Chapter Eight
The Sons of Sagara Meet Lord Kapiladeva
TEXT 7
so ’śvamedhair ayajata
sarva-veda-surātmakam
aurvopadiṣṭa-yogena
harim ātmānam īśvaram
tasyotsṛṣṭaṁ paśuṁ yajñe
jahārāśvaṁ purandaraḥ
SYNONYMS
saḥ—he, Mahārāja Sagara; aśvamedhaiḥ—by performing aśvamedha-yajñas; ayajata—worshiped; sarva-veda—of all Vedic knowledge; sura—and of all learned sages; ātmakam—the Supersoul; aurva-upadiṣṭa-yogena—by the mystic yoga practice advised by Aurva; harim—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ātmānam—unto the Supersoul; īśvaram—unto the supreme controller; tasya—of him (Sagara Mahārāja); utsṛṣṭam—which was meant for offering; paśum—the sacrificial animal; yajñe—in the sacrifice; jahāra—stole; aśvam—the horse; purandaraḥ—the King of heaven, Indra.
TRANSLATION
Following the instructions of the great sage Aurva, Sagara Mahārāja performed aśvamedha sacrifices and thus satisfied the Supreme Lord, who is the supreme controller, the Supersoul of all learned scholars, and the knower of all Vedic knowledge, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But Indra, the King of heaven, stole the horse meant to be offered at the sacrifice.
TEXT 8
sumatyās tanayā dṛptāḥ
pitur ādeśa-kāriṇaḥ
hayam anveṣamāṇās te
samantān nyakhanan mahīm
SYNONYMS
sumatyāḥ tanayāḥ—the sons born of Queen Sumati; dṛptāḥ—very proud of their prowess and influence; pituḥ—of their father (Mahārāja Sagara); ādeśa-kāriṇaḥ—following the order; hayam—the horse (stolen by Indra); anveṣamāṇāḥ—while seeking; te—all of them; samantāt—everywhere; nyakhanan—dug; mahīm—the earth.
TRANSLATION
[King Sagara had two wives, Sumati and Keśinī.] The sons of Sumati, who were very proud of their prowess and influence, following the order of their father, searched for the lost horse. While doing so, they dug into the earth very extensively.
TEXTS 9–10
prāg-udīcyāṁ diśi hayaṁ
dadṛśuḥ kapilāntike
eṣa vāji-haraś caura
āste mīlita-locanaḥ
hanyatāṁ hanyatāṁ pāpa
iti ṣaṣṭi-sahasriṇaḥ
udāyudhā abhiyayur
unmimeṣa tadā muniḥ
SYNONYMS
prāk-udīcyām—in the northeastern; diśi—direction; hayam—the horse; dadṛśuḥ—they saw; kapila-antike—near the āśrama of Kapila; eṣaḥ—here is; vāji-haraḥ—the horse thief; cauraḥ—the thief; āste—existing; mīlita-locanaḥ—with closed eyes; hanyatām hanyatām—kill him, kill him; pāpaḥ—a most sinful person; iti—in this way; ṣaṣṭi-sahasriṇaḥ—the sixty thousand sons of Sagara; udāyudhāḥ—raising their respective weapons; abhiyayuḥ—they approached; unmimeṣa—opened His eyes; tadā—at that time; muniḥ—Kapila Muni.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, in the northeastern direction, they saw the horse near the āśrama of Kapila Muni. “Here is the man who has stolen the horse,” they said. “He is staying there with closed eyes. Certainly he is very sinful. Kill him! Kill him!” Shouting like this, the sons of Sagara, sixty thousand all together, raised their weapons. When they approached the sage, the sage opened His eyes.
TEXT 11
sva-śarīrāgninā tāvan
mahendra-hṛta-cetasaḥ
mahad-vyatikrama-hatā
bhasmasād abhavan kṣaṇāt
SYNONYMS
sva-śarīra-agninā—by the fire emanating from their own bodies; tāvat—immediately; mahendra—by the tricks of Indra, the King of heaven; hṛta-cetasaḥ—their consciousness having been taken away; mahat—a great personality; vyatikrama-hatāḥ—defeated by the fault of insulting; bhasmasāt—turned to ashes; abhavan—became; kṣaṇāt—immediately.
