Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions
2.7.1
brahmovaca
yatrodyatah ksiti-taloddharanaya bibhrat
kraudim tanum sakala-yajna-mayim anantah
antar-maharnava upagatam adi-daityam
tam damstrayadrim iva vajra-dharo dadara
SYNONYMS
brahma uvaca—Lord Brahma said; yatra—at that time (when); udyatah—attempted; ksiti-tala—the plane earth; uddharanaya—for the matter of lifting; bibhrat—assumed; kraudim—pastimes; tanum—form; sakala—total; yajna-mayim—all-inclusive sacrifices; anantah—the Unlimited; antar—within the universe; maha-arnave—the great Garbha Ocean; upagatam—having arrived at; adi—the first; daityam—demon; tam—him; damstraya—by the tusk; adrim—the flying mountains; iva—like; vajra-dharah—the controller of the thunderbolts; dadara—pierced.
TRANSLATION
Lord Brahma said: When the unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed the form of a boar as a pastime, just to lift the plane earth, which was drowned in the great ocean of the universe called the Garbhodaka, the first demon (Hiranyaksa) appeared, and the Lord pierced him with His tusk.
PURPORT
Since the beginning of creation, the demons and the demigods, or the Vaisnavas, are always the two classes of living beings to dominate the planes of the universes.
Lord Brahma is the first demigod, and Hiranyaksa is the first demon in this universe.
Only under certain conditions do the planes float as weightless balls in the air, and as soon as these conditions are disturbed, the planes may fall down in the Garbhodaka Ocean, which covers half the universe.
The other half is the spherical dome within which the innumerable planeary systems exist.
The of the planes in the weightless air is due to the inner constitution of the globes, and the modernized drilling of the earth to exploit oil from within is a sort of disturbance by the modern demons and can result in a greatly harmful reaction to the condition of the earth.
A similar disturbance was created formerly by the demons headed by Hiranyaksa (the great exploiter of the gold rush), and the earth was detached from its weightless condition and fell down into the Garbhodaka Ocean.
The Lord, as maintainer of the whole creation of the material world, therefore assumed the gigantic form of a boar with a proportionate snout and picked up the earth from within the water of Garbhodaka.
Sri Jayadeva Gosvami, the great Vaisnava poet, sang as follows:
vasati dasana-sikhare dharani tava lagna
sasini kalanka-kaleva nimagna
kesava dhrta-sukara-rupa
jaya jagadisa hare
O Kesava! O Supreme Lord who have assumed the form of a boar! O Lord! The plane earth rested on Your tusks, and it appeared like the moon engraved with spots Such is the symptom of an incarnation of the Lord.
The incarnation of the Lord is not the concocted idea of fanciful men who create an incarnation out of imagination.
The incarnation of the Lord appears under certain extraordinary circumstances like the above-mentioned occasion, and the incarnation performs a task which is not even imaginable by the tiny brain of mankind.
The modern creators of the many cheap incarnations may take note of the factual incarnation of God as the gigantic boar with a suitable snout to carry the plane earth.
When the Lord appeared to pick up the earth, the demon of the name Hiranyaksa tried to create a disturbance in the methodical functions of the Lord, and therefore he was killed by being pierced by the Lord’s tusk.
According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, the demon Hiranyaksa was killed by the hand of the Lord.
Therefore his version is that after being killed by the hand of the Lord, the demon was pierced by the tusk.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura confirms this version.
2.7.2
jato rucer ajanayat suyaman suyajna
akuti-sunur amaran atha daksinayam
loka-trayasya mahatim aharad yad artim
svayambhuvena manuna harir ity anuktah
SYNONYMS
jatah—was born; ruceh—of the wife of Prajapati; ajanayat—gave birth; suyaman—headed by Suyama; suyajnah—Suyajna; akuti-sunuh—of the son of Akuti; amaran—the demigods; atha—thus; daksinayam—unto the wife of the name Daksina; loka—the planeary systems; trayasya—of the three; mahatim—very great; aharat—diminished; yat—all those; artim—distresses; svayambhuvena—by the Manu named Svayambhuva; manuna—by the father of mankind; harih—Hari; iti—thus; anuktah—named.
TRANSLATION
The Prajapati first begot Suyajna, in the womb of his wife Akuti, and then Suyajna begot demigods, headed by Suyama, in the womb of his wife Daksina.
Suyajna, as the Indradeva, diminished very great miseries in the three planeary systems (upper, lower and intermediate), and because he so diminished the miseries of the universe, he was later called Hari by the great father of mankind, namely Svayambhuva Manu.
PURPORT
In order to guard against the invention of unauthorized incarnations of God by the fanciful, less intelligent persons, the name of the father of the bona fide incarnation is also mentioned in the authorized revealed scriptures.
No one, therefore, can be accepted as an incarnation of the Lord if his father’s name, as well as the name of the village or place in which he appears, is not mentioned by the authorized scriptures.
In the Bhagavata Purana the name of the Kalki incarnation, which is to take place in almost four hundred thousand years, is mentioned along with the name of His father and the name of the village in which He will appear.
A sane man, therefore, does not accept any cheap edition of an incarnation without reference to the authorized scriptures.
2.7.3
jajne ca kardama-grhe dvija devahutyam
stribhih samam navabhir atma-gatim sva-matre
uce yayatma-samalam guna-sanga-pankam
asmin vidhuya kapilasya gatim prapede
SYNONYMS
jajne—took birth; ca—also; kardama—the Prajapati named Kardama; grhe—in the house of; dvija—O brahmana; devahutyam—in the womb of Devahuti; stribhih—by women; samam—accompanied by; navabhih—by nine; atma-gatim—spiritual realization; sva-matre—unto His own mother; uce—uttered; yaya—by which; atma-samalam—coverings of the spirit soul; guna-sanga—associated with the modes of nature; pankam—mud; asmin—this very life; vidhuya—being washed off; kapilasya—of Lord Kapila; gatim—liberation; prapede—achieved.
TRANSLATION
The Lord then appeared as the Kapila incarnation, being the son of the prajapati brahmana Kardama and his wife, Devahuti, along with nine other women (sisters).
He spoke to His mother about self-realization, by which, in that very lifetime, she became fully cleansed of the mud of the material modes and thereby achieved liberation, the path of Kapila.
PURPORT
The instructions of Lord Kapila to His mother Devahuti are fully described in the Third Canto (Chapters 25–32) of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and anyone who follows the instructions can achieve the same liberation obtained by Devahuti.
The Lord spoke Bhagavad-gita, and thereby Arjuna achieved self-realization, and even today anyone who follows the path of Arjuna can also attain the same benefit as Sri Arjuna.
The scriptures are meant for this purpose.
Foolish, unintelligent persons make their own interpretations by imagination and thus mislead their followers, causing them to remain in the dungeon of material existence.
However, simply by following the instructions imparted by Lord Krsna or Lord Kapila, one can obtain the highest benefit, even today.
The word atma-gatim is significant in the sense of perfect knowledge of the Supreme.
One should not be satisfied simply by knowing the qualitative equality of the Lord and the living being.
One should know the Lord as much as can be known by our limited knowledge.
It is impossible for the Lord to be known perfectly as He is, even by such liberated persons as Siva or Brahma, so what to speak of other demigods or men in this world.
Still, by following the principles of the great devotees and the instructions available in the scriptures, one can know to a considerable extent the features of the Lord.
His Lordship Kapila, the incarnation of the Lord, instructed His mother fully about the personal form of the Lord, and thereby she realized the personal form of the Lord and was able to achieve a place in the Vaikunthaloka where, Lord Kapila predominates.
Every incarnation of the Lord has His own abode in the spiritual sky.
Therefore Lord Kapila also has His separate Vaikuntha plane.
The spiritual sky is not void.
There are innumerable Vaikuntha planes, and in each of them the Lord, by His innumerable expansions, predominates, and the pure devotees who are there also live in the same style as the Lord and His eternal associates.
When the Lord descends personally or by His personal plenary expansions, such incarnations are called amsa, kala, guna, yuga and manvantara incarnations, and when the Lord’s associates descend by the order of the Lord, such incarnations are called saktyavesa incarnations.
But in all cases all the incarnations are supported by the invulnerable statements of the authorized scriptures, and not by any imagination of some self-interested propagandist.
Such incarnations of the Lord, in either of the above categories, always declare the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be the ultimate truth.
The impersonal conception of the supreme truth is just a process of negation of the form of the Lord from the mundane conception of the supreme truth.
The living entities, by their very constitution, are spiritually as good as the Lord, and the only difference between them is that the Lord is always supreme and pure, without contamination by the modes of material nature, whereas the living entities are apt to be contaminated by association with the material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance.
This contamination by the material modes can be washed off completely by knowledge, renunciation and devotional service.
Devotional service to the Lord is the ultimate issue, and therefore those who are directly engaged in the devotional service of the Lord not only acquire the necessary knowledge in spiritual science, but also attain detachment from material connection and are thus promoted to the kingdom of God by complete liberation, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (14.26):
mam ca yo ’vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
Even in the nonliberated stage, a living entity can be directly engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Personality of Godhead Lord Krsna or His plenary expansions like Rama and Narasimha.
Thus, with the proportionate improvement of such transcendental devotional service, the devotee makes definite progress toward brahma-gatim or atma-gatim, and ultimately attains kapilasya gatim, or the abode of the Lord, without difficulty.
The antiseptic potency of devotional service to the Lord is so great that it can neutralize the material infection even in the present life of a devotee.
A devotee does not need to wait for his next birth for complete liberation.
2.7.4
atrer apatyam abhikanksata aha tusto
datto mayaham iti yad bhagavan sa dattah
yat-pada-pankaja-paraga-pavitra-deha
yogarddhim apur ubhayim yadu-haihayadyah
SYNONYMS
atreh—of the sage Atri; apatyam—issue; abhikanksatah—having prayed for; aha—said it; tustah—being satisfied; dattah—given over; maya—by me; aham—myself; iti—thus; yat—because; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; sah—He; dattah—Dattatreya; yat-pada—one whose feet; pankaja—lotus; paraga—dust; pavitra—purified; dehah—body; yoga—mystic; rddhim—opulence; apuh—got; ubhayim—for both the worlds; yadu—the father of the Yadu dynasty; haihaya-adyah—and others, like King Haihaya.
TRANSLATION
The great sage Atri prayed for offspring, and the Lord, being satisfied with him, promised to incarnate as Atri’s son, Dattatreya (Datta, the son of Atri).
And by the grace of the lotus feet of the Lord, many Yadus, Haihayas, etc., became so purified that they obtained both material and spiritual blessings.
PURPORT
Transcendental relations between the Personality of Godhead and the living entities are eternally established in five different affectionate humors, which are known as santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya.
The sage Atri was related with the Lord in the affectionate vatsalya humor, and therefore, as a result of his devotional perfection, he was inclined to have the Personality of Godhead as his son.
The Lord accepted his prayer, and He gave Himself as the son of Atri.
Such a relation of sonhood between the Lord and His pure devotees can be cited in many instances.
And because the Lord is unlimited, He has an unlimited number of father-devotees.
Factually the Lord is the father of all living entities, but out of transcendental affection and love between the Lord and His devotees, the Lord takes more pleasure in becoming the son of a devotee than in becoming one’s father.
The father actually serves the son, whereas the son only demands all sorts of services from the father; therefore a pure devotee who is always inclined to serve the Lord wants Him as the son, and not as the father.
The Lord also accepts such service from the devotee, and thus the devotee becomes more than the Lord.
The impersonalists desire to become one with the Supreme, but the devotee becomes more than the Lord, surpassing the desire of the greatest monist.
Parents and other relatives of the Lord achieve all mystic opulences automatically because of their intimate relationship with the Lord.
Such opulences include all details of material enjoyment, salvation and mystic powers.
Therefore, the devotee of the Lord does not seek them separately, wasting his valuable time in life.
The valuable time of one’s life must therefore be fully engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
Then other desirable achievements are automatically gained.
But even after obtaining such achievements, one should be on guard against the pitfall of offenses at the feet of the devotees.
The vivid example is Haihaya, who achieved all such perfection in devotional service but, because of his offense at the feet of a devotee, was killed by Lord Parasurama.
The Lord became the son of the great sage Atri and became known as Dattatreya.
2.7.5
taptam tapo vividha-loka-sisrksaya me
adau sanat sva-tapasah sa catuh-sano ’bhut
prak-kalpa-samplava-vinastam ihatma-tattvam
samyag jagada munayo yad acaksatatman
SYNONYMS
taptam—having undergone austerities; tapah—penance; vividha-loka—different planeary systems; sisrksaya—desiring to create; me—of mine; adau—at first; sanat—from the Personality of Godhead; sva-tapasah—by dint of my own penances; sah—He (the Lord); catuh-sanah—the four bachelors named Sanat-kumara, Sanaka, Sanandana and Sanatana; abhut—appeared; prak—previous; kalpa—creation; samplava—in the inundation; vinastam—devastated; iha—in this material world; atma—the spirit; tattvam—truth; samyak—in complete; jagada—became manifested; munayah—sages; yat—that which; acaksata—saw clearly; atman—the spirit.
TRANSLATION
To create different planeary systems I had to undergo austerities and penance, and the Lord, thus being pleased with me, incarnated in four sanas (Sanaka, Sanat-kumara, Sanandana and Sanatana).
In the previous creation the spiritual truth was devastated, but the four sanas explained it so nicely that the truth at once became clearly perceived by the sages.
PURPORT
The Visnu-sahasra-nama prayers mention the Lord’s name as sanat and sanatanatama.
The Lord and the living entities are both qualitatively sanatana, or eternal, but the Lord is sanatana-tama or the eternal in the superlative degree.
The living entities are positively sanatana, but not superlatively, because the living entities are apt to fall to the atmosphere of noneternity.
