Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 1: “Creation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Thirteen

SB1.13.42

TEXT 42

yatha gavo nasi protas

tantyam baddhas ca damabhih

vak-tantyam namabhir baddha

vahanti balim isituh

SYNONYMS

yatha—as much as; gavah—cow; nasi—by the nose; protah—strung; tantyam—by the thread; baddhah—bound by; ca—also; damabhih—by ropes; vak-tantyam—in the network of Vedic hymns; namabhih—by nomenclatures; baddhah—conditioned; vahanti—carry on; balim—orders; isituh—for being controlled by the Supreme Lord.

TRANSLATION

As a cow, bound through the nose by a long rope, is conditioned, so also human beings are bound by different Vedic injunctions and are conditioned to obey the orders of the Supreme.

PURPORT

Every living being, whether a man or an animal or a bird, thinks that he is free by himself, but actually no one is free from the severe laws of the Lord. The laws of the Lord are severe because they cannot be disobeyed in any circumstance. The man-made laws may be evaded by cunning outlaws, but in the codes of the supreme lawmaker there is not the slightest possibility of neglecting the laws. A slight change in the course of God-made law can bring about a massive danger to be faced by the lawbreaker. Such laws of the Supreme are generally known as the codes of religion, under different conditions, but the principle of religion everywhere is one and the same, namely, obey the orders of the Supreme God, the codes of religion. That is the condition of material existence. All living beings in the material world have taken up the risk of conditioned life by their own selection and are thus entrapped by the laws of material nature. The only way to get out of the entanglement is to agree to obey the Supreme. But instead of becoming free from the clutches of maya, or illusion, foolish human beings become bound up by different nomenclatures, being designated as brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas, sudras, Hindus, Mohammedans, Indians, Europeans, Americans, Chinese, and many others, and thus they carry out the orders of the Supreme Lord under the influence of respective scriptural or legislative injunctions. The statutory laws of the state are imperfect imitation replicas of religious codes. The secular state, or the godless state, allows the citizens to break the laws of God, but restricts them from disobeying the laws of the state; the result is that the people in general suffer more by breaking the laws of God than by obeying the imperfect laws made by man. Every man is imperfect by constitution under conditions of material existence, and there is not the least possibility that even the most materially advanced man can enact perfect legislation. On the other hand, there is no such imperfection in the laws of God. If leaders are educated in the laws of God, there is no necessity of a makeshift legislative council of aimless men. There is necessity of change in the makeshift laws of man, but there is no change in the God-made laws because they are made perfect by the all-perfect Personality of Godhead. The codes of religion, scriptural injunctions, are made by liberated representatives of God in consideration of different conditions of living, and by carrying out the orders of the Lord, the conditioned living beings gradually become free from the clutches of material existence. The factual position of the living being is, however, that he is the eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord. In his liberated state he renders service to the Lord in transcendental love and thus enjoys a life of full freedom, even sometimes on an equal level with the Lord or sometimes more than the Lord. But in the conditioned material world, every living being wants to be the Lord of other living beings, and thus by the illusion of maya this mentality of lording it over becomes a cause of further extension of conditional life. So in the material world the living being is still more conditioned, until he surrenders unto the Lord by reviving his original state of eternal servitorship. That is the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gita and all other recognized scriptures of the world.

SB1.13.43

TEXT 43

yatha kridopaskaranam

samyoga-vigamav iha

icchaya kridituh syatam

tathaivesecchaya nrnam

SYNONYMS

yatha—as much as; krida-upaskaranam—playthings; samyoga—union; vigamau—disunion; iha—in this world; icchaya—by the will of; kridituh—just to play a part; syatam—takes place; tatha—so also; eva—certainly; isa—the Supreme Lord; icchaya—by the will of; nrnam—of the human beings.

TRANSLATION

As a player sets up and disperses his playthings according to his own sweet will, so the supreme will of the Lord brings men together and separates them.

