Arjuna Recollects Kṛṣṇa’s Grace and the Pāṇḍavas Attain Kṛṣṇa
This chapter contains fifty-one verses, out of which the first four are spoken by Sūta, verses 5–27 are spoken by Arjuna, and the final twenty-four verses are again spoken by Sūta. In the previous chapter, Sūta described Yudhiṣṭhira’s anxiety over Arjuna’s excessive delay in returning from Dvārakā to Hastināpura. Yudhiṣṭhira disclosed to Bhīma his apprehension about all the inauspicious omens that he was then witnessing throughout the kingdom, which led him to suspect Kṛṣṇa’s disappearance from the world.
While Yudhiṣṭhira was deliberating in this manner, Arjuna returned from Dvārakā, looking unprecedentedly dejected. Witnessing his despondency, Yudhiṣṭhira inquired at length about the well-being of all the Yādavas and especially about Kṛṣṇa Himself. The chapter ends with Yudhiṣṭhira inquiring directly about Arjuna’s own state of being, conjecturing in numerous ways as to the cause of his forlorn condition.
In this chapter, Sūta reports Arjuna’s answers to Yudhiṣṭhira’s questions. Arjuna was at first unable to respond because he was enfeebled and distressed due to separation from Kṛṣṇa. Then, wiping the tears from his eyes and remembering Kṛṣṇa’s friendship and kindness upon him, he began to reply (verses 1–4).
Arjuna first expressed that he felt cheated by Kṛṣṇa because the latter had deprived him of His association, and he was now rendered powerless. He then went on to describe a few of the most memorable acts of friendship and benevolence that Kṛṣṇa extended toward him, his brothers, and their wife Draupadī. He also expressed regret at having engaged Him, the Supreme Regulator of all beings (Parameśvara), in the menial task of being his charioteer (verses 5–19).
Although, by Kṛṣṇa’s grace, Arjuna had previously conquered the host of mighty Kuru warriors single-handedly, now, deprived of His association, he was defeated by a band of lowly cowherds while escorting Kṛṣṇa’s retinue of queens. Arjuna further disclosed that the Yādavas, drunk on Vāruṇī liquor, fought and killed each other as a result of a curse inflicted by the vipras. Only four or five of them now remained alive. Finally, Arjuna recollected the message of Bhagavad Gītā that he had heard on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra and thus became peaceful, absorbed in thoughts of his dearest friend, Śrī Kṛṣṇa (verses 20–27).
Sūta then briefly describes Arjuna’s transcendence of worldly existence as a consequence of his immediate realization of Śrī Kṛṣṇa as Parabrahman in humanlike form (verses 28–31). Accordingly, hearing the news of Kṛṣṇa’s departure and of the destruction of the Yadu dynasty, Yudhiṣṭhira decided to renounce the kingdom and depart for the Himālayas. Kuntī likewise fixed her mind on Kṛṣṇa and desisted from worldly existence (verses 32–33). Sūta then speaks two key verses about Kṛṣṇa’s withdrawing the form by which He relieved the burden of the earth (verses 34–35).
Kṛṣṇa’s departure from the earth was followed by the full-fledged entry of Kali. Seeing this, Yudhiṣṭhira installed Parīkṣit as the king of Hastināpura and Vajranābha, the great-grandson of Kṛṣṇa, as the ruler of Mathurā. He then departed, leaving behind all his royal insignia, and was consequently freed from the conceptions of “I” and “mine.” Sūta goes on to describe Yudhiṣṭhira’s internal and external states (verses 36–44).
Yudhiṣṭhira was followed by his brothers, who all set out after him. The Pāṇḍavas all fixed their minds on Kṛṣṇa and thereby attained Him by way of their spiritual bodies. Vidura also gave up his body at Prabhāsa and returned to his own abode (Yamaloka) in his partial aspect as a devatā. Understanding the mood of her husbands, Draupadī also fixed her mind on Kṛṣṇa and attained Him. In the final verse, Sūta concludes the entire episode of the Pāṇḍavas’ renunciation and attainment of Kṛṣṇa with a benediction for the readers of these three chapters of the Bhāgavata (verses 45–51).
All Verses
- Verse 1Śrī Sūta said: Kṛṣṇa’s friend Arjuna, who was enfeebled due to separation from Kṛṣṇa and betrayed a countenance that provided reasonable grounds for many doubts, was questioned in this manner by his brother, King Yudhiṣṭhira.
- Verse 2Yet Arjuna, whose lotus face and heart had withered due to grief [caused by separation from Kṛṣṇa] and who had thus been deprived of his bodily luster, was unable to reply, remaining continuously absorbed in thoughts of Him alone, the Omnipresent [Śrī Kṛṣṇa].
