brihad bhagavatamrita 2

8/14/2019 Brihad Bhagavatamrita 2

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II

Divya:

InH eaven



TEXT 1é[qParqi+aduvac

Pa[XaSYa Ta& MaharaJa& SvGaRTaae MauiNarE+aTa )raJaMaaNa& Sa>aaMaDYae ivZ<au& devGa<aEv*RTaMa( ))

çré-parékñid uväca

praçasya taà mahä-räjaà svar-gato munir aikñata räjamänaà sabhä-madhye

viñëuà deva-gaëair våtam

çré-parékñit uväca — Çré Parékñit said; praçasya — praising; tam — him; mahä -räjam — the great king; svaù — to heaven; gataù — going; muniù — the sage; aikñata — saw; räjamänam — pres-

ent in all His brilliance; sabhä-madhye — in the assembly hall;viñëum — Lord Viñëu; deva — by demigods; gaëaiù — in vari-ous groups; våtam — surrounded.

Çré Parékñit said: After praising the great king, Närada made his way to heaven. There in the assembly hall he saw Lord Viñëu in all His brilliance, surrounded by hosts of

demigods.

COMMENTARY: In the first chapter, Närada Muni began hissearch for the dearest devotee of Kåñëa by investigating com-parative excellence in the devotional service found on earth. In



/ CHAPTER TWO8 8

this second chapter, Närada sees the superior devotion of LordIndra and Lord Brahmä.

TEXT 2

ivic}ak-LPad]uMaPauZPaMaal/a‚ivle/Pa>aUzavSaNaaMa*TaaÛE" )

SaMaicRTa& idVYaTaraePacarE"

Sau%aePaiví& Gaå@SYa Pa*ïe ))vicitra-kalpa-druma-puñpa-mälä-

vilepa-bhüñä-vasanämåtädyaiù samarcitaà divyataropacäraiù

sukhopaviñöaà garuòasya påñöhe

vicitra — various; kalpa-druma — from desire trees; puñpa — of flowers; mälä — with a garland; vilepa — with sandalwood pulp;bhüñä — with ornaments; vasana — and clothing; amåta — divine; ädyaiù — and so on; samarcitam — worshiped; divya-tara — most heavenly; upacäraiù — with offerings; sukha-upaviñöam — sitting comfortably; garuòasya — of Garuòa; påñöhe — on theback.

He was decorated with sandalwood pulp, divine ornamentsand garments, and a garland made of varied flowers from desire trees. Sitting comfortably on the back of Garuòa, He

was worshiped with celestial offerings.

TEXT 3

b*hSPaiTaPa[>a*iTai>a" STaUYaMaaNa& MahizRi>a" )l/aLYaMaaNaMaidTYaa TaaNa( hzRYaNTa& iPa[Yaaei¢-i>a" ))

båhaspati-prabhåtibhiù stüyamänaà maharñibhiù



DIVYA: In HEAVEN / 8 9

lälyamänam adityä tän harñayantaà priyoktibhiù

båhaspati — by Båhaspati; prabhåtibhiù — and others; stüya- mänam — being praised; maharñibhiù — by the exalted sages;lälyamänam — being pampered; adityä — by Mother Aditi; tän — them; harñayantam — delighting; priya-uktibhiù — with af-fectionate comments.

Båhaspati and other exalted sages praised His glories, and

Mother Aditi pampered Him. He in turn delighted each of them with His affectionate comments.

TEXT 4

iSaÖivÛaDa]GaNDavaRPSaraei>aivRivDaE" STavE" )JaYaXaBdEvaRÛGaqTaNa*TYaEê PairTaaeizTaMa( ))

siddha-vidyädhra-gandharvä- psarobhir vividhaiù stavaiù

jaya-çabdair vädya-géta- nåtyaiç ca paritoñitam

siddha — by Siddhas; vidyädhra — by Vidyädharas; gandharva

— by Gandharvas; apsarobhiù — by Apsaräs; vividhaiù — with various; stavaiù — prayers; jaya-çabdaiù — with cries of “all glo-ries to You”; vädya — with instrumental music; géta — singing;nåtyaiù — and dancing; ca — also; paritoñitam — being satisfied.

Siddhas, Vidyädharas, Gandharvas, and Apsaräs recited prayers. They cried “All glories to You!” and sang, danced,and played music, all for His pleasure.

TEXT 5

Xa§-aYaa>aYaMauÀae¢-ya dETYae>Yaae ddTa& d*!Ma( )k-ITYaaRPYaRMaa<a& TaaMbUl&/ cvRNTa& l/Il/YaaôTaMa( ))



/ CHAPTER TWO9 0

çakräyäbhayam uccoktyä daityebhyo dadataà dåòham

kértyärpyamäëaà tämbülaà carvantaà lélayähåtam

çakräya — to Indra; abhayam — freedom from fear; ucca — loud; uktyä — with words; daityebhyaù — from the Daityas; da- datam — giving; dåòham — certain; kértyä — by Kértidevé; arp-

yamäëam — being offered; tämbülam — betel nut; carvantam

— chewing; lélayä — elegantly; ähåtam — taken.

In words that all could hear, the Lord assured Indra that heneed not be afraid of the Daityas. Kértidevé offered the Lord

betel nut, which He gracefully accepted and chewed.

COMMENTARY: Närada saw the demigods worshiping Lord Vämanadeva in the assembly hall of Indra, the Lord’s elder

brother. Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé comments that the demigods were following one of two standards described in old textbookson Deity worship like Viñëu-bhakti-candrodaya: the commonstandard, in which sixteen items are offered for the Lord’s plea-sure, beginning with pädya and arghya waters, or, alternatively,a more elaborate worship, with sixty-four items. While the wor-ship was being performed, the Lord’s mother, Aditi, held His soft

hands and cared for Him in various ways. The Siddhas recitedprayers for His satisfaction, the Vidyädharas played musical in-struments, the Gandharvas sang, and the Apsaräs danced. TheLord told Indra not to fear the Daityas, for the Lord would pro-tect him, if necessary by killing all the demons. As He said this,He raised His right lotus hand in the gesture of fearlessness,abhaya-däna-mudrä. Then Kértidevé, Lord Vämana’s wife, lov-ingly offered Him some betel nut she had carefully prepared. Hehappily took it between His thumb and first finger and elegantly placed it in His mouth.

Seeing all this, Närada was very much pleased. Although hehad come to the court of heaven to meet Indra, he was first ableto see the Supreme Lord worshiped by the assembled demigods.




The worship was appropriate because Lord Vämana is the mostimportant resident of the heavenly region. In this scene the Lord

not only showed His supremacy but also revealed His favor toward Indra by accepting his worship.

TEXT 6

Xa§&- c TaSYa MaahaTMYa& k-ITaRYaNTa& MauhuMauRhu" )SviSMaNa( k*-TaaePak-ara&ê v<aRYaNTa& MahaMauda ))

çakraà ca tasya mähätmyaà kértayantaà muhur muhuù

svasmin kåtopakäräàç ca varëayantaà mahä-mudä

çakram — Indra; ca — and; tasya — His; mähätmyam — glo-

ries; kértayantam — chanting; muhuù muhuù — repeatedly;svasmin — to himself; kåta-upakäräù — assistance rendered;ca — and; varëayantam — describing; mahä — great; mudä — with joy.

Continuously chanting the Lord’s glories, Indra described with great joy the ways the Lord had helped him in the past.

TEXT 7

SahóNaYaNaEré[uDaara vzRNTaMaaSaNae )SvqYae iNaz<<a& TaTPaaìeR raJaNTa& Sviv>aUiTai>a" ))

sahasra-nayanair açru- dhärä varñantam äsane

svéye niñaëëaà tat-pärçve räjantaà sva-vibhütibhiù

sahasra — from a thousand; nayanaiù — eyes; açru — of tears;dhäräù — a downpour; varñantam — shedding; äsane — on



/ CHAPTER TWO9 2

the throne; svéye — his own; niñaëëam — sitting; tat - pärçve — next to Him; räjantam — shining forth; sva -vibhütibhiù — with

his own opulences.

Indra shone forth in his own opulence as he sat on hisown throne next to the Lord, shedding from his thousand eyes a downpour of tears.

COMMENTARY: It was natural for Indra, the ruling king of

heaven, to have his own throne in his assembly hall. Yet whilehis servants stood by, holding his royal paraphernalia — hisumbrella, cämara fans, and so on — Indra worshiped the Su-preme Lord in the person of his younger brother. Indra loudly chanted the Lord’s glories, describing the Lord’s kindness to Hisdevotees and His other attractive qualities. Indra then recalledthe special favors repeatedly shown him by the Lord, such as theLord’s regaining for him the rulership of heaven, which had been

seized by Bali Daityaräja.

TEXT 8

AQa ivZ<au& iNaJaavaSae GaC^NTaMaNauGaMYa TaMa( )Sa>aaYaaMaaGaTa& Xa§-MaaXaSYaaevac Naard" ))

atha viñëuà nijäväse gacchantam anugamya tam

sabhäyäm ägataà çakram äçasyoväca näradaù

atha — then; viñëum — Lord Viñëu; nija — His own; äväse — tothe residence; gacchantam — proceeding; anugamya — follow-

ing; tam — Him; sabhäyäm — to the assembly hall; ägatam — returning; çakram — Indra; äçasya — greeting; uväca — spoke;näradaù — Närada.

Lord Viñëu then proceeded to His own residence. Indra followed Him for some distance and then returned to the




assembly hall, where Närada greeted him and began tospeak.

COMMENTARY: It would have been inappropriate for Närada todisclose his mind to Indra while Indra was worshiping Lord Viñëu. Now that the Lord had left, Närada greeted Indra, saying,“Glories to you! Please accept my blessings.”

TEXT 9

é[qNaard ovac k*-TaaNauk-iMPaTaSTv& YaTSaUYaRcNd]YaMaadYa" )Tavajak-air<a" SaveR l/aek-Paal/a" Pare ik-Mau ))

çré-närada uväca kåtänukampitas tvaà yat

sürya-candra-yamädayaù taväjïä-käriëaù sarve

loka-päläù pare kim u

çré-näradaù uväca — Çré Närada said; kåta-anukampitaù — hav-ing received the mercy; tvam — you; yat — because; sürya — the sun-god; candra — the moon-god; yama — the lord of

death; ädayaù — and so on; tava — your; äjïä-käriëaù — or-der carriers; sarve — all; loka-päläù — rulers of planets; pare — other; kim u — what to speak of.

Çré Närada said: You have surely received the SupremeLord’s mercy, because demigods like Sürya, Candra, and

Yama, what to speak of the other rulers of planets, all obey your orders.

TEXT 10

MauNaYaae_SMaad*Xaae vXYaa" é[uTaYaSTva& STauviNTa ih )JaGadqXaTaYaa Yatv& DaMaaRDaMaRf-l/Pa[d" ))



/ CHAPTER TWO9 4

munayo ’smädåço vaçyäù çrutayas tväà stuvanti hi

jagad-éçatayä yat tvaà dharmädharma-phala-pradaù

munayaù — sages; asmädåçaù — like me; vaçyäù — subordi-nate subjects; çrutayaù — the Vedas; tväm — you; stuvanti — praise; hi — indeed; jagat — of the universe; éçatayä — as theLord; yat — since; tvam — you; dharma-adharma — of religion

and irreligion; phala-pradaù — the bestower of the fruits.

Sages like me are your subjects, and the Vedas praise you asthe lord of the universe, for you bestow the fruits of reli-gion and irreligion.

COMMENTARY: The principal demigods, among them the Vasus,Maruts, Rudras, and Ädityas, all obey the orders of Indra. In

the first of çrutis, the Åg Veda, many of the hymns are prayersto Indra and descriptions of his glories. These Åk-süktas, theAindra hymns, praise him as the lord of the universe. Näradaagrees that this is fitting and in his own words gives evidence of Indra’s sovereignty — his power to send pious souls to heavenand sinners to hell.

TEXT 11

Ahae NaaraYa<aae >a]aTaa k-NaqYaaNa( YaSYa Saaedr" )SaÖMa| MaaNaYaNa( YaSYa ivdDaaTYaadr& Sada ))

aho näräyaëo bhrätä kanéyän yasya sodaraù

sad-dharmaà mänayan yasya vidadhäty ädaraà sadä

aho — oh; näräyaëaù — Lord Näräyaëa; bhrätä — brother; ka- néyän — younger; yasya — whose; sa-udaraù — born of thesame womb; sat-dharmam — the principles of civilized behav-




ior; mänayan — obeying; asya — your; vidadhäti — displays;ädaram — respect; sadä — always.

How wonderful that Lord Näräyaëa has become your younger brother, born of the same womb. Honoring the ways of civilized life, He always treats you with respect.

COMMENTARY: Indra’s greatness is spiritual as well as material,because the Lord of all lords becomes his brother. Not only is theLord born of the same womb, but He accepts the inferior role of a younger brother. In that role, He teaches rules of behavior by His own example, showing for instance how a younger brothershould respect his elder brother. Lord Vämanadeva submissively does what Indra tells Him.

TEXT 12

é[qParqi+aduvac wTQaiMaNd]SYa SaaE>aaGYavE>av& k-ITaRYaNa( Mauhu" )devizRvaRdYaNa( vq<aa& ëagaMaaNaae NaNaTaR TaMa( ))

çré-parékñid uväca ittham indrasya saubhägya-

vaibhavaà kértayan muhuù

devarñir vädayan véëäà çläghamäno nanarta tam

çré-parékñit uväca — Çré Parékñit said; ittham — thus; indrasya — of Indra; saubhägya — of the good fortune; vaibhavam — theopulence; kértayan — declaring; muhuù — repeatedly; deva- åñiù — the sage of the demigods, Närada; vädayan — playing;

véëäm — his véëä; çläghamänaù — while praising; nanarta — he danced; tam — him (Indra).

Çré Parékñit said: The sage among the demigods thus pro-fusely declared the extreme good fortune of Indra. As hechanted Indra’s glories, he played his véëä and danced.



/ CHAPTER TWO9 6

COMMENTARY: Remembering the southern king’s declaration“The demigods are the real recipients of Lord Viñëu’s mercy,”

Närada took this opportunity to speak out on the topic.

TEXT 13

TaTaae_i>avaÛ devizRMauvaceNd]" XaNaEihR ]Yaa )>aae GaaNDavRk-l/ai>aj ik&- MaaMauPahSaàiSa ))

tato ’bhivädya devarñim uväcendraù çanair hriyä

bho gändharva-kaläbhijïa kià mäm upahasann asi

tataù — then; abhivädya — welcoming; devarñim — Närada;uväca — said; indraù — Indra; çanaiù — in a soft voice; hriyä

— humbly; bhoù — my dear; gändharva-kalä-abhijïa — expertin the arts of the Gandharvas; kim — why; mäm — me; upaha- san — making fun of; asi — you are.

Indra then welcomed Närada and in a soft voice humbly said: My dear Närada, expert in the arts of the Gandharvas,

why are you making fun of me?

COMMENTARY: The Gandharvas are clever and tricky. A person well trained in their arts certainly knows how to manipulate others with false praise and ridicule. Indra knows that Närada is not anordinary Gandharva, but Indra is enjoying a humorous exchange.

TEXT 14

ASYa Na SvGaRraJYaSYa v*ta& veiTSa TvMaev ik-Ma( )k-iTa varaiNaTaae dETYa>aqTYaaSMaai>aNaR iNaGaRTaMa( ))

asya na svarga-räjyasya våttaà vetsi tvam eva kim




kati värän ito daitya- bhétyäsmäbhir na nirgatam

asya — of this; na — not; svarga-räjyasya — of the kingdom of heaven; våttam — the activity; vetsi — know; tvam — you; eva — even; kim — whether; kati — how many; värän — times; itaù — away from here; daitya -bhétyä — out of fear of the Daitya de-mons; asmäbhiù — by us; na — not; nirgatam — fleeing.

Are you unfamiliar with what ruling heaven means? Don’t you know how many times we demigods have had to fleeheaven in fear of the Daityas?

