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Chapter Three
The Lord's Pastimes Out of Vrndavana
TEXT 1
TEXT
uddhava uvaca
tatah sa agatya puram sva-pitros
cikirsaya sam baladeva-samyutah
nipatya tungad ripu-yutha-natham
hatam vyakarsad vyasum ojasorvyam
SYNONYMS
uddhavah uvaca--Sri Uddhava said; tatah--thereafter; sah--the Lord; agatya--coming; puram--to the city of Mathura; sva-pitroh--own parents; cikirsaya--wishing well; sam--well-being; baladeva-samyutah--with Lord Baladeva; nipatya--dragging down; tungat--from the throne; ripu-yutha-natham--leader of public enemies; hatam--killed; vyakarsat--pulled; vyasum--dead; ojasa--by strength; urvyam--on the ground.
TRANSLATION
Sri Uddhava said: Thereafter Lord Krsna went to Mathura City with Sri Baladeva, and to please Their parents They dragged Kamsa, the leader of public enemies, down from his throne and killed him, pulling him along the ground with great strength.
PURPORT
King Kamsa's death is only briefly described here because such pastimes are vividly and elaborately described in the Tenth Canto. The Lord proved to be a worthy son of His parents even at the age of sixteen years. Both brothers, Lord Krsna and Lord Baladeva, went to Mathura from Vrndavana and killed Their maternal uncle, who had given so much trouble to Their parents, Vasudeva and Devaki. Kamsa was a great giant, and Vasudeva and Devaki never thought that Krsna and Balarama (Baladeva) would be able to kill such a great and strong enemy. When the two brothers attacked Kamsa on the throne, Their parents feared that now Kamsa would finally get the opportunity to kill their sons, whom they had hidden for so long in the house of Nanda Maharaja. The parents of the Lord, due to parental affection, felt extreme danger, and they almost fainted. Just to convince them that They had actually killed Kamsa, Krsna and Baladeva pulled Kamsa's dead body along the ground to encourage them.
TEXT 2
TEXT
sandipaneh sakrt proktam
brahmadhitya sa-vistaram
tasmai pradad varam putram
mrtam panca-janodarat
SYNONYMS
sandipaneh--of Sandipani Muni; sakrt--once only; proktam--instructed; brahma--all the Vedas with their different branches of knowledge; adhitya--after studying; sa-vistaram--in all details; tasmai--unto him; pradat--rewarded; varam--a benediction; putram--his son; mrtam--who was already dead; panca-jana--the region of the departed souls; udarat--from within.
TRANSLATION
The Lord learned all the Vedas with their different branches simply by hearing them once from His teacher, Sandipani Muni, whom He rewarded by bringing back his dead son from the region of Yamaloka.
PURPORT
No one but the Supreme Lord can become well versed in all the branches of Vedic wisdom simply by hearing once from his teacher. Nor can anyone bring a dead body back to life after the soul has already gone to the region of Yamaraja. But Lord Krsna ventured to the planet of Yamaloka and found the dead son of His teacher and brought him back to his father as a reward for the instructions received. The Lord is constitutionally well versed in all the Vedas, and yet to teach by example that everyone must go to learn the Vedas from an authorized teacher and must satisfy the teacher by service and reward, He Himself adopted this system. The Lord offered His services to His teacher, Sandipani Muni, and the muni, knowing the power of the Lord, asked something which was impossible to be done by anyone else. The teacher asked that his beloved son, who had died, be brought back to him, and the Lord fulfilled the request. The Lord is not, therefore, an ingrate to anyone who renders Him some sort of service. The devotees of the Lord who always engage in His loving service are never to be disappointed in the progressive march of devotional service.
TEXT 3
TEXT
samahuta bhismaka-kanyaya ye
sriyah savarnena bubhusayaisam
gandharva-vrttya misatam sva-bhagam
jahre padam murdhni dadhat suparnah
SYNONYMS
samahutah--invited; bhismaka--of King Bhismaka; kanyaya--by the daughter; ye--all those; sriyah--fortune; sa-varnena--by a similar sequence; bubhusaya--expecting to be so; esam--of them; gandharva--in marrying; vrttya--by such a custom; misatam--carrying so; sva-bhagam--own share; jahre--took away; padam--feet; murdhni--on the head; dadhat--placed; suparnah--Garuda.
TRANSLATION
Attracted by the beauty and fortune of Rukmini, the daughter of King Bhismaka, many great princes and kings assembled to marry her. But Lord Krsna, stepping over the other hopeful candidates, carried her away as His own share, as Garuda carried away nectar.
PURPORT
Princess Rukmini, the daughter of King Bhismaka, was actually as attractive as fortune itself because she was as valuable as gold both in color and in value. Since the goddess of fortune, Laksmi, is the property of the Supreme Lord, Rukmini was actually meant for Lord Krsna. But Sisupala was selected as her bridegroom by Rukmini's elder brother, although King Bhismaka wanted his daughter to be married to Krsna. Rukmini invited Krsna to take her away from the clutches of Sisupala, so when the bridegroom, Sisupala, came there with his party with the desire to marry Rukmini, Krsna all of a sudden swept her from the scene, stepping over the heads of all the princes there, just as Garuda carried away nectar from the hands of the demons. This incident will be clearly explained in the Tenth Canto.
TEXT 4
TEXT
kakudmino 'viddha-naso damitva
svayamvare nagnajitim uvaha
tad-bhagnamanan api grdhyato 'jnan
jaghne 'ksatah sastra-bhrtah sva-sastraih
SYNONYMS
kakudminah--bulls whose noses were not pierced; aviddha-nasah--pierced by the nose; damitva--subduing; svayamvare--in the open competition to select the bridegroom; nagnajitim--Princess Nagnijiti; uvaha--married; tat-bhagnamanan--in that way all who were disappointed; api--even though; grdhyatah--wanted; ajnan--the fools; jaghne--killed and wounded; aksatah--without being wounded; sastra-bhrtah--equipped with all weapons; sva-sastraih--by His own weapons.