PURPORT

We must know for certain that the particular position in which we are now set up is an arrangement of the supreme will in terms of our own acts in the past. The Supreme Lord is present as the localized Paramatma in the heart of every living being, as it is said in the Bhagavad-gita (13.23), and therefore he knows everything of our activities in every stage of our lives. He rewards the reactions of our actions by placing us in some particular place. A rich man gets his son born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but the child who came as the rich man’s son deserved such a place, and therefore he is placed there by the will of the Lord. And at a particular moment when the child has to be removed from that place, he is also carried by the will of the Supreme, even if the child or the father does not wish to be separated from the happy relation. The same thing happens in the case of a poor man also. Neither rich man nor poor man has any control over such meetings or separations of living beings. The example of a player and his playthings should not be misunderstood. One may argue that since the Lord is bound to award the reactionary results of our own actions, the example of a player cannot be applied. But it is not so. We must always remember that the Lord is the supreme will, and He is not bound by any law. Generally the law of karma is that one is awarded the result of one’s own actions, but in special cases, by the will of the Lord, such resultant actions are changed also. But this change can be affected by the will of the Lord only, and no other. Therefore, the example of the player cited in this verse is quite appropriate, for the Supreme Will is absolutely free to do whatever He likes, and because He is all-perfect, there is no mistake in any of His actions or reactions. These changes of resultant actions are especially rendered by the Lord when a pure devotee is involved. It is assured in the Bhagavad-gita (9.30–31) that the Lord saves a pure devotee who has surrendered unto Him without reservation from all sorts of reactions of sins, and there is no doubt about this. There are hundreds of examples of reactions changed by the Lord in the history of the world. If the Lord is able to change the reactions of one’s past deeds, then certainly He is not Himself bound by any action or reaction of His own deeds. He is perfect and transcendental to all laws.

SB1.13.44

TEXT 44

yan manyase dhruvam lokam

adhruvam va na cobhayam

sarvatha na hi socyas te

snehad anyatra mohajat

SYNONYMS

yat—even though; manyase—you think; dhruvam—Absolute Truth; lokam—persons; adhruvam—nonreality; va—either; na—or not; ca—also; ubhayam—or both; sarvatha—in all circumstances; na—never; hi—certainly; socyah—subject for lamentation; te—they; snehat—due to affection; anyatra—or otherwise; moha-jat—due to bewilderment.

TRANSLATION

O King, in all circumstances, whether you consider the soul to be an eternal principle, or the material body to be perishable, or everything to exist in the impersonal Absolute Truth, or everything to be an inexplicable combination of matter and spirit, feelings of separation are due only to illusory affection and nothing more.

PURPORT

The actual fact is that every living being is an individual part and parcel of the Supreme Being, and his constitutional position is subordinate cooperative service. Either in his conditional material existence or in his liberated position of full knowledge and eternity, the living entity is eternally under the control of the Supreme Lord. But those who are not conversant with factual knowledge put forward many speculative propositions about the real position of the living entity. It is admitted, however, by all schools of philosophy, that the living being is eternal and that the covering body of the five material elements is perishable and temporary. The eternal living entity transmigrates from one material body to another by the law of karma, and material bodies are perishable by their fundamental structures. Therefore there is nothing to be lamented in the case of the soul’s being transferred into another body, or the material body’s perishing at a certain stage. There are others also who believe in the merging of the spirit soul in the Supreme Spirit when it is uncovered by the material encagement, and there are others also who do not believe in the existence of spirit or soul, but believe in tangible matter. In our daily experience we find so many transformations of matter from one form to another, but we do not lament such changing features. In either of the above cases, the force of divine energy is uncheckable; no one has any hand in it, and thus there is no cause of grief.

SB1.13.45

TEXT 45

tasmaj jahy anga vaiklavyam

ajnana-krtam atmanah

katham tv anathah krpana

varterams te ca mam vina

SYNONYMS

tasmat—therefore; jahi—give up; anga—O King; vaiklavyam—mental disparity; ajnana—ignorance; krtam—due to; atmanah—of yourself; katham—how; tu—but; anathah—helpless; krpanah—poor creatures; varteran—be able to survive; te—they; ca—also; mam—me; vina—without.

TRANSLATION

Therefore give up your anxiety due to ignorance of the self. You are now thinking of how they, who are helpless poor creatures, will exist without you.

PURPORT

When we think of our kith and kin as being helpless and dependent on us, it is all due to ignorance. Every living creature is allowed all protection by the order of the Supreme Lord in terms of each one’s acquired position in the world. The Lord is known as bhuta-bhrt, one who gives protection to all living beings. One should discharge his duties only, for no one but the Supreme Lord can give protection to anyone else. This is explained more clearly in the following verse.

SB1.13.46

TEXT 46

kala-karma-gunadhino

deho ’yam panca-bhautikah

katham anyams tu gopayet

sarpa-grasto yatha param

SYNONYMS

kala—eternal time; karma—action; guna—modes of nature; adhinah—under the control of; dehah—material body and mind; ayam—this; panca-bhautikah—made of the five elements; katham—how; anyan—others; tu—but; gopayet—give protection; sarpa-grastah—one who is bitten by the snake; yatha—as much as; param—others.

TRANSLATION

This gross material body made of five elements is already under the control of eternal time [kala], action [karma] and the modes of material nature [guna]. How, then, can it, being already in the jaws of the serpent, protect others?

