Srimad Bhagavatam Skanda 1 - Omens at the dawn of Kali Yuga

Srimad Bhagavatam cleanses kalimala or the pollutant of Kali, destroys sins, shows the indweller, the Lord, in oneself by bringing Vairagya towards the materialistic world, and gives pure devotion, crystal clear, and clean knowledge. 

|| Hari Om ||

Hare Srinivasa

कल्यण अद्भुत गात्राय कामितार्थ प्रदयिने ।

श्रीमद् वेन्कटनाथाय श्रीनिवासय ते नम: ॥

Your benevolence for granting wishes is incredibly vast and unsurpassed.

Divine Lord Venkateshwara! Destroyer of Sins! An abode of Mahalakshmi! Srinivasa!

My salutations to you.

भवाय नस्त्वं भव विश्वभावन त्वमेव माताथ सुहृत्पतिः पिता ।

त्वं सद्गुरुर्नः परमं च दैवतं यस्यानुवृत्त्या कृतिनो बभूविम ॥ ७॥

Vishwabhavana! From you, the whole universe has arisen. Suhrtpati! You are the mother, the father, you are the friend, as well as our teacher. Sadguru! It is you, who makes us walk on the right path. You are our lord, as well as being worshipped. We are safe and successful by taking refuge in your lotus feet which are auspicious. 

Lord! You are the only cause of our success.

व्यासाय भव नाशाय श्रीशाय गुण राशऐ ।

हृद्याय शुद्ध विद्याय मध्वायछ नमो नमः ॥

Charming & the beloved Vyasa, the destroyer of emotional & behavioral disorders, the Lord of Goddess of abundance having heaps of attributes, bestower of clean knowledge, my repeated salutations to you and Acharya Madhwa.

यः स्वानुभावमखिलश्रुतिसारमेकमध्यात्मदीपमतितितीर्षतां तमोऽन्धम् ।

संसारिणां करुणयाह पुराणगुह्यं तं व्याससूनुमुपयामि गुरुं मुनीनाम् ॥

This Srimad Bhagavatam gives the experience of the Lord and has the essence of all Vedas and Vedanta. It sheds spiritual light on the transcendental philosophy required to surpass the intense cycle of death and birth which is wrapped in ignorance. However, it is very secretive in nature. Hence, I pray to you Sri Shukacharya for your continued blessings.

दयादाक्षिण्यवैराग्यवाक्पाटवमुखाङिकतः ।

शापानुृग्रहशक्तोऽन्यो राघवेन्द्रन्नविध्यते ॥

The face symbolizing Compassion; Modesty; Dispassion towards sensual pleasure; Eloquence; Power to remove curses is none else than you, Guru Raghavendra. 
My salutations to you.

Life is inauspicious without remembering the divine names of Lord is the subject of our discussions! The relations among various beings, their worldly activities, the feeling of happiness, or unhappiness, or sorrows is neither permanent nor predictable. However, the relations with the Lord yield permanent and predictable happiness and knowledge.

Sri Sutacharya narrating Srimad Bhagavata to the spiritual gathering in Naimisharanya said,

सूत उवाच

सम्प्रस्थिते द्वारकायां जिष्णौ बन्धुदिदृक्षया ।

ज्ञातुं च पुण्यश्लोकस्य कृष्णस्य च विचेष्टितम् ॥ १॥

व्यतीताः कतिचिन्मासास्तदा नायात्ततोऽर्जुनः ।

ददर्श घोररूपाणि निमित्तानि भृगुद्वहः ॥ २॥

Sri Shaunaka Rishi! You are born in the famous Bhrugu gotra. I shall tell you the detailed story of how the sons of Pandu departed from the earth that you want to hear from me. I shall narrate that story. Please hear me with full attention.  

