DIVINE INFORMATION PART 90 Respected friends, While going through one of my external memory device, I came across somegood information stored from websites.I thought of sharing interesting ones from them as a series. In part90 I am starting with 318th item in this posting. Kindly note the series is acompilation. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 07-09-21 318-SriMadh Bhagavatham.... part 3 SRIMADH BHAGAVATHAMINTRODUCTION Sage Saunaka was the chief and the oldest of the Rithviks participants in a thousand-year long sacrifice Dheergasatra which was in progress in holy Naimisaranyam. He received with joy and reverence Sage Ugrasravas, known as Suta Pauranikar (Miinistrel who recitedand explained Puranic texts), son of Sage Romaharshana, a disciple of Sage Vedavyasa. Romaharshanahad acquired mastery of Mahabharata and all the 18 Puranas. Afteroffering the usual courtesies to Suta Pauranikar, Saunaka sought of him enlightenmenton several spiritual aspects. Saunaka said toSuta: It is a god-sent for us that you have arrived in our midst. You are the repository of all the wisdom contained in the Puranas. Preceptors impart to disciples the most intricate truths too. Do relate to us all the truths that will conduce to our Shreyas (well being). In this KaliYuga (age), people are mostly short-lived, slothful, dull-witted andunlucky. They are tormented with diseases and otherills. If man has to emerge out of the illusion, if he were to savehis soul, he will have to study the DharmaSastras, the Puranas and the Vedas. But man today hasneither the time nor the inclination for it. Please, therefore,instruct us on a single text, by studying which, man can become pure and goodand free himself from bondage. For the protection of humanity andestablishing Dharma, Godincarnated as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. By chanting His name,all causes for fear vanish and His ardent devotees, by their very presence,instantly purify the precincts. Do educate us on the sports of the Lord. Due to the advent ofKali and to reach God?s Abode,we are now engaged in this Dheergasatraand have the time to listen to your exposition. Suta Pauranikarsaid: I bow to that Sukabrahmam, who was totally obliviousto the earthly feelings and therefore even the nymphs who where engaged in thewater sports did not take notice of him when he passed by. They,however, draped themselves when Sage Vedavyasa arrived there, pursuing his sonwho had taken to Sanyasa even as an infant! I bow to the Supreme Lord Narayana! I bowto Nara, that part-manifestationof God as the son of Dharma and Kalai! I bow to the goddessof learning Saraswati and I bowto Vedavyasa! It was my goodfortune to be present at the assembly of sages on the bank of the Ganga whenSukabrahmam was expounding SrimadhBhagavatham to Parikshit. By the grace of Suka, I alsoimbibed the knowledge of Srimadh Bhagavatham and to the extent I have absorbed the holy Purana, I shall share itwith you. As for the queries raised by you at the outset, theclarifications are as follows:- Q: What will with certainty bestowon men ?Shreyas? (fulfillment)? A: That which yields firm devotion toGod and purifies the mind. Q: What is the essence of allSastras that will purify the mind? A: Devotion to God. Q: Why did Lord incarnate as Krishna? A: Welfare of humanity is thepurpose of all Incarnations of the Lord. Q: What are the glorious sports of Krishna? A: Those, which afford protection tothe righteous. Q: What is the purpose of Matsya and other Avatars? A: Creation of the Universe after thedeluge and its sustenance. Q: With whom did Dharma take refuge, afterKrishna relinquished HisIncarnation? A: Dharma took refuge under Srimadh Bhagavatham, the glorious ofall Puranas. Saunaka thenasked Suta: Do relate to us the holy narration, which Sukabrahmam made to Parikshit,the genesis of the Purana and at whose instance Vyasa composed it. For such a devout Suka, whosestay in a house-holder’s abode would not exceed the time for milking of a cow; 319 what made himto continue to remain with Parikshit for a full seven days and also madeParikshit the righteous king to renounce the kingdom and seek refuge on thebanks of the Ganga? Suta said: Sukabrahmam was very happy, as he considered it ablessing to dwell on Bhagavatham tohimself, to the concourse of sages present and to all the world over ingeneral. Sukabrahmam inaugurated the following discourse asbeing conducive to the welfare of the world as a whole, purifying human hearts,inducing devotion to God and enabling the soul to realise propensities, free itfrom passion, lust