Author: S S Cohen
Publisher: Sri Ramanasramam
Year: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 498
ISBN/UPC (if available): 818288070X
Description
What distinguishes the Bhagavata Purana is not only it's exhaustive account of the life of the Lord's fullest manifestation on earth as Sri Krishna Avatara, but His fullest teaching to his beloved disciple Uddhava on the eve of His withdrawal from the world, which sometimes goes by the name of Uddhava Gita.
This teaching, not withstanding what the historians say of its age and authorship, is regarded by many as a development and an elucidation of the instructions He had given to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra and form the celebrated Bhagavad-Gita.
The latter is purported to have been propounded in the midst of a great human crisis, which threatened to engulf millions of warriors who were fighting for a righteous cause. It was given to nip in the bud the despondency which was growing in the hearts of its foremost leaders.
In contrast, Uddhava Gita is the direct, untrammelled, uninhibited teaching of a Master to His disciple, who had no other aim in life but to attain union with Him, and, as such, it is of the greatest practical value to those who seek to reach the same height, the State of the Lord Himself, which is the Supreme Enlightenment or Liberation.
Srimad Bhagavata is, in effect, planned to resolve all the spiritual doubts of the ardent, self-dedicated seekers of all ages. They are represented here by a great, pious king – Parikshit – who is setting on his deathbed praying for light from the assembled sages, so to face calmly and with a purified, illumined mind the last solemn moments of his life. What is more, it creates in the seeker the fervent devotion, which can impel him to make the strenuous efforts which are needed for the fruition and consummation of his spiritual yearnings.
The difference in the teachings of these two masterpieces does not actually exist save in the characters of the persons to whom they were respectively addressed, the circumstances in which they were delivered, and the developments of their themes.
The contemplative student should not be misled by the easy presentation and widely diffused instructions of the Bhagavata to permit a single useful point to slip into oblivion. He will then find all his questions answered, even those of which he has been vaguely aware but unable mentally to grasp or formulate, and all his problems solved.
Therefore to allow its blazing light to dispel the darkness of primeval avidya from the mind, constant repetitions and an intensely close study of it are most essential.
Contents
Publisher’s Note
Preface
BOOK ONE
I Invocation
I Installation of the Preacher
II The Highest Good
III The Lord’s Avataras
IV- V Vedavyasa
VII – XVII Birth and Trials of Parikshit
XVIII The Curse on Parikshit
XIX Parikshit Meets Suka
BOOK TWO
I-III Suka’s Sermon on Meditation
IV-VII Creation
VIII-X The Origin of the Bhagavata
BOOK THREE
I-VII Vidura Meets Uddhava and Maitreya
VIII-IX Birth and Vision of Brahma
X-XII Brahma Creates in Meditation
XIII Boar Avatara
XIV-XX Origin of the Daityas
XXI-XXII Kardama
XXIV-XXXII Woman is Maya Personified
XXXIII Devahuti Attains Englishtenment
BOOK FOUR
I-VII Sati
VIII-XII Dhruva
XIII-XIV Vena
XV-XXIII Prithu
XXIV-XXXI Prachinabarhi