Therefore, the living entities are quantitatively different from the superlative sanatana, the Lord.
The word san is also used in the sense of charity; therefore when everything is given up in charity unto the Lord, the Lord reciprocates by giving Himself unto the devotee.
This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (4.11): ye yatha mam prapadyante.
Brahmaji wanted to create the whole cosmic situation as it was in the previous millennium, and because, in the last devastation, knowledge of the Absolute Truth was altogether erased from the universe, he desired that the same knowledge again be renovated; otherwise there would be no meaning in the creation.
Because transcendental knowledge is a prime necessity, the ever-conditioned souls are given a chance for liberation in every millennium of creation.
This mission of Brahmaji was fulfilled by the grace of the Lord when the four sanas, namely Sanaka, Sanat-kumara, Sanandana and Sanatana, appeared as his four sons.
These four sanas were incarnations of the knowledge of the Supreme Lord, and as such they explained transcendental knowledge so explicitly that all the sages could at once assimilate this knowledge without the least difficulty.
By following in the footsteps of the four Kumaras, one can at once see the Supreme Personality of Godhead within oneself.
2.7.6
dharmasya daksa-duhitary ajanista murtyam
narayano nara iti sva-tapah-prabhavah
drstvatmano bhagavato niyamavalopam
devyas tv ananga-prtana ghatitum na sekuh
SYNONYMS
dharmasya—of Dharma (the controller of religious principles); daksa—Daksa, one of the Prajapatis; duhitari—unto the daughter; ajanista—took birth; murtyam—of the name Murti; narayanah—Narayana; narah—Nara; iti—thus; sva-tapah—personal penances; prabhavah—strength; drstva—by seeing; atmanah—of His own; bhagavatah—of the Personality of Godhead; niyama-avalopam—breaking the vow; devyah—celestial beauties; tu—but; ananga-prtanah—companion of Cupid; ghatitum—to happen; na—never; sekuh—made possible.
TRANSLATION
To exhibit His personal way of austerity and penance, He appeared in twin forms as Narayana and Nara in the womb of Murti, the wife of Dharma and the daughter of Daksa.
Celestial beauties, the companions of Cupid, went to try to break His vows, but they were unsuccessful, for they saw that many beauties like them were emanating from Him, the Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
The Lord, being the source of everything that be, is the origin of all austerities and penances also.
Great vows of austerity are undertaken by sages to achieve success in self-realization.
Human life is meant for such tapasya, with the great vow of celibacy, or brahmacarya.
In the rigid life of tapasya, there is no place for the association of women.
And because human life is meant for tapasya, for self-realization, factual human civilization, as conceived by the system of sanatana-dharma or the school of four castes and four orders of life, prescribes rigid dissociation from woman in three stages of life.
In the order of gradual cultural development, one’s life may be divided into four divisions: celibacy, household life, retirement, and renunciation.
During the first stage of life, up to twenty-five years of age, a man may be trained as a brahmacari under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master just to understand that woman is the real binding force in material existence.
If one wants to get freedom from the material bondage of conditional life, he must get free from the attraction for the form of woman.
Woman, or the fair sex, is the enchanting principle for the living entities, and the male form, especially in the human being, is meant for self-realization.
The whole world is moving under the spell of womanly attraction, and as soon as a man becomes united with a woman, he at once becomes a victim of material bondage under a tight knot.
The desires for lording it over the material world, under the intoxication of a false sense of lordship, specifically begin just after the man’s unification with a woman.
The desires for acquiring a house, possessing land, having children and becoming prominent in society, the affection for community and the place of birth, and the hankering for wealth, which are all like phantasmagoria or illusory dreams, encumber a human being, and he is thus impeded in his progress toward self-realization, the real aim of life.
The brahmacari, or a boy from the age of five years, especially from the higher castes, namely from the scholarly parents (the brahmanas), the administrative parents (the ksatriyas), or the mercantile or productive parents (the vaisyas), is trained until twenty-five years of age under the care of a bona fide guru or teacher, and under strict observance of discipline he comes to understand the values of life along with taking specific training for a livelihood.
The brahmacari is then allowed to go home and enter householder life and get married to a suitable woman.
But there are many brahmacaris who do not go home to become householders but continue the life of naisthika-brahmacaris, without any connection with women.
They accept the order of sannyasa, or the renounced order of life, knowing well that combination with women is an unnecessary burden that checks self-realization.
Since sex desire is very strong at a certain stage of life, the guru may allow the brahmacari to marry; this license is given to a brahmacari who is unable to continue the way of naisthika-brahmacarya, and such discriminations are possible for the bona fide guru.
A program of so-called family planning is needed.
The householder who associates with woman under scriptural restrictions, after a thorough training of brahmacarya, cannot be a householder like cats and dogs.
Such a householder, after fifty years of age, would retire from the association of woman as a vanaprastha to be trained to live alone without the association of woman.
When the practice is complete, the same retired householder becomes a sannyasi, strictly separate from woman, even from his married wife.
Studying the whole scheme of disassociation from women, it appears that a woman is a stumbling block for self-realization, and the Lord appeared as Narayana to teach the principle of womanly disassociation with a vow in life.
The demigods, being envious of the austere life of the rigid brahmacaris, would try to cause them to break their vows by dispatching soldiers of Cupid.
But in the case of the Lord, it became an unsuccessful attempt when the celestial beauties saw that the Lord can produce innumerable such beauties by His mystic internal potency and that there was consequently no need to be attracted by others externally.
There is a common proverb that a confectioner is never attracted by sweetmeats.
The confectioner, who is always manufacturing sweetmeats, has very little desire to eat them; similarly, the Lord, by His pleasure potential powers, can produce innumerable spiritual beauties and not be the least attracted by the false beauties of material creation.
One who does not know alleges foolishly that Lord Krsna enjoyed women in His rasa-lila in Vrndavana, or with His sixteen thousand married wives at Dvaraka.
2.7.7
kamam dahanti krtino nanu rosa-drstya
rosam dahantam uta te na dahanty asahyam
so ’yam yad antaram alam pravisan bibheti
kamah katham nu punar asya manah srayeta
SYNONYMS
kamam—lust; dahanti—chastise; krtinah—great stalwarts; nanu—but; rosa-drstya—by wrathful glance; rosam—wrath; dahantam—being overwhelmed; uta—although; te—they; na—cannot; dahanti—subjugate; asahyam—intolerable; sah—that; ayam—Him; yat—because; antaram—within; alam—however; pravisan—entering; bibheti—is afraid of; kamah—lust; katham—how; nu—as a matter of fact; punah—again; asya—His; manah—mind; srayeta—take shelter of.
TRANSLATION
Great stalwarts like Lord Siva can, by their wrathful glances, overcome lust and vanquish him, yet they cannot be free from the overwhelming effects of their own wrath.
Such wrath can never enter into the heart of Him (the Lord), who is above all this.
So how can lust take shelter in His mind?
PURPORT
When Lord Siva was engaged in severely austere meditation, Cupid, the demigod of lust, threw his arrow of sex desire.
Lord Siva, thus being angry at him, glanced at Cupid in great wrath, and at once the body of Cupid was annihilated.
Although Lord Siva was so powerful, he was unable to get free from the effects of such wrath.
But in the behavior of Lord Visnu there is no incident of such wrath at any time.
On the contrary, Bhrgu Muni tested the tolerance of the Lord by purposely kicking His chest, but instead of being angry at Bhrgu Muni the Lord begged his pardon, saying that Bhrgu Muni’s leg might have been badly hurt because His chest is too hard.
The Lord has the sign of the foot of bhrgupada as the mark of tolerance.
The Lord, therefore, is never affected by any kind of wrath, so how can there be any place for lust, which is less strong than wrath? When lust or desire is not fulfilled, there is the appearance of wrath, but in the absence of wrath how can there be any place for lust? The Lord is known as apta-kama, or one who can fulfill His desires by Himself.
He does not require anyone’s help to satisfy His desires.
The Lord is unlimited, and therefore His desires are also unlimited.
All living entities but the Lord are limited in every respect; how then can the limited satisfy the desires of the unlimited? The conclusion is that the Absolute Personality of Godhead has neither lust nor anger, and even if there is sometimes a show of lust and anger by the Absolute, it should be considered an absolute benediction.
2.7.8
viddhah sapatny-udita-patribhir anti rajno
balo ’pi sann upagatas tapase vanani
tasma adad dhruva-gatim grnate prasanno
divyah stuvanti munayo yad upary-adhastat
SYNONYMS
viddhah—pinched by; sapatni—a co-wife; udita—uttered by; patribhih—by sharp words; anti—just before; rajnah—of the king; balah—a boy; api—although; san—being so; upagatah—took to; tapase—severe penances; vanani—in a great forest; tasmai—therefore; adat—gave as a reward; dhruva-gatim—a path to the Dhruva plane; grnate—on being prayed for; prasannah—being satisfied; divyah—denizens of higher planes; stuvanti—do pray; munayah—great sages; yat—thereupon; upari—up; adhastat—down.
TRANSLATION
Being insulted by sharp words spoken by the co-wife of the king, even in his presence, Prince Dhruva, though only a boy, took to severe penances in the forest.
And the Lord, being satisfied by his prayer, awarded him the Dhruva plane, which is worshiped by great sages, both upward and downward.
PURPORT
When he was only five years old, Prince Dhruva, a great devotee and the son of Maharaja Uttanapada, was sitting on the lap of his father.
His stepmother did not like the King’s patting her stepson, so she dragged him out, saying that he could not claim to sit on the lap of the King because he was not born out of her womb.
The little boy felt insulted by this act of his stepmother.
Nor did his father make any protest, for he was too attached to his second wife.
After this incident, Prince Dhruva went to his own mother and complained.
His real mother also could not take any step against this insulting behavior, and so she wept.
The boy inquired from his mother how he could sit on the royal throne of his father, and the poor queen replied that only the Lord could help him.
The boy inquired where the Lord could be seen, and the queen replied that it is said that the Lord is sometimes seen by great sages in the dense forest.
The child prince decided to go into the forest to perform severe penances in order to achieve his objective.
Prince Dhruva performed a stringent type of penance under the instruction of his spiritual master, Sri Narada Muni, who was specifically deputed for this purpose by the Personality of Godhead.
Prince Dhruva was initiated by Narada into chanting the hymn composed of eighteen letters, namely om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, and Lord Vasudeva incarnated Himself as Prsnigarbha, the Personality of Godhead with four hands, and awarded the prince a specific plane above the seven stars.
Prince Dhruva, after achieving success in his undertakings, saw the Lord face to face, and he was satisfied that all his needs were fulfilled.
The plane awarded to Prince Dhruva Maharaja is a fixed Vaikuntha plane, installed in the material atmosphere by the will of the Supreme Lord, Vasudeva.
This plane, although within the material world, will not be annihilated at the time of devastation, but will remain fixed in its place.
And because it is a Vaikuntha plane never to be annihilated, it is worshiped even by the denizens of the seven stars situated below the Dhruva plane, as well as by the planes which are even above the Dhruva plane.
Maharsi Bhrgu’s plane is situated above the Dhruva plane.
So the Lord incarnated Himself as Prsnigarbha just to satisfy a pure devotee of the Lord.
And Prince Dhruva achieved this perfection simply by chanting the hymn mentioned above, after being initiated by another pure devotee, Narada.
A serious personality can thus achieve the highest perfection of meeting the Lord and attain his objective simply by being guided by a pure devotee, who automatically approaches by dint of one’s serious determination to meet the Lord by all means.
The description of Prince Dhruva’s activities can be read in detail in the Fourth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
2.7.9
yad venam utpatha-gatam dvija-vakya-vajra-
nisplusta-paurusa-bhagam niraye patantam
tratvarthito jagati putra-padam ca lebhe
dugdha vasuni vasudha sakalani yena
SYNONYMS
yat—when; venam—unto King Vena; utpatha-gatam—going astray from the righteous path; dvija—of the brahmanas; vakya—words of cursing; vajra—thunderbolt; nisplusta—being burnt by; paurusa—great deeds; bhagam—opulence; niraye—into hell; patantam—going down; tratva—by delivering; arthitah—so being prayed for; jagati—on the world; putra-padam—the position of the son; ca—as well as; lebhe—achieved; dugdha—exploited; vasuni—produce; vasudha—the earth; sakalani—all kinds of; yena—by whom.
TRANSLATION
Maharaja Vena went astray from the path of righteousness, and the brahmanas chastised him by the thunderbolt curse.
By this King Vena was burnt with his good deeds and opulence and was en route to hell.
The Lord, by His causeless mercy, descended as his son, by the name of Prthu, delivered the condemned King Vena from hell, and exploited the earth by drawing all kinds of crops as produce.
PURPORT
According to the system of varnasrama-dharma, the pious and learned brahmanas were the natural guardians of society.
The brahmanas, by their learned labor of love, would instruct the administrator-kings how to rule the country in complete righteousness, and thus the process would go on as a perfect welfare state.
The kings or the ksatriya administrators would always consult the council of learned brahmanas.
They were never autocratic monarchs.
The scriptures like Manu-samhita and other authorized books of the great sages were guiding principles for ruling the subjects, and there was no need for less intelligent persons to manufacture a code of law in the name of democracy.
The less intelligent mass of people have very little knowledge of their own welfare, as a child has very little knowledge of its future well-being.
The experienced father guides the innocent child towards the path of progress, and the childlike mass of people need similar guidance.
The standard welfare codes are already there in the Manu-samhita and other Vedic literatures.
The learned brahmanas would advise the king in terms of those standard books of knowledge and with reference to the particular situation of time and place.
Such brahmanas were not paid servants of the king, and therefore they had the strength to dictate to the king on the principles of scriptures.
This system continued even up to the time of Maharaja Candragupta, and the brahmana Canakya was his unpaid prime minister.
