In the fourth chapter, King Nimi enquires about the various deeds of Sri Hari in various incarnations, past, present and future. The answer is provided by the seventh yogi viz Drumila. It may perhaps be possible with great difficulty in the course of a long period to exhaust counting the particles of dust on the earth, but not the glory of the Infinite Being, who is the home of all powers and majesties.
Chapter 5. Chamasa on fate of non-devotees, Karabhajana on different forms of the Lord and rites for worship prescribed in different yugas
In the fifth chapter King Nimi enquires about the fate of those who are non-devotees of the Lord and of those whose desires are not satiated and whose mind and senses are uncontrolled. The answer is provided by the eighth yogi Chamasa.
Chapter 6. Delegation of gods led by Brahma visits Dwarka and requests Sri Krishna to return to His Divine abode – Uddhava approaches Sri Krishna on the eve of departure of Prabhasa.
The sixth chapter deals with the visit of a delegation of all the Gods led by Brahma, including Kumaras, the Maruts, Adityas, Rudras, and Vishwedevas etc to Dwaraka, the opulent city of Sri Krishna to meet the Lord. The meeting starts with a beautiful hymn to Sri Krishna eulogizing Him for his mercies. It ends with a prayer to him to seek His blessings. Pointing out that the main objective of his Avatara has been accomplished, the Gods implore the Lord to return to his Abode.
Chapter 7. Sri Krishna’s instructions to Uddhava – Uddhava Gita – in reply to his queries. Need of preceptor for salvation – avadhuta and story of eight out of twenty-four preceptors.
Beginning with the seventh chapter till chapter twenty-nine, the Lord instructs Uddhava, answering several doubts and questions raised by Uddhava. This part of Srimad Bhagavatham is generally referred to as Uddhava Gita. There is a remarkable resemblance in its content to the Bhagavad-Gita spoken to Arjuna by Sri Krishna in Mahabharat.
Chapter 8. What the avadutha learnt from the nine preceptors.
The gurus from whom the ascetic learnt his lessons,dealt with in this chapter are the python,the ocean, the moth, the black bee, the elephant, the honey gatherer, the deer, the fish and Pingala ,the courtesan.
Chapter 9. What the avadhutha learnt from the remaining seven preceptors.
The gurus from whom the ascetic learnt his lessons, dealt with in this chapter are osprey ( a kind of bird),the infant, the maiden, the forger of arrows, the serpent, the spider and the Bhringa( a kind of wasp).
The Lord concludes the ninth chapter informing Uddhava that listening to the discourse of the Avadhutha, King Yadu rid himself of all attachments and gained steady equilibrium of mind.
Chapter 10. Transitory and evanescent character of worldly and other worldly pleasures – how the senses which are products of gunas bring about actions and the jiva invested with body and falsely indentifying with same reaps the fruits of action.
In the tenth chapter the Lord continues the instructions to Uddhava. A person forsaking all desires should follow the conduct prescribed for his varna, ashrama and kula. Spiritual practices are to be undertaken under the guidance of a Guru, chosen with care.
Chapter 11. Behaviour of bound and liberated jivas as well as of devotees.
Bondage and liberation are only for jeevas, not for the Lord who is beyond and in control of Maya. In a dream, there is no awareness that the dream is in progress and as long as the dream lasts, the dreamer experiences grief etc.So also in the waking state, the jiva not being alive to his true nature of sacchidananda and also lacking in knowledge of Sri Hari, undergoes suffering, joy etc. Such experiences being strictly confined to jiva’s embodied state are not a part of his constitutional baggage and hence termed not factual (na vasthavi).
Continue reading Chapter 11. Behaviour of bound and liberated jivas as well as of devotees.
Chapter 12. The glory of association with devotees – vital role of life force and the various presiding deities in creation, sustenance and liberation.
In the 12th chapter, resuming the discourse, the Lord stresses on the importance of association with the Lords devotees as a means of emancipation and cites examples of those liberated among all species of living beings. Then the Lord goes on to glorify the devotion of Gopis as being superior in character, because of complete and unconditional surrender of all their thoughts and actions.
Chapter 13. How to get over rajas and tamas by resorting to dharma – teaching imparted by the Lord in the form of divine swan to Sanaka and brothers – need to develop dispassion and get rid of contrarian or false knowledge.
At the beginning of the 13th chapter, the Lord explains to Uddhava that one should gradually get over the rajas and tamas by resort to dharma based on saatvik predominance. Scriptures, water, people, place, time, occupation, birth, the object of contemplation, mantra and purifactory rites-these ten are contributory to the growth of a particular guna.