Brahma Purana — Chapter 196
BrP 196.1
गार्ग्यं गोष्ठे द्विजो श्यालः षण्ढ इत्य् उक्तवान् द्विजाः यदूनां संनिधौ सर्वे जहसुर् यादवास् तदा ॥
gārgyaṃ goṣṭhe dvijo śyālaḥ ṣaṇḍha ity uktavān dvijāḥ yadūnāṃ saṃnidhau sarve jahasur yādavās tadā //
A brahmin, his brother-in-law, in the cow-pen said of Gārgya, "He is a eunuch!" — O brahmins, and then all the Yādavas laughed in the presence of the Yadus.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain
BrP 196.2
ततः कोपसमाविष्टो दक्षिणापथम् एत्य सः सुतम् इच्छंस् तपस् तेपे यदुचक्रभयावहम् ॥
tataḥ kopasamāviṣṭo dakṣiṇāpatham etya saḥ sutam icchaṃs tapas tepe yaducakrabhayāvaham //
Then, filled with rage, he went to the southern country and, desiring a son, performed austerities that would bring terror to the circle of the Yadus.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.3
आराधयन् महादेवं सो ऽयश् चूर्णम् अभक्षयत् ददौ वरं च तुष्टो ऽसौ वर्षे द्वादशके हरः ॥
ārādhayan mahādevaṃ so 'yaś cūrṇam abhakṣayat dadau varaṃ ca tuṣṭo 'sau varṣe dvādaśake haraḥ //
Propitiating Mahādeva, he ate iron powder; and in the twelfth year Hara, being pleased, granted (him) a boon.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.4
संभावयाम् आस स तं यवनेशो ह्य् अनात्मजम् तद्योषित्संगमाच् चास्य पुत्रो ऽभूद् अलिसप्रभः ॥
saṃbhāvayām āsa sa taṃ yavaneśo hy anātmajam tadyoṣitsaṃgamāc cāsya putro 'bhūd alisaprabhaḥ //
The lord of the Yavanas, who was sonless, honored him; and from union with that man's women there was born to him a son with the sheen of a bee.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.5
तं कालयवनं नाम राज्ये स्वे यवनेश्वरः अभिषिच्य वनं यातो वज्राग्रकठिनोरसम् ॥
taṃ kālayavanaṃ nāma rājye sve yavaneśvaraḥ abhiṣicya vanaṃ yāto vajrāgrakaṭhinorasam //
Having consecrated him — named Kālayavana, whose chest was hard as the point of a thunderbolt — in his own kingdom, the lord of the Yavanas went to the forest.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.6
स तु वीर्यमदोन्मत्तः पृथिव्यां बलिनो नृपान् पप्रच्छ नारदश् चास्मै कथयाम् आस यादवान् ॥
sa tu vīryamadonmattaḥ pṛthivyāṃ balino nṛpān papraccha nāradaś cāsmai kathayām āsa yādavān //
He, maddened with the intoxication of his valor, asked who were the mighty kings on earth; and Nārada told him of the Yādavas.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.7
म्लेच्छकोटिसहस्राणां सहस्रैः सो ऽपि संवृतः गजाश्वरथसंपन्नैश् चकार परमोद्यमम् ॥
mlecchakoṭisahasrāṇāṃ sahasraiḥ so 'pi saṃvṛtaḥ gajāśvarathasaṃpannaiś cakāra paramodyamam //
He too, surrounded by thousands of thousands of crores of Mlecchas, furnished with elephants, horses and chariots, made a supreme effort.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.8
प्रययौ चातवच्छिन्नैः प्रयाणैः स दिने दिने यादवान् प्रति सामर्षो मुनयो मथुरां पुरीम् ॥
prayayau cātavacchinnaiḥ prayāṇaiḥ sa dine dine yādavān prati sāmarṣo munayo mathurāṃ purīm //
And with unbroken marches, day after day, he advanced, O sages, full of wrath, against the Yādavas, toward the city of Mathurā.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain
BrP 196.9
कृष्णो ऽपि चिन्तयाम् आस क्षपितं यादवं बलम् यवनेन समालोक्य मागधः संप्रयास्यति ॥
kṛṣṇo 'pi cintayām āsa kṣapitaṃ yādavaṃ balam yavanena samālokya māgadhaḥ saṃprayāsyati //
Kṛṣṇa too reflected: "Seeing the Yādava force wasted by the Yavana, the king of Magadha will march (against us)."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.10
मागधस्य बलं क्षीणं स कालयवनो बली हन्ता तद् इदम् आयातं यदूनां व्यसनं द्विधा ॥
māgadhasya balaṃ kṣīṇaṃ sa kālayavano balī hantā tad idam āyātaṃ yadūnāṃ vyasanaṃ dvidhā //
"The force of the Magadha king is depleted; that mighty Kālayavana will be the destroyer — so this calamity of the Yadus has come in two forms."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.11
तस्माद् दुर्गं करिष्यामि यदूनाम् अतिदुर्जयम् स्त्रियो ऽपि यत्र युध्येयुः किं पुनर् वृष्णियादवाः ॥
tasmād durgaṃ kariṣyāmi yadūnām atidurjayam striyo 'pi yatra yudhyeyuḥ kiṃ punar vṛṣṇiyādavāḥ //
"Therefore I will make for the Yadus a fortress very hard to conquer, in which even women could fight — how much more the Vṛṣṇi Yādavas!"