Maharaja Vena did not adhere to this principle of ruling, and he disobeyed the learned brahmanas.
The broad-minded brahmanas were not self-interested, but looked to the interest of complete welfare for all the subjects.
They wanted to chastise King Vena for his misconduct and so prayed to the Almighty Lord as well as cursed the king.
Long life, obedience, good reputation, righteousness, prospects of being promoted to higher planes, and blessings of great personalities are all vanquished simply by disobedience to a great soul.
One should strictly try to follow in the footsteps of great souls.
Maharaja Vena became a king, undoubtedly due to his past deeds of righteousness, but because he willfully neglected the great souls, he was punished by the loss of all the above-mentioned acquisitions.
In the Vamana Purana the history of Maharaja Vena and his degradation are fully described.
When Maharaja Prthu heard about the hellish condition of his father, Vena, who was suffering from leprosy in the family of a mleccha, he at once brought the former king to Kuruksetra for his purification and relieved him of all sufferings.
Maharaja Prthu, the incarnation of God, descended by the prayer of the brahmanas to rectify the disorders on earth.
He produced all kinds of crops.
But, at the same time, he performed the duty of a son who delivers his father from hellish conditions.
The word putra means one who delivers from hell, called put.
That is a worthy son.
2.7.10
nabher asav rsabha asa sudevi-sunur
yo vai cacara sama-drg jada-yoga-caryam
yat paramahamsyam rsayah padam amananti
svasthah prasanta-karanah parimukta-sangah
SYNONYMS
nabheh—by Maharaja Nabhi; asau—the Personality of Godhead; rsabhah—Rsabha; asa—became; sudevi—Sudevi; sunuh—the son of; yah—who; vai—certainly; cacara—performed; sama-drk—equibalanced; jada—material; yoga-caryam—performance of yoga; yat—which; paramahamsyam—the highest stage of perfection; rsayah—the learned sages; padam—situation; amananti—do accept; svasthah—self-reposed; prasanta—suspended; karanah—the material senses; parimukta—perfectly liberated; sangah—material contamination.
TRANSLATION
The Lord appeared as the son of Sudevi, the wife of King Nabhi, and was known as Rsabhadeva.
He performed materialistic yoga to equibalance the mind.
This stage is also accepted as the highest perfectional situation of liberation, wherein one is situated in one’s self and is completely satisfied.
PURPORT
Out of many types of mystic performances for self-realization, the process of jada-yoga is also one accepted by authorities.
This jada-yoga involves practicing becoming like a dumb stone and not being affected by material reactions.
Just as a stone is indifferent to all kinds of attacks and reattacks of external situations, similarly one practices jada-yoga by tolerating voluntary infliction of pain upon the material body.
Such yogis, out of many self-infliction methods, practice plucking out the hairs on their heads, without shaving and without any instrumental help.
But the real purpose of such jada-yoga practice is to get free from all material affection and to be completely situated in the self.
At the last stage of his life, Emperor Rsabhadeva wandered like a dumb madman, unaffected by all kinds of bodily mistreatment.
Seeing him like a madman, wandering naked with long hair and a long beard, less intelligent children and men in the street used to spit on him and urinate on his body.
He used to lie in his own stool and never move.
But the stool of his body was fragrant like the smell of fragrant flowers, and a saintly person would recognize him as a paramahamsa, one in the highest state of human perfection.
One who is not able to make his stool fragrant should not, however, imitate Emperor Rsabhadeva.
The practice of jada-yoga was possible for Rsabhadeva and others on the same level of perfection, but such an uncommon practice is impossible for an ordinary man.
The real purpose of jada-yoga, as mentioned here in this verse, is prasanta-karanah, or subduing the senses.
The whole process of yoga, under whatever heading it may be, is to control the unbridled material senses and thus prepare oneself for self-realization.
In this age specifically, this jada-yoga cannot be of any practical value, but on the other hand the practice of bhakti-yoga is feasible because it is just suitable for this age.
The simple method of hearing from the right source, Srimad-Bhagavatam, will lead one to the highest perfectional stage of yoga.
Rsabhadeva was the son of King Nabhi and the grandson of King Agnidhra, and he was the father of King Bharata, after whose name this plane earth was called Bharata-varsa.
Rsabhadeva’s mother was also known as Merudevi, although her name is mentioned here as Sudevi.
It is sometimes proposed that Sudevi was another wife of King Nabhi, but since King Rsabhadeva is mentioned elsewhere as the son of Merudevi, it is clear that Merudevi and Sudevi are the same person under different names.
2.7.11
satre mamasa bhagavan haya-sirasatho
saksat sa yajna-purusas tapaniya-varnah
chandomayo makhamayo ’khila-devatatma
vaco babhuvur usatih svasato ’sya nastah
SYNONYMS
satre—in the sacrificial ceremony; mama—of mine; asa—appeared; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; haya-sirasa—with His horselike head; atha—thus; saksat—directly; sah—He; yajna-purusah—the person who is pleased by performances of sacrifice; tapaniya—golden; varnah—hue; chandah-mayah—personified Vedic hymns; makha-mayah—personified sacrifices; akhila—all that be; devata-atma—the soul of the demigods; vacah—sounds; babhuvuh—become audible; usatih—very pleasing to hear; svasatah—while breathing; asya—His; nastah—through the nostrils.
TRANSLATION
The Lord appeared as the Hayagriva incarnation in a sacrifice performed by me (Brahma).
He is the personified sacrifices, and the hue of His body is golden.
He is the personified Vedas as well, and the Supersoul of all demigods.
When He breathed, all the sweet sounds of the Vedic hymns came out of His nostrils.
PURPORT
The Vedic hymns are generally meant for sacrifices performed by fruitive workers who also want to satisfy the demigods to achieve their fruitive result.
But the Lord is the personified sacrifices and personified Vedic hymns.
Therefore one who is directly a devotee of the Lord is a person who has automatically both served the purposes of sacrifices and pleased the demigods.
The devotees of the Lord may not perform any sacrifice or may not please the demigods as per Vedic injunctions, and still the devotees are on a higher level than the fruitive workers or the worshipers of different demigods.
2.7.12
matsyo yuganta-samaye manunopalabdhah
ksonimayo nikhila-jiva-nikaya-ketah
visramsitan uru-bhaye salile mukhan me
adaya tatra vijahara ha veda-margan
SYNONYMS
matsyah—incarnation of the fish; yuga-anta—at the end of the millennium; samaye—at the time of; manuna—the would-be Vaivasvata Manu; upalabdhah—seen; ksonimayah—up to the earthly planes; nikhila—all; jiva—living entities; nikaya-ketah—shelter for; visramsitan—emanating from; uru—great; bhaye—out of fear; salile—in the water; mukhat—from the mouth; me—mine; adaya—having taken to; tatra—there; vijahara—enjoyed; ha—certainly; veda-margan—all the Vedas.
TRANSLATION
At the end of the millennium, the would-be Vaivasvata Manu, of the name Satyavrata, would see that the Lord in the fish incarnation is the shelter of all kinds of living entities, up to those in the earthly planes.
Because of my fear of the vast water at the end of the millennium, the Vedas come out of my (Brahma’s) mouth, and the Lord enjoys those vast waters and protects the Vedas.
PURPORT
During one day of Brahma there are fourteen Manus, and at the end of each Manu there is devastation up to the earthly planes, and the vast water is fearful even to Brahma.
So in the beginning of the would-be Vaivasvata Manu, such devastation would be seen by him.
There would be many other incidents also, such as the killing of the famous Sankhasura.
This foretelling is by the past experience of Brahmaji, who knew that in that fearful devastating scene, the Vedas would come out of his mouth, but the Lord in His fish incarnation not only would save all living entities, namely the demigods, animals, men and great sages, but would also save the Vedas.
2.7.13
ksirodadhav amara-danava-yuthapanam
unmathnatam amrta-labdhaya adi-devah
prsthena kacchapa-vapur vidadhara gotram
nidraksano ’dri-parivarta-kasana-kanduh
SYNONYMS
ksira—milk; udadhau—in the ocean of; amara—the demigods; danava—the demons; yutha-panam—of the leaders of both hosts; unmathnatam—while churning; amrta—nectar; labdhaya—for gaining; adi-devah—the primeval Lord; prsthena—by the backbone; kacchapa—tortoise; vapuh—body; vidadhara—assumed; gotram—the Mandara Hill; nidraksanah—while partly sleeping; adri-parivarta—rolling the hill; kasana—scratching; kanduh—itching.
TRANSLATION
The primeval Lord then assumed the tortoise incarnation in order to serve as a resting place (pivot) for the Mandara Mountain, which was acting as a churning rod.
The demigods and demons were churning the ocean of milk with the Mandara Mountain in order to extract nectar.
The mountain moved back and forth, scratching the back of Lord Tortoise, who, while partially sleeping, was experiencing an itching sensation.
PURPORT
Although it is not in our experience, there is a milk ocean within this universe.
Even the modern scientist accepts that there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of planes hovering over our heads, and each of them has different kinds of climatic conditions.
Srimad-Bhagavatam gives much information which may not tally with our present experience.
But as far as Indian sages are concerned, knowledge is received from the Vedic literatures, and the authorities accept without any hesitation that we should look through the pages of authentic books of knowledge (sastra-caksurvat).
So we cannot deny the existence of the ocean of milk as stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam unless and until we have experimentally seen all the planes hovering in space.
Since such an experiment is not possible, naturally we have to accept the statement of Srimad-Bhagavatam as it is because it is so accepted by spiritual leaders like Sridhara Svami, Jiva Gosvami, Visvanatha Cakravarti and others.
The Vedic process is to follow in the footsteps of great authorities, and that is the only process for knowing that which is beyond our imagination.
The primeval Lord, being all-powerful, can do whatever He likes, and therefore His assuming the incarnation of a tortoise or a fish for serving a particular purpose is not at all astonishing.
Therefore we should not have any hesitation whatsoever in accepting the statements of the authentic scriptures like Srimad-Bhagavatam.
The gigantic work of churning the milk ocean by the combined effort of the demigods and the demons required a gigantic resting ground or pivot for the gigantic Mandara Hill.
Thus to help the attempt of the demigods the primeval Lord assumed the incarnation of a gigantic tortoise, swimming in the ocean of milk.
At the same time, the mountain scratched His backbone as He was partially sleeping and thus relieved His itching sensation.
2.7.14
trai-pistaporu-bhaya-ha sa nrsimha-rupam
krtva bhramad-bhrukuti-damstra-karala-vaktram
daityendram asu gadayabhipatantam arad
urau nipatya vidadara nakhaih sphurantam
SYNONYMS
trai-pistapa—the demigods; uru-bhaya-ha—one who vanquishes great fears; sah—He (the Personality of Godhead); nrsimha-rupam—assuming the incarnation Nrsimha; krtva—doing so; bhramat—by rolling; bhru-kuti—eyebrows; damstra—teeth; karala—greatly fearful; vaktram—mouth; daitya-indram—the king of the demons; asu—immediately; gadaya—with club in hand; abhipatantam—while falling down; arat—nearby; urau—on the thighs; nipatya—placing on; vidadara—pierced; nakhaih—by the nails; sphurantam—while challenging.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead assumed the incarnation of Nrsimhadeva in order to vanquish the great fears of the demigods.
He killed the king of the demons (Hiranyakasipu), who challenged the Lord with a club in his hand, by placing the demon on His thighs and piercing him with His nails, rolling His eyebrows in anger and showing His fearful teeth and mouth.
PURPORT
The history of Hiranyakasipu and his great devotee-son Prahlada Maharaja is narrated in the Seventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Hiranyakasipu became very powerful by material achievements and thought himself to be immortal by the grace of Brahmaji.
Brahmaji declined to award him the benediction of immortality because he himself is not an immortal being.
But Hiranyakasipu derived Brahmaji’s benediction in a roundabout way, almost equal to becoming an immortal being.
Hiranyakasipu was sure that he would not be killed by any man or demigod or by any kind of known weapon, nor would he die in day or night.
The Lord, however, assumed the incarnation of half-man and half-lion, which was beyond the imagination of a materialistic demon like Hiranyakasipu, and thus, keeping pace with the benediction of Brahmaji, the Lord killed him.
He killed him on His lap, so that he was killed neither on the land nor on the water nor in the sky.
The demon was pierced by Nrsimha’s nails, which were beyond the human weapons imaginable by Hiranyakasipu.
The literal meaning of Hiranyakasipu is one who is after gold and soft bedding, the ultimate aim of all materialistic men.
Such demonic men, who have no relationship with God, gradually become puffed up by material acquisitions and begin to challenge the authority of the Supreme Lord and torture those who are devotees of the Lord.
Prahlada Maharaja happened to be the son of Hiranyakasipu, and because the boy was a great devotee, his father tortured him to the best of his ability.
In this extreme situation, the Lord assumed the incarnation of Nrsimhadeva, and just to finish the enemy of the demigods, the Lord killed Hiranyakasipu in a manner beyond the demon’s imagination.
Materialistic plans of godless demons are always frustrated by the all-powerful Lord.
2.7.15
antah-sarasy uru-balena pade grhito
grahena yutha-patir ambuja-hasta artah
ahedam adi-purusakhila-loka-natha
tirtha-sravah sravana-mangala-namadheya
SYNONYMS
antah-sarasi—within the river; uru-balena—by superior strength; pade—leg; grhitah—being taken up; grahena—by the crocodile; yutha-patih—of the leader of the elephants; ambuja-hastah—with a lotus flower in the hand; artah—greatly aggrieved; aha—addressed; idam—like this; adi-purusa—the original enjoyer; akhila-loka-natha—the Lord of the universe; tirtha-sravah—as famous as a place of pilgrimage; sravana-mangala—all good simply by hearing the name; nama-dheya—whose holy name is worth chanting.