TRANSLATION
By subduing seven bulls whose noses were not pierced, the Lord achieved the hand of Princess Nagnijiti in the open competition to select her bridegroom. Although the Lord was victorious, His competitors asked the hand of the princess, and thus there was a fight. Well equipped with weapons, the Lord killed or wounded all of them, but He was not hurt Himself.
TEXT 5
TEXT
priyam prabhur gramya iva priyaya
vidhitsur arcchad dyutarum yad-arthe
vajry adravat tam sa-gano rusandhah
krida-mrgo nunam ayam vadhunam
SYNONYMS
priyam--of the dear wife; prabhuh--the Lord; gramyah--ordinary living being; iva--in the manner of; priyayah--just to please; vidhitsuh--wishing; arcchat--brought about; dyutarum--the parijata flower tree; yat--for which; arthe--in the matter of; vajri--Indra, the King of heaven; adravat tam--went forward to fight with Him; sa-ganah--with full strength; rusa--in anger; andhah--blind; krida-mrgah--henpecked; nunam--of course; ayam--this; vadhunam--of the wives.
TRANSLATION
Just to please His dear wife, the Lord brought back the parijata tree from heaven, just as an ordinary husband would do. But Indra, the King of heaven, induced by his wives (henpecked as he was), ran after the Lord with full force to fight Him.
PURPORT
The Lord once went to the heavenly planet to present an earring to Aditi, the mother of the demigods, and His wife Satyabhama also went with Him. There is a special flowering tree called the parijata, which grows only in the heavenly planets, and Satyabhama wanted this tree. Just to please His wife, like an ordinary husband, the Lord brought back the tree, and this enraged Vajri, or the controller of the thunderbolt. cause he was a henpecked husband and also a fool, listened to them and dared to fight with Krsna. He was a fool on this occasion because he forgot that everything belongs to the Lord.
There was no fault on the part of the Lord, even though He took away the tree from the heavenly kingdom, but because Indra was henpecked, dominated by his beautiful wives like Saci, he became a fool, just as all persons who are dominated by their wives are generally foolish. Indra thought that Krsna was a henpecked husband who only by the will of His wife Satyabhama took away the property of heaven, and therefore he thought that Krsna could be punished. He forgot that the Lord is the proprietor of everything and cannot be henpecked. The Lord is fully independent, and by His will only He can have hundreds and thousands of wives like Satyabhama. He was not, therefore, attached to Satyabhama because she was a beautiful wife, but He was pleased with her devotional service and thus wanted to reciprocate the unalloyed devotion of His devotee.
TEXT 6
TEXT
sutam mrdhe kham vapusa grasantam
drstva sunabhonmathitam dharitrya
amantritas tat-tanayaya sesam
dattva tad-antah-puram avivesa
SYNONYMS
sutam--son; mrdhe--in the fight; kham--the sky; vapusa--by his body; grasantam--while devouring; drstva--seeing; sunabha--by the Sudarsana wheel; unmathitam--killed; dharitrya--by the earth; amantritah--being prayed for; tat-tanayaya--to the son of Narakasura; sesam--that which was taken from; dattva--returning it; tat--his; antah-puram--inside the house; avivesa--entered.
TRANSLATION
Narakasura, the son of Dharitri, the earth, tried to grasp the whole sky, and for this he was killed by the Lord in a fight. His mother then prayed to the Lord. This led to the return of the kingdom to the son of Narakasura, and thus the Lord entered the house of the demon.
PURPORT
It is said in other puranas that Narakasura was the son of Dharitri, the earth, by the Lord Himself. But he became a demon due to the bad association of Bana, another demon. An atheist is called a demon, and it is a fact that even a person born of good parents can turn into a demon by bad association. Birth is not always the criterion of goodness; unless and until one is trained in the culture of good association, one cannot become good.
TEXT 7
TEXT
tatrahrtas ta nara-deva-kanyah
kujena drstva harim arta-bandhum
utthaya sadyo jagrhuh praharsa-
vridanuraga-prahitavalokaih
SYNONYMS
tatra--inside the house of Narakasura; ahrtah--kidnapped; tah--all those; nara-deva-kanyah--daughters of many kings; kujena--by the demon; drstva--by seeing; harim--the Lord; arta-bandhum--the friend of the distressed; utthaya--at once got up; sadyah--then and there; jagrhuh--accepted; praharsa--joyfully; vrida--shyness; anuraga--attachment; prahita-avalokaih--by eager glances.
TRANSLATION
There in the house of the demon, all the princesses kidnapped by Narakasura at once became alert upon seeing the Lord, the friend of the distressed. They looked upon Him with eagerness, joy and shyness and offered to be His wives.
PURPORT
Narakasura kidnapped many daughters of great kings and kept them imprisoned in his palace. But when he was killed by the Lord and the Lord entered the house of the demon, all the princesses were enlivened with joy and offered to become His wives because the Lord is the only friend of the distressed. Unless the Lord accepted them, there would be no chance of their being married because the demon kidnapped them from their fathers' custody and therefore no one would agree to marry them. According to Vedic society, girls are transferred from the custody of the father to the custody of the husband. Since these princesses had already been taken away from the custody of their fathers, it would have been difficult for them to have any husband other than the Lord Himself.
TEXT 8
TEXT
asam muhurta ekasmin
nanagaresu yositam
sa-vidham jagrhe panin
anurupah sva-mayaya
SYNONYMS
asam--all those; muhurte--at one time; ekasmin--simultaneously; nana-agaresu--in different compartments; yositam--of the women; sa-vidham--with perfect rituals; jagrhe--accepted; panin--hands; anurupah--exactly to match; sva-mayaya--by His internal potency.
