12.321
युधिष्ठिर उवाच॥
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
गृहस्थो ब्रह्मचारी वा वानप्रस्थोऽथ भिक्षुकः। य इच्छेत्सिद्धिमास्थातुं देवतां कां यजेत सः ॥३-३२१-१॥
Whether a householder, celibate student, forest-dweller, or mendicant—whoever wishes to attain perfection, he should worship whichever deity he desires. (3-321-1)
कुतो ह्यस्य ध्रुवः स्वर्गः कुतो निःश्रेयसं परम्। विधिना केन जुहुयाद्दैवं पित्र्यं तथैव च ॥३-३२१-२॥
How can there be certain heaven for him? How can there be the highest supreme good? By what ordinance and by whom should one perform the divine and ancestral offerings likewise? (3-321-2)
मुक्तश्च कां गतिं गच्छेन्मोक्षश्चैव किमात्मकः। स्वर्गतश्चैव किं कुर्याद्येन न च्यवते दिवः ॥३-३२१-३॥
What state does a liberated person attain, and what is the nature of liberation? What should one who has reached heaven do so that he does not fall from heaven? (3-321-3)
देवतानां च को देवः पितॄणां च तथा पिता। तस्मात्परतरं यच्च तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह ॥३-३२१-४॥
O grandsire, tell me who is the god of the gods and likewise the father of the ancestors, and what is higher than that. (3-321-4)
भीष्म उवाच॥
Bhishma said.
गूढं मां प्रश्नवित्प्रश्नं पृच्छसे त्वमिहानघ। न ह्येष तर्कया शक्यो वक्तुं वर्षशतैरपि ॥३-३२१-५॥
O sinless one, here you ask me a hidden question, a question for the question-knower. Indeed, this cannot be explained by reasoning, even in hundreds of years. (3-321-5)
ऋते देवप्रसादाद्वा राजञ्ज्ञानागमेन वा। गहनं ह्येतदाख्यानं व्याख्यातव्यं तवारिहन् ॥३-३२१-६॥
O king, without divine grace or the acquisition of knowledge, this profound narrative is indeed to be explained to you, O destroyer of enemies. (3-321-6)
अत्राप्युदाहरन्तीममितिहासं पुरातनम्। नारदस्य च संवादमृषेर्नारायणस्य च ॥३-३२१-७॥
Here too, they recount this ancient story, the conversation between Nārada and the sage Nārāyaṇa. (3-321-7)
नारायणो हि विश्वात्मा चतुर्मूर्तिः सनातनः। धर्मात्मजः सम्बभूव पितैवं मेऽभ्यभाषत ॥३-३२१-८॥
Nārāyaṇa, indeed the eternal soul of the universe with four forms, was born as the son of Dharma; my father thus spoke to me. (3-321-8)
कृते युगे महाराज पुरा स्वायम्भुवेऽन्तरे। नरो नारायणश्चैव हरिः कृष्णस्तथैव च ॥३-३२१-९॥
O great king, in the Kṛta age, during the interval of Svāyambhuva Manu, Nara and Nārāyaṇa, as well as Hari and Kṛṣṇa, indeed appeared. (3-321-9)
तेभ्यो नारायणनरौ तपस्तेपतुरव्ययौ। बदर्याश्रममासाद्य शकटे कनकामये ॥३-३२१-१०॥
Nārāyaṇa and Nara, the imperishable ones, performed austerities for them, having reached the Badarī hermitage in a golden cart. (3-321-10)
अष्टचक्रं हि तद्यानं भूतयुक्तं मनोरमम्। तत्राद्यौ लोकनाथौ तौ कृशौ धमनिसन्ततौ ॥३-३२१-११॥
That vehicle, indeed, was eight-wheeled, endowed with beings and pleasing. There, the first two, the lords of the world, those two thin ones, were continuous with arteries. (3-321-11)
