13.016
Kṛṣṇa said.
Having bowed my head in the mass of brilliance, with self-control, and having attained supreme joy, I then spoke to the Blessed One. (13-16-1)
I choose firmness in dharma, the slaying of enemies in battle, fame and supreme strength, fondness for union, your closeness, and hundreds upon hundreds of sons. (13-16-2)
Śaṅkara said, "So be it," to that statement spoken by me. Then the mother of the world, the all-purifying Earth, spoke to me; Umā, the attentive consort of Śiva, the treasure of austerities. (13-16-4)
O sinless one, the blessed one has given you a son named Sāmba. Also, accept from me eight desired boons that I grant you. Having bowed her head, she was addressed by me, O descendant of Pāṇḍu. (13-16-5)
I choose absence of anger among the twice-born, grace from the father, the supreme enjoyment of a hundred sons, affection in the family, grace from the mother, attainment of tranquility, and also skill. (13-16-6)
The goddess said.
Thus it shall be by the power of the immortals; I never speak falsehood at any time. There will be sixteen thousand wives, and among them, dearness and imperishability. (13-16-7)
I grant you affection and the highest regard from your relatives, as well as desirability of form. Seventy hundred guests will always enjoy in your house. (13-16-8)
Vāsudeva said.
O Bhārata, thus, after granting the boons, the god and my goddess disappeared in that very moment along with his attendants, the elder brother of Bhīma. (13-16-9)
O best of the Kauravas, I have told all this very wonderful account to the brāhmaṇa of great brilliance, Upamanyu. (13-16-10)
After bowing, he spoke to the god of gods, "O virtuous one, there is none equal to Śarva (Śiva) in giving, none equal to Śarva in battle. There is no god equal to Śarva, nor any refuge equal to Śarva." (13-16-11)
O dear one, in the Kṛta Yuga, the sage known as Taṇḍi was renowned. For ten thousand years, he worshipped the god through meditation. See the result of his devotion. (13-16-12)
Having seen Mahadeva, he praised the all-pervading Lord with hymns. You are the purest among the pure, the supreme goal, the best among those who seek the goal. You are the most intense energy among energies, the supreme austerity among austerities. (13-16-13)
Saluted by Viśvāvasu, Hiraṇyākṣa, and Indra, O Lord, bestower of abundant auspiciousness, truly among men, my salutations be to you. (13-16-14)
O Lord, who is the thousand-rayed giver of liberation, the refuge of happiness, to you salutations from the ascetics and those striving who fear birth and death. May it be so. (13-16-15)
Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, all the gods, and the great sages do not know you in reality; so how could we possibly know you? (13-16-16)
Time originates from you and merges back into you; you are indeed called Time, Puruṣa, and Brahma. (13-16-17)
Your forms are remembered as three by the knowers of the Purāṇas and by divine sages: as the supreme person, the self, the beings, the gods, the worlds, knowledge, and sacrifice; you alone are indeed all these. (13-16-18)
The wise, having realized you as the self within the body—who are difficult even for the gods to know—become liberated and attain the supreme, untroubled state. (13-16-19)
O Lord, for those unwilling, birth and death occur in many ways. You are the door and the opener to heaven and liberation; you also grant them. (13-16-20)
You alone are liberation, heaven, desire, and anger; you alone are purity, passion, and darkness; you are both below and above, you alone indeed. (13-16-21)
You are Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudra, Skanda, Indra, Savitṛ, Yama, Varuṇa, Indu (the Moon), Manu, Dhātṛ, Vidhātṛ, and the lord of wealth (Kubera). (13-16-22)
You are earth, air, light, waters, speech, intellect, understanding, and mind; you are action, truth and untruth, both existence and non-existence. (13-16-23)
You are indeed the senses, the objects of the senses, and that which is supreme and eternal beyond nature; you are the state that is all and not all, transcendent, thinkable and unthinkable. (13-16-24)
That which is called the supreme Brahman, and that which is the supreme state; the goal attained by Sāṅkhya and Yoga, that is you—there is no doubt about this here. (13-16-25)
Certainly, today we have truly fulfilled our purpose, for we have attained the path of the virtuous, the very path here attained by those whose intellects are purified by knowledge. (13-16-26)
Alas, we have indeed been fools, unconscious for a long time in this time, not knowing that supreme, eternal divine whom the wise know. (13-16-27)
He, having been directly attained by me after many births, is the god who bestows favor upon devotees; knowing whom, one attains immortality. (13-16-28)
That eternal secret, which is hidden in the cave and is difficult to comprehend even by the gods, demons, and humans, is Brahman. (13-16-29)
He, this glorious God, is the doer of all, faces all directions, is the self of all, sees everything, is all-pervading, and the knower of all. (13-16-30)
He is the creator of prāṇa, sustainer of prāṇa, the living being, the giver of prāṇa, the goal of living beings; the creator of the body, sustainer of the body, the embodied one, enjoyer of the body, and the goal of embodied beings. (13-16-31)
This Lord is the path which is not again for those desiring death, for those established in the path of the self, for meditators, and for knowers of the self. (13-16-32)
He is the one who grants all beings their auspicious and inauspicious destinies. He also arranges birth and death for all creatures. (13-16-33)
He is the lord who grants accomplishment to sages desiring success, and he is also the lord who grants liberation to twice-born desiring liberation. (13-16-34)
Having created all the worlds starting from the earth, the god, together with the gods, supports them with eight bodies and also bestows them. (13-16-35)
From this, everything arises; in this, all is established; into this, all dissolves; this one is eternal. (13-16-36)
This is the supreme world of truth for those whose desire is truth, the highest realm for the virtuous; it is liberation for the liberated, and absolute oneness for those who speak of the Self. (13-16-37)