COMMENTARY: Närada may deny praising Indra in vain or mak-ing fun of him. Anticipating Närada’s objections, Indra here be-gins to argue against the praise that he is the dearest devotee of the Lord. Närada certainly knows the troubles the demigods

have in holding on to their power. The demigods have many times been driven out by their rivals, forced to flee disguised assannyäsés, to hide themselves on the earth, and so on. Indra thusrefutes the statements Närada heard from the king that the demi-gods “on the strength of their good fortune live in the realm of heaven” and “act and travel however they like.”

TEXT 15

AacrNa( bil/irNd]TvMaSauraNaev SavRTa" )SaUYaeRNÜaÛiDak-arezu NYaYau» §-Tau>aaGa>auk( ))

äcaran balir indratvam asurän eva sarvataù

süryendv-ädy-adhikäreñu nyayuìkta kratu-bhäga-bhuk

äcaran — performing; baliù — Bali; indratvam — the function of Indra; asurän — demons; eva — only; sarvataù — all; sürya — of the sun-god; indu — moon-god; ädi — and so on; adhikäreñu



/ CHAPTER TWO9 8

— to the posts; nyayuìkta — appointed; kratu — of sacrifice;bhäga-bhuk — the enjoyer of the shares.

One of them, Bali, once even took over as Indra. He ap-pointed demons to all the posts like sun-god and moon-god and took for himself my shares of sacrifice.

COMMENTARY: Närada has just told Indra, “The sun-god andother rulers of planets obey your orders.” To counter this, Indra

questions the value of the demigods’ controlling power, whichthe demigods are always in anxiety of losing. He also questions whether he is actually glorified by having such uncertain rulersas his order-carriers. Indra ashamedly remembers how he almostdied from hunger and thirst while Bali usurped and enjoyedIndra’s shares of sacrifice. Indra thus responds to the southernking’s statement “Their food is the nectar of immortality.”

TEXT 16

TaTaae NaSTaaTaMaaTa*>Yaa& TaPaaei>aivRTaTaEd*R!E" )TaaeizTaae_PYa&XaMaa}ae<a GaTaae >a]aTa*TvMaCYauTa" ))

tato nas täta-mätåbhyäà

tapobhir vitatair dåòhaiù toñito ’py aàça-mätreëa

gato bhrätåtvam acyutaù

tataù — at that time; naù — by our; täta-mätåbhyäm — fatherand mother; tapobhiù — with austerities; vitataiù — extensive;dåòhaiù — and severe; toñitaù — satisfied; api — although; aàça- mätreëa — as a mere partial expansion; gataù — assumed; bhrä- tåtvam — the role of brother; acyutaù — the infallible SupremeLord.

Our father and mother then performed many severe aus-terities, by which they satisfied the Supreme Lord Acyuta.




The Lord responded by appearing as my brother in a merepartial expansion of Himself.

COMMENTARY: Indra makes light of the Lord’s reciprocation withhim, since the Lord answered the request of Indra’s parents only after some delay and then was unwilling to manifest Himself fully in His original form.

TEXT 17TaQaaPYahTva TaaH^}aUNa( ke-vl&/ NañPaa k*-Taa )MaaYaaYaacNaYaadaYa ble/ raJYa& ddaE Sa Mae ))

tathäpy ahatvä täï chatrün kevalaà nas trapä kåtä

mäyä-yäcanayädäya

bale räjyaà dadau sa me

tathä api — even then; ahatvä — not killing; tän — those;çatrün — enemies; kevalam — only; naù — our; trapä — em-barrassment; kåtä — was created; mäyä-yäcanayä — by a de-ceptive request for charity; ädäya — taking away; baleù — fromBali; räjyam — the kingdom; dadau — gave; saù — He; me —

my.

And even then, instead of killing those enemies, He only embarrassed me, returning my kingdom after taking it from Bali with a deceptive request for charity.

COMMENTARY: An aristocratic lord like Indra might well feel de-meaned by such treatment. Instead of fighting for the demigods’rightful property in an honorable way, Lord Acyuta resorted totricks. He disguised Himself as a dwarf, asked Bali for just asmuch land as three of His steps could cover, and, when He ob-tained that charity on a pretext, made Himself larger than theuniverse.



/ CHAPTER TWO100

TEXT 18

SPaDaaRSaUYaaiddaeze<a b]øhTYaaidPaaPaTa" )iNaTYaPaaTa>aYaeNaaiPa ik&- Sau%& SvGaRvaiSaNaaMa( ))

spardhäsüyädi-doñeëa brahma-hatyädi-päpataù

nitya-päta-bhayenäpi kià sukhaà svarga-väsinäm

spardhä-asüyä-ädi — of competitiveness, jealousy, and so on;doñeëa — because of the faults; brahma-hatyä-ädi — such askilling brähmaëas; päpataù — because of the sins; nitya — constantly; päta — of falling from their positions; bhayena — because of fear; api — also; kim — what; sukham — happiness;svarga-väsinäm — for the residents of heaven.

We residents of heaven are tainted with faults like rivalry and jealousy. For such acts as killing brähmaëas, we get entangled in the reactions of sin. And we live in constant fear of losing our posts. So what happiness do we truly enjoy?

COMMENTARY: The southern king had said that the demigodsare “always worshipable by men.” He had cited several reasonsfor this, but here Indra answers. He refutes the statement that thedemigods are “fixed in goodness” by reminding Närada that they are quarrelsome. He defeats the statement that they are “sinless”by recalling how he killed Våtra, Viçvarüpa, and others. And hedismisses that “their bodies are effulgent” by pointing out thatthe opposite is true because the demigods constantly anticipatesome fall from their positions. As Lord Kåñëa commented to His

friend Uddhava:

ko nv arthaù sukhayaty enaà kämo vä måtyur antike

äghätaà néyamänasya vadhyasyeva na tuñöi-daù



DIVYA: In HEAVEN / 1 0 1

“Death is not at all pleasing, and since everyone is exactly like acondemned man being led to the place of execution, what pos-

sible happiness can people derive from material objects or thegratification they provide?” (Bhägavatam ..)

Therefore, according to Indra, the demigods are undeserv-ing of worship because they are hardly better than ordinary men.

TEXT 19

ik&- c Maa& Pa[TYauPaeNd]SYa ivÖyuPae+aa& ivXaezTa" )SauDaMaa| PaairJaaTa& c SvGaaRNa( MaTYa| iNaNaaYa Sa" ))

kià ca mäà praty upendrasya viddhy upekñäà viçeñataù

sudharmäà pärijätaà ca svargän martyaà ninäya saù

kim ca — and furthermore; mäm — me; prati — toward; upendrasya — of Lord Upendra (Vämanadeva); viddhi — pleaseknow; upekñäm — the indifference; viçeñataù — particular; su- dharmäm — the Sudharmä assembly hall; pärijätam — the päri-

jäta flower; ca — and; svargät — from heaven; martyam — tothe earth; ninäya — brought; saù — He.

You must also know that my brother Lord Upendra in-tentionally disregarded me by taking from heaven theSudharmä hall and the pärijäta flower and bringing them to the earth.

COMMENTARY: Here Indra refutes the claim that among thedemigods he has the special favor of the Lord. The Supreme

Person whom Indra knows as his brother Upendra appeared onearth in His original identity, Çré Kåñëa. To favor the Yadus andHis wives in Dvärakä, Kåñëa removed from heaven the Sudharmäassembly hall and the pärijäta, the flower that grows only inIndra’s realm. These affronts were particularly intolerable be-cause Kåñëa brought the Sudharmä and pärijäta to Dvärakä on



/ CHAPTER TWO102

earth, a planet of lesser beings where death is prominent. Theimperishable Sudharmä and pärijäta should not have been sub-

jected to such indignities. Närada had used Indra’s possessingthe pärijäta flower as a reason for praising him, but Indra retortsthat he has only been embarrassed because of the flower.Kåñëa’s having stolen these two treasures proves that Kåñëa ismore favorable to the devotees in Dvärakä than to Indra, whomHe does not hesitate to shame.

For a devotee to feel dissatisfied with himself is a natural part

of devotional service. Indra expresses natural humility here, andthe other Vaiñëavas Närada will meet will speak similarly. Eachdevotee thinks that Lord Kåñëa only seemingly favors him butreally acts to satisfy devotees who are dearer. When someonepraises a devotee for being a recipient of Lord Kåñëa’s mercy,the devotee normally tries to refute the praise, but even if hesometimes doesn’t, for that we should not fault him.

Devotees speak from the transcendental humility of pure de-

votion, and the most intimate devotees sometimes speak from thetranscendental anger called praëaya-roña. In any case, devoteescan never conclusively prove that Kåñëa does not favor them,because the opposite is true. He is actually pleased with them.

TEXT 20

GaaePaalE/" i§-YaMaa<aa& Mae NYahNa( PaUJaa& icrNTaNaqMa( )A%<@& %a<@va:Ya& Mae iPa[Ya& daihTavaNa( vNaMa( ))

gopälaiù kriyamäëäà me nyahan püjäà cirantaném

akhaëòaà khäëòaväkhyaà me priyaà dähitavän vanam

gopälaiù — by the cowherds; kriyamäëäm — performed; me — my; nyahan — He spoiled; püjäm — the worship; ciranta- ném — old; akhaëòam — uninterrupted; khäëòava-äkhyam — named Khäëòava; me — my; priyam — favorite; dähitavän — He burned down; vanam — the forest.




He ruined the worship the cowherds had been offering mefor many years, and He burned down my favorite forest,

the vast Khäëòava.

COMMENTARY: Kåñëa persuaded the cowherds of Vraja, headedby Nanda Mahäräja, to worship Govardhana Hill with the offer-ings collected for Indra’s yajïa. And to cure Agni of a stomach-ache, Kåñëa destroyed Indra’s Khäëòava forest with the help of Arjuna, Indra’s own son.

TEXT 21

}aEl/aeKYaGa]aSak*-Ü*}avDaaQa| Pa[aiQaRTa" Paura )AaEdaSaqNYa& >aJa&STa}a Pa[erYaaMaaSa Maa& ParMa( ))

trai-lokya-gräsa-kåd-våtra-

vadhärthaà prärthitaù purä audäsényaà bhajaàs tatra prerayäm äsa mäà param

trai-lokya — the three worlds; gräsa-kåt — who was devouring;våtra — the demon Våtra; vadha-artham — for the sake of kill-ing; prärthitaù — prayed to; purä — long ago; audäsényam — indifference; bhajan — assuming; tatra — in that instance; pre-

rayäm äsa — He sent; mäm — me; param — only.

When the Lord was entreated to kill Våtra, who was devour-ing the three worlds, the Lord responded indifferently,merely sending me on His behalf.

COMMENTARY: Indra’s killing of Våtra, described in the hymns of

the Åg Veda, occurred when the planets were being formed by Brahmä and his assistants. Våtra had interfered with the universalconstruction by keeping the oceans trapped inside mountains.The sages of the Åg Veda glorify Indra profusely for killing Våtra,thus freeing the waters of the universe. But here Indra belittlesthe incident. The Sixth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam discloses



/ CHAPTER TWO104

that Våtra, under his demonic exterior, was a pure Vaiñëava. Indra’skilling him was more tragic than glorious.

TEXT 22

oTSaaÛ MaaMavjaYa MadqYaaMaMaravTaqMa( )SavaeRPair Sv>avNa& rcYaaMaaSa NaUTaNaMa( ))

utsädya mäm avajïäya

madéyäm amarävatém sarvopari sva-bhavanaà

racayäm äsa nütanam

utsädya — destroying; mäm — me; avajïäya — disregarding;madéyäm — my; amarävatém — capital city Amarävaté; sarva- upari — above all others; sva-bhavanam — a residence for Him-self; racayäm äsa — He built; nütanam — new.

With no regard for me, He destroyed my capital, Amarävaté,and built a new residence, above all others, for Himself.

COMMENTARY: Indra alludes here to an incarnation of Lord Viñëunamed Vaikuëöha, whom Çréla Çukadeva Gosvämé describes in theEighth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam (.. – ):

patné vikuëöhä çubhrasya vaikuëöhaiù sura-sattamaiù

tayoù sva-kalayä jajïe vaikuëöho bhagavän svayam

vaikuëöhaù kalpito yena loko loka-namaskåtaù

ramayä prärthyamänena devyä tat-priya-kämyayä

“From the combination of Çubhra and his wife, Vikuëöhä, thereappeared the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vaikuëöha, along




with demigods who were His personal plenary expansions. Justto please the goddess of fortune, the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, Vaikuëöha, at her request, created another Vaikuëöhaplanet, which is worshiped by everyone.”

The eternal spiritual planet Lord Vaikuëöha manifested withinthe material world is called Ramäpriya, “dear to the goddess of fortune.” It is located above all other planets, even Lord Brahmä’s.Strictly speaking, this spiritual kingdom displayed within the ma-terial universe is never created or destroyed. But because from

our point of view the planet Ramäpriya appeared at a certaintime and place, we consider it “new” compared with the eternalmanifestation of the same kingdom of God outside the materialrealm. The Lord may pretend to “create” it as His pastime, but Heis only unveiling before material eyes what normally cannot beseen in this world.

Indra also mentions the incarnation Vaikuëöha in Çré Hari- vaàça (..). Speaking after Çré Kåñëa stole the pärijäta flower

and defeated him in battle, Indra says:

idaà bhaìktvä madéyaà ca bhavanaà viñëunä kåtam

upary upari lokänäm adhikaà bhuvanaà mune

“O sage, Lord Viñëu sacked my capital city and then built a newplanet above all others.”

As described in the Eighth Canto of Çrémad -Bhägavatam,Lord Vaikuëöha appeared during the period of the fifth Manu,Raivata. This was a long time before our speaker, Purandara,assumed the post of Indra. Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé presentstwo possible explanations of how Indra could have met Lord

Vaikuëöha. Either the avatära mentioned in the Eighth Canto isan earlier one and met Indra in a previous day of Brahmä, orduring the fifth manv-antara Lord Vaikuëöha only conceivedthe idea of His new planet (kalpito yena lokaù ) but constructedit later, during the seventh manv-antara, now current.



/ CHAPTER TWO106

TEXT 23

AaraDaNabl/aiTPa}aaeraGa]haÀ PauraeDaSa" )PaUJaa& Svqk*-TYa Na" SaÛae YaaTYad*XYa& iNaJa& PadMa( ))

ärädhana-balät pitror ägrahäc ca purodhasaù

püjäà své-kåtya naù sadyo yäty adåçyaà nijaà padam

ärädhana — of the worship; balät — on the strength; pitroù — of our parents; ägrahät — because of the zeal; ca — and; puro- dhasaù — of the presiding priest; püjäm — the worship; své- kåtya — accepting; naù — our; sadyaù — immediately; yäti adåç-

yam — disappears; nijam — to His own; padam — abode.

He accepts our worship on the strength of our parents’

devotion and at the insistence of my priest. And then, after taking our offerings, He at once disappears, returning toHis own abode.

COMMENTARY: Närada might have suggested to Indra that heconsider how kind the Lord is no matter what the Lord does. After all, the Lord’s mind, being deeper than a million oceans,

cannot be fathomed, and so His pastimes are inconceivable. Be-cause the distress of others causes Him great anxiety, He alwaysshows compassion in whatever way He can. Indra should try tounderstand in this higher sense Lord Vämana’s apparent neglectof him.

“That is all right,” Indra replies in this verse. “The Lord wouldindeed be showing me His compassion if He would just stay here with me permanently, accepting my worship. Then I couldtolerate everything else He does. But much of the time Hedoesn’t even let me see Him.”

Indra’s parents, Kaçyapa and Aditi, intensely worshipedLord Viñëu in their previous lives, and they continue to worshipHim now. Indra’s priest, Båhaspati, is also an enthusiastic wor-




shiper of Viñëu. Indra reasons, therefore, “When the Lord ap-pears in order to take my offerings, He does so not from com-

passion for me but to reciprocate with the devotion of others. And in any case, He stays only long enough to take His offer-ings and then goes away.” This answers the southern king’sstatement that Lord Viñëu accepts in person the elaborate worship Indra offers.