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.12
मयि मत्ते प्रमत्ते वा सुप्ते प्रवसिते ऽपि वा यादवाभिभवं दुष्टा मा कुर्वन् वैरिणो ऽधिकम् ॥
mayi matte pramatte vā supte pravasite 'pi vā yādavābhibhavaṃ duṣṭā mā kurvan vairiṇo 'dhikam //
"When I am intoxicated, or heedless, or asleep, or away from home, let not the wicked foes work any further overpowering of the Yādavas."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.13
इति संचिन्त्य गोविन्दो योजनानि महोदधिम् ययाचे द्वादश पुरीं द्वारकां तत्र निर्ममे ॥
iti saṃcintya govindo yojanāni mahodadhim yayāce dvādaśa purīṃ dvārakāṃ tatra nirmame //
Having thus reflected, Govinda asked the great ocean for twelve yojanas, and there he built the city Dvārakā:
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.14
महोद्यानां महावप्रां तडागशतशोभिताम् प्राकारशतसंबाधाम् इन्द्रस्येवामरावतीम् ॥
mahodyānāṃ mahāvaprāṃ taḍāgaśataśobhitām prākāraśatasaṃbādhām indrasyevāmarāvatīm //
(a city) with great gardens, great ramparts, adorned with a hundred ponds, thickset with a hundred enclosing walls, like Indra's Amarāvatī.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.15
मथुरावासिनं लोकं तत्रानीय जनार्दनः आसन्ने कालयवने मथुरां च स्वयं ययौ ॥
mathurāvāsinaṃ lokaṃ tatrānīya janārdanaḥ āsanne kālayavane mathurāṃ ca svayaṃ yayau //
Janārdana brought the people dwelling in Mathurā there (to Dvārakā), and, since Kālayavana was near, he himself went back to Mathurā.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.16
बहिर् आवासिते सैन्ये मथुराया निरायुधः निर्जगाम स गोविन्दो ददर्श यवनश् च तम् ॥
bahir āvāsite sainye mathurāyā nirāyudhaḥ nirjagāma sa govindo dadarśa yavanaś ca tam //
When the army had been encamped outside Mathurā, that Govinda came out unarmed, and the Yavana saw him.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.17
स ज्ञात्वा वासुदेवं तं बाहुप्रहरणो नृपः अनुयातो महायोगिचेतोभिः प्राप्यते न यः ॥
sa jñātvā vāsudevaṃ taṃ bāhupraharaṇo nṛpaḥ anuyāto mahāyogicetobhiḥ prāpyate na yaḥ //
Recognising him to be Vāsudeva, the king, whose weapons were his arms, pursued him — him who is not reached even by the minds of great yogins.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.18
तेनानुयातः कृष्णो ऽपि प्रविवेश महागुहाम् यत्र शेते महावीर्यो मुचुकुन्दो नरेश्वरः ॥
tenānuyātaḥ kṛṣṇo 'pi praviveśa mahāguhām yatra śete mahāvīryo mucukundo nareśvaraḥ //
Pursued by him, Kṛṣṇa entered a great cave, where Mucukunda, the lord of men, of great valour, lay sleeping.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.19
सो ऽपि प्रविष्टो यवनो दृष्ट्वा शय्यागतं नरम् पादेन ताडयाम् आस कृष्णं मत्वा स दुर्मतिः ॥
so 'pi praviṣṭo yavano dṛṣṭvā śayyāgataṃ naram pādena tāḍayām āsa kṛṣṇaṃ matvā sa durmatiḥ //
And the Yavana, having entered too, saw the man lying on the bed, and that evil-minded one kicked him with his foot, taking him for Kṛṣṇa.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.20
दृष्टमात्रश् च तेनासौ जज्वाल यवनो ऽग्निना तत्क्रोधजेन मुनयो भस्मीभूतश् च तत्क्षणात् ॥
dṛṣṭamātraś ca tenāsau jajvāla yavano 'gninā tatkrodhajena munayo bhasmībhūtaś ca tatkṣaṇāt //
And the moment he was looked at by him, that Yavana blazed up with the fire born of his (Mucukunda's) anger, O sages, and was reduced to ashes that very instant.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.21
