Gaura Vani

sūta uvāca yaṁ pravrajantam anupetam apeta-kṛtyaṁ dvaipāyano viraha-kātara ājuhāva putreti tan-mayatayā taravo ’bhinedus taṁ sarva-bhūta-hṛdayaṁ munim ānato ’smi Translation Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī said: Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto that great sage [Śukadeva Gosvāmī] who can enter the hearts of all. When he went away to take up the renounced order of life [sannyāsa], leaving home without...

vyāsa uvāca iti sampraśna-saṁhṛṣṭo viprāṇāṁ raumaharṣaṇiḥ pratipūjya vacas teṣāṁ pravaktum upacakrame Translation Ugraśravā [Sūta Gosvāmī], the son of Romaharṣaṇa, being fully satisfied by the perfect questions of the brāhmaṇas, thanked them and thus attempted to reply.

brūhi yogeśvare kṛṣṇe brahmaṇye dharma-varmaṇi svāṁ kāṣṭhām adhunopete dharmaḥ kaṁ śaraṇaṁ gataḥ Translation Since Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth, the master of all mystic powers, has departed for His own abode, please tell us to whom the religious principles have now gone for shelter.

brūhi yogeśvare kṛṣṇe brahmaṇye dharma-varmaṇi svāṁ kāṣṭhām adhunopete dharmaḥ kaṁ śaraṇaṁ gataḥ Translation Since Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth, the master of all mystic powers, has departed for His own abode, please tell us to whom the religious principles have now gone for shelter.

kṛtavān kila karmāṇi saha rāmeṇa keśavaḥ atimartyāni bhagavān gūḍhaḥ kapaṭa-mānuṣaḥ Translation Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, along with Balarāma, played like a human being, and so masked He performed many superhuman acts.

kalim āgatam ājñāya kṣetre ’smin vaiṣṇave vayam āsīnā dīrgha-satreṇa kathāyāṁ sakṣaṇā hareḥ Translation Knowing well that the Age of Kali has already begun, we are assembled here in this holy place to hear at great length the transcendental message of Godhead and in this way perform sacrifice.

vayaṁ tu na vitṛpyāma uttama-śloka-vikrame yac-chṛṇvatāṁ rasa-jñānāṁ svādu svādu pade pade Translation We never tire of hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by hymns and prayers. Those who have developed a taste for transcendental relationships with Him relish hearing of His pastimes at every moment.

athākhyāhi harer dhīmann avatāra-kathāḥ śubhāḥ līlā vidadhataḥ svairam īśvarasyātma-māyayā Translation O wise Sūta, please narrate to us the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Godhead’s multi-incarnations. Such auspicious adventures and pastimes of the Lord, the supreme controller, are performed by His internal powers.

tasya karmāṇy udārāṇi parigītāni sūribhiḥ brūhi naḥ śraddadhānānāṁ līlayā dadhataḥ kalāḥ Translation His transcendental acts are magnificent and gracious, and great learned sages like Nārada sing of them. Please, therefore, speak to us, who are eager to hear, about the adventures He performs in His various incarnations.

ko vā bhagavatas tasya puṇya-ślokeḍya-karmaṇaḥ śuddhi-kāmo na śṛṇuyād yaśaḥ kali-malāpaham Translation Who is there, desiring deliverance from the vices of the age of quarrel, who is not willing to hear the virtuous glories of the Lord?

yat-pāda-saṁśrayāḥ sūta munayaḥ praśamāyanāḥ sadyaḥ punanty upaspṛṣṭāḥ svardhuny-āpo ’nusevayā Translation O Sūta, those great sages who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord can at once sanctify those who come in touch with them, whereas the waters of the Ganges can sanctify only after prolonged use.

tan naḥ śuśrūṣamāṇānām arhasy aṅgānuvarṇitum yasyāvatāro bhūtānāṁ kṣemāya ca bhavāya ca Translation O Sūta Gosvāmī, we are eager to learn about the Personality of Godhead and His incarnations. Please explain to us those teachings imparted by previous masters [ācāryas], for one is uplifted both by speaking them and by hearing them.

sūta jānāsi bhadraṁ te bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ devakyāṁ vasudevasya jāto yasya cikīrṣayā Translation All blessings upon you, O Sūta Gosvāmī. You know for what purpose the Personality of Godhead appeared in the womb of Devakī as the son of Vasudeva.

sūta jānāsi bhadraṁ te bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ devakyāṁ vasudevasya jāto yasya cikīrṣayā Translation All blessings upon you, O Sūta Gosvāmī. You know for what purpose the Personality of Godhead appeared in the womb of Devakī as the son of Vasudeva.

prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ Translation O learned one, in this iron Age of Kali men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.

tatra tatrāñjasāyuṣman bhavatā yad viniścitam puṁsām ekāntataḥ śreyas tan naḥ śaṁsitum arhasi Translation Please, therefore, being blessed with many years, explain to us, in an easily understandable way, what you have ascertained to be the absolute and ultimate good for the people in general.

tatra tatrāñjasāyuṣman bhavatā yad viniścitam puṁsām ekāntataḥ śreyas tan naḥ śaṁsitum arhasi Translation Please, therefore, being blessed with many years, explain to us, in an easily understandable way, what you have ascertained to be the absolute and ultimate good for the people in general.

vettha tvaṁ saumyatat sarvaṁ tattvatas tad-anugrahāt brūyuḥ snigdhasya śiṣyasya guravo guhyam apy uta Translation And because you are submissive, your spiritual masters have endowed you with all the favors bestowed upon a gentle disciple. Therefore you can tell us all that you have scientifically learned from them.

yāni veda-vidāṁ śreṣṭho' bhagavān bādarāyaṇaḥ anye ca munayaḥ sūta parāvara-vido viduḥ Being the eldest learned Vedāntist, O Sūta Gosvāmī, you are acquainted with the knowledge of Vyāsadeva, who is the incarnation of Godhead, and you also know other sages who are fully versed in all kinds of physical and metaphysical knowledge.

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ: tvayā khalu purāṇāni setihāsāni cānagha ākhyātāny apy adhītāni dharma-śāstrāṇi yāny uta Translation The sages said: Respected Sūta Gosvāmī, you are completely free from all vice. You are well versed in all the scriptures famous for religious life, and in the Purāṇas and the histories as well, for you have gone through them under proper guidance and have also explained them.

ta ekadā tu munayaḥ prātar huta-hutāgnayaḥ sat-kṛtaṁ sūtam āsīnaṁ papracchur idam ādarāt Translation One day, after finishing their morning duties by burning a sacrificial fire and offering a seat of esteem to Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī, the great sages made inquiries, with great respect, about the following matters.

naimiṣe ’nimiṣa-kṣetre ṛṣayaḥ śaunakādayaḥ satraṁ svargāya lokāya sahasra-samam āsata Translation Once, in a holy place in the forest of Naimiṣāraṇya, great sages headed by the sage Śaunaka assembled to perform a great thousand-year sacrifice for the satisfaction of the Lord and His devotees.

naimiṣe ’nimiṣa-kṣetre ṛṣayaḥ śaunakādayaḥ satraṁ svargāya lokāya sahasra-samam āsata Translation Once, in a holy place in the forest of Naimiṣāraṇya, great sages headed by the sage Śaunaka assembled to perform a great thousand-year sacrifice for the satisfaction of the Lord and His devotees.

dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte kiṁ vā parair īśvaraḥ sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate ’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt Translation Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those...

CHAPTER ONE Questions by the Sages Text 1 Translation O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all man...