TEXTS 24–25

PauNa" SaTvrMaaGaTYa SvagYaRSvqk-r<aaÜYaMa( )ANauGa]aùaSTvYaeTYau¢-ae_SMaaNaaidXaiTa vÄYaNa( ))

YaavNa( Naah& SaMaaYaaiMa Taavd( b]øa iXavae_Qava )>aviÙ" PaUJaNaqYaae_}a Mataae i>aàaE Na TaaE YaTa" ))

punaù satvaram ägatya svärghya-své-karaëäd vayam

anugrähyäs tvayety ukto ’smän ädiçati vaïcayan

yävan nähaà samäyämi tävad brahmä çivo ’tha vä

bhavadbhiù püjanéyo ’tra matto bhinnau na tau yataù

punaù — again; satvaram — abruptly; ägatya — returning; sva — our; arghya — water offered to a respected guest; své-kara- ëät — because of accepting; vayam — we; anugrähyäù — havebecome obliged; tvayä — by You; iti — thus; uktaù — said; as- män — us; ädiçati — He addresses; vaïcayan — deceiving;

yävat — as long as; na — not; aham — I; samäyämi — come;tävat — then; brahmä — Brahmä; çivaù — Çiva; atha vä — or;bhavadbhiù — by you; püjanéyaù — should be worshiped; atra — here; mattaù — from Me; bhinnau — different; na — not;tau — both of them; yataù — because.



/ CHAPTER TWO108

Then He suddenly comes back. I tell Him, “We are very much obliged to You for accepting our offerings of

arghya,” but He cunningly replies, “Whenever I am not here to accept your offerings, you may worship Brahmä or Çiva instead. Indeed, both of them are nondifferent from Me.

TEXT 26

Wk-MaUiTaRñYaae deva åd]ivZ<auiPaTaaMaha" )wTYaaidXaañvcNa& >aviÙivRSMa*Ta& ik-Mau ))

eka-mürtis trayo devä rudra-viñëu-pitämahäù

ity-ädi-çästra-vacanaà

bhavadbhir vismåtaà kim u

eka -mürtiù — comprising one body; trayaù — three; deväù — deities; rudra — Çiva; viñëu — Viñëu; pitämahäù — and Brahmä;iti -ädi — like this; çästra — of scripture; vacanam — state-ments; bhavadbhiù — by your good self; vismåtam — forgotten;kim u — whether.

“According to scriptural statements, ‘The three deitiesRudra, Viñëu, and Brahmä are embodiments of the sameSupreme Being.’ Have you forgotten?”

COMMENTARY: From Indra’s standpoint these words are simply deceitful. Çré Vämanadeva knows very well that Indra is at-tracted to worshiping only the Supreme Lord. Yet He teasesIndra by quoting from scripture, trying to persuade him to wor-ship someone else. And Indra, compelled by the reverence hefeels for Lord Vämana, is forced to honor His request. Thus wesee that sometimes festivals are held in heaven for worshipingLord Çiva.




TEXT 27

vaSaae_SYaaiNaYaTaae_SMaai>arGaMYaae MauiNadul/R>a" )vEku-<#e= Da]uvl/aeke- c +aqraBDaaE c k-dacNa ))

väso ’syäniyato ’smäbhir agamyo muni-durlabhaù

vaikuëöhe dhruva-loke ca kñéräbdhau ca kadäcana

väsaù — the living place; asya — His; aniyataù — undetermined;asmäbhiù — by us; agamyaù — unapproachable; muni-durla- bhaù — difficult for sages to attain; vaikuëöhe — in Vaikuëöha;dhruva-loke — on Dhruva’s planet; ca — and; kñéra-abdhau — within the Milk Ocean; ca — and; kadäcana — sometimes.

We cannot be certain where He lives. His abode is unap-

proachable, difficult for even sages to attain. SometimesHe is in Vaikuëöha, sometimes on Dhruva’s planet, and sometimes within the Ocean of Milk.

COMMENTARY: Närada might ask, “Then why don’t you join your Lord?” Indra answers that he is unsure where the Lord is.He might be in Vaikuëöha, beyond the material world, or else onthe Vaikuëöha planet Ramäpriya, inside this universe. He mightbe on Dhruva’s planet, known as Viñëupada, or He might be onthe island of Çvetadvépa, in the Ocean of Milk.

TEXT 28

SaMPa[iTa Üark-aYaa& c Ta}aaiPa iNaYaMaae_iSTa Na )

k-daicTPaa<@vaGaare MaQauraYaa& k-dacNa ))samprati dvärakäyäà ca

taträpi niyamo ’sti na kadäcit päëòavägäre

mathuräyäà kadäcana



/ CHAPTER TWO110

samprati — now; dvärakäyäm — in Dvärakä; ca — and; tatra api — and even there; niyamaù — certainty; asti na — there is

not; kadäcit — sometimes; päëòava-ägäre — in the house of the Päëòavas; mathuräyäm — in Mathurä District; kadäcana — sometimes.

And now He is in Dvärakä, but even about this there is nocertainty. Sometimes He goes from there to the house of the Päëòavas, and sometimes to Mathurä.

TEXT 29

PauYaa| k-daicta}aaiPa Gaaeku-le/ c vNaaÜNae )wTQa& TaSYaavl/aek-ae_iPa dul/R>aae Na" ku-Ta" k*-Paa ))

puryäà kadäcit taträpi

gokule ca vanäd vane itthaà tasyävaloko ’pi

durlabho naù kutaù kåpä

puryäm — in the district of the holy city (Mathurä); kadäcit — sometimes; tatra api — furthermore; gokule — in Gokula; ca — and; vanät vane — from forest to forest; ittham — thus; tasya —

of Him; avalokaù — the sight; api — even; durlabhaù — diffi-cult to have; naù — for us; kutaù — what to speak of; kåpä — His mercy.

In Mathurä, furthermore, He is sometimes in the city and sometimes wandering in Gokula from forest to forest. So it is difficult for us to see Him, what to speak of obtaining Hismercy.

COMMENTARY: Indra should be able to see Çré Kåñëa very easily,because when Indra speaks this verse Kåñëa is appearing onearth. But the appearance of Çré Kåñëa is very confidential. Indrahas difficulty understanding why the Lord he knows as his




brother descended to earth. Çré Hari-vaàça (.) states that when Närada had come previously as Kåsëa’s messenger to ask

Indra for the pärijäta flower for Queen Satyabhämä, Indra hadexpressed concern that his brother Kåñëa seemed to have be-come degraded by association with the residents of earth. Inparticular, Indra thought that Kåñëa was coming too much underthe control of women.

Indra is confused by Kåñëa’s constant wandering on earth.The Lord spends a short time in Gokula sporting in Mahävana,

Våndävana, and other forests. He then lives a few years inMathurä and finally settles down in Dvärakä. Still, from thereHe constantly travels — to Mithilä, to Hastinäpura to visit thePäëòavas, and also back to Vraja-bhümi.

Kåñëa does in fact sometimes return from Dvärakä to Våndävana, as the residents of Dvärakä testify:

yarhy ambujäkñäpasasära bho bhavän kurün madhün vätha suhåd-didåkñayä

taträbda-koöi-pratimaù kñaëo bhaved ravià vinäkñëor iva nas taväcyuta

“O lotus-eyed Lord, whenever You go away to Mathurä, Våndä- vana, or Hastinäpura to meet Your friends and relatives, every moment of Your absence seems like a million years. O infallible

one, at that time our eyes become useless, as if bereft of thesun.” (Bhägavatam ..)

TEXT 30

ParMaeiïSauTaé[eï ik-NTau SviPaTar& hre" )

ANauGa]hPad& iviÖ l/+Maqk-aNTaSauTaae ih Sa" )) parameñöhi-suta-çreñöha

kintu sva-pitaraà hareù anugraha-padaà viddhi

lakñmé-känta-suto hi saù



/ CHAPTER TWO112

parame-sthi — of the head of the universe, Brahmä; suta-çreñöha — O best son; kintu — but; sva-pitaram — your father; hareù —

of Lord Hari; anugraha — of the favor; padam — the recipient;viddhi — please know; lakñmé-känta — of Lord Viñëu, the hus-band of Lakñmé; sutaù — the son; hi — indeed; saù — he.

But you should know, O best son of Brahmä, that your own father is the true recipient of the favor of Lord Hari. He isdirectly the son of Lord Viñëu, the husband of Lakñmé.

COMMENTARY: The four Kumäras, headed by Sanaka, are seniorto Närada by age, as are several other sons of Brahmä, but Näradais superior by virtue of his pure devotion to Lord Lakñmé-känta.But even better than the best son is the father, born not fromMother Lakñmé’s womb but directly from the navel of the SupremePerson.

TEXT 31

YaSYaEk-iSMaNa( idNae Xa§-a Maad*Xaa" SYauêTaudRXa )MaNvaidYau¢-a YaSYaaê cTauYauRGaSahók-Ma( ))

yasyaikasmin dine çakrä mädåçäù syuç caturdaça

manv-ädi-yuktä yasyäç ca catur-yuga-sahasrakam

yasya — his; ekasmin — in one; dine — day; çakräù — Indras;mädåçäù — like me; syuù — there will be; caturdaça — four-teen; manu-ädi — by Manus and other sages and demigods;

yuktäù — joined; yasyäù — in which (day of Brahmä); ca — and; catuù-yuga — of cycles of four ages; sahasrakam — athousand.

In one day of Brahmä, fourteen Indras like me come and go,along with different sets of Manus and all the demigods.

That one day equals one thousand cycles of earthly ages.




TEXT 32

iNaXaa c TaavTaqTQa& Yaahaera}aa<aa& XaTa}aYaq )zíyutara >aveÜz| YaSYaaYauSTaC^Ta& é[uTaMa( ))

niçä ca tävatétthaà yä- ho-räträëäà çata-trayé

ñañöy-uttarä bhaved varñaà yasyäyus tac-chataà çrutam

niçä — his night; ca — and; tävaté — as long as; ittham — equal; yä — which; ahaù-räträëäm — of days and nights; çata-trayé — three hundred; ñañöi-uttarä — and sixty; bhavet — is; varñam — a year; yasya — whose; äyuù — life span; tat — of such years;çatam — one hundred; çrutam — heard from revealed scrip-ture.

According to the scriptures, Brahmä’s night is of the sameduration. Three hundred and sixty of such days and nights make one of his years, and his life lasts a hundred

years.

COMMENTARY: Fourteen times in each day of Brahmä, differentIndras, sages, demigods, Manus, sons of Manu, and special incar-

nations of the Supreme Lord come and go.

manv-antaraà manur devä manu-puträù sureçvaräù

åñayo ’àçävatäräç ca hareù ñaò-vidham ucyate

“In each reign of Manu, six manifestations of Lord Hari appear:Indra, the chief demigods, the ruling Manu, the sons of Manu,the great sages, and the partial incarnation of the SupremePersonality of Godhead.” (Bhägavatam ..) Purandara Indrahas heard about all this but is too short-lived to have realized itdirectly.



/ CHAPTER TWO114

TEXT 33

l/aek-aNaa& l/aek-Paal/aNaaMaiPa óíaiDak-ard" )Paal/k-" k-MaRf-l/dae ra}aaE Sa&hark-ê Sa" ))

lokänäà loka-pälänäm api srañöädhikära-daù

pälakaù karma-phala-do rätrau saàhärakaç ca saù

lokänäm — of the planets; loka-pälänäm — of the rulers of theplanets; api — also; srañöä — the creator; adhikära -daù — andthe appointer of their positions; pälakaù — the protector; karma-

phala — of the fruits of karma; daù — the giver; rätrau — duringhis night; saàhärakaù — the destroyer; ca — and; saù — he.

He is the creator of the planets and the rulers he assigns

them. He is the world’s chief protector, the dispenser of the fruits of karma, and at the onset of his night thedestroyer of the world.

TEXT 34

SahóXaqzaR Yaç/aeke- Sa MahaPauåz" Sfu-$=Ma( )

>auÅaNaae Yaj>aaGaaEga& vSaTYaaNaNdd" Sada ))sahasra-çérñä yal-loke

sa mahä-puruñaù sphuöam bhuïjäno yajïa-bhägaughaà

vasaty änanda-daù sadä

sahasra-çérñä — with a thousand heads; yat — on whose (Brah-mä’s); loke — planet; sa — He; mahä-puruñaù — the Mahäpuruñaform of the Supreme Lord; sphuöam — directly visible; bhuï-

jänaù — enjoying; yajïa-bhäga — of shares of the offeringsmade in sacrifice; ogham — a vast amount; vasati — He resides;änanda-daù — giving delight; sadä — always.




The Mahäpuruña, the thousand-headed form of the Lord,is always directly visible on Brahmä’s planet, personally

accepting the countless oblations offered Him and thusalways giving delight to His devotees.

COMMENTARY: At the beginning of each day of his life, LordBrahmä appoints qualified candidates to serve as Indra, thesages, the Prajäpatis, and other demigods. Also, he protects theuniverse from chaos by establishing Vedic sacrifice and the social

laws for individual classes of human beings. Thus Brahmä notonly creates the universe but maintains it as well. Indra also saysthat he destroys it, because when Lord Brahmä goes to sleep atnight a break in his meditation partially devastates the universe. When Hiraëyakaçipu worshiped Brahmä with the demonic aimof subverting the universal order, he glorified Brahmä similarly:

kalpänte käla-såñöena

yo ’ndhena tamasävåtam abhivyanag jagad idaà

svayaà-jyotiù sva-rociñä

ätmanä tri-våtä cedaà såjaty avati lumpati

rajaù-sattva-tamo-dhämne

paräya mahate namaù

“Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the supreme lord within this universe. At the end of each day of his life, the universe is fully covered with dense darkness by the influence of time, and then again, during his next day, that self-effulgent lord,by his own effulgence, manifests, maintains, and destroys theentire cosmic manifestation through the material energy, whichis invested with the three modes of material nature. He, LordBrahmä, is the shelter of those modes of nature — sattva-guëa,rajo-guëa, and tamo-guëa.” (Bhägavatam ..‒)

Living together with Brahmä on his planet is the incarnationof the Supreme Lord called the Mahäpuruña. He is the thousand-



/ CHAPTER TWO116

headed “first incarnation,” Mahä-viñëu, whose further expansionis Garbhodaka-çäyé Viñëu. Both of these forms are described in

Çrémad-Bhägavatam in the first and second cantos:

ädyo ’vatäraù puruñaù parasya

“The first descent of the Supreme into the material world is theMahäpuruña.” (Bhägavatam ..)

jagåhe pauruñaà rüpaà bhagavän mahad-ädibhiù sambhütaà ñoòaça-kalam

ädau loka-sisåkñayä

“In the beginning of the creation, the Lord first expanded Himself in the universal form of the Puruña incarnation and manifested allthe ingredients for the material creation. And thus at first there wasthe creation of the sixteen principles of material action. This wasfor the purpose of creating the material universe.

yasyämbhasi çayänasya yoga-nidräà vitanvataù

näbhi-hradämbujäd äséd brahmä viçva-såjäà patiù

“A part of the Puruña lies down within the water of the universe,from the navel lake of His body sprouts a lotus stem, and fromthe lotus flower atop this stem, Brahmä, the master of all engi-neers in the universe, becomes manifest.

yasyävayava-saàsthänaiù

kalpito loka-vistaraù tad vai bhagavato rüpaà viçuddhaà sattvam ürjitam

“It is believed that all the universal planetary systems are situatedon the extensive body of the Puruña, but He has nothing to do




with the created material ingredients. His body is eternally inspiritual existence par excellence.

paçyanty ado rüpam adabhra-cakñuñä sahasra-pädoru-bhujänanädbhutam

sahasra-mürdha-çravaëäkñi-näsikaà sahasra-mauly-ambara-kuëòalollasat

“The devotees, with their perfect eyes, see the transcendentalform of the Puruña who has thousands of legs, thighs, arms, andfaces — all extraordinary. In that body there are thousands of heads, ears, eyes, and noses. They are decorated with thousandsof helmets and glowing earrings and are adorned with garlands.

etan nänävatäräëäà nidhänaà béjam avyayam

yasyäàçäàçena såjyante

deva-tiryaì-narädayaù

“This form is the source and indestructible seed of multifariousincarnations within the universe. From the particles and portionsof this form, different living entities like demigods, men, andothers are created.” (Bhägavatam ..‒)

Lord Mahäpuruña is the support of material nature, and soHe is described as the original source of the basic causes of

creation — the five gross elements and eleven senses. He per-forms His pastime of creation while lying in the ocean that fillsthe bottom half of the universe. From His navel appears a lotusstem, from which all the forms and configurations of materialexistence will be manifest, and at the top of the stem grows aflower, where Brahmä, the chief engineer of creation, is born.

