Once, there lived a king of the Panchala country, named Puranjana, who was very famous because of his heroic activities. He had a friend named Avigyata (the unknown one, the Paramatma), whose activities could not be understood by anyone. With the desire to find a suitable place to live, King Puranjana travelled all over the world, and yet, he still could not find a residence to his liking. Although he had tried to find a place for fulfilling his unlimited desires for sense gratification, he finally became morose and disappointed because he experienced insufficiency everywhere.
Then, once, while wandering, Puranjana came to a place called Bharata-varsha, on the southern side of the Himalayas. There, he saw a city having nine gates and containing all auspicious facilities (a human birth in India). Surrounding the city were walls (skin) and parks (hair), and within were towers (raised parts, such as the head and nose), canals (wrinkles and depressions), and houses whose domes were made of gold, silver and iron (the three modes of material nature). Within the houses, the floors were made of sapphire, crystal, diamonds, pearls, emeralds and rubies (desires for material enjoyment within the heart), and thus the city resembled Bhogavati, the capital of the Nagas (the heart is considered to be the capital of the body). Within the city there were also many nice assembly houses (the heart of the body, where the atma and Paramatma reside), restaurants, market places, resting places, streets (airs blowing within the body), and beautiful parks.
On the outskirts of the city was a nice lake, encircled by many beautiful trees and creepers. The humming of bees and singing of birds combined to make the whole atmosphere very pleasing. (Such lakes and gardens refer to those parts of the body that incite sexual impulses.) The branches of the trees received particles of water that were being carried by the spring air from waterfalls coming down from the icy mountain. (The waterfall represents the sexual mellow, the spring air represents Cupid. When they come in contact, one becomes agitated.)
In such a nice atmosphere, even the forest animals were nonviolent and non-envious, like great sages. (The serene atmosphere is compared to a peaceful family life, and the animals represent the children.) Above all other sounds could be heard the cooing of the cuckoos. (In family life, even the turmoil that is created by the wife and children appear to one just like the cooing of cuckoos.) Anyone who came to this nice park would be invited to take rest by the very pleasing atmosphere.
This is a section of the book “A Sidelong Glance”.
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