ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, un less one is influenced by the energy of the Su preme Personality of Godhead, there is no meaning to the relationship of the pure soul in pure consciousness with the material body. That relationship is just like a dreamer’s seeing his own body working (1).The illusioned living entity appears in so many forms offered by the external energy of the Lord. While enjoying in the modes of material nature, the encaged liv ing entity misconceives, thinking in terms of “I” and “mine.” (2). As soon as the living entity becomes situated in his constitutional glory and begins to enjoy the transcendence beyond time and material energy, he at once gives up the two misconceptions of life [I and mine] and thus be comes fully manifested as the pure self (3).

O King, the Personality of Godhead, being very much pleased with Lord Brahmā because of his nondeceptive penance in bhakti-yoga, pre sented His eternal and transcendental form be fore Brahmā. And that is the objective goal for purifying the conditioned soul(4). Lord Brahmā, the first spiritual master, su preme in the universe, could not trace out the source of his lotus seat, and while thinking of creating the material world, he could not under stand the proper direction for such creative work, nor could he find out the process for such creation (5). While thus engaged in thinking, in the water, Brahmājī heard twice from nearby two syllables joined together. One of the sylla bles was taken from the sixteenth and the other from the twenty-first of the sparśa alphabets, and both joined to become the wealth of the re nounced order of life (6).

When he heard the sound, he tried to find the speaker, searching on all sides. But when he was unable to find any one besides himself, he thought it wise to sit down on his lotus seat firmly and give his at tention to the execution of penance, as he was instructed (7).Lord Brahmā underwent pen ances for one thousand years by the calcula tions of the demigods. He heard this transcen dental vibration from the sky, and he accepted it as divine. Thus he controlled his mind and senses, and the penances he executed were a great lesson for the living entities. Thus he is known as the greatest of all ascetics (8). The Personality of Godhead, being thus very much satisfied with the penance of Lord Brahmā, was pleased to manifest His personal abode, Vaikuṇṭha, the supreme planet above all others. This transcendental abode of the Lord is adored by all self-realized persons freed from all kinds of miseries and fear of illusory exist ence (9).

In that personal abode of the Lord, the material modes of ignorance and passion do not prevail, nor is there any of their influence in goodness. There is no predominance of the in fluence of time, so what to speak of the illusory, external energy; it cannot enter that region. Without discrimination, both the demigods and the demons worship the Lord as devotees (10).The inhabitants of the Vaikuṇṭha planets are described as having a glowing sky-bluish complexion. Their eyes resemble lotus flowers, their dress is of yellowish color, and their bod ily features very attractive. They are just the age of growing youths, they all have four hands, they are all nicely decorated with pearl necklaces with ornamental medallions, and they all appear to be effulgent (11).Some of them are effulgent like coral and diamonds in complexion and have garlands on their heads, blooming like lotus flowers, and some wear earrings (12).

The Vaikuṇṭha planets are also surrounded by various airplanes, all glowing and brilliantly situated. These airplanes belong to the great mahātmās or devotees of the Lord.  The ladies are as beautiful as lightning because of their celestial complexions, and all these combined together appear just like the sky dec orated with both clouds and lightning (13). The goddess of fortune in her transcendental form is engaged in the loving service of the Lord’s lotus feet, and being moved by the black bees, followers of spring, she is not only en gaged in variegated pleasure service to the Lord, along with her constant companions but is also engaged in singing the glories of the Lord’s activities (14).

 Lord Brahmā saw in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the Personality of Godhead, who is the Lord of the entire devotee commu nity, the Lord of the goddess of fortune, the Lord of all sacrifices, and the Lord of the uni verse, and who is served by the foremost servi tors like Nanda, Sunanda, Prabala and Arhaṇa, His immediate associates (15).The Personality of Godhead, seen leaning favorably towards His loving servitors, His very sight intoxicating and attractive, appeared to be very much satis fied. He had a smiling face decorated with an enchanting reddish hue. He was dressed in yel low robes and wore earrings and a helmet on his head. He had four hands, and His chest was marked with the lines of the goddess of fortune (16).

The Lord was seated on His throne and was surrounded by different energies like the four, the sixteen, the five, and the six natural opulences, along with other insignificant ener gies of the temporary character. But He was the factual Supreme Lord, enjoying His own abode (17).Lord Brahmā, thus seeing the Personality of Godhead in His fullness, was overwhelmed with joy within his heart, and thus in full tran scendental love and ecstasy, his eyes filled with tears of love. He thus bowed down before the Lord. That is the way of the highest perfection for the living being [paramahaṁsa] (18). And seeing Brahmā present before Him, the Lord accepted him as worthy to create living beings, to be controlled as He desired, and thus being much satisfied with him, the Lord shook hands with Brahmā and, slightly smiling, ad dressed him thus (19).The beautiful Personality of Godhead addressed Lord Brahmā: O Brahmā, impregnated with the Vedas, I am very much pleased with your long-accumulated penance with the desire for creation. Hardly am I pleased with the pseudo mystics (20).

I wish you good luck. O Brahmā, you may ask from Me, the giver of all benediction, all that you may desire. You may know that the ultimate benediction, as the result of all penances, is to see Me by realization (21).The highest perfec tional ingenuity is the personal perception of My abodes, and this has been possible because of your submissive attitude in the performance of severe penance according to My order (22). O sinless Brahmā, you may know from Me that it was I who first ordered you to undergo pen ance when you were perplexed in your duty. Such penance is My heart and soul, and there fore penance and I are nondifferent.I create this cosmos by such penance, I maintain it by the same energy, and I withdraw it all by the same energy. Therefore the potency is penance only (23). Lord Brahmā said: O Personality of God head, You are situated in every living entity’s heart as the supreme director, and therefore You are aware of all endeavors by Your supe rior intelligence, without any hindrance what soever (24).

In spite of that, my Lord, I am pray ing to You to kindly fulfill my desire. May I please be informed how, in spite of Your tran scendental form, You assume the mundane form, although You have no such form at all (25). And [please inform me] how You, by Your own Self, manifest different energies for annihilation, generation, acceptance and maintenance by combination and permutation (26).O master of all energies, please tell me philosophically all about them. You play like a spider that covers itself by its own energy, and Your determination is infallible (27).Please tell me so that I may be taught in the matter by the instruction of the Personality of Godhead and may thus act instrumentally to generate living entities, without being conditioned by such ac tivities (28).

O my Lord, the unborn, You have shaken hands with me just as a friend does with a friend [as if equal in position]. I shall be en gaged in the creation of different types of living entities, and I shall be occupied in Your service. I shall have no perturbation, but I pray that all  this may not give rise to pride, as if I were the Supreme (29). The Personality of Godhead said: Knowledge about Me as described in the scrip tures is very confidential, and it has to be real ized in conjunction with devotional service. The necessary paraphernalia for that process is being explained by Me. You may take it up carefully (30).

 All of Me, namely My actual eternal form and My transcendental existence, color, qualities and activities let all be awak ened within you by factual realization, out of My causeless mercy (31).Brahmā, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who was existing be fore the creation, when there was nothing but Myself. Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead (32).O Brahmā, what ever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness (33). O Brahmā, please know that the universal elements enter into the cos mos and at the same time do not enter into the cosmos; similarly, I Myself also exist within everything created, and at the same time I am outside of everything (34). A person who is searching after the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, must certainly search for it up to this, in all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indi rectly (35).

 O Brahmā, just follow this conclu sion by fixed concentration of mind, and no pride will disturb you, neither in the partial nor in the final devastation (36). Śukadeva Gosvāmī said to Mahārāja Parīkṣit: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, after being seen in His transcendental form, instructing Brahmājī, the leader of the living entities, disappeared (37).On the disap pearance of the Supreme Personality of God head, Hari, who is the object of transcendental enjoyment for the senses of devotees, Brahmā, with folded hands, began to re-create the uni verse, full with living entities, as it was previ ously (38). Thus once upon a time the forefa ther of living entities and the father of religious ness, Lord Brahmā, situated himself in acts of regulative principles, desiring self-interest for the welfare of all living entities (39).

Nārada, the most dear of the inheritor sons of Brahmā, always ready to serve his father, strictly follows the instructions of his father by his mannerly behavior, meekness and sense control.Nārada very much pleased his father and desired to know all about the energies of Viṣṇu, the mas ter of all energies, for Nārada was the greatest of all sages and greatest of all devotees, O King (40-41).The great sage Nārada also inquired in detail from his father, Brahmā, the great-grand father of all the universe, after seeing him well satisfied (42).Thereupon the supplementary Vedic literature, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which was described by the Personality of Godhead and which contains ten characteristics, was told with satisfaction by the father [Brahmā] to his son Nārada (43).

In succession, O King, the great sage Nārada instructed Śrīmad Bhāgavatam unto the unlimitedly powerful Vyāsadeva, who meditated in devotional ser vice upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, on the bank of the river Sar asvatī (44). O King, your questions as to how the universe became manifested from the gi gantic form of the Personality of Godhead, as well as other questions, I shall answer in detail by explanation of the four verses already men tioned (45).  

King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: How did Nārada Muni, whose hear ers are as fortunate as those instructed by Lord Brahmā, explain the transcendental qualities of the Lord, who is without material qualities, and before whom did he speak? (1) The King said: I wish to know. Narrations concerning the Lord, who possesses wonderful potencies, are certainly auspicious for living beings in all planets (2).O greatly fortunate Śukadeva Gosvāmī, please continue narrating Śrīmad Bhāgavatam so that I can place my mind upon the Supreme Soul, Lord Kṛṣṇa, and, being com pletely freed from material qualities, thus relin quish this body (3).

Persons who hear Śrīmad Bhāgavatam regularly and are always taking the matter very seriously will have the Person ality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa manifested in their hearts within a short time (4).The sound incar nation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Soul [i.e., Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam], enters into the heart of a self-realized devotee, sits on the lotus flower of his loving relationship, and thus cleanses the dust of material association, such as lust, anger and hankering. Thus it acts like autumnal rains upon pools of muddy water (5).A pure devotee of the Lord whose heart has once been cleansed by the process of devotional service never re linquishes the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, for they fully satisfy him, as a traveler is satisfied at home after a troubled journey (6).

