DIVINE INFORMATION PART 110 Dear friends,
Part 45 to Part 83 are not found saved in any of my memory devices inspite of repeatedsearches. So I am starting with part 84 saved in the memory Gopala krishnan 1-10-21 371 SriMadh Bhagavatham. ... part84 ADITI BESEECHES KASYAPA SageKasyapa's consorts were Diti and Aditi, mothers of Asuras and Devasrespectively. After a long period of meditation, Kasyapa came to the hermitageof Aditi and found her utterly cheerless and enquired, Are the Brahmanas devoidof inauspiciousness? Is Dharma not adversely affected? Are those visited bydeath, free from inauspiciousness? The household yields the fruits of Yoga evento a person disinclined to Yoga. Has anything adverse occurred to the pursuitof the ideals it provides viz. Dharma (religion), Artha (wealth) and Kama(desire)? Have at any time guests departed from home without being properlyreceived and attended to due to your pre-occupation? For, a house from whichguests have to depart without being offered even water is verily a foxhole andnothing else. During my absence, were the daily obligatory oblations missed?For, the holy man and the sacred fire, which the householder is expected totend and worship, are the faces of the Supreme Lord who has manifested Himselfas the various deities. Are your entire sons well? I infer from your looks thatunhappiness has seized your mind? Aditireplied, by the greatness of your name, all the sacred fires, guests, servants,mendicants etc. are all properly served and propitiated. All these creatureswith dominance of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are your offsprings, born of yourmind and body. O Bhagavan! Progeny of Marichi! Me, to whom you arefamiliarizing Dharma, how can my aspiration remain unfulfilled? You are alike to all, includingthe Asuras. However,the Supreme Lord is inclined towards the ardent devotee. Pray, deign to view mywell being, who am devoted to you. Deprived of our prosperity by the inimicalAsuras, as also of our standing, extend your protection on us, and redeem fromthe ocean of sorrow. Restorethe well being of my children. SageKasyapa replied: The world is bound by the Maya of the Lord. Where is the body,the composition of the five elements and where is the Atman that transcendsmaterial nature. Who constitutes the husband and sons. These ideals ofrelationship are born of Maya. Worship Vasudeva, the Supreme Being, the pervadeof everything and Janardhana. The compassionate Lord, merciful to theafflicted, will fulfil your desire. Devotion to God will never go in vain. Aditi Devi then prayed toKasyapa Prajapati to initiate her in the path of worship that will secureDivine Grace and consequent wellbeing of her children. 372 PAYOVRATA Kasyapasaid, I shall instruct you on theworship, which Brahma taught me for propagation of human race. The aspirantshould observe Payovrata,the vow of subsisting on milk only for twelve days in the bright fortnight ofthe month of phalguna and worship the Lord with supreme devotion. Onthe fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, i.e. the day prior to thecommencement of the vow, he should take purificatory bath. He then enunciatedto her, the Mantras. (The details and Mantras are very brief and are containedin verses 26 to 57 of Chapter 16 of the VIII Skanda of Sri Bhagavatham).Kasyapa concluded by saying, This Vrata is a comprehensive Yajna. It is theessence of all austerity and gifts because it is pleasing to the Lord and bygoing through it with faith and concentration, the Lord would be pleased andwould grant the desired boon 373 Srimad Bhagavatham part 86- VAMANAAVATARAM TheLord manifested Himself through Aditi with four arms holding conch, mace, lotusand discus, with lotus eyes, Srivatsa mark on His chest and Kaustubha gem on his neck. Sri Hari'sbrilliance dispelled all darkness andthe quarters became serene. The Lord was born at the auspicious Abhijit time(Mid-day), on Sravana Dwadasi, known as Vijaya Dwadasi, to the delight of Aditi,Kasyapa and others. The Lord trans┬нformed himself as a short-staturedBrahmacharin (Vamana). At the Upanayanam of Vamana: The Sun god (Savita)initiated him into the Gayatri-mantra, Brihaspati invested him with the sacred thread; Kasyapa invested him with the Kusa grass girdle, Motherearth presented him with a black deerskin,Soma, the deity of forests, presented him with a staff,Mother Aditi presented him with a loin cloth,Sky deity presented him with an umbrella, Brahma presented him with a watervessel, Saptarshis presented him with a Kusa grass, Goddess Saraswati presented him with a string of beedsfor Japa, Kubhera presented himwith a Bhiksha-patram and Goddess Sati Uma presented him with a Bhiksha. Vamanaperformed the Agni ritual (Homam) and having heard of the Aswamedha sacrifice being performed by Bali underthe preceptorship of the Bhrigus led bySukracharya on the norhtern bank of Narmadha, proceed there. Overwhelmed by the radiance of Vamana, theentire assemblage of Rishis together with Bali spontaneously stood up in respectful welcome.Bali washed Vamana's feet and sprinkledthe water on his head, being aware that Lord Maheswara carries it on his head with devotion, in the form ofGanga. Vamana'stiny chest was covered by the maunji.а With the sacred thread glowing like a streak of lightning across hischest, tresses formed into a charming Jata (matted), with the kamandalu in one hand and the umbrellain the other, they all speculatedwhether he was the Sun god or Fire-god or Sanatkumara, the ever young mind-born son of Brahma, come to sanctifyand bless the Yajna. Baliwelcomed Vamana thus: 'Welcome to you; Salutations to you! You look like the tapas of all the Brahmarshistaken together and given a human form.By your coming, I have been blessed and so are my forefathers. This sacrifice stands fulfilledby your advent. Being purified by thewater of your feet, my offerings in the sacrifices are rendered agreeable to the Gods. The motherearth is also sanctified by the touch ofyour feet. O Brahmacharin! O Brahmana youth! O Worshipful! I deem you are aseeker. Whatever be the wish, do obtain them from me; be it cows, earth, Gold, house, hearty mealand drink, a damsel to wed, prosperousvillages, horses, chariots or anything of your choice'. TheLord, well pleased with the cordial and righteous devotion of Bali, the son ofVirochana and grandson of Prahlada, replied: 'your words are worthy of your preceptors and ancestorslike Prahlada. In your lineage, nonehas rejected the supplication of a holy person, nor has retracted an offer.