142 - Action in Privacy

This relates to women in their monthly period.

Süta said:

1. Hearing these words of the Lord, Earth, desirous of dharma, propitiated him with folded hands.

Earth said:

2. O Mädhava, be pleased to listen to what this servant of yours with tender nature has to say.

3. Women do not have the stamina to do all that you said now without taking food.

 4. So tell me how these can attain happiness even if they take food with your blessing. 

5. Hearing these words of Earth; the Lord laughed and said:

Varäha said:

6. O fair goddess, it is good that you asked me about this secret conducive to my devotees.

7. She who is my devotee, if she feels anything impure, may touch my image wherever it is.

 8. If, while performing austerities, the need for food is felt, it can certainly be taken with mind set in me.

9. If a woman gets menses (in the course of her austerities) she does not incur sin if she takes food after uttering this mantra with hands folded over the head: “I in my monthly course, bow to the great Lord who is unborn and has no beginning or end.

10. There is no harm in her doing things after taking food with this mantra.

11-12. Taking bath on the fifth day (from the occurrence of menses), if she duly performs worship with mind solely set in me and without thinking of worldly life she may attain manhood.

Earth said: 

13. Men or women are really neither men nor women (of the type they ought to be). How can they be liberated from the bondage of worldly life?

Varãha said:

14-15. Controlling all their sense organs and steadying their mind, if I am meditated upon steadfastly, it is Sannyäsayoga. One that does it, whether it be a man, woman or hermaphrodite, attains supreme bliss.

16. I shall tell you another thing, please Listen. The mind, intellect and thought are not usually within the control of man.

17. But he, who with the power of knowledge, is able to fix it unflinchingly on one object and keep it in poise, is not stained by anything.

18. He who has the poised mind set in me, does not incur the result of any action even if he takes all kinds of food and drink, prescribed or prohibited.

19-20. If the mind, intellect and thought are poised and set in me, then one is not affected by whatever one does, like the water on the lotus leaf.

21. O Goddess, let the mind be well poised whether it is for the whole day and night, for an hour or even for a moment.

22. One attains the supreme aim if the mind is well poised even if he does all kinds of things day and night.

  23. What fear has he who always thinks of me, awake or asleep, hearing or seeing?

24. I praise him who has nothing else in mind, be he a Chandäla doing heinous deeds or a Brahmin who has strayed into the wrong path.

25-26. Those who perform sacrifices knowing dharma well, endowed with proper knowledge and mind set in me, those who always think of me and perform actions dear to me and those who, in dedication to me, sleep well free from care, and those who are tranquil in mind, all of them are dear to me.

27. Those who do actions, good or bad, thinking of themselves alone, are very base men and they bring upon themselves suffering.

28. It is the mind that leads to ruin in this world, and it is the same mind that is the cause of liberation also. O Earth, therefore, let me be attained with the mind set on me.

29. Dedicating Jñãna (knowledge) and Yoga (action) to me, let me be worshipped with steadfast devotion.

30. He who with due austerities has the mind always set on me, comes near me and becomes eligible to be in me.

31. The rule that a woman should be cohabited with after her monthly course, was laid down by me for the sake of progeny.

32. If one does not cohabit (with his wife) soon after her period, with full concentration of mirid and wishing my blessing, ten generations of the ancestors and ten generations of the descendants are harmed.

33. Let one approach the wife with a sense of duty to his ancestors and not with the motive of carnal pleasure or impelled by lust.

34. Let not a second woman be touched even if urged by uncontrollable passion, so too a third and never a fourth.

35. After cohabitation, let one not have the curiosity to see the women laying in the bed, in order to maintain purity.

36. When once the thing is over, my devotee shall bathe in water and change his cloth.

37. He who cohabits before the stopping of the monthly course, doubtless makes his manes drink semen.

38. A man cohabits with one woman (for the sake of dharma) with a second due to passion. He who does it with a third or fourth is indeed a depraved person.

39. This is a rule which I have made for the entire world.

40. Soon after the period, cohabitation is laid down for the sake of the manes. He who cohabits at this time (alone) is considered celibate enough.

41. The man who wanders away at this time without cohabiting with the wife, due to anger or delusion, incurs the sin of killing the embryo.

42. I shall tell you another thing, O Earth, please listen. It is knowledge relating to Chittayoga and action relating to Karma

43. People reach my place by action, also by singing of me; so too by contemplation. There is no other course (for this).

44. Jñäna, Yoga and Säñkhya are all based on the mind and those that f0116w the path I have shown, will achieve their åim.

45. O Earth, during the monthly period, one may remain for three days on air alone.

46. On the fourth day such actions as conducive to the attainment of the aim, may be done, but none else.

47. The head should be cleansed by bath, white cloth should be worn, and the mind should be made steady.

 48. The prescribed deeds may then be done. Those who do so are dear to me indeed.

49. Then after worshipping me they may take food and bow to me with hands folded over the head.

50. The mantra for this is: “You are the first of all beings and you have no end. O Lord, we who were in our monthly course, bow to you. We have fasted for three days and we bow to you now when the menstrual flow has stopped.”

51. O Earth, the women after their course become purified by this mantra and they may do the actions that are to be done after bath as well as those to be done before bath.

52. In this way man or woman does not get any harm and those who do actions laid down by me are dear to me.

53. And they become more and more inclined to do what is dear tome, even if they be defiled by association with the monthly period.

54. And those desirous of attaining the supreme, may give up everything and with full control of the senses and deep concentration of mind, meditate on me.

55. They get the result, be they men, women or hermaphrodites, irrespective of their knowledge and actions.

56. People who are caught in Samsära do not know me yet. Those who are engaged in devotion to me alone know me.

57. Fathers and mothers in thousands, and sons and daughters in hundreds, revolve like a wheel and as a result of this stupefaction, they are unable to know me.

58. The world is enveloped by ignorance and subjected by delusion. It is also bound by many attachments. It is difficult to wean the mind clear from all this.

59. The mother goes away, the father goes away, so too the sons and servants.

60. They are born according to their own deeds.

61. Even those with knowledge, if they are deluded by samsära remain (in my world) for a short while only, a few months or years, and are born again and do not remain with me.

62. But he to whom the Nyãsayoga (dedicating everything to me) is known, releases himself, no doubt.

63. He who listens to this (account) early in the morning soon after waking up, acquires great attainments and goes to my world.

64. Thus I have told you the secret about which you asked -me for the favour of devotees.