 O learned brāhmaṇa, the transcendental spirit soul is different from the material body. Does he acquire the body accidentally or by some cause? Will you kindly explain this, for it is known to you (7).If the Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whose abdomen the lotus stem sprouted, is possessed of a gigantic body according to His own caliber and measurement, then what is the specific difference between the body of the Lord and those of common living entities? (8) Brahmā, who was not born of a material source but of the lotus flower coming out of the navel abdomen of the Lord, is the cre ator of all those who are materially born. Of course, by the grace of the Lord, Brahmā was able to see the form of the Lord (9).Please also  explain the Personality of Godhead, who lies in every heart as the Supersoul, and as the Lord of all energies, but is untouched by His external energy (10).

O learned brāhmaṇa, it was for merly explained that all the planets of the uni verse with their respective governors are situ ated in the different parts of the gigantic body of the virāṭ-puruṣa. I have also heard that the different planetary systems are supposed to be in the gigantic body of the virāṭ-puruṣa. But what is their actual position? Will you please explain that? (11) Also please explain the duration of time be tween creation and annihilation, and that of other subsidiary creations, as well as the nature of time, indicated by the sound of past, present and future. Also, please explain the duration and measurement of life of the different living beings known as the demigods, the human be ings, etc., in different planets of the universe (12).

O purest of the brāhmaṇas, please also ex plain the cause of the different durations of time, both short and long, as well as the begin ning of time, following the course of action (13).Then again, kindly describe how the pro portionate accumulation of the reactions result ing from the different modes of material nature act upon the desiring living being, promoting or degrading him among the different species of life, beginning from the demigods down to the most insignificant creatures (14).O best of the brāhmaṇas, please also describe how the crea tion of the globes throughout the universe, the four directions of the heavens, the sky, the plan ets, the stars, the mountains, the rivers, the seas and the islands, as well as their different kinds of inhabitants, takes place (15).

Also, please de scribe the inner and outer space of the universe by specific divisions, as well as the character and activities of the great souls, and also the characteristics of the different classifications of the castes and orders of social life (16).Please explain all the different ages in the duration of the creation, and also the duration of such ages. Also tell me about the different activities of the different incarnations of the Lord in different ages (17). Please also explain what may gener ally be the common religious affiliations of hu man society, as well as their specific occupa tional duties in religion, the classification of the social orders as well as the administrative royal orders, and the religious principles for one who may be in distress (18).

Kindly explain all about the elementary principles of creation, the num ber of such elementary principles, their causes, and their development, and also the process of devotional service and the method of mystic powers (19). What are the opulences of the great mystics, and what is their ultimate reali zation? How does the perfect mystic become detached from the subtle astral body? What is the basic knowledge of the Vedic literatures, in cluding the branches of history and the supple mentary Purāṇas? (20) Please explain unto me how the living beings are generated, how they are maintained, and how they are annihilated. Tell me also of the advantages and disad vantages of discharging devotional service unto the Lord. What are the Vedic rituals and injunc tions of the supplementary Vedic rites, and what are the procedures of religion, economic development and sense satisfaction? (21) Please also explain how, merged in the body of the Lord, living beings are created, and how the infidels appear in the world. Also please ex plain how the unconditioned living entities ex ist (22).

The independent Personality of God head enjoys His pastimes by His internal po tency and at the time of annihilation gives them up to the external potency, and He remains a witness to it all (23).O great sage, representa tive of the Lord, kindly satisfy my inquisitive ness in all that I have inquired from you and all that I may not have inquired from you from the very beginning of my questionings. Since I am a soul surrendered unto you, please impart full knowledge in this connection (24).O great sage, you are as good as Brahmā, the original living being. Others follow custom only, as fol lowed by the previous philosophical specula tors (25). O learned brāhmaṇa, because of my drinking the nectar of the message of the infal lible Personality of Godhead, which is flowing down from the ocean of your speeches, I do not feel any sort of exhaustion due to my fasting (26).

Sūta Gosvāmī said: Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī, being invited by Mahārāja Parīkṣit to speak on topics of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa with the devotees, was very much pleased (27). He be gan to reply to the inquiries of Mahārāja Parīkṣit by saying that the science of the Per sonality of Godhead was spoken first by the Lord Himself to Brahmā when he was first born. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supplemen tary Vedic literature, and it is just in pursuance of the Vedas (28). He also prepared himself to reply to all that King Parīkṣit had inquired from him. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was the best in the dyn asty of the Pāṇḍus, and thus he was able to ask the right questions from the right person (29).

Lord Brahmā said: When the unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed the form of a boar as a pastime, just to lift the planet earth, which was drowned in the great ocean of the universe called the Garbhodaka, the first demon [Hiraṇyākṣa] appeared, and the Lord pierced him with His tusk (1). The Prajāpati first begot Suyajña in the womb of his wife Ākūti, and then Suyajña be got demigods, headed by Suyama, in the womb of his wife Dakṣiṇā. Suyajña, as the Indradeva, diminished very great miseries in the three  planetary systems [upper, lower and intermedi ate], and because he so diminished the miseries of the universe, he was later called Hari by the great father of mankind, namely Svāyambhuva Manu (2).

 The Lord then appeared as the Kapila incar nation, being the son of the prajāpati brāhmaṇa Kardama and his wife, Devahūti, along with nine other women [sisters]. He spoke to His mother about self-realization, by which, in that very lifetime, she became fully cleansed of the mud of the material modes and thereby achieved liberation, the path of Kapila (3). The great sage Atri prayed for offspring, and the Lord, being satisfied with him, promised to incarnate as Atri’s son, Dattātreya [Datta, the son of Atri]. And by the grace of the lotus feet of the Lord, many Yadus, Haihayas, etc., be came so purified that they obtained both mate rial and spiritual blessings (4).

To create different planetary systems I had to undergo austerities and penance, and the Lord, thus being pleased with me, incarnated in four sanas [Sanaka, Sanatkumāra, Sanandana and Sanātana]. In the previous creation the spir itual truth was devastated, but the four sanas explained it so nicely that the truth at once be came clearly perceived by the sages (5). To exhibit His personal way of austerity and penance, He appeared in twin forms as Nārāyaṇa and Nara in the womb of Mūrti, the wife of Dharma and the daughter of Dakṣa. Ce lestial beauties, the companions of Cupid, went to try to break His vows, but they were unsuc cessful, for they saw that many beauties like them were emanating from Him, the Personal ity of Godhead (6).

Great stalwarts like Lord Śiva can, by their wrathful glances, overcome lust and vanquish him, yet they cannot be free from the overwhelming effects of their own wrath. Such wrath can never enter into the heart of Him [the Lord], who is above all this. So how can lust take shelter in His mind? (7) Being insulted by sharp words spoken by the co-wife of the king, even in his presence, Prince Dhruva, though only a boy, took to severe pen ances in the forest. And the Lord, being satis fied by his prayer, awarded him the Dhruva planet, which is worshiped by great sages, both upward and downward (8).

Mahārāja Vena went astray from the path of righteousness, and the brāhmaṇas chastised him by the thunderbolt curse. By this King Vena was burnt with his good deeds and opu lence and was en route to hell. The Lord, by His causeless mercy, descended as his son, by the name of Pṛthu, delivered the condemned King Vena from hell, and exploited the earth by drawing all kinds of crops as produce (9). The Lord appeared as the son of Sudevī, the wife of King Nābhi, and was known as Ṛṣabhadeva. He performed materialistic yoga to equibalance the mind. This stage is also ac cepted as the highest perfectional situation of liberation, wherein one is situated in one’s self and is completely satisfied (10).

The Lord appeared as the Hayagrīva incar nation in a sacrifice performed by me [Brahmā]. He is the personified sacrifices, and the hue of His body is golden. He is the person ified Vedas as well, and the Supersoul of all demigods. When He breathed, all the sweet sounds of the Vedic hymns came out of His nostrils (11). At the end of the millennium, the would-be Vaivasvata Manu, of the name Satyavrata, would see that the Lord in the fish incarnation is the shelter of all kinds of living entities, up to those in the earthly planets. Because of my fear of the vast water at the end of the millennium, the Vedas come out of my [Brahmā’s] mouth, and the Lord enjoys those vast waters and pro tects the Vedas (12).

 The primeval Lord then assumed the tortoise incarnation in order to serve as a resting place [pivot] for the Mandara Mountain, which was acting as a churning rod. The demigods and de mons were churning the Ocean of Milk with the Mandara Mountain in order to extract nectar. The mountain moved back and forth, scratch ing the back of Lord Tortoise, who, while par tially sleeping, was experiencing an itching sensation (13).  The Personality of Godhead assumed the in carnation of Nṛsiṁhadeva in order to vanquish the great fears of the demigods. He killed the king of the demons [Hiraṇyakaśipu], who chal lenged the Lord with a club in his hand, by placing the demon on His thighs and piercing him with His nails, rolling His eyebrows in an ger and showing His fearful teeth and mouth (14).

 The leader of the elephants, whose leg was attacked in a river by a crocodile of superior strength, was much aggrieved. Taking a lotus flower in his trunk, he addressed the Lord, say ing, “O original enjoyer, Lord of the universe! O deliverer, as famous as a place of pilgrimage! All are purified simply by hearing Your holy name, which is worthy to be chanted” (15).The Personality of Godhead, after hearing the ele phant’s plea, felt that the elephant needed His immediate help, for he was in great distress. Thus at once the Lord appeared there on the wings of the king of birds, Garuḍa, fully equipped with His weapon, the wheel [cakra]. With the wheel He cut to pieces the mouth of the crocodile to save the elephant, and He de livered the elephant by lifting him by his trunk (16).

 The Lord, although transcendental to all ma terial modes, still surpassed all the qualities of the sons of Aditi, known as the Ādityas. The Lord appeared as the youngest son of Aditi. And because He surpassed all the planets of the universe, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On the pretense of asking for a meas urement of three footsteps of land, He took away all the lands of Bali Mahārāja. He asked simply because without begging, no authority can take one’s rightful possession (17).Bali Mahārāja, who put on his head the water washed from the lotus feet of the Lord, did not think of anything besides his promise, in spite of being forbidden by his spiritual master. The king dedicated his own personal body to fulfill the measurement of the Lord’s third step. For such a personality, even the kingdom of heaven, which he conquered by his strength, was of no value (18).

 O Nārada, you were taught about the science of God and His transcendental loving service by the Personality of Godhead in His incarna tion of Haṁsāvatāra. He was very much pleased with you, due to your intense propor tion of devotional service. He also explained unto you, lucidly, the full science of devotional service, which is especially understandable by persons who are souls surrendered unto Lord Vāsudeva, the Personality of Godhead (19).As the incarnation of Manu, the Lord became the descendant of the Manu dynasty and ruled over the miscreant kingly order, subduing them by His powerful wheel weapon. Undeterred in all circumstances, His rule was characterized by His glorious fame, which spread over the three lokas, and above them to the planetary system of Satyaloka, the topmost in the universe (20).