TRANSLATION
The leader of the elephants, whose leg was attacked in a river by a crocodile of superior strength, was much aggrieved.
Taking a lotus flower in his trunk, he addressed the Lord, saying, O original enjoyer, Lord of the universe! O deliverer, as famous as a place of pilgrimage! All are purified simply by hearing Your holy name, which is worthy to be chanted
PURPORT
The history of delivering the leader of the elephants, whose leg was attacked in the river by the superior strength of a crocodile, is described in the Eighth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Since the Lord is absolute knowledge, there is no difference between His holy name and the personality of Godhead.
The leader of the elephants was much distressed when he was attacked by the crocodile.
Although the elephant is always stronger than the crocodile, the latter is stronger than the elephant when it is in the water.
And because the elephant was a great devotee of the Lord in his previous birth, he was able to chant the holy name of the Lord by dint of his past good deeds.
Every living entity is always distressed in this material world because this place is such that at every step one has to meet with some kind of distress.
But one who is supported by his past good deeds engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (7.16).
Those who are supported by impious acts cannot be engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, even though they are distressed.
This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (7.15).
The personality of Godhead Hari appeared at once on the back of His eternal bearer, Garuda, and delivered the elephant.
The elephant was conscious of his relation with the Supreme Lord.
He addressed the Lord as adi-purusa, or the original enjoyer.
Both the Lord and the living beings are conscious and are therefore enjoyers, but the Lord is the original enjoyer because He is the creator of everything.
In a family, both the father and his sons are undoubtedly enjoyers but the father is the original enjoyer, and the sons are subsequent enjoyers.
A pure devotee knows well that everything in the universe is the property of the Lord and that a living entity can enjoy a thing as ordained by the Lord.
A living being cannot even touch a thing which is not allotted to him.
This idea of the original enjoyer is explained very nicely in the Isopanisad.
One who knows this difference between the Lord and himself never accepts anything without first offering it to the Lord.
The elephant addressed the Lord as akhila-loka-natha, or the Lord of the universe, who is therefore the Lord of the elephant also.
The elephant, being a pure devotee of the Lord, specifically deserved to be saved from the attack of the crocodile, and because it is a promise of the Lord that His devotee will never be vanquished, it was quite befitting that the elephant called upon the Lord to protect him, and the merciful Lord also at once responded.
The Lord is the protector of everyone, but He is the first protector of one who acknowledges the superiority of the Lord instead of being so falsely proud as to deny the superiority of the Lord or to claim to be equal to Him.
He is ever superior.
A pure devotee of the Lord knows this difference between the Lord and himself.
Therefore a pure devotee is given first preference because of his full dependence, whereas the person who denies the existence of the Lord and declares himself the Lord is called asura, and as such he is given protection by the strength of limited power subject to the sanction of the Lord.
Since the Lord is superior to everyone, His perfection is also superior.
No one can imagine it.
The elephant addressed the Lord as tirtha-sravah, or as famous as a place of pilgrimage People go to places of pilgrimage in order to be delivered from the reactions of unknown sinful acts.
But one can be freed from all sinful reactions simply by remembering His holy name.
The Lord is therefore as good as the holy places of pilgrimage.
One can be free from all sinful reactions after reaching a place of pilgrimage, but one can have the same benefit at home or at any place simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord.
For a pure devotee, there is no need to go to the holy place of pilgrimage.
He can be delivered from all sinful acts simply by remembering the Lord in earnestness.
A pure devotee of the Lord never commits any sinful acts, but because the whole world is full of the sinful atmosphere, even a pure devotee may commit a sin unconsciously, as a matter of course.
One who commits sinful acts consciously cannot be worthy of being a devotee of the Lord, but a pure devotee who unconsciously does something sinful is certainly delivered by the Lord because a pure devotee remembers the Lord always.
The Lord’s holy name is called sravana-mangala.
This means that one receives everything auspicious simply by hearing the holy name.
In another place in Srimad-Bhagavatam, His holy name is described as punya-sravana-kirtana.
It is a pious act simply to chant and hear all about the Lord.
The Lord descends on this earth and acts like others in connection with the activities of the world just to create subject matters for hearing about Him; otherwise the Lord has nothing to do in this world, nor has He any obligation to do anything.
He comes out of His own causeless mercy and acts as He desires, the Vedas and puranas are full of descriptions of His different activities so that people in general may naturally be eager to hear and read something about His activities.
Generally, however, the modern fictions and novels of the world occupy a greater part of people’s valuable time.
Such literatures cannot do good to anyone; on the contrary, they agitate the young mind unnecessarily and increase the modes of passion and ignorance, leading to increasing bondage to the material conditions.
The same aptitude for hearing and reading is better utilized in hearing and reading of the Lord’s activities.
This will give one all-around benefit.
It is concluded, therefore, that the holy name of the Lord and topics in relation with Him are always worth hearing, and therefore He is called here in this verse nama-dheya, or one whose holy name is worth chanting.
2.7.16
srutva haris tam aranarthinam aprameyas
cakrayudhah patagaraja-bhujadhirudhah
cakrena nakra-vadanam vinipatya tasmad
dhaste pragrhya bhagavan krpayojjahara
SYNONYMS
srutva—by hearing; harih—the Personality of Godhead; tam—him; arana-arthinam—one who is in need of help; aprameyah—the unlimitedly powerful Lord; cakra—wheel; ayudhah—equipped with His weapon; pataga-raja—the king of the birds (Garuda); bhuja-adhirudhah—being seated on the wings of; cakrena—by the wheel; nakra-vadanam—the mouth of the crocodile; vinipatya—cutting in two; tasmat—from the mouth of the crocodile; haste—in the hands; pragrhya—taking hold of the trunk; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; krpaya—out of causeless mercy; ujjahara—delivered him.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead, after hearing the elephant’s plea, felt that the elephant needed His immediate help, for he was in great distress.
Thus at once the Lord appeared there on the wings of the king of birds, Garuda, fully equipped with His weapon, the wheel (cakra).
With the wheel He cut to pieces the mouth of the crocodile to save the elephant, and He delivered the elephant by lifting him by his trunk.
PURPORT
The Lord resides in His Vaikuntha plane.
No one can estimate how far away this plane is situated.
It is said, however, that anyone trying to reach that plane by airships or by mindships, traveling for millions of years, will find it still unknown.
Modern scientists have invented airships which are material, and the yogis make a still finer material attempt to travel by mindships.
The yogis can reach any distant place very quickly with the help of mindships.
But neither the airship nor the mindship has access to the kingdom of God in the Vaikunthaloka, situated far beyond the material sky.
Since this is the situation, how was it possible for the prayers of the elephant to be heard from such an unlimitedly distant place, and how could the Lord at once appear on the spot? These things cannot be calculated by human imagination.
All this was possible by the unlimited power of the Lord, and therefore the Lord is described here as aprameya, for not even the best human brain can estimate His powers and potencies by mathematical calculation.
The Lord can hear from such a distant place, He can eat from there, and He can appear simultaneously in all places at a moment’s notice.
Such is the omnipotency of the Lord.
2.7.17
jyayan gunair avarajo ’py aditeh sutanam
lokan vicakrama iman yad athadhiyajnah
ksmam vamanena jagrhe tripada-cchalena
yacnam rte pathi caran prabhubhir na calyah
SYNONYMS
jyayan—the greatest; gunaih—by qualities; avarajah—transcendental; api—although He is so; aditeh—of Aditi; sutanam—of all the sons (known as Adityas); lokan—all the planes; vicakrame—surpassed; iman—in this universe; yat—one who; atha—therefore; adhiyajnah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ksmam—all the lands; vamanena—in the incarnation of Vamana; jagrhe—accepted; tripada—three steps; chalena—by pretension; yacnam—begging; rte—without; pathi caran—passing over the right path; prabhubhih—by authorities; na—never to be; calyah—to be bereft of.
TRANSLATION
The Lord, although transcendental to all material modes, still surpassed all the qualities of the sons of Aditi, known as the Adityas.
The Lord appeared as the youngest son of Aditi.
And because He surpassed all the planes of the universe, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
On the pretense of asking for a measurement of three footsteps of land, He took away all the lands of Bali Maharaja.
He asked simply because without begging, no authority can take one’s rightful possession.
PURPORT
The history of Bali Maharaja and his charity to Vamanadeva is described in the Eighth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Bali Maharaja conquered all the planes of the universe by rightful possession.
A king can conquer other kings by strength, and such possession is considered to be rightful.
So Bali Maharaja possessed all the lands of the universe, and he happened to be charitably disposed toward the brahmanas.
The Lord therefore pretended to be a beggar brahmana, and He asked Bali Maharaja for a measurement of three footsteps of land.
The Lord, as the proprietor of everything, could take from Bali Maharaja all the land he possessed, but he did not do so because Bali Maharaja possessed all those lands by king’s rights.
When Bali Maharaja was asked by Lord Vamana for such small charity, Bali Maharaja’s spiritual master, namely Sukracarya, objected to this proposal because he knew that Vamanadeva was Visnu Himself, pretending to be a beggar.
Bali Maharaja did not agree to abide by the order of his spiritual master when he understood that the beggar was Visnu Himself, and he at once agreed to give Him in charity the land requested.
By this agreement Lord Vamana covered all the lands of the universe with His first two steps and then asked Bali Maharaja where to place the third step.
Bali Maharaja was very glad to receive the Lord’s remaining step upon his head, and thus Bali Maharaja, instead of losing everything he possessed, was blessed by the Lord’s becoming his constant companion and doorman.
So, by giving everything to the cause of the Lord, one does not lose anything, but he gains everything that he could never otherwise expect.
2.7.18
nartho baler ayam urukrama-pada-saucam
apah sikha-dhrtavato vibudhadhipatyam
yo vai pratisrutam rte na cikirsad anyad
atmanam anga manasa haraye ’bhimene
SYNONYMS
na—never; arthah—of any value in comparison with; baleh—of strength; ayam—this; urukrama-pada-saucam—the water washed from the feet of the personality of Godhead; apah—water; sikha-dhrtavatah—of one who has kept it on his head; vibudha-adhipatyam—supremacy over the kingdom of the demigods; yah—one who; vai—certainly; pratisrutam—what was duly promised; rte na—besides that; cikirsat—tried for; anyat—anything else; atmanam—even his personal body; anga—O Narada; manasa—within his mind; haraye—unto the Supreme Lord; abhimene—dedicated.
TRANSLATION
Bali Maharaja, who put on his head the water washed from the lotus feet of the Lord, did not think of anything besides his promise, in spite of being forbidden by his spiritual master.
The king dedicated his own personal body to fulfill the measurement of the Lord’s third step.
For such a personality, even the kingdom of heaven, which he conquered by his strength, was of no value.
PURPORT
Bali Maharaja, by gaining the transcendental favor of the Lord in exchange for his great material sacrifice, was able to have a place in Vaikunthaloka with equal or greater facilities of eternal enjoyment; therefore he was not at all the loser by sacrificing the kingdom of heaven, which he had possessed by his material strength.
In other words, when the Lord snatches away one’s hard-earned material possessions and favors one with His personal transcendental service for eternal life, bliss and knowledge, such taking away by the Lord should be considered a special favor upon such a pure devotee.
Material possessions, however alluring they may be, cannot be permanent possessions.
Therefore one has to voluntarily give up such possessions, or one has to leave such possessions at the time of quitting this material body.
The sane man knows that all material possessions are temporary and that the best use of such possessions is to engage them in the service of the Lord so that the Lord may be pleased with him and award him a permanent place in His param dhama.
In the Bhagavad-gita (15.5–6), the param dhama of the Lord is described as follows:
nirmana-moha jita-sanga-dosa
adhyatma-nitya vinivrtta-kamah
dvandvair vimuktah sukha-duhkha-samjnair
gacchanty amudhah padam avyayam tat
na tad bhasayate suryo
na sasanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama
One who possesses more in this material world, in the shape of houses, land, children, society, friendship and wealth, possesses these things only for the time being.
One cannot possess all this illusory paraphernalia, created by maya, permanently.
Such a possessor is more illusioned in the matter of his self-realization; therefore one should possess less or nothing, so that one may be free from artificial prestige.
We are contaminated in the material world by association with the three modes of material nature.
Therefore, the more one spiritually advances by devotional service to the Lord, in exchange for his temporary possessions, the more one is freed from the attachment of material illusion.
To achieve this stage of life one must be firmly convinced about spiritual existence and its permanent effects.
To know exactly the permanency of spiritual existence, one must voluntarily practice possessing less or only the minimum to maintain one’s material existence without difficulty.
One should not create artificial needs.
That will help one be satisfied with the minimum.
Artificial needs of life are activities of the senses.
The modern advancement of civilization is based on these activities of the senses, or, in other words, it is a civilization of sense gratification.
Perfect civilization is the civilization of atma, or the soul proper.
The civilized man of sense gratification is on an equal level with animals because animals cannot go beyond the activities of the senses.
Above the senses is the mind.
The civilization of mental speculation is also not the perfect stage of life because above the mind is the intelligence, and the Bhagavad-gita gives us information of the intellectual civilization.
The Vedic literatures give different directions for the human civilization, including the civilization of the senses, of the mind, of the intelligence, and of the soul proper.
The Bhagavad-gita primarily deals with the intelligence of man, leading one to the progressive path of civilization of the spirit soul.
And Srimad-Bhagavatam is the complete human civilization dealing with the subject matter of the soul proper.
As soon as a man is raised to the status of the civilization of the soul, he is fit to be promoted to the kingdom of God, which is described in the Bhagavad-gita as per the above verses.
The primary information of the kingdom of God informs us that there is no need of sun, moon or electricity, which are all necessary in this material world of darkness.
And the secondary information of the kingdom of God explains that anyone able to reach that kingdom by adoption of the civilization of the soul proper, or, in other words, by the method of bhakti-yoga, attains the highest perfection of life.