TRANSLATION
All those princesses were lodged in different apartments, and the Lord simultaneously assumed different bodily expansions exactly matching each and every princess. He accepted their hands in perfect rituals by His internal potency.
PURPORT
In the Brahma-samhita (5.33) the Lord is described as follows in regard to His innumerable plenary expansions:
advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam
adyam purana-purusam nava-yauvanam ca
vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
"The Lord, Govinda, whom I worship, is the original Personality of Godhead. He is nondifferent from His innumerable plenary expansions, who are all infallible, original and unlimited and who have eternal forms. Although He is primeval, the oldest personality, He is always fresh and young." By His internal potency the Lord can expand Himself into various personalities of svayam-prakasa and again into prabhava and vaibhava forms, and all of them are nondifferent from one another. The forms into which the Lord expanded to marry the princesses in different apartments were all slightly different just to match each and every one of them. They are called vaibhava-vilasa forms of the Lord and are effected by His internal potency, yoga-maya.
TEXT 9
TEXT
tasv apatyany ajanayad
atma-tulyani sarvatah
ekaikasyam dasa dasa
prakrter vibubhusaya
SYNONYMS
tasu--unto them; apatyani--offspring; ajanayat--begot; atma-tulyani--all like Himself; sarvatah--in all respects; eka-ekasyam--in each and every one of them; dasa--ten; dasa--ten; prakrteh--for expanding Himself; vibubhusaya--so desiring.
TRANSLATION
Just to expand Himself according to His transcendental features, the Lord begot in each and every one of them ten offspring with exactly His own qualities.
TEXT 10
TEXT
kala-magadha-salvadin
anikai rundhatah puram
ajighanat svayam divyam
sva-pumsam teja adisat
SYNONYMS
kala--Kalayavana; magadha--the King of Magadha (Jarasandha); salva--King Salva; adin--and others; anikaih--by the soldiers; rundhatah--being encircled; puram--the city of Mathura; ajighanat--killed; svayam--personally; divyam--transcendental; sva-pumsam--of His own men; tejah--prowess; adisat--exhibited.
TRANSLATION
Kalayavana, the King of Magadha and Salva attacked the city of Mathura, but when the city was encircled by their soldiers, the Lord refrained from killing them personally, just to show the power of His own men.
PURPORT
After the death of Kamsa, when Mathura was encircled by the soldiers of Kalayavana, Jarasandha and Salva, the Lord seemingly fled from the city, and thus He is known as Ranchor, or one who fled from fighting. Actually, the fact was that the Lord wanted to kill them through the agency of His own men, devotees like Mucukunda and Bhima. Kalayavana and the King of Magadha were killed by Mucukunda and Bhima respectively, who acted as agents of the Lord. By such acts the Lord wanted to exhibit the prowess of His devotees, as if He were personally unable to fight but His devotees could kill them. The relationship of the Lord with His devotees is a very happy one. Actually, the Lord descended at the request of Brahma in order to kill all the undesirables of the world, but to divide the share of glory He sometimes engaged His devotees to take the credit. The Battle of Kuruksetra was designed by the Lord Himself, but just to give credit to His devotee Arjuna (nimitta-matram bhava savyasacin), He played the part of the charioteer, while Arjuna was given the chance to play the fighter and thus become the hero of the Battle of Kuruksetra. What He wants to do Himself by His transcendental plans, He executes through His confidential devotees. That is the way of the Lord's mercy towards His pure unalloyed devotees.
TEXT 11
TEXT
sambaram dvividam banam
muram balvalam eva ca
anyams ca dantavakradin
avadhit kams ca ghatayat
SYNONYMS
sambaram--Sambara; dvividam--Dvivida; banam--Bana; muram--Mura; balvalam--Balvala; eva ca--as also; anyan--others; ca--also; dantavakra-adin--like Dantavakra and others; avadhit--killed; kan ca--and many others; ghatayat--caused to be killed.
TRANSLATION
Of kings like Sambara, Dvivida, Bana, Mura, Balvala and many other demons, such as Dantavakra, some He killed Himself, and some He caused to be killed by others [Sri Baladeva, etc.].
TEXT 12
TEXT
atha te bhratr-putranam
paksayoh patitan nrpan
cacala bhuh kuruksetram
yesam apatatam balaih
SYNONYMS
atha--thereafter; te--your; bhratr-putranam--of the nephews; paksayoh--of both sides; patitan--killed; nrpan--kings; cacala--shook; bhuh--the earth; kuruksetram--the Battle of Kuruksetra; yesam--of whom; apatatam--traversing; balaih--by strength.
TRANSLATION
Then, O Vidura, the Lord caused all the kings, both the enemies and those on the side of your fighting nephews, to be killed in the Battle of Kuruksetra. All those kings were so great and strong that the earth seemed to shake as they traversed the warfield.
TEXT 13
TEXT
sa karna-duhsasana-saubalanam
kumantra-pakena hata-sriyayusam
suyodhanam sanucaram sayanam
bhagnorum urvyam na nananda pasyan
SYNONYMS
sah--He (the Lord); karna--Karna; duhsasana--Duhsasana; saubalanam--Saubala; kumantra-pakena--by the intricacy of ill advice; hata-sriya--bereft of fortune; ayusam--duration of life; suyodhanam--Duryodhana; sa-anucaram--with followers; sayanam--lying down; bhagna--broken; urum--thighs; urvyam--very powerful; na--did not; nananda--take pleasure; pasyan--seeing like that.
TRANSLATION
Duryodhana was bereft of his fortune and duration of life because of the intricacy of ill advice given by Karna, Duhsasana and Saubala. When he lay on the ground with his followers, his thighs broken although he was powerful, the Lord was not happy to see the scene.