The Lord in His incarnation of Dhanvantari very quickly cures the diseases of the ever-dis eased living entities simply by His fame per sonified, and only because of Him do the dem igods achieve long lives. Thus the Personality of Godhead becomes ever glorified. He also ex acted a share from the sacrifices, and it is he only who inaugurated the medical science or the knowledge of medicine in the universe (21). When the ruling administrators, who are known as the kṣatriyas, turned astray from the path of the Absolute Truth, being desirous to suffer in hell, the Lord, in His incarnation as the sage Paraśurāma, uprooted those unwanted kings, who appeared as the thorns of the earth. Thus He thrice seven times uprooted the kṣatri yas with His keenly sharpened chopper (22).

 Due to His causeless mercy upon all living entities within the universe, the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead, along with His plenary extensions, appeared in the family of Mahārāja Ikṣvāku as the Lord of His internal potency, Sītā. Under the order of His father, Mahārāja Daśaratha, He entered the forest and lived there for considerable years with His wife and younger brother. Rāvaṇa, who was very mate rially powerful, with ten heads on his shoul ders, committed a great offense against Him and was thus ultimately vanquished (23). The Personality of Godhead Rāmacandra, being ag grieved for His distant intimate friend [Sītā],  glanced over the city of the enemy Rāvaṇa with red-hot eyes like those of Hara [who wanted to burn the kingdom of heaven]. The great ocean, trembling in fear, gave Him His way because its family members, the aquatics like the sharks, snakes and crocodiles, were being burnt by the heat of the angry red-hot eyes of the Lord (24).

 When Rāvaṇa was engaged in the battle, the trunk of the elephant which carried the King of heaven, Indra, broke in pieces, having col lided with the chest of Rāvaṇa, and the scat tered broken parts illuminated all directions. Rāvaṇa therefore felt proud of his prowess and began to loiter in the midst of the fighting sol diers, thinking himself the conqueror of all di rections. But his laughter, overtaken by joy, along with his very air of life, suddenly ceased with the tingling sound of the bow of Rāmacan dra, the Personality of Godhead (25).

 When the world is overburdened by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, the Lord, just to diminish the distress of the world, descends with His plenary portion. The Lord comes in His original form, with beautiful black hair. And just to expand His transcendental glories, He acts extraordinarily. No one can properly estimate how great He is (26).There is no doubt about Lord Kṛṣṇa’s be ing the Supreme Lord. Otherwise, how was it possible for Him to kill a giant demon like Pūtanā when He was just on the lap of His mother, to overturn a cart with His leg when He was only three months old, or to uproot a pair of arjuna trees so high that they touched the sky, when He was only crawling? All these ac tivities are impossible for anyone other than the Lord Himself (27).Then also when the cowherd boys and their animals drank the poisoned wa ter of the river Yamunā, and after the Lord [in His childhood] revived them by His merciful glance, just to purify the water of the river Ya munā He jumped into it as if playing and chas tised the venomous Kāliya snake, which was lurking there, its tongue emitting waves of poi son. Who can perform such herculean tasks but the Supreme Lord? (28)

 On the very night of the day of the chastisement of the Kāliya snake, when the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi were sleeping carefreely, there was a forest fire ablaze due to dry leaves, and it appeared that all the inhabitants were sure to meet their death. But the Lord, along with Balarāma, saved them simply by closing His eyes. Such are the super human activities of the Lord (29). When the cowherd woman [Kṛṣṇa’s foster mother, Yaśodā] was trying to tie the hands of her son with ropes, she found the rope to be always in sufficient in length, and when she finally gave up, Lord Kṛṣṇa, by and by, opened His mouth, wherein the mother found all the universes sit uated. Seeing this, she was doubtful in her mind, but she was convinced in a different manner of the mystic nature of her son (30).

Lord Kṛṣṇa saved His foster father, Nanda Mahārāja, from the fear of the demigod Varuṇa and released the cowherd boys from the caves of the mountain, for they were placed there by the son of Maya. Also, to the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, who were busy working during daytime and sleeping soundly at night because of their hard labor in the day, Lord Kṛṣṇa awarded promotion to the highest planet in the spiritual sky. All these acts are transcendental and certainly prove without any doubt His God hood (31).When the cowherd men of Vṛndāvana, under instruction of Kṛṣṇa, stopped offering sacrifice to the heavenly King, Indra, the whole tract of land known as Vraja was threatened with being washed away by constant heavy rains for seven days. Lord Kṛṣṇa, out of His causeless mercy upon the inhabitants of Vraja, held up the hill known as Govardhana with one hand only, although He was only seven years old. He did this to protect the ani mals from the onslaught of water (32).

When the Lord was engaged in His pastimes of the rāsa dance in the forest of Vṛndāvana, enliven ing the sexual desires of the wives of the inhab itants of Vṛndāvana by sweet and melodious songs, a demon of the name Śaṅkhacūḍa, a rich follower of the treasurer of heaven [Kuvera], kidnapped the damsels, and the Lord severed his head from his trunk (33).All demonic per sonalities like Pralamba, Dhenuka, Baka, Keśī, Ariṣṭa, Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, Kuvalayāpīḍa ele phant, Kaṁsa, Yavana, Narakāsura and Pauṇḍraka, great marshals like Śālva, Dvivida monkey and Balvala, Dantavakra, the seven  bulls, Śambara, Vidūratha and Rukmī, as also great warriors like Kāmboja, Matsya, Kuru, Sṛñjaya and Kekaya, would all fight vigor ously, either with the Lord Hari directly or with Him under His names of Baladeva, Arjuna, Bhīma, etc. And the demons, thus being killed, would attain either the impersonal brahmajyoti or His personal abode in the Vaikuṇṭha planets (34-35).

The Lord Himself in His incarnation as the son of Satyavatī [Vyāsadeva] will consider his compilation of the Vedic literature to be very difficult for the less intelligent persons with short life, and thus He will divide the tree of Vedic knowledge into different branches, ac cording to the circumstances of the particular age (36). When the atheists, after being well versed in the Vedic scientific knowledge, annihilate in habitants of different planets, flying unseen in the sky on well-built rockets prepared by the great scientist Maya, the Lord will bewilder their minds by dressing Himself attractively as Buddha and will preach on subreligious princi ples (37). Thereafter, at the end of Kali-yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen of the three higher castes, and when the power of government is transferred to the hands of ministers elected from the lowborn śūdra class or those less than them, and when nothing is known of the tech niques of sacrifice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser (38).

 At the beginning of creation there are pen ance, myself [Brahmā] and the Prajāpatis, the great sages who generate; then, during the maintenance of the creation, there are Lord Viṣṇu, the demigods with controlling powers, and the kings of different planets. But at the end there is irreligion, and then Lord Śiva and the atheists full of anger, etc. All of them are dif ferent representative manifestations of the en ergy of the supreme power, the Lord (39).

Who can describe completely the prowess of Viṣṇu? Even the scientist, who might have counted the particles of the atoms of the universe, cannot do so. Because it is He only who in His form of Trivikrama moved His leg effortlessly beyond the topmost planet, Satyaloka, up to the neutral state of the three modes of material nature. And all were moved (40). Neither I nor all the sages born before you know fully the omnipotent Per sonality of Godhead. So what can others, who are born after us, know about Him? Even the first incarnation of the Lord, namely Śeṣa, has not been able to reach the limit of such knowledge, although He is describing the qual ities of the Lord with ten hundred faces (41).But anyone who is specifically favored by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, due to unalloyed surrender unto the service of the Lord, can overcome the insurmountable ocean of illusion and can understand the Lord. But those who are attached to this body, which is meant to be eaten at the end by dogs and jack als, cannot do so (42).

O Nārada, although the potencies of the Lord are unknowable and im measurable, still, because we are all surren dered souls, we know how He acts through yoga-māyā potencies. And, similarly, the po tencies of the Lord are also known to the all powerful Śiva, the great king of the atheist fam ily, namely Prahlāda Mahārāja, Svāyambhuva Manu, his wife Śatarūpā, his sons and daugh ters like Priyavrata, Uttānapāda, Ākūti, Devahūti and Prasūti, Prācīnabarhi, Ṛbhu, Aṅga the father of Vena, Mahārāja Dhruva, Ikṣvāku, Aila, Mucukunda, Mahārāja Janaka, Gādhi, Raghu, Ambarīṣa, Sagara, Gaya, Nāhuṣa, Māndhātā, Alarka, Śatadhanve, Anu, Rantideva, Bhīṣma, Bali, Amūrttaraya, Dilīpa, Saubhari, Utaṅka, Śibi, Devala, Pippalāda, Sārasvata, Uddhava, Parāśara, Bhūriṣeṇa, Vibhīṣaṇa, Hanumān, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Ar juna, Ārṣṭiṣeṇa, Vidura, Śrutadeva, etc (43 45).

Surrendered souls, even from groups lead ing sinful lives, such as women, the laborer class, the mountaineers and the Siberians, or even the birds and beasts, can also know about the science of Godhead and become liberated from the clutches of the illusory energy by sur rendering unto the pure devotees of the Lord and by following in their footsteps in devo tional service (46). What is realized as the Absolute Brahman is  full of unlimited bliss without grief. That is cer tainly the ultimate phase of the supreme en joyer, the Personality of Godhead. He is eter nally void of all disturbances and is fearless. He is complete consciousness as opposed to mat ter. Uncontaminated and without distinctions, He is the principle primeval cause of all causes and effects, in whom there is no sacrifice for fruitive activities and in whom the illusory en ergy does not stand (47).

In such a transcenden tal state there is no need of artificial control of the mind, mental speculation or meditation, as performed by the jñānīs and yogīs. One gives up such processes, as the heavenly King, Indra, forgoes the trouble to dig a well (48).The Per sonality of Godhead is the supreme master of everything auspicious because the results of whatever actions are performed by the living being, in either the material or spiritual exist ence, are awarded by the Lord. As such, He is the ultimate benefactor. Every individual living entity is unborn, and therefore even after the annihilation of the material elementary body, the living entity exists, exactly like the air within the body (49).

My dear son, I have now explained in brief the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is creator of the manifested worlds. Without Him (Hari, the Lord), there are no other causes of the phenomenal and noumenal existences (50).O Nārada, this science of God, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, was spoken to me in summary by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it was spoken as the accumulation of His diverse potencies. Please expand this science yourself (51).