One is then situated in the permanent existence of the soul, with full knowledge of transcendental loving service for the Lord.
Bali Maharaja accepted this civilization of the soul in exchange for his great material possessions and thus became fit for promotion to the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of heaven, which he achieved by dint of his material power, was considered most insignificant in comparison with the kingdom of God.
Those who have attained the comforts of a material civilization made for sense gratification should try to attain the kingdom of God by following in the footsteps of Bali Maharaja, who exchanged his acquired material strength, adopting the process of bhakti-yoga as recommended in the Bhagavad-gita and further explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
2.7.19
tubhyam ca narada bhrsam bhagavan vivrddha-
bhavena sadhu paritusta uvaca yogam
jnanam ca bhagavatam atma-satattva-dipam
yad vasudeva-sarana vidur anjasaiva
SYNONYMS
tubhyam—unto you; ca—also; narada—O Narada; bhrsam—very nicely; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; vivrddha—developed; bhavena—by transcendental love; sadhu—your goodness; paritustah—being satisfied; uvaca—described; yogam—service; jnanam—knowledge; ca—also; bhagavatam—the science of God and His devotional service; atma—the self; sa-tattva—with all details; dipam—just like the light in the darkness; yat—that which; vasudeva-saranah—those who are souls surrendered unto Lord Vasudeva; viduh—know them; anjasa—perfectly well; eva—as it is.
TRANSLATION
O Narada, you were taught about the science of God and His transcendental loving service by the Personality of Godhead in His incarnation of Hamsavatara.
He was very much pleased with you, due to your intense proportion of devotional service.
He also explained unto you, lucidly, the full science of devotional service, which is especially understandable by persons who are souls surrendered unto Lord Vasudeva, the Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
The devotee and devotional service are two correlative terms.
Unless one is inclined to be a devotee of the Lord, he cannot enter into the intricacies of devotional service.
Lord Sri Krsna wanted to explain the Bhagavad-gita, which is the science of devotional service, unto Sri Arjuna because Arjuna was not only His friend but a great devotee as well.
The whole process is that all living entities, being constitutionally parts and parcels of the supreme living being, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, have proportionately minute independence of action also.
So the preliminary qualification for entering into the devotional service of the Lord is that one become a willing cooperator, and as such one should voluntarily cooperate with persons who are already engaged in the transcendental devotional service of the Lord.
By cooperating with such persons, the prospective candidate will gradually learn the techniques of devotional service, and with the progress of such learning one becomes proportionately free from the contamination of material association.
Such a purificatory process will establish the prospective candidate in firm faith and gradually elevate him to the stage of transcendental taste for such devotional service.
Thus he acquires a genuine attachment for the devotional service of the Lord, and his conviction carries him on to the point of ecstasy, just prior to the stage of transcendental love.
Such knowledge of devotional service may be divided into two sections, namely preliminary knowledge of the nature of devotional service and the secondary knowledge of its execution.Bhagavatam is in relation with the Personality of Godhead, His beauty, fame, opulence, dignity, attraction and transcendental qualities which attract one towards Him for exchanges of love and affection.
There is a natural affinity of the living entity for the loving service of the Lord.
This affinity becomes artificially covered by the influence of material association, and Srimad-Bhagavatam helps one very genuinely remove that artificial covering.
Therefore it is particularly mentioned herein that Srimad-Bhagavatam acts like the lamp of transcendental knowledge.
These two sections of transcendental knowledge in devotional service become revealed to a person who is a soul surrendered unto Vasudeva; as it is said in the Bhagavad-gita (7.19), such a great soul, fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of Vasudeva, is very, very rare.
2.7.20
cakram ca diksv avihatam dasasu sva-tejo
manvantaresu manu-vamsa-dharo bibharti
dustesu rajasu damam vyadadhat sva-kirtim
satye tri-prstha usatim prathayams caritraih
SYNONYMS
cakram—the Sudarsana wheel of the Lord; ca—as well as; diksu—in all directions; avihatam—without being deterred; dasasu—ten sides; sva-tejah—personal strength; manvantaresu—in different incarnations of Manu; manu-vamsa-dharah—as the descendant of the Manu dynasty; bibharti—rules over; dustesu—unto the miscreants; rajasu—upon the kings of that type; damam—subjection; vyadadhat—performed; sva-kirtim—personal glories; satye—in the Satyaloka plane; tri-prsthe—the three planeary systems; usatim—glorious; prathayan—established; caritraih—characteristics.
TRANSLATION
As the incarnation of Manu, the Lord became the descendant of the Manu dynasty and ruled over the miscreant kingly order, subduing them by His powerful wheel weapon.
Undeterred in all circumstances, His rule was characterized by His glorious fame, which spread over the three lokas, and above them to the planeary system of Satyaloka, the topmost in the universe.
PURPORT
We have already discussed the incarnations of Manu in the First Canto.
In one day of Brahma there are fourteen Manus, changing one after another.
In that way there are 420 Manus in a month of Brahma and 5,040 Manus in one year of Brahma.
Brahma lives for one hundred years according to his calculation, and as such there are 504,000 Manus in the jurisdiction of one Brahma.
There are innumerable Brahmas, and all of them live only during one breathing period of Maha-Visnu.
So we can just imagine how the incarnations of the Supreme Lord work all over the material worlds, which comprehend only one-fourth of the total energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The manvantara incarnation chastises all the miscreant rulers of different planes with as much power as that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who punishes the miscreants with His wheel weapon.
The manvantara incarnations disseminate the transcendental glories of the Lord.
2.7.21
dhanvantaris ca bhagavan svayam eva kirtir
namna nrnam puru-rujam ruja asu hanti
yajne ca bhagam amrtayur-avavarundha
ayusya-vedam anusasty avatirya loke
SYNONYMS
dhanvantarih—the incarnation of God named Dhanvantari; ca—and; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; svayam eva—personally Himself; kirtih—fame personified; namna—by the name; nrnam puru-rujam—of the diseased living entities; rujah—diseases; asu—very soon; hanti—cures; yajne—in the sacrifice; ca—also; bhagam—share; amrta—nectar; ayuh—duration of life; ava—from; avarundhe—obtains; ayusya—of duration of life; vedam—knowledge; anusasti—directs; avatirya—incarnating; loke—in the universe.
TRANSLATION
The Lord in His incarnation of Dhanvantari very quickly cures the diseases of the ever-diseased living entities simply by his fame personified, and only because of him do the demigods achieve long lives.
Thus the Personality of Godhead becomes ever glorified.
He also exacted a share from the sacrifices, and it is he only who inaugurated the medical science or the knowledge of medicine in the universe.
PURPORT
As stated in the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, everything emanates from the ultimate source of the Personality of Godhead; it is therefore understood in this verse that medical science or knowledge in medicine was also inaugurated by the Personality of Godhead in His incarnation Dhanvantari, and thus the knowledge is recorded in the Vedas.
The Vedas are the source of all knowledge, and thus knowledge in medical science is also there for the perfect cure of the diseases of the living entity.
The embodied living entity is diseased by the very construction of his body.
The body is the symbol of diseases.
The disease may differ from one variety to another, but disease must be there just as there is birth and death for everyone.
So, by the grace of the Personality of Godhead, not only are diseases of the body and mind cured, but also the soul is relieved of the constant repetition of birth and death.
The name of the Lord is also called bhavausadhi, or the source of curing the disease of material existence.
2.7.22
ksatram ksayaya vidhinopabhrtam mahatma
brahma-dhrug ujjhita-patham narakarti-lipsu
uddhanty asav avanikantakam ugra-viryas
trih-sapta-krtva urudhara-parasvadhena
SYNONYMS
ksatram—the royal order; ksayaya—for the sake of diminishing; vidhina—by destination; upabhrtam—increased in proportion; mahatma—the Lord in the form of the great sage Parasurama; brahma-dhruk—the ultimate truth in Brahman; ujjhita-patham—those who have given up the path of the Absolute Truth; naraka-arti-lipsu—desirous to suffer pain in hell; uddhanti—exacts; asau—all those; avanikantakam—thorns of the world; ugra-viryah—awfully powerful; trih-sapta—thrice seven times; krtvah—performed; urudhara—very sharp; parasvadhena—by the great chopper.
TRANSLATION
When the ruling administrators, who are known as the ksatriyas, turned astray from the path of the Absolute Truth, being desirous to suffer in hell, the Lord, in His incarnation as the sage Parasurama, uprooted those unwanted kings, who appeared as the thorns of the earth.
Thus He thrice seven times uprooted the ksatriyas with His keenly sharpened chopper.
PURPORT
The ksatriyas, or the ruling administrators of any part of the universe, either on this plane or on other planes, are factually the representatives of the Almighty Personality of Godhead, and they are meant to lead the subjects towards the path of God realization.
Every state and its administrators, regardless of the nature of the administration—monarchy or democracy, oligarchy or dictatorship or autocracy—have the prime responsibility to lead the citizens toward God realization.
This is essential for all human beings, and it is the duty of the father, spiritual master, and ultimately the state to take up the responsibility of leading the citizens towards this end.
The whole creation of material existence is made for this purpose, just to give a chance to the fallen souls who rebelled against the will of the Supreme Father and thus became conditioned by material nature.
The force of material nature gradually leads one to a hellish condition of perpetual pains and miseries.
Those going against the prescribed rules and regulations of conditional life are called brahmojjhita-pathas, or persons going against the path of the Absolute Truth, and they are liable to be punished.
Lord Parasurama, the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, appeared in such a state of worldly affairs and killed all the miscreant kings twenty-one times.
Many ksatriya kings fled from India to other parts of the world at that time, and according to the authority of the Mahabharata, the kings of Egypt originally migrated from India because of Parasurama’s program of chastisement.
The kings or administrators are similarly chastised in all circumstances whenever they become godless and plan a godless civilization.
That is the order of the Almighty.
2.7.23
asmat-prasada-sumukhah kalaya kalesa
iksvaku-vamsa avatirya guror nidese
tisthan vanam sa-dayitanuja avivesa
yasmin virudhya dasa-kandhara artim arcchat
SYNONYMS
asmat—unto us, beginning from Brahma down to the insignificant ant; prasada—causeless mercy; sumukhah—so inclined; kalaya—with His plenary extensions; kalesah—the Lord of all potencies; iksvaku—Maharaja Iksvaku, in the dynasty of the sun; vamse—family; avatirya—by descending in; guroh—of the father or spiritual master; nidese—under the order of; tisthan—being situated in; vanam—in the forest; sa-dayita-anujah—along with His wife and younger brother; avivesa—entered; yasmin—unto whom; virudhya—being rebellious; dasa-kandharah—Ravana, who had ten heads; artim—great distress; arcchat—achieved.
TRANSLATION
Due to His causeless mercy upon all living entities within the universe, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, along with His plenary extensions, appeared in the family of Maharaja Iksvaku as the Lord of His internal potency, Sita.
Under the order of His father, Maharaja Dasaratha, He entered the forest and lived there for considerable years with His wife and younger brother.
Ravana, who was very materially powerful, with ten heads on his shoulders, committed a great offense against Him and was thus ultimately vanquished.
PURPORT
Lord Rama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His brothers, namely Bharata, Laksmana and Satrughna, are His plenary expansions.
All four brothers are visnu-tattva and were never ordinary human beings.
There are many unscrupulous and ignorant commentators on Ramayana who present the younger brothers of Lord Ramacandra as ordinary living entities.
But here in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the most authentic scripture on the science of Godhead, it is clearly stated that His brothers were His plenary expansions.
Originally Lord Ramacandra is the incarnation of Vasudeva, Laksmana is the incarnation of Sankarsana, Bharata is the incarnation of Pradyumna, and Satrughna is the incarnation of Aniruddha, expansions of the Personality of Godhead.
Laksmiji Sita is the internal potency of the Lord and is neither an ordinary woman nor the external potency incarnation of Durga.
Durga is the external potency of the Lord, and she is associated with Lord Siva.
As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (4.7), the Lord appears when there are discrepancies in the discharge of factual religion.
Lord Ramacandra also appeared under the same circumstances, accompanied by His brothers, who are expansions of the Lord’s internal potency, and by Laksmiji Sitadevi.
Lord Ramacandra was ordered by His father, Maharaja Dasaratha, to leave home for the forest under awkward circumstances, and the Lord, as the ideal son of His father, carried out the order, even on the occasion of His being declared the King of Ayodhya.
One of His younger brothers, Laksmanaji, desired to go with Him, and so also His eternal wife, Sitaji, desired to go with Him.
The Lord agreed to both of them, and all together they entered the Dandakaranya Forest, to live there for fourteen years.
During their stay in the forest, there was some quarrel between Ramacandra and Ravana, and the latter kidnapped the Lord’s wife, Sita.
The quarrel ended in the vanquishing of the greatly powerful Ravana, along with all his kingdom and family.
Sita is Laksmiji, or the goddess of fortune, but she is never to be enjoyed by any living being.
She is meant for being worshiped by the living being along with her husband, Sri Ramacandra.
A materialistic man like Ravana does not understand this great truth, but on the contrary he wants to snatch Sitadevi from the custody of Rama and thus incurs great miseries.
The materialists, who are after opulence and material prosperity, may take lessons from the Ramayana that the policy of exploiting the nature of the Lord without acknowledging the supremacy of the Supreme Lord is the policy of Ravana.
Ravana was very advanced materially, so much so that he turned his kingdom, Lanka, into pure gold, or full material wealth.
But because he did not recognize the supremacy of Lord Ramacandra and defied Him by stealing His wife, Sita, Ravana was killed, and all his opulence and power were destroyed.
Lord Ramacandra is a full incarnation with six opulences in full, and He is therefore mentioned in this verse as kalesah, or master of all opulence.
