Chapter 9 – Brahmā’s Prayer and Śrī Viṣṇu’s Boon
Brahmā said:
1.) Oh Lord! It is after a penance for a very long time that you have been (luckily) realized by me today. It is indeed the defect of beings conditioned by the body that your real essential nature is not understood by them. Nothing other than you, exists. (Anything else that appears to be) is not pure (is false) because it is you who appear to be many due to the intermixture of the guṇas of Māyā.
2.) The light of wisdom, which is synonymous with joy, being ever manifest in You, the darkness of ignorance can never approach You. This form, which is the seed of hundreds of forthcoming Avataras, and from the lotus sprung from whose navel I have emanated, has been assumed by You for the first time just in order to show Your grace to the worshippers.
3.) I do not regard Your essence, which is purely blissful and undifferentiated and of the nature of unobscured effulgence, as something other than this form of Yours, O Supreme Spirit. That is why I have taken refuge in this very form, which, though creating the universe, is yet beyond the universe and is the source of all the five elements and the ten Indriyas.
4.) It is for the good of Your worshipper in me, O source of blessings to the world, that You have revealed this form of Yours to me. I make obeisance again and again to You, who are disregarded only by people that are addicted to the pleasures of sense and thus deserve a place in hell.
5.) Oh Lord, you do not go away from the lotus-like hearts of your men (devotees) who enjoy by the passage of their ears the fragrance of your lotus-like feet which is carried (to them) by wind (in the form) of the Vedas and who clasped your feet with intense (and unswerving) devotion.
6.) So long as the people do not resort to your feet which offer freedom from fear of saṃsāra, they face the fear pertaining to wealth, house and friends (and caused by) sorrow, desire, dishonour, covetousness and false sense of attachment to possessions (lit. ‘this is mine’) which is the cause of sorrow.
7.) Programmes connected with You (such as the hearing and chanting of Your praises etc.) destroy all evil. They have, therefore, been robbed of their wits by (an unpropitious) fate, who, having withdrawn their senses from such a programme, remain constantly engaged in sinful pursuits, their mind possessed with covetousness for the most trivial pleasures of sense, and feeling miserable on that account.
8.) Oh Acyuta, Lord of wide strides (as Trivikrama), my heart is deeply pained to see these (people) constantly afflicted by hunger, thirst and the disturbance of three bodily humours (viz. kapha, pitta and vāta), by heat and cold, by wind and rain and by other (ādhibhautika) factors and by unbearable fire of desires and anger.
9.) So long as a man, O Lord, continues to regard himself as apart from (other than) the Lord (Yourself) on account of Your Māyā (which stands between You and him) in the shape of the senses and their objects, the cycle of birth and death will not cease for him. Though this cycle has no reality, it is a perennial source of sorrows; for through this a man reaps the fruit of his actions.
10.) Oh God, even sages revolve in the course of worldly existence (saṃsāra) in this world, if they are averse to eulogizing your deeds (and such forms of devotion). They who by day, have their senses absorbed in doing actions (for getting worldly objects), and go to sleep with minds full of different desires, get their sleep disturbed every moment, and their endeavours after their objects are frustrated by Fate.
11.) Oh Lord, you, path to whom is perceived by the (type of devotion called) śravaṇa (listening to the glories of the Lord), really dwell in the lotus-like hearts of men (devotees) purified by Bhakti-yoga. Oh Lord of unbounded glory, in order to confer your grace on the devotees, you manifest yourself in whatever form they meditate upon you.
12.) One (without a second), You are the disinterested friend, nay, the very inner Self of all beings seated in their very heart. That is why You are not pleased so much when worshipped by the gods with some deep-rooted desire in their heart, though through abundant materials, as through compassion towards all beings, a virtue which cannot be acquired by the wicked.
13.) The righteous acts which are offered to you never perish. Hence your propitiation, Oh Lord, is the best fruit of all religious acts, such as various righteous deeds, performance of sacrifices, religious gifts, austere penance and observance of religious vows.
14.) Salutations to (you) the Supreme Lord, who are eternally free from the illusion of difference, by your own essential light of intelligence, and whose vidyā-śakti is knowledge itself. We offer our homage to you, the controller (of the universe), whose sports and diversion are the Māyā, the cause of the origin, sustenance and destruction of the universe.
