Frustration of Vedavyasa
Saunaka said: Suta, you are highly blessed and the foremost of expositors. Please repeat to us the same sacred story of the Lord as the divine sage Suka recited. In which Yuga was the discourse held and at what place, what was the occasion for it? And at what instance did the sage Vedavyasa compose this Purana? His son is a great Yogi in whose eye diversity ceased to exist, whose mind is exclusively set upon God and who has woke from the sleep of worldliness. He remains incognito and is therefore taken for a stupid fellow.
On perceiving sage Vyasa, women who were bathing in the river, covered their body out of modesty, even though the sage had clothes on, while they took no notice of his son, who was stark naked. Noticing this strange behavior on their part the sage asked them to account for it; thereupon the women told him that he was still alive to the difference of sex, but not so his son, whose vision was faultless.
How did the royal sage Parikshit come to have a talk with him? Why did that emperor who served to enhance the glory of the Pandavas, take his seat on the bank of the
Suta replied: In the Dwapara Yuga, the third Yuga of the present round the great Yogi, Vyasa, who is a part manifestation of Sri Hari, was born of Satyavati through the sage Parasara. One day after taking his bath in the sacred waters of Saraswati, he sat in a lonely place just at sunrise. The sage, who had an unfailing eye and could read the past as well as the future, saw how by flux of time, which passed unnoticed, there ensued in every age an overlapping of duties, as a result of which the potency of material objects had diminished and people had grown irreverent, weak, dull-witted and short lived. Finding the people so unlucky, the sage began to investigate by means of his divine insight as to wherein lies the welfare of men belonging to all the grades of society and stages of life. Perceiving that the Vedic sacrifices are the purifiers of men, he divided the one Veda into four for the continuance of sacrifices. He thus separated the four Vedas under the names of Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. The Itihasas and Puranas are called the fifth Veda. Seeing that the women, the Sudras and the fallen Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas were debarred even from hearing the Vedas, and did not know how to perform acts that are conductive to good, the sage was good enough to compose the Mahabharata in order that women and others too might attain blessedness through the same.
Even though Vyasa ever remained whole heartedly engaged in doing good to living creatures, his heart was not satisfied with it. Feeling uneasy at heart, the sage, who knew the secret of Dharma, sat reflecting in a secluded spot on the holy bank of Saraswati and said to himself thus: “Observing the vow of celibacy I reverently studied the Vedas, served the elders and worshipped the sacrificial fires and honestly followed their precepts. I have also revealed the purport of the Vedas through the Mahabharata, in which even women, the Sudras and others can find their respective duties and other things explained. Though I stand foremost among those who are preeminent in knowledge, and possess uncommon powers, my soul it seems has not yet realized its true nature. Is it because I have not fully expounded the virtues that enable one to attain the Lord? It is these virtues that are loved by God realized saints and they alone are dear to Lord Vishnu”
While the sage was contemplating thus, the sage Narada called at his hermitage. When the sage saw Narada come, he instantly rose to receive him and duly offered worship to the celestial sage, who was adored even by the gods.
Narada said: Most blessed son of Parasara, I hope your self is satisfied. I’m sure all that you wanted to know has been fully realized, since you produced the most wonderful Mahabharata which fully deals with all the objects of human pursuit. You have also investigated the truth and realized the eternal Brahma. Nevertheless my lord, you bewail your lot as if you had not yet realized the object of your life.
Vyasa said: All that you’ve said about me is true; yet my soul finds no satisfaction. We ask you the cause of it, which is unknown to me, since your knowledge is unfathomable, you being a son of Brahma. You know all hidden truths inasmuch as you have worshipped the most ancient person, who is the ruler of both Prakriti and Purusa and who by his very thought creates, sustains and reabsorbs the universe with the help of the three gunas, though remaining unattached to the same. You go about all the three worlds even as the sun does; and moving within all like the air, you can read the minds of all. Even though I have fully realized through the practice of yoga and the observance of sacred vows both the supreme Brahma and Brahma in the form of the Vedas, pray point out to me my great deficiency.
Narada said: You have failed to sing adequately the stainless glories of the Lord. I consider that wisdom to be deficient, which does not tend to please the Lord. O chief of sages, you have not so fully described the glory of Vasudeva as much as you have dealt with the objects of human pursuit such as Dharma etc. Speech, which though full of sweet expressions, that never utters the praises of Sri Hari is considered to be the delight of voluptuous men and is considered similar to the pleasures of the senses of crows that feed upon the dirty leavings of food. The wise men, similar to the Swans, that are traditionally believed to have their adobe in the lotus beds of Manasarovar, never takes delight in such Speech. On the other hand, that composition which, though faulty in diction, consists of verses each of which contains the names of the immortal Lord, bearing the impress of his glory, wipes out the sins of the people. It is such composition that pious men love to hear, sing and repeat to an audience. Even the wisdom that is free from blemish and is a direct means to the attainment of liberation does not adorn one’s soul so much, if it is devoid of devotion to Achyuta. How then can action with an interested motive, which is rooted in sorrow at every stage and even disinterested action that has not been dedicated to God serve to heighten one’s glory. Therefore with a concentrated mind now recall the exploits of Sri Hari, who wields unthinkable power, with a view to the liberation of the entire humanity.
It was a great error on your part to have enjoined horrible acts in the name of religion on men who are naturally addicted to such acts. Misguided by these precepts of yours the ordinary man of the world would believe such acts to be pious and would refuse to honour the teachings that prohibit such actions. Only some wise men can by withdrawing from worldly enjoyments experience the bliss which forms the essential character of the eternal and infinite Lord. Therefore, kindly narrate the exploits of the Lord for the good of those who are working under the impulse of the three gunas and lack the spiritual sense. Has evil ever befallen him anywhere, who adores the Lotus feet of Sri Hari neglecting his own duty, even if he dies at a stage when he is yet unripe in his devotion, or falls from his Sadhana? On the other hand, what purpose has been achieved by those who have failed to realize God through devoted to their duty. A wise man should only strive for that object, which cannot be attained by going through highest adobe to the infernal regions. As for pleasures of senses they are had as a matter of course everywhere like sorrow as a result of past actions by flux of time, which is too quick to be perceived.
This universe is no other than the Lord, who is yet apart from it, being responsible for the continuance, destruction and coming into being of the world. You know it yourself; yet I have indicated it to you by way of a hint. O Vyasa of unfailing vision, know it for yourself that you are a ray of the highest person and that though unborn you have taken birth for the good of the world. Therefore, describe at length the exploits of the Lord.