BOOK FIVE
I Priyavrata
II-VI Rishabha Avatara
VII-XII King Bharata
BOOK SIX
I-III Ajamila, the Power of the Sacred Name
IV-VI Daksha the Prachetasa
VII-XII The Sorrows of Indra
XIV-XVIII Chitraketu
BOOK SEVEN
I-X Prahlada -Narasimha Avatara
XI-XV Narada’s Sermon to Yuddhishthira
BOOK EIGHT
I-III Gajendra Moksha
V-IX Kurma Avatara
X-XI Deva-Asura War
XII Infatuation of Lord Shankara
XIII-XIV The Future Manus
XV-XXIII Vamana Avatara
XXIV Matsya Avatara
BOOK NINE
I-V Rejuvenation of Rishi Chyavana
VI Mandhatta & Saubhari
VII-XIV Rama Avatara
XV-XVI Parasurama Avatara
XVIII-XIX Yayati
XX Shakuntala
XXI-XXII The Birth of Pandavas and Kauravas
XXIII-XXIV The Yadus
BOOK TEN
I-II Prologue
III The Advent
IV The Sorrows of Kamsa
V Festicities at Gokula
VI Putana
VII Trinavartasura
VIII Naming Ceremony
IX-X Release of Kubera’s Sons
XI Migration to Brindavan
XII Aghasura
XIII-XIV Disillusionment of Brahma
XV Dhenukasura
XVI-XVII The Dragon Kaliya
XVIII-XXI Pralamba and Forest Fire
XXII Krishna Steals Damsels’ Clothes
XXIII Liberation of the Brahmin Women
XXIV-XXVII Abashment of Indra
XXIX Infatuation of the Gopis
XXX-XXXII Gopis’ Search for Krishna
XXXIII Rasa Dance
XXXIV - XXXV Shankachuda
XXXVI - XXXVIII Kamsa Summons Krishna to Mathura
XLI In Mathura
XLII-XLIV Death of Kamsa and his Wrestlers
XLV Restoration
XLVI-XLVII Krishna’s Message to the Gopis
XLVIII Krishna Fulfils His Promises to Kubja and Akrura
XLIX Akura’s Mission to Hastinapura
L The Rise of Dwaraka
LI The Yavana Destroyed by Muchukunda
LII-LIV Krishna Marries Rukmini
LV Pradyumna
LVI-LVII The Syamantaka gem
LVIII Krishna Marries More Wives
LIX Narakasura Slain
LX Krishna Tests Rukmini
LXI Assassination of Rukmi
LXII-LXIV Nriga
LXV-LXVIII Balarama Visits Gokula and Hastinapura
LXIX Narada Dazzled by Krishna’s Glory
LXX-LXXIII Death of Jarasandha
LXXIV-LXXV Yudhishthira’s Rajasuya
LXXVI-LXXVII Salva and Dantavaktra Slain
LXXVIII-LXXIX Balarama’s Pilgrimage
LXXX-LXXXI Sudama (Or Kuchela)
LXXXII Reunion
LXXXIII-LXXXIV Krishna Meets Ancient Rishis
LXXXV Krishna Recalls His Baby-Brothers from the Dead
LXXXVI Arjuna Carries off Krishna’s Sister
LXXXVI The Lord is Slave of His Devotees
LXXXVII The Vedas praise the Absolute Self
LXXXVIII Vishnu Extricates Shiva from Difficulty
BOOK ELEVEN
I The Curse on the Yadus
II-V Narada Instructs Vasudeva
VI The Celestials Demand the Return of the Lord
UDDHAVA GITA
VII-IX The Avadhuta’s Legend
X Fatuity of Celestial Enjoyment and of Action
XI Transcendence of Action
XII Supreme Efficacy of Satsanga
XIII Extinction of the ‘I’-Sense
XIV The Path of Devotion Easiest
XV-XVI The Dangers of Siddhis
XVII-XVIII Sannyasa
XIX The World is Illusion; Knowledge is true Perfection
XX The Three Paths
XXI Ritualistic Heaven Glamorous
XXII-XXIII Illusion of the Categories
XXIV The Sankhya Doctrine
XXV-XXVI The Characteristics of the Gunas
XXVII Kriya Yoga
XXVIII Truth is one only
XXIX Farewell Message to Uddhava
XXX Extinction of the Yadus
XXXI Ascension to Vaikuntha
BOOK TWELVE
I-II Kali Makes its Bow
III How to Escape the Kali Spirit
IV The Four Dissolutions
V Suka’s Valedictory
VI Parikshit Merges into The Supreme
VI The Origin and Division of the Veda
VII The Puranas
VIII-X The Vision of Markandeya
XI Symbolism of the Lord’s Form
XII-XIII The Glory of the Bhagavata Purana
List of Characters
Glossary of Terms
Index