sūta uvāca yo vai drauṇy-astra-vipluṣṭo na mātur udare mṛtaḥ anugrahād bhagavataḥ kṛṣṇasyādbhuta-karmaṇaḥ
Universal Translation
Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: Due to the mercy of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who acts wonderfully, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, though struck by the weapon of the son of Droṇa in his mother’s womb, could not be burned.
brahma-kopotthitād yas tu takṣakāt prāṇa-viplavāt na sammumohorubhayād bhagavaty arpitāśayaḥ
Universal Translation
Furthermore, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was always consciously surrendered to the Personality of Godhead, and therefore he was neither afraid nor overwhelmed by fear due to a snake-bird which was to bite him because of the fury of a brāhmaṇa boy.
utsṛjya sarvataḥ saṅgaṁ vijñātājita-saṁsthitiḥ vaiyāsaker jahau śiṣyo gaṅgāyāṁ svaṁ kalevaram
Universal Translation
Furthermore, after leaving all his associates, the King surrendered himself as a disciple to the son of Vyāsa [Śukadeva Gosvāmī], and thus he was able to understand the actual position of the Personality of Godhead, and at last gave up his material body on the bank of the Ganges.
nottamaśloka-vārtānāṁ juṣatāṁ tat-kathāmṛtam syāt sambhramo ’nta-kāle ’pi smaratāṁ tat-padāmbujam
Universal Translation
This was so because those who have dedicated their lives to the transcendental topics of the Personality of Godhead, of whom the Vedic hymns sing, and who are constantly engaged in remembering the lotus feet of the Lord, do not run the risk of having misconceptions even at the last moment of their lives.
tāvat kalir na prabhavet praviṣṭo ’pīha sarvataḥ yāvad īśo mahān urvyām ābhimanyava eka-rāṭ
Universal Translation
As long as the great, powerful son of Abhimanyu remains the Emperor of the world, there is no chance that the personality of Kali will flourish.
yasminn ahani yarhy eva bhagavān utsasarja gām tadaivehānuvṛtto ’sāv adharma-prabhavaḥ kaliḥ
Universal Translation
The very day and moment the Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, left this earth, the personality of Kali, who promotes all kinds of irreligious activities, came into this world.
nānudveṣṭi kaliṁ samrāṭ sāraṅga iva sāra-bhuk kuśalāny āśu siddhyanti netarāṇi kṛtāni yat
Universal Translation
Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a realist, like the bees who only accept the essence [of a flower]. He knew perfectly well that in this Age of Kali, auspicious things produce good effects immediately, whereas inauspicious acts must be actually performed [to render effects]. So he was never envious of the personality of Kali.
kiṁ nu bāleṣu śūreṇa kalinā dhīra-bhīruṇā apramattaḥ pramatteṣu yo vṛko nṛṣu vartate
Universal Translation
Mahārāja Parīkṣit considered that less intelligent men might find the personality of Kali to be very powerful, but that those who are self-controlled would have nothing to fear. The King was powerful like a tiger and took care for the foolish, careless persons.
upavarṇitam etad vaḥ puṇyaṁ pārīkṣitaṁ mayā vāsudeva-kathopetam ākhyānaṁ yad apṛcchata
Universal Translation
O sages, as you did ask me, now I have described almost everything regarding the narrations about Lord Kṛṣṇa in connection with the history of the pious Mahārāja Parīkṣit.
yā yāḥ kathā bhagavataḥ kathanīyoru-karmaṇaḥ guṇa-karmāśrayāḥ pumbhiḥ saṁsevyās tā bubhūṣubhiḥ
Universal Translation
Those who are desirous of achieving complete perfection in life must submissively hear all topics that are connected with the transcendental activities and qualities of the Personality of Godhead, who acts wonderfully.
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ sūta jīva samāḥ saumya śāśvatīr viśadaṁ yaśaḥ yas tvaṁ śaṁsasi kṛṣṇasya martyānām amṛtaṁ hi naḥ
Universal Translation
The good sages said: O grave Sūta Gosvāmī! May you live many years and have eternal fame, for you are speaking very nicely about the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. This is just like nectar for mortal beings like us.
karmaṇy asminn anāśvāse dhūma-dhūmrātmanāṁ bhavān āpāyayati govinda- pāda-padmāsavaṁ madhu
Universal Translation
We have just begun the performance of this fruitive activity, a sacrificial fire, without certainty of its result due to the many imperfections in our action. Our bodies have become black from the smoke, but we are factually pleased by the nectar of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, Govinda, which you are distributing.
tulayāma lavenāpi na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya martyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ
Universal Translation
The value of a moment’s association with the devotee of the Lord cannot even be compared to the attainment of heavenly planets or liberation from matter, and what to speak of worldly benedictions in the form of material prosperity, which are for those who are meant for death.