तपसा तेजसा चैव दुर्निरीक्षौ सुरैरपि। यस्य प्रसादं कुर्वाते स देवौ द्रष्टुमर्हति ॥३-३२१-१२॥
By austerity and brilliance, the two are difficult to behold even for the gods; only he whom they favor is worthy to see the two gods. (3-321-12)
नूनं तयोरनुमते हृदि हृच्छयचोदितः। महामेरोर्गिरेः शृङ्गात्प्रच्युतो गन्धमादनम् ॥३-३२१-१३॥
Indeed, with the consent of those two, impelled in the heart by desire, Gandhamādana has fallen from the peak of the mountain Mahāmeru. (3-321-13)
नारदः सुमहद्भूतं लोकान्सर्वानचीचरत्। तं देशमगमद्राजन्बदर्याश्रममाशुगः ॥३-३२१-१४॥
Nārada, having wandered through all the worlds as a very great wonder, swiftly went to that region, O king, to the hermitage of Badarī. (3-321-14)
तयोराह्निकवेलायां तस्य कौतूहलं त्वभूत्। इदं तदास्पदं कृत्स्नं यस्मिँल्लोकाः प्रतिष्ठिताः ॥३-३२१-१५॥
During the daily time, one of the two became curious. This is the very abode in which all the worlds are established. (3-321-15)
सदेवासुरगन्धर्वाः सर्षिकिंनरलेलिहाः। एका मूर्तिरियं पूर्वं जाता भूयश्चतुर्विधा ॥३-३२१-१६॥
Together with the gods, demons, gandharvas, sages, kinnaras, and serpents, this one form that arose formerly has now become fourfold. (3-321-16)
धर्मस्य कुलसन्तानो महानेभिर्विवर्धितः। अहो ह्यनुगृहीतोऽद्य धर्म एभिः सुरैरिह ॥ नरनारायणाभ्यां च कृष्णेन हरिणा तथा ॥३-३२१-१७॥
The lineage of dharma has been increased by great ones. Indeed, today dharma has surely been favored here by these gods—by Nara and Nārāyaṇa, and also by Kṛṣṇa and Hari. (3-321-17)
तत्र कृष्णो हरिश्चैव कस्मिंश्चित्कारणान्तरे। स्थितौ धर्मोत्तरौ ह्येतौ तथा तपसि धिष्ठितौ ॥३-३२१-१८॥
There, Kṛṣṇa and Hari, for some other reason, remained; these two, superior in dharma, likewise engaged in austerity. (3-321-18)
एतौ हि परमं धाम कानयोराह्निकक्रिया। पितरौ सर्वभूतानां दैवतं च यशस्विनौ ॥ कां देवतां नु यजतः पितॄन्वा कान्महामती ॥३-३२१-१९॥
These two are truly the supreme abode, whose daily rites are performed; they are the fathers of all beings, divine and glorious. O great-minded one, which deity does one worship, or which ancestors? (3-321-19)
इति सञ्चिन्त्य मनसा भक्त्या नारायणस्य ह। सहसा प्रादुरभवत्समीपे देवयोस्तदा ॥३-३२१-२०॥
Having thus contemplated with devotion on Nārāyaṇa in his mind, suddenly he appeared near the two gods at that moment. (3-321-20)
कृते दैवे च पित्र्ये च ततस्ताभ्यां निरीक्षितः। पूजितश्चैव विधिना यथाप्रोक्तेन शास्त्रतः ॥३-३२१-२१॥
After the divine and ancestral rites have been performed, and after being examined by both, he is honored according to the procedure as stated in the śāstra. (3-321-21)
तं दृष्ट्वा महदाश्चर्यमपूर्वं विधिविस्तरम्। उपोपविष्टः सुप्रीतो नारदो भगवानृषिः ॥३-३२१-२२॥
Having seen him and the great, unprecedented wonder and the detailed procedure, the venerable sage Nārada, being well-pleased, sat nearby. (3-321-22)