2.7.24
yasma adad udadhir udha-bhayanga-vepo
margam sapady ari-puram haravad didhaksoh
dure suhrn-mathita-rosa-susona-drstya
tatapyamana-makaroraga-nakra-cakrah
SYNONYMS
yasmai—unto whom; adat—gave; udadhih—the great Indian Ocean; udha-bhaya—affected by fear; anga-vepah—bodily trembling; margam—way; sapadi—quickly; ari-puram—the city of the enemy; hara-vat—like that of Hara (Mahadeva); didhaksoh—desiring to burn to ashes; dure—at a long distance; su-hrt—intimate friend; mathita—being aggrieved by; rosa—in anger; su-sona—red-hot; drstya—by such a glance; tatapyamana—burning in heat; makara—sharks; uraga—snakes; nakra—crocodiles; cakrah—circle.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead Ramacandra, being aggrieved for His distant intimate friend (Sita), glanced over the city of the enemy Ravana with red-hot eyes like those of Hara (who wanted to burn the kingdom of heaven).
The great ocean, trembling in fear, gave Him His way because its family members, the aquatics like the sharks, snakes and crocodiles, were being burnt by the heat of the angry red-hot eyes of the Lord.
PURPORT
The Personality of Godhead has every sentiment of a sentient being, like all other living beings, because He is the chief and original living entity, the supreme source of all other living beings.
He is the nitya, or the chief eternal amongst all other eternals.
He is the chief one, and all others are the dependent many.
The many eternals are supported by the one eternal, and thus both the eternals are qualitatively one.
Due to such oneness, both the eternals constitutionally have a complete range of sentiments, but the difference is that the sentiments of the chief eternal are different in quantity from the sentiments of the dependent eternals.
When Ramacandra was angry and showed His red-hot eyes, the whole ocean became heated with that energy, so much so that the aquatics within the great ocean felt the heat, and the personified ocean trembled in fear and offered the Lord an easy path for reaching the enemy’s city.
The impersonalists will see havoc in this red-hot sentiment of the Lord because they want to see negation in perfection.
Because the Lord is absolute, the impersonalists imagine that in the Absolute the sentiment of anger, which resembles mundane sentiments, must be conspicuous by absence.
Due to a poor fund of knowledge, they do not realize that the sentiment of the Absolute Person is transcendental to all mundane concepts of quality and quantity.
Had Lord Ramacandra’s sentiment been of mundane origin, how could it disturb the whole ocean and its inhabitants? Can any mundane red-hot eye generate heat in the great ocean? These are factors to be distinguished in terms of the personal and impersonal conceptions of the Absolute Truth.
As it is said in the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Absolute Truth is the source of everything, so the Absolute Person cannot be devoid of the sentiments that are reflected in the temporary mundane world.
Rather, the different sentiments found in the Absolute, either in anger or in mercy, have the same qualitative influence, or, in other words, there is no mundane difference of value because these sentiments are all on the absolute plane.
Such sentiments are definitely not absent in the Absolute, as the impersonalists think, making their mundane estimation of the transcendental world.
2.7.25
vaksah-sthala-sparsa-rugna-mahendra-vaha-
dantair vidambita-kakubjusa udha-hasam
sadyo ’subhih saha vinesyati dara-hartur
visphurjitair dhanusa uccarato ’dhisainye
SYNONYMS
vaksah-sthala—chest; sparsa—touched by; rugna—broken; maha-indra—the King of heaven; vaha—the conveyor; dantaih—by the trunk; vidambita—illuminated; kakup-jusah—all directions thus being served; udha-hasam—overtaken by laughter; sadyah—within no time; asubhih—by the life; saha—along with; vinesyati—was killed; dara-hartuh—of the one who kidnapped the wife; visphurjitaih—by the tingling of the bow; dhanusah—bow; uccaratah—strolling fast; adhisainye—in the midst of the fighting soldiers of both sides.
TRANSLATION
When Ravana was engaged in the battle, the trunk of the elephant which carried the King of heaven, Indra, broke in pieces, having collided with the chest of Ravana, and the scattered broken parts illuminated all directions.
Ravana therefore felt proud of his prowess and began to loiter in the midst of the fighting soldiers, thinking himself the conqueror of all directions.
But his laughter, overtaken by joy, along with his very air of life, suddenly ceased with the tingling sound of the bow of Ramacandra, the Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
However powerful a living being may be, when he is condemned by God no one can save him, and, similarly, however weak one may be, if he is protected by the Lord no one can annihilate him.
2.7.26
bhumeh suretara-varutha-vimarditayah
klesa-vyayaya kalaya sita-krsna-kesah
jatah karisyati jananupalaksya-margah
karmani catma-mahimopanibandhanani
SYNONYMS
bhumeh—of the entire world; sura-itara—other than godly persons; varutha—soldiers; vimarditayah—distressed by the burden; klesa—miseries; vyayaya—for the matter of diminishing; kalaya—along with His plenary expansion; sita-krsna—not only beautiful but also black; kesah—with such hairs; jatah—having appeared; karisyati—would act; jana—people in general; anupalaksya—rarely to be seen; margah—path; karmani—activities; ca—also; atma-mahima—glories of the Lord Himself; upanibandhanani—in relation to.
TRANSLATION
When the world is overburdened by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, the Lord, just to diminish the distress of the world, descends with His plenary portion.
The Lord comes in His original form, with beautiful black hair.
And just to expand His transcendental glories, He acts extraordinarily.
No one can properly estimate how great He is.
PURPORT
This verse is especially describing the appearance of Lord Krsna and His immediate expansion, Lord Baladeva.
Both Lord Krsna and Lord Baladeva are one Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Lord is omnipotent, and He expands Himself in innumerable forms and energies, and the whole unit is known as the one Supreme Brahman.
Such extensions of the Lord are divided into two divisions, namely personal and differential.
The personal expansions are called the visnu-tattvas, and the differential expansions are called the jiva-tattvas.
And in such expansional activity, Lord Baladeva is the first personal expansion of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In the Visnu Purana, as well as in the Mahabharata, both Krsna and Baladeva are mentioned as having beautiful black hair, even in Their advanced age.
The Lord is called anupalaksya-margah or, in still more technical Vedic terms, avan-manasa gocarah: one who is never to be seen or realized by the limited sense perception of the people in general.
In the Bhagavad-gita (7.25) it is said by the Lord, naham prakasah sarvasya yogamaya-samavrtah.
In other words, He reserves the right of not being exposed to anyone and everyone.
Only the bona fide devotees can know Him by His specific symptoms, and out of many, many such symptoms, one symptom is mentioned here in this verse, that the Lord is sita-krsna-kesah, or one who is observed always with beautiful black hair.
Both Lord Krsna and Lord Baladeva have such hair on Their heads, and thus even in advanced age They appeared like young boys sixteen years old.
That is the particular symptom of the Personality of Godhead.
In the Brahma-samhita it is stated that although He is the oldest personality among all living entities, He always looks like a new, youthful boy.
That is the characteristic of a spiritual body.
The material body is symptomized by birth, death, old age and diseases, but the spiritual body is conspicuous by the absence of those symptoms.
Living entities who reside in the Vaikunthalokas in eternal life and bliss have the same type of spiritual body, without being affected by any signs of old age.
It is described in the Bhagavatam (Canto Six) that the party of Visnudutas who came to deliver Ajamila from the clutches of the party of Yamaraja appeared like youthful boys, corroborating the description in this verse.
It is ascertained thus that the spiritual bodies in the Vaikunthalokas, either of the Lord or of the other inhabitants, are completely distinct from the material bodies of this world.
Therefore, when the Lord descends from that world to this world, He descends in His spiritual body of atma-maya, or internal potency, without any touch of the bahiranga-maya, or external, material energy.
The allegation that the impersonal Brahman appears in this material world by accepting a material body is quite absurd.
Therefore the Lord, when He comes here, has not a material body, but a spiritual body.
The impersonal brahmajyoti is only the glaring effulgence of the body of the Lord, and there is no difference in quality between the body of the Lord and the impersonal ray of the Lord, called brahmajyoti.
Now the question is why the Lord, who is omnipotent, comes here to diminish the burden created upon the world by the unscrupulous kingly order.
Certainly the Lord does not need to come here personally for such purposes, but He actually descends to exhibit His transcendental activities in order to encourage His pure devotees, who want to enjoy life by chanting the glories of the Lord.
In the Bhagavad-gita (9.13–14) it is stated that the mahatmas, great devotees of the Lord, take pleasure in chanting of the activities of the Lord.
All Vedic literatures are meant for turning one’s attention towards the Lord and His transcendental activities.
Thus the activities of the Lord, in His dealings with worldly people, create a subject matter for discussion by His pure devotees.
2.7.27
tokena jiva-haranam yad uluki-kayas
trai-masikasya ca pada sakato ’pavrttah
yad ringatantara-gatena divi-sprsor va
unmulanam tv itaratharjunayor na bhavyam
SYNONYMS
tokena—by a child; jiva-haranam—killing a living being; yat—one which; uluki-kayah—assumed the giant body of a demon; trai-masikasya—of one who is only three months old; ca—also; pada—by the leg; sakatah apavrttah—turned over the cart; yat—one who; ringata—while crawling; antara-gatena—being overtaken; divi—high in the sky; sprsoh—touching; va—either; unmulanam—uprooting; tu—but; itaratha—anyone else than; arjunayoh—of the two arjuna trees; na bhavyam—was not possible.
TRANSLATION
There is no doubt about Lord Krsna’s being the Supreme Lord, otherwise how was it possible for Him to kill a giant demon like Putana when He was just on the lap of His mother, to overturn a cart with His leg when He was only three months old, to uproot a pair of arjuna trees, so high that they touched the sky, when He was only crawling? All these activities are impossible for anyone other than the Lord Himself.
PURPORT
One cannot manufacture a God by one’s mental speculation or by numerical votes, as has become a practice for the less intelligent class of men.
God is God eternally, and an ordinary living entity is eternally a part and parcel of God.
God is one without a second, and the ordinary living entities are many without number.
All such living entities are maintained by God Himself, and that is the verdict of the Vedic literatures.
When Krsna was on the lap of His mother, the demon Putana appeared before His mother and prayed to nurture the child in her lap.
Mother Yasoda agreed, and the child was transferred onto the lap of Putana, who was in the garb of a respectable lady.
Putana wanted to kill the child by smearing poison on the nipple of her breast.
But when everything was complete, the Lord sucked her breast along with her very air of life, and the demon’s gigantic body, said to be as long as six miles, fell down.
But Lord Krsna did not need to expand Himself to the length of the she-demon Putana, although He was quite competent to extend Himself more than six miles long.
In His Vamana incarnation He posed Himself as a dwarf brahmana, but when He took possession of His land, promised by Bali Maharaja, He expanded His footstep to the top of the universe, extending over thousands and millions of miles.
So it was not very difficult for Krsna to perform a miracle by extending His bodily feature, but He had no desire to do it because of His deep filial love for His mother, Yasoda.
If Yasoda had seen Krsna in her lap extending six miles to cope with the she-demon Putana, then the natural filial love of Yasoda would have been hurt because in that way Yasoda would have come to know that her so-called son, Krsna, was God Himself.
And with the knowledge of the Godhood of Krsna, Yasodamayi would have lost the temper of her love for Krsna as a natural mother.
But as far as Lord Krsna is concerned, He is God always, either as a child on the lap of His mother, or as the coverer of the universe, Vamanadeva.
He does not require to become God by undergoing severe penances, although some men think of becoming God in that way.
By undergoing severe austerities and penances, one cannot become one or equal with God, but one can attain most of the godly qualities.
A living being can attain godly qualities to a large extent, but he cannot become God, whereas Krsna, without undergoing any type of penance, is God always, either in the lap of His mother or growing up or at any stage of growth.
So at the age of only three months He killed the Sakatasura, who had remained hidden behind a cart in the house of Yasodamayi.
And when He was crawling and was disturbing His mother from doing household affairs, the mother tied Him with a grinding pestle, but the naughty child dragged the pestle up to a pair of very high arjuna trees in the yard of Yasodamayi, and when the pestle was stuck between the pair of trees, they fell down with a horrible sound.
When Yasodamayi came to see the happenings, she thought that her child had been saved from the falling trees by the mercy of the Lord, without knowing that the Lord Himself, crawling in her yard, had wreaked the havoc.
So that is the way of reciprocation of love affairs between the Lord and His devotees.
Yasodamayi wanted to have the Lord as her child, and the Lord played exactly like a child in her lap, but at the same time played the part of the Almighty Lord whenever it was so required.
The beauty of such pastimes was that the Lord fulfilled everyone’s desire.
In the case of felling the gigantic arjuna trees, the Lord’s mission was to deliver the two sons of Kuvera, who were condemned to become trees by the curse of Narada, as well as to play like a crawling child in the yard of Yasoda, who took transcendental pleasure in seeing such activities of the Lord in the very yard of her home.
The Lord in any condition is Lord of the universe, and He can act as such in any form, gigantic or small, as He likes.
2.7.28
yad vai vraje vraja-pasun visatoya-pitan
palams tv ajivayad anugraha-drsti-vrstya
tac-chuddhaye ’ti-visa-virya-vilola-jihvam
uccatayisyad uragam viharan hradinyam
SYNONYMS
yat—one who; vai—certainly; vraje—at Vrndavana; vraja-pasun—the animals thereof; visa-toya—poisoned water; pitan—those who drank; palan—the cowherd men; tu—also; ajivayat—brought to life; anugraha-drsti—merciful glance; vrstya—by the showers of; tat—that; suddhaye—for purification; ati—exceedingly; visa-virya—highly potent poison; vilola—lurking; jihvam—one who has such a tongue; uccatayisyat—severely punished; uragam—unto the snake; viharan—taking it as a pleasure; hradinyam—in the river.