- Verse 3-4Restraining with great difficulty the tears of grief [that welled up] in his eyes and wiping with his hands [the tears that glided down his face], Arjuna felt greatly distressed out of intense longing born of love due to Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s having passed beyond his vision. Remembering the friendship, benevolence, and kindheartedness displayed by Kṛṣṇa in the matter of His becoming his chariot driver and other roles, Arjuna addressed his elder brother, King Yudhiṣṭhira, in a voice choked with tears as follows.
- Verse 5Arjuna said: O great King, I have been cheated by Hari [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], who appeared as my friend. It is by Him that my magnificent prowess, which was astonishing even to the gods, has now been taken away.
- Verse 6By even a moment’s separation from Him [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], this world itself appears unattractive, just as this very body is termed a corpse when deprived of its life force.
- Verse 7It was with His support [or by His power] that the pride of the kings who were excessively intoxicated with passionate desire and who had assembled at the palace of King Drupada for Draupadī’s svayaṁvara ceremony, was “indeed” vanquished by me [at the mere grasp of my bow]. Thereupon, I pierced the revolving fish with my bow, fitted with an arrow, and by thus defeating them, I also obtained Draupadī’s hand.
- Verse 8It is indeed a wonder that in His presence, I swiftly defeated Indra himself along with the host of immortals, offered the Khāṇḍava Forest to the fire god, and obtained the assembly hall built by Maya—with deceptive surfaces embedded in its astonishing architectural design. Additionally, it was in His presence that the kings from all quarters brought tributes to your Rājasūya sacrifice.
- Verse 9By His prowess, your younger brother, the honorable Bhīma, who possesses the dynamic will and strength of ten thousand elephants, killed Jarāsandha, who used to place his foot on the heads of defeated kings. He did so to facilitate the Rājasūya sacrifice [which could not have taken place without the latter’s defeat]. Upon Jarāsandha’s death, the kings who were being held captive by him for a sacrifice to the lord of the goblin horde, Mahā Bhairava, were thereby freed, and on this account, they brought tributes to your Rājasūya sacrifice.
- Verse 10Your wife’s lovely braided hair, which was accorded the highest honor by being ceremoniously anointed with sacred oil and water during the chief of all sacrificial functions [the Rājasūya], was caught and then loosened by the miscreants [headed by Duḥśāsana] in the great assembly. With tears gliding down her face, she bowed in obeisance at Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s feet. In return, He made the miscreants’ wives husbandless, [and by their consequent widowhood] He loosened their hair.
- Verse 11It was He who, by coming to the forest and eating a morsel of leftover vegetables [stuck to Draupadī’s magical pot], protected us from the terrible calamity [in the form of a looming curse] contrived by our enemy [Duryodhana]—employing Durvāsā Muni as the cause—who was sent to us to be fed at the head of his ten thousand disciples. By Kṛṣṇa’s efficacious act, the host of sages, who were then submerged in the water, felt as if the entire three worlds had become satiated [to say nothing of themselves].
- Verse 12It was by His prowess that on another occasion, even the all-powerful Śiva, [disguised as a tribal huntsman] and accompanied by Pārvatī, was astonished by me in battle. Being thus pleased, he awarded me his own pāśupata weapon, while the lokapālas headed by Indra also offered me their respective weapons. [It is indeed also a wonder that] by this very human body, I obtained a share of the magnificent throne belonging to the chief of the devas in Indra’s glorious palace in heaven.
- Verse 13While I was enjoying my stay in heaven, the devas along with Indra, for the purpose of vanquishing their enemies, took support of my two stout arms, which were empowered by Śrī Kṛṣṇa and uniquely distinguished by the Gāṇḍīva bow. O Yudhiṣṭhira, descendant of King Ajamīḍha, today, I have been deceived by that Person who is unlimitedly complete in Himself.
- Verse 14With Him [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] as my friend, I alone on chariot crossed over the limitless ocean of the Kuru’s military might, teeming with invincible sea creatures [such as Bhīṣma, who is compared to the monstrous timiṅgila whale]. Again, it was by virtue of His friendship that I was able to recover the vast wealth of cows captured by them in the kingdom of Virāṭa and strip from the heads of our enemies the turbans that represented the seat of their power, bedecked with jeweled crowns.
- Verse 15O great King! It was He who, standing to my front [as my chariot driver], stole away, merely by His glance, the life, dynamic will, strength, and vitality of the commanders of the divisions of chariots in the armies led by Bhīṣma, Karṇa, our preceptor [Droṇācārya], and Śalya, which were arrayed with networks of chariots belonging to the innumerable preeminent royal warriors.