नारायणं संनिरीक्ष्य प्रसन्नेनान्तरात्मना। नमस्कृत्वा महादेवमिदं वचनमब्रवीत् ॥३-३२१-२३॥
After gazing at Nārāyaṇa with a joyful heart and bowing to Mahādeva, he spoke these words. (3-321-23)
वेदेषु सपुराणेषु साङ्गोपाङ्गेषु गीयसे। त्वमजः शाश्वतो धाता मतोऽमृतमनुत्तमम् ॥ प्रतिष्ठितं भूतभव्यं त्वयि सर्वमिदं जगत् ॥३-३२१-२४॥
You are sung in the Vedas, the Purāṇas, and their limbs and sub-limbs. You are the unborn, the eternal, the supporter, regarded as immortal and unsurpassed. All this world, established in you, consists of the past and the future. (3-321-24)
चत्वारो ह्याश्रमा देव सर्वे गार्हस्थ्यमूलकाः। यजन्ते त्वामहरहर्नानामूर्तिसमास्थितम् ॥३-३२१-२५॥
O divine one, all four āśramas, which are rooted in householdership, worship you every day in your various forms. (3-321-25)
पिता माता च सर्वस्य जगतः शाश्वतो गुरुः। कं त्वद्य यजसे देवं पितरं कं न विद्महे ॥३-३२१-२६॥
The father, mother, and the eternal teacher of all the world; whom do you worship today as god, as father, whom we do not know. (3-321-26)
श्रीभगवानुवाच॥
The holy Lord said:
अवाच्यमेतद्वक्तव्यमात्मगुह्यं सनातनम्। तव भक्तिमतो ब्रह्मन्वक्ष्यामि तु यथातथम् ॥३-३२१-२७॥
O Brahman, this eternal self-secret is not to be spoken, but I shall tell it to you, the devoted one, just as it is. (3-321-27)
यत्तत्सूक्ष्ममविज्ञेयमव्यक्तमचलं ध्रुवम्। इन्द्रियैरिन्द्रियार्थैश्च सर्वभूतैश्च वर्जितम् ॥३-३२१-२८॥
That which is subtle, unknowable, unmanifest, immovable, and constant, is devoid of the senses, sense objects, and all beings. (3-321-28)
स ह्यन्तरात्मा भूतानां क्षेत्रज्ञश्चेति कथ्यते। त्रिगुणव्यतिरिक्तोऽसौ पुरुषश्चेति कल्पितः ॥ तस्मादव्यक्तमुत्पन्नं त्रिगुणं द्विजसत्तम ॥३-३२१-२९॥
He, the inner self of beings, is called the knower of the field; he is conceived as the person distinct from the three guṇas. Therefore, O best of the twice-born, the unmanifest has arisen as the threefold guṇa. (3-321-29)
अव्यक्ता व्यक्तभावस्था या सा प्रकृतिरव्यया। तां योनिमावयोर्विद्धि योऽसौ सदसदात्मकः ॥ आवाभ्यां पूज्यतेऽसौ हि दैवे पित्र्ये च कल्पिते ॥३-३२१-३०॥
That imperishable nature, which is unmanifest and yet assumes the state of manifestation, know her as the source of both of us; he who is of the nature of both existence and non-existence is indeed worshipped by us two in the rites established for the gods and the ancestors. (3-321-30)
नास्ति तस्मात्परोऽन्यो हि पिता देवोऽथ वा द्विजः। आत्मा हि नौ स विज्ञेयस्ततस्तं पूजयावहे ॥३-३२१-३१॥
There is no one superior to him, not even the father, god, or Brahmin; the self alone is to be known by us, therefore let us worship him. (3-321-31)
तेनैषा प्रथिता ब्रह्मन्मर्यादा लोकभाविनी। दैवं पित्र्यं च कर्तव्यमिति तस्यानुशासनम् ॥३-३२१-३२॥
O Brāhmaṇa, by him this boundary, which sustains the world, has been established. The performance of both divine and ancestral rites is to be done—such is his instruction. (3-321-32)