Brahmä discovered inside the lotus stem of his birth the

detailed plans of creation:

tad vilokya viyad-vyäpi puñkaraà yad-adhiñöhitam

anena lokän präg-lénän kalpitäsméty acintayat



/ CHAPTER TWO118

“Brahmä saw that the lotus on which he was situated was spreadthroughout the universe, and he contemplated how to create all

the planets, which were previously merged in that very samelotus.

padma-koçaà tadäviçya bhagavac-chakti-coditaù

ekaà vyabhäìkñéd urudhä tridhä bhävyaà dvi-saptadhä

“Thus engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Brahmä entered into the whorl of the lotus, andas it spread all over the universe he divided it into three divi-sions of worlds and later into fourteen divisions.” (Bhägavatam ..‒)

In meditation, Brahmä discovered the thousand-headedMahäpuruña, who at first had been invisible to him from his lotus

seat. He offered prayers to that Lord and made a special request:“My dear Lord, may You come and live on my planet in this very form.” Thus the first Lord of creation became Brahmä’s constantguest.

The Mahäpuruña is called viçuddham (“all-pure”) becauseeven while giving shelter to the material energy He remains un-touched by the faults of matter. He is sattvam (“substantial real-

ity”) because He is the all-pervading Absolute Truth. He is anincarnation of Godhead, but is also called the fountainhead of allother incarnations; this can be said because He is the total sup-port of material nature and as such He is almost as complete amanifestation of the Supreme as the master of Vaikuëöha, ÇréNäräyaëa. In addition, almost all the incarnations of Näräyaëaappear in this world during the rule of the Mahäpuruña’s ap-pointed servant, Brahmä.

The Eleventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam (..‒) de-scribes Lord Mahäpuruña:

bhütair yadä païcabhir ätma-såñöaiù puraà viräjaà viracayya tasmin




sväàçena viñöaù puruñäbhidhänam aväpa näräyaëa ädi-devaù

“When the primeval Lord Näräyaëa created His universal body out of the five elements produced from Himself, and then en-tered within that universal body by His own plenary portion, Hethus became known as the Puruña.

yat-käya eña bhuvana-traya-sanniveço

yasyendriyais tanu-bhåtäm ubhayendriyäëi jïänaà svataù çvasanato balam oja éhä sattvädibhiù sthiti-layodbhava ädi-kartä

“Elaborately arranged within His body are the three planetary systems of this universe. His transcendental senses generate theknowledge-acquiring and active senses of all embodied beings.His consciousness generates conditioned knowledge, and Hispowerful breathing produces the bodily strength, sensory power,and conditioned activities of the embodied souls. He is the primemover, through the agency of the material modes of goodness,passion, and ignorance. And thus the universe is created, main-tained, and annihilated.”

The Mahäpuruña produced the total body of the universeand entered it as His pastime, but He did not do so for His own

enjoyment. Rather, the enjoyer of the universal body is the mostpious of conditioned beings, Brahmä. The Lord in His creativefeature is called Puruña because He lays down (çete ) within the“city” ( pür ) of the universal shell. His beautiful body accommo-dates all the three worlds, and His pastimes consist of creation,maintenance, and annihilation.

As Indra is stating, Lord Mahäpuruña on Brahmaloka con-

sumes the offerings made in sacrifice, which resemble a con-stantly flowing river because on Brahmaloka so many sacrificesare always being performed. Thanks to the Lord’s being satisfiedby these offerings, the inhabitants of Brahmä’s planet are per-petually blissful. It is true that Lord Mahäpuruña is sometimesabsent when He merges into Çré Kåñëa to join Him in Mathurä-



/ CHAPTER TWO120

dhäma on earth, and the ecstasy on Brahmaloka is accordingly interrupted, but time on Brahmaloka is so expansive that the

duration of Çré Kåñëa’s descent is barely noticeable. In effect, onBrahmaloka Lord Mahäpuruña is seen constantly.

TEXT 35

wTQa& Yaui¢-SahóE" Sa é[qk*-Z<aSYa k*-PaaSPadMa( )ik&- v¢-VYa& k*-PaaPaa}aiMaiTa k*-Z<a" Sa Wv ih ))

itthaà yukti-sahasraiù sa çré-kåñëasya kåpäspadam

kià vaktavyaà kåpä-pätram iti kåñëaù sa eva hi

ittham — thus; yukti — of logical arguments; sahasraiù — by thousands; saù — he (Brahmä); çré-kåñëasya — of Çré Kåñëa; kåpä- äspadam — recipient of the mercy; kim — what; vaktavyam — needs to be said; kåpä - pätram — recipient of mercy; iti — in suchterms; kåñëaù — Kåñëa; saù — he; eva hi — actually.

I could give you thousands of other reasons why Brahmä isthe real object of Çré Kåñëa’s mercy. What more needs to besaid — he is in fact Kåñëa Himself!

TEXT 36

TaC^\uiTaSMa*iTavaKYae>Ya" Pa[iSaÖ& jaYaTae TvYaa )ANYaÀ TaSYa MaahaTMYa& Taç/aek-aNaaMaiPa Pa[>aae ))

tac chruti-småti-väkyebhyaù

prasiddhaà jïäyate tvayä anyac ca tasya mähätmyaà tal-lokänäm api prabho

tat — that; çruti -småti -väkyebhyaù — from the statements of çruti and småti; prasiddham — well known; jïäyate — is also known;




tvayä — by you; anyat — other; ca — and; tasya — his (Brah-mä’s); mähätmyam — glories; tat-lokänäm — of those who re-

side on his planet; api — also; prabho — my lord.

You know this, since it is proclaimed in both çruti and småti. You must also be familiar, my lord, with other aspects of Brahmä’s greatness and the greatness of theresidents of his planet.

COMMENTARY: Many scriptures, including Çrémad-Bhägavatam,teach that Lord Brahmä is an empowered incarnation of Viñëu:

çré-bhagavän uväca ahaà brahmä ca çarvaç ca

jagataù käraëaà param ätmeçvara upadrañöä

svayaà-dåg aviçeñaëaù

ätma-mäyäà samäviçya so ’haà guëa-mayéà dvija

såjan rakñan haran viçvaà dadhre saàjïäà kriyocitäm

“Lord Viñëu said: Brahmä, Lord Çiva, and I are the supreme

cause of the material manifestation. I am the Supersoul, theself-sufficient witness. But impersonally there is no differencebetween Brahmä, Lord Çiva, and Me. My dear Dakña Dvija, I amthe original Personality of Godhead, but in order to create,maintain, and annihilate this cosmic manifestation, I act throughMy material energy, and according to the different grades of activity My representations are differently named.” (Bhägavatam ..

‒)

trayäëäm eka-bhävänäà yo na paçyati vai bhidäm

sarva-bhütätmanäà brahman sa çäntim adhigacchati




yajïänäm — of Vedic sacrifices; mahatäm — great; tatra —there;brahma-åñibhiù — by the sages of Brahmaloka; anäratam — in-

cessantly; bhaktyä — with devotion; vitäyamänänäm — beingelaborately performed; praghoñam — the din; dürataù — from adistance; açåëot — he heard.

There Närada first heard from a distance the huge sound of the many great sacrifices performed unceasingly and with great devotion by the sages on Brahmaloka.

COMMENTARY: Vedic sacrifices may be performed simply orelaborately, according to the resources and ambitions of the per-formers. More than any other brähmaëas in the universe, theresidents of Brahmä’s planet are willing and able to carry out thelongest, most complex sacrifices. Thus Närada’s first impressionof Brahmaloka, from the din of the many sacrifices being per-formed, was of a very busy place.

TEXT 39

ddXaR c TaTaSTaezu Pa[Saà" ParMaeìr" )MahaPauåzæPae<a Ja$=aMa<@l/Mai<@Ta" ))

dadarça ca tatas teñu

prasannaù parameçvaraù mahä-puruña-rüpeëa

jaöä-maëòala-maëòitaù

dadarça — he saw; ca — and; tataù — then; teñu — among them(the sages); prasannaù — pleased; parama-éçvaraù — the Su-preme Lord; mahä-puruña -rüpeëa — in the form of the Mahä-

puruña; jaöä — of matted locks; maëòala — with crowns; maë- òitaù — decorated.

He then beheld among the sages the Supreme Lord in HisMahäpuruña form, looking very much satisfied, decorated

with crowns of matted locks.



/ CHAPTER TWO124

TEXT 40

SahóMaUDaaR >aGavaNa( YajMaUiTaR" ié[Yaa Sah )Aaiv>aURYaaddÙaGaaNaaNaNdYaiTa YaaJak-aNa( ))

sahasra-mürdhä bhagavän yajïa-mürtiù çriyä saha

ävirbhüyädadad bhägän änandayati yäjakän

sahasra-mürdhä — with a thousand heads; bhagavän — theLord; yajïa-mürtiù — the personification of sacrifice; çriyä saha — with His consort, the goddess of fortune; ävirbhüya — having appeared; ädadat — accepting; bhägän — the shares of sacrifice; änandayati — He delights; yäjakän — His worshipers.

The Lord in His thousand-headed form, the personifica-

tion of sacrifice, had appeared there with His consort just to accept the offerings and delight His worshipers.

COMMENTARY: Lord Mahäpuruña is the originator of sacrificesand is their presiding Deity. As described in the Puruña-sükta of the Åg Veda, at the beginning of creation the first sacrifice in theuniverse was performed, and for this sacrifice Lord Mahäpuruña

provided the sacrificial ingredients from His own body. The Lordreveals Himself in this form on Brahmaloka not simply to takeHis offerings but to please His worshipers. He enjoys personally distributing the results of sacrifice.

TEXT 41

PaÚYaaeNae" Pa[hzaRQa| d]VYaJaaTa& iNaveidTaMa( )SahóPaai<ai>avR£-SahóeZvPaRYaàdNa( ))

padma-yoneù praharñärthaà dravya-jätaà niveditam




sahasra-päëibhir vaktra- sahasreñv arpayann adan

padma-yoneù — Brahmä, the lotus-born; praharña-artham — forthe sake of enlivening; dravya - jätam — all the things; niveditam — which are offered; sahasra-päëibhiù — with His thou-sand hands; vaktra-sahasreñu — into His thousand mouths;arpayan — placing; adan — He was eating.

To enliven lotus-born Brahmä, the Lord consumed all theitems offered Him, placing them into His thousand mouths with His thousand hands.

TEXT 42

dtveíaNa( YaJaMaaNae>Yaae vraNa( iNad]aGa*h& GaTa" )

l/+MaqSa&vaùMaaNaaix(ga]iNaRd]aMaadta l/Il/Yaa ))dattveñöän yajamänebhyo

varän nidrä-gåhaà gataù lakñmé-saàvähyamänäìghrir

nidräm ädatta lélayä

dattvä — giving; iñöän — desired; yajamänebhyaù — to the sacri-ficers; varän — with benedictions; nidrä-gåham — to His sleep-ing quarters; gataù — He went; lakñmé — by the goddess Lakñmé;saàvähyamäna — being massaged; aìghriù — His feet; nidräm — sleep; ädatta — He assumed; lélayä — as a pastime.

After awarding the performers of the sacrifices the bene-dictions they desired, Lord Mahäpuruña went to His sleep-

ing quarters. As the goddess Lakñmé massaged His feet, Heentered His pastime of sleep.

COMMENTARY: To relieve the worshipers of any doubt as to whether He was enjoying the oblations, Lord Mahäpuruña ate



/ CHAPTER TWO126

the oblations with relish and without hesitation, as long as theofferings continued. When the offerings were finished, the Lord

blessed the sages with benedictions fulfilling their desires, suchas the desire that they always be able to perform similar sacri-fices. Lord Mahäpuruña and the goddess of fortune then wentto their private quarters to rest. At this time He was no longer visible to the residents of Brahmaloka.

The two principal pastimes of Lord Mahäpuruña on Brahma-loka — His accepting sacrifices and His sleeping — are described

by Vaiçampäyana Åñi in the Mahäbhärata, at the end of theaccount of the killing of Kälanemi. Vaiçampäyana says:

sa dadarça makheñv äjyair ijyamänaà maharñibhiù

bhägaà yajïéyam açnänaà svaà deham aparaà sthitam

“He saw the Lord in yet another of His forms, consuming Hisshare of the oblations of ghee offered in sacrifices by greatsages.”

sa tatra praviçann eva jaöä-bhäraà samudvahan

sahasra-çiraso bhütvä

çayanäyopacakrame

“The thousand-headed Lord, His heads covered with mattedlocks, entered that room and lay down to sleep.”

According to Çré Çukadeva Gosvämé’s account at the begin-ning of the Tenth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, at the end of Dväpara-yuga Lord Brahmä and the other demigods, on the re-quest of the earth personified, approached Lord Viñëu on Çveta-dvépa from the shore of the Milk Ocean. One might ask why they needed to travel to Çvetadvépa if Lord Viñëu is always present inBrahmä’s own domain. Although this journey was strictly speak-ing unnecessary, during some days of Brahmä the pastime of entreating Lord Kåñëa to descend unfolds in this way. During




other days of Brahmä, such as the one described in Çré Hari- vaàça, Lord Viñëu is approached on Brahmaloka itself.

Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé suggests that Brahmä and the othersmay have gone to Çvetadvépa because they felt reluctant to dis-turb Lord Mahäpuruña’s privacy while He was enjoying His sleep.Or else Brahmä may have calculated that if Lord Mahäpuruña were to descend to earth at his request, Brahmaloka would bebereft of His presence for the duration of the avatära; it wouldbe better, therefore, to go to the Milk Ocean and ask Lord Viñëu

there to become the avatära.In any case, when Çré Kåñëa descends, all the expansions of Godhead appear within Him, including Lord Mahäpuruña andthe Lord of Çvetadvépa. Thus to say that Kåñëa descends throughone form of Viñëu or another makes little difference; Kåñëa aloneis the ultimate source of all avatäras.

TEXT 43

TadajYaa c Yajezu iNaYauJYazsNa( iNaJaaTMaJaaNa( )b]øa<@k-aYaRccaRQa| Sv& iDaZ<Ya& iviDaraGaTa" ))

tad-äjïayä ca yajïeñu niyujyarñén nijätmajän

brahmäëòa-kärya-carcärthaà svaà dhiñëyaà vidhir ägataù

tat -äjïayä — by His order; ca — and; yajïeñu — in the sacri-fices; niyujya — engaging; åñén — sages; nija — his (Brahmä’s)own; ätma-jän — sons; brahmäëòa — of the universe; kärya — the necessary business; carcä-artham — to discuss; svam — his;dhiñëyam — to the seat of rulership; vidhiù — Brahmä; ägataù

— went.

At the Lord’s request, Brahmä then instructed his sons tocontinue the sacrifices while he went to his own royal court to deliberate on the management of the universe.



