॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Saturday, 27 August 2022 - Srimad Bhagavatam 3rd chapter of the first skandha. Suta begins his narration in a most dramatic manner, delineating the omniscience of Vasudeva, the Supreme Being, the genesis of life, his twenty-two Lilavataras, and the way to distil the eternal Truth of Manyness-in-One and reach the Supreme. A short chapter with such a colourful and broad-brush depiction!
The Suta begins-
जगृहे पौरुषं रूपं भगवान्महदादिभिः। संभूतं षोडशकलमादौ लोकसिसृक्षया॥
T: The Supreme Being manifested this creation, employing his sixteen Kalas-aspects. The sixteen Kalas are an important paradigm in many contexts in Hinduism. Here they refer to the five elements, the mind, five organs of perception, and five organs of action that are present in man. Man is the most evolved of all life forms in the universe born thus.
In His most nascent stage called the Virat Rupa, He looked like one with thousands of heads, arms, legs, and so on. He created Brahma from His lotus navel, and Brahma made the universes, and his sons procreated the life forms.
एतन्नानावताराणां निधानं बीजमव्ययम्
T: Know that the Supreme Being is the seed and undecaying cause that creates all life forms. An atomic part of the Lord, lying on his infinite bed of Adishesha Yoga Maya, in the milky ocean, originated all creation thus. The wise ones (ज्ञानिनः) see even a speck of life, within themselves or without, and connect it by thinking,
तद्वै भगवतो रूपं विशुद्धं सत्त्वमूर्जितम्
T: "Behold! Even this speck of life is but the supreme Bhagavan of purity and power."
Now the Suta lists how in different epochs, Bhagavan Narayana took various incarnations to meet the demands of the situation. He lists twenty-two!
- The first was the foursome of Sanaka and other Kumaras - who observed the strictest austerities and maintained the purity of Brahmanhood.
- The second was that of the Boar (वराह) to dig into the netherworld (रसातल) and save Earth.
- Then He became the Devarshi Narada, and preached to all the path to liberation through self-less performance of duty as an act of worship.
- His fourth incarnation was the Nara-Narayana duo who performed severe penance in Badarikashrama to uphold the path to peace and forbearance.
- The fifth incarnation was that of Sage Kapila, who taught the Sankhya (ratiotination) path to supreme knowledge.
- The sixth was that of Lord Dattatreya as the son of Devi Anasuya. He taught the spiritual truth of Brahman to Alarka, Prahlada and others.
- In the seventh incarnation, He was born as Yajna who, along with his son Yaama and others, controlled the passage of time during Swayambhuva Manu era.
- The eighth incarnation was that of Rishabhadeva, who taught the Paramahamsa path to all seekers.
- The ninth incarnation was that of Prithu, who extracted the life juices of the earth for the welfare of all creation.
- At the end of the Manvantara, when all creation was submerged, He took the tenth incarnation of Matsya and saved Earth who had become a boat.
- At the great churning of the ocean by the gods and demons, his eleventh incarnation was as the Kurma (tortoise) who upheld the Mandara mountain as the churning rod.
- The twelfth incarnation was that of Dhantvantari who brought the medicinal herbs from the ocean.
- He next incarnated as the bewitching Mohini who gave the Elixir (Amruta) to the gods and saved it from the demons.
- The fourteenth incarnation was as Narasimha (man-lion) who tore with his claws the entrails of the demon Hiranyakashipu.
- The fifteenth was that of Vamana who tamed Bali's ego.
- The sixteenth was that of the fierce Bhargava Parashurama who circumambulated the earth and got rid of evil kings who exploited all.
- The seventeenth incarnation was that of Sage Veda Vyasa, son of Sage Parashara and Satyavati.
- The eighteenth incarnation was that of Lord Rama, who protected all noble and good people and even bridged the ocean for that purpose.
- The nineteenth and twentieth incarnations were as Balarama and Krishna of the Vrishnis, who bore the burden of righteous rulership.
- In future will be born during Kali the Buddha, to remove the delusions of people who have become adversaries of the gods.
- The twenty-second Avatara of Kalki will come to end the depradation of all values by humans.
Suta says, "Oh Sages, these are not the only incarnations. Again and again, the Lord will manifest Himself as needed, and these incarnations are like the distributaries of a river of Godhood. All great beings, including realized sages and virtuous monarchs, are all His incarnations alone.
But know that Sri Krishna is the most completely manifest incarnation.
Human beings get deluded and mistake this material world as the be-all and end-all. Bound by the karmas, these souls have to be born again and again.
सम्पन्न एवेति विदुर्महिम्नि स्वे महीयते
T: The soul in man is emancipated when he realises his identity with Brahman and revels in that supreme state.
स वेद धातु: पदवीं परस्य दुरन्तवीर्यस्य रथाङ्गपाणे: ।
योऽमायया सन्ततयानुवृत्त्या भजेत तत्पादसरोजगन्धम् ॥
T: That man realizes the Supreme Lord, incarnate as Sri Krishna driving the chariot, who fervently and without duplicity worships the fragrance of the lotus feet of the Lord.
"Sage Vyasa, who organized the Vedas for easier understanding, distilled the essence of all scriptures into Srimad Bhagavatam. I was indeed lucky to sit at the feet of Sage Shuka while he taught this to Parikshit on the bank of the Ganga where Parikshit prepared himself through severe austerities to relinquish his mortal coil. You are all indeed lucky to be listening to this."
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