ko nāma tṛpyed rasavit kathāyāṁ mahattamaikānta-parāyaṇasya nāntaṁ guṇānām aguṇasya jagmur yogeśvarā ye bhava-pādma-mukhyāḥ
Universal Translation
The Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa [Govinda], is the exclusive shelter for all great living beings, and His transcendental attributes cannot even be measured by such masters of mystic powers as Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. Can anyone who is expert in relishing nectar [rasa] ever be fully satiated by hearing topics about Him?
tan no bhavān vai bhagavat-pradhāno mahattamaikānta-parāyaṇasya harer udāraṁ caritaṁ viśuddhaṁ śuśrūṣatāṁ no vitanotu vidvan
Universal Translation
O Sūta Gosvāmī, you are a learned and pure devotee of the Lord because the Personality of Godhead is your chief object of service. Therefore please describe to us the pastimes of the Lord, which are above all material conception, for we are anxious to receive such messages.
sa vai mahā-bhāgavataḥ parīkṣid yenāpavargākhyam adabhra-buddhiḥ jñānena vaiyāsaki-śabditena bheje khagendra-dhvaja-pāda-mūlam
Universal Translation
O Sūta Gosvāmī, please describe those topics of the Lord by which Mahārāja Parīkṣit, whose intelligence was fixed on liberation, attained the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of Garuḍa, the king of birds. Those topics were vibrated by the son of Vyāsa [Śrīla Śukadeva].
tan naḥ paraṁ puṇyam asaṁvṛtārtham ākhyānam atyadbhuta-yoga-niṣṭham ākhyāhy anantācaritopapannaṁ pārīkṣitaṁ bhāgavatābhirāmam
Universal Translation
Thus please narrate to us the narrations of the Unlimited, for they are purifying and supreme. They were spoken to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, and they are very dear to the pure devotees, being full of bhakti-yoga.
sūta uvāca aho vayaṁ janma-bhṛto ’dya hāsma vṛddhānuvṛttyāpi viloma-jātāḥ dauṣkulyam ādhiṁ vidhunoti śīghraṁ mahattamānām abhidhāna-yogaḥ
Universal Translation
Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: O God, although we are born in a mixed caste, we are still promoted in birthright simply by serving and following the great who are advanced in knowledge. Even by conversing with such great souls, one can without delay cleanse oneself of all disqualifications resulting from lower births.
kutaḥ punar gṛṇato nāma tasya mahattamaikānta-parāyaṇasya yo ’nanta-śaktir bhagavān ananto mahad-guṇatvād yam anantam āhuḥ
Universal Translation
And what to speak of those who are under the direction of the great devotees, chanting the holy name of the Unlimited, who has unlimited potency? The Personality of Godhead, unlimited in potency and transcendental by attributes, is called Ananta [Unlimited].
etāvatālaṁ nanu sūcitena guṇair asāmyānatiśāyanasya hitvetarān prārthayato vibhūtir yasyāṅghri-reṇuṁ juṣate ’nabhīpsoḥ
Universal Translation
It is now ascertained that He [the Personality of Godhead] is unlimited and there is none equal to Him. Consequently no one can speak of Him adequately. Great demigods cannot obtain the favor of the goddess of fortune even by prayers, but this very goddess renders service unto the Lord, although He is unwilling to have such service.
athāpi yat-pāda-nakhāvasṛṣṭaṁ jagad viriñcopahṛtārhaṇāmbhaḥ seśaṁ punāty anyatamo mukundāt ko nāma loke bhagavat-padārthaḥ
Universal Translation
Who can be worthy of the name of the Supreme Lord but the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa? Brahmājī collected the water emanating from the nails of His feet in order to award it to Lord Śiva as a worshipful welcome. This very water [the Ganges] is purifying the whole universe, including Lord Śiva.
yatrānuraktāḥ sahasaiva dhīrā vyapohya dehādiṣu saṅgam ūḍham vrajanti tat pārama-haṁsyam antyaṁ yasminn ahiṁsopaśamaḥ sva-dharmaḥ
Universal Translation
Self-controlled persons who are attached to the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa can all of a sudden give up the world of material attachment, including the gross body and subtle mind, and go away to attain the highest perfection of the renounced order of life, by which nonviolence and renunciation are consequential.
ahaṁ hi pṛṣṭo ’ryamaṇo bhavadbhir ācakṣa ātmāvagamo ’tra yāvān nabhaḥ patanty ātma-samaṁ patattriṇas tathā samaṁ viṣṇu-gatiṁ vipaścitaḥ
Universal Translation
O ṛṣis, who are as powerfully pure as the sun, I shall try to describe to you the transcendental pastimes of Viṣṇu as far as my knowledge is concerned. As the birds fly in the sky as far as their capacity allows, so do the learned devotees describe the Lord as far as their realization allows.
