Chapter 46 - The Prayer for Welfare

Extra verses at the beginning of Chapter

[The sages said:

O lord of the chiefs of Devas, tell us what we ask regarding the ancient incidents. How were the idols made formerly by lndradyumna? In what manner was Viṣṇu pleased with him? Please mention all these incidents to us. We are very eager to hear.

Brahmā said:

O leading sages, listen, to the Purāṇa that is on a par with the Vedas. I shall recount the past events and the origins of the idols.

When the great sacrifice duly functioned, when the palace was also built, he was worried over the idols day and night.

“I do not know, by what means I can see the supreme lord, the lord of Devas, the lord of all, the sanctifier of the world, the cause of creation, sustenance and annihilation”.

The king was extremely worried. He never slept either at night or by day. He did not enjoy any pleasures. He did not relish bath and toilet. He did not like make-up.

His pleasure did not grow due to musical instruments, scents, songs, colour, elephants in their rut, horses, lapis lazuli, sapphire, ruby, gold, silver, diamonds and crystals. He did not feel pleasure in anything that money could buy or mind could desire. He did not feel glad due to the animals of the forest or by moving about in the firmament.

Rock, clay and wood are the three substances used for making the idols of Viṣṇu. Of these three, which is the most preferable? How can an idol marked by all traits could be made? If the idol is made of one of these three and is installed it shall be liked by the lord. It will be worshipped by devas”. Thus the king became worried and he thought thus.

After worshipping the lord in accordance with the injunctions laid down in the Scriptural text Pañcarātra,^[1] the king began to eulogise.

O Vāsudeva, obeisance be to you. O cause of liberation, obeisance to you. O lord of the world, protect me from the ocean of worldly existence of birth and death.

O lord, resembling the firmament, devoid of impurities, obeisance to you. O Saṅkarṣaṇa, obeisance to you. O holder of the earth, protect me.

Obeisance to you, the deity having the lustre of gold-wombed Brahma, obeisance to you, O shark-emblemed one. Obeisance to you. O lover of Rati, O enveloper and annihilator, protect me.

Obeisance to you, O deity resembling collyrium. Obeisance to you, O deity favourably disposed towards your devotees. O Aniruddha, obeisance to you. Protect me. Be the bestower of boons.

O abode of the learned, obeisance to you; obeisance to you O deity fond of the learned. Obeisance to you O Nārāyaṇa. Protect me who have sought refuge in you.

Obeisance to you, O most excellent one among the strong. Obeisance to you, O ploughshare-armed deity. O great grandfather, the four-faced lord, the abode of the universe, protect me.

Obeisance to you, the deity having the lustre of blue clouds. Obeisance to you, the deity worshipped by Devas.]

The Prayer for Welfare

Brahmā said:

1-2. Thus the king concluded the great Horse sacrifice in accordance with the injunctions laid down in the Vedas.

He was afraid of the ocean of worldly existence. For the purity of his mind and for attaining the highest region of Viṣṇu, he sat in an isolated place and eulogised the lord, the bestower of bliss on the universe.

The king said:

3-4. O support of the universe, O lord of the universe who enable us to fulfil our desires. O lover of Lakṣmī, O ocean of mercy, favourably disposed to your devotees, and fond of the good, O Viṣṇu, O great lord, save me who have been immersed in the ocean of worldly existence. O deity resembling the fire of dissolution. Obeisance to you the annihilator of the sons of Diti, O Narasiṃha of great vigour and bright eyes, save me.

5. O great Boar^[2] just as the earth had been formerly lifted up by you by your curved fangs, from the nether worlds so also save me from the ocean of misery.

6. O lord Kṛṣṇa, these idols of yours, the bestowers of boons, have been eulogised by me. You, Baladeva and others, are stationed in separate forms.

7-9. O lord, O lord of Devas, Garuḍa and others are the parts of your body. O lord, the guardians of quarters^[3] with their weapons and Keśava and others are the parts of your body. O lord of the Universe, O lord of all worlds, of large and delighted eyes, your different forms mentioned by the learned have been worshipped and eulogised by me. O lord, you who have been bowed by me are the bestower of virtue, love and wealth. Grant boons and confer your blessings upon me, O lord.

10. Hara, Saṅkarṣaṇa and others who have been glorified as your variant forms, have been evolved for your worship. They are dependent on you, they resort to you for support.

11. O lord of Devas, in fact, you have no other form separate from you. The various forms of yours are only for your worship by the devotees.

12. O lord, how can man mention you as twofold, you who are one and only one. You are all-pervading Consciousness by nature and you are unsullied.