Please describe the science of Godhead with determination and in a manner by which it will be quite possible for the human being to develop transcendental devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead Hari, the Supersoul of every living being and the summum bonum source of all energies (52). The Lord’s activi ties in association with His different energies should be described, appreciated and heard in accordance with the teachings of the Supreme Lord. If this is done regularly with devotion and respect, one is sure to get out of the illusory en ergy of the Lord (53).  

Lord Brahmā said: The mouth of the virāṭ puruṣa [the universal form of the Lord] is the generating center of the voice, and the control ling deity is Fire. His skin and six other layers are the generating centers of the Vedic hymns, and His tongue is the productive center of dif ferent foodstuffs and delicacies for offering to the demigods, the forefathers and the general mass of people (1).His two nostrils are the gen erating centers of our breathing and of all other airs, His smelling powers generate the Aśvinī kumāra demigods and all kinds of medicinal herbs, and His breathing energies produce dif ferent kinds of fragrance (2). His eyes are the generating centers of all kinds of forms, and they glitter and illuminate. His eyeballs are like the sun and the heavenly planets. His ears hear from all sides and are receptacles for all the Ve das, and His sense of hearing is the generating center of the sky and of all kinds of sound (3).

His bodily surface is the breeding ground for the active principles of everything and for all kinds of auspicious opportunities. His skin, like the moving air, is the generating center for all kinds of sense of touch and is the place for performing all kinds of sacrifice (4).The hairs on His body are the cause of all vegetation, par ticularly of those trees which are required as in gredients for sacrifice. The hairs on His head and face are reservoirs for the clouds, and His nails are the breeding ground of electricity, stones and iron ores (5).The Lord’s arms are the productive fields for the great demigods and other leaders of the living entities who protect the general mass (6).Thus the forward steps of the Lord are the shelter for the upper, lower and heavenly planets, as well as for all that we need. His lotus feet serve as protection from all kinds of fear (7). From the Lord’s genitals originate water, semen, generatives, rains and the procre ators. His genitals are the cause of a pleasure that counteracts the distress of begetting (8).O Nārada, the evacuating outlet of the universal form of the Lord is the abode of the controlling deity of death, Mitra, and the evacuating hole and the rectum of the Lord is the place of envy, misfortune, death, hell, etc (9).The back of the Lord is the place for all kinds of frustration and ignorance, as well as for immorality. From His veins flow the great rivers and rivulets, and on His bones are stacked the great mountains (10).

The impersonal feature of the Lord is the abode of great oceans, and His belly is the rest ing place for the materially annihilated living entities. His heart is the abode of the subtle ma terial bodies of living beings. Thus it is known by the intelligent class of men (11).Also, the consciousness of that great personality is the abode of religious principles mine, yours, and those of the four bachelors Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanat-kumāra and Sanandana. That conscious ness is also the abode of truth and transcenden tal knowledge (12).Beginning from me [Brahmā] down to you and Bhava [Śiva], all the great sages who were born before you, the dem igods, the demons, the Nāgas, the human be ings, the birds, the beasts, as well as the rep tiles, etc., and all phenomenal manifestations of the universes, namely the planets, stars, aster oids, luminaries, lightning, thunder, and the in habitants of the different planetary systems, namely the Gandharvas, Apsarās, Yakṣas, Rakṣas, Bhūtagaṇas, Uragas, Paśus, Pitās, Sid dhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, and all other dif ferent varieties of living entities, including the birds, beasts, trees and everything that be, are all covered by the universal form of the Lord at all times, namely past, present and future, alt hough He is transcendental to all of them, eter nally existing in a form not exceeding nine  inches (13-16).

The sun illuminates both inter nally and externally by expanding its radiation; similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by expanding His universal form, maintains everything in the creation both internally and externally (17).The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the controller of immortality and fearlessness, and He is transcendental to death and the fruitive actions of the material world. O Nārada, O brāhmaṇa, it is therefore difficult to measure the glories of the Supreme Person (18). The Supreme Personality of Godhead is to be known as the supreme reservoir of all mate rial opulences by the one fourth of His energy in which all the living entities exist. Deathless ness, fearlessness and freedom from the anxie ties of old age and disease exist in the kingdom of God, which is beyond the three higher plan etary systems and beyond the material cover ings (19).The spiritual world, which consists of three fourths of the Lord’s energy, is situated beyond this material world, and it is especially meant for those who will never be reborn. Oth ers, who are attached to family life and who do not strictly follow celibacy vows, must live within the three material worlds (20).

By His energies, the all-pervading Personality of God head is thus comprehensively the master in the activities of controlling and in devotional ser vice. He is the ultimate master of both nesci ence and factual knowledge of all situations (21). From that Personality of Godhead, all the universal globes and the universal form with all material elements, qualities and senses are gen erated. Yet He is aloof from such material man ifestations, like the sun, which is separate from its rays and heat (22).When I was born from the abdominal lotus flower of the Lord [Mahā Viṣṇu], the great person, I had no ingredients for sacrificial performances except the bodily limbs of the great Personality of Godhead (23).For performing sacrificial ceremonies, one requires sacrificial ingredients, such as flowers, leaves and straw, along with the sacrificial altar and a suitable time [spring] (24).

Other require ments are utensils, grains, clarified butter, honey, gold, earth, water, the Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda and Sāma Veda and four priests to per form the sacrifice (25).Other necessities in clude invoking the different names of the dem igods by specific hymns and vows of recom pense, in accordance with the particular scrip ture, for specific purposes and by specific pro cesses(26).Thus I had to arrange all these nec essary ingredients and paraphernalia of sacri fice from the personal bodily parts of the Per sonality of Godhead. By invocation of the dem igods’ names, the ultimate goal, Viṣṇu, was gradually attained, and thus compensation and ultimate offering were complete (27). Thus I created the ingredients and paraphernalia for offering sacrifice out of the parts of the body of the Supreme Lord, the enjoyer of the sacrifice, and I performed the sacrifice to satisfy the Lord (28). My dear son, thereafter your nine broth ers, who are the masters of living creatures, per formed the sacrifice with proper rituals to sat isfy both the manifested and nonmanifested personalities (29).Thereafter, the Manus, the fathers of mankind, the great sages, the forefa thers, the learned scholars, the Daityas and mankind performed sacrifices meant to please the Supreme Lord (30).

All the material mani festations of the universes are therefore situated in His powerful material energies, which He ac cepts self-sufficiently, although He is eternally without affinity for the material modes (31).By His will, I create, Lord Śiva destroys, and He Himself, in His eternal form as the Personality of Godhead, maintains everything. He is the powerful controller of these three energies(32). My dear son, whatever you inquired from me I have thus explained unto you, and you must know for certain that whatever there is (ei ther as cause or as effect, both in the material and spiritual worlds) is dependent on the Su preme Personality of Godhead (33).O Nārada, because I have caught hold of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, with great zeal, whatever I say has never proved to have been false. Nor is the progress of my mind ever deterred. Nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to mat ter (34).

Although I am known as the great Brahmā, perfect in the disciplic succession of Vedic wisdom, and although I have undergone all austerities and am an expert in mystic pow ers and self-realization, and although I am rec ognized as such by the great forefathers of the living entities, who offer me respectful obei sances, still I cannot understand Him, the Lord, the very source of my birth (35).Therefore it is best for me to surrender unto His feet, which alone can deliver one from the miseries of re peated birth and death. Such surrender is all auspicious and allows one to perceive all hap piness. Even the sky cannot estimate the limits of its own expansion. So what can others do when the Lord Himself is unable to estimate His own limits? (36)

 Since neither Lord Śiva nor you nor I could ascertain the limits of spiritual happiness, how can other demigods know it? And because all of us are bewildered by the illusory, external energy of the Supreme Lord, we can see only this manifested cosmos according to our indi vidual ability (37).Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose incarnations and activities are chanted by us for glorification, though He can hardly be fully known as He is (38).That su preme original Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, expanding His plenary portion as Mahā-Viṣṇu, the first incarnation, creates this manifested cosmos, but He is unborn. The cre ation, however, takes place in Him, and the ma terial substance and manifestations are all Him self. He maintains them for some time and ab sorbs them into Himself again (39).The Person ality of Godhead is pure, being free from all contaminations of material tinges. He is the Ab solute Truth and the embodiment of full and perfect knowledge. He is all-pervading, with out beginning or end, and without rival. O Nārada, O great sage, the great thinkers can know Him when completely freed from all ma terial hankerings and when sheltered under un disturbed conditions of the senses. Otherwise, by untenable arguments, all is distorted, and the Lord disappears from our sight (40).

 Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu is the first incarna tion of the Supreme Lord, and He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, mind, the elements, the material ego, the modes of na ture, the senses, the universal form of the Lord, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving (41).

I myself [Brahmā], Lord Śiva, Lord Viṣṇu, great generators of living beings like Dakṣa and Prajāpati, yourselves [Nārada and the Kumāras], heavenly demigods like Indra and Candra, the leaders of the Bhūrloka plan ets, the leaders of the earthly planets, the lead ers of the lower planets, the leaders of the Gandharva planets, the leaders of the Vidyādhara planets, the leaders of the Cāraṇaloka planets, the leaders of the Yakṣas, Rakṣas and Uragas, the great sages, the great demons, the great atheists and the great space men, as well as the dead bodies, evil spirits, sa tans, jinn, kūṣmāṇḍas, great aquatics, great beasts and great birds, etc. in other words, an ything and everything which is exceptionally possessed of power, opulence, mental and per ceptual dexterity, strength, forgiveness, beauty, modesty, opulence, and breeding, whether in form or formless may appear to be the specific truth and the form of the Lord, but actually they are not so. They are only a fragment of the tran scendental potency of the Lord (42-44).

O Nārada, now I shall state, one after another, the transcendental incarnations of the Lord known as līlā-avatāras. Hearing of their activities counteracts all foul matters accumulated in the ear. These pastimes are pleasing to hear and are to be relished. Therefore they are in my heart (45).  

