Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 1: “Creation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Ten
SB1.10.14
TEXT 14
nyarundhann udgalad baspam
autkanthyad devaki-sute
niryaty agaran no ’bhadram
iti syad bandhava-striyah
SYNONYMS
nyarundhan—checking with great difficulty; udgalat—overflowing; baspam—tears; autkanthyat—because of great anxiety; devaki-sute—unto the son of Devaki; niryati—having come out; agarat—from the palace; nah—not; abhadram—inauspiciousness; iti—thus; syat—may happen; bandhava—relative; striyah—ladies.
TRANSLATION
The female relatives, whose eyes were flooded with tears out of anxiety for Krsna, came out of the palace. They could stop their tears only with great difficulty. They feared that tears would cause misfortune at the time of departure.
PURPORT
There were hundreds of ladies in the palace of Hastinapura. All of them were affectionate to Krsna. All of them were relatives also. When they saw that Krsna was going away from the palace for His native place, they were very anxious for Him, and as usual tears began to roll down their cheeks. They thought, at the same time, that tears at that moment might be a cause of misfortune for Krsna; therefore they wanted to check them. This was very difficult for them because the tears could not be checked. Therefore, they smeared their tears in their eyes, and their hearts throbbed. Therefore ladies who were the wives and daughters-in-law of those who died in the battlefield never came in direct contact with Krsna. But all of them heard of Him and His great activities, and thus they thought of Him, talked of Him, His name, fame, etc., and became affectionate also, like those who were in direct contact. Therefore directly or indirectly anyone who thinks of Krsna, talks of Krsna or worships Krsna becomes attached to Him. Because Krsna is absolute, there is no difference between His name, form, quality, etc. Our intimate relation with Krsna can be confidentially revived by our talking of, hearing of, or remembering Him. It is so done due to spiritual potency. SB1.10.15 TEXT 15 mrdanga-sankha-bheryas ca vina-panava-gomukhah dhundhury-anaka-ghantadya nedur dundubhayas tatha SYNONYMS mrdanga—sweet sounding drum; sankha—conchshell; bheryah—brass band; ca—and; vina—string band; panava—a kind of flute; gomukhah—another flute; dhundhuri—another drum; anaka—kettle; ghanta—bell; adyah—others; neduh—sounded; dundubhayah—other different types of drums; tatha—at that time. TRANSLATION While the Lord was departing from the palace of Hastinapura, different types of drums —like the mrdanga, dhola, nagra, dhundhuri and dundubhi—and flutes of different types, the vina, gomukha and bheri, all sounded together to show Him honor. SB1.10.16 TEXT 16 prasada-sikhararudhah kuru-naryo didrksaya vavrsuh kusumaih krsnam prema-vrida-smiteksanah SYNONYMS prasada—palace; sikhara—the roof; arudhah—ascending; kuru-naryah—the ladies of the Kuru royalty; didrksaya—seeing; vavrsuh—showered; kusumaih—by flowers; krsnam—upon Lord Krsna; prema—out of affection and love; vrida-smita-iksanah—glancing with shy smiles. TRANSLATION Out of a loving desire to see the Lord, the royal ladies of the Kurus got up on top of the palace, and smiling with affection and shyness, they showered flowers upon the Lord. PURPORT Shyness is a particular extra-natural beauty of the fair sex, and it commands respect from the opposite sex. This custom was observed even during the days of the Mahabharata, i.e., more than five thousand years ago. It is only the less intelligent persons not well versed in the history of the world who say that observance of separation of female from male is an introduction of the Mohammedan period in India. This incident from the Mahabharata period proves definitely that the ladies of the palace observed strict parda (restricted association with men), and instead of coming down in the open air where Lord Krsna and others were assembled, the ladies of the palace went up on the top of the palace and from there paid their respects to Lord Krsna by showers of flowers. It is definitely stated here that the ladies were smiling there on the top of the palace, checked by shyness. This shyness is a gift of nature to the fair sex, and it enhances their beauty and prestige, even if they are of a less important family or even if they are less attractive. We have practical experience of this fact. A sweeper woman commanded the respect of many respectable gentlemen simply by manifesting a lady’s shyness. Half-naked ladies in the street do not command any respect, but a shy sweeper’s wife commands respect from all. Human civilization, as conceived of by the sages of India, is to help one free himself from the clutches of illusion. The material beauty of a woman is an illusion because actually the body is made of earth, water, fire, air, etc. But because there is the association of the living spark with matter, it appears to be beautiful. No one is attracted by an earthen doll, even if it is most perfectly prepared to attract the attention of others. The dead body has no beauty because