37 - The results of deeds performed 

Narada said—What did Indra, the god of the gods, do after listening to the glory of lord Vishnu and achieving the divine knowledge, you kindly tell me. 

Narayana said—О Brahman, after listening to the glory of lord Krishna, Indra developed a sense of detachment which went on increasing day by day. Leaving the place of the sage he then went and arrived in the city of Amaravati which he looked at from a distance, which was infested with the terror of the demons. His relatives were seated losing all the grace with their faces crestfallen. At places some houses were deserted and the father, the mother or the wife could not be found there. Their whereabouts were unknown. 

Then finding his kingdom infested with the enemies, Indra went to Bruhaspati who was lodged on the bank of the river Mandakini. He was adoring the eternal Brahman in the water of the Ganga facing the sun in the east engrossed in blissful tapas with wet eyes and the body becoming emotional. He was the best of the sages and extremely glorious besides being extremely religious, devoted towards his family god, best of his relatives and the people having pride. He was the eldest of the brothers who was disliked by the demons. 

Finding the teacher seated in the water Indra the god of gods stood there waiting for him. After a prahara the teacher got up from his puja and Indra bowed in reverence to him. 

Bowing at his feet Indra started crying aloud and then narrated about the curse pronounced on him by the sage Durvasa.

At that very moment Indra also informed the sage that he has been blessed to get back his kingdom in due course of time. This is the boon and the eternal knowledge which has been received by me from Durvasa. 

On hearing the words, intelligent Bruhaspati got enraged and with his eyes red in anger said to him. 

Bruhaspati said—О best of the gods, I have heard everything. You stop crying and listen to my words. The wise people do not lose heart at the time of misfortune. 

Fortune and misfortune are both perishable and are like a dream which are governed by the earlier deeds because they are created by one's own doing. 

Because of this they keep on rotating in the life of a person like a potter's wheel. Therefore, it is of no use to grieve over them. 

One gets the result of one's own deeds in the land of Bharata. Whatever good or bad deeds are performed by him, he surely has to face the result. 

Because the deeds never vanish even after the lapse of hundreds and crores of kalpas, one has to reap the result of the good or bad deeds performed by him. 

Lord Krishna had advised his people accordingly in the Kauthumisakha of the Samaveda. 

If the results of some of the deeds are left out in one birth, he has to face them in the next birth. 

Because with the performing of deeds one receives a curse, a boon, all the riches or poverty.

О Indra, Therefore, the deeds performed in crores of births and accumulated earlier follows a person like his shadow and do not leave him unless he faces the result. 

There could be a difference in time, country, the actors or increase or decrease in the deeds as a person receives and ordinary merit by giving away things in charity on ordinary days and on certain occasion by offering things in charity the merit is multiplied to crores of times or even more than that. 

Similarly,, by making offering to in ordinary countries, one gets the normal merit and by offering in sacred places, the merit is increased manifold or even more than that.

Similarly,, by preferring charity of the normal things, the performer receives the normal merit but by offering the same to some competent person the merit is increased manifold. 

As the seeds sown by the farmers sprout variously, Similarly, by offering charity to certain people one gets the merit differently. 

If a charity is given to a Brahmana on an ordinary day, one gets the ordinary merit but if the same is given on a moonless day or on the first day of the month, the merit is multiplied considerably. In the Chaturmasya (four months of the rainy season), on the full moon day, the day of solar or lunar eclipse, one earns ten times more merit. On the Akshaya-trtiya day, one gets the merit beyond measure. Similarly, on the other sacred days, one; achieves great merit. 

As one gets more or less merit by offering charity, taking a bath at holy places, performing of japam and other noble deeds, Similarly, human beings achieve merit more or less according to the occasion. 

As by making an offering to a Brahmana at an ordinary place, one gets the normal merit but when the offering is made in the temple of the god, the merit increases to hundred times more. 

The merit one achieves by bathing in the Ganga multiplies to crores of times, but by doing so in the Narayana-kshetra, it is beyond measure and in the Kurukshetra, Badrikasrama and Kasi, the merit multiplies to crores of time. As one gets the merit crores of times more in the above sacred places, Similarly, one gets a merit crores of times greater than offering something in charity in the temple of Vishnu. The merit is multiplied to lakhs of times at Kedara and Haridvara. At Pus kara and Bhaskara-kshetra it is multiplied to ten lakh times. Thus the merit goes on increasing according to the place or time. 

By offering charities to the simple Brahmanas, one gets the simple merits but when the charity is given to a well-read Brahmana devoted to Vishnu, the merit is increased to crores of times. Similarly, with the increase in the qualities, the merit is also increased. 

As the potter makes the vases with his potter's wheel, mud, the earth and water Similarly, Brahma at the time of creation also bestows the merit on everyone on the basis of the deeds. Therefore, you better recite the name of Narayana.

In the three worlds he happens to be the creator of the creator, protector of the three worlds, creator of Brahma, destroyer of the destroyer and gives death to the god of death. 

At the time of great misfortune, if one recites the name of the lord, he achieves fortune even at the time of great misfortune. This has been ordained by lord Shiva. 

0 Narada, thus speaking Bruhaspati embraced Indra the god of gods and blessing him imparted the divine knowledge to him.