Śrī Nārada Muni asked Brahmājī: O chief amongst the demigods, O firstborn living en tity, I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto you. Please tell me that transcendental knowledge which specifically directs one to the truth of the individual soul and the Supersoul. My dear father, please describe factually the symptoms of this manifest world. What is its background? How is it created? How is it con served? And under whose control is all this be ing done? (2)

 My dear father, all this is known to you scientifically because whatever was cre ated in the past, whatever will be created in the future, or whatever is being created at present, as well as everything within the universe, is within your grip, just like a walnut (3). My dear father, what is the source of your knowledge? Under whose protection are you standing? And under whom are you working? What is your real position? Do you alone create all entities with material elements by your personal en ergy? (4) As the spider very easily creates the network of its cobweb and manifests its power of creation without being defeated by others, so also you yourself, by employment of your self sufficient energy, create without any other’s help (5).

 Whatever we can understand by the nomenclature, characteristics and features of a particular thing superior, inferior or equal, eternal or temporary is not created from any source other than that of Your Lordship, thou so great (6). Yet we are moved to wonder about the existence of someone more powerful than you when we think of your great austerities in perfect discipline, although your good self is so powerful in the matter of creation (7). My dear father, you know everything, and you are the controller of all. Therefore, may all that I have inquired from you be kindly instructed to me so that I may be able to understand it as your stu dent (8). Lord Brahmā said: My dear boy Nārada, being merciful to all (including me) you have asked all these questions because I have been inspired to see into the prowess of the Almighty Personality of Godhead (9).

 Whatever you have spoken about me is not false because un less and until one is aware of the Personality of Godhead, who is the ultimate truth beyond me, one is sure to be illusioned by observing my powerful activities (10). I create after the Lord’s creation by His personal effulgence [known as the brahmajyoti], just as when the sun manifests its fire, the moon, the firmament, the influential planets and the twinkling stars also manifest their brightness (11). I offer my obeisances and meditate upon Lord Kṛṣṇa [Vāsudeva], the Personality of Godhead, whose invincible potency influences them [the less in telligent class of men] to call me the supreme controller (12).

 The illusory energy of the Lord cannot take precedence, being ashamed of her position, but those who are bewildered by her always talk nonsense, being absorbed in thoughts of “It is I” and “It is mine.” (13) The five elementary ingredients of creation, the in teraction thereof set up by eternal time, and the intuition or nature of the individual living be ings are all differentiated parts and parcels of the Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, and in truth there is no other value in them (14). The Vedic literatures are made by and are meant for the Supreme Lord, the demigods are also meant for serving the Lord as parts of His body, the different planets are also meant for the sake of the Lord, and different sacrifices are performed just to please Him (15).

All different types of meditation or mysticism are means for realizing Nārāyaṇa. All austerities are aimed at achiev ing Nārāyaṇa. Culture of transcendental knowledge is for getting a glimpse of Nārāyaṇa, and ultimately salvation is entering the kingdom of Nārāyaṇa (16). Inspired by Him only, I discover what is already created by Him [Nārāyaṇa] under His vision as the all-per vading Supersoul, and I also am created by Him only (17).The Supreme Lord is pure, spiritual form, transcendental to all material qualities, yet for the sake of the creation of the material world and its maintenance and annihilation, He accepts through His external energy the mate rial modes of nature called goodness, passion and ignorance (18).

 These three modes of ma terial nature, being further manifested as mat ter, knowledge and activities, put the eternally transcendental living entity under conditions of cause and effect and make him responsible for such activities (19). O Brāhmaṇa Nārada, the Superseer, the transcendent Lord, is beyond the perception of the material senses of the living entities because of the above-mentioned three modes of nature. But He is the controller of everyone, including me (20).  The Lord, who is the controller of all ener gies, thus creates, by His own potency, eternal time, the fate of all living entities, and their par ticular nature, for which they were created, and He again merges them independently (21).

Af ter the incarnation of the first puruṣa [Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu], the mahat-tattva, or the principles of material creation, take place, and then time is manifested, and in course of time the three qualities appear. Nature means the three qualitative appearances. They trans form into activities (22). Material activities are caused by the mahat-tattva’s being agitated. At first there is transformation of the modes of goodness and passion, and later due to the mode of ignorance matter, its knowledge, and different activities of material knowledge come into play (23). The self-centered materialistic ego, thus being transformed into three features, becomes known as the modes of goodness, pas sion and ignorance in three divisions, namely the powers that evolve matter, knowledge of material creations, and the intelligence that guides such materialistic activities. Nārada, you are quite competent to understand this (24).

 From the darkness of false ego, the first of the five elements, namely the sky, is generated. Its subtle form is the quality of sound, exactly as the seer is in relationship with the seen (25).Be cause the sky is transformed, the air is gener ated with the quality of touch, and by previous succession the air is also full of sound and the basic principles of duration of life: sense per ception, mental power and bodily strength. When the air is transformed in course of time and nature’s course, fire is generated, taking shape with the sense of touch and sound. Since fire is also transformed, there is a manifestation of water, full of juice and taste. As previously, it also has form and touch and is also full of sound. And water, being transformed from all variegatedness on earth, appears odorous and, as previously, becomes qualitatively full of juice, touch, sound and form respectively (26 29).

 From the mode of goodness the mind is generated and becomes manifest, as also the ten demigods controlling the bodily movements. Such demigods are known as the controller of directions, the controller of air, the sun-god, the father of Dakṣa Prajāpati, the Aśvinī-kumāras, the fire-god, the King of heaven, the worshipa ble deity in heaven, the chief of the Ādityas, and Brahmājī, the Prajāpati. All come into ex istence (30).

 By further transformation of the mode of passion, the sense organs like the ear, skin, nose, eyes, tongue, mouth, hands, geni tals, legs, and the outlet for evacuating, together with intelligence and living energy, are all gen erated (31). O Nārada, best of the transcendentalists, the forms of the body cannot take place as long as these created parts, namely the elements, senses, mind and modes of nature, are not as sembled (32). Thus when all these became as sembled by force of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this universe certainly came into being by accepting both the primary and secondary causes of creation (33). Thus all the universes remained thousands of aeons within the water [the Causal Ocean], and the Lord of living beings, entering in each of them, caused them to be fully animated (34).

 The Lord [Mahā-Viṣṇu], although lying in the Causal Ocean, came out of it, and dividing Himself as Hiraṇyagarbha, He entered into each universe and assumed the virāṭ-rūpa, with thousands of legs, arms, mouths, heads, etc (35). Great philosophers imagine that the com plete planetary systems in the universe are dis plays of the different upper and lower limbs of the universal body of the Lord (36). The brāhmaṇas represent His mouth, the kṣatriyas His arms, the vaiśyas His thighs, and the śūdras are born of His legs (37). The lower planetary systems, up to the limit of the earthly stratum, are said to be situated in His legs. The middle planetary systems, beginning from Bhuvarloka, are situated in His navel. And the still higher planetary systems, occupied by the demigods and highly cultured sages and saints, are situ ated in the chest of the Supreme Lord (38).

 From the forefront of the chest up to the neck of the universal form of the Lord are situated the planetary systems named Janaloka and Ta poloka, whereas Satyaloka, the topmost plane tary system, is situated on the head of the form. The spiritual planets, however, are eternal (39). My dear son Nārada, know from me that there are seven lower planetary systems out of the to tal fourteen. The first planetary system, known as Atala, is situated on the waist; the second, Vitala, is situated on the thighs; the third, Su tala, on the knees; the fourth, Talātala, on the shanks; the fifth, Mahātala, on the ankles; the sixth, Rasātala, on the upper portion of the feet; and the seventh, Pātāla, on the soles of the feet. Thus the virāṭ form of the Lord is full of all planetary systems (40-41).

Others may divide the whole planetary system into three divisions, namely the lower planetary systems on the legs [up to the earth], the middle planetary systems on the navel, and the upper planetary systems [Svarloka] from the chest to the head of the Su preme Personality (42).  

Sūta Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the son of Uttarā, after hearing the speeches of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, which were all about the truth of the self, applied his concentration faith fully upon Lord Kṛṣṇa (1).Mahārāja Parīkṣit, as a result of his wholehearted attraction for Lord Kṛṣṇa, was able to give up all deep-rooted af fection for his personal body, his wife, his chil dren, his palace, his animals like horses and el ephants, his treasury house, his friends and rel atives, and his undisputed kingdom (2).

O great sages, the great soul Mahārāja Parīkṣit, con stantly rapt in thought of Lord Kṛṣṇa, knowing well of his imminent death, renounced all sorts of fruitive activities, namely acts of religion, economic development and sense gratification, and thus fixed himself firmly in his natural love for Kṛṣṇa and asked all these questions, exactly as you are asking me (3-4). Mahārāja Parīkṣit said: O learned brāhmaṇa, you know everything because you are without material contamination. Therefore whatever you have spoken to me appears per fectly right. Your speeches are gradually de stroying the darkness of my ignorance, for you are narrating the topics of the Lord (5).

 I beg to know from you how the Personality of God head, by His personal energies, creates these phenomenal universes as they are, which are in conceivable even to the great demigods (6). Kindly describe how the Supreme Lord, who is all-powerful, engages His different energies and different expansions in maintaining and again winding up the phenomenal world in the sporting spirit of a player (7). O learned brāhmaṇa, the transcendental activities of the Lord are all wonderful, and they appear incon ceivable because even great endeavors by many learned scholars have still proved insufficient for understanding them (8).The Supreme Per sonality of Godhead is one, whether He alone acts with the modes of material nature, or sim ultaneously expands in many forms, or expands consecutively to direct the modes of nature (9).

 Kindly clear up all these doubtful inquiries, be cause you are not only vastly learned in the Ve dic literatures and self-realized in transcend ence, but are also a great devotee of the Lord and are therefore as good as the Personality of Godhead (10). Sūta Gosvāmī said: When Śukadeva Gosvāmī was thus requested by the King to de scribe the creative energy of the Personality of Godhead, he then systematically remembered the master of the senses [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], and to re ply properly he spoke thus (11).

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead, who, for the creation of the material world, accepts the three modes of nature. He is the complete whole residing within the body of everyone, and His ways are inconceivable (12). I again offer my respectful obeisances unto the form of complete existence and transcendence, who is the liberator of the pious devotees from all distresses and the de stroyer of the further advances in atheistic tem perament of the nondevotee-demons. For the transcendentalists who are situated in the top most spiritual perfection, He grants their spe cific destinations (13).

Let me offer my respect ful obeisances unto Him who is the associate of the members of the Yadu dynasty and who is always a problem for the nondevotees. He is the supreme enjoyer of both the material and spir itual worlds, yet He enjoys His own abode in the spiritual sky. There is no one equal to Him because His transcendental opulence is im measurable (14). Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the all-auspicious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, about whom glorification, remem brances, audience, prayers, hearing and wor ship can at once cleanse the effects of all sins of the performer (15).