It had been quite some time since Lord Sri Krishna was appearing on earth. He had appeared to reduce the weight of sins on mother earth. When he appeared on this earth, the other Gods like Vayu as Bheema, Indra as Arjuna, and Yama Dharmaraja as Yudhishthira appeared as Pandavas to continue their uninterrupted service of Lord. Even God Sesha had appeared as Balarama in the Yadhu clan. Lord Sri Krishna had completed the important activity of killing evil. Starting from Putani, who breastfed poison to Sri Krishna to Duryodhana, all were killed.  

Arjuna had left for Dwarka, to check the well being of relatives and friends there. More importantly, he wanted to see the activities of his dear friend and his Lord, Sri Krishna having the divine name. The name which repeated would yield merits. However, he had not returned for some time

Hence, King Yudhishthira had become perturbed. He was receiving inauspicious and unfortunate signals through bad omens. The anxiety and the intense yearning to know the situations at Dwarka had engulfed King Yudhishthira. It was several months since Arjuna had left Hastinapura and had not returned.

कालस्य च गतिं रौद्रां विपर्यस्तर्तुधर्मिणः ।

पापीयसीं नृणां वार्तां क्रोधलोभानृतात्मनाम् ॥ ३॥

King Yudhishthira also noticed that there was a sudden change in patterns of seasons and the moral values of people in general. The fear among the virtuous had raised. The ethics of the people had sharply declined. Filled with anger, greed, lies, and so on, the people made transactions filled with sins to carry on with their livelihood.

जिह्मप्रायं व्यवहृतं शाठ्यमिश्रं च सौहृदम् ।

पितृमातृसुहृद्भ्रातृदम्पतीनां च कल्कनम् ॥ ४॥

King Yudhishthira was perplexed to see fraud and roguery had become the cause for coming together and social status in the society. However, Parents, relatives, brothers, spouses, were fighting among themselves. Peace and tranquillity had taken a big toll on society. 

निमित्तान्यत्यरिष्टानि काले त्वनुगते नृणाम् ।

लोभाद्यधर्मप्रकृतिं दृष्ट्वोवाचानुजं नृपः ॥ ५॥

With the advent of Kali Yuga, desire, deceit, or destroy had become natural behavior among the people. Seeing even nature was boding misfortune, King Yudhishthira told Bheemasena,  

युधिष्ठिर उवाच

सम्प्रेषितो द्वारकायां जिष्णुर्बन्धुदिदृक्षया ।

ज्ञातुं च पुण्यश्लोकस्य कृष्णस्य च विचेष्टितम् ॥ ६॥

Bheemasena! We had sent Arjuna to Dwarka to check the well being of our relatives and friends there. Also, to see for himself the sport's charm of Lord. Repeating his name as Sri Krishna would yield high merits.

गताः सप्ताधुना मासा भीमसेन तवानुजः ।

नायाति कस्य वा हेतोर्नाहं वेदेदमञ्जसा ॥ ७॥

It would take seven days to go to Dwarka and return. However, I am feeling as if seven months have passed since he has left for Dwarka. I am unable to understand why he has not yet returned? Asked King Yudhishthira to express his frustration.

अपि देवर्षिणाऽऽदिष्टः स कालोऽयमुपस्थितः ।

यदात्मनोऽङ्गमाक्रीडं भगवानुत्सिसृक्षति ॥ ८॥

Remember, Narada Rishi was mentioning that Lord Sri Krishna would stop exhibiting his sports charm to the people on earth appearing as another man. Has that time of his disappearance already come? Asked King Yudhishthira.

यस्मान्नः सम्पदो राज्यं दाराः प्राणाः कुलं प्रजाः ।

आसन् सपत्नविजयो लोकाश्च यदनुग्रहात् ॥ ९॥

I have the wealth, kingdom, wife, life, clan, subjects, and have accomplished success of winning over the enemy with only the blessings of Lord Sri Krishna.  Has the time of disappearance of that form of Lord Sri Krishna from this earth has come! Wondered King Yudhishthira.