pratiruddhendriya-prāṇa- mano-buddhim upāratam sthāna-trayāt paraṁ prāptaṁ brahma-bhūtam avikriyam
Universal Translation
The muni’s sense organs, breath, mind and intelligence were all restrained from material activities, and he was situated in a trance apart from the three [wakefulness, dream and unconsciousness], having achieved a transcendental position qualitatively equal with the Supreme Absolute.
viprakīrṇa-jaṭācchannaṁ rauraveṇājinena ca viśuṣyat-tālur udakaṁ tathā-bhūtam ayācata
Universal Translation
The sage, in meditation, was covered by the skin of a stag, and long, compressed hair was scattered all over him. The King, whose palate was dry from thirst, asked him for water.
alabdha-tṛṇa-bhūmy-ādir asamprāptārghya-sūnṛtaḥ avajñātam ivātmānaṁ manyamānaś cukopa ha
Universal Translation
The King, not received by any formal welcome by means of being offered a seat, place, water and sweet addresses, considered himself neglected, and so thinking he became angry.
abhūta-pūrvaḥ sahasā kṣut-tṛḍbhyām arditātmanaḥ brāhmaṇaṁ praty abhūd brahman matsaro manyur eva ca
Universal Translation
O brāhmaṇas, the circumstances having distressed him with extreme hunger and thirst, the King directed toward the sage his anger and envy, which he had never before directed toward a brāhmaṇa.
sa tu brahma-ṛṣer aṁse gatāsum uragaṁ ruṣā vinirgacchan dhanuṣ-koṭyā nidhāya puram āgataḥ
Universal Translation
While leaving, the King, being so insulted, picked up a lifeless snake with his bow and angrily placed it on the shoulder of the sage. Then he returned to his palace.
eṣa kiṁ nibhṛtāśeṣa- karaṇo mīlitekṣaṇaḥ mṛṣā-samādhir āhosvit kiṁ nu syāt kṣatra-bandhubhiḥ
Universal Translation
Upon returning, he began to contemplate and argue within himself whether the sage had actually been in meditation, with senses concentrated and eyes closed, or whether he had just been feigning trance just to avoid receiving a lower kṣatriya.
tasya putro ’titejasvī viharan bālako ’rbhakaiḥ rājñāghaṁ prāpitaṁ tātaṁ śrutvā tatredam abravīt
Universal Translation
The sage had a son who was very powerful, being a brāhmaṇa’s son. While he was playing with inexperienced boys, he heard of his father’s distress, which was occasioned by the King. Then and there the boy spoke as follows.
aho adharmaḥ pālānāṁ pīvnāṁ bali-bhujām iva svāminy aghaṁ yad dāsānāṁ dvāra-pānāṁ śunām iva
brāhmaṇaiḥ kṣatra-bandhur hi gṛha-pālo nirūpitaḥ sa kathaṁ tad-gṛhe dvāḥ-sthaḥ sabhāṇḍaṁ bhoktum arhati
Universal Translation
The descendants of the kingly orders are definitely designated as watchdogs, and they must keep themselves at the door. On what grounds can dogs enter the house and claim to dine with the master on the same plate?
kṛṣṇe gate bhagavati śāstary utpatha-gāminām tad bhinna-setūn adyāhaṁ śāsmi paśyata me balam
Universal Translation
After the departure of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead and supreme ruler of everyone, these upstarts have flourished, our protector being gone. Therefore I myself shall take up this matter and punish them. Just witness my power.
ity uktvā roṣa-tāmrākṣo vayasyān ṛṣi-bālakaḥ kauśiky-āpa upaspṛśya vāg-vajraṁ visasarja ha
Universal Translation
The son of the ṛṣi, his eyes red-hot with anger, touched the water of the River Kauśika while speaking to his playmates and discharged the following thunderbolt of words.
iti laṅghita-maryādaṁ takṣakaḥ saptame ’hani daṅkṣyati sma kulāṅgāraṁ codito me tata-druham
Universal Translation
The brāhmaṇa’s son cursed the King thus: On the seventh day from today a snake-bird will bite the most wretched one of that dynasty [Mahārāja Parīkṣit] because of his having broken the laws of etiquette by insulting my father.
tato ’bhyetyāśramaṁ bālo gale sarpa-kalevaram pitaraṁ vīkṣya duḥkhārto mukta-kaṇṭho ruroda ha
Universal Translation
Thereafter, when the boy returned to the hermitage, he saw a snake on his father’s shoulder, and out of his grief he cried very loudly.
sa vā āṅgiraso brahman śrutvā suta-vilāpanam unmīlya śanakair netre dṛṣṭvā cāṁse mṛtoragam
Universal Translation
O brāhmaṇas, the ṛṣi, who was born in the family of Aṅgirā Muni, hearing his son crying, gradually opened his eyes and saw the dead snake around his neck.