PURPORT
The fall of Duryodhana, the leading son of Dhrtarastra, was not pleasing to the Lord, although He was on the side of Arjuna and it was He who advised Bhima how to break the thighs of Duryodhana while the fight was going on. The Lord is constrained to award punishment upon the wrongdoer, but He is not happy to award such punishments because the living entities are originally His parts and parcels. He is harder than the thunderbolt for the wrongdoer and softer than the rose for the faithful. The wrongdoer is misled by bad associates and by ill advice, which is against the established principles of the Lord's order, and thus he becomes subject to punishment. The surest path to happiness is to live by the principles laid down by the Lord and not disobey His established laws, which are enacted in the Vedas and the Puranas for the forgetful living entities.
TEXT 14
TEXT
kiyan bhuvo 'yam ksapitoru-bharo
yad drona-bhismarjuna-bhima-mulaih
astadasaksauhiniko mad-amsair
aste balam durvisaham yadunam
SYNONYMS
kiyan--what is this; bhuvah--of the earth; ayam--this; ksapita--abated; uru--very great; bharah--burden; yat--which; drona--Drona; bhisma--Bhisma; arjuna--Arjuna; bhima--Bhima; mulaih--with the help; astadasa--eighteen; aksauhinikah--phalanxes of military strength (vide Bhag. 1.16.34); mat-amsaih--with My descendants; aste--are still there; balam--great strength; durvisaham--unbearable; yadunam--of the Yadu dynasty.
TRANSLATION
[After the end of the Battle of Kuruksetra, the Lord said:] The abatement of the earth's great burden, eighteen aksauhinis, has now been effected with the help of Drona, Bhisma, Arjuna and Bhima. But what is this? There is still the great strength of the Yadu dynasty, born of Myself, which may be a more unbearable burden.
PURPORT
It is a wrong theory that due to an increase in population the world becomes overburdened and therefore there are wars and other annihilating processes. The earth is never overburdened. The heaviest mountains and oceans on the face of the earth hold more living entities than there are human beings, and they are not overburdened. If a census were taken of all the living beings on the surface of the earth, certainly it would be found that the number of humans is not even five percent of the total number of living beings. If the birthrate of human beings is increasing, then the birthrate of other living beings is increasing proportionately. The birthrate of lower animals--beasts, aquatics, birds, etc.--is far greater than that of human beings. There is an adequate arrangement for food for all the living beings all over the earth by the order of the Supreme Lord, and He can arrange more and more if there is actually a disproportionate increase of living beings.
Therefore, there is no question of an increase in population causing a burden. The earth became overburdened due to dharma-glani, or irregular discharge of the Lord's desire. The Lord appeared on the earth to curb the increase in miscreants, and not the increase in population, as is wrongly put forward by the mundane economist. When Lord Krsna appeared, there had been a sufficient increase in miscreants who had violated the desire of the Lord. The material creation is meant for fulfilling the desire of the Lord, and His desire is that the conditioned souls who are unfit to enter into the kingdom of God have a chance to improve their conditions for entering. The entire process of cosmic arrangement is intended just to give a chance to the conditioned souls to enter the kingdom of God, and there is an adequate arrangement for their maintenance by the nature of the Lord.
Therefore, although there may be a great increase in population on the surface of the earth, if the people are exactly in line with God consciousness and are not miscreants, such a burden on the earth is a source of pleasure for her. There are two kinds of burdens. There is the burden of the beast and the burden of love. The burden of the beast is unbearable, but the burden of love is a source of pleasure. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti describes the burden of love very practically. He says that the burden of the husband on the young wife, the burden of the child on the lap of the mother, and the burden of wealth on the businessman, although actually burdens from the viewpoint of heaviness, are sources of pleasure, and in the absence of such burdensome objects, one may feel the burden of separation, which is heavier to bear than the actual burden of love. When Lord Krsna referred to the burden of the Yadu dynasty on the earth, He referred to something different than the burden of the beast. The large numbers of family members born of Lord Krsna counted to some millions and were certainly a great increase in the population of the earth, but because all of them were expansions of the Lord Himself by His transcendental plenary expansions, they were a source of great pleasure for the earth. When the Lord referred to them in connection with the burden on the earth, He had in mind their imminent disappearance from the earth. All the members of the family of Lord Krsna were incarnations of different demigods, and they were to disappear from the surface of the earth along with the Lord. When He referred to the unbearable heaviness on the earth in connection with the Yadu dynasty, He was referring to the burden of their separation. Srila Jiva Gosvami confirms this inference.
TEXT 15
TEXT
mitho yadaisam bhavita vivado
madhv-amadatamra-vilocananam
naisam vadhopaya iyan ato 'nyo
mayy udyate 'ntardadhate svayam sma
SYNONYMS
mithah--one another; yada--when; esam--of them; bhavita--will take place; vivadah--quarrel; madhu-amada--intoxication by drinking; atamra-vilocananam--of their eyes being copper-red; na--not; esam--of them; vadha-upayah--means of disappearance; iyan--like this; atah--besides this; anyah--alternative; mayi--on My; udyate--disappearance; antah-dadhate--will disappear; svayam--themselves; sma--certainly.
TRANSLATION
When they quarrel among themselves, influenced by intoxication, with their eyes red like copper because of drinking [madhu], then only will they disappear; otherwise, it will not be possible. On My disappearance, this incident will take place.