This Lord has been hidden in the cave by Brahmā and other accomplished beings, so that there should be no manifestation to gods, demons, or men. (13-16-38)
Gods, demons, and men do not truly know your real nature. Indeed, deluded by this very desire of the heart, they have been led astray. (13-16-39)
O Bhārata, those who approach him through the yoga of devotion, to them alone this desire of the heart reveals the self to the self. (13-16-40)
By knowing which, there is neither rebirth nor death; and by realizing which, the supreme object of knowledge, nothing else remains to be known. (13-16-41)
Having attained that which is the supreme gain, one does not consider anything greater again; having reached the supreme, subtle attainment of the vital force, which brings the imperishable. (13-16-42)
Those whom the followers of Sāṅkhya, who are experts in the science of Sāṅkhya and knowers of the principles of the guṇas, and who delight in subtle knowledge, having known beforehand, are freed from bondage. (13-16-43)
That whom the knowers of the Veda declare as the object to be known, established in the Vedāntas, whom those devoted to prāṇāyāma always enter and recite— (13-16-44)
This sun is called the door of the paths of the gods; and this moon is called the door of the paths of the ancestors. (13-16-45)
This movement of time is diverse in years, yugas, and so on; existence and non-existence occur at those times and during the southern and northern solstices. (13-16-46)
Thus, Prajāpati, after previously worshipping with many praises, chose Nīlalohita as his son. (13-16-47)
He whom the Bahvṛcas praise with Ṛg hymns in the ritual system and action, whom the Adhvaryus offer oblations to with Yajus formulas in the sacrifice as the one to be known in three ways. (13-16-48)
The pure-minded singers of Sāma sing of Him with Sāma hymns; He is remembered as the supreme source and lord of the sacrifice, and this one is regarded as the highest. (13-16-49)
He has night as his form, day as his form, ears, eyes, fortnights, months, head, arms, seasons, strength, austerity, fortitude, indeed, years, secret parts, thighs, and feet. (13-16-50)
Death, Yama, Agni, and Time, all possess the force of destruction; the supreme source of Time is Time itself, and this Time is eternal. (13-16-51)
The moon, the sun, the stars, the planets, along with the wind; Dhruva, the seven sages, and indeed the seven worlds. (13-16-52)
That which is primordial matter, the great principle, the unmanifest, ending in particulars with all modifications; from Brahmā down to the grass, from all beings, both existent and non-existent — that (is described here). (13-16-53)
There are eight natures, and beyond these natures, whatever is superior; the entire portion of this god completely revolves. (13-16-54)
This is the supreme bliss, which is truly eternal; this is the path for the dispassionate, this state is the highest for the virtuous. (13-16-55)
This undisturbed state is the eternal Brahman. For those learned in the scriptures and Vedāṅgas, this meditation is the supreme state. (13-16-56)
She is this supreme limit, she is this supreme part, she is this supreme accomplishment, she is this supreme path. (13-16-57)
This is the supreme peace; this is the highest liberation. Having attained this, the sages considered themselves as having fulfilled their purpose. (13-16-58)
This contentment, this accomplishment, this hearing, this memory—these are the imperishable attainments of the wise who are established in the path of the self. (13-16-59)
You are the eternal goal, the divine destination attained by the gods through sacrifices with abundant gifts, sought by those who perform and desire sacrifice. (13-16-60)
O divine one, the state which is attained in the Viraja by those who practice austerities through muttered prayers, sacrificial offerings, vows, severe penances, restraints, and mortifications of the body, that very state is yours. (13-16-61)
You are the eternal state that is attained in the abode of Brahman by those who have renounced actions and by the dispassionate. (13-16-62)
You are the eternal goal for those who, having no renewed desire for objects, abide in dispassion in the Supreme; you are also the goal for the dissolutions of modifications. (13-16-63)
O divine one, you are the supreme state of liberation, which is indescribable and stainless, and is attained by those established in knowledge and discernment. (13-16-64)
The five paths described in the Vedas, treatises, and Purāṇas are known to exist; O Lord, they are attained only by your grace and not by any other means. (13-16-65)
Thus, Ṭaṇḍi, through austerity and union, praised the imperishable Lord and sang of the supreme Brahman, which the creator of the worlds had sung in ancient times. (13-16-66)
Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, all the gods, and the great sages did not know you; then, being pleased, Śiva spoke to him. (13-16-67)
He will be imperishable and indestructible, free from sorrow; glorious, endowed with brilliance, and possessed of divine knowledge. (13-16-68)
By my grace, O best of the twice-born, your son will become approachable to the seers and a composer of aphorisms; there is no doubt about this. (13-16-69)
"Tell me, O child, which desire you wish for, I shall grant it today." With folded hands, he said: "Let firm devotion to you be mine." (13-16-70)
Thus, after granting the boon, the god, worshipped by the divine sages and praised by the wise, disappeared right there. (13-16-71)
After the Lord, along with his attendants, had withdrawn, O Lord of the Yādavas, the sage came to the hermitage and told me this here. (13-16-72)
O best of men, listen to those names of mine which Taṇḍira first declared and which are well-known, for your success. (13-16-73)
The Grandfather (Brahmā) declared ten thousand names in the Vedas, and likewise, for Śarva (Śiva), ten hundred names in the śāstras indeed. (13-16-74)
Taṇḍi, by the grace of the gods, once spoke these secret names of Lord Acyuta to the great-souled one, O Lord of the gods. (13-16-75)