а Inthe family, wherein Prahlada sparkles like the moon in the sky, in that fold,there is none, who looks the other way from the seekers at the appropriate occasion or in the battlefront.┬а┬а Alsoin your fold, Hiranyaksha, with the maceweapon, was not only unrivalled buteven Mahavishnu, who conquered him forbringing up the earth from the sea, did not consider himself a victor, by thethought of Hiranyaksha's valour.аHiranyakasipu, the elder brother of Hiranyaksha, to wreak vengeance, betook to Sri Vaikuntam.Mahavishnu saw him advancing like Yamawith his trident and said to Himself, He pursues me wherever I go To avoid him,I shall enter his being through hisbreath, making my body minute (subtle)', and so He did. Hiranyakasipu, unaware, sought forMahavishnu all over, but in vain. Hesaid to him, 'I have searched everywhere. He must have gone the way of no return. Death is the limitof animosity. Anger thrives on Ahankara (ego), which is body-related and whenthat body is gone, the relevance for anger also goes with it. Your own father,the son of Prahlada, devoted toBrahmanas and never refusing a gift, gave up his life to the Devas, who went to him in the guise of Brahmanas andthis he did with the full knowledgeof their disguise. You too are following in the footsteps of your preceptors and ancestors. O the king of Asuras From you, the prominent of thedonors! I seek of you Three Pacesof limited ground measured by my foot! I seek of you, the generous in gifting and the ruler ofthe universe, nothing else, for, receiving the bare minimum needed gift is not a sin'. Bali replied, O Brahmana-kumara! Yourwords are agreeable to the virtuous.┬а┬а However, you are young and ignorant of your own interest.┬а┬а Having pleased me, who amthe unrivalled ruler of the universe and therefore fitted to gift a continent, you, who seek three feet of earth, are lacking inintelligence. O Youth! It is not meet that after approaching me, one shouldrepeat it with others. Hence, seek of me area enoughfor lifetime. TheLord responded: 'for the one who is the captive of his mind (Ajithendrian - unconquered senses), allobjects of sense-pleasures in all thethree worlds are insufficient to satiate his desire. The one, who is not content with the three feet of earth,will not be satisfied even with the nine regions of Jambudvipa but would aspirefor all the seven Dweepas. We have heard that even emperorslike Pritu and Gaya, who were themasters of the seven continents, were not contented.┬а┬а The man who is contented with what chance gives him,leads a happy life and is consideredworthy of salvation. For the Brahmana, who is happy with the fortune that fallsto his lot by chance, his 'Brahma-Tejas' - radiance enhances.┬а┬а Dissatisfaction follows incontrary result.┬а┬а Hence, I seek fromyou, the renowned among donors, three feet of earth I will feel fulfilled with that much wealth,which is consistent with need and conduces to wellbeing.' The smiling Bali consented and took upthe water-vessel for gifting theneeded earth. The preceptor Sukracharya, gleaning the thoughts ofthe Lord, intervened and counselledBali saying, 'O Son of Virochan!а This Vamana is none else than the Eternal Mahavishnu, incarnated as the offspring of Aditi and Kasyapa, foraccomplishing the cause of the Devas. It is not appropriate for you to have promised without realizing the ensuing disaster. Thishas resulted in great injustice tothe Asuras. The pseudo disciple, who Sri Hari is, is out to usurp your status, wealth, prosperity,splendor, fame and spiritual wisdom and bestow all of them on Indra.┬а This Brahmacharin can assume a cosmicform and measure the entireuniverse with three strides of his What will you then have for livelihood? Havingcovered the earth with one stride, the heaven with the second andwith his body he would cover the skies (interspace), where will be the space for the third stride?┬а┬а The hell is thedue for the non-fulfiller of a word; and you are in that predicament.┬а┬а The gift, whichendangers livelihood, is not praiseworthy. For him with the means, other disciplines like gifts, Yajna, austerityand other auspicious undertakings, will be possible.┬а┬а He,who apportions his wealth appropriately for Dharma (religious andsocietal duties), celebrity public relations) for pleasure, saving(for future) and kith and kin, will be happy herein and hereafter.? O King of Asuras! Hear from me theconcepts of truth and untruth as expounded by Rikvedis. Satya is trulysacred and it forms the flowers and fruits of the tree itself. But,if the tree itself is felled, there could be no more hope of gettingfruits or flowers. One becomes poorer by whatever he parts with, but hewould be destitute of everything if he gives away all he has. Charity,ruinous to oneself, should be avoided. Dharma to himself and hisprogeny should be maintained. Besides, it is said that to utter anuntruth in relation to preserving one's livelihood, to save oneself fromdeath, to enthuse and attract a woman in jest, in the cause of marriageand to save holy man or a cow is not condemnable. Posted by: "DILIP KUMAR RAVINDRAN" [email protected] prdili Date: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:07 am ((PDT)) and Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:21 pm((PDT)) SriMadh Bhagavatham.... part 84 and 85 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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