TRANSLATION
By the influence of Indra, the King of heaven, the sons of Sagara had lost their intelligence and disrespected a great personality. Consequently, fire emanated from their own bodies, and they were immediately burned to ashes.
PURPORT
The material body is a combination of earth, water, fire, air and ether. There is already fire within the body, and our practical experience is that the heat of this fire sometimes increases and sometimes decreases. The fire within the bodies of the sons of Sagara Mahārāja became so much hotter that all of them burned to ashes. The fire’s increased heat was due to their misbehavior toward a great personality. Such misbehavior is called mahad-vyatikrama. They were killed by the fire of their own bodies because of insulting a great personality.
TEXT 12
na sādhu-vādo muni-kopa-bharjitā
nṛpendra-putrā iti sattva-dhāmani
kathaṁ tamo roṣamayaṁ vibhāvyate
jagat-pavitrātmani khe rajo bhuvaḥ
SYNONYMS
na—not; sādhu-vādaḥ—the opinion of learned persons; muni-kopa—by the anger of Kapila Muni; bharjitāḥ—were burned to ashes; nṛpendra-putrāḥ—all the sons of Sagara Mahārāja; iti—thus; sattva-dhāmani—in Kapila Muni, in whom the mode of goodness was predominant; katham—how; tamaḥ—the mode of ignorance; roṣa-mayam—manifested in the form of anger; vibhāvyate—can be manifested; jagat-pavitra-ātmani—in He whose body can purify the whole world; khe—in the sky; rajaḥ—dust; bhuvaḥ—earthly.
TRANSLATION
It is sometimes argued that the sons of King Sagara were burned to ashes by the fire emanating from the eyes of Kapila Muni. This statement, however, is not approved by great learned persons, for Kapila Muni’s body is completely in the mode of goodness and therefore cannot manifest the mode of ignorance in the form of anger, just as the pure sky cannot be polluted by the dust of the earth.
TEXT 13
yasyeritā sāṅkhyamayī dṛḍheha naur
yayā mumukṣus tarate duratyayam
bhavārṇavaṁ mṛtyu-pathaṁ vipaścitaḥ
parātma-bhūtasya kathaṁ pṛthaṅ-matiḥ
SYNONYMS
yasya—by whom; īritā—had been explained; sāṅkhya-mayī—having the form of the philosophy analyzing the material world (Sāṅkhya philosophy); dṛḍhā—very strong (to deliver people from this material world); iha—in this material world; nauḥ—a boat; yayā—by which; mumukṣuḥ—a person desiring to be liberated; tarate—can cross over; duratyayam—very difficult to cross; bhava-arṇavam—the ocean of nescience; mṛtyu-patham—a material life of repeated birth and death; vipaścitaḥ—of a learned person; parātma-bhūtasya—who has been elevated to the transcendental platform; katham—how; pṛthak-matiḥ—a sense of distinction (between enemy and friend).
TRANSLATION
Kapila Muni enunciated in this material world the Sāṅkhya philosophy, which is a strong boat with which to cross over the ocean of nescience. Indeed, a person eager to cross the ocean of the material world may take shelter of this philosophy. In such a greatly learned person, situated on the elevated platform of transcendence, how can there be any distinction between enemy and friend?
PURPORT
One who is promoted to the transcendental position (brahma-bhūta) is always jubilant (prasannātmā). He is unaffected by the false distinctions between good and bad in the material world. Therefore, such an exalted person is samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu; that is to say, he is equal toward everyone, not distinguishing between friend and enemy. Because he is on the absolute platform, free from material contamination, he is called parātma-bhūta or brahma-bhūta. Kapila Muni, therefore, was not at all angry at the sons of Sagara Mahārāja; rather, they were burnt to ashes by the heat of their own bodies.
TEXT 14
yo ’samañjasa ity uktaḥ
sa keśinyā nṛpātmajaḥ
tasya putro ’ṁśumān nāma
pitāmaha-hite rataḥ
SYNONYMS
yaḥ—one of the sons of Sagara Mahārāja; asamañjasaḥ—whose name was Asamañjasa; iti—as such; uktaḥ—known; saḥ—he; keśinyāḥ—in the womb of Keśinī, the other queen of Sagara Mahārāja; nṛpa-ātmajaḥ—the son of the King; tasya—of him (Asamañjasa); putraḥ—the son; aṁśumān nāma—was known as Aṁśumān; pitāmaha-hite—in doing good for his grandfather, Sagara Mahārāja; rataḥ—always engaged.