and greed, dispersing doubts and liquidating the accumulatedstock of man?s Karmas. The origin of Parikshit and in that context thedetails of Narada's life, the 'Prayopavesam' of Parikshit ensuing from theBrahmanas imprecation and the discourse between Parikshit and Sukabrahmam areall dealt with in SK - I. (Skanda -1) (Hereafter will mention as SK) The Yogic power leading to the Archiradhi path (to Lord's abode), the discussion betweenNarada and Brahma, the detailsof incarnations and the main deed of 'Virat' creation are discussed in SK -II. The dialogue between Vidura and Uddhava and afterwardsbetween Vidura and Maitreya, thequerry relating to Purana Samhita and the Yogic slumber amidst the Pralaya andafterwards the slaying of Hiranyaksha in the process of restoring the earthfrom underneath the ocean, the half male and half female form from whichemanated Svayambhuava Manu and the very first among women Satarupa, the gloryof Kardama and the details of his consorts, the incarnation of Bhagavan Kapilaand the discourse between Kapila and Devahuti are all narrated in SK - III. The progeny of Marichi and the other BrahmanaPrajapatis, nine in all, the obstruction of Daksha Yajna, the holy accounts ofDhruva and Prithu and the conversation between Narada and Prachinabarhis aredealt with in SK - IV. Priyavrata's description and the devotional narrativeson Nabhi, Rishaba and Bharata, followed by the details of continents, regions,oceans, mountain ranges, rivers, the galaxies, worlds like Patala, thepurgatory (hell) and the episde of Ajamila proving the efficacy of Divine Nameare dealt with in SK - V. The birth ofDaksha as the son of Prachetas, daughters of Daksha and the origin of thevarious species like Devas, Asuras, men, dumb creatures, serpentsand birds and the episode of Vritrasura are all told in SK VI. The history of Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu and thelife and devotion of Prahlada are dealt with in SK VII. The description of Manvantaras, the salvation of Gajendra,incarnations in different Manvantaras, the incarnation of Hayagriva, Vamanaavataramand the churning of the ocean for obtaining Amruta are narrated in SK VIII. The great battle between Devas and Asuras, thegenealogies of kings, the birth of Ikshwaku and his descendents, the story ofSuddyumna, the narrative of Ila and Tara, the solar dynasty in which Sasada,Nriga and others were born, the stories of Sukanya, Saryati, Kakusta,Maandaata, Saubhari and Sagar, the sin-destroying account of thegreat Rama of Kosala, of Nimidiscarding his body, of the birth of the Janakas, the destruction of Kshatriyasby the Rama of Bhrigu clan, thestories of Pururavas, Yayayati and Nahusha of the lunar dynasty, the lives ofDushyanta?s son Bharata, Santanu and Bishma and the line of Yayati's elder son- Yadu are narrated in SK IX. The birth of the Supreme Lord as the son of Vasudeva in (captivity) prison, his removal toGokula and upbringing there, the description of his childhood leelas, slayingof Asura-foes, rescuing of Gopas from forest fire, the humbling of the serpentKaliya, rescue of Nanda from a python, Gopis' observance of Katyava Vrata, Krishna's grace on the Brahmana Patnis, lifting of Govardanamountain, Indra's worship of Krishna,Rasalila with Gopis, the destruction of more Asuras, accompanying Akrura toMathura, slaying of Kuvalayapida elephant, the wrestlers and Kamsa and the restorationof the dead children of Sandipini, the killing of Yavana throughMuchukunda, evacuating the Yadavas to Dwaraka, the securing of Parijata andSudharma from Indra's heaven, the marriage with Rukmini, theparalysing of Hara and chopping off the numerous arms of Bana, the destructionof Narakasura and the recovery of the maidens kept in captivity by him, theburning of Varanasi and relieving the burden of earth through the agency of thePandavas, are all dealt in SK X) The destruction of Yadu clan brought about by theimprecation of the Brahmanas, the most illuminating discourse given by Krishna to Uddhava and the abandonmentof the human body by Krishna byYogic power, are all contained in SK - XI. The characteristics of the various Yugas, thedecadence of mankind in Kali, Pralaya, the death of Parikshit, recensions ofthe Vedas by Vyasa Bhagavan, the devotional account about Markandeya, theexposition of the symbolism of the Lord'sform and the movement of the Sun Deity with different groups of associates inthe twelve months of a year, are contained in SK XII. I willcontinue in next posting -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1399736020.2445842.1630984026827%40mail.yahoo.com.