TRANSLATION
Then also when the cowherd boys and their animals drank the poisoned water of the River Yamuna, and after the Lord (in His childhood) revived them by His merciful glance, just to purify the water of the River Yamuna He jumped into it as if playing and chastised the venomous Kaliya snake, which was lurking there, its tongue emitting waves of poison.
Who can perform such herculean tasks but the Supreme Lord ?
2.7.29
tat karma divyam iva yan nisi nihsayanam
davagnina suci-vane paridahyamane
unnesyati vrajam ato ’vasitanta-kalam
netre pidhapya sabalo ’nadhigamya-viryah
SYNONYMS
tat—that; karma—activity; divyam—superhuman; iva—like; yat—which; nisi—at night; nihsayanam—sleeping carefreely; dava-agnina—by the glare of the forest fire; suci-vane—in the dry forest; paridahyamane—being set ablaze; unnesyati—would deliver; vrajam—all the inhabitants of Vraja; atah—hence; avasita—surely; anta-kalam—last moments of life; netre—on the eyes; pidhapya—simply by closing; sa-balah—along with Baladeva; anadhigamya—unfathomable; viryah—prowess.
TRANSLATION
On the very night of the day of the chastisement of the Kaliya snake, when the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi were sleeping carefreely, there was a forest fire ablaze due to dry leaves, and it appeared that all the inhabitants were sure to meet their death.
But the Lord, along with Balarama, saved them simply by closing His eyes.
Such are the superhuman activities of the Lord.
PURPORT
Although in this verse the Lord’s activity has been described as superhuman, it should be noted that the Lord’s activities are always superhuman, and that distinguishes Him from the ordinary living being.
Uprooting a gigantic banyan or arjuna tree and extinguishing a blazing forest fire simply by closing one’s eyes are certainly impossible by any kind of human endeavor.
But not only are these activities amazing to hear, but in fact all other activities of the Lord, whatever He may do, are all superhuman, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9).
Whoever knows the superhuman activities of the Lord, due to their very transcendental nature, becomes eligible to enter the kingdom of Krsna, and as such, after quitting this present material body, the knower of the transcendental activities of the Lord goes back home, back to Godhead.
2.7.30
grhnita yad yad upabandham amusya mata
sulbam sutasya na tu tat tad amusya mati
yaj jrmbhato ’sya vadane bhuvanani gopi
samviksya sankita-manah pratibodhitasit
SYNONYMS
grhnita—by taking up; yat yat—whatsoever; upabandham—ropes for tying; amusya—His; mata—mother; sulbam—ropes; sutasya—of her son; na—not; tu—however; tat tat—by and by; amusya—His; mati—was sufficient; yat—that which; jrmbhatah—opening the mouth; asya—of Him; vadane—in the mouth; bhuvanani—the worlds; gopi—the cowherd woman; samviksya—so seeing it; sankita-manah—doubtful in mind; pratibodhita—convinced in a different way; asit—was so done.
TRANSLATION
When the cowherd woman (Krsna’s foster mother, Yasoda) was trying to tie the hands of her son with ropes, she found the rope to be always insufficient in length, and when she finally gave up, Lord Krsna, by and by, opened His mouth, wherein the mother found all the universes situated.
Seeing this, she was doubtful in her mind, but she was convinced in a different manner of the mystic nature of her son.
PURPORT
One day Lord Krsna as the naughty child disturbed His mother Yasoda, and she began to tie up the child with ropes just to punish Him.
But no matter how much rope she used, she found it always insufficient.
Thus she became fatigued, but in the meantime the Lord opened His mouth, and the affectionate mother saw within the mouth of her son all the universes situated together.
The mother was astonished, but out of her deep affection for Krsna she thought that the Almighty Godhead Narayana had kindly looked after her son just to protect Him from all the continuous calamities happening to Him.
Because of her deep affection for Krsna, she could never think that her very son was Narayana, the Personality of Godhead Himself.
That is the action of yogamaya, the internal potency of the Supreme Lord, which acts to perfect all the pastimes of the Lord with His different types of devotees.
Who could play such wonders without being God?
2.7.31
nandam ca moksyati bhayad varunasya pasad
gopan bilesu pihitan maya-sununa ca
ahny aprtam nisi sayanam atisramena
lokam vikuntham upanesyati gokulam sma
SYNONYMS
nandam—unto Nanda (the father of Krsna); ca—also; moksyati—saves; bhayat—from the fear of; varunasya—of Varuna, the demigod of water; pasat—from the clutches of; gopan—the cowherd men; bilesu—in the caves of the mountain; pihitan—placed; maya-sununa—by the son of Maya; ca—also; ahni aprtam—being very engaged during the daytime; nisi—at night; sayanam—lying down; atisramena—because of hard labor; lokam—plane; vikuntham—the spiritual sky; upanesyati—He awarded; gokulam—the highest plane; sma—certainly.
TRANSLATION
Lord Krsna saved His foster father, Nanda Maharaja, from the fear of the demigod Varuna and released the cowherd boys from the caves of the mountain, for they were placed there by the son of Maya.
Also, to the inhabitants of Vrndavana, who were busy working during daytime and sleeping soundly at night because of their hard labor in the day, Lord Krsna awarded promotion to the highest plane in the spiritual sky.
All these acts are transcendental and certainly prove without any doubt His Godhood.
PURPORT
Nanda Maharaja, the foster father of Lord Krsna, went to take his bath in the River Yamuna in the dead of night, mistakenly thinking that the night was already over; thus the demigod Varuna took him to the Varuna plane just to have a look at the Personality of Godhead Lord Krsna, who appeared there to release His father.
Actually there was no arrest of Nanda Maharaja by Varuna because the inhabitants of Vrndavana were always engaged in thinking of Krsna, in constant meditation on the Personality of Godhead in a particular form of samadhi, or trance of bhakti-yoga.
They had no fear of the miseries of material existence.
In the Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed that to be in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead by full surrender in transcendental love frees one from the miseries inflicted by the laws of material nature.
Here it is clearly mentioned that the inhabitants of Vrndavana were extensively busy in the hard labor of their day’s work, and due to the day’s hard labor they were engaged in sound sleep at night.
So practically they had very little time to devote to meditation or to the other paraphernalia of spiritual activities.
But factually they were engaged in the highest spiritual activities only.
Everything done by them was spiritualized because everything was dovetailed in their relationship with Lord Sri Krsna.
The central point of activities was Krsna, and as such the so-called activities in the material world were saturated with spiritual potency.
That is the advantage of the way of bhakti-yoga.
One should discharge one’s duty on Lord Krsna’s behalf, and all one’s actions will be saturated with Krsna thought, the highest pattern of trance in spiritual realization.
2.7.32
gopair makhe pratihate vraja-viplavaya
deve ’bhivarsati pasun krpaya riraksuh
dhartocchilindhram iva sapta-dinani sapta-
varso mahidhram anaghaika-kare salilam
SYNONYMS
gopaih—by the cowherd men; makhe—in offering a sacrifice to the King of heaven; pratihate—being hampered; vraja-viplavaya—for devastating the whole existence of Vrajabhumi, the land of Krsna’s pastimes; deve—by the King of heaven; abhivarsati—having poured down heavy rain; pasun—the animals; krpaya—by causeless mercy upon them; riraksuh—desired to protect them; dharta—held up; ucchilindhram—uprooted as an umbrella; iva—exactly like that; sapta-dinani—continuously for seven days; sapta-varsah—although He was only seven years old; mahidhram—the Govardhana Hill; anagha—without being tired; eka-kare—in one hand only; salilam—playfully.
TRANSLATION
When the cowherd men of Vrndavana, under instruction of Krsna, stopped offering sacrifice to the heavenly King, Indra, the whole tract of land known as Vraja was threatened with being washed away by constant heavy rains for seven days.
Lord Krsna, out of His causeless mercy upon the inhabitants of Vraja, held up the hill known as Govardhana with one hand only, although He was only seven years old.
He did this to protect the animals from the onslaught of water.
PURPORT
Children play with an umbrella generally known as a frog’s umbrella, and Lord Krsna, when He was only seven years old, could snatch the great hill known as the Govardhana Parvata at Vrndavana and hold it for seven days continuously with one hand, just to protect the animals and the inhabitants of Vrndavana from the wrath of Indra, the heavenly King, who had been denied sacrificial offerings by the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi.
Factually there is no need of offering sacrifices to the demigods for their services if one is engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord.
Sacrifices recommended in the Vedic literature for satisfaction of the demigods are a sort of inducement to the sacrificers to realize the existence of higher authorities.
The demigods are engaged by the Lord as controlling deities of material affairs, and according to the Bhagavad-gita, when a demigod is worshiped the process is accepted as the indirect method for worshiping the Supreme Lord.
But when the Supreme Lord is worshiped directly there is no need of worshiping the demigods or offering them sacrifices as recommended in particular circumstances.
Lord Krsna therefore advised the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi not to offer any sacrifices to the heavenly King Indra.
But Indra, not knowing Lord Krsna in Vrajabhumi, was angry at the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi and tried to avenge the offense.
But, competent as the Lord was, He saved the inhabitants and animals of Vrajabhumi by His personal energy and proved definitely that anyone directly engaged as a devotee of the Supreme Lord need not satisfy any other demigods, however great, even to the level of Brahma, or Siva.
Thus this incident definitely proved without a doubt that Lord Krsna is the Personality of Godhead and that He was so in all circumstances, as a child on the lap of His mother, as a boy 7 years old, and as an old man of 125 years of age.
In either case He was never on the level of the ordinary man, and even in His advanced age He appeared a young boy 16 years old.
These are the particular features of the transcendental body of the Lord.
2.7.33
kridan vane nisi nisakara-rasmi-gauryam
rasonmukhah kala-padayata-murcchitena
uddipita-smara-rujam vraja-bhrd-vadhunam
hartur harisyati siro dhanadanugasya
SYNONYMS
kridan—while engaged in His pastimes; vane—in the forest of Vrndavana; nisi—nocturnal; nisakara—the moon; rasmi-gauryam—white moonshine; rasa-unmukhah—desiring to dance with; kala-padayata—accompanied by sweet songs; murcchitena—and melodious music; uddipita—awakened; smara-rujam—sexual desires; vraja-bhrt—the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi; vadhunam—of the wives; hartuh—of the kidnappers; harisyati—will vanquish; sirah—the head; dhanada-anugasya—of the follower of the rich Kuvera.
TRANSLATION
When the Lord was engaged in His pastimes of the rasa dance in the forest of Vrndavana, enlivening the sexual desires of the wives of the inhabitants of Vrndavana by sweet and melodious songs, a demon of the name Sankhacuda, a rich follower of the treasurer of heaven (Kuvera), kidnapped the damsels, and the Lord severed his head from his trunk.
PURPORT
We should carefully note that the statements described herein are the statements of Brahmaji to Narada, and he was speaking to Narada of events that would happen in the future, during the advent of Lord Krsna.
The pastimes of the Lord are known to the experts who are able to see past, present and future, and Brahmaji, being one of them, foretold what would happen in the future.
The killing of Sankhacuda by the Lord is a more recent incident, after the rasa-lila, and not exactly a simultaneous affair.
In the previous verses we have seen also that the Lord’s engagement in the affairs of the forest fire was described along with His pastimes of punishing the Kaliya snake, and similarly the pastimes of the rasa dance and the killing of Sankhacuda are also described herein.
The adjustment is that all these incidents would take place in the future, after the time when it was being foretold by Brahmaji to Narada.
The demon Sankhacuda was killed by the Lord during His pastimes at Horika in the month of Phalguna, and the same ceremony is still observed in India by the burning of the effigy of Sankhacuda one day prior to the Lord’s pastimes at Horika, generally known as Holi.
Generally the future appearance and the activities of the Lord or His incarnations are foretold in the scriptures, and thus the pseudoincarnations are unable to cheat persons who are in knowledge of the events as they are described in the authoritative scriptures.
2.7.34-35
ye ca pralamba-khara-dardura-kesy-arista-
mallebha-kamsa-yavanah kapi-paundrakadyah
anye ca salva-kuja-balvala-dantavakra-
saptoksa-sambara-viduratha-rukmi-mukhyah
ye va mrdhe samiti-salina atta-capah
kamboja-matsya-kuru-srnjaya-kaikayadyah
yasyanty adarsanam alam bala-partha-bhima-
vyajahvayena harina nilayam tadiyam
SYNONYMS
ye—all those; ca—totally; pralamba—the demon named Pralamba; khara—Dhenukasura; dardura—Bakasura; kesi—the Kesi demon; arista—the demon Aristasura; malla—a wrestler in the court of Kamsa; ibha—Kuvalayapida; kamsa—the King of Mathura and maternal uncle of Krsna; yavanah—the kings of Persia and other adjoining places; kapi—Dvivida; paundraka-adyah—Paundraka and others; anye—others; ca—as much as; salva—King Salva; kuja—Narakasura; balvala—King Balvala; dantavakra—the brother of Sisupala, a dead rival of Krsna’s; saptoksa—King Saptoksa; sambara—King Sambara; viduratha—King Viduratha; rukmi-mukhyah—the brother of Rukmini, the first queen of Krsna at Dvaraka; ye—all those; va—either; mrdhe—in the battlefield; samiti-salinah—all very powerful; atta-capah—well equipped with bows and arrows; kamboja—the King of Kamboja; matsya—the King of Dvarbhanga; kuru—the sons of Dhrtarastra; srnjaya—King Srnjaya; kaikaya-adyah—the King of Kekaya and others; yasyanti—would attain; adarsanam—impersonal merging within the brahmajyoti; alam—what to speak of; bala—Baladeva, the elder brother of Krsna; partha—Arjuna; bhima—the second Pandava; vyaja-ahvayena—by the false names; harina—by Lord Hari; nilayam—the abode; tadiyam—of Him.
