Devanagari
अत्र चोदाहरन्तीममितिहासं पुरातनम् ।
दूतानां विष्णुयमयो: संवादस्तं निबोध मे ॥ २० ॥
Verse text
atra codāharantīmam
itihāsaṁ purātanam
dūtānāṁ viṣṇu-yamayoḥ
saṁvādas taṁ nibodha me
Synonyms
atra
—
in this connection
;
ca
—
also
;
udāharanti
—
they give as an example
;
imam
—
this
;
itihāsam
—
the history (of Ajāmila)
;
purātanam
—
which is very old
;
dūtānām
—
of the order carriers
;
viṣṇu
—
of Lord Viṣṇu
;
yamayoḥ
—
and of Yamarāja
;
saṁvādaḥ
—
the discussion
;
tam
—
that
;
nibodha
—
try to understand
;
me
—
from me .
Translation
In this regard, learned scholars and saintly persons describe a very old historical incident involving a discussion between the order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu and those of Yamarāja. Please hear of this from me.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Concerning this subject, the wise cite the ancient story of Ajāmila. Please here from me that story in which there is a conversation between the servants of Viṣṇu and Yama.
He narrates a story to show the meaning of his statement. Hear from me that story in which there is the conversation of the servants of Viṣṇu and Yama.
Purport
The
Purāṇas,
or old histories, are sometimes neglected by unintelligent men who consider their descriptions mythological. Actually, the descriptions of the
Purāṇas,
or the old histories of the universe, are factual, although not chronological. The
Purāṇas
record the chief incidents that have occurred over many millions of years, not only on this planet but also on other planets within the universe. Therefore all learned and realized Vedic scholars speak with references to the incidents in the
Purāṇas.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī accepts the
Purāṇas
to be as important as the
Vedas
themselves. Therefore in
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu
he quotes the following verse from the
Brahma-yāmala:
śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-
paṣcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā
aikāntikī harer bhaktir
utpātāyaiva kalpate
“Devotional service of the Lord that ignores the authorized Vedic literatures like the
Upaniṣads, Purāṇas
and
Nārada-paṣcarātra
is simply an unnecessary disturbance in society.” A devotee of Kṛṣṇa must refer not only to the
Vedas,
but also to the
Purāṇas.
One should not foolishly consider the
Purāṇas
mythological. If they were mythological, Śukadeva Gosvāmī would not have taken the trouble to recite the old historical incidents concerning the life of Ajāmila. Now the history begins as follows.