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Chapter 3:
Rishabhadeva's Appearance in the
Womb of Merudevî, the Wife of King Nâbhi(1) S'rî S'uka said:
'Nâbhi, the son of Âgnîdhra, desiring to have sons
with Merudevî who
was childless, together with her with great attention offered
prayers
in worship of the Supreme Lord Vishnu, the enjoyer of all sacrifices. (2) As
he with great faith and devotion and a pure mind was of worship, the
Supreme Lord out of His love to fulfill the desires of His devotees,
manifested Himself in His most beautiful, unconquerable form pleasing
to the mind and eyes. He saw Him with all of His captivating, beautiful
limbs, even though that [normally] cannot be achieved by the
means for performing the pravargya ceremony he was
engaged in: the place and time, hymns, priests, gifts to the priests
and the regulative principles. (3) When
He manifested Himself very bright in His four-handed form as the topmost of all living
beings
with a yellow silk garment and the beauty of the S'rîvatsa mark
on His chest, His conch shell, lotus flower, disc, flower garland, the
Kaustubha jewel and His club that characterize Him, He radiating
brilliantly with His helmet, earrings, bracelets, girdle, necklace,
armlets, ankle bells etc. that ornamented His body, made king
Nâbhi, the priests and the others feel like poor people who have
obtained a great treasure whereupon they with great regard and all
paraphernalia
of worship reverentially bent their heads. (4-5) The priests said:
'Please accept oh
Most Exalted One, the repeated offerings of respect of our worship. By
that worship we, Your servants, are able to act, provided we follow the
instructions of the exalted ones. Whoever not in control of his mind
because of being absorbed completely by the fickleness of natural
phenomena [the gunas], would be capable of knowing all the
names, forms and
qualities belonging to the position in this world of You, the Supreme
Controller above and beyond the influence of the material world! We can
only partly know You by dint of most auspiciously expressing in words
the excellence of Your transcendental qualities that wipe out all the
sinful actions of mankind. 
(6) You are
propitiated by Your servants who
in great ecstasy do their
prayers with faltering voices and perform their worship with water, fresh
twigs of green, tulasî
leaves and sprouts of grass. (7) Of
what use would it otherwise be
for Your sake to be encumbered with
performing sacrifices and all the articles of worship? (8) You
as the direct, self-sufficient embodiment of the civil
virtues [the purushârthas] are of an endless and
unlimited constant increase,
but oh Lord, our craving in this matter for the blessings of
material pleasure, can only be for the purpose of obtaining Your
grace. (9) Even
though You
personally wishing to open up with Your causeless and inexhaustible
mercy and glory the path of liberation [called apavarga], and
for that purpose have come
here and are present for any ordinary man to see, we
fail in our worship for You. For we oh Lord of Lords, are but fools
unaware of Your ultimate welfare.
(10) This
before
the
eyes
of
Your
devotees
appearing of
You here in this sacrifice of King Nâbhi, constitutes oh Best of the Benefactors,
really the greatest blessing oh most worshipable one. (11) To those sages of whom strengthened
by detachment countless impurities were removed by the fire of
knowledge, to those sages satisfied within who attained Your
qualities by incessantly reiterating Your stories and discussing Your many attributes, You [being present in person]
are the highest blessing to
arrive at. (12) When we happen to
stumble and fall
down, suffer hunger, are bored, find ourselves in an awkward position
and such or when we have a fever or lie on our deathbed and thus are
not capable of remembering You, then let it be so that Your names,
activities and qualities are discussed that have the potency to drive
away all our sins. (13) Moreover
this
pious
king
[Nâbhi]
nevertheless aspires to be
blessed by You with offspring, a son that he
hopes to be exactly like You: a supreme controller of the benedictions
of heaven and the path leading there. He with the notion of children as the
ultimate goal of life asking
this in worship of You, thus
behaves like a poor man who asks a wealthy person willing to donate for
a bit of grain! (14) Whoever
not of respect for the feet of the great ones is within this world of
Yours not defeated by the unconquerable illusory energy [of mâyâ]
because
of
which
one
cannot
find
the
path?
Whose
intelligence
would not be bewildered by the
sensual pleasure that works like poison? Whose nature is not
checked by that stream [that chain of consequences]? (15) Please
excuse
us in Your [divine indifference of] sameness with each and all,
for
having invited You again in this arena of
sacrifice as the performer of many wonders, please tolerate us ignorant
ones who, less intelligent being of disrespect for the divinity of You
as the
God of Gods, are aspiring a material outcome.'