TRANSLATION
Among the sons of Sagara Mahārāja was one named Asamañjasa, who was born from the King’s second wife, Keśinī. The son of Asamañjasa was known as Aṁśumān, and he was always engaged in working for the good of Sagara Mahārāja, his grandfather.
TEXTS 15–16
asamañjasa ātmānaṁ
darśayann asamañjasam
jāti-smaraḥ purā saṅgād
yogī yogād vicālitaḥ
ācaran garhitaṁ loke
jñātīnāṁ karma vipriyam
sarayvāṁ krīḍato bālān
prāsyad udvejayañ janam
SYNONYMS
asamañjasaḥ—the son of Sagara Mahārāja; ātmānam—personally; darśayan—exhibiting; asamañjasam—very disturbing; jāti-smaraḥ—able to remember his past life; purā—formerly; saṅgāt—from bad association; yogī—although he was a great mystic yogī; yogāt—from the path of executing mystic yoga; vicālitaḥ—fell down; ācaran—behaving; garhitam—very badly; loke—in the society; jñātīnām—of his relatives; karma—activities; vipriyam—not very favorable; sarayvām—in the River Sarayū; krīḍataḥ—while engaged in sports; bālān—all the boys; prāsyat—would throw; udvejayan—giving trouble; janam—to people in general.
TRANSLATION
Formerly, in his previous birth, Asamañjasa had been a great mystic yogi, but by bad association he had fallen from his exalted position. Now, in this life, he was born in a royal family and was a jāti-smara; that is, he had the special advantage of being able to remember his past birth. Nonetheless, he wanted to display himself as a miscreant, and therefore he would do things that were abominable in the eyes of the public and unfavorable to his relatives. He would disturb the boys sporting in the River Sarayū by throwing them into the depths of the water.
TEXT 17
evaṁ vṛttaḥ parityaktaḥ
pitrā sneham apohya vai
yogaiśvaryeṇa bālāṁs tān
darśayitvā tato yayau
SYNONYMS
evam vṛttaḥ—thus engaged (in abominable activities); parityaktaḥ—condemned; pitrā—by his father; sneham—affection; apohya—giving up; vai—indeed; yoga-aiśvaryeṇa—by mystic power; bālān tān—all those boys (thrown in the water and killed); darśayitvā—after again showing them all to their parents; tataḥ yayau—he left that place.
TRANSLATION
Because Asamañjasa engaged in such abominable activities, his father gave up affection for him and had him exiled. Then Asamañjasa exhibited his mystic power by reviving the boys and showing them to the King and their parents. After this, Asamañjasa left Ayodhyā.
PURPORT
Asamañjasa was a jāti-smara; because of his mystic power, he did not forget his previous consciousness. Thus he could give life to the dead. By exhibiting wonderful activities in relation to the dead children, he certainly attracted the attention of the King and the people in general. Then he left that place immediately.
TEXT 18
ayodhyā-vāsinaḥ sarve
bālakān punar āgatān
dṛṣṭvā visismire rājan
rājā cāpy anvatapyata
SYNONYMS
ayodhyā-vāsinaḥ—the inhabitants of Ayodhyā; sarve—all of them; bālakān—their sons; punaḥ—again; āgatān—having come back to life; dṛṣṭvā—after seeing this; visismire—became astounded; rājan—O King Parīkṣit; rājā—King Sagara; ca—also; api—indeed; anvatapyata—very much lamented (the absence of his son).
TRANSLATION
O King Parīkṣit, when all the inhabitants of Ayodhyā saw that their boys had come back to life, they were astounded, and King Sagara greatly lamented the absence of his son.