स हि देवासुरे युद्धे गत्वा जित्वा महासुरान् निद्रार्तः सुमहाकालं निद्रां वव्रे वरं सुरान् ॥
sa hi devāsure yuddhe gatvā jitvā mahāsurān nidrārtaḥ sumahākālaṃ nidrāṃ vavre varaṃ surān //
For he, having gone to the war of the gods and demons and conquered the great asuras, was overcome with drowsiness and chose from the gods, as his boon, sleep for a very long time.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.22
प्रोक्तश् च देवैः संसुप्तं यस् त्वाम् उत्थापयिष्यति देहजेनाग्निना सद्यः स तु भस्मीभविष्यति ॥
proktaś ca devaiḥ saṃsuptaṃ yas tvām utthāpayiṣyati dehajenāgninā sadyaḥ sa tu bhasmībhaviṣyati //
And he was told by the gods: "Whoever wakes you while you sleep, he shall at once be turned to ashes by the fire born of your body."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.23
एवं दग्ध्वा स तं पापं दृष्ट्वा च मधुसूदनम् कस् त्वम् इत्य् आह सो ऽप्य् आह जातो ऽहं शशिनः कुले ॥
evaṃ dagdhvā sa taṃ pāpaṃ dṛṣṭvā ca madhusūdanam kas tvam ity āha so 'py āha jāto 'haṃ śaśinaḥ kule //
Having thus burnt that wicked one, and seeing the slayer of Madhu, he asked, "Who are you?" And he replied, "I am born in the lineage of the moon,
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.24
वसुदेवस्य तनयो यदुवंशसमुद्भवः मुचुकुन्दो ऽपि तच् छ्रुत्वा वृद्धगार्ग्यवचः स्मरन् ॥
vasudevasya tanayo yaduvaṃśasamudbhavaḥ mucukundo 'pi tac chrutvā vṛddhagārgyavacaḥ smaran //
the son of Vasudeva, sprung from the Yadu line." And Mucukunda, hearing that, recalling the words of the aged Gārgya,
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.25
संस्मृत्य प्रणिपत्यैनं सर्वं सर्वेश्वरं हरिम् प्राह ज्ञातो भवान् विष्णोर् अंशस् त्वं परमेश्वरः ॥
saṃsmṛtya praṇipatyainaṃ sarvaṃ sarveśvaraṃ harim prāha jñāto bhavān viṣṇor aṃśas tvaṃ parameśvaraḥ //
and remembering, bowed down to him, Hari, the all, the lord of all, and said: "You are known (to me): you are a portion of Viṣṇu, the supreme lord.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.26
पुरा गार्ग्येण कथितम् अष्टाविंशतिमे युगे द्वापरान्ते हरेर् जन्म यदुवंशे भविष्यति ॥
purā gārgyeṇa kathitam aṣṭāviṃśatime yuge dvāparānte harer janma yaduvaṃśe bhaviṣyati //
Long ago it was told by Gārgya that in the twenty-eighth age, at the end of the Dvāpara, the birth of Hari would take place in the Yadu lineage.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.27
स त्वं प्राप्तो न संदेहो मर्त्यानाम् उपकारकृत् तथा हि सुमहत् तेजो नालं सोढुम् अहं तव ॥
sa tvaṃ prāpto na saṃdeho martyānām upakārakṛt tathā hi sumahat tejo nālaṃ soḍhum ahaṃ tava //
You are he, come without doubt, doing good to mortals; and indeed I am not able to bear your very great radiance."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.28
तथा हि सुमहाम्भोदध्वनिधीरतरं ततः वाक्यं तम् इति होवाच युष्मत्पादसुलालितम् ॥
tathā hi sumahāmbhodadhvanidhīrataraṃ tataḥ vākyaṃ tam iti hovāca yuṣmatpādasulālitam //
And then he spoke to him this speech, graver than the sound of the vast ocean (or: of a great cloud), fondly devoted to your feet:
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain
BrP 196.29
देवासुरे महायुद्धे दैत्याश् च सुमहाभटाः न शेकुस् ते महत् तेजस् तत् तेजो न सहाम्य् अहम् ॥