पश्योत्पातान् नरव्याघ्र दिव्यान् भौमान् सदैहिकान् ।

दारुणान् शंसतोऽदूराद्भयं नो बुद्धिमोहनम् ॥ १०॥

The best among beings! Bheemasena! As the dust and debris raining down from outer space into the earth atmosphere as meteors or the falling stars in the sky; the earthquakes, tsunami; and other calamities in the sky, earth, and body infested with diseases and disorder are the bad omens that are staring at our face. This is indicating that something major untoward incidence is going to happen.

ऊर्वक्षिबाहवो मह्यं स्फुरन्त्यङ्ग पुनः पुनः ।

वेपथुश्चापि हृदये आराद्दास्यन्ति विप्रियम् ॥ ११॥

Dear Bheemasena! My left eyes, left thigh, left shoulder are all shivering. So also my heart. I am feeling scared. All are indicating that something untoward is happening. We should expect a piece of bad news at any time.

शिवैषोद्यन्तमादित्यमभिरौत्यनलानना ।

मामङ्ग सारमेयोऽयमभिरेभत्यभीरुवत् ॥ १२॥

Bheemasena! Look at the foxes. In the early morning, they are screaming seeing the rising Sun. It is appearing as if they are vomiting fire from their mouth.  Look! They are just not scared of us. They are barking at us.

शस्ताः कुर्वन्ति मां सव्यं दक्षिणं पशवोऽपरे ।

वाहांश्च पुरुषव्याघ्र लक्षये रुदतो मम ॥ १३॥

Bheemasena! Look at these auspicious animals like cows and others. They are having me on their left side too causing an anti-clockwise rotation. And, those inauspicious like donkeys are having me on their right side instead of the left side. Seeing this, my horses that pull my chariot too are filled with sorrow and are shedding tears.   

मृत्युदूतः कपोतोऽयमुलूकः कम्पयन् मनः ।

प्रत्युलूकश्च कुह्वानैरनिद्रौ शून्यमिच्छतः ॥ १४॥

Bheemasena! The pigeons, sparrows, and their enemy crows are making sharp noises of grunting, chirping and Kaw kawing in the nights. They have been expressing their anxiety. This is causing the disturbance in sleep to all the people and making them scared.

They are appearing to me as the messengers of death.

धूम्रा दिशः परिधयः कम्पते भूः सहाद्रिभिः ।

निर्घातश्च महांस्तात साकं च स्तनयित्नुभिः ॥ १५॥

All the surrounding directions are appearing brownish and as if filled with smoke. Time and again circles are appearing around Sun and Moon. The earth crust along with mountains are shaking, clouds are clashing with each other causing lightning, thunders and even thunderbolts.          

वायुर्वाति खरस्पर्शो रजसा विसृजंस्तमः ।

असृग्वर्षन्ति जलदा बीभत्समिव सर्वतः ॥ १६॥

The strong, dusty, and gusty wind having high speeds are hitting as if they are fiercely eager to shear the skin. The whole place is appearing scary with thick, dark clouds hovering at a low level and pouring red.        

सूर्यं हतप्रभं पश्य ग्रहमर्दं मिथो दिवि ।

ससङ्कुलैर्भूतगणैर्ज्वलिते इव रोदसी ॥१७॥

The Sunrays and that of the moon have become dim. The planets are all coming together in one zodiac house as if hitting each other. It is appearing as if all the ghosts and spirits are crowding together and lit the earth and the sky with fire.

नद्यो नदाश्च क्षुभिताः सरांसि च मनांसि च ।

न ज्वलत्यग्निराज्येन कालोऽयं किं विधास्यति ॥ १८॥

The lakes, rivers, and great rivers are becoming turbulent and getting polluted. Also, the minds of people have become polluted causing turbulence and disturbance. All have lost their peace and tranquillity with their muddled mind. Even with the continuous flow of ghee into the fire sacrifice is not causing the fire to glow.

With all these inauspiciousness having bad omens, future times are threatening!

