॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Sunday, 16 October 2022, III.24 - After Devahuti's daughters are married to great sages, Bhagavan takes the Kapila Muni avatara and gives liberation to Sage Kardama.
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Sage Kardama addressed his wife Devahuti’s anxiety:
मा खिदो राजपुत्रीत्थमात्मानं प्रत्यनिन्दिते। भगवांस्तेऽक्षरो गर्भमदूरात्संप्रपत्स्यते॥
धृतव्रतासि भद्रं ते दमेन नियमेन च। तपोद्रविणदानैश्च श्रद्धया चेश्वरं भज॥
स त्वयाऽराधितः शुक्लो वितन्वनात्मकं यशः। च्छेत्ता ते हृदयग्रन्थिमौदार्यो ब्रह्मभावनः॥
T: “My dear Princess Devahuti, sorrow not, stop blaming yourself. Indeed Bhagavan Akshara (immutable Lord) will Himself take birth in your womb! You have undertaken vows, so stay blessed. Practise self-control, abnegation, Tapas, and give away in charity your wealth. Thus, with dedication, worship Ishwara. The Lord thus worshipped by you will spread our name and fame by becoming our son. He will destroy your feelings of insecurity and inadequacy, and indeed impart, by His grace, Brahma Jnana to you!”
Devahuti, devoted to her husband, complied with his instructions and observed all the vows. After a long time, the Lord chose to enter her womb through the seed of Sage Kardama.
This occasioned great celebrations and singing and dancing by Gandharvas and Apsaras. Flowers were showered from the heavens. Brahma himself, along with Sage Marichi and others, arrived at the Kardama hermitage on the bank of the Saraswati. Brahma knew that the Lord was coming with a portion of Himself to teach Sankhya Yoga.
Saying a prayer within himself to the Lord, Brahma addressed Kardama.
“My dear son Kardama, I am indeed most pleased with you that you have faithfully carried out all my instructions.”
एतावदेव सुश्रूषा कार्या पितरि पुत्रकैः। बाढमित्यनुमन्येत गौरवेन गुरोर्वचः॥
T: “The highest service to a father by sons is to ask for instructions and carry them out with reverence.”
“Your daughters are indeed meritorious. They shall fulfil a vital role in creation. Kindly give them in marriage to the rishis who have come with me.”
वेदाहमाद्यं पुरुषमवतीर्णं स्वमायया। भूतानां शेवधिं देहं बिभ्राणं कपिलं मुने॥
T: “Know, my son, that the Supreme Lord Himself, more ancient than all, by His Maya, is taking birth here as Kapila, who will be a cherishable treasure for all.”
ज्ञानविज्ञानयोगेन कर्मणामुद्धरञ्जटाः। हिरण्यकेशः पद्माक्षः पद्ममुद्रापदाम्बयजः॥
एष मानवि ते गर्भं प्रविष्टः कैटार्दनः॥ अविद्यासंशयग्रन्थिं च्छत्त्वा गां विचरिष्यति॥
अयं सिद्धगणाधीशः साङ्ख्याचार्यैः सुसम्मतः। लोक कपिल इत्याख्यां गन्ता ते कीर्तिवर्धनः॥
T: “Dear Devahuti, daughter of Manu, know that the Lord, endowed with supreme Jnana and Vijnana (gamut of knowledge and self-knowledge) and Yoga, purifying all Karmas, will be born as your child with Jatas (matted locks), with a golden head of hair, lotus-like eyes, and lotus marks on his lotus-like feet. This child has entered your womb, and he is none other than Narayana Himself, who vanquished the demon Kaitabha who once tried to steal the Vedas. He will destroy the knots of ignorance and doubt by travelling around the world. He will be hailed as their preceptor by all Siddhas as the ultimate Sankhya exponent. Known worldwide as Kapila, he will bring great fame to you as his mother.”
Thus assuring them, Lord Brahma travelled back on his swan heavenward along with Sage Narada and the Kumaras.
Thus instructed by Lord Brahma, Sage Kardama and Devahuti gladly married their daughters off to the sages who had come, as follows:
Daughter Kala was married to Sage Marichi.
