॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
***
कृष्णेऽखिलात्मनि हरौ प्रणयानुबन्धं सर्वा विसिस्म्युरलमश्रुकलाकुलाक्ष्य: ॥
T: All the women were all amazed to hear Sri Krishna's queens express such deep love for the Bhagavan in human form, and their eyes filled with tears.
Just then, a very large number of the greatest of sages from the three worlds arrive to have the Darshan of Sri Krishna and Balarama. They were Sage Vyasa, Narada, Chyavana, Devala, Asita, Vishwamitra, Shatananda, Bharadwaja, Gautama, Parashurama and his disciples, Vasishtha, Galava, Bhrigu, Pulastya, Kashyapa, Atri, Markandeya, Brihaspati, Dvita, Trita, Ekata, the four Kumaras, Angiras, Agastya, Yajnavalkya and Vamadeva!
Sri Krishna took the lead as the kings rose and received this constellation of divine sages with the maximum reverence and auspicious ceremony. Then Bhagavan said something significant:
श्रीभगवानुवाच
अहो वयं जन्मभृतो लब्धं कार्त्स्न्येन तत्फलम् । देवानामपि दुष्प्रापं यद् योगेश्वरदर्शनम् ॥
किं स्वल्पतपसां नृणामर्चायां देवचक्षुषाम् । दर्शनस्पर्शनप्रश्नप्रह्वपादार्चनादिकम् ॥
न ह्यम्मयानि तीर्थानि न देवा मृच्छिलामया: । ते पुनन्त्युरुकालेन दर्शनादेव साधव: ॥
नाग्निर्न सूर्यो न च चन्द्रतारका न भूर्जलं खं श्वसनोऽथ वाङ्मन: ।
उपासिता भेदकृतो हरन्त्यघं विपश्चितो घ्नन्ति मुहूर्तसेवया ॥
T: The Supreme Lord said: "Now our lives are indeed fruitful, for we have obtained life’s ultimate goal: the Darshan of great Yogis, which even gods only rarely obtain. How is it that people who are not very austere and who recognize God only in His Deity form in the temple (i.e. us) can now see you, touch you, inquire from you, bow down to you, worship your feet and serve you in other ways, oh, divine sages!?"
"Mere bodies of water like holy rivers and lakes are not the real sacred places of pilgrimage, nor are mere images of earth and stone the true worshippable deities. These purify one only after a long time, but saintly sages purify one immediately upon having their Darshan. Neither the gods controlling fire, the sun, the moon and the stars nor those in charge of earth, water, ether, air, speech and mind actually remove the sins of their worshippers as all these (the worshipped and the worshippers!) continue to see in terms of dualities. But wise sages beyond duality destroy one’s sins when respectfully served for even a few moments."
This is a powerful moment. Remember the Triumvirate- Bhagavata, Bhakta, Bhagavan. All three are here at the same place and at the same time. This is Bhagavan speaking to Bhaktas about Bhagavatas!
Sri Krishna concluded by saying that a worldly person who thinks his material possessions and biological relationships to be the be-all and end-all is only as good as hooved animals - cows and asses!
The great sages, themselves overwhelmed with the Darshan of their beloved Lord, now heard these words and were confounded. They then realised the power of Bhagavan's Maya and Leela! His compassion towards the unenlightened was to point to their emancipatory path as being through contact with Bhagavatas or exalted souls in the form of these divine sages, whose very contact would usher in wisdom and insight.
The sages now spoke in many shlokas, addressing the Lord smiling, इत्यूचु: स्मयन्तस्तं जगद्गुरुम् but I shall just quote a couple.
अहो विभूम्नश्चरितं विडम्बनम् ॥
स्वलीलया वेदपथं सनातनं वर्णाश्रमात्मा पुरुष: परो भवान् ॥
तस्माद् ब्रह्मकुलं ब्रह्मन् शास्त्रयोनेस्त्वमात्मन: । सभाजयसि सद्धाम तद् ब्रह्मण्याग्रणीर्भवान् ॥
अद्य नो जन्मसाफल्यं विद्यायास्तपसो दृश: । त्वया सङ्गम्य सद्गत्या यदन्त: श्रेयसां पर: ॥
T: "Oh, Bhagavan, what a paradox this sport of yours is! You are everything, you make everything happen. And yet you take a human form like now to uphold the Dharma of the four Varnas and Ashramas! Indeed, you are Parabrahman, and yet, you are honouring us as holy Brahmins, extolling us for our role in showing the path to you. You are the embodiment of the Vedas, and we are simply following the Vedas! We consider all our efforts so far as culminating in your sacred vision here. This is your supreme blessing."
"It is indeed most strange that these Vrishnis and your people do not see you for what you truly are. You have drawn verily a curtain of opacity over them!"
Now the sages began to take leave of Lord Dasharha (Sri Krishna), Dhritarashtra and Yudhishthira to go to their hermitages. But Vasudeva had a request. He wanted to learn from them how to ameliorate one's Karma Bandha, or the baggage of Karma! This elicited a great comment from Sage Narada.
श्रीनारद उवाच
नातिचित्रमिदं विप्रा वसुदेवो बुभुत्सया । कृष्णं मत्वार्भकं यन्न: पृच्छति श्रेय आत्मन: ॥
सन्निकर्षोऽत्र मर्त्यानामनादरणकारणम् । गाङ्गं हित्वा यथान्याम्भस्तत्रत्यो याति शुद्धये ॥
T: Narada said: "O sages! Is it not amazing that in his eagerness to know, Vasudeva has asked us about his ultimate amelioration!? Even now, he considers Sri Krishna a mere boy! In this world, familiarity breeds contempt. For example, one who lives on the bank of the most sacred river Ganga might yet travel to some other body of water to be purified!"
Anyway, the sages realised the level of advancement of Vasudeva and how he needed to perform Yajnas for his own satisfaction. So they advised,
यच्छ्रद्धया यजेद् विष्णुं सर्वयज्ञेश्वरं मखै:
"Yes, Vasudeva, one can counteract one's past Karmas by performing Yajnas and offering oblations to the Supreme Lord Bhagavan Maha Vishnu!"
They helped Vasudeva conduct several Yajnas. He felt mightily pleased. Then the sages received the most generous gifts from him and departed. Similarly, Vasudeva honoured every king and friend present and fed a sumptuous feast to all including, Shuka says, dogs! Then everyone dispersed, reluctantly pulling themselves away from Kurukshetra and going to their places like Mathura, Gokula, and Dwaraka.
***
