The Glories of the Bhagavad Gita (Telang translation)/Chapter 12

Bhagavad-gītā-Māhātmyam

(The Glories of the Bhagavad-gītā) Chapter 12

From the Padma Purāṇa

Lord Shiva said, "I will recite the wonderful glories of the twelfth Chapter of Ṥrīmad Bhagavad-gītā before you, dear Parvati."

In the South there is an important holy place by the name of Kolhapur, where the temple of the Lord's divine consort Maha Lakshmi is situated. Maha Lakshmi is continuously worshipped by all of the demigods. That place is the fulfiller of all desires. Rudragaya is also situated there. One day, a young prince arrived there. His body was the color of gold. His eyes were very beautiful. His shoulders were very strong and his chest was broad. His arms were long and strong.

When he arrived in Kolhapur, he first went to the lake known as Manikantha-tirtha, where he took bath and offered worship to his ancestors. And then he went to the temple of Maha Lakshmi, where he offered his obeisances, and then started to pray, "O Devi, whose heart is full of mercy, who is worshipped throughout the three worlds and who is the giver of all fortune and the mother of Creation. All glories to You, o shelter of all living entities. O fulfiller of all desires, You are the wonderful energy of Lord Achyuta, who is maintaining the three worlds. You are the Supreme Goddess. O protector of the devotees, all glories to You. O Devi, it is You who fulfills the desires of the devotees, and it is You who engages them in the service of Lord Achyuta. You are eternal and deliverer of all fallen souls. All glories unto You. O Devi, for the welfare and protection of the three worlds, You take on many forms such as Ambika, Brahmi, Vaishnavi, Maheshwari, Varahi Maha-Lakshmi, Narasimhi, Indri, Kumari, Chandika, Lakshmi, Savitri, Chandrakala, Rohini and Parameshwari. All glories unto You, whose glories are unlimited. Kindly be merciful upon me."

When Maha Lakshmi heard those prayers, She became very pleased and said to the prince, "Oh prince, I am very happy with you, please request any benediction according to your heart's desire from me."

That prince said, "Oh Mother of the three worlds, my father King Brahadrathi was performing the famous sacrifice known as Ashwamedha. But before having completed that yajna, he died due to disease. And before I was able to complete that Ashwamedha yajna, someone stole the horse that had traveled all over the world and had been purified for sacrifice in that Ashwamedha. I sent persons in all directions in search of that horse, but they were unable to find it. Then I took permission from the priest to come and pray for Your help. And, if You are pleased with me, then kindly let me know, how I can get back that horse and complete the fire sacrifice and thus fulfill my father's desire,"

Maha-Lakshmi said, "Oh noble prince, by the gate of my temple one highly elevated Brahmana lives, who is known by the name of Siddha-Samadhi. He will be able to fulfill your desire."

When the prince heard these words of Maha-Lakshmi, he went to the place, where Siddha-Samadhi lived and offered obeisances to him. After having offered obeisances, he stood before Siddha-Samadhi silently with fold hands. Siddha Samadhi then said, "You have been sent here by mother Maha Lakshmi, so I will fulfill your desire."

Then chanting some mantras, Siddha-Samadhi brought all of the demigods before him. The prince at that time saw all of the demigods standing before Siddha Samadhi, awaiting his instructions. Then Siddha-Samadhi said to those demigods, "O devas, this prince's horse, which he had kept ready for his sacrifice, was stolen at night by Lord Indra. Kindly bring that horse back now."

Immediately those demigods brought that horse before him, after which Siddha-Samadhi dismissed them. When the prince saw all these wonderful happenings, he fell at the feet of Siddha-Samadhi, and inquired from him. "How have you attained such power, which I have not seen or heard of any one else possessing? O great sage, kindly hear my request.

My father King Brihadrathi, while beginning the Ashvamedha-sacrifice, died unexpectedly. And thus I kept his body in pure boiled oil. Kindly, if you desire, please bring him back to life."

Hearing this, Siddha-Samadhi gave a little chuckle, and said, "Let us go to that place, where you have kept your father's body." When they reached that place, Siddha-Samadhi took some water in his hand and while chanting some mantras, he sprinkled the water onto the head of the dead body of King Brahadrathi. As soon as that water touched his head, the King sat up and inquired from Siddha-Samadhi, "O great devotee, who are you?" The prince immediately informed his father of all the events which had taken place. When the King heard that narration, he again and again offered his obeisances to Siddha-Samadhi and inquired from him what austerities he had performed to attain such divine powers. Hearing the King's inquiry, Siddha-Samadhi replied: "My dear king Brahadrathi, daily I recite the Twelfth Chapter of Ṥrīmad Bhagavad-gītā."

Hearing those words of that great devotee, the king learnt from Siddha-Samadhi the Twelfth Chapter of Ṥrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. In the course of time, both the king and his son attained the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. Many other persons have achieved the topmost goal, devotion to Lord Krishna's lotus feet, by reciting the Twelfth Chapter of Ṥrīmad Bhagavad-gītā daily.