no one will accept the dead body of a so-called beautiful woman. Therefore, the conclusion is that the spirit spark is beautiful, and because of the soul’s beauty one is attracted by the beauty of the outward body. The Vedic wisdom, therefore, forbids us to be attracted by false beauty. But because we are now in the darkness of ignorance, the Vedic civilization allows very restricted mixing of woman and man. They say that the woman is considered to be the fire, and the man is considered to be the butter. The butter must melt in association with fire, and therefore they may be brought together only when it is necessary. And shyness is a check to the unrestricted mixing. It is nature’s gift, and it must be utilized. SB1.10.17 TEXT 17 sitatapatram jagraha muktadama-vibhusitam ratna-dandam gudakesah priyah priyatamasya ha SYNONYMS sita-atapatram—soothing umbrella; jagraha—took up; mukta-dama—decorated with laces and pearls; vibhusitam—embroidered; ratna-dandam—with a handle of jewels; gudakesah—Arjuna, the expert warrior, or one who has conquered sleep; priyah—most beloved; priyatamasya—of the most beloved; ha—so he did. TRANSLATION At that time Arjuna, the great warrior and conqueror of sleep, who is the intimate friend of the most beloved Supreme Lord, took up an umbrella which had a handle of jewels and was embroidered with lace and pearls. PURPORT Gold, jewels, pearls and valuable stones were used in the luxurious royal ceremonies. They are all nature’s gifts and are produced by the hills, oceans, etc., by the order of the Lord, when man does not waste his valuable time in producing unwanted things in the name of necessities. By so-called development of industrial enterprises, they are now using pots of gutta-percha instead of metals like gold, silver, brass and copper. They are using margarine instead of purified butter, and one fourth of the city population has no shelter. SB1.10.18 TEXT 18 uddhavah satyakis caiva vyajane paramadbhute vikiryamanah kusumai reje madhu-patih pathi SYNONYMS uddhavah—a cousin-brother of Krsna’s; satyakih—His driver; ca—and; eva—certainly; vyajane—engaged in fanning; parama-adbhute—decorative; vikiryamanah—seated on scattered; kusumaih—flowers all around; reje—commanded; madhu-patih—the master of Madhu (Krsna); pathi—on the road. TRANSLATION Uddhava and Satyaki began to fan the Lord with decorated fans, and the Lord, as the master of Madhu, seated on scattered flowers, commanded them along the road. SB1.10.19 TEXT 19 asruyantasisah satyas tatra tatra dvijeritah nanurupanurupas ca nirgunasya gunatmanah SYNONYMS asruyanta—being heard; asisah—benediction; satyah—all truths; tatra—here; tatra—there; dvija-iritah—sounded by learned brahmanas; na—not; anurupa—befitting; anurupah—fitting; ca—also; nirgunasya—of the Absolute; guna-atmanah—playing the role of a human being. TRANSLATION It was being heard here and there that the benedictions being paid to Krsna were neither befitting nor unbefitting because they were all for the Absolute, who was now playing the part of a human being. PURPORT At places there were sounds of Vedic benediction aiming at the Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna. The benedictions were fitting in the sense that the Lord was playing the part of a human being, as if a cousin of Maharaja Yudhisthira, but they were also unfitting because the Lord is absolute and has nothing to do with any kind of material relativities. He is nirguna, or there are no material qualities in Him, but He is full of transcendental qualities. In the transcendental world there is nothing contradictory, whereas in the relative world everything has its opposite. In the relative world white is the opposite conception of black, but in the transcendental world there is no distinction between white and black. Therefore the sounds of benedictions uttered by the learned brahmanas here and there appear to be contradictory in relation with the Absolute Person, but when they are applied to the Absolute Person they lose all contradiction and become transcendental. One example may clear this idea. Lord Sri Krsna is sometimes described as a thief. He is very famous amongst His pure devotees as the Makhana-cora. He used to steal butter from the houses of neighbors at Vrndavana in His early age. Since then He is famous as a thief. But in spite of His being famous as a thief, He is worshiped as a thief, whereas in the mundane world a thief is punished and is never praised. Since He is the Absolute Personality of Godhead, everything is applicable to Him, and still in spite of all contradictions He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. SB1.10.20 TEXT 20 anyonyam asit sanjalpa uttama-sloka-cetasam kauravendra-pura-strinam sarva-sruti-mano-harah SYNONYMS anyonyam—among each other; asit—there was; sanjalpah—talking; uttama-sloka—the Supreme, who is praised by selected poetry; cetasam—of those whose hearts are absorbed in that way; kaurava-indra—the king of the Kurus; pura—capital; strinam—all the ladies; sarva—all; sruti—the Vedas; manah-harah—attractive to the mind. TRANSLATION Absorbed in