devāsure mahāyuddhe daityāś ca sumahābhaṭāḥ na śekus te mahat tejas tat tejo na sahāmy aham //
In the great war of the gods and demons even the daityas, mighty warriors, could not (endure) your great radiance; that radiance I cannot bear.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.30
संसारपतितस्यैको जन्तोस् त्वं शरणं परम् संप्रसीद प्रपन्नार्तिहर्ता हर ममाशुभम् ॥
saṃsārapatitasyaiko jantos tvaṃ śaraṇaṃ param saṃprasīda prapannārtihartā hara mamāśubham //
For a creature fallen into saṃsāra you alone are the supreme refuge; be gracious, remover of the distress of those who have taken refuge — take away my evil.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.31
त्वं पयोनिधयः शैलाः सरितश् च वनानि च मेदिनी गगनं वायुर् आपो ऽग्निस् त्वं तथा पुमान् ॥
tvaṃ payonidhayaḥ śailāḥ saritaś ca vanāni ca medinī gaganaṃ vāyur āpo 'gnis tvaṃ tathā pumān //
You are the oceans, the mountains, the rivers and the forests; you are the earth, the sky, the wind, the waters, the fire, and likewise the Person.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.32
पुंसः परतरं सर्वं व्याप्य जन्म विकल्पवत् शब्दादिहीनम् अजरं वृद्धिक्षयविवर्जितम् ॥
puṃsaḥ parataraṃ sarvaṃ vyāpya janma vikalpavat śabdādihīnam ajaraṃ vṛddhikṣayavivarjitam //
(You are) that which is higher than the Person, pervading all — (whose) birth is only apparent, devoid of sound and the other (sense-objects), unaging, free of growth and decay.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain
BrP 196.33
त्वत्तो ऽमरास् तु पितरो यक्षगन्धर्वराक्षसाः सिद्धाश् चाप्सरसस् त्वत्तो मनुष्याः पशवः खगाः ॥
tvatto 'marās tu pitaro yakṣagandharvarākṣasāḥ siddhāś cāpsarasas tvatto manuṣyāḥ paśavaḥ khagāḥ //
From you come the immortals, the ancestors, the yakṣas, gandharvas and rākṣasas, the siddhas and apsarases; from you men, beasts and birds.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.34
सरीसृपा मृगाः सर्वे त्वत्तश् चैव महीरुहाः यच् च भूतं भविष्यद् वा किंचिद् अत्र चराचरे ॥
sarīsṛpā mṛgāḥ sarve tvattaś caiva mahīruhāḥ yac ca bhūtaṃ bhaviṣyad vā kiṃcid atra carācare //
From you too come the reptiles, all the wild animals, and the trees; and whatever has been or will be here among moving and unmoving things —
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.35
अमूर्तं मूर्तम् अथवा स्थूलं सूक्ष्मतरं तथा तत् सर्वं त्वं जगत्कर्तर् नास्ति किंचित् त्वया विना ॥
amūrtaṃ mūrtam athavā sthūlaṃ sūkṣmataraṃ tathā tat sarvaṃ tvaṃ jagatkartar nāsti kiṃcit tvayā vinā //
Formless or formed, gross and likewise subtler still — all that is you, O maker of the world; there is nothing at all apart from you.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.36
मया संसारचक्रे ऽस्मिन् भ्रमता भगवन् सदा तापत्रयाभिभूतेन न प्राप्ता निर्वृतिः क्वचित् ॥
mayā saṃsāracakre 'smin bhramatā bhagavan sadā tāpatrayābhibhūtena na prāptā nirvṛtiḥ kvacit //
O Lord, as I wandered ever in this wheel of transmigration, overwhelmed by the three torments, nowhere have I found peace.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.37
दुःखान्य् एव सुखानीति मृगतृष्णाजलाशयः मया नाथ गृहीतानि तानि तापाय मे ऽभवन् ॥
duḥkhāny eva sukhānīti mṛgatṛṣṇājalāśayaḥ mayā nātha gṛhītāni tāni tāpāya me 'bhavan //
O Master, sufferings themselves — pools of water in a mirage — were taken up by me as pleasures, and they became torment for me.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.38
