Chapter 119 - Goal of the devotees of Viṣṇu

The sages said:

1. Oh, the wonderful greatness of Kṛṣṇa has been heard by us. It is holy. It dispels sins. It is conducive to wealth. It destroys the round of births and deaths.

2. O great sage, after worshipping Vāsudeva, duly and with devotion what goal do the men who are engaged in the worship of Vāsudeva attain?

3. Do they attain liberation or heaven, O great sage? Or, O excellent sage, do they obtain both the fruits?

4. O omniscient one, it behoves you to dispel this doubt lurking in our hearts. O excellent sage, excepting you there is noone else in this world who can dispel it.

Vyāsa said:

5. Well done, well-done, O excellent sages! What has been uttered by you is quite pertinent. Now listen to all those things in order which bring about the happiness of the devotees of Viṣṇu.

6. By the mere initiation (into the fold) of Kṛṣṇa, men attain salvation. What then, in regard to those who devotedly worship Viṣṇu always!

7. O excellent sages, neither heaven nor salvation is inaccessible to them. Devotees of Viṣṇu obtain even the rarest things, would they desire them.

8. Just as after climbing the mountain of jewels one can take away any number as one pleases, so also O leading sages, one can obtain the cherished things from Kṛṣṇa.

9. Just as, after reaching the wish-yielding Kalpa tree, O brahmins, a person plucks the fruits as he pleases, so also one can take one’s cherished things from Kṛṣṇa.

10. By duly and faithfully worshipping Vāsudeva, the preceptor of the universe, men attain the fruit of virtue, wealth, love and salvation.

11. By propitiating that lord of the universe with a purified inner soul men obtain desirable things difficult of access even unto Devas.

12. To those who devotedly worship the Imperishable lord Vāsudeva there is nothing inaccessible in the three worlds.

13. Blessed are those persons in the world who worship Lord Hari who dispels all sins and who bestows the desired benefits.

14. By worshipping the most excellent lord of Devas, brahmins, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas, women, Śūdras and men of low castes attain the greatest goal.

15. Hence, O sinless sages, listen. I shall expound what you ask. I shall succinctly narrate the goal of those noble souls.

16-19. They eschew this human body which is the abode of ailments, which is unsteady, which is transient as the bubbles of water and which is subject to old age and death. They eschew the body which emits the foul smell of flesh and blood, which is full of urine and faeces and other foul substances, which has the bones as the supporting pole, which is impure and which has sinews, vessels and skin. They go to the several abodes of the guardians of quarters of the worlds by means of an aerial chariot that can go to any place as desired, that reverberates due to the divine Gandharva music, that has the colour (and lustre) of the mid-day sun and that is bedecked with series of stringed tinkling bells.

The Gandharvas will be singing songs of praise. They will be embellished by the celestial damsels.

20-28. They enjoy the pleasures of those several worlds for a period equal to a Manvantara. They enjoy all kinds of pleasures.

Thereafter, they go to the heavenly abode that bestows happiness. O brahmins, there they enjoy excellent pleasures for a period equal to ten Manvantaras.

O Brahmins, from there the devotees of Viṣṇu go to the Gandharvaloka. There they enjoy pleasures delightful to the mind for a period equal to twenty Manvantaras.

They are well honoured there and from there they go to the Solar region where they enjoys super-divine pleasures for a period equal to thirty Manvantaras.

From there, O Brahmins, they go to the Lunar region that bestows all pleasures. For a period equal to forty Manvantaras they enjoy splendid pleasures there. They are devoid of old age and death.

From there, O excellent sages, they go to the Stellar region bedecked with lofty mansions. They are embellished by all good qualities. For a period equal to fifty Manvantaras they enjoy all pleasures as they please.

From there, O Brahmins, they go to the region of Devas which is very difficult of access.

O Brahmins, for a period equal to sixty Manvantaras they enjoy rare pleasures along with the eightfold Siddhis. They are worshipped by Devas and from there they proceed to the region of Indra.

29-31. For a period equal to seventy Manvantaras they enjoy higher and nobler divine pleasures that heighten their mental happiness. From there they proceed to the excellent region of Prajāpati.

For a period equal to eighty Manvantaras they enjoy there all types of pleasures. From there, O brahmins, the devotees of Viṣṇu proceed to the region of Brahmā.

32-37. For a period equal to ninety Manvantaras they joyously sport there. Thereafter they return to the Earth and are born as brahmins of Yogic power in the excellent families of brahmins. They master the Vedas and scriptures and comprehend their meanings.

Thus they enjoy pleasures of all the worlds, come back to this Earth and go higher and higher.

In the course of every birth, O excellent brahmins, they enjoy all desired pleasures for a hundred years and thereafter proceed to the next world.

When a set of ten births is thus completed duly they proceed to the divine world of Hari from the region of Brahmā. After going there and enjoying inexhaustible pleasures full of good qualities for a period equal to a hundred Manvantaras, O excellent brahmins, they proceed to the World of Brahmā. They are devoid of births and deaths.

38. They take up divine bodies of great strength bedecked by earrings. Huge bodies, O excellent brahmins, they assume with a four-armed form, and sport there.

39. O excellent brahmins, in their eternal state they remain for ten thousand crores of years and are bowed to by all Devas.

40. Thereafter, O brahmins, those magnificent self-possessed men go to the abode of Narasiṃha. There they rejoice and sport for about ten thousand crores of years.

41. At the end of that period they go to the abode of Viṣṇu, resorted to by the Siddhas. There they play happily for ten thousand years.

42-44. Then O brahmins, those excellent aspirants go to the region of Brahmā. They stay there for a long time, for many hundred crores of years and then go to the city of Nārāyaṇa. The lordly aspirants enjoy the pleasures for millions of crores of years. Thereafter the excellent aspirants of divine form and great strength go to the city of Aniruddha. They are eulogised by Devas and Asuras.

45. Devoid of death and old age those devotees of Viṣṇu stay there for fourteen thousand crores of years.

46. Thereafter they go to the city of Pradyumna. Free of  ailments, O brahmins, they stay there for three hundred lakhs of crores of years.

47. They are delighted. They are endowed with strength and power. They can go anywhere as they please. Thereafter those Yogins go to the place where lord Saṅkarṣaṇa rules.

48-50. After staying there for a long time and enjoying thousands of pleasures they enter the unsullied Vāsudeva devoid of form and name. In that supreme entity devoid of death and old age they become free. There is no doubt that after going there they become liberated.

Thus, O excellent sages, the intelligent men engaged in the worship of Vāsudeva attain worldly pleasures and salvation.