the thought of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, who is glorified in select poetry, the ladies on the roofs of all the houses of Hastinapura began to talk of Him. This talk was more attractive than the hymns of the Vedas. PURPORT In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that in all the Vedic literatures the goal is the Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna. Factually the glories of the Lord are depicted in such literature as the Vedas, Ramayana and Mahabharata. And in the Bhagavatam they are specifically mentioned in respect to the Supreme Lord. Therefore, while the ladies on the tops of the houses in the capital of the kings of the Kuru dynasty were talking about the Lord, their talk was more pleasing than the Vedic hymns. Anything sung in the praise of the Lord is Sruti-mantra. There are songs of Thakura Narottama dasa, one of the acaryas in the Gaudiya-sampradaya, composed in simple Bengali language. But Thakura Visvanatha Cakravarti, another very learned acarya of the same sampradaya, has approved the songs by Thakura Narottama dasa to be as good as Vedic mantras. And this is so because of the subject matter. The language is immaterial, but the subject matter is important. The ladies, who were all absorbed in the thought and actions of the Lord, developed the consciousness of Vedic wisdom by the grace of the Lord. And therefore although such ladies might not have been very learned scholars in Sanskrit or otherwise, still whatever they spoke was more attractive than the Vedic hymns. The Vedic hymns in the Upanisads are sometimes indirectly directed to the Supreme Lord. But the talks of the ladies were directly spoken of the Lord, and thus they were more pleasing to the heart. The ladies’ talks appeared to be more valuable than the learned brahmanas’ benedictions. SB1.10.21 TEXT 21 sa vai kilayam purusah puratano ya eka asid avisesa atmani agre gunebhyo jagad-atmanisvare nimilitatman nisi supta-saktisu SYNONYMS sah—He (Krsna); vai—as I remember; kila—definitely; ayam—this; purusah—Personality of Godhead; puratanah—the original; yah—who; ekah—only one; asit—existed; avisesah—materially unmanifested; atmani—own self; agre—before creation; gunebhyah—of the modes of nature; jagat-atmani—unto the Supersoul; isvare—unto the Supreme Lord; nimilita—merged into; atman—the living entity; nisi supta—inactive at night; saktisu—of the energies. TRANSLATION They said: Here He is, the original Personality of Godhead as we definitely remember Him. He alone existed before the manifested creation of the modes of nature, and in Him only, because He is the Supreme Lord, all living beings merge, as if sleeping at night, their energy suspended. PURPORT There are two types of dissolution of the manifested cosmos. At the end of every 4,320,000,000 solar years, when Brahma, the lord of one particular universe, goes to sleep, there is one annihilation. And at the end of Lord Brahma’s life, which takes place at the end of Brahma’s one hundred years of age, in our calculation at the end of 8,640,000,000 x 30 x 12 x 100 solar years, there is complete annihilation of the entire universe, and in both the periods both the material energy called the mahat-tattva and the marginal energy called jiva-tattva merge in the person of the Supreme Lord. The living beings remain asleep within the body of the Lord until there is another creation of the material world, and that is the way of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material manifestation. The material creation is effected by the interaction of the three modes of material nature set in action by the Lord, and therefore it is said here that the Lord existed before the modes of material nature were set in motion. In the Sruti-mantra it is said that only Visnu, the Supreme Lord, existed before the creation, and there was no Brahma, Siva or other demigods. Visnu means the Maha-Visnu, who is lying on the Causal Ocean. By His breathing only all the universes are generated in seeds and gradually develop into gigantic forms with innumerable planets within each and every universe. The seeds of universes develop into gigantic forms in the way seeds of a banyan tree develop into numberless banyan trees. This Maha-Visnu is the plenary portion of the Lord Sri Krsna, who is mentioned in the Brahma-samhita as follows: “Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, whose plenary portion is the Maha-Visnu. All the Brahmas, the heads of the universes, live only for the period of His exhaling, after the universes are generated from the pores of His transcendental body.” (Brahma-samhita 5.58) Thus Govinda, or Lord Krsna, is the cause of Maha-Visnu also. The ladies talking about this Vedic truth must have heard it from authoritative sources. An authoritative source is the only means of knowing about transcendental subject matter definitely. There is no alternative. The merging of the living beings into the body of Maha-Visnu takes place automatically at the end of Brahma’s one hundred years. But that does not mean that the individual living being