/ CHAPTER TWO128

COMMENTARY: Just before Lord Mahäpuruña went to His quar-ters to rest, He advised Brahmä to turn the sacrifices over to his

sons. This deputing of Brahmä’s sons as authorities in Vedicsacrifice confirms the Supreme Person’s eternal instructionsrecorded in the Vedas. The Vedas describe that Brahmä is thefirst Vedic priest, followed by his sons, who teach the methodsof sacrifice, thereafter, to the people of the universe.

TEXTS 44–45

PaarMaeïyaSaNae Ta}a Sau%aSaqNa& iNaJaPa[>aae" )MaihMaé[v<aa:YaaNaPar& SaaóaíNae}ak-Ma( ))

ivic}aParMaEìYaRSaaMaGa]qPairSaeivTaMa( )SvTaaTa& Naardae_>YaeTYa Pa[<aMYaaevac d<@vTa( ))

pärameñöhyäsane tatra sukhäsénaà nija-prabhoù

mahima-çravaëäkhyäna- paraà säsräñöa-netrakam

vicitra-paramaiçvarya- sämagré-parisevitam

sva-tätaà närado ’bhyetya praëamyoväca daëòa-vat

pärameñöhya-äsane — on his universal throne; tatra — there;sukha-äsénam — comfortably seated; nija-prabhoù — of his mas-ter (Lord Mahäpuruña); mahima — the glories; çravaëa — inhearing; äkhyäna — and reciting; param — absorbed; sa-asra — tearful; añöa — eight; netrakam — whose eyes; vicitra — various;

parama-aiçvarya — of supreme power; sämagré — with theparaphernalia; parisevitam — being personally served; sva — his;tätam — father; näradaù — Närada; abhyetya — approaching;

praëamya — bowing down to offer respects; uväca — spoke;daëòa-vat — like a stick.




As Brahmä sat comfortably on his universal throne, ab-sorbed in hearing and reciting the glories of his Lord,

tears flowed from his eight eyes. Surrounding Lord Brahmä in attendance were the personified powers of

universal rulership. Närada came close, offered respectsto his father by falling to the ground like a stick, and then spoke.

COMMENTARY: While the Supreme Lord was present, Närada did

not speak his mind. Either he thought that speaking would beimproper, or he found no opportunity to say anything until afterthe Lord had left. Only then could Närada offer full obeisances tohis father, because one is generally forbidden to bow down toanyone else in the presence of the Supreme Lord. Since Brahmäis both Närada’s father and his spiritual master, Närada may havebowed only his head to Brahmä in front of Lord Viñëu butbowed down with his whole body after Lord Viñnu had left.

Brahmä’s attention was now fixed on hearing about the greatqualities of Lord Viñëu, such as His exceptional kindness to Hisdevotees.

TEXT 46

é[qNaard ovac >avaNaev k*-PaaPaa}a& Da]uv& >aGavTaae hre" )Pa[JaaPaiTaPaiTaYaaeR vE SavRl/aek-iPaTaaMah" ))

çré-närada uväca bhavän eva kåpä-pätraà

dhruvaà bhagavato hareù prajäpati-patir yo vai

sarva-loka-pitämahaù

çré-näradaù uväca — Çré Närada said; bhavän — your good self;eva — certainly; kåpä-pätram — the recipient of the mercy; dhru- vam — true; bhagavataù hariù — of Lord Hari; prajä-pati — of



/ CHAPTER TWO130

the masters of the population of the universe; patiù — the mas-ter; yaù — who; vai — indeed; sarva — of all; loka — the worlds;

pitämahaù — the grandfather.

Çré Närada said: It is you who have truly received the mercy of Lord Hari! After all, you are the master of all masters of the living beings of the universe, the grandfather of all the

worlds.

TEXT 47

Wk-" Sa*JaiTa PaaTYaita >auvNaaiNa cTaudRXa )b]øa<@SYaeìrae iNaTYa& SvYaM>aUYaRê k-QYaTae ))

ekaù såjati päty atti

bhuvanäni caturdaça brahmäëòasyeçvaro nityaà svayam-bhür yaç ca kathyate

ekaù — alone; såjati — creates; päti — maintains; atti — devours;bhuvanäni — the worlds; caturdaça — fourteen; brahmäëòasya

— of the universe; éçvaraù — the ruler; nityam — constantly;svayam-bhüù — the self-born; yaù — who; ca — and; kathyate — is called.

You alone create, maintain, and devour the fourteen worlds. You forever rule the universe, and you are known as the self-born.

COMMENTARY: In texts through , Närada enumerates thereasons for Brahmä’s being the most favored devotee of theLord. Brahmä’s reign is not limited like those of Indra andother demigods; he maintains his position uninterrupted by themany partial annihilations that affect the lower regions of theuniverse.




TEXT 48

Sa>aaYaa& YaSYa ivÛNTae MaUiTaRMaNTaae_QaRbaeDak-a" )YaÀTauvR£-Taae JaaTaa" Paura<aiNaGaMaadYa" ))

sabhäyäà yasya vidyante mürtimanto ’rtha-bodhakäù

yac-catur-vaktrato jätäù puräëa-nigamädayaù

sabhäyäm — in the assembly; yasya — whose; vidyante — arepresent; mürti-mantaù — in person; artha -bodhakäù — whoexpress the truth; yat — whose; catuù-vaktrataù — from thefour mouths; jätäù — born; puräëa — the Puräëas; nigama — Vedas; ädayaù — and other scriptures.

Present in person in your assembly are the Vedas, Puräëas,and other scriptures, the revealers of truth, who were born from your four mouths.

COMMENTARY: Although the four Vedas are eternal, they enterthe material world periodically, at the beginning of each day of Brahmä, when one Veda appears from each of his four mouths.Brahmä, therefore, is not the author of the Vedas, which include

all spiritual and material knowledge, but he is ädi-kavi, the firstauthority on Vedic knowledge in this universe.

TEXT 49

YaSYa l/aek-ê iNaiX^d]SvDaMaaRcariNaïYaa )

MadaidrihTaE" SaiÙl/R>YaTae XaTaJaNMai>a" )) yasya lokaç ca niçchidra-

sva-dharmäcära-niñöhayä madädi-rahitaiù sadbhir

labhyate çata-janmabhiù




Näräyaëa; api — also; vaikuëöha-äkhyaù — named Vaikuëöha; yat -antare — within which.

Within the universe there is no higher world than yours.Even Lord Näräyaëa’s Vaikuëöha planet is found inside

your world.

TEXT 51

YaiSMaNa( iNaTYa& vSaeTSaa+aaNa( MahaPauåzivGa]h" )Sa PaÚNaa>aae YajaNaa& >aaGaaNaénNa( ddTf-l/Ma( ))

yasmin nityaà vaset säkñän mahä-puruña-vigrahaù

sa padmanäbho yajïänäà bhägän açnan dadat phalam

yasmin — where; nityam — always; vaset — resides; säkñät — directly visible; mahä-puruña -vigrahaù — in the form of theMahäpuruña; saù — He; padma-näbhaù — the lotus-naveledLord; yajïänäm — of sacrifices; bhägän — shares; açnan — eating; dadat — granting; phalam — results.

On Brahmaloka Lord Näräyaëa resides always in His mani-fest form as the lotus-naveled Mahäpuruña. He eats Hisshares of sacrifice and grants the sacrificial results.

TEXT 52

ParMaaNvez<aaYaaSaEYaRSYaaeÕeXaae_iPa Na TvYaa )

Paura Pa[aá" Par& d*íSTaPaaei>aôRid Ya" +a<aMa( )) paramänveñaëäyäsair

yasyoddeço ’pi na tvayä purä präptaù paraà dåñöas

tapobhir hådi yaù kñaëam



/ CHAPTER TWO134

parama — extreme; anveñaëa — of searching; äyäsaiù — withefforts; yasya — whose; uddeçaù — location; api — even; na —

not; tvayä — by you; purä — in the distant past; präptaù — found; param — only; dåñöaù — seeing; tapobhiù — by austeri-ties; hådi — in the heart; yaù — who; kñaëam — for a moment.

Although in the distant past you made many attempts and were unable to find Him, after performing austerities youfinally saw Him just for a moment in your heart.

COMMENTARY: The Supreme Lord, from whose navel Brahmä was born, is extremely difficult to find. Brahmä’s having ob-tained the virtually unobtainable is evidence that the Lord hasspecial regard for him. Lord Brahmä, to search for his origin, firstentered the stem of his lotus seat. For a long time he traced thestem back, searching for its source, even in the ocean that fillsthe lower regions of the universe, but he could find nothing.

What to speak of identifying his Lord and understanding Him,Brahmä failed even to locate Him physically. Lord Viñëu thengraced him with a simple spoken instruction: “Do penance.”Brahmä obeyed, and after long meditation received a short vi-sion of the Lord. This history is described in detail in the secondand third cantos of Çrémad-Bhägavatam.

TEXT 53

TaTSaTYaMaiSa k*-Z<aSYa TvMaev iNaTara& iPa[Ya" )Ahae NaUNa& Sa Wv Tv& l/Il/aNaaNaavPauDaRr" ))

tat satyam asi kåñëasya tvam eva nitaräà priyaù

aho nünaà sa eva tvaà lélä-nänä-vapur-dharaù

tat — therefore; satyam — for certain; asi — are; kåñëasya — of Lord Kåñëa; tvam — you; eva — alone; nitaräm — very much;

priyaù — dear; aho — ah; nünam — surely; saù — He; eva —




and no other; tvam — you; lélä — for pastimes; nänä — various;vapuù — bodies; dharaù — assuming.

Therefore you are surely the dearmost devotee of Lord Kåñëa. Indeed, you are none other than Kåñëa Himself,appearing in various bodies for your pastimes.

COMMENTARY: Brahmä might object to being called Kåñëa Him-self. He might argue, “The Lord is sitting right here in His

Mahäpuruña form, with thousands of heads. Besides this formHe has countless others. But I am someone different, a finiteliving being with only four heads.” Närada therefore says thatamong the Lord’s infinite pastime appearances are the creator,maintainer, and destroyer of the material creation — Brahmä, Viñëu, and Çiva — each of them nondifferent from the originalSupreme Person.

TEXT 54

é[qParqi+aduvac wTQa& MaahaTMYaMauÓaYaNa( ivSTaaYaR b]ø<aae_Sak*==Ta( )Xa§-Pa[ae¢&- Svd*í& c >a¢-yaSaqta& NaMaNa( MauiNa" ))

çré-parékñid uväca itthaà mähätmyam udgäyan

vistärya brahmaëo ’sakåt çakra-proktaà sva-dåñöaà ca

bhaktyäsét taà naman muniù

çré-parékñit uväca — Çré Parékñit said; ittham — thus; mähätmyam — glorification; udgäyan — loudly singing; vistärya —elaborat-ing; brahmaëaù — of Brahmä; asakåt — over and over again;çakra — by Indra; proktam — spoken; sva-dåñöam — seen by himself; ca — and; bhaktyä — with great devotion; äsét — he was; naman — bowing down; muniù — the sage Närada.



/ CHAPTER TWO136

Çré Parékñit said: Thus loudly praising Brahmä, bowing be-fore him with great devotion again and again, the sage

Närada expansively sang Brahmä’s glories, as he had heard them from Indra and seen them with his own eyes.

COMMENTARY: Indra had told Närada, “Brahmä is the very sonof Lord Viñëu, husband of Lakñmé,” and had mentioned severalof Brahmä’s glories. Närada knew from scriptures other gloriesof Brahmä, and now was seeing even more.

TEXT 55

Xa*<vàev Sa TaÜaKYa& daSaae_SMaqiTa MauhuvRdNa( )cTauvR£-ae_ík-<aaRNaa& iPaDaaNae VYaGa]Taa& GaTa" ))

çåëvann eva sa tad-väkyaà

däso ’sméti muhur vadan catur-vaktro ’ñöa-karëänäà

pidhäne vyagratäà gataù

çåëvan — hearing; eva — merely; saù — he (Brahmä); tat -väkyam — what was said by him (Närada); däsaù — a servant;asmi — I am; iti — thus; muhuù — repeatedly; vadan — saying;

catuù-vaktraù — the four-faced lord; añöa-karëänäm — of hiseight ears; pidhäne — to cover; vyagratäm — anxiously busy;gataù — became.

Merely by hearing what Närada said, Brahmä grew dis-turbed. He anxiously covered his eight ears and said over and over again, “I am just a servant.”

TEXT 56

Aé[VYaé[v<aaÂaTa& k-aePa& YaÒeNa DaarYaNa( )SvPau}a& Naard& Pa[ah Saa+aePa& cTauraNaNa" ))




açravya-çravaëäj jätaà kopaà yatnena dhärayan

sva-putraà näradaà präha säkñepaà catur-änanaù

açravya — what should not be heard; çravaëät — from hearing; jätam — generated; kopam — anger; yatnena — with some ef-fort; dhärayan — checking; sva-putram — to his son; näradam — Närada; präha — he said; sa-äkñepam — with rebuke; catuù-

änanaù — four-headed Brahmä.

With some effort, the four-headed Brahmä checked theanger stirred within him by hearing what no one should hear and rebuked his son Närada.

COMMENTARY: Having to work with the material mode of pas-sion, Lord Brahmä is sometimes briefly affected by anger. Here,

because his son praised him inaptly as the independent SupremeLord, he almost lost his temper.

TEXT 57

é[qb]øaevac

Ah& Na >aGavaNa( k*-Z<a wiTa Tv& ik&- Pa[Maa<aTa" )Yaui¢-Taê MaYaa>aq+<a& baeiDaTaae_iSa Na baLYaTa" ))

çré-brahmoväca ahaà na bhagavän kåñëa

iti tvaà kià pramäëataù yuktitaç ca mayäbhékñëaà

bodhito ’si na bälyataù

çré-brahmä uväca — Çré Brahmä said; aham — I; na — not; bha- gavän kåñëaù — the Supreme Lord Kåñëa; iti — thus; tvam — you; kim pramäëataù — on what authority; yuktitaù — by whatlogic; ca — and; mayä — by me; abhékñëam — constantly;



/ CHAPTER TWO138

bodhitaù — instructed; asi — you have been; na — not; bälya- taù — since childhood.

Çré Brahmä said: I am not the Supreme Lord Kåñëa! On what authority and by what logic do you say this? Haven’t Iconstantly taught you about this since you were a little boy?

COMMENTARY: In brahminical culture one should not make any claim unless it is upheld by the Vedas or their authorized supple-

ments. Thus Brahmä rightly demands the scriptural evidence forNärada’s statements. As the Second Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam recounts, Brahmä had carefully educated his son in spiritualscience.

TEXT 58

TaSYa Xai¢-MaRhaMaaYaa daSaqve+aaPaQae iSQaTaa )Sa*JaTaqd& JaGaTPaaiTa SvGau<aE" Sa&hrTYaiPa ))

tasya çaktir mahä-mäyä däsévekñä-pathe sthitä

såjatédaà jagat päti sva-guëaiù saàharaty api

tasya — His; çaktiù — personal energy; mahä-mäyä — Mahä-mäyä; däsé iva — as a menial maidservant; ékñä — of sight; pathe — within the path; sthitä — standing; såjati — creates; idam — this; jagat — universe; päti — protects; sva-guëaiù — with hermodes; saàharati — annihilates; api — and.

His personal energy Mahä-mäyä stands within His sight like a maidservant. It is she who deploys her material modes to create, maintain, and demolish this world.

COMMENTARY: By the power of rajo-guëa Mahä-mäyä creates,by sattva-guëa she maintains, and by tamo-guëa she destroys.These are her potencies, and she is their controller.




TEXT 59

TaSYaa Wv vYa& SaveR_PYaDaqNaa MaaeihTaaSTaYaa )Taà k*-Z<ak*-Paale/XaSYaaiPa Paa}aMaveih MaaMa( ))

tasyä eva vayaà sarve ’py adhénä mohitäs tayä

tan na kåñëa-kåpä-leçasy- äpi pätram avehi mäm

tasyäù — to her; eva — only; vayam — we; sarve — all; api — also; adhénäù — subservient; mohitäù — bewildered; tayä —by her; tat — therefore; na — do not; kåñëa-kåpä — of Kåñëa’smercy; leçasya — of a trace; api — even; pätram — the recipi-ent; avehi — think; mäm — me.