 Let me offer my respect ful obeisances again and again unto the all-aus picious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The highly intellectual, simply by surrendering unto His lotus feet, are relieved of all attachments to present and future existences and without difficulty progress to ward spiritual existence (16). Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the all-auspicious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa again and again because the great learned sages, the great performers of charity, the great workers of distinction, the great philosophers and mystics, the great chanters of the Vedic hymns and the great fol lowers of Vedic principles cannot achieve any fruitful result without dedication of such great qualities to the service of the Lord (17).

Kirāta, Hūṇa, Āndhra, Pulinda, Pulkaśa, Ābhīra, Śumbha, Yavana, members of the Khasa races and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him (18). He is the Supersoul and the Supreme Lord of all self-realized souls. He is the personifica tion of the Vedas, religious scriptures and aus terities. He is worshiped by Lord Brahmā and Śiva and all those who are transcendental to all pretensions. Being so revered with awe and veneration, may that Supreme Absolute be pleased with me (19). May Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the worshipable Lord of all devotees, the protector and glory of all the kings like Andhaka and Vṛṣṇi of the Yadu dynasty, the husband of all goddesses of fortune, the direc tor of all sacrifices and therefore the leader of all living entities, the controller of all intelli gence, the proprietor of all planets, spiritual and material, and the supreme incarnation on the earth (the supreme all in all), be merciful upon me (20).

It is the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa who gives liberation. By thinking of His lotus feet at every second, following in the foot steps of authorities, the devotee in trance can see the Absolute Truth. The learned mental speculators, however, think of Him according to their whims. May the Lord be pleased with me (21). May the Lord, who in the beginning of the creation amplified the potent knowledge of Brahmā from within his heart and inspired him with full knowledge of creation and of His own Self, and who appeared to be generated from the mouth of Brahmā, be pleased with me (22).May the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who enlivens the materially created bodies of the elements by lying down within the universe, and who in His puruṣa incarnation causes the living being to be subjected to the sixteen divi sions of material modes which are his genera tor, be pleased to decorate my statements (23).

 I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the incarnation of Vāsudeva who compiled the Vedic scriptures. The pure devo tees drink up the nectarean transcendental knowledge dropping from the lotuslike mouth of the Lord (24).My dear King, Brahmā, the firstborn, on being questioned by Nārada, ex actly apprised him on this subject as it had been directly spoken by the Lord to His own son, who was impregnated with Vedic knowledge from his very birth (25).

ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Parīkṣit, as you have inquired from me as to the duty of the intelligent man who is on the thresh old of death, so I have answered you (1).

One who desires to be absorbed in the impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence should worship the master of the Vedas [Lord Brahmā or Bṛhaspati, the learned priest], one who desires powerful sex should worship the heavenly King, Indra, and one who desires good progeny should worship the great progenitors called the Prajāpatis. One who desires good fortune should worship Durgādevī, the superintendent of the material world. One desiring to be very powerful should worship fire, and one who as pires only after money should worship the Va sus. One should worship the Rudra incarnations of Lord Śiva if he wants to be a great hero. One who wants a large stock of grains should wor ship Aditi. One who desires to attain the heav enly planets should worship the sons of Aditi. One who desires a worldly kingdom should worship Viśvadeva, and one who wants to be popular with the general mass of population should worship the Sādhya demigod. One who desires a long span of life should worship the demigods known as the Aśvinī-kumāras, and a person desiring a strongly built body should worship the earth. One who desires stability in his post should worship the horizon and the earth combined. One who desires to be beauti ful should worship the beautiful residents of the Gandharva planet, and one who desires a good wife should worship the Apsarās and the Urvaśī society girls of the heavenly kingdom. One who desires domination over others should worship Lord Brahmā, the head of the universe. One who desires tangible fame should worship the Personality of Godhead, and one who desires a good bank balance should worship the demigod Varuṇa. If one desires to be a greatly learned man he should worship Lord Śiva, and if one desires a good marital relation he should wor ship the chaste goddess Umā, the wife of Lord Śiva (2-7).

One should worship Lord Viṣṇu or His devotee for spiritual advancement in knowledge, and for protection of heredity and advancement of a dynasty one should worship the various demigods (8). One who desires domination over a kingdom or an empire should worship the Manus. One who desires victory over an enemy should worship the de mons, and one who desires sense gratification should worship the moon. But one who desires nothing of material enjoyment should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead (9). A per son who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any mate rial desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Person ality of Godhead (10).

 All the different kinds of worshipers of multidemigods can attain the highest perfectional benediction, which is spontaneous attraction unflinchingly fixed upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by the association of the pure devotee of the Lord (11).Transcendental knowledge in re lation with the Supreme Lord Hari is knowledge resulting in the complete suspen sion of the waves and whirlpools of the material modes. Such knowledge is self-satisfying due to its being free from material attachment, and being transcendental it is approved by authori ties. Who could fail to be attracted? (12) Śaunaka said: The son of Vyāsadeva, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, was a highly learned sage and was able to describe things in a poetic man ner. What did Mahārāja Parīkṣit again inquire from him after hearing all that he had said? (13)

 O learned Sūta Gosvāmī! Please continue to ex plain such topics to us because we are all eager to hear. Besides that, topics which result in the discussion of the Lord Hari should certainly be discussed in the assembly of devotees (14).Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the grandson of the Pāṇḍavas, was from his very childhood a great devotee of the Lord. Even while playing with dolls, he used to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa by imitat ing the worship of the family Deity (15). Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vyāsadeva, was also full in transcendental knowledge and was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva. So there must have been discussion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is glorified by great philos ophers and in the company of great devotees (16). Both by rising and by setting, the sun de creases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead (17). Do the trees not live? Do the bellows of the black smith not breathe? All around us, do the beasts not eat and discharge semen? (18)

Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pas times of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the deliverer from evils (19). One who has not listened to the messages about the prowess and marvelous acts of the Personality of Godhead and has not sung or chanted loudly the worthy songs about the Lord is to be considered to possess earholes like the holes of snakes and a tongue like the tongue of a frog (20). The upper portion of the body, though crowned with a silk turban, is only a heavy burden if not bowed down before the Personality of Godhead who can award mukti [freedom]. And the hands, though decorated with glittering bangles, are like those of a dead man if not engaged in the service of the Person ality of Godhead Hari (21).The eyes which do not look at the symbolic representations of the Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu [His forms, name, quality, etc.] are like those printed on the plumes of the peacock, and the legs which do not move to the holy places [where the Lord is remembered] are considered to be like tree trunks(22).

The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasī leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breath ing (23). Certainly that heart is steel-framed which, in spite of one’s chanting the holy name of the Lord with concentration, does not change when ecstasy takes place, tears fill the eyes and the hairs stand on end (24). O Sūta Gosvāmī, your words are pleasing to our minds. Please therefore explain this to us as it was spoken by the great devotee Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is very expert in transcendental knowledge, and who spoke to Mahārāja Parīkṣit upon being asked (25).

ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: Formerly, prior to the manifestation of the cosmos, Lord Brahmā, by meditating on the virāṭ-rūpa, re gained his lost consciousness by appeasing the Lord. Thus he was able to rebuild the creation as it was before. The way of presentation of the Vedic sounds is so bewildering that it directs the intelligence of the people to meaningless things like the heavenly kingdoms. The conditioned souls hover in dreams of such heavenly illusory pleasures, but actually they do not relish any tangible happiness in such places (2).

For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only for the minimum necessities of life while in the world of names. He should be intelli gently fixed and never endeavor for unwanted things, being competent to perceive practically that all such endeavors are merely hard labor for nothing (3). When there are ample earthly flats to lie on, what is the necessity of cots and beds? When one can use his own arms, what is the necessity of a pillow? When one can use the palms of his hands, what is the necessity of va rieties of utensils? When there is ample cover ing, or the skins of trees, what is the necessity of clothing? (4) Are there no torn clothes lying on the common road? Do the trees, which exist for maintaining others, no longer give alms in charity? Do the rivers, being dried up, no longer supply water to the thirsty? Are the caves of the mountains now closed? Or above all, does the Almighty Lord not protect the fully surren dered souls? Why then do the learned sages go to flatter those who are intoxicated by hard earned wealth? (5)

 Thus being fixed, one must render service unto the Supersoul situated in one’s own heart by His omnipotency. Because He is the Almighty Personality of Godhead, eternal and unlimited, He is the ultimate goal of life, and by worshiping Him one can end the cause of the conditioned state of existence (6). Who else but the gross materialists will neglect such transcendental thought and take to the nonpermanent names only, seeing the mass of people fallen in the river of suffering as the consequence of accruing the result of their own work? (7) Others conceive of the Personality of God head residing within the body in the region of the heart and measuring only eight inches, with four hands carrying a lotus, a wheel of a char iot, a conchshell and a club respectively (8).His mouth expresses His happiness. His eyes spread like the petals of a lotus, and His gar ments, yellowish like the saffron of a kadamba flower, are bedecked with valuable jewels. His ornaments are all made of gold, set with jewels, and He wears a glowing headdress and earrings (9).

 His lotus feet are placed over the whorls of the lotuslike hearts of great mystics. On His chest is the Kaustubha jewel, engraved with a beautiful calf, and there are other jewels on His shoulders. His complete torso is garlanded with fresh flowers (10). He is well decorated with an ornamental wreath about His waist and rings studded with valuable jewels on His fingers. His leglets, His bangles, His oiled hair, curling with a bluish tint, and His beautiful smiling face are all very pleasing (11).The Lord’s mag nanimous pastimes and the glowing glancing of His smiling face are all indications of His ex tensive benedictions. One must therefore con centrate on this transcendental form of the Lord, as long as the mind can be fixed on Him by meditation (12).

The process of meditation should begin from the lotus feet of the Lord and progress to His smiling face. The meditation should be concentrated upon the lotus feet, then the calves, then the thighs, and in this way higher and higher. The more the mind becomes fixed upon the different parts of the limbs, one after another, the more the intelligence be comes purified (13). Unless the gross material ist develops a sense of loving service unto the Supreme Lord, the seer of both the transcen dental and material worlds, he should remem ber or meditate upon the universal form of the Lord at the end of his prescribed duties (14). O King, whenever the yogī desires to leave this planet of human beings, he should not be per plexed about the proper time or place, but should comfortably sit without being disturbed and, regulating the life air, should control the senses by the mind (15).