TRANSLATION
All demonic personalities like Pralamba, Dhenuka, Baka, Kesi, Arista, Canura, Mustika, Kuvalayapida elephant, Kamsa, Yavana, Narakasura and Paundraka, great marshals like Salva, Dvivida monkey and Balvala, Dantavakra, the seven bulls, Sambara, Viduratha and Rukmi, as also great warriors like Kamboja, Matsya, Kuru, Srnjaya and Kekaya, would all fight vigorously, either with the Lord Hari directly or with Him under His names of Baladeva, Arjuna, Bhima, etc.
And the demons, thus being killed, would attain either the impersonal brahmajyoti or His personal abode in the Vaikuntha planes.
PURPORT
All manifestations, in both the material and spiritual worlds, are demonstrations of the different potencies of Lord Krsna.
The Personality of Godhead Baladeva is His immediate personal expansion, and Bhima, Arjuna, etc., are His personal associates.
The Lord would appear (and He does so whenever He appears) with all His associates and potencies.
Therefore the rebellious souls, like the demons and demoniac men, mentioned by names like Pralamba, would be killed either by the Lord Himself or by His associates.
All these affairs will be clearly explained in the Tenth Canto.
But we should know well that all the above-mentioned living entities killed would attain salvation either by being merged in the brahmajyoti of the Lord or being allowed to enter into the abodes of the Lord called Vaikunthas.
This has already been explained by Bhismadeva (First Canto).
All persons who participated in the Battlefield of Kuruksetra or otherwise with the Lord or with Baladeva, etc., would benefit by attaining spiritual existence according to the situation of their minds at the time of death.
Those who recognized the Lord would enter Vaikuntha, and those who estimated the Lord as only a powerful being would attain salvation by merging into the spiritual existence of the impersonal brahmajyoti of the Lord.
But every one of them would get release from material existence.
Since such is the benefit of those who played with the Lord inimically, one can imagine what would be the position of those who devoutly served the Lord in transcendental relationship with Him.
2.7.36
kalena milita-dhiyam avamrsya nrnam
stokayusam sva-nigamo bata dura-parah
avirhitas tv anuyugam sa hi satyavatyam
veda-drumam vita-paso vibhajisyati sma
SYNONYMS
kalena—in course of time; milita-dhiyam—of the less intelligent persons; avamrsya—considering the difficulties; nrnam—of humanity at large; stoka-ayusam—of the short-living persons; sva-nigamah—the Vedic literatures compiled by Him; bata—exactly; dura-parah—greatly difficult; avirhitah—having appeared as; tu—but; anuyugam—in terms of the age; sah—He (the Lord); hi—certainly; satyavatyam—in the womb of Satyavati; veda-drumam—the desire tree of the Vedas; vita-pasah—by division of branches; vibhajisyati—will divide; sma—as it were.
TRANSLATION
The Lord Himself in His incarnation as the son of Satyavati (Vyasadeva) will consider his compilation of the Vedic literature to be very difficult for the less intelligent persons with short life, and thus He will divide the tree of Vedic knowledge into different branches, according to the circumstances of the particular age.
PURPORT
Herein Brahma mentions the future compilation of Srimad-Bhagavatam for the short-lived persons of the Kali age.
As explained in the First Canto, the less intelligent persons of the age of Kali would be not only short-lived, but also perplexed with so many problems of life due to the awkward situation of the godless human society.
Advancement of material comforts of the body is activity in the mode of ignorance according to the laws of material nature.
Real advancement of knowledge means progress of knowledge in self-realization.
But in the age of Kali the less intelligent men mistakenly consider the short lifetime of one hundred years (now factually reduced to about forty or sixty years) to be all in all.
They are less intelligent because they have no information of the eternity of life; they identify with the temporary material body existing for forty years and consider it the only basic principle of life.
Such persons are described as equal to the asses and bulls.
But the Lord, as the compassionate father of all living beings, imparts unto them the vast Vedic knowledge in short treatises like the Bhagavad-gita and, for the graduates, the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
The Puranas and the Mahabharata are also similarly made by Vyasadeva for the different types of men in the modes of material nature.
But none of them are independent of the Vedic principles.
2.7.37
deva-dvisam nigama-vartmani nisthitanam
purbhir mayena vihitabhir adrsya-turbhih
lokan ghnatam mati-vimoham atipralobham
vesam vidhaya bahu bhasyata aupadharmyam
SYNONYMS
deva-dvisam—of those who were envious of the devotees of the Lord; nigama—the Vedas; vartmani—on the path of; nisthitanam—of the well situated; purbhih—by rockets; mayena—made by the great scientist Maya; vihitabhih—made by; adrsya-turbhih—unseen in the sky; lokan—the different planes; ghnatam—of the killers; mati-vimoham—bewilderment of the mind; atipralobham—very attractive; vesam—dress; vidhaya—having done so; bahu bhasyate—will talk very much; aupadharmyam—subreligious principles.
TRANSLATION
When the atheists, after being well versed in the Vedic scientific knowledge, annihilate inhabitants of different planes, flying unseen in the sky on well-built rockets prepared by the great scientist Maya, the Lord will bewilder their minds by dressing Himself attractively as Buddha and will preach on subreligious principles.
PURPORT
This incarnation of Lord Buddha is not the same Buddha incarnation we have in the present history of mankind.
According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, the Buddha incarnation mentioned in this verse appeared in a different Kali age.
In the duration of life of one Manu there are more than seventy-two Kali-yugas, and in one of them the particular type of Buddha mentioned here would appear.
Lord Buddha incarnates at a time when the people are most materialistic and preaches common-sense religious principles.
Such ahimsa is not a religious principle itself, but it is an important quality for persons who are actually religious.
It is a common-sense religion because one is advised to do no harm to any other animal or living being because such harmful actions are equally harmful to he who does the harm.
But before learning these principles of nonviolence one has to learn two other principles, namely to be humble and to be prideless.
Unless one is humble and prideless, one cannot be harmless and nonviolent.
And after being nonviolent one has to learn tolerance and simplicity of living.
One must offer respects to the great religious preachers and spiritual leaders and also train the senses for controlled action, learning to be unattached to family and home, and enacting devotional service to the Lord, etc.
At the ultimate stage one has to accept the Lord and become His devotee; otherwise there is no religion.
In religious principles there must be God in the center; otherwise simple moral instructions are merely subreligious principles, generally known as upadharma, or nearness to religious principles.
2.7.38
yarhy alayesv api satam na hareh kathah syuh
pasandino dvija-jana vrsala nrdevah
svaha svadha vasad iti sma giro na yatra
sasta bhavisyati kaler bhagavan yugante
SYNONYMS
yarhi—when it happens; alayesu—in the residence of; api—even; satam—civilized gentlemen; na—no; hareh—of the Personality of Godhead; kathah—topics; syuh—will take place; pasandinah—atheists; dvija-janah—persons declaring themselves to be the higher three classes (brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas); vrsalah—the lower class sudras; nr-devah—ministers of the government; svaha—hymns to perform sacrifices; svadha—the ingredients to perform sacrifices; vasat—the altar of sacrifice; iti—all these; sma—shall; girah—words; na—never; yatra—anywhere; sasta—the chastiser; bhavisyati—will appear; kaleh—of the Kali age; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; yuga-ante—at the end of.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, at the end of Kali-yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen of the three higher castes, and when the power of government is transferred to the hands of ministers elected from the lowborn sudra class or those less than them, and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrifice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser.
PURPORT
The symptoms of the worst conditions of the material world, at the last stage of this age, called Kali-yuga, are stated herein.
The sum and substance of such conditions is godlessness.
Even the so-called saints and higher castes of the social orders, generally known as the dvija janas or the twice-born, will become atheists.
As such, all of them will practically forget even the holy name of the Lord, and what to speak of His activities.
The higher castes of society, namely the intelligent class of men guiding the destinies of the social orders, the administrative class of men guiding the law and order of the society, and the productive class of men guiding the economic development of the society, must all be properly well versed in knowledge of the Supreme Lord, knowing factually His name, quality, pastimes, entourage, paraphernalia and personalities.
The saints and the higher castes or orders of the society are judged by their proportion of knowledge in the science of God, or tattva jnana, and not by any kind of birthright or bodily designations.
Such designations, without any knowledge of the science of God and practical knowledge of devotional service, are considered to be all decorations of dead bodies.
And when there is too much inflation of these decorated dead bodies in society, there develop so many anomalies in the progressive, peaceful life of the human being.
Because of the lack of training or culture in the upper section of the social orders, they are no more to be designated as the dvija janas, or the twice-born.
The significance of being twice-born has been explained in many places in these great literatures, and again one is reminded herewith that birth, executed by the sex life of the father and the mother, is called animal birth.
But such animal birth and progress of life on the animal principles of eating, sleeping, fearing and mating (without any scientific culture of spiritual life) is called the sudra life, or, to be more explicit, the uncultured life of the lower class of men.
It is stated herein that the governmental power of society in the Kali-yuga will be passed over to the uncultured, godless laborer classes of men, and thus the nrdevas (or the ministers of the government) will be the vrsalas, or the uncultured lower-class men of society.
No one can expect any peace and prosperity in a human society full of uncultured lower classes of men.
The symptoms of such uncultured social animals are already in vogue, and it is the duty of the leaders of men to take note of it and try to reform the social order by introducing the principles of twice-born men trained in the science of God consciousness.
This can be done by expanding the culture of Srimad-Bhagavatam all over the world.
In the degraded condition of human society, the Lord incarnates as the Kalki avatara and kills all the demonic without mercy.
2.7.39
sarge tapo ’ham rsayo nava ye prajesah
sthane ’tha dharma-makha-manv-amaravanisah
ante tv adharma-hara-manyu-vasasuradya
maya-vibhutaya imah puru-sakti-bhajah
SYNONYMS
sarge—in the beginning of the creation; tapah—penance; aham—myself; rsayah—sages; nava—nine; ye prajesah—those who would generate; sthane—in the middle while maintaining the creation; atha—certainly; dharma—religion; makha—Lord Visnu; manu—the father of mankind; amara—the demigods deputed to control the affairs of maintenance; avanisah—and the kings of different planes; ante—at the end; tu—but; adharma—irreligion; hara—Lord Siva; manyu-vasa—subjected to anger; asura-adyah—atheists, the enemies of the devotees; maya—energy; vibhutayah—powerful representatives; imah—all of them; puru-sakti-bhajah—of the supreme powerful Lord.
TRANSLATION
At the beginning of creation there are penance, myself (Brahma), and the Prajapatis, the great sages who generate; then, during the maintenance of the creation, there are Lord Visnu, the demigods with controlling powers, and the kings of different planes.
But at the end there is irreligion, and then Lord Siva and the atheists full of anger, etc.
All of them are different representative manifestations of the energy of the supreme power, the Lord.
PURPORT
The material world is created by the energy of the Lord, which is manifested in the beginning of the creation by the penance of Brahmaji, the first living being in the creation, and then there are the nine Prajapatis, known as great sages.
In the stage when the creation is maintained, there are devotional service to Lord Visnu, or factual religion, the different demigods, and the kings of different planes who maintain the world.
At last, when the creation is preparing to wind up, there is first the principle of irreligion, then Lord Siva along with the atheists, full of anger.
But all of them are but different manifestations of the Supreme Lord.
Therefore Brahma, Visnu and Mahadeva (Siva) are different incarnations of the different modes of material nature.
Visnu is the Lord of the mode of goodness.
Brahma is the lord of the mode of passion, and Siva is the lord of the mode of ignorance.
Ultimately, the material creation is but a temporary manifestation meant to give the chance of liberation to the conditioned souls, who are entrapped in the material world, and one who develops the mode of goodness under the protection of Lord Visnu has the greatest chance of being liberated by following the Vaisnava principles and thus being promoted to the kingdom of God, no more to return to this miserable material world.
2.7.40
visnor nu virya-gananam katamo ’rhatiha
yah parthivany api kavir vimame rajamsi
caskambha yah sva-rahasaskhalata tri-prstham
yasmat tri-samya-sadanad uru-kampayanam
SYNONYMS
visnoh—of Lord Visnu; nu—but; virya—prowess; gananam—in the matter of accounting; katamah—who else; arhati—is able to do it; iha—in this world; yah—one who; parthivani—the atoms; api—also; kavih—great scientist; vimame—might have counted; rajamsi—particles; caskambha—could catch; yah—one who; sva-rahasa—by His own leg; askhalata—without being hampered; tri-prstham—the topmost planeary space; yasmat—by which; tri-samya—the neutral state of the three modes; sadanat—up to that place; uru-kampayanam—moving very greatly.
TRANSLATION
Who can describe completely the prowess of Visnu? Even the scientist, who might have counted the particles of the atoms of the universe, cannot do so.
Because it is He only who in His form of Trivikrama moved His leg effortlessly beyond the topmost plane, Satyaloka, up to the neutral state of the three modes of material nature.
And all were moved.
PURPORT
The highest scientific advancement of the material scientists is atomic energy.
But the material scientist is not able to have an estimation of the particles of atoms contained in the whole universe.
But even if one is able to count such atomic particles or is able to roll up the sky like one’s bedding, even then one is unable to estimate the extent of the prowess and energy of the Supreme Lord.
He is known as Trivikrama because once, in His incarnation of Vamana, He expanded His leg beyond the highest planeary system, Satyaloka, and reached the neutral state of the modes of nature called the covering of the material world.
There are seven layers of material coverings over the material sky, and the Lord could penetrate even those coverings.
With His toe He made a hole through which the water of the Causal Ocean filters into the material sky, and the current is known as the sacred Ganges, which purifies the planes of the three worlds.
In other words, no one is equal to the transcendentally powerful Visnu.
He is omnipotent, and no one is equal to or greater than Him.