All of us are subject to her and bewildered. So you should not think me the recipient of even a trace of Kåñëa’smercy.

COMMENTARY: “All of us” means Brahmä, his sons, and theirdescendants — or in other words, everyone born into materialexistence. “You are also one of us bewildered souls,” Brahmähere implies, “and so you are speaking erroneously like this.”

TEXT 60–62

TaNMaaYaYaEv SaTaTa& JaGaTaae_h& Gauå" Pa[>au" )iPaTaaMahê k*-Z<aSYa Naai>aPaÚSaMauÙv" ))

TaPaSVYaaraDak-STaSYaeTYaaÛEGauRåMadEhRTa" )b]øa<@avXYak-aPaarVYaaPaaraMaXaRivûl/" ))

>aUTaPa[aYaaTMal/aek-IYaNaaXaicNTaaiNaYaiN}aTa" )SavRGa]aiSaMahak-al/aÙqTaae Maui¢&- Par& v*<ae ))



/ CHAPTER TWO140

tan-mäyayaiva satataà jagato ’haà guruù prabhuù

pitämahaç ca kåñëasya näbhi-padma-samudbhavaù

tapasvy ärädhakas tasyety- ädyair guru-madair hataù

brahmäëòävaçyakäpära- vyäpärämarça-vihvalaù

bhüta-präyätma-lokéya- näça-cintä-niyantritaù

sarva-gräsi-mahä-käläd bhéto muktià paraà våëe

tat -mäyayä — by His Mäyä; eva — indeed; satatam — always;

jagataù — of the universe; aham — I; guruù — the spiritualmaster; prabhuù — controller; pitämahaù — grandfather; ca — and; kåñëasya — of Kåñëa; näbhi — from the navel; padma — lotuslike; samudbhavaù — who am born; tapasvé — ascetic;ärädhakaù — worshiper; tasya — of Him; iti — thus; ädyaiù — and so on; guru — heavy; madaiù — by intoxications; hataù — beset; brahmäëòa — of the universe; ävaçyaka — obligatory;apära — unlimited; vyäpära — of the affairs; ämarça — withthought; vihvalaù — overwhelmed; bhüta - präya — imminent;ätma -lokéya — of my own planet; näça — about the destruc-tion; cintä — by worry; niyantritaù — ruled; sarva-gräsi — all-devouring; mahä-kälät — of the time of annihilation; bhétaù — afraid; muktim — liberation; param — only; våëe — I choose.

By the power of Kåñëa’s Mäyä, I am always deluded by vari-

ous conceits. I think myself the controller, grandfather,and spiritual master of the universe. Proud of my birth from Kåñëa’s lotus navel, I think myself a great ascetic,His great worshiper. I am overwhelmed by the countlessduties of universal management. Worrying about the im-



/ CHAPTER TWO142

— I perform; ca — and; äväsaù — the residence; jagat-éçasya — of the Lord of the universe; tasya — His; vä — or; na — not;

kva — where; vidyate — is present.

For this purpose of liberation, I engage others in worship-ing the Lord and also worship Him myself. Since He is theLord of the universe, is there any place where He does not reside?

COMMENTARY: In effect Brahmä is saying, “I worship the Lordfor liberation, not from the sheer joy of devotional service. So you should not regard this worship as a sign of my being favored. You said that God resides on my planet, but that is noth-ing exceptional, since the Lord of the universe lives inside andoutside everything.”

TEXT 64

vedPa[vTaRNaaYaaSaaE >aaGa& Ga*õaiTa ke-vl/Ma( )SvYa&SaMPaaidTaPa[eïYajSYaaNauGa]haYa c ))

veda-pravartanäyäsau bhägaà gåhëäti kevalam

svayaà-sampädita-preñöha- yajïasyänugrahäya ca

veda-pravartanäya — for promulgating the Vedas; asau — He;bhägam — sacrificial shares; gåhëäti — accepts; kevalam —only;svayam — by Himself; sampädita — established; preñöha —very dear; yajïasya — of the sacrificial performance; anugrahäya — to benefit; ca — also.

He accepts sacrificial offerings from me only to promotethe Vedic teachings and show special favor to the sacrificesthemselves, which are dear to Him because He is their original creator.




COMMENTARY: The Vedic sacrifices are dear to the SupremeLord because they benefit all living beings, engaging them indi-

rectly in His service. The Lord, after all, is forever eager to havethe wayward souls come back to Him. In Brahmä’s opinion, theLord reciprocates with him because of the Lord’s concern for the welfare of the universe, not because He is particularly interestedin Brahmä or the other sacrificers. Brahmä thus expresses thelimited thoughts of ritualistic religion, placing God at a formaldistance and ignoring the Lord’s constant compassion for every

living being. In fact, the Supreme Lord cares in an intimate, per-sonal way for all living beings, including those who have chosento forget Him since time immemorial.

TEXT 65

ivcaracaYaR buDYaSv Sa ih >a¢-yek-vç/>a" )

k*-Paa& TaNaaeiTa >a¢e-zu Naa>a¢e-zu k-dacNa ))vicäräcärya budhyasva

sa hi bhakty-eka-vallabhaù kåpäà tanoti bhakteñu

näbhakteñu kadäcana

vicära — of rational thought; äcärya — O professor; budh-

yasva — please consider; saù — He; hi — indeed; bhakti — todevotional service; eka — only; vallabhaù — dear; kåpäm — mercy; tanoti — He gives; bhakteñu — to His devotees; na — not; abhakteñu — to nondevotees; kadäcana — ever.

Just consider this, my dear professor of logic: He lovesonly devotion. He shows His mercy only to His devotees,never to nondevotees.

COMMENTARY: This statement by Brahmä is confirmed by many statements spoken by the Supreme Lord. For example, bhaktyä- ham ekayä grähyaù: “I can be realized only by devotional service.” (Bhägavatam ..)



/ CHAPTER TWO144

TEXT 66

>ai¢-dURre_STau TaiSMaNMae NaaParaDaa >aviNTa ceTa( )bhu MaNYae TadaTMaaNa& NaahMaaGa"Sau åd]vTa( ))

bhaktir düre ’stu tasmin me näparädhä bhavanti cet

bahu manye tad ätmänaà näham ägaùsu rudra-vat

bhaktiù — devotion; düre — far aside; astu — leave; tasmin — to Him; me — my; na — not; aparädhäù — offenses; bhavanti — there are; cet — if; bahu — highly; manye — I can regard;tat — in that case; ätmänam — myself; na aham — I am not;ägaùsu — in the matter of transgressions; rudra-vat — like LordÇiva.

Forget about my having any devotion for Him. I would behappy if only it were true that I never offend Him. I cannot expect Him to tolerate my offenses as He does Lord Çiva’s.

TEXT 67

MadaávrJaaTaae_SaaE SavRl/aek-aePaTaaPak-" )ihr<Yak-iXaPauduRíae vEZ<avd]aehTaTPar" ))

mad-äpta-vara-jäto ’sau sarva-lokopatäpakaù

hiraëyakaçipur duñöo vaiñëava-droha-tatparaù

mat — from me; äpta — obtained; vara — because of the bene-dictions; jätaù — became; asau — that person; sarva-loka — of all the worlds; upatäpakaù — the tormentor; hiraëyakaçipuù — Hiraëyakaçipu; duñöaù — wicked; vaiñëava-droha — to violenceagainst Vaiñëavas; tat - paraù — dedicated.




With benedictions obtained from me, the wicked Hiraëya-kaçipu became the tormentor of all the worlds, dedicated

to violence against Vaiñëavas.

TEXT 68–69

é[qMaà*iSa&hæPae<a Pa[>au<aa Sa&ôTaae Yada )Tadah& SaPairvarae ivic}aSTavPaa$=vE" ))

STauvNa( iSQaTva >aYaaÕUre_Paa®d*íyaiPa Naad*Ta" )Pa[úadSYaai>azeke- Tau v*tae TaiSMaNa( Pa[SaadTa" ))

çréman-nåsiàha-rüpeëa prabhuëä saàhåto yadä

tadähaà sa-pariväro vicitra-stava-päöavaiù

stuvan sthitvä bhayäd düre ’päìga-dåñöyäpi nädåtaù

prahlädasyäbhiñeke tu våtte tasmin prasädataù

çrémat-nåsiàha-rüpeëa — in the form of Çrémän Nåsiàha; pra-

bhuëä — by the Lord; saàhåtaù — killed; yadä — when; tadä — then; aham — I; sa-pariväraù — with my entourage; vicitra — various; stava — of offering prayers; päöavaiù — with skillfulattempts; stuvan — praising; sthitvä — standing; bhayät — outof fear; düre — far away; apäìga-dåñöyä — by a sidelong glance;api — even; na — not; ädåtaù — honored; prahlädasya — of Prahläda; abhiñeke — the anointment; tu — however; våtte — when it occurred; tasmin — then; prasädataù — because of Hisbeing satisfied.

After the Lord in His form as Nåsiàhadeva destroyed Hiraëyakaçipu, I and my entourage stood fearful at a dis-tance, trying to praise the Lord with skillful prayers, but



/ CHAPTER TWO146

He would not even honor us with a sidelong glance. Yet when Prahläda was inaugurated king, the Lord at once

became pacified.

TEXT 70

XaNaEåPaSa*Taae_>Ya<aRMaaidíae_hiMad& åza )MaEv& vrae_Saura<aa& Tae Pa[deYa" PaÚSaM>av ))

çanair upasåto ’bhyarëam ädiñöo ’ham idaà ruñä

maivaà varo ’suräëäà te pradeyaù padma-sambhava

çanaiù — slowly; upasåtaù — approaching; abhyarëam — near;ädiñöaù — advised; aham — I; idam — this; ruñä — angrily; mä

— do not; evam — in this way; varaù — benedictions; asuräëäm — to demons; te — by you; pradeyaù — should be given; padma- sambhava — O lotus-born.

Then I slowly approached Him, and He angrily ordered me, “You should not give such benedictions to demons,O lotus-born!”

TEXT 71

TaQaaiPa rav<aaid>Yaae duíe>Yaae_h& vraNadaMa( )rav<aSYa Tau YaTk-MaR iJaûa k-SYa Ga*<aaiTa TaTa( ))

tathäpi rävaëädibhyo duñöebhyo ’haà varän adäm

rävaëasya tu yat karma jihvä kasya gåëäti tat

tathä api — even so; rävaëa-ädibhyaù — to Rävaëa and others;duñöebhyaù — wicked persons; aham — I; varän — benedic-




tions; adäm — gave; rävaëasya — of Rävaëa; tu — but; yat — what; karma — done; jihvä — tongue; kasya — whose; gåëäti

— mentions; tat — that.

Nonetheless, I kept on giving benedictions to wicked de-mons like Rävaëa. Whose tongue can even mention thesins Rävaëa has done?

COMMENTARY: In texts through , Brahmä elaborates on the

offenses against the Lord for which he considers himself respon-sible. Having mentioned the killing of Hiraëyakaçipu, Brahmägoes on to tell of Lord Nåsiàha’s dissatisfaction at Brahmä’s mis-takes. The promise of invincibility Brahmä gave Hiraëyakaçipuresulted in offenses to the Lord’s pure devotee. The Lord takessuch offenses more seriously than offenses directly against Him-self. After Lord Nåsiàha killed Hiraëyakaçipu, Brahmä and otherdemigods tried to pacify the Lord. They thought they might de-

serve the Lord’s kind glance and perhaps blessings expressed by the touch of His feet on their heads. But for some time LordNåsiàha remained so furious that He would not even recognizethe demigods standing before Him. Thus He expressed His dis-pleasure; and when Brahmä finally got the courage to approachHim, the Lord also expressed displeasure by His words. Finally,only by the prayers of Prahläda was Lord Nåsiàhadeva calmed.

Seeing this, Brahmä thought, “Now that He is pacified He will beready to respond gracefully to my prayers.” Lord Nåsiàha, how-ever, was still annoyed enough to rebuke Brahmä. His original words are recorded in Çrémad-Bhägavatam (..):

maivaà vibho ’suräëäà te pradeyaù padma-sambhava

varaù krüra-nisargäëäm ahénäm amåtaà yathä

“My dear Lord Brahmä, O great lord born from the lotus, justas it is dangerous to feed milk to a snake, so it is dangerous togive benedictions to demons, who are by nature ferocious and




våñöi-yuddhädinendrasya govardhana-makhädiñu

nandäharaëa-bäëéya- dhenv-adänädinäp-pateù

våñöi — by rain; yuddha — battle; ädinä — and so on; indrasya — of Indra; govardhana-makha-ädiñu — during the sacrifice toGovardhana and on other occasions; nanda-äharaëa — kid-napping Nanda Mahäräja; bäëéya — belonging to Bäëa; dhenu

— cows; adäna — by the failure to give; ädinä — and so on;ap-pateù — by the lord of the waters.

Indra sent rain to retaliate for the Govardhana sacrifice,sometimes fought against the Lord, and committed other offenses. The lord of the waters, Varuëa, offended the Lord

by kidnapping Nanda Mahäräja, by failing to return thecows belonging to Bäëa, and so on.

TEXT 74

YaMaSYa c TadacaYaaRTMaJaduMaaRr<aaidNaa )ku-verSYaaiPa duêeíXa«cU@k*==TaaidNaa ))

yamasya ca tad-äcäryä-

tmaja-durmäraëädinä kuverasyäpi duçceñöa-

çaìkhacüòa-kåtädinä

yamasya — of Yamaräja; ca — and; tat -äcärya — of His teacher;ätma-ja — the son; durmäraëa — by the wrongful death; ädinä — and so on; kuverasya — of Kuvera; api — also; duçceñöa — evil; çaìkhacüòa — of Çaìkhacüòa; kåta — by the deeds; ädinä — and so on.

Yamaräja made mistakes like allowing the wrongful death of the son of the Lord’s teacher. And Kuvera was respon-sible for the wicked misdeeds of Çaìkhacüòa and others.




Varuëa arrested Kåñëa’s father, Nanda, for bathing in the Yamunä at a forbidden time, during the last minutes of the night

at the beginning of the Dvädaçé. And Varuëa ordered NandaMahäräja bound and brought to his court. Varuëa is also knownto have failed to return some cows that belonged to Bäëa and tohave sometimes spoken duplicitously.

Yama, the lord of death, took away the young son of Kåñëa’steacher, Sändépani Muni, allowing the demon Païcajana to killthe brähmaëa boy. Çré Viñëu Puräëa (..) and other scrip-

tures furthermore describe Yamaräja’s becoming an opponent of Kåñëa in battle.Kuvera’s servant Çaìkhacüòa tried to kidnap Kåñëa’s cow-

herd girlfriends, and as described in the Puräëas the two sons of Kuvera cursed by Närada to become trees were implicated incollaborating with King Kaàsa.

Besides the demigods Indra, Varuëa, Yama, and Kuvera, whoare the superintendents of the four principal directions, many

minor demigods are also guilty of offenses against Kåñëa. Andthe subterranean serpents come in for blame simply becausethey are blood relatives of Käliya.

TEXT 76

SaMPa[TYaiPa MaYaa TaSYa SvYa& vTSaaSTaQaa>aRk-a" )v*NdavNae PaaLYaMaaNaa >aaeJaNae MaaYaYaa ôTaa" ))

sampraty api mayä tasya svayaà vatsäs tathärbhakäù

våndävane pälyamänä bhojane mäyayä håtäù

samprati — just recently; api — also; mayä — by me; tasya — His; svayam — by myself; vatsäù — calves; tathä — and; arbha- käù — young boys; våndävane — in Våndävana; pälyamänäù — being watched after; bhojane — while eating; mäyayä — by magic; håtäù — taken away.



/ CHAPTER TWO152

And recently by my magic I stole the calves and youngfriends the Lord was watching after in Våndävana. I took

them all away while the boys were having lunch.

