heart and of worshipping His image. Mantras are also prescribed. De- votion is the chief element in Tantric Upasana and this Upasana is enjoined for all Bhagavatas or Vaishnavas. There are Siva Tantras, Sakti Tantras, Ganapati Tantras, Sirya Tantras as well as Vaishnava Tantras. There are black rites prescribed in some of the Sakti Tantras and the Tantras have therefore got a bad name with many. But the Tantras as a whole form the only science of practical occultism in Sanskrit, and the Vaishnava Upasana is strictly a Tantric Upasana." (I do not enter here into the details of that Upasana, though some details are given in the text.) VII. Nimi said:—"Tell me about the Avataras and Their deeds O Rishis." Drumila gave a short account of the Avataras, com- mencing from the First Purusha. As this is nearly a repetition of what has been said before, no attempt is made to reproduce it. Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 399 VIII. Nimi asked what is the destiny of those that do not worship Bha- gavat, those that have no control over their mind and their senses. Chamasa replied:—"They enter the regions of darkness (Tamas)." IX. Nimi asked: "What is the Color of the manifestation of Bhagavat at each pe- riod, how does he manifest Himself, by what name is He known and in what way is He worshipped?" Karabhajana replied:— "In Satya Yuga, Bhagavat becomes white, with four hands, with tufts of braided hair, with bark round His waist. He bears a black deer-skin, the sacred thread and beads, and has Danda (the rod of an ascetic) and Kamandalu (the water-pot of an ascetic) in his hands. (i.e. He looks like a Brahmacharin). "Men are then peaceful and friendly towards one another. There are no differences amongst them. They worship the Lord by means of Tapas, by control of the senses and of the mind. "Bhagavat is then known by the following names:—Hansa, Su- parna, Vaikuntha, Dharma, Yogesvara, Amala, Isvara, Purusha, Avyakta, and Paramatman. "In Treta, Bhagavat becomes Red. He has four hands and golden hair. His form is that of Yajna. Men are pious at the time. They worship Bhagavat by Vedic Yajna. "Bhagavat is known by the following names:— "Vishnu, Yajna, Prism-garbha, Sarvadeva, Uru-krama, Vrisha Kapi, Jayanta and Urugaya. "In Dvapara, Bhagavat is Syama. (The word Syama ordinarily means dark-blue. But Sridhara explains the word here as the color of an Atasi flower, which is generally yellow. This is because the Bhagavat speaks before of white, red, yellow and black as the colors of Yuga Avataras.) His cloth is yellow. "Men worship Him both by Vedic and Tantric methods. "Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Narayana, Visvesvara and Visva are his names. "In Kali, worship is made according to the Tantras, which are var- ious. 400 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana "Bhagavat is black (Krishna). Men worship Him, His Symbols and attendants mostly by loud recitals of names and prayers (Sankir- tana). Wise men praise Kali because worship is so easily made by mere Sankirtana. Even men in Satya Yuga wish to be born in Kali Yuga." Nimi respected the nine Rishis and they disappeared in the pres- ence of all men. Vasudeva and Devaki heard this story from Narada. They realised Krishna as [svara and they acquired wisdom. KRISHNA AND UDDHAVA. SKANDHA XI. CHAP. 6. Brahma and other Devas went to Dvaraka. Addressing Krishna; Brahma said:— "All that we prayed for has been done. One hundred and twenty-five years have passed away since thou didst appear in the line of Yadus. That line is also well nigh extinguished. Now go back to thy own abode, if it pleases thee." Sri Krishna replied:—"The extinction of the Yadavas has been set on foot by the curse of the Rishis. I shall remain on Earth, till it is com- pletely brought about." There were unusual phenomena at Dvaraka. The elders came to Krishna. He proposed a pilgrimage to Prabhasa. So the Yadavas made preparations for going to Prabhasa. Uddhava saw the evil portents and he heard what Sri Krishna said. "I see, O Lord," said he to Sri Krishna, "thou shalt leave this earth, as soon as the Yadus are destroyed. I can not miss thy feet even for half a mo- ment. So take me to thy own abode." Sri Krishna replied:—"It is true as you say. My mission is fulfilled. The Devas ask me to go back. The Yadavas shall be killed by mutual quarrel. On the seventh day from this, the sea shall swallow up this seat of Dvaraka. As soon as I leave this earth, Kali shall overtake it and men shall grow unrighteous. It will not then be meet for you to remain here. Give up all and free yourself from all attachments and roam about over this earth, with your mind fixed on me, looking on all beings with equal eyes. Whatever is perceived by the senses and the mind, know all that to be of the mind, and so Mayic and transi- tory. "This is this" and "this is that" this conception of difference is Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 401 only a delusion of him whose mind is distracted (i.e. not united to Me). It is this delusion which causes experiences of right and wrong. It is for those that have got notions of right and wrong that (the Vedas speak) differently of the performance of prescribed work (Karma), the non-performance of prescribed work (Akarma), and the performance of prohibited work (Vikarma). (This has reference to Varna and As- rama duties. As long as a man identifies himself with some Varna or Asrama he looks upon others also as belonging to some Varna or As- rama. He therefore makes a distinction between men and men. The Varnasrama duties are prescribed by the Vedas for a man, so long as he entertains ideas of difference.