- Verse 16Because I had taken exclusive refuge in His arms, the weapons of infallible power discharged by our preceptor [Droṇācārya], Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Bhūriśravā, King Suśarmā, Śalya, King Jayadratha, Bāhlika, and others, could not touch me, just as the weapons employed by the asuras could not touch Prahlāda, the servant of Nṛsiṁhadeva.
- Verse 17This same Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Regulator of all beings and the Animator of all life, whose lotus feet are worshiped by the most highly evolved individuals for the purpose of liberation, was engaged by a fool like me in the ordinary task of being my charioteer. It is due to His unlimited power that the enemy chariot warriors had their minds bewildered and could not strike me, even though I stood on the ground with exhausted horses.
- Verse 18O King, my heart is overwhelmed as I now recall Mādhava’s joking words, illuminated by His graceful charming smile, and His heartwarming addresses, when, on different occasions, He would call me, “O Pārtha!” “O Arjuna!” “O beloved friend!” “O delight of the Kurus!”
- Verse 19Due to our intimacy, we used to lie down on the same bed, sit on the same seat, walk, boast, and dine together, among other such acts. [Sometimes, when I caught Him playfully contradicting His own words,] although I insulted Him with sarcastic remarks, such as, “O friend, how truthful You are!” yet, out of His supreme magnanimity, He tolerated all offenses committed by a fool like me, just as a friend tolerates the criticisms of a friend or as a father tolerates the misdeeds of his son.
- Verse 20O Emperor, being bereft of my dearest friend and well-wisher, the Supreme Person, I, the same one [who was formerly celebrated in the world as a great warrior endowed with all qualities] am now empty to the very core of my heart. As such, O King, I was conquered—like a frail young girl—by a band of lowly cowherds along the road, while escorting Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s retinue of sixteen thousand queens.
- Verse 21This celebrated Gāṇḍīva bow, these arrows, this very chariot, these [unimpeded] horses, and I, the same great chariot fighter, all on account of which, the kings used to offer respect unto me, have all instantly become worthless in the absence of our Master [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], just as oblations offered into ashes [yield no fruit], or as illusory gifts received from a magician [amount to nothing at all], or as seeds sown in barren land [come to ruin].
- Verse 22-23O King, among our relations in Dvārakā, about whom you have inquired, only four or five remain alive. [The rest, however, are all dead.] Bewildered due to the curse of the brāhmaṇa sages, they drank the intoxicating Vāruṇī wine, and with their minds thus maddened in a fit of rage, they struck and killed one another with [ironlike reeds held in] their fists, as if not knowing each other at all.
- Verse 24This [destruction of the Yadu dynasty] is surely the play of Bhagavān, the Supreme Regulator and Impeller of all, by whose will living beings kill one another and also protect one another.
- Verse 25-26O King, just as in bodies of water, among the aquatics, the large eat the small and the strong eat the weak, while the large and strong destroy each other, in the same manner, the Supreme Omnipotent [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] caused other [weaker or miscreant kings] to be killed by the strongest, mightiest Yadus, and the Yadus themselves to be uprooted by the mutual clash of Yadus, and so doing, He relieved the burden of the earth.
- Verse 27Govinda’s words, which were appropriate to place, time, and circumstance, and which relieve the pain in my heart as I now remember them, are stealing away my mind.
- Verse 28Śrī Sūta said: While he meditated in this manner on the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa with exceedingly deep heartfelt affection, Arjuna’s mind became peaceful and pure.
- Verse 29-30With his intellective faculty cleansed of all impurities by bhakti, which multiplied in waves through constant remembrance of the feet of Vāsudeva, Arjuna, now competent to ascertain the truth (vibhu), recollected the knowledge that was imparted to him by Bhagavān on the battlefield, which till then had remained suppressed due to the influence of time, action, and darkness.
- Verse 31By the treasure of Arjuna’s immediate realization of the Absolute, primordial nature (prakṛti) [or primal ignorance (avidyā)] was dissolved, and he thus became established in the nirguṇa state. By this transcendence of the guṇas, his subtle body (liṅga) was disintegrated, and he was consequently freed from rebirth [from the gross body (sthūla-deha) and all bodily identification (tad-abhimāna)]. Thereupon [in the absence of the limiting adjunct of the gross body], Arjuna’s doubt [his illusion (bhrama)], rooted in the sense of duality, was cut to pieces, and he became free from sorrow.
- Verse 32Hearing of the course adopted by Bhagavān [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] and of the destruction of the Yadu dynasty, King Yudhiṣṭhira, being firmly resolute in mind, fixed his intent upon the path leading to Kṛṣṇa’s own abode.
- Verse 33Having heard from Arjuna about the destruction of the Yadus and about Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s departure, Kuntī as well fixed her mind with exclusive devotion on Bhagavān Adhokṣaja and thereby ceased from worldly existence.