COMMENTARY: In Brahmä’s opinion, this last offense — his own — was worse than all the transgressions committed by the otherdemigods. While Kåñëa was enjoying lunch with His friendsin the sacred forest of Våndävana, Brahmä disturbed Him by stealing the cows and boys Kåñëa was personally protecting.

Resorting to mystic power, Brahmä removed them from Kåñëa’spresence and hid them in a cave.

TEXT 77

TaTaae vq+Ya MahaêYa| >aqTa" STauTva NaMaàiPa )Da*íae_h& viÄTaSTaeNa GaaePabal/k-l/Il/Yaa ))

tato vékñya mahäçcaryaà bhétaù stutvä namann api

dhåñöo ’haà vaïcitas tena gopa-bälaka-lélayä

tataù — subsequently; vékñya — seeing; mahä-äçcaryam — most amazing wonders; bhétaù — frightened; stutvä — offering

prayers; naman — bowing down; api — and; dhåñöaù — auda-cious; aham — I; vaïcitaù — deceived; tena — by Him; gopa- bälaka — as a cowherd boy; lélayä — who plays.

I then saw some most amazing wonders and becamefrightened. Offering prayers and bowing down to the Lord,I thought, “I am so arrogant! But now, in His pastime as a

cowherd boy, He has tricked me.”

COMMENTARY: Kåñëa arranged for Brahmä to see that He hadcontinued playing with the boys and calves for a whole year,even after Brahmä had supposedly kidnapped them. Brahmäsaw each of the boys and calves assume the spiritual form of the




Personality of Godhead, each holding within Himself all the uni- verses. Suddenly realizing the seriousness of his offense, Brahmä

became afraid. He thought himself arrogant because he had nowdared approach with prayers and obeisances the Lord he hadrepeatedly offended. Brahmä focused his mind on Lord Kåñëastanding before him as a small cowherd boy holding a handful of chipped rice and yogurt from someone else’s plate, and Brahmä was astounded. The Lord had defeated him, and now the Lord was not even responding to his prayers.

TEXT 78

TaSYa Sva>aaivk-aSYaaBJaPa[Saade+a<aMaa}aTa" ) ôí" Sv& bhu MaNYae SMa TaiTPa[Yav]Ja>aUGaTae" ))

tasya sväbhävikäsyäbja- prasädekñaëa-mätrataù

håñöaù svaà bahu manye sma tat-priya-vraja-bhü-gateù

tasya — His; sväbhävika —spontaneous; äsya — from His face;abja — lotuslike; prasäda — of satisfaction; ékñaëa — by theglance; mätrataù — merely; håñöaù — joyful; svam — myself;bahu — highly; manye sma — I regarded; tat — His; priya —

dear; vraja-bhü — the land of Vraja; gateù — because of having visited.

Simply by the spontaneous glance of favor upon me from His lotus face, I became joyful. I realized how fortunate I

was to have visited the land of Vraja, which is so dear toHim.

COMMENTARY: Närada might wonder how everything seemedall right with Brahmä so soon after Brahmä’s blunder and embar-rassment. How was he now sitting happily in his own abode?One answer Brahmä gives here is that he at once felt the pur-pose of his life fulfilled just by seeing the Lord’s ever-smiling



/ CHAPTER TWO154

face. And he had also received the rare opportunity to stay ashort time in Çré Vraja-dhäma. Vraja is the most sacred land, and

Kåñëa is the only shelter of its residents; thus Brahmä felt thatafter having mistreated the calves and cowherd boys of Vraja it was best for him to leave quickly and go back to Brahmaloka.

TEXT 79

Ta}aaTMaNaiêriSQaTYaaParaDaa" SYauiriTa }aSaNa( )APaaSar& ik-MaNYaESTaNa( iNaJaaSaaE>aaGYav<aRNaE" ))

taträtmanaç cira-sthityä- parädhäù syur iti trasan

apäsaraà kim anyais tan nijäsaubhägya-varëanaiù

tatra — there (in Vraja-bhümi); ätmanaù — my; cira — long;sthityä — by stay; aparädhäù — offenses; syuù —there mightbe; iti — thus; trasan —fearing; apäsaram — I went away; kim — what need is there; anyaiù — for more; tat — therefore;nija — my; asaubhägya — of the ill fortune; varëanaiù — descriptions.

Fearing I would commit more offenses if I stayed there toolong, I then went away. What else need I tell you about my ill fortune?

COMMENTARY: Vraja-bhümi is the place of the Supreme Lord’sintimate dealings with His dearmost devotees. Materialistic per-sons should not stay there longer than a few days, long enoughto gain transcendental benefit from contact with the holy dhäma but not long enough to become offensive toward the dhäma andits residents. Brahmä, thinking himself one of the ordinary condi-tioned souls, had returned quickly to his own place. Now he hadnothing more to say about his own shortcomings, since he felthe had adequately refuted each point of Närada’s praise.




TEXT 80

AQa b]øa<@MaDYae_iSMaNa( Taad*x( Nae+ae k*==PaaSPadMa( )ivZ<aae" ik-NTau Mahadev Wv :YaaTa" Sa%eiTa Ya" ))

atha brahmäëòa-madhye ’smin tädåì nekñe kåpäspadam

viñëoù kintu mahädeva eva khyätaù sakheti yaù

atha — actually; brahmäëòa — the universe; madhye —within;asmin — this; tädåk — such; na ékñe — I do not see; kåpä-äspa- dam — a recipient of the mercy; viñëoù — of Lord Viñëu; kintu — but; mahä-devaù — Mahädeva Çiva; eva — only; khyätaù — famous; sakhä — the friend; iti — thus; yaù — who.

In fact, in this universe I see no object of Lord Viñëu’s

mercy equal to Mahädeva Çiva. He is famous as the dear friend of the Lord.

COMMENTARY: Other than Lord Çiva, everyone in every part of the universe — upper, middle, and lower — is imperfect. Al-though certain persons like Prahläda will be described later inthis book as greater devotees of Kåñëa than Lord Çiva, strictly

speaking they are not residents of the material world. Becausethe character of a devotee like Prahläda is untouched by materialcontamination, anywhere he resides is spiritual. Thus LordBrahmä is not speaking inconsistently.

Because Brahmä and Çiva are both guëa-avatäras, the Su-preme Lord deals with them similarly. Brahmä can understandLord Kåñëa’s mercy on Lord Çiva because it resembles something within his own experience. But the exceptional mercy obtainedby a person much greater than himself is beyond Brahmä’sability to understand. Only things in some way similar can bemeaningfully compared as greater and lesser. For example, the weight of a blade of grass is so extremely different from that of amountain that one cannot sensibly compare them. Thus when



/ CHAPTER TWO156

goddess Gaìgä, as we are told in Çré Hari-vaàça, declares theocean more fortunate than herself, she does not compare herself

with Brahmä, who is much more fortunate still. In the same way,Brahmä here compares himself with Lord Çiva and not with evengreater Vaiñëavas like Prahläda, what to speak of the cowherdboys and other inhabitants of Vraja.

TEXT 81

Yaê é[qk*==Z<aPaadaBJarSaeNaaeNMaaidTa" Sada )AvDaqirTaSavaRQaRParMaEìYaR>aaeGak-" ))

yaç ca çré-kåñëa-pädäbja- rasenonmäditaù sadä

avadhérita-sarvärtha- paramaiçvarya-bhogakaù

yaù — who; ca — and; çré-kåñëa — of Çré Kåñëa; päda-abja — of the lotus feet; rasena — by the transcendental taste; unmä- ditaù — because of being intoxicated; sadä — always; avadhérita — disregarding; sarva — all; artha — normal goals of life; parama-aiçvarya — of universal supremacy; bhogakaù — thefacilities for enjoyment.

Lord Çiva is always intoxicated by the taste found at Çré Kåñëa’s lotus feet. He therefore has no interest in any of the normal goals of life, even up to rulership of the

universe and the sense enjoyment such rulership provides.

TEXT 82

ASMaad*Xaae ivziYa<aae >aaeGaaSa¢-aNa( hSaiàv )DauSTaUrakR==aiSQaMaal/aDa*Ga( NaGanae >aSMaaNaule/PaNa" ))

asmädåço viñayiëo bhogäsaktän hasann iva




dhustürärkästhi-mälä-dhåg nagno bhasmänulepanaù

asmädåçaù — like myself; viñayiëaù — materialists; bhoga- äsaktän — addicted to sense gratification; hasan — laughing at;iva — as if; dhustüra — of dhustüra, an intoxicating weed; arka — arka leaves; asthi — and bones; mälä — garlands; dhåk — wearing; nagnaù — naked; bhasma — with ashes; anulepanaù — smeared.

As if ridiculing materialists like me, who are simply ad-dicted to sense enjoyment, he goes around naked, wearinggarlands of dhustüra, arka, and bones and smeared all over with ashes.

TEXT 83

ivPa[k-I<aRJa$=a>aar oNMata wv gaU<aRTae )TaQaa SvGaaePaNaaXa¢-" k*-Z<aPaadaBJaXaaEcJaaMa( )Ga®a& MaUiDNaR vhNa( hzaRNa( Na*TYa&ê l/YaTae JaGaTa( ))

viprakérëa-jaöä-bhära unmatta iva ghürëate

tathä sva-gopanäçaktaù kåñëa-pädäbja-çauca-jäm

gaìgäà mürdhni vahan harñän nåtyaàç ca layate jagat

viprakérëa — scattered; jaöä — of matted locks; bhära — with amass; unmattaù — a madman; iva — like; ghürëate — wandersabout; tathä — nonetheless; sva — himself; gopana — to con-ceal; açaktaù — unable; kåñëa-päda-abja — Kåñëa’s lotus feet;çauca-jäm — born of the water that washes; gaìgäm — theGaìgä; mürdhni — on his head; vahan — carrying; harñät — out of joy; nåtyan — dancing; ca — and; layate — he destroys;

jagat — the universe.



/ CHAPTER TWO158

His matted locks scattered about, he moves around aim-lessly like a madman, yet he is unable to conceal his glo-

ries. With joy he carries on his head the Gaìgä, born from the water that washed Kåñëa’s lotus feet. When he danceshe destroys the universe.

COMMENTARY: Lord Çiva rejects with disdain the ambitions of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and lib-eration. He has no desire to be an independent controller and

enjoyer. The satisfaction others derive from worldly pursuits andthe achievement of supremacy does not attract him. He identifieshimself fully as a servant of Kåñëa.

In Lord Çiva’s view, demigods like Brahmä and Indra areaddicted to sense enjoyment. Their celestial garlands, orna-ments, and perfumes last only a short time and so leave themdissatisfied. Better than the decorations of the demigods are his

own garlands, made of bones and intoxicating weeds, which atleast cause no disappointment when they decay. These strangeornaments, Lord Çiva thinks, are no less substantial than Indra’sand Brahmä’s divine garlands. But these are only Lord Çiva’sexternal decorations; his real ornament and his real enjoymentare found in the mercy of Çré Kåñëa. Humbly thinking himself bereft of that mercy, he feels fit to wear weeds and bones. Withsuch ideas in mind, the great Lord Çiva conducts himself in his

own peculiar way.

TEXT 84

k*-Z<aPa[SaadataeNaEv Maad*XaaMaiDak-air<aaMa( )

A>aqíaPaRiYaTau& Maui¢-STaSYa PaÒyaiPa XaKYaTae ))kåñëa-prasädät tenaiva

mädåçäm adhikäriëäm abhéñöärpayituà muktis

tasya patnyäpi çakyate




kåñëa-prasädät — due to Kåñëa’s grace; tena — by him; eva — indeed; mädåçäm — like myself; adhikäriëäm — to fit candi-

dates; abhéñöä — desirable; arpayitum — to be awarded; muktiù — liberation; tasya — his; patnyä — by the wife; api — also;çakyate — able.

By Kåñëa’s grace, Lord Çiva and his wife are able to award liberation to candidates like me who eagerly want it.

COMMENTARY: Principal demigods like Indra and Brahmä enjoy high posts in the administration of the universe. But after carry-ing out extensive duties for many millions of years, they may tireof this burden. Thus liberation from material existence begins tolook more and more attractive to them. In the midst of all thepomp and luxury of heavenly rulership, many demigods quietly harbor the desire for liberation. Here Lord Brahmä groups him-self with lesser demigods, even though he is an empoweredincarnation of the Personality of Godhead. Speaking from humil-ity, he describes himself as just another appointed administrator with selfish motives of his own.

TEXT 85

Ahae SaveR_iPa Tae Mau¢-a" iXavl/aek-iNavaiSaNa" )Mau¢-aSTaTk*-PaYaa k*-Z<a>a¢-aê k-iTa Naa>avNa( ))

aho sarve ’pi te muktäù çiva-loka-niväsinaù

muktäs tat-kåpayä kåñëa- bhaktäç ca kati näbhavan

aho — ah; sarve — all; api — and; te — they; muktäù — liber-ated; çiva-loka — on Lord Çiva’s planet; niväsinaù — those wholive; muktäù — liberated souls; tat-kåpayä — by his mercy; kåñëa- bhaktäù — devotees of Kåñëa; ca — and; kati — how many; na abhavan — have not become.




çivasya çré-viñëor ya iha guëa-nämädi sakalaà dhiyä bhinnaà paçyet sa khalu hari-nämähita-karaù

“One who sees differences between any of Lord Çiva’s qualitiesand names and those of Çré Viñëu is an antagonist to hari- näma.” (Padma Puräëa, Brahma-khaëòa .) Lord Viñëu can-not tolerate offenses against Lord Çiva, because Lord Çiva is thegreatest of Lord Viñëu’s empowered incarnations. Lord Çiva isespecially empowered to distribute in the material world the

elevated tastes of pure devotional service.

TEXTS 87–88

iXavdtavraeNMataaTa( i}aPaureìrTaae MaYaaTa( )TaQaa v*k-aSauradeê Saª$&= ParMa& GaTa" ))

iXav" SaMauÖ*Taae_NaeNa hizRTaê vcae_Ma*TaE" )TadNTar®SaÙ¢-ya k*-Z<aeNa vXaviTaRNaa )SvYaMaaraDYaTae caSYa MaahaTMYa>ariSaÖYae ))

çiva-datta-varonmattät tripureçvarato mayät

tathä våkäsurädeç ca

saìkaöaà paramaà gataù

çivaù samuddhåto ’nena harñitaç ca vaco-’måtaiù

tad-antaraìga-sad-bhaktyä kåñëena vaça-vartinä

svayam ärädhyate cäsya

mähätmya-bhara-siddhaye

çiva — by Lord Çiva; datta — given; vara — because of the bene-diction; unmattät — intoxicated; tripura-éçvarataù — due to themaster of Tripura; mayät — Maya Dänava; tathä — also; våka- asura-ädeù — due to the demon Våka and others; ca — and;



/ CHAPTER TWO162

saìkaöam — danger; paramam — extreme; gataù — experi-enced; çivaù — Lord Çiva; samuddhåtaù — saved; anena — by

Him; harñitaù — encouraged; ca — and; vacaù — by the words;amåtaiù — nectarean; tat — to Him; antaù-aìga — intimate; sat — pure; bhaktyä — with devotion; kåñëena — by Kåñëa; vaça -vartinä — who acted under his control; svayam — himself; ärä- dhyate — is worshiped; ca — and; asya — his; mähätmya — of the glories; bhara — the completion; siddhaye — to effect.

When Maya, the master of Tripura, grew intoxicated with pride by Lord Çiva’s benediction and placed Lord Çiva in danger, and when Lord Çiva was troubled by other de-mons, like Våkäsura, the Supreme Lord saved him and encouraged him with nectarean words. And sometimes,to broadcast Lord Çiva’s glories, Lord Kåñëa takes therole of his subordinate and worships him with intimatedevotion.