TEXT 19
aṁśumāṁś codito rājñā
turagānveṣaṇe yayau
pitṛvya-khātānupathaṁ
bhasmānti dadṛśe hayam
SYNONYMS
aṁśumān—the son of Asamañjasa; coditaḥ—being ordered; rājñā—by the King; turaga—the horse; anveṣaṇe—to search for; yayau—went out; pitṛvya-khāta—as described by his father’s brothers; anupatham—following that path; bhasma-anti—near the stack of ashes; dadṛśe—he saw; hayam—the horse.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, Aṁśumān, the grandson of Mahārāja Sagara, was ordered by the King to search for the horse. Following the same path traversed by his uncles, Aṁśumān gradually reached the stack of ashes and found the horse nearby.
TEXT 20
tatrāsīnaṁ muniṁ vīkṣya
kapilākhyam adhokṣajam
astaut samāhita-manāḥ
prāñjaliḥ praṇato mahān
SYNONYMS
tatra—there; āsīnam—seated; munim—the great sage; vīkṣya—seeing; kapila-ākhyam—known as Kapila Muni; adhokṣajam—the incarnation of Viṣṇu; astaut—offered prayers; samāhita-manāḥ—with great attention; prāñjaliḥ—with folded hands; praṇataḥ—falling down, offered obeisances; mahān—Aṁśumān, the great personality.
TRANSLATION
The great Aṁśumān saw the sage named Kapila, the saint who is an incarnation of Viṣṇu, sitting there by the horse. Aṁśumān offered Him respectful obeisances, folded his hands and offered Him prayers with great attention.
TEXT 21
aṁśumān uvāca
na paśyati tvāṁ param ātmano ’jano
na budhyate ’dyāpi samādhi-yuktibhiḥ
kuto ’pare tasya manaḥ-śarīra-dhī-
visarga-sṛṣṭā vayam aprakāśāḥ
SYNONYMS
aṁśumān uvāca—Aṁśumān said; na—not; paśyati—can see; tvām—Your Lordship; param—transcendental; ātmanaḥ—of us living beings; ajanaḥ—Lord Brahmā; na—not; budhyate—can understand; adya api—even today; samādhi—by meditation; yuktibhiḥ—or by mental speculation; kutaḥ—how; apare—others; tasya—his; manaḥ-śarīra-dhī—who consider the body or mind to be the self; visarga-sṛṣṭāḥ—created beings within the material world; vayam—we; aprakāśāḥ—without transcendental knowledge.
TRANSLATION
Aṁśumān said: My Lord, even Lord Brahmā is to this very day unable to understand Your position, which is far beyond himself, either by meditation or by mental speculation. So what to speak of others like us, who have been created by Brahmā in various forms as demigods, animals, human beings, birds and beasts? We are completely in ignorance. Therefore, how can we know You, who are the Transcendence?
PURPORT
icchā-dveṣa-samutthena
dvandva-mohena bhārata
sarva-bhūtāni sammohaṁ
sarge yānti parantapa
“O scion of Bharata [Arjuna], O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, overcome by the dualities of desire and hate.” (Bg. 7.27) All living beings in the material world are influenced by the three modes of material nature. Even Lord Brahmā is in the mode of goodness. Similarly, the demigods are generally in the mode of passion, and living entities lower than the demigods, such as human beings and animals, are in the mode of ignorance, or in mixed goodness, passion and ignorance. Therefore Aṁśumān wanted to explain that because his uncles, who had burnt to ashes, were under the modes of material nature, they could not understand Lord Kapiladeva. “Because You are beyond even the direct and indirect intelligence of Lord Brahmā,” he prayed, “unless we are enlightened by Your Lordship it will not be possible for us to understand You.”
athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan
“My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.” (Bhāg. 10.14.29) The Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can be understood by one who is favored by the Lord; the Lord cannot be understood by others.
TEXT 22
ye deha-bhājas tri-guṇa-pradhānā
guṇān vipaśyanty uta vā tamaś ca
yan-māyayā mohita-cetasas tvāṁ
viduḥ sva-saṁsthaṁ na bahiḥ-prakāśāḥ
SYNONYMS
ye—those persons who; deha-bhājaḥ—have accepted the material body; tri-guṇa-pradhānāḥ—influenced by the three modes of material nature; guṇān—the manifestation of the three modes of material nature; vipaśyanti—can see only; uta—it is so said; vā—either; tamaḥ—the mode of ignorance; ca—and; yat-māyayā—by the illusory energy of whom; mohita—has been bewildered; cetasaḥ—the core of whose heart; tvām—Your Lordship; viduḥ—know; sva-saṁstham—situated in one’s own body; na—not; bahiḥ-prakāśāḥ—those who can see only the products of external energy.
