Chapter 4

1. Sri Narada said: Although thus Sri Sukadeva enlightened the king Parikshit yet the king could not feel complacent observing this Sri Sukadeva out of his extreme kindness placed on the head of the king his graceful hand (palm) that works to dispel the quagmire of maya as the sun disperses the darkness of the night.

2. By drinking through the cup of his ears the nectar-pouring discoures from the holy lips of the glorious Sukadeva, the king in no time got spiritual illumination of his heart being totally free from the quagmire of maya, as at the very sun-rise the darkness of the night is dispersed and the earth is illumined. When God is pleased upon one, his fortune smiles upon him with all auspiciousness.

3. Being recepient of the unreserved grace of Sri Sukadeva, a Paramabhagavata devotee of the exalted Lord Sri Hari king Parikshit could visualise the most dazzling effulgent transcendental divya-mangala-maya Srimurty of the Supreme Godhead to Whose Effulgence the shining of the moon and sun, the glow of the fire and the dazzling beauty of the Ayaskanta gem are faded with their insignificancy.

4. Soon king Parikshit saw the Anandamaya Blissful Transcendental Supreme Divinity, he was overwhelmed with ecstatic rapture, his hairs stood to their ends and he got a great spiritual perturbation at which he began to tremble as it happens that when a pauper suddenly possesses inexhaustible treasure he out of joy gets ejaculation in his person and being emotionally strickened trumbles.

5. As the waves of the sea are not different from the sea at the same time are not fully identical with it accordingly the universe itself along with all its inhabitants are in the very cosmic form of Vishnu like the thread as warp and woof in a cloth. Lord Vishnu with His All-pervasiveness remains in and out all-through the universe. But perversed men do not know this. The universe cannot have its existence without the substratum of Vishnu.

6. Blessed king Parikshit soon realised that, that most Effulgent Transcendental Blissful Personality is none but the Supreme Godhead Sri Narayana, Lolus-Navelled Who is the Origin of Brahma. He as His Guna-Avataras creating Brahma Vishnu and Shiva does through them are acts of the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe respectively and also time to time increates Himself with His most charming Divine Form and enacts His Divine Sports on the earth.

7. Ah, what a reward! The king Parikshit had the most glorious and Blissful realisation of Sri Narayana, the God of all gods. Those who are endowed with intuitive wisdom and possessing the eye collyriumed with devotion before them He appears with His Transcendental Vigraha. He is only the Resot for people suffering from the afflication of the transmigratory life in the quagmire of maya. He is extremely dear to His supplicant devotees. He is the Bestower of all boons and is the Punisher of wicked and Redeemer of the forlorn persons.

8. The blessed king Parikshit saw the most Effulgent God shining in his unstinted heart, as it were, the most precious gem within his reach. He contemplated upon and realised that, that was the greatest reward he was bestowed which most secretly is preserved by the crest jewel Munis in the core of their unstinted heart. So the king once again closed his eyes in deep meditation upon Him.

9. Ah, as the child plays with dust unintentionally so also Blissfull Lord Sri Narayana creates, preserves and destroys this universe as His fanciful sports.

10. In the gross naked eye the salt dissolved into the water loses its identity but, through scientific knowledge we come to know that the salt does not lose its characteristic feature (when we evaporate the water, salt remains as it is) so too this Phenomanal world remains within the Virata-Purusha as the thread warp and woof in the cloth.

11. Those who are gross agnostics, argumentative by nature and devoid of any philosophical knowledge how can they have any understanding about the Divinity? It is only by the unreserved grace of the exalted paramabhagavata devotees of the Supreme God Sri Hari and with the steadfast and uninterrupted devotion an unstinted soul can realise the Supreme Divinity.

12. Ah, one who through his mere empirical knowledge pollutes his heart by vain argumentative notions is indeed most unfortunate because such an atheist does not believe in God. The Lord Who has created this world with its variegatedness and Who is the Propeller of the universe through His illusive maya deprives such atheists from the realisation of the Spiritual Truth.

