Adhyaya 9

Verse 1

श्रीब्राह्मण उवाच परिग्रहो हि दु:खाय यद् यत्प्रियतमं नृणाम् । अनन्तं सुखमाप्नोति तद् विद्वान् यस्त्वकिञ्चन: ॥ १ ॥

The saintly brāhmaṇa said: Whatever a person holds most dear, attachment and possessiveness toward it bring suffering. One who understands this and becomes free of such clinging attains unlimited happiness.

Verse 2

सामिषं कुररं जघ्नुर्बलिनोऽन्ये निरामिषा: । तदामिषं परित्यज्य स सुखं समविन्दत ॥ २ ॥

A hawk carrying meat was attacked by stronger hawks who had found no prey. When his life was in danger, he abandoned the meat and then experienced real happiness.

Verse 3

न मे मानापमानौ स्तो न चिन्ता गेहपुत्रिणाम् । आत्मक्रीड आत्मरतिर्विचरामीह बालवत् ॥ ३ ॥

For me there is neither honor nor dishonor, nor anxiety about home and children. I play within the Self and delight in the Self; thus I wander the earth like a child.

Verse 4

द्वावेव चिन्तया मुक्तौ परमानन्द आप्लुतौ । यो विमुग्धो जडो बालो यो गुणेभ्य: परं गत: ॥ ४ ॥

In this world, two kinds of people are free from anxiety and immersed in supreme joy: the deluded fool, dull like a child, and the one who has reached the Supreme Lord beyond the three modes of nature.

Verse 5

क्व‍‍चित् कुमारी त्वात्मानं वृणानान् गृहमागतान् । स्वयं तानर्हयामास क्व‍ापि यातेषु बन्धुषु ॥ ५ ॥

Once a marriageable young girl was alone at home, for her parents and relatives had gone elsewhere that day. Then a few men arrived, wishing to marry her. She received them with fitting honor and hospitality.

Verse 6

तेषामभ्यवहारार्थं शालीन् रहसि पार्थिव । अवघ्नन्त्या: प्रकोष्ठस्थाश्चक्रु: शङ्खा: स्वनं महत् ॥ ६ ॥

To prepare food for those guests, she withdrew to a private place and began to husk the rice. As she pounded it, the conchshell bracelets on her arms struck one another and made a loud sound.

Verse 7

सा तज्जुगुप्सितं मत्वा महती व्रीडिता तत: । बभञ्जैकैकश: शङ्खान् द्वौ द्वौ पाण्योरशेषयत् ॥ ७ ॥

Fearing that the men would take the noise as a sign of poverty, the shy yet intelligent girl felt ashamed. She broke the conchshell bracelets one by one, leaving only two on each wrist.

Verse 8

उभयोरप्यभूद् घोषो ह्यवघ्नन्त्या: स्वशङ्खयो: । तत्राप्येकं निरभिददेकस्मान्नाभवद् ध्वनि: ॥ ८ ॥

Yet as she continued husking, the two bracelets on each wrist still struck together and made noise. So she removed one from each arm; with only one left on each wrist, there was no sound at all.

Verse 9

अन्वशिक्षमिमं तस्या उपदेशमरिन्दम । लोकाननुचरन्नेतान् लोकतत्त्वविवित्सया ॥ ९ ॥

O subduer of the enemy, seeking to understand the truth of this world I wander across the earth; and thus I personally witnessed and learned the lesson taught by that young girl.

Verse 10

वासे बहूनां कलहो भवेद् वार्ता द्वयोरपि । एक एव वसेत्तस्मात् कुमार्या इव कङ्कण: ॥ १० ॥

When many live together, quarrel surely arises; even with only two, idle talk and disagreement appear. Therefore, to avoid conflict, one should dwell alone—like the young girl’s bracelet that teaches this lesson.

Verse 11

मन एकत्र संयुञ्ज्याज्जितश्वासो जितासन: । वैराग्याभ्यासयोगेन ध्रियमाणमतन्द्रित: ॥ ११ ॥

Having mastered the yogic seat and conquered the breath, one should gather the mind into a single focus. By detachment (vairāgya) and regulated yogic practice, without negligence, one makes the mind steady.

Verse 12

यस्मिन् मनो लब्धपदं यदेत- च्छनै: शनैर्मुञ्चति कर्मरेणून् । सत्त्वेन वृद्धेन रजस्तमश्च विधूय निर्वाणमुपैत्यनिन्धनम् ॥ १२ ॥

When the mind gains a firm footing by being fixed on the Supreme Bhagavān, it gradually releases the dust of karma. As sattva grows strong, rajas and tamas are washed away; then, transcending even sattva, one slowly attains nirvāṇa without fuel.

Verse 13

तदैवमात्मन्यवरुद्धचित्तो न वेद किञ्चिद् बहिरन्तरं वा । यथेषुकारो नृपतिं व्रजन्त- मिषौ गतात्मा न ददर्श पार्श्वे ॥ १३ ॥

Thus, when consciousness is fully confined within the Ātman, the Absolute Truth, one no longer perceives duality—inner or outer. Like the arrow maker, absorbed in straightening his arrow, who did not even notice the king passing right beside him.