PURPORT
The Lord and His associates appear and disappear by the will of the Lord. They are not subjected to the laws of material nature. No one was able to kill the family of the Lord, nor was there any possibility of their natural death by the laws of nature. The only means, therefore, for their disappearance was the make-show of a fight amongst themselves, as if brawling in intoxication due to drinking. That so-called fighting would also take place by the will of the Lord, otherwise there would be no cause for their fighting. Just as Arjuna was made to be illusioned by family affection and thus the Bhagavad-gita was spoken, so the Yadu dynasty was made to be intoxicated by the will of the Lord, and nothing more. The devotees and associates of the Lord are completely surrendered souls. Thus they are transcendental instruments in the hands of the Lord and can be used in any way the Lord desires. The pure devotees also enjoy such pastimes of the Lord because they want to see Him happy. Devotees of the Lord never assert independent individuality; on the contrary, they utilize their individuality in pursuit of the desires of the Lord, and this cooperation of the devotees with the Lord makes a perfect scene of the Lord's pastimes.
TEXT 16
TEXT
evam sancintya bhagavan
sva-rajye sthapya dharmajam
nandayam asa suhrdah
sadhunam vartma darsayan
SYNONYMS
evam--thus; sancintya--thinking within Himself; bhagavan--the Personality of Godhead; sva-rajye--in his own kingdom; sthapya--installing; dharmajam--Maharaja Yudhisthira; nandayam asa--gladdened; suhrdah--the friends; sadhunam--of the saints; vartma--the path; darsayan--by indicating.
TRANSLATION
Lord Sri Krsna, thus thinking to Himself, established Maharaja Yudhisthira in the position of supreme control of the world in order to show the ideal of administration on the path of piety.
TEXT 17
TEXT
uttarayam dhrtah puror
vamsah sadhv-abhimanyuna
sa vai drauny-astra-samplustah
punar bhagavata dhrtah
SYNONYMS
uttarayam--unto Uttara; dhrtah--conceived; puroh--of Puru; vamsah--descendant; sadhu-abhimanyuna--by the hero Abhimanyu; sah--he; vai--certainly; drauni-astra--by the weapon of Drauni, the son of Drona; samplustah--being burnt; punah--again, for the second time; bhagavata--by the Personality of Godhead; dhrtah--was protected.
TRANSLATION
The embryo of Puru's descendant begotten by the great hero Abhimanyu in the womb of Uttara, his wife, was burnt by the weapon of the son of Drona, but later he was again protected by the Lord.
PURPORT
The embryonic body of Pariksit which was in formation after Uttara's pregnancy by Abhimanyu, the great hero, was burned by the brahmastra of Asvatthama, but a second body was given by the Lord within the womb, and thus the descendant of Puru was saved. This incident is the direct proof that the body and the living entity, the spiritual spark, are different. When the living entity takes shelter in the womb of a woman through the injection of the semen of a man, there is an emulsification of the man's and woman's discharges, and thus a body is formed the size of a pea, gradually developing into a complete body. But if the developing embryo is destroyed in some way or other, the living entity has to take shelter in another body or in the womb of another woman. The particular living entity who was selected to be the descendant of Maharaja Puru, or the Pandavas, was not an ordinary living entity, and by the superior will of the Lord he was destined to be the successor to Maharaja Yudhisthira. Therefore, when Asvatthama destroyed the embryo of Maharaja Pariksit, the Lord, by His own internal potency, entered into the womb of Uttara by His plenary portion just to give audience to the would-be Maharaja Pariksit, who was in great danger. By His appearance within the womb, the Lord encouraged the child and gave him complete protection in a new body by His omnipotency. By His power of omnipresence He was present both inside and outside of Uttara and other members of the Pandava family.
TEXT 18
TEXT
ayajayad dharma-sutam
asvamedhais tribhir vibhuh
so 'pi ksmam anujai raksan
reme krsnam anuvratah
SYNONYMS
ayajayat--made to perform; dharma-sutam--by the son of Dharma (Maharaja Yudhisthira); asvamedhaih--by horse sacrifices; tribhih--three; vibhuh--the Supreme Lord; sah--Maharaja Yudhisthira; api--also; ksmam--the earth; anujaih--assisted by his younger brothers; raksan--protecting; reme--enjoyed; krsnam--Krsna, the Personality of Godhead; anuvratah--constant follower.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Lord induced the son of Dharma to perform three horse sacrifices, and Maharaja Yudhisthira, constantly following Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, protected and enjoyed the earth, assisted by his younger brothers.
PURPORT
Maharaja Yudhisthira was the ideal monarchical representative on the earth because he was a constant follower of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna. As stated in the Vedas (Isopanisad), the Lord is the proprietor of the entire manifested cosmic creation, which presents a chance for the conditioned souls to revive their eternal relationship with the Lord and thus go back to Godhead, back home. The whole system of the material world is arranged with that program and plan. Anyone who violates the plan is punished by the law of nature, which is acting by the direction of the Supreme Lord. Maharaja Yudhisthira was installed on the throne of the earth as a representative of the Lord. The king is always expected to be the representative of the Lord. Perfect monarchy necessitates representation of the supreme will of the Lord, and Maharaja Yudhisthira was the ideal monarch on this supreme principle. both the King and the subjects were happy in the discharge of worldly duties, and thus protection of the citizens and enjoyment of natural life, with full cooperation of material nature, followed in the reign of Maharaja Yudhisthira and his worthy descendants like Maharaja Pariksit.
TEXT 19
TEXT
bhagavan api visvatma
loka-veda-pathanugah
kaman siseve dvarvatyam
asaktah sankhyam asthitah
SYNONYMS
bhagavan--the Personality of Godhead; api--also; visva-atma--the Supersoul of the universe; loka--customary; veda--Vedic principles; patha-anugah--follower of the path; kaman--the necessities of life; siseve--enjoyed; dvarvatyam--in the city of Dvaraka; asaktah--without being attached; sankhyam--knowledge in Sankhya philosophy; asthitah--being situated.
TRANSLATION
Simultaneously, the Personality of Godhead enjoyed life in the city of Dvaraka, strictly in conformity with the Vedic customs of society. He was situated in detachment and knowledge, as enunciated by the Sankhya system of philosophy.
