Srimadbhagavatham -skandha 8- amrtha mathanam

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Chapter5 and 6- AmrthamaThanam-1

 

This happened in the fifth manvanthara. Sage

Durvasa gave a garland to Indra who was seated on Airavatha and he put it on

the head of the elephant which dropped it and trod on it. Then he was cursed by

the sage that he would lose his power. Knowing this the asuras attacked the

devas, killing many of them and drove

Indra from his place. Then the devas went to the top of the mount Meru

to Brahma and told him what happened.

 

Brahma told them that the whole cosmos is the

sareera of Lord Hari and as the water poured to the roots of the tree goes to

all the parts, the worship of Hari pleases all deities. Then Brahma extolled

the glory of the Lord thus:

 

avikriyam

sathyam anantham aadhyam

guhaasayam

nishkalam apratharkyam

manoagrayaanam

vachasaa aniruktham

namaamahe

dhevavaram vareNyam

 

We salute the Supreme Lord, who is changeless,

truth itself, infinite, the first ever, resides in side the cave of the heart,

partless, not cognized by reasoning, not described by mind or words.

 

This reflects the upanishadic text, `sathyam jnaanam anantham brahma,

Brhaman is existence , knowledge and infinity,' and `yatho vaacho nivarthanthe apraapya manasaa saha, from whom the

mind and the speech returns not able to reach Him.'

 

vipaSchitham

praana manoDhiyaathmanaam

aThendhriyaabhaasam

anidhram avraNam

Chaayathapou

yathra na grDhrapakshou

tham

aksharam kham viyugam vrajaamahe

 

We resort to the imperishable who is all pervading

like space, who operates through the life force, mind , intellect and the self,

who lights up the indhriyas, who has no states of sleep, dream and deep sleep,

who has no embodiment due to karma and who has no opposites such as heat and

shadow which are like the two wings of an eagle.

yam

ekavarNam thamasaH param thath

alokam

avyaktham ananthapaaram

aasaamschakaara

upasuparNam enam

upaasathe

yoga raThena DheeraaH

 

The one whom the yogis meditate on as the One who

is beyond the darkness of ignorance, beyond

cognition, unmanifest yet all pervading, who exists along with the

embodiment self as its inner Self.

 

Then the

Lord appeared before them and instructed them to churn the milky ocean and

obtain amrtha, by drinking which they will become immortal. He told them to

throw all herbs and plants into the milky ocean and using the mount mandhara

as the churning rod , to churn till they get amrtha. The Lord advised them to make

a pact with asuras and enlist their support also and cautioning them against

desiring for the things that may come out of the ocean and assuring them His

full support, telling them not to fear the kalakuta that will emerge from the

ocean, He disappeared.

 

The devas tried to lift the mandhara mountain but

could not do it and being oppressed by its weight, dropped it killing many of

the asuras and devas. Then the Lord Hari came and revived the dead and lifting the mountain with one hand

effortlessly placing it on the shoulders of Garuda went to the milky ocean.

Garuda took off the mountain from his shoulders and placed it on the ocean and

departed with the permission of the Lord.