13. One who has entered into dense forest how he could find the royal Road leading to the city, so also one who is steeped in gross materialistic enjoyment fallen into the dry well of illusive Samsar and although unsuccessful in his attempts to gain happiness in life, how such man deluded by maya, the external potency of God can take recourse to Blissful Lotus Feet of the Supreme God Vishnu Who is the Refuge of the exalted devotees of God only.

14. As a man drinks the pure water of a coconut and also its substance but leaves its shell so also a man of intuitive wisdom accepts the essential products of the earth with the spirit of dedicating service to God Narayana of four Arms Who is the Be-all and End-all of life and keeps no attachment to anything else.

15. If a cattle moving on the bank of the Ganges feeling thirsty dirnks dirty water from a nearby hole likewise a man thirst of happiness becomes engrossed in enjoying ephimeral worldly pleasures although having got this human birth which is given the chance to enjoy the perennial Bliss by culturing devotion to God. Alas’ he is undone and indeed to be pitied upon.

16. What is the use for me to ponder over whether people have taken recourse to God Narayana or not but I lament for those days of my life which are wasted in my working for ephimeral worldly pleasures and without an iota of devotion to Godhead.

17. The exalted devotees of God who are imbued with intuitive Wisdom and thereby expert in the ontology of Divinity keeping no attachment with the objects of the material world worship the Supreme Godhead with steadfast devotion. Alas, so long I although toasted in the fire of the worldly afflictions have not taken recourse to that most Benevolent God Vishnu Who readily bestows the fulfilment of all desires.

18. It will not yield anything if 1 merely lament for my last misfortune, better from now itself giving up all the attachments for the ephimeral worldly pleasures let me take recourse to the path of devotion to God Vishnu and when I would be able to please Him He will graciously appear before me and that will be the paramount gain in my life.

19. I am suffering from the triple affliction of Adhyatmika ( mental and bodily sufferings), Adhibhutika (troubles from other creatures) and Adhidaivika (sufferings due to natural calamities), when house is burnt one runs for water to extinguish the fire, so to get rid of these sufferings and to gain perennial happiness, without any loss of time let me contemplate upon God Sri Hari.

20. Sri Narada said, while the blessed king Parikshit thus perpetuating what a glory he could have the visualisation of the most Effulgent Transcendental God just present before him that he could have through his broad open love-collyriumed eyes. And with a great ejaculation shoulted [shouted?], O Gurudeva, and repeately said, how blessed am 1; and fell in prostration before him time and again.

21. Next having received the benedications from the Guru (Sri Sukadeva) and all the sages present there that most blessed king Parikshit installing Premordial Lord Vishnu in his unstinted heart with all the spiritual perturbations in his peson and before the eyes of the assembled sages his soul ascended to the highest Abode of Bliss.

22. It was his body which was remaining there and the serpent Takshaka destroyed his body unto ashes by his poisonous bite to the fulfilment of Brahmin’s curse which is to be considered as an act done by a friend. Now all the sages who all noticed this Parikshit’s wonderful achievement of Abode of Eternal Bliss they extolled the marvellous glory of Sri Parikshit and gradually departed for their respective hermitages.

23. O the sages, the blessed king Parikshit thus being enlightened by the spiritual discourses got his steadfast devotion to God Sri Hari and in no time attained the final beatitude viz. Summum bonum of life. When Bhagavan Sri Hari is pleased in no time the supplicant gets all his knots of worldly bondage cut asunder and he attains the eternal Abode of Bliss.

O the holy Brahmanas, in ancient time Sri Vishnu Himself said to Brahma that although everyone has to reap the fruits of his karma and endlessly go on cycling the life of transmigration but the steadfast devotion to Me cuts asunder all the knots of this worldly bondage and finally getting rid of the life of transmigration one attains My Feet, the Eternal Abode of Bliss.

25. O the exalted sages, one who repeatedly listens to this episode of Sri Sukadeva and Parikshit (who was protected by Vishnu while he was in the womb of his mother from the Asshvatama’s Brahma missile) indeed in no time not only gets rid of sins but his unstinted heart will be enshrined with the installation of Him (Sri Hari) which is the highest pursuit of human life.