vidura uvāca
atrer gṛhe sura-śreṣṭhāḥ
sthity-utpatty-anta-hetavaḥ
kiñcic cikīrṣavo jātā
etad ākhyāhi me guro
SYNONYMS:
viduraḥ uvāca — Śrī Vidura said; atreḥ gṛhe — in the house of Atri; sura-śreṣṭhāḥ — chief demigods; sthiti — maintenance; utpatti — creation; anta — destruction; hetavaḥ — causes; kiñcit — something; cikīrṣavaḥ — desiring to do; jātāḥ — appeared; etat — this; ākhyāhi — tell; me — to me; guro — my dear spiritual master.
TRANSLATION:
After hearing this, Vidura inquired from Maitreya: My dear master, how is it that the three deities Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, who are the creator, maintainer and destroyer of the whole creation, became the offspring of the wife of Atri Muni?
PURPORT:
The inquisitiveness of Vidura was quite fitting, for he understood that when the Supersoul, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva all appeared through the person of Anasūyā, the wife of Atri Muni, there must have been some great purpose. Otherwise why should they have appeared in such a way?
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.1.17
maitreya uvāca
brahmaṇā coditaḥ sṛṣṭāv
atrir brahma-vidāḿ varaḥ
saha patnyā yayāv ṛkṣaḿ
kulādriḿ tapasi sthitaḥ
SYNONYMS:
maitreyaḥ uvāca — Śrī Maitreya Ṛṣi said; brahmaṇā — by Lord Brahmā; coditaḥ — being inspired; sṛṣṭau — for creation; atriḥ — Atri; brahma-vidām — of the persons learned in spiritual knowledge; varaḥ — the chief; saha — with; patnyā — wife; yayau — went; ṛkṣam — to the mountain named Ṛkṣa; kula-adrim — great mountain; tapasi — for austerities; sthitaḥ — remained.
TRANSLATION:
Maitreya said: When Lord Brahmā ordered Atri Muni to create generations after marrying Anasūyā, Atri Muni and his wife went to perform severe austerities in the valley of the mountain known as Ṛkṣa.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.1.18
tasmin prasūna-stabaka-
palāśāśoka-kānane
vārbhiḥ sravadbhir udghuṣṭe
nirvindhyāyāḥ samantataḥ
SYNONYMS:
tasmin — in that; prasūna-stabaka — bunches of flowers; palāśa — palāśa trees; aśoka — aśoka trees; kānane — in the forest garden; vārbhiḥ — by the waters; sravadbhiḥ — flowing; udghuṣṭe — in sound; nirvindhyāyāḥ — of the River Nirvindhyā; samantataḥ — everywhere.
TRANSLATION:
In that mountain valley flows a river named Nirvindhyā. On the bank of the river are many aśoka trees and other plants full of palāśa flowers, and there is always the sweet sound of water flowing from a waterfall. The husband and wife reached that beautiful place.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.1.19
prāṇāyāmena saḿyamya
mano varṣa-śataḿ muniḥ
atiṣṭhad eka-pādena
nirdvandvo 'nila-bhojanaḥ
SYNONYMS:
prāṇāyāmena — by practice of the breathing exercise; saḿyamya — controlling; manaḥ — mind; varṣa-śatam — one hundred years; muniḥ — the great sage; atiṣṭhat — remained there; eka-pādena — standing on one leg; nirdvandvaḥ — without duality; anila — air; bhojanaḥ — eating.
TRANSLATION:
There the great sage concentrated his mind by the yogic breathing exercises, and thereby controlling all attachment, he remained standing on one leg only, eating nothing but air, and stood there on one leg for one hundred years.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.1.20
śaraṇaḿ taḿ prapadye 'haḿ
ya eva jagad-īśvaraḥ
prajām ātma-samāḿ mahyaḿ
prayacchatv iti cintayan
SYNONYMS:
śaraṇam — taking shelter; tam — unto Him; prapadye — surrender; aham — I; yaḥ — one who; eva — certainly; jagat-īśvaraḥ — master of the universe; prajām — son; ātma-samām — like Himself; mahyam — unto me; prayacchatu — let Him give; iti — thus; cintayan — thinking.
TRANSLATION:
He was thinking: May the Lord of the universe, of whom I have taken shelter, kindly he pleased to offer me a son exactly like Him.
PURPORT:
It appears that the great sage Atri Muni had no specific idea of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Of course, he must have been conversant with the Vedic information that there is a Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the creator of the universe, from whom everything emanated, who maintains this created manifestation, and in whom the entire manifestation is conserved after dissolution. Yato vā imāni bhūtāni (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.1.1). The Vedic mantras give us information of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so Atri Muni concentrated his mind upon that Supreme Personality of Godhead, even without knowing His name, just to beg from Him a child exactly on His level. This kind of devotional service, in which knowledge of God's name is lacking, is also described in Bhagavad-gītā where the Lord says that four kinds of men with backgrounds of pious activities come to Him asking for what they need. Atri Muni wanted a son exactly like the Lord, and therefore he is not supposed to have been a pure devotee, because he had a desire to be fulfilled, and that desire was material. Although he wanted a son exactly like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this desire was material because he did not want the Personality of Godhead Himself, but only a child exactly like Him. If he had desired the Supreme Personality of Godhead as his child, he would have been completely free of material desires because he would have wanted the Supreme Absolute Truth, but because he wanted a similar child, his desire was material. Thus Atri Muni cannot be counted among the pure devotees.
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