13-14. Your supreme form is devoid of positive and negative aspects. It is unsmeared. It is devoid of impurities. It is subtle, steady, unmoving and firm. It is rid of all sins. It is stationed as mere existence. O lord, even Devas do not know that. How can I know it?

15-16. The learned worship that other form of yours which is clad in yellow robes, has four arms, holds conch, discus and iron club in hands, wears a crown, shoulder-lets etc, has the scar Śrīvatsa in the chest and is adorned by garlands of sylvan flowers. Others also who resort to you for support worship that form.

17. O lord of Devas, most excellent one among Devas, O bestower of freedom from fear on devotees, O deity with eyes like the petals of lotus, save me. I am immersed in the ocean of sexual objects.

18. Excepting you, O lord of worlds, O husband of Lakṣmī, I do not see any one in whom I can seek refuge. O slayer of Madhu,^[4] be pleased.

19-22. I have hundreds of ailments due to old age. I am afflicted by miseries. I am deluded. I experience pleasure and pain, happiness and sorrow. I have been bound and fettered by nooses of activities. I have fallen into the very terrible and awful ocean of worldly existence. Having sensual objects for its waters it is very difficult to cross, Passionate attachment and invidious hatred make it agitated like the fishes. It is majestic with the sense-organs acting as whirlpools. Greed and sorrow constitute its turbid waves. There is no one to cling to or to resort to as support. The ocean of worldly existence is very fickle but without any essential significance. O lord, deluded by Māyā I am wandering in it for a pretty long time. I am born again and again into thousands of species of living beings.

23. O lord, I have passed through births, thousands and ten thousands of them of diverse kinds, in this world.

24-25. The Vedas have been studied by me together with their ancillaries. Different scriptural texts, Itihāsas and Purāṇas and many fine arts have been learnt and understood by me. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction, hoarding and dwindling, income and expense, victory and defeat, prosperity and adversity, rise and fall have been experienced by me.

26. Separations from and union with wives, enemies, friends and kinsmen have been faced by me. Many and many kinds of fathers have been seen by me.

27. Many miseries have been experienced by me. Many miseries have been misunderstood and enjoyed as pleasures by me. I have had cousins and kinsmen, sons and brothers, in plenty.

28. I have lived within the belly of women that abounds in urine and floating masses of faeces. O lord, great misery has been experienced by me while staying in womb.

29. O lord, all those miseries that are usual in childhood, youth and old age have been suffered by me.

30. The miseries at death, in the path and the abode of Yama as also the tortures in hell have been experienced by me.

31-33. Again and again, I have been born amongst worms, insects, trees, elephants, horses, deer, birds, buffaloes, camels, cows and monkeys, among the twice-born people and Śūdras, in the wombs of rich Kṣatriyas and impoverished ascetics, of kings and their servants and other embodied souls. O lord, I have taken birth in their houses again and again.

34. O lord, many times I have been the slave of glorious prosperous men. From the impoverished state I had attained the state of a lord and master.

35. Many were killed by me. I have been killed by many. I have caused death to many and my death has been caused by many. Much had been given to me by others and many times gifts have been distributed by me.

36. For and on behalf of my parents, friends, brothers and wives, among rich and learned brahmins well-versed in the vedas and poor ascetics.

37-42. Setting shame and bashfulness aside, O lord, many piteous words have been uttered by me. O lord, I do not see that abode amongst mobile and immobile beings of divine, animal or human origin, where I have not been.

O lord of the universe, sometimes I had my stay in hell. Sometimes I stayed in heaven. Sometimes my stay was confined to the limits of human world and sometimes in the sacred waters of holy centres. Just as the bucket in the contrivance to raise water, goes up or down or stays in the middle, bound always with the rope, so also, O excellent Deva, I have been fettered by the rope of Karman. I whirl up and down and in the middle due to the influence of Karman. Thus, in the wheel^[5] of worldly existence, which is very awful and which causes hairs to stand, I have been revolving for a pretty long time. I do not know what I do. All my sense organs are in utter confusion.

43. A fugitive (terrified of life) attacked by grief and greed I have become senseless. Now, O lord, utterly helpless and confused, I seek refuge in you.

44. O lord, save me who have become miserable and immersed in the ocean of worldly existence. O lord of the universe, if you consider me your devotee have pity on me.

45. Excepting you I have no other kinsmen who may have some consideration for me. O lord, after resorting to you, my lord, I cease to have any fear from any quarter or direction.

46-49. O lord, I have no fear at ail in regard to life or death or acquisition and preservation of good things.

O lord, those base persons who do not worship you duly cannot have redemption from the fetters of worldly existence.

If they have no devotion to Viṣṇu the creator of the universe, of what avail is their mobility of birth, good conduct, learning, or even life itself?