ब्रह्मा स्थाणुर्मनुर्दक्षो भृगुर्धर्मस्तपो दमः। मरीचिरङ्गिरात्रिश्च पुलस्त्यः पुलहः क्रतुः ॥३-३२१-३३॥
Brahmā, Sthāṇu (Śiva), Manu, Dakṣa, Bhṛgu, Dharma, austerity, self-control, Marīci, Aṅgirāḥ, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu. (3-321-33)
वसिष्ठः परमेष्ठी च विवस्वान्सोम एव च। कर्दमश्चापि यः प्रोक्तः क्रोधो विक्रीत एव च ॥३-३२१-३४॥
Vasiṣṭha, Parameṣṭhī, Vivasvān, Soma, and also Kardama, who is mentioned, as well as Krodha and Vikrīta, are indeed (included). (3-321-34)
एकविंशतिरुत्पन्नास्ते प्रजापतयः स्मृताः। तस्य देवस्य मर्यादां पूजयन्ति सनातनीम् ॥३-३२१-३५॥
The twenty-one lords of creatures who have arisen are remembered. They honor the eternal boundary of that god. (3-321-35)
दैवं पित्र्यं च सततं तस्य विज्ञाय तत्त्वतः। आत्मप्राप्तानि च ततो जानन्ति द्विजसत्तमाः ॥३-३२१-३६॥
The best of the twice-born, having truly understood what is divine, ancestral, and always pertaining to him, also know what is self-acquired from that. (3-321-36)
स्वर्गस्था अपि ये केचित्तं नमस्यन्ति देहिनः। ते तत्प्रसादाद्गच्छन्ति तेनादिष्टफलां गतिम् ॥३-३२१-३७॥
Even those who dwell in heaven, among the embodied beings who bow to him, by his grace, attain the state of the fruit ordained by him. (3-321-37)
ये हीनाः सप्तदशभिर्गुणैः कर्मभिरेव च। कलाः पञ्चदश त्यक्त्वा ते मुक्ता इति निश्चयः ॥३-३२१-३८॥
Those who are deprived of the seventeen qualities and actions, having abandoned the fifteen parts, are certainly liberated. (3-321-38)
मुक्तानां तु गतिर्ब्रह्मन्क्षेत्रज्ञ इति कल्पितः। स हि सर्वगतश्चैव निर्गुणश्चैव कथ्यते ॥३-३२१-३९॥
But, O Brahman, the goal of the liberated is considered to be the knower of the field. He is indeed described as all-pervading and certainly without qualities. (3-321-39)
दृश्यते ज्ञानयोगेन आवां च प्रसृतौ ततः। एवं ज्ञात्वा तमात्मानं पूजयावः सनातनम् ॥३-३२१-४०॥
He is perceived through the path of knowledge; we two have also arisen from that. Thus, knowing that self, we both should worship the eternal. (3-321-40)
तं वेदाश्चाश्रमाश्चैव नानातनुसमास्थिताः। भक्त्या सम्पूजयन्त्याद्यं गतिं चैषां ददाति सः ॥३-३२१-४१॥
The Vedas and the āśramas, established in various forms, worship him with devotion as the original goal, and he grants them their objective. (3-321-41)
ये तु तद्भाविता लोके एकान्तित्वं समास्थिताः। एतदभ्यधिकं तेषां यत्ते तं प्रविशन्त्युत ॥३-३२१-४२॥
But those who are devoted to that, who have established themselves in solitude in the world, they enter that which is superior among these, indeed. (3-321-42)
इति गुह्यसमुद्देशस्तव नारद कीर्तितः। भक्त्या प्रेम्णा च विप्रर्षे अस्मद्भक्त्या च ते श्रुतः ॥३-३२१-४३॥
Thus, O Nārada, your secret instruction has been declared. Through devotion, through love, and also through my own devotion, O best of Brāhmaṇas, it has been revealed to you. (3-321-43)