न पिबन्ति स्तनं वत्सा न दुह्यन्ति च मातरः ।

रुदन्त्यश्रुमुखा गावो न हृष्यन्त्यृषभा व्रजे ॥ १९॥

The calves are not drinking milk. The cows are not giving milk to their young ones. The cows are shedding tears in the Goshalas. The bullocks are also not happy in their shelter houses.

दैवतानि रुदन्तीव स्विद्यन्ति ह्युच्चलन्ति च ।

इमे जनपदा ग्रामाः पुरोद्यानाकराश्रमाः ।

भ्रष्टश्रियो निरानन्दाः किमघं दर्शयन्ति नः ॥ २०॥

The Gods are appearing as if they are sweating and tired from working hard. They appeared as if they are crying. The charm of the capitals, cities, towns, gardens, villages, mines, ashramas, are all on the decline. All of these omens are indicating as if there is trouble ahead and an untoward incidence is ahead of us.

मन्य एतैर्महोत्पातैर्नूनं भगवतः पदैः ।

अनन्यपुरुषश्रीभिर्हीना भूर्हतसौभगा ॥ २१॥

Being witness to so many strange omens, it appears as if the Goddess Bhudevi has lost all her fortunes and has taken refuge at the lotus feet of the Lord.

Narada rishi had informed King Yudhishthira that his blind uncle Dhritarashtra, aunt Gandari, and his mother Kunti had left this earth and had accomplished a higher world. Also, he had said that Lord Sri Krishna was in the last leg of his incarnation appearing to the common man on this earth.

Sri Suthacharya continuing the narration said to Shaunaka and his fellow Rishis,

इति चिन्तयतस्तस्य दृष्टारिष्टेन चेतसा ।

राज्ञः प्रत्यागमद्ब्रह्मन् यदुपुर्याः कपिध्वजः ॥ २२॥

तं पादयोर्निपतितमयथापूर्वमातुरम् ।

अधोवदनमब्बिन्दून् सृजन्तं नयनाब्जयोः ॥ २३॥

विलोक्योद्विग्नहृदयो विच्छायमनुजं नृपः ।

पृच्छति स्म सुहृन्मध्ये संस्मरन् नारदेरितम् ॥ २४॥

Sri Shaunaka! The worried king Yudhishthira was narrating the series of bad omens that he was observing to Bheemasna. During that time Arjuna returned from his visit to Dwarka. Seeing his two elder brothers Bheemasena and Yudhishthira, Arjun prostrated at their feet offering his salutations. Filled with melancholy, Arjuna too appeared like never before. Observing Arjuna’s eyes being wet and tears rolling down his cheeks, King Yudhishthira became further worried. Narada rishi’s words were flashing in his mind and the King Yudhishthira appeared befuddled.

In the metaphysical sense, the time span during the appearance of Lord Sri Krishna on this earth is the remembrance of the divine name of Lord that describes his glory and singing it or namasankeertana. Doing so yields success, prosperity, peace, and tranquility like it yielded to the Pandavas during Lord Sri Krishna’s appearance.

However, living a life without the remembrance of Lord is like the bad "Omens at the dawn of Kali Yuga" encountered by King Yudhishthira immediately after the disappearance of the Lord indicating the advent of miseries, sorrows, and sadness in one’s life.

यः श्रद्धयैतद्भगवत्प्रियाणां पाण्डोः सुतानामिति सम्प्रयाणम् ।

शृणोत्यलं स्वस्त्ययनं पवित्रं लब्ध्वा हरौ भक्तिमुपैति सिद्धिम् ॥

Hearing the divine, auspicious, and purest story of the Pandava's journey to heaven. The journey of the devout and dear friend of Lord Sri Krishna would yield Bhakti in the lotus feet of Lord and also mukti that would shear the bind of the cycle of death and birth.
Hence, let's pray to Lord Hari, God Vayu, and Guru Sri Raghvendra for their continued blessings to hear the detailed story of how the sons of Pandu departed from the earth. 

|| Hari Om || 

|| Sri Krishnarpanamastu ||