TRANSLATION
My Lord, You are fully situated in everyone’s heart, but the living entities, covered by the material body, cannot see You, for they are influenced by the external energy, conducted by the three modes of material nature. Their intelligence being covered by sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa, they can see only the actions and reactions of these three modes of material nature. Because of the actions and reactions of the mode of ignorance, whether the living entities are awake or sleeping, they can see only the workings of material nature; they cannot see Your Lordship.
PURPORT
Unless one is situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, one is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. However, because the conditioned souls are influenced by material nature, they can see only the actions and reactions of material nature, but not the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One therefore must purify himself internally and externally:
apavitraḥ pavitro vā
sarvāvasthāṁ gato ’pi vā
yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ
sa bāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ
To keep ourselves externally clean we should bathe three times daily, and for internal cleanliness we must cleanse the heart by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. The members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must always follow this principle (bāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ). Then it will one day be possible to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face.
TEXT 23
taṁ tvāṁ ahaṁ jñāna-ghanaṁ svabhāva-
pradhvasta-māyā-guṇa-bheda-mohaiḥ
sanandanādyair munibhir vibhāvyaṁ
kathaṁ vimūḍhaḥ paribhāvayāmi
SYNONYMS
tam—that personality; tvām—unto You; aham—I; jñāna-ghanam—Your Lordship, who are concentrated knowledge; svabhāva—by spiritual nature; pradhvasta—free from contamination; māyā-guṇa—caused by the three modes of material nature; bheda-mohaiḥ—by exhibition of the bewilderment of differentiation; sanandana-ādyaiḥ—by such personalities as the four Kumāras (Sanat-kumāra, Sanaka, Sanandana and Sanātana); munibhiḥ—by such great sages; vibhāvyam—worshipable; katham—how; vimūḍhaḥ—being fooled by the material nature; paribhāvayāmi—can I think of You.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, sages freed from the influence of the three modes of material nature—sages such as the four Kumāras [Sanat, Sanaka, Sanandana and Sanātana]—are able to think of You, who are concentrated knowledge. But how can an ignorant person like me think of You?
PURPORT
The word svabhāva refers to one’s own spiritual nature or original constitutional position. When situated in this original position, the living entity is unaffected by the modes of material nature. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (Bg. 14.26). As soon as one is freed from the influence of the three modes of material nature, he is situated on the Brahman platform. Vivid examples of personalities thus situated are the four Kumāras and Nārada. Such authorities can by nature understand the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but a conditioned soul not freed from the influence of material nature is unable to realize the Supreme. In Bhagavad-gītā (2.45), therefore, Kṛṣṇa advises Arjuna, traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna: one must rise above the influence of the three modes of material nature. One who stays within the influence of the three material modes is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 24
praśānta māyā-guṇa-karma-liṅgam
anāma-rūpaṁ sad-asad-vimuktam
jñānopadeśāya gṛhīta-dehaṁ
namāmahe tvāṁ puruṣaṁ purāṇam
SYNONYMS
praśānta—O completely peaceful one; māyā-guṇa—the modes of material nature; karma-liṅgam—symptomized by fruitive activities; anāma-rūpam—one who has no material name or form; sat-asat-vimuktam—transcendental to the manifested and nonmanifested modes of material nature; jñāna-upadeśāya—for distributing transcendental knowledge (as in Bhagavad-gītā); gṛhīta-deham—has assumed a form like a material body; namāmahe—I offer my respectful obeisances; tvām—unto You; puruṣam—the Supreme Person; purāṇam—the original.