Thereafter, the yogī should merge his mind, by his unalloyed intelligence, into the living en tity, and then merge the living entity into the Superself. And by doing this, the fully satisfied living entity becomes situated in the supreme stage of satisfaction, so that he ceases from all other activities (16). In that transcendental state of labdhopaśānti, there is no supremacy of dev astating time, which controls even the celestial demigods who are empowered to rule over mundane creatures. (And what to speak of the demigods themselves?) Nor is there the mode of material goodness, nor passion, nor igno rance, nor even the false ego, nor the material Causal Ocean, nor the material nature (17).

The transcendentalists desire to avoid everything godless, for they know that supreme situation in which everything is related with the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore a pure devotee who is in absolute harmony with the Lord does not create perplexities, but worships the lotus feet of the Lord at every moment, taking them into his heart (18). By the strength of scientific knowledge, one should be well situated in ab solute realization and thus be able to extinguish all material desires. One should then give up the material body by blocking the air hole [through which stool is evacuated] with the heel of one’s foot and by lifting the life air from one place to another in the six primary places (19). The meditative devotee should slowly push up the life air from the navel to the heart, from there to the chest, and from there to the root of the palate. He should search out the proper places with intelligence (20).

Thereafter the bhakti-yogī should push the life air up be tween the eyebrows, and then, blocking the seven outlets of the life air, he should maintain his aim for going back home, back to Godhead. If he is completely free from all desires for ma terial enjoyment, he should then reach the cer ebral hole and give up his material connections, having gone to the Supreme (21). However, O King, if a yogī maintains a de sire for improved material enjoyments, like transference to the topmost planet, Brah maloka, or the achievement of the eightfold perfections, travel in outer space with the Vaihāyasas, or a situation in one of the millions of planets, then he has to take away with him the materially molded mind and senses (22).

The transcendentalists are concerned with the spiritual body. As such, by the strength of their devotional service, austerities, mystic power and transcendental knowledge, their movements are unrestricted, within and beyond the material worlds. The fruitive workers, or the gross materialists, can never move in such an unrestricted manner (23).O King, when such a mystic passes over the Milky Way by the il luminating Suṣumṇā to reach the highest planet, Brahmaloka, he goes first to Vaiśvānara, the planet of the deity of fire, wherein he becomes completely cleansed of all contaminations, and thereafter he still goes higher, to the circle of Śiśumāra, to relate with Lord Hari, the Personality of Godhead (24).

 This Śiśumāra is the pivot for the turning of the complete universe, and it is called the navel of Viṣṇu [Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu]. The yogī alone goes beyond this circle of Śiśumāra and attains the planet [Maharloka] where purified saints like Bhṛgu enjoy a duration of life of 4,300,000,000 solar years. This planet is wor shipable even for saints who are transcenden tally situated (25).At the time of the final dev astation of the complete universe [the end of the duration of Brahmā’s life], a flame of fire ema nates from the mouth of Ananta [from the bot tom of the universe]. The yogī sees all the plan ets of the universe burning to ashes, and thus he leaves for Satyaloka by airplanes used by the great purified souls. The duration of life in Satyaloka is calculated to be 15,480,000,000,000 years (26).

In that planet of Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement, nor old age nor death. There is no pain of any kind, and therefore there are no anxieties, save that some times, due to consciousness, there is a feeling of compassion for those unaware of the process of devotional service, who are subjected to un surpassable miseries in the material world (27).After reaching Satyaloka, the devotee is specifically able to be incorporated fearlessly by the subtle body in an identity similar to that of the gross body, and one after another he gradually attains stages of existence from earthly to watery, fiery, glowing and airy, until he reaches the ethereal stage (28).The devotee thus surpasses the subtle objects of different senses like aroma by smelling, the palate by tasting, vision by seeing forms, touch by con tacting, the vibrations of the ear by ethereal identification, and the sense organs by material activities (29).The devotee, thus surpassing the gross and the subtle forms of coverings, enters the plane of egoism. And in that status he merges the material modes of nature [ignorance and passion] in this point of neutralization and thus reaches egoism in goodness. After this, all egoism is merged in the mahat-tattva, and he comes to the point of pure self-realization (30).

Only the purified soul can attain the per fection of associating with the Personality of Godhead in complete bliss and satisfaction in his constitutional state. Whoever is able to ren ovate such devotional perfection is never again attracted by this material world, and he never returns (31). Your Majesty Mahārāja Parīkṣit, know that all that I have described in reply to your proper inquiry is just according to the ver sion of the Vedas, and it is eternal truth. This was described personally by Lord Kṛṣṇa unto Brahmā, with whom the Lord was satisfied upon being properly worshiped (32). For those who are wandering in the material universe, there is no more auspicious means of deliverance than what is aimed at in the direct devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa (33).

The great personality Brahmā, with great attention and concentration of the mind, studied the Ve das three times, and after scrutinizingly exam ining them, he ascertained that attraction for the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the highest perfection of religion (34). The Per sonality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is in every living being along with the individual soul. And this fact is perceived and hypothesized in our acts of seeing and taking help from the intelli gence (35).O King, it is therefore essential that every human being hear about, glorify and re member the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, always and everywhere (36). Those who drink through aural reception, fully filled with the nectarean message of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the beloved of the devotees, purify the polluted aim of life known as material enjoyment and thus go back to Godhead, to the lotus feet of Him [the Personality of Godhead] (37).

Invocation O my Lord, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, your question is glorious because it is very ben eficial to all kinds of people. The answer to this question is the prime subject matter for hearing, and it is approved by all transcendentalists (1). Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing in hu man society, O Emperor (2).The lifetime of such an envious householder is passed at night either in sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime either in making money or main taining family members (3).

 Persons devoid of ātma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although suf ficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction (4). O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries (5). The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occu pational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life (6).

O King Parīkṣit, mainly the topmost transcendentalists, who are above the regulative principles and restrictions, take pleasure in describing the glories of the Lord (7).At the end of the Dvāpara-yuga, I studied this great supplement of Vedic litera ture named Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is equal to all the Vedas, from my father, Śrīla Dvaipāyana Vyāsadeva (8). O saintly King, I was certainly situated perfectly in transcend ence, yet I was still attracted by the delineation of the pastimes of the Lord, who is described by enlightened verses (9).That very Śrīmad Bhāgavatam I shall recite before you because you are the most sincere devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. One who gives full attention and respect to hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam achieves un flinching faith in the Supreme Lord, the giver of salvation (10).

 O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are de sirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge (11). What is the value of a pro longed life which is wasted, inexperienced by years in this world? Better a moment of full consciousness, because that gives one a start in searching after his supreme interest (12).The saintly King Khaṭvāṅga, after being informed that the duration of his life would be only a mo ment more, at once freed himself from all ma terial activities and took shelter of the supreme safety, the Personality of Godhead (13).Mahārāja Parīkṣit, now your duration of life is limited to seven more days, so during this time you can perform all those rituals which are needed for the best purpose of your next life (14).

 At the last stage of one’s life, one should be bold enough not to be afraid of death. But one must cut off all attachment to the material body and everything pertaining to it and all desires thereof (15).One should leave home and prac tice self-control. In a sacred place he should bathe regularly and sit down in a lonely place duly sanctified (16).

 After sitting in the above manner, make the mind remember the three transcendental letters [a-u-m], and by regulat ing the breathing process, control the mind so as not to forget the transcendental seed (17).Gradually, as the mind becomes progres sively spiritualized, withdraw it from sense ac tivities, and by intelligence the senses will be controlled. The mind too absorbed in material activities can be engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead and become fixed in full transcendental consciousness (18).

 There after, you should meditate upon the limbs of Viṣṇu, one after another, without being devi ated from the conception of the complete body. Thus the mind becomes free from all sense ob jects. There should be no other thing to be thought upon. Because the Supreme Personal ity of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is the Ultimate Truth, the mind becomes completely reconciled in Him only (19).One’s mind is always agitated by the passionate mode of material nature and bewildered by the ignorant mode of nature. But one can rectify such conceptions by the relation of Viṣṇu and thus become pacified by cleansing the dirty things created by them (20).

 O King, by this system of remembrance and by being fixed in the habit of seeing the all-good per sonal conception of the Lord, one can very soon attain devotional service to the Lord, under His direct shelter (21). The fortunate King Parīkṣit, inquiring further, said: O brāhmaṇa, please describe in full detail how and where the mind has to be applied and how the conception can be fixed so that the dirty things in a person’s mind can be removed (22). Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered: One should control the sitting posture, regulate the breath ing process by the yogic prāṇāyāma and thus control the mind and senses and with intelli gence apply the mind to the gross potencies of the Lord [called the virāṭ-rūpa] (23).This gigan tic manifestation of the phenomenal material world as a whole is the personal body of the Absolute Truth, wherein the universal resultant past, present and future of material time is ex perienced (24).

 The gigantic universal form of the Personality of Godhead, within the body of the universal shell, which is covered by seven fold material elements, is the subject for the virāṭ conception (25).Persons who have real ized it have studied that the planets known as Pātāla constitute the bottoms of the feet of the universal Lord, and the heels and the toes are the Rasātala planets. The ankles are the Mahātala planets, and His shanks constitute the Talātala planets (26).The knees of the universal form are the planetary system of the name Su tala, and the two thighs are the Vitala and Atala planetary systems. The hips are Mahītala, and outer space is the depression of His navel (27).The chest of the Original Personality of the gigantic form is the luminary planetary system, His neck is the Mahar planets, His mouth is the Janas planets, and His forehead is the Tapas planetary system. The topmost planetary sys tem, known as Satyaloka, is the head of He who has one thousand heads (28).

His arms are the demigods headed by Indra, the ten directional sides are His ears, and physical sound is His sense of hearing. His nostrils are the two Aśvinī-kumāras, and material fragrance is His sense of smell. His mouth is the blazing fire (29).The sphere of outer space constitutes His eyepits, and the eyeball is the sun as the power of seeing. His eyelids are both the day and night, and in the movements of His eyebrows, Brahmā and similar supreme personalities re side. His palate is the director of water, Varuṇa, and the juice or essence of everything is His tongue (30).

They say that the Vedic hymns are the cerebral passage of the Lord, and His jaws of teeth are Yama, god of death, who punishes the sinners. The art of affection is His set of teeth, and the most alluring illusory material energy is His smile. This great ocean of mate rial creation is but the casting of His glance over us (31).Modesty is the upper portion of His lips, hankering is His chin, religion is the breast of the Lord, and irreligion is His back. Brahmājī, who generates all living beings in the material world, is His genitals, and the Mitrā varuṇas are His two testicles. The ocean is His waist, and the hills and mountains are the stacks of His bones (32).