(16) S'rî S'uka said: 'The Supreme Lord, the leader of the wise, whose feet thus bowed down by means of other words than the usual verses were extolled by them who were [even] worshiped by [Nâbhi] the emperor of Bhâratavarsha [India], then kindly addressed them. (17) The Supreme Lord said: 'Alas, pleased as I am by you oh sages whose words are all true, that benediction you have been asking for - that there may be a son of Nâbhi alike Me -, is a thing most difficult to achieve. Being One without a second there cannot exist anyone else equal to Me. But the words of you brahmins cannot prove to be false [either], for the class of the twice-born godly ones [represents] My mouth. (18) Since I can't see anyone equal to Me, I shall therefore by personally expanding into a plenary portion of Myself descend in [Merudevî,] the wife of Âgnîdhra's son.'
(19) S'rî S'uka said: 'After He thus, clearly for her to hear, had spoken to the husband of Merudevî, the Supreme Lord disappeared. (20) Oh grace of Vishnu [Parîkchit], in order to please King Nâbhi the Supreme Lord, who in this sacrificial arena was propitiated by the best of the wise, appeared in His original avatâra form of pure goodness in his wife Merudevî with the desire to show the sages of renunciation - who barely clothe themselves, lead an ascetic life and are of a continuous celibacy - the way to perform the dharma [the righteousness, the religion, the true nature].'
(6) You are
propitiated by Your servants who
in great ecstasy do their
prayers with faltering voices and perform their worship with water, fresh
twigs of green, tulasî
leaves and sprouts of grass. (7) Of
what use would it otherwise be
for Your sake to be encumbered with
performing sacrifices and all the articles of worship? (8) You
as the direct, self-sufficient embodiment of the civil
virtues [the purushârthas] are of an endless and
unlimited constant increase,
but oh Lord, our craving in this matter for the blessings of
material pleasure, can only be for the purpose of obtaining Your
grace. (9) Even
though You
personally wishing to open up with Your causeless and inexhaustible
mercy and glory the path of liberation [called apavarga], and
for that purpose have come
here and are present for any ordinary man to see, we
fail in our worship for You. For we oh Lord of Lords, are but fools
unaware of Your ultimate welfare.
(10) This
before
the
eyes
of
Your
devotees
appearing of
You here in this sacrifice of King Nâbhi, constitutes oh Best of the Benefactors,
really the greatest blessing oh most worshipable one. (11) To those sages of whom strengthened
by detachment countless impurities were removed by the fire of
knowledge, to those sages satisfied within who attained Your
qualities by incessantly reiterating Your stories and discussing Your many attributes, You [being present in person]
are the highest blessing to
arrive at. (12) When we happen to
stumble and fall
down, suffer hunger, are bored, find ourselves in an awkward position
and such or when we have a fever or lie on our deathbed and thus are
not capable of remembering You, then let it be so that Your names,
activities and qualities are discussed that have the potency to drive
away all our sins. (13) Moreover
this
pious
king
[Nâbhi]
nevertheless aspires to be
blessed by You with offspring, a son that he
hopes to be exactly like You: a supreme controller of the benedictions
of heaven and the path leading there. He with the notion of children as the
ultimate goal of life asking
this in worship of You, thus
behaves like a poor man who asks a wealthy person willing to donate for
a bit of grain! (14) Whoever
not of respect for the feet of the great ones is within this world of
Yours not defeated by the unconquerable illusory energy [of mâyâ]
because
of
which
one
cannot
find
the
path?
Whose
intelligence
would not be bewildered by the
sensual pleasure that works like poison? Whose nature is not
checked by that stream [that chain of consequences]? (15) Please
excuse
us in Your [divine indifference of] sameness with each and all,
for
having invited You again in this arena of
sacrifice as the performer of many wonders, please tolerate us ignorant
ones who, less intelligent being of disrespect for the divinity of You
as the
God of Gods, are aspiring a material outcome.' (16) S'rî S'uka said: 'The Supreme Lord, the leader of the wise, whose feet thus bowed down by means of other words than the usual verses were extolled by them who were [even] worshiped by [Nâbhi] the emperor of Bhâratavarsha [India], then kindly addressed them. (17) The Supreme Lord said: 'Alas, pleased as I am by you oh sages whose words are all true, that benediction you have been asking for - that there may be a son of Nâbhi alike Me -, is a thing most difficult to achieve. Being One without a second there cannot exist anyone else equal to Me. But the words of you brahmins cannot prove to be false [either], for the class of the twice-born godly ones [represents] My mouth. (18) Since I can't see anyone equal to Me, I shall therefore by personally expanding into a plenary portion of Myself descend in [Merudevî,] the wife of Âgnîdhra's son.'
(19) S'rî S'uka said: 'After He thus, clearly for her to hear, had spoken to the husband of Merudevî, the Supreme Lord disappeared. (20) Oh grace of Vishnu [Parîkchit], in order to please King Nâbhi the Supreme Lord, who in this sacrificial arena was propitiated by the best of the wise, appeared in His original avatâra form of pure goodness in his wife Merudevî with the desire to show the sages of renunciation - who barely clothe themselves, lead an ascetic life and are of a continuous celibacy - the way to perform the dharma [the righteousness, the religion, the true nature].'