15.) I resort to that unborn Being by uttering whose names signifying his incarnations (e.g. Devakī-nandana—‘Devaki’s son’), his attributes (e.g. sarvajña ‘Omniscient’), deeds (eg. kaṃsāri ‘Enemy or killer of Kaṃsa) (even) in an unconscious stage, at the time of death, people at once become free from the sins of many births, and attain to Brahma uncovered by (the veil of) Māyā.
16.) Salutations to the Lord who is the universe-Tree which is the only one, but has three feet (branches) viz. Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, each of which has numerous branches (e.g. the seven sages etc.)—the tree which has its roots in the Supreme Soul and has differentiated itself by three attributes (guṇas under the names of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra) who are the cause of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe.
17.) Your worship has been declared by Yourself as a man’s duty yielding happy results. But neglecting this duty, man remains (mostly) engaged in prohibited acts. Time, however, which is most powerful and vigilant too, cuts off in a moment his hope of survival. As a matter of fact, it is You who appear in the form of Time; my obeisance is, therefore, due to You.
18.) Even I, who preside over the Satyaloka (the highest heaven), that endures for two Parārdhas (the allotted span of Brahmā’s life) and is adored by all the other spheres, am afraid of Time. It was with the object of attaining You (and thus securing immunity from the ravages of Time) that I practised austere penance for many years. My obeisance to You, who preside over all sacrifices.
19.) Salutations to Lord Puruṣottama who, with a view to observing the laws ordained by him, assumed of his own accord the bodies (avatāras or incarnations) in the various forms of living beings, such as sub-human beings (e.g. birds, beasts), human beings, gods etc. and enjoyed himself, though he is (absolutely) unattached to worldly pleasures.
20.) Though untainted by Avidyā (nescience) which appears in five forms (viz., Avidyā or fundamental ignorance, Asmitā or egotism, Rāga or attraction, Dweṣa or aversion and Abhiniveśa or the fear of death), You have enjoyed sleep in the midst of water tossed by fearful waves, a sleep which has proved delightful to You on account of the (soft) touch of the serpent (Lord Śeṣa), who serves as a bed for You, having deposited all the worlds in Your belly, thereby illustrating the relief which a person enjoys during sleep (or allowing a respite to the Jīvas from ceaseless exertion during successive births for a whole Kalpa (consisting of 4,32,00,00,000 human years).
21.) It is from the lotus sprung from Your navel, O praiseworthy Lord, that I have emerged, and it is by Your grace that I have secured this opportunity of serving the three worlds by creating them. You kept the universe (as a safe deposit) in Your belly for such a long time (a whole Kalpa) and Your lotus eyes have just opened, indicating thereby that Your sleep in the form of abstract meditation (Yoga Nidrā) has come to an end. I, therefore, make obeisance to You.
22.) You are the sole well-wisher and friend, nay, the very Self (Inner Controller) of all animate and inanimate beings and the lover of the suppliant. Therefore, pray, endow my vision (understanding) with the same wisdom and supernatural power by which You delight the universe, so that I may be able to create this universe as it existed in the preceding Kalpa.
23.) You grant the wishes of those who take refuge in You. Therefore, when I proceed to create the universe, which will be nothing but an exhibition of Your own creative power, be pleased to fill my mind with (the thought of) each and every exploit You may perform in course of the descents You take along with Your own divine Energy, Goddess Ramā, manifesting many a divine virtue, so that I may remain untainted by the impurities (in the shape of egotism etc.) attaching to the work of creation.
24.) I am the deity presiding over the Mahat-tattva, which represents Your power of understanding, one of the innumerable powers possessed by You, and sprang from the pool of Your navel even while You, the Supreme Person, slept on these waters. Therefore, as I proceed to bring to light the wonderful creation, which will be Your own manifestation, let not my utterance of the Vedic words fail.
25.) You are the most ancient Person possessing infinite grace. Be pleased, O Lord, to open Your lotus eyes with a smile expressive of abundant love; and, rising (from Your bed in the shape of the serpent-god) for the creation of the universe, dispel my despondency by Your mellifluous speech.