Those who are deluded and are under the influence of Tāmasika nature censure you. They fall into hell. They are born again and again. They have no redemption from the ocean of hell.

50-55. Those men of evil nature, O lord, who slender you, are the basest of men.

O Viṣṇu, wherever I am born as a result of my activities, may my devotion unto you be always steady. It is by propitiating you that Devas, Daityas and other persons of self restraint have attained the greatest realization. Who will not worship you, O Lord?

O Lord, even Brahmā and other Devas are not competent to eulogise you adequately. How can I then, with the limited human intellect eulogise you who are beyond and greater than nature.

O lord, due to my ignorance you have been eulogised in a haphazard manner by me. If you have mercy on me forgive my fault.

O lord, good men have forbearance in regard even to one who has committed a crime. Hence, O lord of Devas, be pleased to retain affection for your devotees. O lord, you have been eulogised by me with the mind full of devotion. Vāsudeva, may all that be true. Obeisance to you, O lord.

Brahmā said:

56. O excellent sages, the Garuḍa-emblemed deity who was eulogised thus by him became pleased with him and granted him the boon of his choice.

57. He who worships the lord of the universe every day and eulogises him by this hymn, shall become intelligent. He shall certainly obtain liberation.

58. The pure man who repeats this excellent hymn during the three Sandhyās every day shall attain virtue, wealth, love and liberation. He shall surely become a scholar.

59. He who reads, listens to and narrates this with great concentration shall shake off his sins and obtain the divine world.

60. This hymn is conducive to wealth. It dispels sins. It is auspicious. It bestows worldly pleasures and salvation. It is a rare esoteric secret. It is sacred. It should not be imparted to any one and everyone.

61. It should not be imparted to an atheist, a fool, an ungrateful person, an arrogant or to one of wicked intellect. It should never be handed over to a knave.

62. It should be imparted to one endowed with devotion, good qualities and good conduct, to a devotee of Viṣṇu, to a calm person habituated to perform his duty with faith.

63. This hymn Kāruṇyastava (a hymn of mercy) causes destruction of sins. It bestows happiness and salvation, and grants desires. This hymn of the lord mentioned by me is the most excellent of all.

64. Those pure men who meditate continuously on the slayer of Mura,^[6] the subtle deity, the ancient Puruṣa attain liberation and enter Viṣṇu as do the butter-offering consigned to the fire of sacrifice by reciting the Mantras.

65. Viṣṇu is the only lord who dispels sorrows of worldly existence. He is greater than the greatest being. There is no one greater than that lord. He is the creator, protector and annihilator. He is the essence of all material objects.

66. Of what avail is their learning? Of what avail are the good qualities they possess? Of what avail are their sacrifices, charitable gifts and severe penance? All these are useless if they do not have devotion to lord Kṛṣṇa who is the preceptor of the universe and who is the bestower of happiness and salvation.

67. He who has devotion to the deity known as the best of all Puruṣas is the most blessed in the world. He is pure. He is a great scholar, the most excellent by virtue of sacrifices, austerities and noble traits. He is the wise knower, liberal donor and speaker of truth.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Pañcarātra—a system of spiritual doctrines, by following which one attains the position of Uparicara.

[2]:

This refers to the Boar incarnation of Viṣṇu. The boar entered the sea and found out the earth that had sunk. The boar lifted the earth at his tusks, came out of the ocean and set the earth firm over the water. On the way, the fierce and wicked Hiraṇyākṣa hindered him. The Boar killed Hiraṇyākṣa and disappeared.

[3]:

Guardians of quarters—lokapālas. They are sometimes regarded as the guardian deities of different orders of beings, but more commonly of the four cardinal and four intermediate points of the world. They are 1 Indra, of East; 2 Agni of South-east; 3 Yama of South; 4 Sūrya of Southwest; 5 Varuṇa of West; 6 Vāyu of North-west; 7 Kubera of North; 8 Īśāna of North-east. Others substitute Nirṛti for Sūrya and Īśāni or Pṛthivī for Īśāna. According to Dharma-saṅgraha, the Buddhists enumerate 14 lokapālas.

[4]:

O slayer of Madhu, Madhu and Kaiṭabha sprang from the ears of Viṣṇu. They were about to kill Brahmā who was lying on the lotus springing from Viṣṇu’s navel. Viṣṇu killed them and obtained the names: Kaiṭabhāri and Madhusūdana.

[5]:

The idea often occurs in Sanskrit poetry.

nīcairgacchatyupari ca daśā cakranemikrameṇa |

[6]:

The slayer of Mura: Lord Kṛṣṇa slew the two powerful asuras: Mura and Naraka when he attacked Prāgjyotiṣa, the capital city of Naraka.