loses his identity. The identity is there, and as soon as there is another creation by the supreme will of the Lord, all the sleeping, inactive living beings are again let loose to begin their activities in the continuation of past different spheres of life. It is called suptotthita naya, or awakening from sleep and again engaging in one’s respective continuous duty. When a man is asleep at night, he forgets himself, what he is, what his duty is and everything of his waking state. But as soon as he awakens from slumber, he remembers all that he has to do and thus engages himself again in his prescribed activities. The living beings also remain merged in the body of Maha-Visnu during the period of annihilation, but as soon as there is another creation they arise to take up their unfinished work. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (8.18–20). The Lord existed before the creative energy was set in action. The Lord is not a product of the material energy. His body is completely spiritual, and there is no difference between His body and Himself. Before creation the Lord remained in His abode, which is absolute and one. SB1.10.22 TEXT 22 sa eva bhuyo nija-virya-coditam sva-jiva-mayam prakrtim sisrksatim anama-rupatmani rupa-namani vidhitsamano ’nusasara sastra-krt SYNONYMS sah—He; eva—thus; bhuyah—again; nija—own personal; virya—potency; coditam—performance of; sva—own; jiva—living being; mayam—external energy; prakrtim—unto material nature; sisrksatim—while re-creating; anama—without mundane designation; rupa-atmani—forms of the soul; rupa-namani—forms and names; vidhitsamanah—desiring to award; anusasara—entrusted; sastra-krt—the compiler of revealed scripture. TRANSLATION The Personality of Godhead, again desiring to give names and forms to His parts and parcels, the living entities, placed them under the guidance of material nature. By His own potency, material nature is empowered to re-create. PURPORT The living entities are parts and parcels of the Lord. They are of two varieties, namely nitya-mukta and nitya-baddha. The nitya-muktas are eternally liberated souls, and they are eternally engaged in the reciprocation of transcendental loving service with the Lord in His eternal abode beyond the manifested mundane creations. But the nitya-baddha, or eternally conditioned souls, are entrusted to His external energy, maya, for rectification of their rebellious attitude toward the Supreme Father. Nitya-baddhas are eternally forgetful of their relation with the Lord as parts and parcels. They are bewildered by the illusory energy as products of matter, and thus they are very busy in making plans in the material world for becoming happy. They go on merrily with plans, but by the will of the Lord both the planmakers and the plans are annihilated at the end of a certain period, as above mentioned. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita as follows: “O son of Kunti, at the end of the millennium all the living entities merge into My nature, and again when the time of creation is ripe, I begin creation by the agency of My external energy.” (Bg. 9.7) The word bhuyah indicates again and again, that is to say the process of creation, maintenance and annihilation is going on perpetually by the external energy of the Lord. He is the cause of everything. But the living beings, who are constitutionally the parts and parcels of the Lord and are forgetful of the sweet relation, are given a chance again to get rid of the clutches of the external energy. And to revive his (the living being’s) consciousness, the revealed scriptures are also created by the Lord. Vedic literatures are the guiding directions for the conditioned souls so they can get free from the repetition of creation and annihilation of the material world and the material body. The Lord says in the Bhagavad-gita, “This created world and material energy are under My control. Under the influence of prakrti, automatically they are created again and again, and this is done by Me through the agency of My external energy.” Actually the spiritual spark living entities have no material names or forms. But in order to fulfill their desire to lord it over the material energy of material forms and names, they are given a chance for such false enjoyment, and at the same time they are given a chance to understand the real position through the revealed scriptures. The foolish and forgetful living being is always busy with false forms and false names. Modern nationalism is the culmination of such false names and false forms. Men are mad after false name and form. The form of body obtained under certain conditions is taken up as factual, and the name also taken bewilders the conditioned soul into misusing the energy in the name of so many “isms.” The scriptures, however, supply the clue for understanding the real position, but men are reluctant to take lessons from the scriptures created by the Lord for different places and times. For example, the Bhagavad-gita is the guiding principle for every human being, but by the spell of material energy they do not take care to carry out the programs of life in terms of the Bhagavad-gita. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the post-graduate study of knowledge for one who has thoroughly understood the principles of the Bhagavad-gita. Unfortunately people have no taste for them, and therefore they are under the clutches of maya for repetition of birth and death. SB1.10.23 TEXT 23 sa va ayam yat padam atra surayo jitendriya nirjita-matarisvanah pasyanti bhakty-utkalitamalatmana nanv esa sattvam parimarstum arhati SYNONYMS sah—He; vai—by providence; ayam—this; yat—that which; padam atra—here is the same Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna; surayah—great devotees; jita-indriyah—who have overcome the influence of the senses; nirjita—thoroughly controlled; matarisvanah—life; pasyanti—can see; bhakti—by dint of devotional service; utkalita—developed; amala-atmana—those whose minds are thoroughly cleansed; nanu esah—certainly by this only; sattvam—existence; parimarstum—for purifying the mind completely; arhati—deserve. TRANSLATION Here is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead whose transcendental form is experienced by the great devotees who are completely cleansed of material consciousness by dint of rigid devotional service and full control of life and the senses. And that is the only way to purify existence. PURPORT As it is stated in Bhagavad-gita, the Lord can be known in His real nature by dint of pure devotional service only. So it is stated here that only the great devotees of the Lord who are able to clear the mind of all material dust by rigid devotional service can experience the Lord as He is. Jitendriya means one who has full control over the senses. The senses are active parts of the body, and their activities cannot be stopped. The artificial means of the yogic processes to make the senses inactive has proved to be abject failure, even in the case of great yogis like Visvamitra Muni. Visvamitra Muni controlled the senses by yogic trance, but when he happened to meet Menaka (a heavenly society woman), he became a victim of sex, and the artificial way of controlling the senses failed. But in the case of a pure devotee, the senses are not at all artificially stopped from doing anything, but they are given different good engagements. When the senses are engaged in more attractive activities, there is no chance of their being attracted by any inferior engagements. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that the senses can be controlled only by better engagements. Devotional service necessitates purifying the senses or engaging them in the activities of devotional service. Devotional service is not inaction. Anything done in the service of the Lord becomes at once purified of its material nature. The material conception is due to ignorance only. There is nothing beyond Vasudeva. The Vasudeva conception gradually develops in the heart of the learned after a prolonged acceleration of the receptive organs. But the process ends in the knowledge of accepting Vasudeva as all in all. In the case of devotional service, this very same method is accepted from the very beginning, and by the grace of the Lord all factual knowledge becomes revealed in the heart of a devotee due to dictation by the Lord from within. Therefore controlling the senses by devotional service is the only and easiest means. SB1.10.24 TEXT 24 sa va ayam sakhy anugita-sat-katho vedesu guhyesu ca guhya-vadibhih ya eka iso jagad-atma-lilaya srjaty avaty atti na tatra sajjate SYNONYMS sah—He; vai—also; ayam—this; sakhi—O my friend; anugita—described; sat-kathah—the excellent pastimes; vedesu—in the Vedic literatures; guhyesu—confidentially; ca—as also; guhya-vadibhih—by the confidential devotees; yah—one who; ekah—one only; isah—the supreme controller; jagat—of the complete creation; atma—Supersoul; lilaya—by manifestation of pastimes; srjati—creates; avati atti—also maintains and annihilates; na—never; tatra—there; sajjate—becomes attached to it. TRANSLATION O dear friends, here is that very Personality of Godhead whose attractive and confidential pastimes are described in the confidential parts of Vedic literature by His great devotees. It is He only who creates, maintains and annihilates the material world and yet remains unaffected. PURPORT As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, all the Vedic literatures are glorifying the greatness of Lord Sri Krsna. Here it is confirmed in the Bhagavatam also. The Vedas are expanded by many branches and subbranches by great devotees and empowered incarnations of the Lord like Vyasa, Narada, Sukadeva Gosvami, the Kumaras, Kapila, Prahlada, Janaka, Bali and Yamaraja, but in the Srimad-Bhagavatam especially, the confidential parts of His activities are described by the confidential devotee Sukadeva Gosvami. In the Vedanta-sutras or Upanisads there is only a hint of the confidential parts of His pastimes. In such Vedic literatures as the Upanisads, the Lord has expressively been distinguished from the mundane conception of His existence. His identity being