Verse 14

एकचार्यनिकेत: स्यादप्रमत्तो गुहाशय: । अलक्ष्यमाण आचारैर्मुनिरेकोऽल्पभाषण: ॥ १४ ॥

A saintly person should wander alone, without a fixed residence. Remaining alert, he should stay secluded and behave so as not to be recognized. Moving without companions, he should speak no more than necessary.

Verse 15

गृहारम्भो हि दु:खाय विफलश्चाध्रुवात्मन: । सर्प: परकृतं वेश्म प्रविश्य सुखमेधते ॥ १५ ॥

For one dwelling in a temporary body, the attempt to build a happy home brings misery and proves fruitless. Yet the snake enters a house built by others and thrives there in ease.

Verse 16

एको नारायणो देव: पूर्वसृष्टं स्वमायया । संहृत्य कालकलया कल्पान्त इदमीश्वर: । एक एवाद्वितीयोऽभूदात्माधारोऽखिलाश्रय: ॥ १६ ॥

Nārāyaṇa alone is the worshipable Lord of all beings. By His own māyā He creates this universe, and at the end of the kalpa, through His expansion as Time, He withdraws and dissolves the entire cosmos—along with all conditioned souls—within Himself. Thus He remains alone, one without a second, the support and shelter of all.

Verse 17

कालेनात्मानुभावेन साम्यं नीतासु शक्तिषु । सत्त्वादिष्वादिपुरुष: प्रधानपुरुषेश्वर: ॥ १७ ॥ परावराणां परम आस्ते कैवल्यसंज्ञित: । केवलानुभवानन्दसन्दोहो निरुपाधिक: ॥ १८ ॥

When the Supreme Lord manifests His own potency as Time and brings His material energies—such as goodness—into a neutral equilibrium, He remains the supreme controller of that state, called pradhāna, as well as of all living beings. He is the highest object of worship for everyone—liberated souls, devas, and the conditioned alike. Forever free of material designations, He is the totality of spiritual bliss experienced upon beholding His transcendental form; thus He reveals the fullest meaning of liberation.

Verse 18

कालेनात्मानुभावेन साम्यं नीतासु शक्तिषु । सत्त्वादिष्वादिपुरुष: प्रधानपुरुषेश्वर: ॥ १७ ॥ परावराणां परम आस्ते कैवल्यसंज्ञित: । केवलानुभवानन्दसन्दोहो निरुपाधिक: ॥ १८ ॥

When the Supreme Lord manifests His own potency as Time and brings His material energies—such as goodness—into a neutral equilibrium, He remains the supreme controller of that state, called pradhāna, as well as of all living beings. He is the highest object of worship for everyone—liberated souls, devas, and the conditioned alike. Forever free of material designations, He is the totality of spiritual bliss experienced upon beholding His transcendental form; thus He reveals the fullest meaning of liberation.

Verse 19

केवलात्मानुभावेन स्वमायां त्रिगुणात्मिकाम् । सङ्क्षोभयन् सृजत्यादौ तया सूत्रमरिन्दम ॥ १९ ॥

O subduer of enemies, at the dawn of creation the Bhagavān expands His own transcendental potency as Time and agitates māyā, constituted of the three guṇas; through that māyā He brings forth the mahat-tattva, the subtle thread of cosmic manifestation.

Verse 20

तामाहुस्त्रिगुणव्यक्तिं सृजन्तीं विश्वतोमुखम् । यस्मिन् प्रोतमिदं विश्वं येन संसरते पुमान् ॥ २० ॥

The great sages declare that the manifest basis of the three modes, which brings forth the variegated universe, is called the sūtra, or mahat-tattva. In that mahat-tattva this entire cosmos is woven, and by its potency the jīva wanders in material existence.

Verse 21

यथोर्णनाभिर्हृदयादूर्णां सन्तत्य वक्त्रत: । तया विहृत्य भूयस्तां ग्रसत्येवं महेश्वर: ॥ २१ ॥

As a spider draws thread from within itself through its mouth, plays with it for a time, and then swallows it again, so the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands His own śakti from within Himself. He displays the web of cosmic manifestation, employs it for His purpose, and finally withdraws it completely into Himself.

Verse 22

यत्र यत्र मनो देही धारयेत् सकलं धिया । स्‍नेहाद् द्वेषाद् भयाद् वापि याति तत्तत्स्वरूपताम् ॥ २२ ॥

If, out of love, hatred, or fear, an embodied soul fixes the mind with intelligence and complete concentration upon a particular form, he will certainly attain that very form. Whatever one constantly contemplates, one becomes.

Verse 23

कीट: पेशस्कृतं ध्यायन् कुड्यां तेन प्रवेशित: । याति तत्सात्मतां राजन् पूर्वरूपमसन्त्यजन् ॥ २३ ॥

O King, once a wasp forced a weaker insect into its hive and kept it imprisoned there. In fear, the insect constantly contemplated its captor and, without abandoning its body, gradually attained the same state as the wasp. Thus one’s condition follows one’s unbroken concentration.