visṛjya taṁ ca papraccha vatsa kasmād dhi rodiṣi kena vā te ’pakṛtam ity uktaḥ sa nyavedayat
Universal Translation
He threw the dead snake aside and asked his son why he was crying, whether anyone had done him harm. On hearing this, the son explained to him what had happened.
niśamya śaptam atad-arhaṁ narendraṁ sa brāhmaṇo nātmajam abhyanandat aho batāṁho mahad adya te kṛtam alpīyasi droha urur damo dhṛtaḥ
Universal Translation
The father heard from his son that the King had been cursed, although he should never have been condemned, for he was the best amongst all human beings. The ṛṣi did not congratulate his son, but, on the contrary, began to repent, saying: Alas! What a great sinful act was performed by my son. He has awarded heavy punishment for an insignificant offense.
na vai nṛbhir nara-devaṁ parākhyaṁ sammātum arhasy avipakva-buddhe yat-tejasā durviṣaheṇa guptā vindanti bhadrāṇy akutobhayāḥ prajāḥ
Universal Translation
O my boy, your intelligence is immature, and therefore you have no knowledge that the king, who is the best amongst human beings, is as good as the Personality of Godhead. He is never to be placed on an equal footing with common men. The citizens of the state live in prosperity, being protected by his unsurpassable prowess.
alakṣyamāṇe nara-deva-nāmni rathāṅga-pāṇāv ayam aṅga lokaḥ tadā hi caura-pracuro vinaṅkṣyaty arakṣyamāṇo ’vivarūthavat kṣaṇāt
Universal Translation
My dear boy, the Lord, who carries the wheel of a chariot, is represented by the monarchical regime, and when this regime is abolished the whole world becomes filled with thieves, who then at once vanquish the unprotected subjects like scattered lambs.
tad adya naḥ pāpam upaity ananvayaṁ yan naṣṭa-nāthasya vasor vilumpakāt parasparaṁ ghnanti śapanti vṛñjate paśūn striyo ’rthān puru-dasyavo janāḥ
Universal Translation
Due to the termination of the monarchical regimes and the plundering of the people’s wealth by rogues and thieves, there will be great social disruptions. People will be killed and injured, and animals and women will be stolen. And for all these sins we shall be responsible.
tadārya-dharmaḥ pravilīyate nṛṇāṁ varṇāśramācāra-yutas trayīmayaḥ tato ’rtha-kāmābhiniveśitātmanāṁ śunāṁ kapīnām iva varṇa-saṅkaraḥ
Universal Translation
At that time the people in general will fall systematically from the path of a progressive civilization in respect to the qualitative engagements of the castes and the orders of society and the Vedic injunctions. Thus they will be more attracted to economic development for sense gratification, and as a result there will be an unwanted population on the level of dogs and monkeys.
dharma-pālo nara-patiḥ sa tu samrāḍ bṛhac-chravāḥ sākṣān mahā-bhāgavato rājarṣir haya-medhayāṭ kṣut-tṛṭ-śrama-yuto dīno naivāsmac chāpam arhati
Universal Translation
The Emperor Parīkṣit is a pious king. He is highly celebrated and is a first-class devotee of the Personality of Godhead. He is a saint amongst royalty, and he has performed many horse sacrifices. When such a king is tired and fatigued, being stricken with hunger and thirst, he does not at all deserve to be cursed.
apāpeṣu sva-bhṛtyeṣu bālenāpakva-buddhinā pāpaṁ kṛtaṁ tad bhagavān sarvātmā kṣantum arhati
Universal Translation
Then the ṛṣi prayed to the all-pervading Personality of Godhead to pardon his immature boy, who had no intelligence and who committed the great sin of cursing a person who was completely free from all sins, who was subordinate and who deserved to be protected.
tiraskṛtā vipralabdhāḥ śaptāḥ kṣiptā hatā api nāsya tat pratikurvanti tad-bhaktāḥ prabhavo ’pi hi
Universal Translation
The devotees of the Lord are so forbearing that even though they are defamed, cheated, cursed, disturbed, neglected or even killed, they are never inclined to avenge themselves.
iti putra-kṛtāghena so ’nutapto mahā-muniḥ svayaṁ viprakṛto rājñā naivāghaṁ tad acintayat
Universal Translation
The sage thus regretted the sin committed by his own son. He did not take the insult paid by the King very seriously.
prāyaśaḥ sādhavo loke parair dvandveṣu yojitāḥ na vyathanti na hṛṣyanti yata ātmā ’guṇāśrayaḥ
Universal Translation
Generally the transcendentalists, even though engaged by others in the dualities of the material world, are not distressed. Nor do they take pleasure [in worldly things], for they are transcendentally engaged.