fully spiritual, His form, name, quality, and paraphernalia, etc., have been elaborately distinguished from matter, and therefore He is sometimes misunderstood by less intelligent persons as impersonal. But factually He is the Supreme Person, Bhagavan, and He is partially represented as Paramatma or impersonal Brahman. SB1.10.25 TEXT 25 yada hy adharmena tamo-dhiyo nrpa jivanti tatraisa hi sattvatah kila dhatte bhagam satyam rtam dayam yaso bhavaya rupani dadhad yuge yuge SYNONYMS yada—whenever; hi—assuredly; adharmena—against the principles of God’s will; tamah-dhiyah—persons in the lowest material modes; nrpah—kings and administrators; jivanti—live like animals; tatra—thereupon; esah—He; hi—only; sattvatah—transcendental; kila—certainly; dhatte—is manifested; bhagam—supreme power; satyam—truth; rtam—positiveness; dayam—mercy; yasah—wonderful activities; bhavaya—for the maintenance; rupani—in various forms; dadhat—manifested; yuge—different periods; yuge—and ages. TRANSLATION Whenever there are kings and administrators living like animals in the lowest modes of existence, the Lord in His transcendental form manifests His supreme power, the Truth Positive, shows special mercy to the faithful, performs wonderful activities and manifests various transcendental forms as is necessary in different periods and ages. PURPORT As mentioned above, the cosmic creation is the property of the Supreme Lord. This is the basic philosophy of Isopanisad: everything is the property of the Supreme Being. No one should encroach upon the property of the Supreme Lord. One should accept only what is kindly awarded by Him. Therefore, the earth or any other planet or universe is the absolute property of the Lord. The living beings are certainly His parts and parcels, or sons, and thus every one of them has a right to live at the mercy of the Lord to execute his prescribed work. No one, therefore, can encroach upon the right of another individual man or animal without being so sanctioned by the Lord. The king or the administrator is the representative of the Lord to look after the management of the Lord’s will. He must therefore be a recognized person like Maharaja Yudhisthira or Pariksit. Such kings have full responsibility and knowledge from authorities about the administration of the world. But at times, due to the influence of the ignorance mode of material nature (tamo-guna), the lowest of the material modes, kings and administrators come into power without knowledge and responsibility, and such foolish administrators live like animals for the sake of their own personal interest. The result is that the whole atmosphere becomes surcharged with anarchy and vicious elements. Nepotism, bribery, cheating, aggression and, therefore, famine, epidemic, war and similar other disturbing features become prominent in human society. And the devotees of the Lord or the faithful are persecuted by all means. All these symptoms indicate the time of an incarnation of the Lord to reestablish the principles of religion and to vanquish the maladministrators. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita. The Lord then appears in His transcendental form without any tinge of material qualities. He descends just to keep the state of His creation in a normal condition. The normal condition is that the Lord has provided each and every planet with all the needs of the native living beings. They can happily live and execute their predestined occupations to attain salvation at the end, following the rules and regulations mentioned in the revealed scriptures. The material world is created to satisfy the whims of the nitya-baddha, or everlasting conditioned souls, just as naughty boys are provided with playing cradles. Otherwise, there was no need of the material world. But when they become intoxicated with the power of material science to exploit the resources unlawfully without the sanction of the Lord, and that also only for sense gratification, there is necessity of the Lord’s incarnation to chastise the rebellious and to protect the faithful. When He descends, He exhibits superhuman acts just to prove His supreme right, and materialists like Ravana, Hiranyakasipu and Kamsa are sufficiently punished. He acts in a manner which no one can imitate. For example, the Lord, when He appeared as Rama, bridged the Indian Ocean. When He appeared as Krsna, from His very childhood He showed superhuman activities by killing Putana, Aghasura, Sakatasura, Kaliya, etc., and then His maternal uncle Kamsa. When He was at Dvaraka He married 16,108 queens, and all of them were blessed with a sufficient number of children. The sum total of His personal family members amounted to about 100,000, popularly known as the Yadu-vamsa. And again, during His lifetime, He managed to vanquish them all. He is famous as the Govardhana-dhari Hari because He lifted at the age of only seven the hill known as Govardhana. The Lord killed many undesirable kings in His time, and as a ksatriya He fought chivalrously. He is famous as the asamaurdhva, unparalleled. No one is equal to or greater than Him.