Anasuya, to Sage Atri.
Shraddha, to Sage Angiras.
Havirbhu, to Sage Pulastya.
Gati, to Sage Pulaha.
Kriya, the noble one, to Sage Kratu.
Khyati, to Sage Bhrigu.
Arundhati, to Sage Vasishtha.
Shanti, who expands the Yajna karmas, to Sage Atharva.
Sage Kardama and Devahuti celebrated the wedding and honoured generously all their sons-in-law, viz. the great sages, as well as their daughters.
Happily married thus, the sages took leave along with their brides and went back to their hermitages.
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Sage Kardama now had intimate communion with Lord Narayana taking birth as his son.
Bowing down deeply to the Lord, he said,
“Oh Lord, indeed I think the gods have been kind to the suffering souls. Sages after many births full of intense penance get Your Darshan. By overlooking the shortcomings of householders like us, you appear in our homes purely out of Your infinite compassion, to give true wisdom. That is how You have come to our home.”
“Lord, although You are beyond form, You mercifully take the form your devotee adores!
त्वां सूरिभिस्तत्त्वबुभुत्सयाद्धा सदाभिवादार्हणपादपीठम् । ऐश्वर्यवैराग्ययशोऽवबोधवीर्यश्रिया पूर्तमहं प्रपद्ये ॥
परं प्रधानं पुरुषं महान्तं कालं कविं त्रिवृतं लोकपालम् ।आत्मानुभूत्यानुगतप्रपञ्चंस्वच्छन्दशक्तिं कपिलं प्रपद्ये ॥
आ स्माभिपृच्छेऽद्य पतिं प्रजानां त्वयावतीर्णर्ण उताप्तकाम: । परिव्रजत्पदवीमास्थितोऽहं चरिष्ये त्वां हृदि युञ्जन् विशोक: ॥
T: “Oh, Lord, Your lotus-feet are worshippable by all the sages seeking true knowledge! You are full of Aishvarya, Vairagya, Yashas, Jnana and Sri (prosperity of all kinds) (note: remember we read before these are the attributes of Bhagavan)! I bow down to You!”
“Oh Lord, You are Supreme, the most crucial part of all existence, the Ultimate Purusha, the Knower of everything, Master of the three Gunas, Protector of the Universe. You created this universe out of Your own Powers and Experience, and You thus function with total independence. I worship You, oh, Lord, who will be known as Kapila!”
“Oh, Lord, I have something to ask of You. I have fulfilled my duties to my father, Brahma. All my desires are fulfilled. I now seek permission to take up sannyasa, and wander about only with total immersion in You!”
Lord Kapila replied.
“Oh Sage, whatever I declare, directly or through the scriptures, is the Final Truth. I promised to take birth as your son, which I have done. This birth is to explain the Sankhya philosophy which is highly extolled as the path to liberation and freedom from desires. This path of self-realization, which is difficult to understand, has now been lost in the course of time. Please know that I have assumed this body of Kapila to introduce and explain this philosophy to human society again.”
“Now, being sanctioned by Me, go as you desire, surrendering all your activities to Me. Conquering insurmountable death, worship Me for eternal life. In your own heart, through your intellect, you will always see Me, the supreme self-effulgent soul dwelling within the hearts of all living entities. Thus you will achieve the state of eternal life, free from all lamentation and fear.”
“I shall also describe this sublime knowledge, which is the door to spiritual life, to My mother, so that she too can attain perfection and self-realization, ending all reactions to desire-driven activities. Thus she too will be freed from all material fear.”
After this most fulfilling conversation with the Lord, Sage Kardama circumambulated the Lord and left at once for the forest. Observing silence, he was in total surrender. He neither lit a fire nor took shelter. Meditating on the Lord, he gradually became totally detached, egoless, undisturbed, beyond like and dislike. His mind was turned inward and was perfectly calm, like an ocean unagitated by waves. He thus became liberated from a conditioned life and merged in Vasudeva, the Bhagavan who is omniscient and is the Paramatma. वासुदेवे भगवति सर्वज्ञे प्रत्यगात्मनि ।
Kardama saw the Lord in all and finally reached the Lord.
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