COMMENTARY: Lord Çiva once empowered Maya Dänava toconstruct for the demons of Tripura a well of heavenly nectarthat could revive the dead. On another occasion, Lord Çivagranted Våkäsura the power to crack anyone’s head into piecesby merely touching it with his hand. Lord Çiva also grantedgreat strength and influence to demons like Rävaëa. Each of

these demons became intoxicated with his acquired perfectionsand created trouble for Lord Çiva. Maya made it difficult to de-stroy Tripura, Våka tried to test his power on Lord Çiva’s head,compelling Lord Çiva to flee for his life, and Rävaëa movedKailäsa Mountain from its base. Each time, Lord Kåñëa cameto save Lord Çiva. He drank up Maya Dänava’s well, beguiled Våka into touching his own head, and, as Çré Rämacandra, killedRävaëa with bow and arrows. These famous episodes, briefly alluded to here, are elaborately described in various scriptures,including Çrémad-Bhägavatam.

Brahmä points out that although Lord Nåsiàhadeva had re-buked him, the Supreme Lord did not treat Lord Çiva’s offensesthe same way. Instead, responding to Lord Çiva’s remorse, the




Lord generally tried to encourage him, saying for example about Våkäsura:

aho deva mahädeva päpo ’yaà svena päpmanä

hataù ko nu mahatsv éça jantur vai kåta-kilbiñaù

kñemé syät kim u viçveçe kåtägasko jagad-gurau

“Just see, O Mahädeva, My lord, how this wicked man has beenkilled by his own sinful reactions. Indeed, what living being canhope for good fortune if he offends exalted saints, what to speakof offending the lord and spiritual master of the universe?”(Bhägavatam ..‒)

The Supreme Lord in His incarnation as Paraçuräma wor-

ships Lord Çiva in loving reciprocation by advertising Lord Çiva’sgreatness.

TEXT 89–90

iTaïTaaiPa SvYa& Saa+aaTa( k*==Z<aeNaaMa*TaMaNQaNae )Pa[JaaPaiTai>araraDYa Sa GaaErqPa[a<avç>a" ))

SaMaaNaaYYa ivz& gaaer& PaaYaiYaTva iv>aUizTa" )MahaMaihMaDaarai>ari>aiz¢-ê TaTSfu==$=Ma( ))

tiñöhatäpi svayaà säkñät kåñëenämåta-manthane

prajäpatibhir ärädhya sa gauré-präëa-vallabhaù

samänäyya viñaà ghoraà päyayitvä vibhüñitaù

mahä-mahima-dhäräbhir abhiñiktaç ca tat sphuöam



/ CHAPTER TWO164

tiñöhatä — who was present; api — although; svayam — in per-son; säkñät — visibly; kåñëena — by Kåñëa; amåta — of nectar;

manthane — at the churning; prajä-patibhiù — by the rulers of the universe; ärädhya — being worshiped; saù — he; gauré -

präëa-vallabhaù — the life and soul of Gauré; samänäyya — collecting; viñam — poison; ghoram — terrible; päyayitvä — drinking; vibhüñitaù — ornamented; mahä-mahima — of top-most glory; dhäräbhiù — by floods; abhiñiktaù — ceremonially bathed; ca — and; tat — thus; sphuöam — visibly.

Although Kåñëa was personally present at the churning of nectar from the Milk Ocean, He and the rulers of the uni-

verse chose to worship Lord Çiva, the life and soul of Gauré.Lord Çiva collected and drank the terrible poison, which thereafter became his ornament. He was then ceremoni-ally bathed in the presence of everyone assembled and wasglorified with floods of praise.

COMMENTARY: In the presence of Lord Kåñëa the demigods hadno need to fear destruction from the Halähala poison churnedfrom the Ocean of Milk. Kåñëa chose, however, not to counteractthe poison Himself but to give Lord Çiva an opportunity to showhis prowess. The Supreme Lord and the Prajäpatis honored LordÇiva with Vedic hymns and other prayers, entreating him to savethem. Their request was so strongly presented that Lord Çiva tookthe risk of drinking all the poison, ignoring the objections of hisdear wife, Gauré. The demigods praised Lord Çiva for a feat evenLord Viñëu had not performed. From then on, the blue marksmade on Lord Çiva’s throat by the poison became renowned ashis unique ornament.

TEXT 91

Paura<aaNYaev GaaYaiNTa dYaalu/Tv& hrehRre )jaYaTae ih TvYaaPYaeTaTa( Par& c SMaYaRTaa& MauNae ))




puräëäny eva gäyanti dayälutvaà harer hare

jïäyate hi tvayäpy etat paraà ca smaryatäà mune

puräëäni — the Puräëas; eva — certainly; gäyanti — sing; dayä- lutvam — about the compassion; hareù — of Lord Hari; hare — toward Lord Hara (Çiva); jïäyate — it is known; hi — certainly;tvayä — by you; api — also; etat — this; param — more; ca — and; smaryatäm — please just remember; mune — O thoughtfulsage.

The Puräëas sing of Lord Hari’s compassion toward Lord Hara. You surely know all this and more, O thoughtful sage. To recall these glories, you need only exercise your memory.

COMMENTARY: Lord Hari’s attitude toward Lord Hara is some-thing like a father’s affection for his son. Närada can rememberother instances of Lord Çiva’s displaying his glories — for ex-ample, when he blessed Lord Kåñëa to have an excellent son,Sämba.

TEXT 92

é[qParqi+aduvac Gauå& Pa[<aMYa Ta& GaNTau& kE-l/aSa& iGairMauTSauk-" )Aal/+Yaae¢-" PauNaSTaeNa SvPau}a" Pau}avTSale/ ))

çré-parékñid uväca guruà praëamya taà gantuà

kailäsaà girim utsukaù älakñyoktaù punas tena

sva-putraù putra-vatsale

çré-parékñit uväca — Çré Parékñit said; gurum — to his spiritualmaster; praëamya — bowing down; tam — there; gantum — to



/ CHAPTER TWO166

go; kailäsam girim — to Kailäsa Mountain; utsukaù — eager;älakñya — noticing; uktaù — addressed; punaù — again; tena

— by him (Brahmä); sva-putraù — his son; putra — to your son;vatsale — O you who are affectionate.

Çré Parékñit said: O dear mother, affectionate protector of your son, Närada bowed down to his spiritual master, Lord Brahmä. And when Brahmä saw his son Närada eager toset off for Kailäsa, Brahmä then told him something more.

COMMENTARY: A father should be honored as a kind of spiritualmaster, all the more if he has given essential instructions in Kåñëaconsciousness. Brahmä is the father of all fathers among the liv-ing entities, and he personally taught his youngest son, Närada,the science of Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Because Brahmä is omni-scient within the material universe, he knew that Närada wantedto go to Mount Kailäsa, Lord Çiva’s abode in the universe. Notic-

ing that Närada was glancing down from Brahmaloka in thedirection of Kailäsa, Brahmä decided to suggest a better idea.

TEXT 93

é[qb]øaevac

ku-vere<a PauraraDYa >a¢-ya åd]ae vXaqk*-Ta" )b]øa<@a>YaNTare TaSYa kE-l/aSae_iDak*-Tae iGaraE ))

çré-brahmoväca kuvereëa purärädhya

bhaktyä rudro vaçé-kåtaù brahmäëòäbhyantare tasya

kailäse ’dhikåte girau

çré-brahmä uväca — Çré Brahmä said; kuvereëa — by Kuvera; purä — in ancient times; ärädhya — being worshiped; bhaktyä — with devotion; rudraù — Lord Çiva; vaçé-kåtaù — brought un-der control; brahmäëòa-abhyantare — within the universe; tasya




— his (Kuvera’s); kailäse — on Kailäsa; adhikåte — appointed;girau — on the mountain.

Çré Brahmä said: Kuvera once earned the gratitude of Lord Çiva by devotedly worshiping him. From then on, within this universe, Lord Çiva has submitted to Kuvera’s author-ity, on Kuvera’s Mount Kailäsa.

TEXT 94

TaiÜidKPaal/æPae<a TaÛaeGYaPairvark-" )vSaTYaaivZk*==TaSvLPavE>av" SaàuMaaPaiTa" ))

tad-vidik-päla-rüpeëa tad-yogya-parivärakaù

vasaty äviñkåta-svalpa-

vaibhavaù sann umä-patiù

tat — his; vidik — of the sub-direction; päla-rüpeëa — as theguardian; tat — for him (Lord Çiva); yogya — suitable; parivära- kaù — having attendants; vasati — he lives; äviñkåta — manifest;su-alpa — slight; vaibhavaù — his opulence; san — thus present;umä-patiù — the husband of Umä.

Lord Çiva, the husband of Umä, lives there as the guardian of Kuvera’s side of the heavenly sphere. Accompanied by suitable attendants, he shows but a small fraction of hisopulence.

COMMENTARY: Kuvera, the appointed treasurer of heaven, rulesthe northeast. Pleased with Kuvera, Lord Çiva, despite his ownelevated position, takes up menial service as Kuvera’s guard.Lord Çiva’s wife, Umä, and several of his associates and servantsaccompany Lord Çiva in Kailäsa, which, compared with his eter-nal abode, outside the universe, is modest in opulence and en-tourage. Brahmä implies, “If you go see Lord Çiva on Kuvera’s



/ CHAPTER TWO168

Kailäsa, you will not be able to understand fully how muchgreater Lord Çiva is than I.”

TEXT 95

YaQaa ih k*==Z<aae >aGavaNa( Maad*Xaa& >ai¢-YaiN}aTa" )MaMa l/aeke- SvradaE c vSaTYauicTal/Il/Yaa ))

yathä hi kåñëo bhagavän

mädåçäà bhakti-yantritaù mama loke svar-ädau ca

vasaty ucita-lélayä

yathä — as; hi — indeed; kåñëaù — Kåñëa; bhagavän — the Per-sonality of Godhead; mädåçäm — of persons like me; bhakti — by the devotion; yantritaù — brought under control; mama — my; loke — on the planet; svaù — in heaven; ädau — elsewhere; ca — and; vasati — lives; ucita — appropriate; lélayä — with pastimes.

Just as the Personality of Godhead Kåñëa, brought under control by the devotion of servants like me, resides on my planet, and in heaven and elsewhere, Lord Çiva lives in Kailäsa, displaying suitable pastimes.

COMMENTARY: The Supreme Lord reciprocates with His bestdevotees in this world — Brahmä, Kaçyapa, and so on — by liv-ing with them personally in heaven, below heaven on the earth,above heaven on Maharloka, and elsewhere. In each incarna-tion, the Lord appears with suitable pastimes, paraphernalia,family, and friends.

TEXT 96

AQa vaYauPaura<aSYa MaTaMaeTad( b]vqMYahMa( )é[qMahadevl/aek-STau Saáavr<aTaae bih" ))




atha väyu-puräëasya matam etad bravémy aham

çré-mahädeva-lokas tu saptävaraëato bahiù

atha — now; väyu-puräëasya — of the Väyu Puräëa; matam — opinion; etat — this; bravémi — shall speak; aham — I; çré- mahä-deva — of Çré Mahädeva; lokaù — the planet; tu — and;sapta-ävaraëataù — the seven coverings (of the material uni-

verse); bahiù — outside.

Now let me tell you the opinion of the Väyu Puräëa: Theabode of Çré Mahädeva lies outside the seven coverings of the universe.

COMMENTARY: The material universe is enclosed within seven

concentric shells made of earth and the other basic elements.Outside them all lies the imperishable realm of Lord Çiva. Incontrast to all the planets inside the shells, planets that are tem-porary products of material nature, this abode of Lord Çiva’s isnot a creation of Mäyä. In Çivaloka there is no unhappiness. That world is attained by the best of Lord Çiva’s devotees — the ones who understand him to be nondifferent from Çré Kåñëa — not the

Çaivites who are karmés or jïänés or who worship Lord Çiva asan independent supreme controller.

TEXT 97–98

iNaTYa" Sau%MaYa" SaTYaae l/>YaSTaTSaevk-aeetaMaE" )

SaMaaNaMaihMaé[qMaTPairvarGa<aav*Ta" ))Mahaiv>aUiTaMaaNa( >aaiTa SaTPairC^dMai<@Ta" )é[qMaTSaªzR<a& SvSMaadi>aà& Ta}a Saae_cRYaNa( )iNaJaeídevTaaTveNa ik& ==va NaaTaNauTae_Ù u TaMa( ))




rulership, such as his jewelry, cämara fans, and royal umbrella,surpass those of Brahmä and the other demigods. On Çivaloka

Lord Çiva always worships the Personality of Godhead in Hisform as Çré Saìkarñaëa, who has thousands of serpent hoods.Both Lord Saìkarñaëa and His expansion Lord Çiva are incarna-tions of the Supreme Godhead, and so they are nondifferent. When the time comes for the material universe to be annihilated,Rudra the destroyer appears from Çré Saìkarñaëa. That Rudra isthe specific aspect of Lord Çiva who presides over the material

mode of ignorance.Everyone who sees Lord Çiva worshiping Saìkarñaëa — oneexpansion of the Supreme worshiping another — becomes as-tonished, especially when Lord Çiva dances in ecstasy and offers wonderful prayers. Lord Çiva’s worship of Çré Saìkarñaëa canalso be seen in the earthly planetary system, in Ilävåta-varña,as Çukadeva Gosvämé describes in the Fifth Canto of Çrémad- Bhägavatam, Chapter Seventeen.

TEXT 99

Ta}a GaNTau& >avaH^¢-" é[qiXave XauÖ>ai¢-MaaNa( )Ai>aGaMYa TaMaaié[TYa k*-Paa& k*-Z<aSYa PaXYaTau ))

tatra gantuà bhaväï chaktaù

çré-çive çuddha-bhaktimän abhigamya tam äçritya

kåpäà kåñëasya paçyatu

tatra — there; gantum — to go; bhavän — you; çaktaù — ca-pable; çré-çive — for Lord Çiva; çuddha -bhakti-män — endowed with pure devotion; abhigamya — approaching; tam — him;

äçritya — taking shelter; kåpäm — the mercy; kåñëasya — of Kåñëa; paçyatu — please see.

You have the power to go there because you have puredevotion for him. Therefore go, take shelter of him, and see the real mercy of Kåñëa.



/ CHAPTER TWO172

COMMENTARY: Because Närada respects Lord Çiva properly, asan expansion nondifferent from Lord Kåñëa, and therefore

loves Lord Çiva with spontaneous devotion, there is no bar tohis entering Çivaloka. If Närada is to go there and take shelterof Lord Çiva by offering respects and praise, he will be able tosee the mercy of Kåñëa in the ecstasy and opulences of LordÇiva.

TEXT 100é[qParqi+aduvac

wTYaev& iXai+aTaae MaaTa" iXav k*-Z<aeiTa k-ITaRYaNa( )Naard" iXavl/aek&- Ta& Pa[YaaTa" k-aETauk-aidv ))

çré-parékñid uväca

ity evaà çikñito mätaù çiva kåñëeti kértayan näradaù çiva-lokaà taà

prayätaù kautukäd iva

çré-parékñit uväca — Çré Parékñit said; iti — in these words; evam — thus; çikñitaù — instructed; mätaù — O mother; çiva kåñëa — “Çiva! Kåñëa!”; iti — thus; kértayan — chanting; näradaù — Närada; çiva-lokam — to Çivaloka; tam — there; prayätaù — gone; kautukät — with great eagerness; iva —as.

Çré Parékñit said: My dear mother, after Närada received these instructions he departed for Çivaloka with joyful an-ticipation, chanting “Çiva! Kåñëa!”

COMMENTARY: The gist of Brahmä’s advice to Närada is that heshould have faith in Lord Çiva as nondifferent from Lord ÇréKåñëa. Even though this advice was familar to Närada, he wasinspired to hear it. He welcomed the opportunity Brahmä wasgiving him to show the world the extent of Lord Çiva’s glories.




He was also curious about what he would find when he arrivedat Çivaloka.

Thus ends the second chapter of Part One of Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé’s Båhad-bhägavatämåta, entitled “Divya: In Heaven.”

brihad bhagavatamrita 2

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