Maitreya said:
26.) Thus having seen his own creator by his power of penance, knowledge and meditation, and having praised him to the best of the abilities of his mind and speech, the god Brahmā remained silent as if exhausted.
27-28.) Then noting the difficulty of Brahmā who got nervous at (the lack of) his knowledge regarding (prospective) construction of the universe, and whose mind was dejected at the sight of the tumultuous deluvian waters (which had submerged the universe), Madhusūdana (Śrī Viṣṇu) spoke to him in deep emphatic voice, as if to remove his dejection (faint-heartedness).
Śrī Bhagavān said:
29.) Do not fall prey to lassitude (born of despair), O Brahmā (repository of the Vedas); exert yourself for creation. I have already arranged what you ask of Me.
30.) Oh Brahmā, perform penance (tapas) again and offer worship through Mantras sacred to Me (Bhakti). You will find in your heart, the unfolding of (the plan of the creation of) the worlds, by both of these (tapas and Bhakti).
31.) Then, full of devotion and concentrated in mind, O Brahmā, you will find Me pervading yourself as well as the whole universe, and will see the worlds as well as the Jīvas (embodied souls) resting in Me.
32.) The very moment a person finds Me present in all beings as fire in every piece of wood, he is rid of all infatuation.
33.) When a person sees that his Self is free from bhūtas (elements), indriyas (sense-organs), guṇas (attributes) and antaḥkaraṇa (the mind), and is essentially one with me, he attains identification with Brahma.
34.) Even though you desire to evolve innumerable creatures according to the stock of their past Karma, your mind does not feel perplexed in regard to this matter; that is because you have My grace in abundance.
35.) The wicked Rajoguṇa (the principle of activity) will not bind you, the first seer, since your mind will remain attached to Me even while you are occupied with the work of evolving the creation.
36.) Today you have come to know Me, even though living beings find it difficult to know Me; for you regard Me as free from the five elements, the Indriyas, the Guṇas and the inner sense.
37.) Doubting My existence, when you proceeded to look out for the base of the lotus under water along its stalk, I revealed to you My being in your own very heart.
38.) That you have offered Me praises interspersed with the glory of My stories or that you have developed faith in austere penance, dear Brahmā, all this is due to My grace.
39.) May success attend you! I am pleased with you since you have extolled Me in your eagerness to create the worlds, describing Me as destitute of the Guṇas (modes of Prakṛti), even though I appear as endowed with such Guṇas.
40.) I, the Bestower of all desired objects and blessings, shall be quickly and immensely pleased with the person who offers worship to Me everyday, extolling Me through this hymn of praise (which you have composed).
41.) The knowers of Truth are of the opinion that My pleasure alone is the highest good to be attained by men through acts of public welfare (works performed for the benefit of others), austere penance, sacrificial performances, charitable gifts, practice of Yoga (control of mind) and abstract meditation.
Special Note – In the above verse public welfare is the translation of the sanskrit word “Pūrta”, which refers to charitable and public welfare works performed for the benefit of others. Some examples of it include:
- Digging wells, tanks, and ponds.
- Building temples, monasteries, and public roads.
- Planting trees.
- Providing food and shelter (like feeding sages, or setting up rest houses for ascetics).
42.) O Brahmā, I am the Self of all embodied souls, and the dearest of all dear ones. Therefore, a person should bestow his love on Me alone; for the body and other things are dear only on My account.
43.) Now evolve the three worlds as well as the beings who are lying hidden in Me even as in the Kalpa preceding the period of universal dissolution by means of your own personality, that has emanated from Me, and which is an embodiment of all the Vedas.
Maitreya said:
44.) Having explained this (the process of creating the universe) to the creator of the world (Brahmā), the Controller of Prakṛti and Puruṣa, with lotus-like navel disappeared in his own form (which is known by the name, Nārāyaṇa).
Thus ends the ninth discourse entitled “Brahmā’s Prayer and Śrī Viṣṇu’s Boon”, in Book Three of the great and glorious Bhāgavata Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahaṁsa-Saṁhitā (the book of the God-realized Souls).
