॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
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श्रीराजोवाच
यानि यानीह कर्माणि यैर्यै: स्वच्छन्दजन्मभि: । चक्रे करोति कर्ता वा हरिस्तानि ब्रुवन्तु न: ॥
T: King Nimi said: "Bhagavan descends into the material world according to His own desire. Therefore, please describe His various incarnations!"
श्रीद्रुमिल उवाच
यो वा अनन्तस्य गुणाननन्ताननुक्रमिष्यन् स तु बालबुद्धि: ।
रजांसि भूमेर्गणयेत् कथञ्चित्का लेन नैवाखिलशक्तिधाम्न: ॥
T: Sage Drumila (one of the nine Rishis) said: "Anyone trying to enumerate or describe fully the unlimited qualities of the unlimited Bhagavan has the intelligence of a foolish child. Even if a great genius could somehow or other, after a time-consuming endeavour, count all the particles of dust on the surface of the earth, such a genius could never count the attractive qualities of the supreme Ishwara, who is the reservoir of all Shaktis."
" Already, it has been stated that Lord Narayana created Virat Purusha out of the five elements produced from within Himself and then entered within that universal body by His own Amsha, He thus became known as the Purusha. His consciousness generates conditioned knowledge, and His powerful breathing produces the bodily strength, sensory power and conditioned activities of the embodied souls. He is the prime mover, through the agency of the material modes of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. And thus the universe is created, maintained and annihilated. These three phases of the manifest existence are made possible by Rajas (Brahma), Sattva (Vishnu) and Tamas (Shiva)."
" As Nara-Narayana incarnation, Bhagavan taught and also perfectly practised the knowledge of universal love and self-realisation. He is living even today in Badarikashrama. His lotus feet are served by the greatest of saints."
"When Indra became scared that Nara-Narayana would usurp his lordship over the heavens, he sent Kamadeva (Cupid) with a thousand heavenly beauties to tempt Nara-Narayana. The Rishi smiled."
"Nara-Narayana also made three wonderful points to the gods who came and met him.
- This level of austerity and detachment to the pleasures of the body and mind are well nigh impossible for most people.
- When someone conquers bodily attachments, he will fall prey to anger, a destructive manifestation of ego. This is more difficult to overcome.
- Even when anger is conquered, the enticement of a woman is more difficult to resist! "
The Lord, in turn, produced the greatest beauty among women ever, Urvashi, out of his own body, and sent her now as a gift to Indra and his people in heaven!
हंसस्वरूप्यवददच्युत आत्मयोगं दत्त: कुमार ऋषभो भगवान् पिता न: ।
विष्णु: शिवाय जगतां कलयावतीर्णस्तेनाहृता मधुभिदा श्रुतयोहयास्ये ॥
T: "A quick summary of Bhagavan's many Avataras: Lord Hamsa (the swan), Dattatreya, the four Kumaras and our own father, the mighty Rishabhadeva. By such incarnations, the Lord teaches the science of self-realization for the benefit of the whole universe. In His appearance as Hayagriva, He killed the demon Madhu and thus brought the Vedas back from the hellish Patalaloka."
"In His appearance as a fish, the Lord protected Satyavrata Manu, the earth and her valuable herbs. He protected them from the waters of annihilation. As a boar, the Lord killed Hiranyaksha, the son of Diti, while delivering the earth from the universal waters. And as a tortoise, He lifted Mandara Mountain on His back so that Amrutha could be churned from the ocean. The Lord saved the surrendered king of the elephants, Gajendra, who was suffering terrible distress in the grip of a crocodile."
"The Lord also delivered the tiny ascetic sages called the Valakhilyas when they fell into the water in a cow’s hoofprint and Indra was laughing at them. The Lord then saved Indra when Indra was covered by darkness due to his Papa of killing Vrittrasura. When the wives of the gods were trapped in the palace of the demons without any shelter, the Lord saved them. In His incarnation as Narasimha, the Lord killed Hiranyakashipu, the king of demons, to free the saintly devotees from fear. The Lord also appeared as Vamana and took the earth away from King Bali with his ploy of begging for three steps of land. The Lord then returned the entire world to the sons of Aditi."
नि:क्षत्रियामकृत गां च त्रि:सप्तकृत्वो रामस्तु हैहयकुलाप्ययभार्गवाग्नि: ।
सोऽब्धिं बबन्ध दशवक्त्रमहन् सलङ्कं सीतापतिर्जयति लोकमलघ्नकीर्ति: ॥
T: "Parashurama appeared in the family of Bhrigu as a fire that burned to ashes the dynasty of Haihaya. Thus Lord Parashurama rid the earth of all Kshatriyas twenty-one times. The same Lord appeared as Sri Ramacandra, the husband of Devi Sita, and thus He killed the ten-headed Ravana, along with all the soldiers of Lanka. May Sri Rama, whose glories destroy the contamination of the world, be always victorious."
भूमेर्भरावतरणाय यदुष्वजन्मा जात: करिष्यति सुरैरपि दुष्कराणि ।
वादैर्विमोहयति यज्ञकृतोऽतदर्हान्शूद्रान् कलौ क्षितिभुजो न्यहनिष्यदन्ते ॥
T: "To diminish the burden of the earth, the birthless Lord will take birth in the Yadu dynasty and perform feats impossible even for the gods. Propounding speculative philosophy, the Lord, as Buddha, will bewilder the unworthy performers of Vedic sacrifices. And as Kalki, the Lord will kill all the low-class men posing as rulers at the end of the Age of Kali. These incarnations will happen in future."
एवंविधानि कर्माणि जन्मानि च जगत्पते: । भूरीणि भूरियशसो वर्णितानि महाभुज ॥
T: "O mighty-armed King Nimi, there are innumerable appearances and activities of the Supreme Lord of the universe similar to those I have already mentioned. In fact, the glories of the Supreme Lord are unlimited."
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
