36 - The Former Story

Mahatapas said:

1. O king, I shall tell you about kings known as Manijas (born of the gem1) in the first Tretayuga, in whose line you are born.

1. See chapter Xl verses 83, 84.

2. You were known as Suprabha in Krutayuga and you are now born as the famous Prajapala.

 3. Others will be born as mighty kings in Tretayuga. Diptatejas will be born as Shanta.

4. King Surashmi will become Shashakarna, Shubhadarshana will become Panchala.

5. Sushanti2 will be born in the line of Angas; so too Sundara, Sunda as Muchukunda and Sudyumna1 as Turu.

2. Earlier the name is given as Sukanti.

1. In the earlier enumeration name is Pradyumna.

6. Sumanas will be born as Somadatta, Shubha as Samvarana, Sushila as Vasudana and Sukhada as Ashupati.

7. Shambhu will be born as Senapati, Kanta2 as Dasharatha and Soma as Janaka. All these about kings in Tretayuga.

2. The name given earlier is Sudanta.

8. These kings will rule the world well, perform various sacrifices and will finally attain heaven.

Varaha said:

9. The King, after listening to this account which pertains to the nectarine Brahmavidya, was extremely pleased and went to the forest to perform penance.

10. And attaining high spiritual potency, he gave up his body, became one with Brahman and was merged in Hari.

11. (Earlier) the king had gone to Vrundavana and praised there Hari called Govinda.3

3. This should be presumed to be a praise of the future Krishnavatara of Vishnu. It is also possible that this part of the chapter is a later addition.

The king said:

12. I bow to the great god with the whole universe as body, the chief of the cowherds, brother of Indra, of immeasurable greatness, clever in regulating the movements in worldly existence, and bearer of the earth.

13. I bow to you, O Krishna the great lord of cows, the sole source of happiness in the ocean of worldly existence, terrible with the numerous waves of sorrow and whirlpools of advancing age.

14. I bow to you Janardana, the friend of all, (who give solace to me) who are always battling with diseases, ill-disposed persons and hostile planets.

15. O holder of glowing disc, you are the highest of the omniscient gods. The whole world is pervaded by you. O leader of the Gopas, save me from the fears of mundane life.

16. You are the most exalted of gods. You are the most ancient. You shine like the moon. O imperishable God with fire in the mouth, save me from falling a prey to worldly allurement.

17. In the wheel of worldly life revolve men deluded by your Maya. O great lord, who is able to cross this enveloping Maya?

18. O lord of Gopas, those courageous souls that meditate on you who are free from a descent, free from touch, colour and smell and without a name, but the greatest of all, get liberated from worldly bondages and attain salvation.

  19. I always bow to him who is spoken of in Puranas as bearing the disc and lotus, but is really beyond sound, in the form of the sky, without a finite body, without action, but full of auspiciousness.

20. I bow to Vishnu the eternal, Trivikrama who occupied the three worlds, who has four forms1 the lord of the whole universe, who is Shiva as well as Indra.

1. The four vyuhas namely Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.

21. O lord, you create everything moving and stationary and you dissolve the entire creation. Lead me as I am desirous of salvation, to that place soon from where the yogins do not return. 

22. Hail great Govinda, hail Vishnu Padmanabha, hail the omniscient, hail the unbounded, hail the lord of the worlds.

Varaha said:

23. Thus praising the lord, the king gave up his body and became permanently merged in the Supreme soul, Govinda.