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Narayana Shataka. Chapter three. Shrimad Bhagavatha
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NARAYANA SHATAKA
People say that Pothana composed a devotional Shataka by name Narayana Shataka, before he wrote the Bhagavatha.
The famous verse which begins with Dhara Simhasanamai and which boys sing while going with bow and arrows during Dasara days is from this Shataka. Devotional sentiment and sweet words used in the verse of this Shataka lead any one to believe that they were written by Pothana. Some of the independent usages and peculiar compounds found in these verses are there in the Bhagavatha also. But the following verse meaning,
I have committed many sins from the time of my birth, believing that you will protect me. You are my sole protector, Save me and do not permit Yama to enter into myself. I deserve your kindness. Oh, Lakshminarayana of Dharmapuri.
Mentions the name of Dharmapuri in the end. Therefore, some critics hold that it might have been written by a devotee belonging to Dharmapuri in the Karimnagar district. Moreover. the name of the author (Pothana) given at the end of the Shataka in prose instead of in a verse as in other Shatakas gives room for the doubt that somebody might have inserted it there. Therefore it is not possible to determine that Narayana Shataka was written by Pothana until more authentic proof is available.
CHAPTER THREE
Shrimad Bhagavatha
The main work that contributed to the glory of Pothana is his well-known Andhra Maha Bhagavatha, which is a Telugu translation of the Sanskrit Bhagavatha in champu form. Shrimad Bhagavath stands foremost among the eighteen Puranas in respect of mature style and of ability in enunciating the highest spiritual truths. Some critics are of the opinion that the Bhagavatha included and reckoned among the famous eighteen Puranas is the Devi Bhagavatha and this Bhagavatha is the seventeenth among the Upapuranas. There is difference of opinion regarding the authorship of this Bhagavatha also. The popular opinion is that it was written by Krishnadvaipayana Vyasa, along with other Puranas. There are some who hold that it was written by one Bopadeva, a great scholar in the court of the king Hemadri, who followed the Gopala religion, and some who think that it was composed by Shuka himself, the son of Vyasa and some others who attribute the composition of the Bhagavatha to another scholar who also bore the title Vyasa. As all these opinions are based on mere conjecture and do not have any strong evidence, a majority of the critics are still inclined to believe that it was written by Krishnadvaipayana Vyasa.
The circumstances in which Vyasa wrote the Bhagavatha are narrated in the beginning of the Bhagavatha itself. He first divided the Vedas into four and to do good to the women, Shudras and the Traivarnikas who are not eligible to hear the Vedas, composed the Mahabharath. Even then, he was not satisfied with the welfare of the world and was brooding over it, sitting on the banks of the river Sarasvati. At that time, Narada came there and asked him about the cause of his grief. Vyasa praised the greatness and the all-pervading knowledge of Narada and requested him to explain it himself. Then Narada told him:
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You narrated all the Dharmas in the Puranas and never described the stories of Lord Vishnu, who is not satisfied with mere narration of the Dharmas unless his qualities are praised. O venerable sage, the cause of your grief is nothing but this.
And advised him to describe, with devotion, the lilas of Lord Vishnu for the emancipation of all worldly bonds. According to his advice, Vyasa composed the Bhagavatha and taught it to his son Shuka.
King Parikshit heard about the curse given to him by Shringi, the son of Samika, abandoned all luxuries and enjoyments and entered the divine Ganges to observe Prayopavesha or fast unto death. Having known this, several sages including Vishvamitra, Maitreya, Bhrigu and Vasishtha went to see him along with their disciples. Parikshit received them with great regard and requested them to teach him the way of attaining Moksha or absolution. While the sages were thinking of giving a suitable answer to him, Shuka, the son of Vyasa, came there. Parikshit paid obeisance to him and prayed to him to let him know the path of attaining Moksha. Then Shuka was impressed with his humility, pitied him and began to tell him the story of the Bhagavatha as a means of attaining the highest bliss.
‘Bhagavatha’ means that which is related to Bhagavan or God. As the words Gita, Sahasra Nama and Ramayana, without any prefix, indicate the Bhagavadgita, the Vishnu Sahasranama and Valmiki’s Ramayana, the word ‘Bhagavatha’ indicates Shri Vishnu Bhagavatha alone. The Matsya, Garuda and Skanda Puranas describe it as a commentary of the great Gayatri mantra and Hayagriva Brahma Vidya. The name ‘Bhagavatha’ is given to it, as it describes the incarnations and sports of Bhagavan Narayana. Though all the Puranas enunciate the highest truth, Bhagavatha is given a special place in that respect. In Padma Purana, Gautama told Ambarisha that anyone wishing freedom from the bonds of Samsara should either read or hear Shrimad Bhagavatha narrated by Shuka. The very fact that King Parikshit could attain Moksha as a result of hearing the Bhagavatha for seven days is a clear proof of its extraordinary greatness.
There is an episode to the effect that while Shuka was teaching the Bhagavatha to Parikshit, Indra and other gods came there with pots full of real nectar and requested Shuka to give the nectar to King Parikshit and distribute the nectar of the stories of the Bhagavatha to them in exchange, but Shuka did not agree to do so, saying that their devotion did not yet reach such a Stage as to deserve it. Another story says that having known that Parikshit attained Moksha by hearing the Bhagavatha for seven days, Lord Brahma weighed the greatness of the Bhagavatha with suitable media and declared that the greatness of the Bhagavatha is heavier than all others.
Though these stories appear to have been concocted, they clearly indicate the glory of the Bhagavatha. It is said in the Padma Purana that the Bhakti, Jnana and Vairagya that cannot be obtained by the study of the Gita and the Upanishads can easily be obtained by hearing the stories of the Bhagavatha. Bhagavatha is a work which bestows the bliss of this world as well as that of the other world. With the help of the Bhagavatha, all people can, without the distinction of caste, creed, age or sex, attain the divine bliss.
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The compound Panchalakshana (having five characteristics) is not only a definition of the Purana, but also its synonym. Sarga (creation), Pratisarga (dissolution), Vamsha (royal families), Manvantaras (periods of Manus), and Vamshanucharita (history of dynasties) are the five main characteristics of a Purana. Scholars have given the definition of Panchalakshana to a Purana, as these five characteristics are generally found in all the Puranas. Maha Bhagavatha can be cited as an ideal Purana, having all these Lakshanas. In the second skandha is described the origin of the world, the creation of the Yakshas and other gods in the third skandha, the history of the kings belonging to the solar and lunar dynasties in the ninth skandha, and the nature of the four kinds of pralayas in the twelfth skandha. In addition to them the periods or ages of various Manus and the incarnations that God took during those periods are also described in the Bhagavatha. Some episodes or tales are narrated topically here and there to enunciate some Dharma or support some principles. There is close resemblance between the story of the latter part of the tenth skandha and that of the Uttara Harivamsha.
The ten Avataras or incarnations of Lord Narayana are well known in the world. Some are of the opinion that the order of these incarnations indicates the evolution of creation. Twenty-one Avataras of Shriman Narayana are described in the Bhagavatha. There is some difference between the twenty-one Avataras narrated by Sauthi to the sages in the first skandha and those described by Brahma to Narada in the second skandha not only in names but also in order. Among these Avataras some are Amshavataras (partial) and some are Kalavataras. There is a saying that “others are Amshavataras and Krishna is Bhagavan himself” and taking this as the basis, some hold that the incarnation of Krishna is a complete one. This is perhaps the reason why the birth, sports, exploits and the valour of Krishna are described in detail in the tenth skandha. Other incarnations are described in detail or in brief, according to the actions performed by the Lord in them.
In the second skandha, Shuka told Parikshit that the essence of the Bhagavatha could be briefly narrated in the form of four shlokas and it contained ten characteristics. Some of the characteristics described by Amarasimha are included in these. The ten characteristics described by him are Sarga, Visarga, Sthana, Poshana, Utis, Manvantaras, Ishanucharita, Nirodha, Mukti and Ashraya. Sarga is to see the Mahat, Ahamkara, Panchatanmantras, Pancha Bhutas and the Indriyas in God. The birth of Brahma out of the Supreme Being (Virat Purusha) and the creation by him of the animals and the inanimate world form Visarga. The triumph of the Lord of Vaikuntha who protects the world by destroying the wicked people is Sthana. The act of protecting or saving the devotees by Lord Vishnu is Poshana. The impressions unconsciously left on the mind, of the past actions, good or bad, are Utis. Manvantaras are periods of Manus who are endowed with the authority of ruling over the world by the grace of Narayana. The stories of the incarnations of God are Ishanukathas. Nirodha is to narrate the various circumstances that happen when the living beings remain actionless while Lord Vishnu is immersed in yogic sleep on the head of the serpent. Mukti is the state when the Jiva becomes Hari with the auspicious divine form and perfume. Ashraya is the Brahma or Paramatma, which is the primary cause of the origin, preservation and destruction of the world.
The Lakshanikas (Rhetoricians) prescribe that a poem should begin with blessings, obeisance or suggestion of the theme. The Sanskrit Bhagavatha begins with the shloka Janmadyasya which contains the verb Dhimahi, the same as is found in the Gayatri Mantra and indicates that the Bhagavatha is equal to that mantra in every respect. It praises the qualities of the supreme being, who is the cause of the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe. Pothana, no doubt, translated this shloka in the beginning of the story of the Bhagavatha, but prior to that he started the poem with his own verse which means.
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For attaining the state of absolution, I contemplate over the child of Yashoda, who is mainly engaged in the protection of the worlds, who is found of the art of saving his devotees, who puts an end to the arrogance of the demons and who produces all the worlds with merely a sportive glance.
This contains a prayer to Lord Krishna, who displayed innumberable sports as the child of Yashoda and Nanda. By the compound meaning “the child of Yashoda and Nanda’’ is indicated the theme of the tenth skandha which is considered the soul of the Bhagavatha. In the same way, other adjectives in the verse suggest the theme contained in the other skandhas of the Bhagavatha. Lord Narayana is always engaged in the protection of the worlds. The main purpose of his incarnations is to protect the world by killing the cruel demons and to save his devotees from troubles. The story of the Bhagavatha tells us that he killed the demons, Hiranyakashipu, Kamsa and others and protected his devotees like Prahlada, Ambarisha, Gajendra, etc. The adjectives — who is fond of the art of saving his devotees and who put an end to the arrogance of the demons — are suggestive of these actions. The fact that he produced the worlds by his sportive glance is corroborated by the Chandogya Upanishad. This is an indication of the origin of the universe described in the second skandha.
In this way, the whole theme of the Bhagavatha is unfurled if we expand the adjectives used in the first benedictory verse. Some of the characteristics of the Puranas described by Shuka to Parikshit are clearly suggested in this. Pothana did not only suggest the theme of his Work in this verse, but also paid homage to his deity. Other poets also bow to their deities in the beginning of their poems, but the first verse Of Pothana serves two purposes, viz., bowing to his deity and praising the qualities of the dedicatee of the poem as Lord Krishna happens to be both. The first line of the verse also indicates the inner ambition of Pothana. He worships Lord Narayana not for the attainment of worldly happiness and enjoyments but for being able to reach the highest goal of life — absolution or Kaivalya. This suggests, in a way, the truth that those who worship the Lord and who read the Bhagavatha that describes his sports and incarnations shall certainly become eligible for attaining such a state.
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