PURPORT
While Maharaja Yudhisthira was the Emperor of the earth, Lord Sri Krsna was the King of Dvaraka and was known as Dvarakadhisa. Like other subordinate kings, He was under the regime of Maharaja Yudhisthira. Although Lord Sri Krsna is the supreme emperor of the entire creation, while He was on this earth He never violated the principles of the Vedic injunctions because they are the guide for human life. Regulated human life according to the Vedic principles, which are based on the system of knowledge called Sankhya philosophy, is the real way of enjoyment of the necessities of life. Without such knowledge, detachment and custom, the so-called human civilization is no more than an animal society of eat, drink, be merry and enjoy. The Lord was acting freely, as He willed, yet by His practical example He taught not to lead a life which goes against the principles of detachment and knowledge. Attainment of knowledge and detachment, as very elaborately discussed in Sankhya philosophy, is the real perfection of life. Knowledge means to know that the mission of the human form of life is to end all the miseries of material existence and that in spite of having to fulfill the bodily necessities in a regulated way, one must be detached from such animal life. Fulfilling the demands of the body is animal life, and fulfilling the mission of spirit soul is the human mission.
TEXT 20
TEXT
snigdha-smitavalokena
vaca piyusa-kalpaya
caritrenanavadyena
sri-niketena catmana
SYNONYMS
snigdha--gentle; smita-avalokena--by a glance with a sweet smile; vaca--by words; piyusa-kalpaya--compared to nectar; caritrena--by character; anavadyena--without flaw; sri--fortune; niketena--residence; ca--and; atmana--by His transcendental body.
TRANSLATION
He was there in His transcendental body, the residence of the goddess of fortune, with His usual gentle and sweetly smiling face, His nectarean words and His flawless character.
PURPORT
In the previous verse it is described that Lord Krsna, being situated in the truths of Sankhya philosophy, is detached from all kinds of matter. In the present verse it is described that He is the residence of the goddess of fortune. These two things are not at all contradictory. Lord Krsna is detached from the variegatedness of the inferior nature, but He is in eternal, blissful enjoyment of the spiritual nature, or His internal potency. One who has a poor fund of knowledge cannot understand this distinction between the external and internal potencies. In Bhagavad-gita, the internal potency is described as the para prakrti. In the Visnu Purana also, the internal potency of Visnu is described as para sakti. The Lord is never detached from the association of para sakti. This para sakti and her manifestations are described in the Brahma-samhita (5.37) as ananda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhavitabhih. The Lord is eternally joyful and cognizant in the taste derived from such transcendental bliss. Negation of the variegatedness of the inferior energy does not necessitate negation of the positive transcendental bliss of the spiritual world. Therefore the Lord's gentleness, His smile, His character and everything related to Him are all transcendental. Such manifestations of the internal potency are the reality, of which the material shadow is only a temporary representation from which everyone with proper knowledge must be detached.
TEXT 21
TEXT
imam lokam amum caiva
ramayan sutaram yadun
reme ksanadaya datta-
ksana-stri-ksana-sauhrdah
SYNONYMS
imam--this; lokam--earth; amum--and the other worlds; ca--also; eva--certainly; ramayan--pleasing; sutaram--specifically; yadun--the Yadus; reme--enjoyed; ksanadaya--by night; datta--given by; ksana--leisure; stri--with women; ksana--conjugal love; sauhrdah--friendship.
TRANSLATION
The Lord enjoyed His pastimes, both in this world and in other worlds [higher planets], specifically in the association of the Yadu dynasty. At leisure hours offered by night, He enjoyed the friendship of conjugal love with women.
PURPORT
The Lord enjoyed in this world with His pure devotees. Although He is the Personality of Godhead and is transcendental to all material attachment, He nevertheless exhibited much attachment for His pure devotees on the earth, as well as for the demigods who engage in His service in the heavenly planets as powerful delegated directors in the management of all material activities. He displayed special attachment for His family members, the Yadus, as well as for His sixteen thousand wives, who had the opportunity to meet Him in the leisure hours of night. All these attachments of the Lord are manifestations of His internal potency, of which the external potency is only a shadow representation. In the Skanda Purana, Prabhasa-khanda, in the topics between Lord Siva and Gauri, there is confirmation of His internal potential manifestations. There is mention of the Lord's meeting with sixteen thousand cowherd damsels although He is the Hamsa (transcendental) Supersoul and maintainer of all living entities. The sixteen thousand cowherd damsels are a display of sixteen varieties of internal potencies. This will be more elaborately explained in the Tenth Canto. It is said there that Lord Krsna is just like the moon and the internal potential damsels are like the stars around the moon.
TEXT 22
TEXT
tasyaivam ramamanasya
samvatsara-ganan bahun
grhamedhesu yogesu
viragah samajayata
SYNONYMS
tasya--His; evam--thus; ramamanasya--enjoying; samvatsara--years; ganan--many; bahun--great many; grhamedhesu--in household life; yogesu--in sex life; viragah--detachment; samajayata--awakened.
TRANSLATION
The Lord was thus engaged in household life for many, many years, but at last His detachment from ephemeral sex life was fully manifested.
PURPORT
Even though the Lord is never attached to any kind of material sex life, as the universal teacher He remained a householder for many, many years, just to teach others how one should live in householder life. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that the word samajayata means "fully exhibited." In all His activities while present on the earth, the Lord exhibited detachment. This was fully displayed when He wanted to teach by example that one should not remain attached to household life for all the days of one's life. One should naturally develop detachment as a matter of course. The Lord's detachment from household life does not indicate detachment from His eternal associates, the transcendental cowherd damsels. But the Lord desired to end His so-called attachment to the three modes of material nature. He can never be detached from the service of His transcendental associates like Rukmini and other goddesses of fortune, as described in the Brahma-samhita (5.29): laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam.