Verse 24

एवं गुरुभ्य एतेभ्य एषा मे शिक्षिता मति: । स्वात्मोपशिक्षितां बुद्धिं श‍ृणु मे वदत: प्रभो ॥ २४ ॥

O King, from all these spiritual masters I have gained profound wisdom. Now please hear me as I describe the understanding I learned from my own body, which instructed me from within.

Verse 25

देहो गुरुर्मम विरक्तिविवेकहेतु- र्बिभ्रत् स्म सत्त्वनिधनं सततार्त्युदर्कम् । तत्त्वान्यनेन विमृशामि यथा तथापि पारक्यमित्यवसितो विचराम्यसङ्ग: ॥ २५ ॥

This material body is also my guru, for it teaches detachment and discernment. Subject to birth and destruction, it always ends in suffering. Thus, even while using the body to inquire into truth, I remember that in the end it will be consumed by others, and I wander the world without attachment.

Verse 26

जायात्मजार्थपशुभृत्यगृहाप्तवर्गान् पुष्णाति यत्प्रियचिकीर्षया वितन्वन् । स्वान्ते सकृच्छ्रमवरुद्धधन: स देह: सृष्ट्वास्य बीजमवसीदति वृक्षधर्म: ॥ २६ ॥

A man attached to the body struggles to amass wealth to expand and protect wife, children, property, animals, servants, home, relatives, friends, and the like—all for the body’s gratification. Yet in the end that very body, like a tree that produces seed before dying, reveals the seed of the next body as one’s accumulated karma, and then sinks down and perishes.

Verse 27

जिह्वैकतोऽमुमपकर्षति कर्हि तर्षा शिश्न‍ोऽन्यतस्त्वगुदरं श्रवणं कुतश्चित् । घ्राणोऽन्यतश्चपलद‍ृक् क्व‍ च कर्मशक्ति- र्बह्व्य: सपत्न्‍य इव गेहपतिं लुनन्ति ॥ २७ ॥

Just as a man with many wives is harassed and pulled in different directions, the material senses torment the conditioned soul. The tongue drags him to tasty food, thirst to drink; the sex organs clamor for pleasure, the skin for soft touch; the belly presses until filled; the ears demand pleasing sounds; the nose longs for fragrance; and the fickle eyes cry out for beautiful sights. Thus the senses pull the living being toward many paths at once.

Verse 28

सृष्ट्वा पुराणि विविधान्यजयात्मशक्त्या वृक्षान् सरीसृपपशून् खगदन्दशूकान् । तैस्तैरतुष्टहृदय: पुरुषं विधाय ब्रह्मावलोकधिषणं मुदमाप देव: ॥ २८ ॥

The Supreme Lord, expanding His own potency, māyā-śakti, created innumerable species—trees, reptiles, beasts, birds, snakes, and more—to house the conditioned souls. Yet His heart was not satisfied. Then He created human life, endowed with intelligence to behold Brahman, the Absolute Truth, and the Lord became pleased.

Verse 29

लब्ध्वा सुदुर्लभमिदं बहुसम्भवान्ते मानुष्यमर्थदमनित्यमपीह धीर: । तूर्णं यतेत न पतेदनुमृत्यु याव- न्नि:श्रेयसाय विषय: खलु सर्वत: स्यात् ॥ २९ ॥

After countless births and deaths one attains this rare human body. Though temporary, it grants the chance for the highest perfection—liberation and loving bhakti to the Lord. Therefore a sober person should swiftly strive for the supreme good before this death-bound body falls and dies; for sense pleasure is found even in the lowest species, whereas Kṛṣṇa consciousness is possible only in human life.

Verse 30

एवं सञ्जातवैराग्यो विज्ञानालोक आत्मनि । विचरामि महीमेतां मुक्तसङ्गोऽनहङ्‍कृत: ॥ ३० ॥

Having learned from my spiritual masters, I have awakened renunciation; illumined by realized knowledge, I remain situated in the Self and wander the earth free from attachment and false ego.

Verse 31

न ह्येकस्माद् गुरोर्ज्ञानं सुस्थिरं स्यात् सुपुष्कलम् । ब्रह्मैतदद्वितीयं वै गीयते बहुधर्षिभि: ॥ ३१ ॥

Firm and complete knowledge may not arise from only one teacher; for although Brahman is one without a second, the sages have sung of Him in many different ways.

Verse 32

श्रीभगवानुवाच इत्युक्त्वा स यदुं विप्रस्तमामन्‍त्र्य गभीरधी: । वन्दित: स्वर्चितो राज्ञा ययौ प्रीतो यथागतम् ॥ ३२ ॥

The Supreme Lord said: Having thus spoken to King Yadu, the wise brāhmaṇa took leave. The King offered obeisances and worship; pleased within, he departed exactly as he had come.

Verse 33

अवधूतवच: श्रुत्वा पूर्वेषां न: स पूर्वज: । सर्वसङ्गविनिर्मुक्त: समचित्तो बभूव ह ॥ ३३ ॥

O Uddhava, hearing the avadhūta’s words, the saintly King Yadu—forefather of our forefathers—became free from all material attachment, and his mind settled in spiritual equanimity.