TRANSLATION
O completely peaceful Lord, although material nature, fruitive activities and their consequent material names and forms are Your creation, You are unaffected by them. Therefore, Your transcendental name is different from material names, and Your form is different from material forms. You assume a form resembling a material body just to give us instructions like those of Bhagavad-gītā, but actually You are the supreme original person. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
PURPORT
Śrīla Yāmunācārya has recited this verse in his Stotra-ratna (43):
bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ
praśānta-niḥśeṣa-manorathāntaraḥ
kadāham aikāntika-nitya-kiṅkaraḥ
praharṣayiṣyāmi sanātha-jīvitam
“By serving You constantly, one is freed from all material desires and is completely pacified. When shall I engage as Your permanent eternal servant and always feel joyful to have such a fitting master?”
Manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ: [SB 5.18.12] one who acts on the mental platform must descend to material activities. Material contamination, however, is completely absent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His pure devotee. Therefore the Lord is addressed as praśānta, completely peaceful, free from the disturbances of material existence. The Supreme Lord has no material name or form; only the foolish think that the Lord’s name and form are material (avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam [Bg. 9.11]). The identity of the Supreme Lord is that He is the original person. Nonetheless, those who have but a poor fund of knowledge think that the Lord is formless. The Lord is formless in the material sense, but He has His transcendental form (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]).
TEXT 25
tvan-māyā-racite loke
vastu-buddhyā gṛhādiṣu
bhramanti kāma-lobherṣyā-
moha-vibhrānta-cetasaḥ
SYNONYMS
tvat-māyā—through Your material energy; racite—which is manufactured; loke—in this world; vastu-buddhyā—accepting as factual; gṛha-ādiṣu—in hearth and home, etc.; bhramanti—wander; kāma—by lusty desires; lobha—by greed; īrṣyā—by envy; moha—and by illusion; vibhrānta—is bewildered; cetasaḥ—the cores of whose hearts.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, those whose hearts are bewildered by the influence of lust, greed, envy and illusion are interested only in false hearth and home in this world created by Your māyā. Attached to home, wife and children, they wander in this material world perpetually.
TEXT 26
adya naḥ sarva-bhūtātman
kāma-karmendriyāśayaḥ
moha-pāśo dṛḍhaś chinno
bhagavaṁs tava darśanāt
SYNONYMS
adya—today; naḥ—our; sarva-bhūta-ātman—O You, who are the Supersoul; kāma-karma-indriya-āśayaḥ—being under the influence of lusty desires and fruitive activities; moha-pāśaḥ—this hard knot of illusion; dṛḍhaḥ—very strong; chinnaḥ—broken; bhagavan—O my Lord; tava darśanāt—simply by seeing You.
TRANSLATION
O Supersoul of all living entities, O Personality of Godhead, simply by seeing You I have now been freed from all lusty desires, which are the root cause of insurmountable illusion and bondage in the material world.
TEXT 27
śrī-śuka uvāca
itthaṁ gītānubhāvas taṁ
bhagavān kapilo muniḥ
aṁśumantam uvācedam
anugrāhya dhiyā nṛpa
SYNONYMS
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; ittham—in this way; gīta-anubhāvaḥ—whose glories are described; tam—unto Him; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; kapilaḥ—named Kapila Muni; muniḥ—the great sage; aṁśumantam—unto Aṁśumān; uvāca—said; idam—this; anugrāhya—being very merciful; dhiyā—with the path of knowledge; nṛpa—O King Parīkṣit.
TRANSLATION
O King Parīkṣit, when Aṁśumān had glorified the Lord in this way, the great sage Kapila, the powerful incarnation of Viṣṇu, being very merciful to him, explained to him the path of knowledge.
TEXT 28
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
aśvo ’yaṁ nīyatāṁ vatsa
pitāmaha-paśus tava
ime ca pitaro dagdhā
gaṅgāmbho ’rhanti netarat
SYNONYMS
śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the great personality Kapila Muni said; aśvaḥ—horse; ayam—this; nīyatām—take; vatsa—O My son; pitāmaha—of your grandfather; paśuḥ—this animal; tava—your; ime—all these; ca—also; pitaraḥ—bodies of forefathers; dagdhāḥ—burnt to ashes; gaṅgā-ambhaḥ—the water of the Ganges; arhanti—can be saved; na—not; itarat—any other means.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead said: My dear Aṁśumān, here is the animal sought by your grandfather for sacrifice. Please take it. As for your forefathers, who have been burnt to ashes, they can be delivered only by Ganges water, and not by any other means.
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