Song 6

(Vibhāṣa rāga-Tripadī)

260. "Lord Nārāyaṇa gently said: ‘Goddess, do not be unhappy. What you wish will happen. By your ropes of maya everyone is blinded. Through you I create the world of birth and death.

261. "‘You are My first potency. You know the truth of devotional service. You are My personified material energy. I am never outside of you. Still, I say you are outside of me. The mercy of which you spoke I give to you.

262. "‘The whole world worships Śiva and Gaurī, thinking them the same as Me. Śiva and Gaurī are My own forms. When you are pleased at heart, you destroy all illusions. You destroy the illusion that you are independent of Me.

263. "‘I make this vow to you: In the assembly of saintly persons I will freely give you My prasādam remnants. By the sweet fragrance of that mahā-prasādam the saints and sages will become free of all material shackles. They will give up their stubbornness in debate.

264. "Hearing Lord Nārāyaṇa’s words, Goddess Kātyāyanī said: ‘If in Your heart You are indeed merciful to me, then You must give me Your prasādam remnants. Then every living entity in the world will eat that prasādam. Everyone in the three worlds will easily attain that prasādam.’

265. "Decorated with the jewels of all virtues, Lord Nārāyaṇa said, ‘I will keep My vow. I will tell you an ancient secret, a secret that will destroy all fears of the flames of repeated birth and death.

266. "‘No one knows this secret. When, using Mount Mandara as the churning rod and the serpent Ananta as the rope, the demigods churned the milk ocean, the kalpa-vṛkṣa tree was born from the friction of churning.

267. "‘The kalpa-vṛkṣa grants every desire anyone many ask, every desire in the heart. Whatever opulence a person requests, it grants. It does not turn its face from any reṣuest.

268. "‘The kalpa-vṛkṣa tree, which is the glorious, effulgent, and beautiful king of trees, comes from the form of Śrī Caitanya. It is My own form. It is the king of mercy. It has no equal.

269. "‘I will descend to the earth as Śrī Caitanya. I will become a sannyasi. I will enjoy many pastimes. I, the master of the three worlds, will stay on the earth and mercifully preach the truth.

270. "‘Manifesting a humanlike form, I will preach the saṅkīrtana movement in Kalī-yuga. My form will be splendid like gold. I will keep My vow. I will preach the highest spiritual love.

271. "‘Now I have revealed My heart to you. Please keep that secret hidden in your heart also. In Kalī-yuga I will come as Lord Gaura, the best of incarnations, and with My own glories I will deliver the world. "

272. This conversation of Goddess Katyayanī and Lord Visnu is revealed in the Brahma Purana, Utkala-khanda. King Prataparudra, who is an ocean of transcendental virtues, distributed many copies of this passage,

273. Smiling and smiling, Nārada MUnī said, "Why should you not remember these words in your heart? The Supreme Lord commanded me to announce that He will descend to the earth in the Kalī-yuga.

274. "Arriving in the Kalī-yuga, He will take birth on the earth. Thus the master of all the worlds will take birth in a brāhmaṇa family. He will be surrounded by His personal associates."

275. Hearing Nārada’s words, Goddess Kātyāyanī and Lord Śiva became joyful. Lord Śiva’s abode became filleed with bliss. Everyone called out, "Hari! Hari!" A great tumult of blissful sounds arose.

276. Sounding his vīṇā, Nārada Munī departed. The sound of his vīṇā was sweet like nectar. It was a stream of nectar that filled every ear. It delighted the hearts of the people in the three worlds.

277. Forgeting himself, Nārada had no power to walk. His face was red with ecstatic love. Although his forehead was covered with drop after drop of perspiration, he did not feel tired from traveling. In this way he came to the demigod Brahmā’s abode.

278. Seeing him, Brahmā was both very afraid and very delighted at heart. Brahmā rose to greet him. Falling at Brahmā’s feet, Nārada offered obeisances. Brahmā picked him up and embraced him.

279. Brahmā asked about his welfare. He said, "I think your arrival is auspicious. For a long time I have wished to see you. That desire was in my heart. Now I see your glorious face. Now I will proclaim the secret of your good fortune."

280. "When the nectar words flow from your mouth and enter my ear, my feverish heart will become cool. Please speak, and I will listen. Please speak of the worlds you visited. Please sing songs glorifying the Supreme Lord. Whom did you see? What did you hear?

281. In this way Brahmā spoke. Nārada was overcome. His lips trembled. His limbs swayed. Tears streamed from his eyes. His face was red. By seeing this, the bliss at the beginning of his words became doubled.

282. He said: "Please hear very wonderful words. You are the creator of the whole material world. From your name teh world brahmāṇda (the material universe) has come. The different yuga-dharmas (religion for the ages) are appropriate for their respective yugas. In Kalī-yuga sin is very powerful.

283. "At Dvāpara-yuga’s end the people become filled with suffering and grief. I thought: ‘Kalī-yuga will soon come. In my heart I will suffer greatly. I will go to the Lord. I will ask Him about it."

284. "I will ask Him: ‘O Lord, please tell me how to deliver the sinful people in the Kalī-yuga. In Kalī-yuga the brāhmaṇas do not study the Vedas, and everyone is impious. This great doubt stays in my heart.’

285. "Hearing my anguished words, the Supreme Lord, who is a jewel of transcendental virtues, said, ‘Throw all these worries far away from your heart. I will deliver the people of Kalī-yuga. I will teach them devotion to Me. I will descend in the Kaliyuga.

286. "‘The benefits that come from charity, vows, austerities, varnasrama-dharma, and pious deeds all come from chanting Lord Hari’s holy names. You will see that Kalī-yuga is full of faults. Still, you should write that it has one great virtue: Simply by performing saṅkīrtana of chanting My holy names and glorifying Me the conditioned souls are released from the prison house of repeated birth and death.

287. "‘Tell this to Śiva, Brahmā, and the others. Tell them they should all take birth in the Kalī-yuga. Manifesting a form of mercy personified, I will also take birth on the earth. Manifesting My form of Lord Gaura, I will enter the Kali-yuga. "