TEXT 23
TEXT
daivadhinesu kamesu
daivadhinah svayam puman
ko visrambheta yogena
yogesvaram anuvratah
SYNONYMS
daiva--supernatural; adhinesu--being controlled; kamesu--in sense enjoyment; daiva-adhinah--controlled by supernatural force; svayam--himself; puman--living entity; kah--whoever; visrambheta--can have faith in; yogena--by devotional service; yogesvaram--the Supreme Lord; anuvratah--serving.
TRANSLATION
Every living entity is controlled by a supernatural force, and thus his sense enjoyment is also under the control of that supernatural force. No one, therefore, can put his faith in Lord Krsna's transcendental sense activities but one who has become a devotee of the Lord by rendering devotional service.
PURPORT
As stated in Bhagavad-gita no one can understand the transcendental birth and activities of the Lord. The same fact is herein corroborated: no one but one who is enlightened by the devotional service of the Lord can understand the difference between the Lord's activities and those of others, who are controlled by the supernatural force. The sense enjoyment of all animals, men and demigods within the purview of the material universe is controlled by the supernatural force called the prakrti, or daivi-maya. No one is independent in obtaining sense enjoyment, and everyone in this material world is after sense enjoyment. Persons who are themselves under the control of supernatural power cannot believe that Lord Krsna is not under any control beyond Himself in the matter of sense enjoyment. They cannot understand that His senses are transcendental. In the Brahma-samhita the Lord's senses are described as omnipotent; i.e., with any sense He can perform the activities of the other senses. One who has limited senses cannot believe that the Lord can eat by His transcendental power of hearing and can perform the act of sex life simply by seeing. The controlled living entity cannot even dream of such sense activities in his conditional life. But simply by the activities of bhakti-yoga, he can understand that the Lord and His activities are always transcendental. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (18.55), bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah: one cannot know even a fraction of the activities of the Lord if he is not a pure devotee of the Lord.
TEXT 24
TEXT
puryam kadacit kridadbhir
yadu-bhoja-kumarakaih
kopita munayah sepur
bhagavan-mata-kovidah
SYNONYMS
puryam--in the city of Dvaraka; kadacit--once upon a time; kridadbhih--by sporting activities; yadu--the descendants of Yadu; bhoja--the descendants of Bhoja; kumarakaih--princes; kopitah--became angry; munayah--the great sages; sepuh--cursed; bhagavat--the Personality of Godhead; mata--desire; kovidah--cognizant.
TRANSLATION
Once upon a time, great sages were made angry by the sporting activities of the princely descendants of the Yadu and Bhoja dynasties, and thus, as desired by the Lord, the sages cursed them.
PURPORT
The associates of the Lord who were playing the part of princely descendants of the Yadu and Bhoja dynasties were not ordinary living entities. It is not possible that they could offend any saintly man or sage, nor could the sages, who were all pure devotees of the Lord, be influenced to anger by any of the sporting activities of the princes born in the holy dynasties of Yadu or Bhoja, wherein the Lord Himself appeared as a descendant. The cursing of the princes by the sages was another transcendental pastime of the Lord to make a show of anger. The princes were cursed in order that one may know that even the descendants of the Lord, who could never be vanquished by any act of material nature, were subjected to the reactions of anger by great devotees of the Lord. One should therefore take great care and attention not to commit an offense at the feet of a devotee of the Lord.
TEXT 25
TEXT
tatah katipayair masair
vrsni-bhojandhakadayah
yayuh prabhasam samhrsta
rathair deva-vimohitah
SYNONYMS
tatah--thereafter; katipayaih--a few; masaih--months passing; vrsni--the descendants of Vrsni; bhoja--the descendants of Bhoja; andhaka-adayah--and others, like the sons of Andhaka; yayuh--went; prabhasam--the place of pilgrimage named Prabhasa; samhrstah--with great pleasure; rathaih--on their chariots; deva--by Krsna; vimohitah--bewildered.
TRANSLATION
A few months passed, and then, bewildered by Krsna, all the descendants of Vrsni, Bhoja and Andhaka who were incarnations of demigods went to Prabhasa, while those who were eternal devotees of the Lord did not leave but remained in Dvaraka.
TEXT 26
TEXT
tatra snatva pitrn devan
rsims caiva tad-ambhasa
tarpayitvatha viprebhyo
gavo bahu-guna daduh
SYNONYMS
tatra--there; snatva--by taking bath; pitrn--forefathers; devan--demigods; rsin--great sages; ca--also; eva--certainly; tat--of that; ambhasa--by the water; tarpayitva--by pleasing; atha--thereupon; viprebhyah--unto the brahmanas; gavah--cows; bahu-gunah--greatly useful; daduh--gave in charity.
TRANSLATION
After arriving there, all of them took bath, and with the water of this place of pilgrimage they offered their respects to the forefathers, demigods and great sages and thus satisfied them. They gave cows to the brahmanas in royal charity.
PURPORT
Amongst the devotees of the Lord there are several divisions, mainly nitya-siddhas and sadhana-siddhas. The nitya-siddha devotees never fall down to the region of the material atmosphere, even though they sometimes come onto the material plane to execute the mission of the Lord. The sadhana-siddha devotees are chosen from the conditioned souls. Out of the sadhana devotees, there are mixed and pure devotees. The mixed devotees are sometimes enthusiastic about fruitive activities and are habituated to philosophical speculation. The pure devotees are free from all these mixtures and are completely absorbed in the service of the Lord, regardless of how and where they are situated. Pure devotees of the Lord are not enthusiastic to put aside their service to the Lord in order to go visit holy places of pilgrimage. A great devotee of the Lord in modern times, Sri Narottama dasa Thakura, has sung like this: "To visit holy places of pilgrimage is another bewilderment of the mind because devotional service to the Lord at any place is the last word in spiritual perfection."
