Swami Vijnanananda - The Srimad Devi Bhagavatam (Devi Bhagavata Purana)

THE

S'RMAD DEV BHGAWATAM

TRANSLATED

BY

SWAMI VIJANANANDA

1921-22

The S'rmad Dev Bhgawatam By Swami Vijanananda.

This edition was created and published by Global Grey

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What is Srmad Bhgavat is to the Vaisnavas, the Dev Bhgavatam is to the Sktas. The question of the priority of the two Bhgavatas has been often discussed more in the spirit of partisans rather than that of sober scholars. We reserve our opinion on the subject till the publication of the complete translation of this work.

This translation has been inscribed to the sacred memory of my friend the late Ri Bhdur Srs Chandra Vidyrnava who induced me to undertake the translation of this work. He had thoroughly read the two Bhgavatas and it was his opinion that the priority of composition belonged to the Dev Bhgavatam. The other Bhgavat, according to him, is a modern compilation attributed to Bopadeva the author of Mugdhabodha Vykaranam.

1. I meditate on the beginningless Brahmvidy who is Sarvachaitanyarp, of the nature of all-consciousness; May She stimulate our buddhi to the realisation of That (or who stimulates our buddhi in different directions).

2. Saunaka said :-- O highly fortunate Sta! O noble Sta! You are the best of persons; you are blessed inasmuch as you have thoroughly studied all the auspicious Purnas.

3. O sinless one! you have gone through all the eighteen Purnas composed by Krisna Dvaipyana; these are endowed with five excellent characteristics and full of esoteric meanings.

Note :-- The characteristics are to make the mantras reveal to one's own self, to realise, to transfer to others the Sakti, force thereof, to prove the various manifestations of the several effects thereof, etc.

4-5. O Sinless one! It is not that you have read them like a parrot, but you have thoroughly grasped the meaning of them all as you have learnt them from Vysa himself, the son of Satyavati. Now it is our good merits that you have come at this divine holy excellent Vis'vasan Ksettra (place), free from any defects of the Kali age.

6-10. O Sta! These Munis assembled here are desirous to hear the holy Purna Samhit, that yields religious merits. So describe this to ns with your mind concentrated. O all-knowing Sta! Live long and be free from the threefold sorrows of existence. O highly fortunate one! Narrate to us the Purna equivalent to the Vedas. O Sta! Those persons that do not hear the Purnas, are certainly deprived by the Creator, though they have apparently the organ of hearing, of the power of tasting the sweet essence of words; because, the organ of hearing is gratified then and then only when it hears the words of the wise men, just as the organ of taste is satisfied then and then only when it tastes the six kinds of rasas (flavour, taste) (sweet, sour, pungent, bitter, salty, and astringent). This is known to all. The serpents that are void of the organ of hearing are enchanted by sweet music; then why should not those persons that have the organs of hearing and are averse to hear the Purnas, be thrown under the category of the deaf?

11-18. O Saumya! Hence all these Brhmins, being distressed with the fear of this Kali, have come here to this Naimisranya, eager to hear attentively the Purnas, and are staying here with this one object. Time must be spent away anyhow or other; those that are fools while away their times in sports and other evil practices and those that are learned pass away their times in meditating on the Sstras; but these Sstras are too vast and very varied; they contain Jalpas (debates or wrangling discussions to win over the opposite party), Vadas (sound doctrines to arrive at just conclusions), and various Arthavdas (explanations and assertions, recommending Vidhis or precepts by stating the good arising from its proper observance and evils arising from its omission and also by adducing historical instances for its support; praises and eulogies) and filled with many argumentations. And, amongst these Sstras again, the Vednta is the Sttvik, the Mimmsas are the Rjasik and the Nyya Sstras with Hetuvdas, are the Tmasik; so the Sstras are varied. Similarly, the Purnas are of three kinds :-- (1) Sattvik, (2) Rjasik and (3) Tmasik. O Saumya! (one of gentle appearance) you have recited those Purnas endowed with five characteristics and full of many narratives; of these, the fifth Purna, equivalent to the Vedas and with all the good qualities, the Bhgavata yields Dharma and Kma (religion and desires), gives liberation to those who desire for emancipation and is very wonderful; you mentioned this before but ordinarily; you did not dwell on this specially. Now these Brhmanas are eager to hear gladly this divine auspicious Bhgavata, the best of the Purnas; so kindly describe this in detail.

19-25. O knower of Dharma! By your faith and devotion to your Guru, you have become Sttvik and thus have thoroughly known the Purna Samhits spoken by Veda Vys. O Omniscient one! Therefore it is that we have heard many Purnas from your mouth; but we are not satisfied as the Devas are not satisfied with the drinking of the nectar. O Sta! Fie to the nectar even as the drinking of nectar is quite useless in giving Mukti. But hearing the Bhgavata gives instantaneous Mukti from this Samsra or round of birth and death. O Sta! we performed thousands and thousands of Yajas for the drinking of the nectar (Amrita), but never we got the full peace. The reason being that Yajas lead to heaven only; on the expiry of the period of punya (good merits, the heavenly life ceases and one is expelled, as it were from the Heavens. Thus incessant sojourns in this wheel of Samsra, the constant rounds of births and deaths never end. O Knower of every thing! Thus, without Jna (knowledge, wisdom) Mukti never comes to men, wandering in this wheel of Time (Klachakra) composed of the three Gunas. So describe this holy Bhgavata, always beloved of the Mumuksas (those that desire Mukti), this secret work yielding liberation, holy and full of all sentiments (rasas).

Thus ends the first chapter of the first Skandha on the questioning about the Purna by Saunaka and other Rishis in the Mahpurna Srmad Dev Bhgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vysa.

Here ends the First Chapter of the First Skandha of Srmad Devi Bhgavatam on the questions by Saunaka and other Risis.

1-5. S'r Sta said :-- I am highly fortunate; I consider myself blessed and I am purified by the Mahtms (high souled persons); inasmuch as I am questioned by them about the highly meritorious Purna, famous in the Vedas. I will now speak in detail about this Purna, the best of the gamas, approved of by all the Vedas and the secret of all the Sstras. O Brahmins! I bow down to the gentle lotus feet, known in the three Lokas, of the Dev Bhagavat, praised by Brahm and the other devas Visnu, Mahesa and others, meditated always by the Munindras and which the Yogis contemplate as their source of liberation. Today I will devotedly describe, in detail and in plain language, that Purna which is the best of all the Purnas, which gives prosperity and contains all the sentiments (Rasas) that a human being can conceive, the Srimad Dev Bhgavatam. May that Highest Primal Sakti who is known as Vidy in the Vedas; who is omniscient, who controls the innermost of all and who is skilled in cutting off the knot of the world, who cannot be realised by the wicked and the vicious, but who is visible to the Munis in their meditation, may that Bhagavat Dev give me always the buddhi fit to describe the Purna! I call to my mind the Mother of all the worlds who creates this universe, whose nature is both real (taking gross, practical point of view) and and unreal (taking a real point of view), preserves and destroys by Her Rjasik, Sttvik and Tmasik qualities and in the end resolves all these into Herself and plays alone in the period of Dissolution - at this lime, I remember my that Mother of all the worlds.