- Verse 34The unborn Śrī Kṛṣṇa cast off that very body by which He had relieved the burden of the earth, just as one would discard the thorn with which another is extracted, since both [the earth’s burden and the body (or intent) used to remove it] are indeed equally fit to be withdrawn in the eyes of Īśvara.
- Verse 35Just as Bhagavān assumes and relinquishes forms such as that of a fish [the Matsya avatāra] in the manner of a stage actor, so too, He withdrew that very body by which the earth’s burden was removed.
- Verse 36When Bhagavān Mukunda [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], whose sacred narrations are worthy to be heard, left this earth by way of His own body, on that very day, Kali, the cause of unrighteousness in those of unawakened discernment, made its full-fledged appearance.
- Verse 37Having observed the escalation of the wheel of adharma, symptomized by greed, dishonesty, duplicity, violence, and other such deficiencies, proliferated throughout the capital, the state, the home, and the bodies of the populace, the wise King Yudhiṣṭhira decided to depart from home.
- Verse 38In the capital of Hastināpura, the emperor [Yudhiṣṭhira] enthroned his grandson [Parīkṣit], who was modest in conduct and perfectly equal to his own self in virtues, as the sovereign of the land bordered by the sea.
- Verse 39In the same manner, he also enthroned Vajra [the son of Aniruddha] as the king of Śūrasena in Mathurā. Thereafter, having performed the Prājāpatya sacrifice [in which all of one’s possessions are offered in preparation to leave home], Yudhiṣṭhira, who was competent [to renounce the kingdom and adopt the life of mendicancy], consigned to his own self the householder’s perpetual sacred fires.
- Verse 40Having left behind in the palace all of his possessions, including silk garments, bracelets, and other ornaments, Yudhiṣṭhira was freed from the appropriation of objects as “mine” and from the conditioned “I-sense,” having completely cut off to the root all bonds [of ignorance].
- Verse 41He mentally offered [or dissolved] his speech and all other senses into the mind, the mind into the ascending life force (prāṇa), the ascending prāṇa into its counterforce [the descending life force (apāna)], the descending prāṇa along with its expulsive functions into death [the presiding deity of death], and then offered death into the body itself, the singularity constituted of the five primary elements.
- Verse 42Having offered his body constituted of the five primary elements into the three guṇas, the contemplative Yudhiṣṭhira offered the three guṇas into their singularity, primordial nature as a whole (prakṛti). He then offered the totality of material nature (prakṛti) into the self (jīva), and the self into the imperishable Brahman.
- Verse 43Dressed in ragged clothing, abstaining from food, observing silence, and allowing his hair to become disheveled, Yudhiṣṭhira exhibited an outward appearance like that of a dull-witted person, a madman, or a person possessed by a ghost.
- Verse 44He left the palace without waiting for anyone and without hearing the words of others, as if deaf. While meditating on the Supreme Brahman [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] within his heart, he set out for the northern direction, the path previously tread upon by highly realized beings, and from whence, having once gone, one does not return.
- Verse 45Seeing how the people on earth had become overpowered by Kali, the friend of irreligion, all of Yudhiṣṭhira’s brothers firmly determined within themselves [to follow the path leading to Bhagavān’s own abode] and thus set out after him.
- Verse 46They [the Pāṇḍavas] had completely accomplished all of life’s primary aims [beginning with dharma], yet, knowing the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa as their ultimate object of attainment [parama-puruṣārtham], they concentrated their minds exclusively on them.
- Verse 47-48With their intellective faculties completely purified by devotion intensified through that meditation, their minds became exclusively fixed on those [celebrated] supreme lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. By way of their spiritual bodies alone, which were bereft of the material guṇas, they [the Pāṇḍavas] certainly attained that destination [the abode of Śrī Kṛṣṇa], which is the residential ground of those whose impurities have been completely washed away but exceedingly difficult to attain by the unrighteous, whose minds are set on sense objects.
- Verse 49Vidura too, with his mind exclusively intent on Śrī Kṛṣṇa by total absorption in Him, gave up his body at Prabhāsa and returned to his own abode [Yamaloka, the seat of his administrative authority], accompanied by the residents of Pitṛloka [who had come there to escort him at that time].
- Verse 50At that time, fully comprehending her husbands’ indifference [relative to their own empirical selfhood], Draupadī as well, with her mind exclusively intent on Bhagavān Vāsudeva [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] certainly attained Him alone.
- Verse 51One who hears with faith this account of the most auspicious and sacred departure [described] in this manner of the sons of Pāṇḍu, who are very dear to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, will be endowed with bhakti to Bhagavān Hari and attain the state of perfection.