For pure devotees of the Lord who are completely satisfied with the transcendental loving service of the Lord, there is hardly any necessity to visit the various places of pilgrimage. But those who are not so advanced have the prescribed duties of visiting pilgrimage sites and regularly performing the rituals. The part of the princely order of the Yadu dynasty who went to Prabhasa performed all duties to be done in a place of pilgrimage and offered their pious actions to their forefathers and others.
As a rule, every human being is indebted to God, the demigods, great sages, other living entities, people in general, forefathers, etc., for various contributions received from them. Thus everyone is obliged to repay the debt of gratitude. The Yadus who went to the Prabhasa pilgrimage site performed their duties by distributing land, gold, and well-nourished cows in royal charity, as described in the following verse.
TEXT 27
TEXT
hiranyam rajatam sayyam
vasamsy ajina-kambalan
yanam rathan ibhan kanya
dharam vrtti-karim api
SYNONYMS
hiranyam--gold; rajatam--gold coins; sayyam--bedding; vasamsi--clothing; ajina--animal skin for seats; kambalan--blankets; yanam--horses; rathan--chariots; ibhan--elephants; kanyah--girls; dharam--land; vrtti-karim--to provide livelihood; api--also.
TRANSLATION
The brahmanas were not only given well-fed cows in charity, but also gold, gold coins, bedding, clothing, animal-skin seats, blankets, horses, elephants, girls and sufficient land for maintenance.
PURPORT
All these charities were meant for the brahmanas, whose lives were devoted entirely to the welfare of society, both spiritually and materially. The brahmanas were not giving their services as paid servants, but the society provided them with all necessities. It was arranged for some of the brahmanas, who were in difficulty for marriage, to be given girls. The brahmanas, therefore, had no economic problems. The ksatriya kings and rich mercantile men would provide them with all that they needed, and in exchange the brahmanas were completely devoted to the elevation of society. That was the way of social cooperation between the different castes. When the brahmana class or caste gradually became easygoing, being fed by the society although they had no brahminical qualifications, they degraded themselves into brahma-bandhus, or disqualified brahmanas, and thus other members of society also gradually fell down from the social standard of progressive life. As described in Bhagavad-gita, the caste system is the creation of the Lord and is arranged according to the quality of work rendered to society and not in terms of birthright, as falsely claimed in the present degraded society.
TEXT 28
TEXT
annam coru-rasam tebhyo
dattva bhagavad-arpanam
go-viprarthasavah surah
pranemur bhuvi murdhabhih
SYNONYMS
annam--foodstuff; ca--also; uru-rasam--highly delicious; tebhyah--unto the brahmanas; dattva--after supplying; bhagavat-arpanam--which was first offered to the Personality of Godhead; go--cows; vipra--brahmanas; artha--purpose; asavah--purpose of living; surah--all the valiant ksatriyas; pranemuh--offered obeisances; bhuvi--touching the ground; murdhabhih--with their heads.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter they offered the brahmanas highly delicious foodstuffs first offered to the Personality of Godhead and offered their respectful obeisances by touching their heads to the ground. They lived perfectly by protecting the cows and the brahmanas.
PURPORT
The behavior exhibited by the descendants of Yadu in the pilgrimage site of Prabhasa was highly cultured and exactly to the point of human perfection. The perfection of human life is attained by following three principles of civilization: protecting the cows, maintaining the brahminical culture and, above all, becoming a pure devotee of the Lord. Without becoming a devotee of the Lord, one cannot perfect one's human life. The perfection of human life is to be elevated to the spiritual world, where there is no birth, no death, no disease and no old age. That is the highest perfectional aim of human life. Without this aim, any amount of material advancement in so-called comforts can only bring the defeat of the human form of life.
Brahmanas and Vaisnavas do not accept any foodstuff which is not first offered to the Personality of Godhead. Foodstuff offered to the Lord is accepted by the devotees as the mercy of the Lord. After all, the Lord supplies all kinds of foodstuff, both to the human being and to other animals. A human being must be conscious of the fact that all foodstuffs, namely grains, vegetables, milk, water, etc.--the prime necessities of life--are supplied for mankind by the Lord, and such foodstuffs cannot be manufactured by any scientist or materialist in a laboratory or factory established by human effort. The intelligent class of men are called brahmanas, and those who have realized the Absolute Truth in His supreme personal feature are called Vaisnavas. But both of them accept foodstuffs which are the remnants of sacrifice. Sacrifice is ultimately meant to satisfy the yajna-purusa, Visnu. In Bhagavad-gita (3.13) it is said that one who accepts foodstuffs as the remnants of sacrifice is freed from all sinful reactions, and one who cooks foodstuffs for maintenance of his body takes in all kinds of sins, which lead only to suffering. The foodstuffs prepared by the Yadus at the Prabhasa pilgrimage site to offer to the bona fide brahmanas there were all offered to the Personality of Godhead, Visnu. The Yadus offered their sincere obeisances by touching their heads to the ground. The Yadus or any enlightened family in Vedic culture are trained for attainment of human perfection by total cooperation of service between the different divisions of social orders.
The word uru-rasam is also significant here. Hundreds of delicacies can be prepared simply by the combination of grains, vegetables and milk. All such preparations are in the mode of goodness and therefore may be offered to the Personality of Godhead. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (9.26), the Lord accepts only foodstuffs which are within the range of fruits, flowers, leaves and liquids, provided they are offered in complete devotional service. Devotional service is the only criterion for a bona fide offering to the Lord. The Lord assures that He positively eats such foodstuffs offered by the devotees. So, judging from all sides, the Yadus were perfectly trained civilized persons, and their being cursed by the brahmana sages was only by the desire of the Lord; the whole incident was a warning to all concerned that no one should behave lightly with brahmanas and Vaisnavas.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Third Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled "The Lord's pastimes Out of Vrndavana."