 O King, the rivers are the veins of the gigantic body, the trees are the hairs of His body, and the omnipotent air is His breath. The passing ages are His movements, and His activities are the reactions of the three modes of material nature (33).O best amongst the Kurus, the clouds which carry water are the hairs on His head, the terminations of days or nights are His dress, and the supreme cause of material creation is His intelligence. His mind is the moon, the reservoir of all changes (34).The principle of matter [mahat-tattva] is the consciousness of the omnipresent Lord, as asserted by the experts, and Rudradeva is His ego. The horse, mule, camel and elephant are His nails, and wild animals and all quadrupeds are situated in the belt zone of the Lord (35).

Varieties of birds are indications of His masterful artistic sense. Manu, the father of mankind, is the emblem of His standard intelli gence, and humanity is His residence. The celestial species of human beings, like the Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas and angels, all represent His musical rhythm, and the de moniac soldiers are representations of His won derful prowess (36).The virāṭ-puruṣa’s face is the brāhmaṇas, His arms are the kṣatriyas, His thighs are the vaiśyas, and the śūdras are under the protection of His feet. All the worshipable demigods are also overtaken by Him, and it is the duty of everyone to perform sacrifices with feasible goods to appease the Lord (37).

I have thus explained to you the gross material gigan tic conception of the Personality of Godhead. One who seriously desires liberation concen trates his mind on this form of the Lord, be cause there is nothing more than this in the ma terial world (38). One should concentrate his mind upon the Supreme Personality of God head, who alone distributes Himself in so many manifestations just as ordinary persons create thousands of manifestations in dreams. One must concentrate the mind on Him, the only all blissful Absolute Truth. Otherwise one will be misled and will cause his own degradation (39).

Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: While returning home, the King [Mahārāja Parīkṣit] felt that the act he had committed against the faultless and powerful brāhmaṇa was heinous and uncivi lized. Consequently he was distressed (1).[King Parīkṣit thought:] Due to my neglect ing the injunctions of the Supreme Lord I must certainly expect some difficulty to overcome me in the near future. I now desire without res ervation that the calamity come now, for in this way I may be freed of the sinful action and not commit such an offense again (2).

I am uncivi lized and sinful due to my neglect of brahmini cal culture, God consciousness and cow protec tion. Therefore I wish that my kingdom, strength and riches burn up immediately by the fire of the brāhmaṇa’s wrath so that in the fu ture I may not be guided by such inauspicious attitudes (3).While the King was thus repent ing, he received news of his imminent death, which would be due to the bite of a snakebird, occasioned by the curse spoken by the sage’s son. The King accepted this as good news, for it would be the cause of his indifference toward worldly things (4).

Mahārāja Parīkṣit sat down firmly on the banks of the Ganges to concen trate his mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, rejecting all other practices of selfrealization, because transcendental loving service to Kṛṣṇa is the greatest achievement, superseding all other methods (5).The river [by which the King sat to fast] carries the most auspicious water, which is mixed with the dust of the lotus feet of the Lord and tulasī leaves. Therefore that water sanctifies the three worlds inside and outside and even sanctifies Lord Śiva and other demi gods. Consequently everyone who is destined to die must take shelter of this river (6). Thus the King, the worthy descendant of the Pāṇḍavas, decided once and for all and sat on the Ganges’ bank to fast until death and give himself up to the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who alone is able to award liberation. So, freeing himself from all kinds of associations and at tachments, he accepted the vows of a sage (7).

At that time all the great minds and thinkers, accompanied by their disciples, and sages who could verily sanctify a place of pilgrimage just by their presence, arrived there on the plea of making a pilgrim’s journey (8).From different parts of the universe there arrived great sages like Atri, Cyavana, Śaradvān, Ariṣṭanemi, Bhṛgu, Vasiṣṭha, Parāśara, Viśvāmitra, Aṅgirā, Paraśurāma, Utathya, Indrapramada, Idhmavāhu, Medhātithi, Devala, Ārṣṭiṣeṇa, Bhāradvāja, Gautama, Pippalāda, Maitreya, Aurva, Kavaṣa, Kumbhayoni, Dvaipāyana and the great personality Nārada (9-10).

There were also many other saintly demigods, kings and special royal orders called aruṇādayas [a spe cial rank of rājarṣis] from different dynasties of sages. When they all assembled together to meet the Emperor [Parīkṣit], he received them properly and bowed his head to the ground (11).After all the ṛṣis and others had seated themselves comfortably, the King, humbly standing before them with folded hands, told them of his decision to fast until death (12). The fortunate King said: Indeed, we are the most grateful of all the kings who are trained to get favors from the great souls. Gen erally you [sages] consider royalty as refuse to be rejected and left in a distant place (13).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the control ler of both the transcendental and mundane worlds, has graciously overtaken me in the form of a brāhmaṇa’s curse. Due to my being too much attached to family life, the Lord, in order to save me, has appeared before me in such a way that only out of fear I will detach myself from the world (14).O brāhmaṇas, just accept me as a completely surrendered soul, and let mother Ganges, the representative of the Lord, also accept me in that way, for I have al ready taken the lotus feet of the Lord into my heart. Let the snakebird or whatever magical thing the brāhmaṇa created bite me at once. I only desire that you all continue singing the deeds of Lord Viṣṇu (15).

Again, offering obei sances unto all you brāhmaṇas, I pray that if I should again take my birth in the material world I will have complete attachment to the unlim ited Lord Kṛṣṇa, association with His devotees and friendly relations with all living beings (16). In perfect selfcontrol, Mahārāja Parīkṣit sat down on a seat of straw, with strawroots facing the east, placed on the southern bank of the Ganges, and he himself faced the north. Just previously he had given charge of his kingdom over to his son (17).Thus the King, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, sat to fast until death. All the demigods of the higher planets praised the King’s actions and in pleasure continually scattered flowers over the earth and beat celestial drums (18).

All the great sages who were assembled there also praised the decision of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, and they expressed their approval by saying “Very good.” Naturally the sages are inclined to do good to common men, for they have all the qualitative powers of the Supreme Lord. There fore they were very much pleased to see Mahārāja Parīkṣit, a devotee of the Lord, and they spoke as follows (19).[The sages said:] O chief of all the saintly kings of the Pāṇḍu dyn asty who are strictly in the line of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa! It is not at all astonishing that you give up your throne, which is decorated with the hel mets of many kings, to achieve eternal associa tion with the Personality of Godhead (20).

We shall all wait here until the foremost devotee of the Lord, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, returns to the su preme planet, which is completely free from all mundane contamination and all kinds of lamen tation (21). All that was spoken by the great sages was very sweet to hear, full of meaning and appro priately presented as perfectly true. So after hearing them, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, desiring to hear of the activities of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Per sonality of Godhead, congratulated the great sages (22).

The King said: O great sages, you have all very kindly assembled here, having come from all parts of the universe. You are all as good as supreme knowledge personified, who resides in the planet above the three worlds [Satyaloka]. Consequently you are naturally in clined to do good to others, and but for this you have no interest, either in this life or in the next (23).O trustworthy brāhmaṇas, I now ask you about my immediate duty. Please, after proper deliberation, tell me of the unalloyed duty of everyone in all circumstances, and specifically of those who are just about to die (24).

 At that moment there appeared the powerful son of Vyāsadeva, who traveled over the earth disinterested and satisfied with himself. He did not manifest any symptoms of belonging to any social order or status of life. He was surrounded with women and children, and he dressed as if others had neglected him (25).This son of Vyāsadeva was only sixteen years old. His legs, hands, thighs, arms, shoulders, forehead and the other parts of his body were all delicately formed. His eyes were beautifully wide, and his nose and ears were highly raised. He had a very attractive face, and his neck was well formed and beautiful like a conchshell (26).

His collar bone was fleshy, his chest broad and thick, his navel deep and his abdomen beautifully striped. His arms were long, and curly hair was strewn over his beautiful face. He was naked, and the hue of his body reflected that of Lord Kṛṣṇa (27).He was blackish and very beautiful due to his youth. Because of the glamor of his body and his attractive smiles, he was pleasing to women. Though he tried to cover his natural glories, the great sages present there were all expert in the art of physiognomy, and so they honored him by rising from their seats (28).

Mahārāja Parīkṣit, who is also known as Viṣṇurāta [one who is always protected by Viṣṇu], bowed his head to receive the chief guest, Śukadeva Gosvāmī. At that time all the ignorant women and boys ceased following Śrīla Śukadeva. Receiving respect from all, Śukadeva Gosvāmī took his exalted seat (29).Śukadeva Gosvāmī was then surrounded by saintly sages and demigods just as the moon is surrounded by stars, planets and other heav enly bodies. His presence was gorgeous, and he was respected by all (30).The sage ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī sat perfectly pacified, intelligent and ready to answer any question without hesita tion. The great devotee, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, ap proached him, offered his respects by bowing before him, and politely inquired with sweet words and folded hands (31). The fortunate King Parīkṣit said: O brāhmaṇa, by your mercy only, you have sanc tified us, making us like unto places of pilgrim age, all by your presence here as my guest. By your mercy, we, who are but unworthy royalty, become eligible to serve the devotee (32).

Simply by our remembering you, our houses become instantly sanctified. And what to speak of seeing you, touching you, washing your holy feet and offering you a seat in our home?(33)Just as the atheist cannot remain in the presence of the Personality of Godhead, so also the invulnerable sins of a man are immedi ately vanquished in your presence, O saint! O great mystic!(34)Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is very dear to the sons of King Pāṇḍu, has accepted me as one of those rela tives just to please His great cousins and broth ers (35).Otherwise [without being inspired by Lord Kṛṣṇa] how is it that you have voluntarily appeared here, though you are moving incog nito to the common man and are not visible to us who are on the verge of death?(36)

You are the spiritual master of great saints and devotees. I am therefore begging you to show the way of perfection for all persons, and especially for one who is about to die (37).38Please let me know what a man should hear, chant, remember and worship, and also what he should not do. Please explain all this to me (38).O powerful brāhmaṇa, it is said that you hardly stay in the houses of men long enough to milk a cow (39). Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: The King thus spoke and questioned the sage, using sweet lan guage. Then the great and powerful personality, the son of Vyāsadeva, who knew the principles of religion, began his reply (40).