English Padmapuran-4

Glorification of Gita Chapter IV

Saint Bharata & two girls

(Chapter 178, Padma Purana, Part-VIII)

 The lord said:
Now I shall tell (you) the greatness of the fourth (chapter) also. Listen (to it), due to which the two girls, giving up their condition as badari trees, went to heaven. (1)

 Laksmi said:
How did the two girls, giving up their state of being the badari trees, go to heaven? O god, who were they formerly? How did they attain prominence? I desire to hear this. O lord, please tell it. Hearing this great story I am not satisfied. (2-3)

 The lord said:
On the bank of the Bhagirathi there was a city (named) Varanasi. A saint named Bharata lived there in the temple of Visvesvara. Always absorbed in the soul, he muttered the fourth chapter carefully. Due to that study, the good one was not overcome by couples (of opposite qualities). Some time, he, sporting, went out of the city. The ascetic saw gods who were nearby. Using one as a pillow and resting on the other with his foot, he took rest at the root of the two badari trees from which fruits fell. When the ascetic went from there, the couple of the badari trees became dry, leafless and branchless within five or six days. The two (trees) then were born somewhere in the house of brahmanas. The pair, growing for seven years, (while) sporting saw an ascetic who had come from distant regions. Seizing his feet, they spoke words that were true and pleasant. "O sage, due to your favour only we two were liberated. Abandoning our condition as badari trees, we have obtained human birth." The sage, thus addressed by them, having forgotten (what he had done) replied: "O girls, when, and for what reason, were you liberated by me? I do not know the cause of your being reduced to the condition of badari (trees). (Please) tell it." The two girls told him the cause of their being the badari trees, and also of their liberation from that condition, difficult to give up. "On the bank of Godavari there is a holy place giving religious merit to men. It is known as Chinnapapa and had reached great excellence. There (a man) named Satyatapas practised a very severe penance. In the severe summer he remained in the midst of blazing fires. In the rainy season his hair was continuously sprinkled with showers; in winter he remained in water having his body horripilated. The restrained one, always pure and practising penance in (every) season, deriving great joy, fixed his mind on the (highest) soul only. He bore great love for trees always bearing fruit and having thick shadows, and for beings free from jealousy. Even Brahma himself everyday enquiring of him who was endowed with wisdom while aiming at the fruit of the penance, remained by his side. Due to lack of fear, that penance of him expressed in meditation upon Brahman who everyday approached him, increased. Then Indra, thinking that he was almost unseated from his prosperous position, and being afraid, put in a hundred obstacles. Calling us two, equal (to each other) from among the celestial nymphs, he ordered : (4-22)

 'Create an obstacle in the penance practised by this one who, displacing me from my position, desires to enjoy (my) kingdom.' Having received this message, we two went from the presence of Indra to Godavari where the sage stayed. Along with slender-bodied women, sweet and indistinct music was commenced there with deep-sounding tabors and sweet-sounding lutes. We had large buttocks, stout and large breasts, lotus-like smiling faces, and a little curly hair, shoulders on which jewelled rings were seen, eyes bright like lotuses. Our waists were slim, we had round thighs, our steps were even. Following tunes, rhythm and time, we danced; we showed our full gait conforming to the emotion. When we two danced the circle of the quarters (i.e. all the quarters) roared after first mildly starting and then increasing (the sound). Then due to the speed of the movement of our bodies there was a fragrant and very cold breeze. With the ends of our upper garments slightly blown, we manifested our breasts. Our excessive movement intensified (the passion of) love. It produced anger in the sage whose mind was unchanged. Then throwing water with his hand, he angrily cursed us: 'On the bank of Ganga turn into badari-trees.' (We), being polite (said to him) : 'Due to our being dependent, we acted badly. Pardon us for that behaviour.' (Thus) the sage was later propitiated. Then he, of a pious mind, brought about (our) freedom from the curse. The sage (said): 'It would last till the arrival of Bharata. You will be born among the mortals, and will have the recollection of former existences; on his having come near you, and on his remembering the fourth chapter (of the Gita), you shall have acquittal.' We salute you, not only because you freed us from the curse but also from this dreadful worldly existence." (23-37)

 The lord said:
The sage thus addressed and honoured by them was pleased, and went as he had come. The two girls would always recite the fourth chapter. (38)
---xxx---
SUMMARY

 Lord Vishnu then described the glories of the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. He told of a saint named Bharata, who lived on the bank of the Ganges. There the devoted Bharata daily recited the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita.

 Once, Bharata went on pilgrimage to the town of Tapodhana and saw a Deity of Lord Krishna. On his way home he rested beneath two fruit trees, using the root of one as a pillow and the root of the other as a foot-rest. There, as usual, he recited the fourth chapter. When Bharata left that place, both trees dried up and died. The two souls living in those trees took their next births as daughters of a pious brahmana.

 When the girls reached seven years of age, they went on pilgrimage and happened to meet the great sage Bharata. Upon seeing him, they fell at his feet and said in sweet words, “O Maharaja Bharata, by your mercy we were freed from the forms of trees.” Bharata heard this with surprise. Then the girls narrated their story to Bharata.

 “Dear Maharaja Bharata, in a previous life we were apsaras, heavenly nymphs. Once, we were ordered by King Indra to cause the falldown of the sage Satya-tapa, who was performing difficult austerities on the bank of the river Godavari. Satya-tapa had complete control over his senses and had become so advanced in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead that Brahma the creator of the universe, daily visited him to inquire from him about devotional service.

 But Indra was displeased to see Satyatapa’s purity and elevation. Indra worried that this powerful sage would one day want to usurp the position of king of heaven. To prevent this, Indra sent us to the bank of the Godavari. There we danced provocatively to sexually agitate the sage and seduce him and Satya-tapa cursed us, saying, ‘You both go and become fruit trees on the bank of the river Ganga.

 Upon hearing his curse, we fell at his feet and begged forgiveness, for we had acted merely as Indra’s servants. When Satyatapa saw our repentant attitude, he became pleased and told us we would live as trees only until Maharaja Bharata came in contact with us. He also blessed us that we would be able to remember our previous lives.”

 Reminding Bharata that he had rested between two fruit trees, the two girls said they had heard his recitation of the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, After being freed from that form of life, they said, they had been born in a family of devotees. Since then they had lost all desire to enjoy this world. They had carefully been reciting the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita daily and thus had attained devotion to the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu.


_____________________________________________

 Online Sources:
1a) Padma Purana, Uttarkhandam : West Bengal Public Library Network
1b) Padma Purana, Uttarkhandam : Digital Library of India
1c) Padma Purana, Uttarkhandam : Derived from 1a,b

Hard Copy Source: (scanned "PDF"s from Online Source#1a,b)
"The Padma-Purana (English)" by Veda Vyasa, 1954 & 1956. Translated by Sri N.A. Deshpande, Indian Translation Series of the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, jointly sponsored by UNESCO & Government of India. Part VIII & IX, First Edition. 2906-2970p. Published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt.Ltd., Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-1110007. Printed by Jainendra Prakash Jain at Jainendra Press, A-45 Naraina Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi-110028.

Online References:
संस्कृत श्लोक - Sanskrit Padmapuran-4

বাংলা অনুবাদ - Bengali Padmapuran-4
_____________________________________________
Typed, OCR-ed, edited and uploaded by rk

Acknowledges Keshav Srinivasan for citing the Online Sources#1a,b of Padma Purana.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)