राज्यम् उर्वी बलं कोशो मित्रपक्षस् तथात्मजाः भार्या भृत्यजना ये च शब्दाद्या विषयाः प्रभो ॥
rājyam urvī balaṃ kośo mitrapakṣas tathātmajāḥ bhāryā bhṛtyajanā ye ca śabdādyā viṣayāḥ prabho //
Kingdom, land, army, treasury, the party of friends, and sons, wife, servant folk, and the objects of sense beginning with sound, O Lord —
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.39
सुखबुद्ध्या मया सर्वं गृहीतम् इदम् अव्यय परिणामे च देवेश तापात्मकम् अभून् मम ॥
sukhabuddhyā mayā sarvaṃ gṛhītam idam avyaya pariṇāme ca deveśa tāpātmakam abhūn mama //
all this I took up in the belief that it was pleasure, O imperishable one; and in its outcome, O lord of gods, it turned out to be torment for me.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.40
देवलोकगतिं प्राप्तो नाथ देवगणो ऽपि हि मत्तः साहाय्यकामो ऽभूच् छाश्वती कुत्र निर्वृतिः ॥
devalokagatiṃ prāpto nātha devagaṇo 'pi hi mattaḥ sāhāyyakāmo 'bhūc chāśvatī kutra nirvṛtiḥ //
O Master, even the host of gods, having attained a station in the world of the gods, wanted help from me — where then is lasting peace?
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.41
त्वाम् अनाराध्य जगतां सर्वेषां प्रभवास्पदम् शाश्वती प्राप्यते केन परमेश्वर निर्वृतिः ॥
tvām anārādhya jagatāṃ sarveṣāṃ prabhavāspadam śāśvatī prāpyate kena parameśvara nirvṛtiḥ //
Without worshipping you, the ground of the origin of all the worlds, by whom, O supreme Lord, is lasting peace attained?
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.42
त्वन्मायामूढमनसो जन्ममृत्युजरादिकान् अवाप्य पापान् पश्यन्ति प्रेतराजानम् अन्तरा ॥
tvanmāyāmūḍhamanaso janmamṛtyujarādikān avāpya pāpān paśyanti pretarājānam antarā //
Those whose minds are deluded by your māyā, the sinners, having undergone birth, death, old age and the rest, see the king of the dead in between.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.43
ततः पाशशतैर् बद्धा नरकेष्व् अतिदारुणम् प्राप्नुवन्ति महद् दुःखं विश्वरूपम् इदं तव ॥
tataḥ pāśaśatair baddhā narakeṣv atidāruṇam prāpnuvanti mahad duḥkhaṃ viśvarūpam idaṃ tava //
Then, bound with hundreds of nooses, they obtain in the hells exceedingly cruel, great suffering — this is your universal form.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.44
अहम् अत्यन्तविषयी मोहितस् तव मायया ममत्वागाधगर्तान्ते भ्रमामि परमेश्वर ॥
aham atyantaviṣayī mohitas tava māyayā mamatvāgādhagartānte bhramāmi parameśvara //
I, utterly given to sense objects, deluded by your māyā, wander at the bottom of the fathomless pit of 'mine', O supreme Lord.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 196.45
सो ऽहं त्वां शरणम् अपारम् ईशम् ईड्यं संप्राप्तः परमपदं यतो न किंचित् संसारश्रमपरितापतप्तचेता निर्विण्णे परिणतधाम्नि साभिलाषः
so 'haṃ tvāṃ śaraṇam apāram īśam īḍyaṃ saṃprāptaḥ paramapadaṃ yato na kiṃcit saṃsāraśramaparitāpataptacetā nirviṇṇe pariṇatadhāmni sābhilāṣaḥ
Such as I am, I have come to you for refuge — the boundless Lord, the praiseworthy, the highest station beyond which there is nothing — my mind scorched by the fever and weariness of transmigration, disgusted (with it), longing for that abode which is the final outcome.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain