Keshavāya namah

King Rahūgaṇa fell and Jadabharata’s feet and begged forgiveness. He said,

“Kas tvaṁ nigūḍhaś carasi dvijānāṁ bibharṣi sūtraṁ katamo ’vadhūtaḥ Kasyāsi kutratya ihāpi kasmāt kṣemāya naś ced asi nota śuklaḥ

Who are you roaming about secretively unknown to this world? Like a Brahmin you wear the sacred thread. Who are you? Are you an Avadhoota? To which place do you belong? Why are you here? Did you come here seeking my welfare? Are you Maharishi Kapila, the embodiment of goodness?

O Mahatma, I do not fear Yama’s noose, Shiva’s trident, Indra’s thunderbolt, or any weapons discharged by the Fire-god, Sun-god, Moon-god, Kubera or any God as much as I fear inadvertently harming Self-realized persons and Brahmins.

O Mahatma, you are not inclined towards worldly attachments. You travel incognito ensuring that your unlimited knowledge is not revealed to the world. Please tell me who are you? Your words are filled with immense in-depth wisdom so much so that we are unable to even imagine their inner significance.

Lord Srihari incarnated as Maharishi Kapila, the supreme yogi who is established in Self-knowledge. He is the Paramaguru for all Mahatmas who are established in the Self. I am on my way to His ashram. I want to learn from him under what I should seek shelter in this world. Are you Maharishi Kapila? Are you travelling incognito desirous of seeing the world?

O Mahatma, I am an ignorant fool totally attached to these worldly objects. How can a fool like me ever understand the glories of supreme saints? It is a well known fact that the body gets physically exhausted due to work. Thus I presume that you, who were carrying such heavy load, must definitely be exhausted.

I believe that the way in which this world makes itself known to us is the real. If it is said that pot and other objects do not have real existence, then it should be impossible to fetch water in a pot. But it is our experience that water can be retained in a pot. Furthermore, the pot gets heated up when kept on fire and the heat transfers to the water kept in the pot thereby ensuring the grains of rice in the pot get cooked.

Similarly the Self is associated with the body, senses, life-force and mind. As a result of this association the joys and sorrows experienced by the body, mind and senses should naturally be transferred to the Self, is it not?

Śāstābhigoptā nṛpatiḥ prajānāṁ yaḥ kiṅkaro vai na pinaṣṭi piṣṭam Sva-dharmam ārādhanam acyutasya yad īhamāno vijahāty aghaugham

The king is the servant of the citizens. To complete this duty he has to mandatorily punish the wicked and reward the virtuous. This is acceptable correct procedure. To a king, ruling righteously is equivalent of worshipping Lord Srihari. Due to this he is freed from all his sins.

O Mahatma! Intoxicated by the pride that I am a powerful emperor I have insulted you, the most supreme among saints. You are the friend of the helpless and downtrodden. Therefore please look at me with affection. Only when you cast your affectionate glance upon me I will be able to overcome the sin of having insulted a noble saintly person. You are the friend who worries about the well-being of all living entities. Giving up bodily identification in totality you are mentally calm. Praises and insults do not touch you. People like me who insult noble saintly persons like you will very soon be destroyed. This is applicable to everyone including Lord Rudra”.

With this the tenth chapter of the fifth canto comes to an end.

Fifth Canto Eleventh Chapter

In this chapter the discussion between Jadabharata and Rahūgaṇa and the king attaining enlightenment through Jadabharata’s grace are covered.

Jadabharata, the supreme Brahmin, said to King Rahūgaṇa, “O King, in reality you do not possess discriminatory wisdom although you speak like a learned scholar. Merely by speaking intellectually you cannot be classified as a jnani. This is because those knowledgeable Mahatmas who describe the Absolute Truth never classify this visible world as real.

Even Vedic rituals are as unreal as the visible worldly transactions. Vedas describe in elaborate detail the Yagnas and Yāgas that are associated with the householder’s stage of life. A significant percentage of Vedas comprises of verses which extol fruitive activities. The Absolute Truth which is freed from violence (himsa), likes-dislikes and other impurities does not illumine through these Vedas. This is true.

Upon waking up a person realizes that the pleasures and happiness he had enjoyed during dream were unreal. Extending this same analogy one can understand that the happiness enjoyed by the house-holder through performance of Yagnas and other fruitive rituals is also unreal. However the person fails to realize that these fruitive activities are impermanent and that they should be given up.

Vedas are undoubtedly supreme. Yet the person who is immersed in fruitive activities cannot use these Vedic statements to understand his true Self. Unless he gives up action in entirety and performs Vedanta sadhana he can never obtain Self-realization”.