PURPORT

The world’s movements for freedom through political, economic, social, and cultural propaganda can do no benefit to anyone, for they are controlled by superior power. A conditioned living being is under the full control of material nature, represented by eternal time and activities under the dictation of different modes of nature. There are three material modes of nature, namely goodness, passion and ignorance. Unless one is situated in the mode of goodness, one cannot see things as they are. The passionate and the ignorant cannot even see things as they are. Therefore a person who is passionate and ignorant cannot direct his activities on the right path. Only the man in the quality of goodness can help to a certain extent. Most persons are passionate and ignorant, and therefore their plans and projects can hardly do any good to others. Above the modes of nature is eternal time, which is called kala because it changes the shape of everything in the material world. Even if we are able to do something temporarily beneficial, time will see that the good project is frustrated in course of time. The only thing possible to be done is to get rid of eternal time, kala, which is compared to kala-sarpa, or the cobra snake, whose bite is always lethal. No one can be saved from the bite of a cobra. The best remedy for getting out of the clutches of the cobralike kala or its integrity, the modes of nature, is bhakti-yoga, as it is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita (14.26). The highest perfectional project of philanthropic activities is to engage everyone in the act of preaching bhakti-yoga all over the world because that alone can save the people from the control of maya, or the material nature represented by kala, karma and guna, as described above. The Bhagavad-gita (14.26) confirms this definitely.

SB1.13.47

TEXT 47

ahastani sahastanam

apadani catus-padam

phalguni tatra mahatam

jivo jivasya jivanam

SYNONYMS

ahastani—those who are devoid of hands; sa-hastanam—of those who are endowed with hands; apadani—those who are devoid of legs; catuh-padam—of those who have four legs; phalguni—those who are weak; tatra—there; mahatam—of the powerful; jivah—the living being; jivasya—of the living being; jivanam—subsistence.

TRANSLATION

Those who are devoid of hands are prey for those who have hands; those devoid of legs are prey for the four-legged. The weak are the subsistence of the strong, and the general rule holds that one living being is food for another.

PURPORT

A systematic law of subsistence in the struggle for existence is there by the supreme will, and there is no escape for anyone by any amount of planning. The living beings who have come to the material world against the will of the Supreme Being are under the control of a supreme power called maya-sakti, the deputed agent of the Lord, and this daivi maya is meant to pinch the conditioned souls by threefold miseries, one of which is explained here in this verse: the weak are the subsistence of the strong. No one is strong enough to protect himself from the onslaught of a stronger, and by the will of the Lord there are systematic categories of the weak, the stronger and the strongest. There is nothing to be lamented if a tiger eats a weaker animal, including a man, because that is the law of the Supreme Lord. But although the law states that a human being must subsist on another living being, there is the law of good sense also, for the human being is meant to obey the laws of the scriptures. This is impossible for other animals. The human being is meant for self-realization, and for that purpose he is not to eat anything which is not first offered to the Lord. The Lord accepts from His devotee all kinds of food preparations made of vegetables, fruits, leaves and grains. Fruits, leaves and milk in different varieties can be offered to the Lord, and after the Lord accepts the foodstuff, the devotee can partake of the prasada, by which all suffering in the struggle for existence will be gradually mitigated. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (9.26). Even those who are accustomed to eat animals can offer foodstuff, not to the Lord directly, but to an agent of the Lord, under certain conditions of religious rites. Injunctions of the scriptures are meant not to encourage the eaters of animals, but to restrict them by regulated principles.

The living being is the source of subsistence for other, stronger living beings. No one should be very anxious for his subsistence in any circumstances because there are living beings everywhere, and no living being starves for want of food at any place. Maharaja Yudhisthira is advised by Narada not to worry about his uncles’ suffering for want of food, for they could live on vegetables available in the jungles as prasada of the Supreme Lord and thus realize the path of salvation.

Exploitation of the weaker living being by the stronger is the natural law of existence; there is always an attempt to devour the weak in different kingdoms of living beings. There is no possibility of checking this tendency by any artificial means under material conditions; it can be checked only by awakening the spiritual sense of the human being by practice of spiritual regulations. The spiritual regulative principles, however, do not allow a man to slaughter weaker animals on one side and teach others peaceful coexistence. If man does not allow the animals peaceful coexistence, how can he expect peaceful existence in human society? The blind leaders must therefore understand the Supreme Being and then try to implement the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God, or Rama-rajya, is impossible without the awakening of God consciousness in the mass mind of the people of the world.

SB1.13.48

TEXT 48

tad idam bhagavan rajann

eka atmatmanam sva-drk

antaro ’nantaro bhati

pasya tam mayayorudha

SYNONYMS

tat—therefore; idam—this manifestation; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; rajan—O King; ekah—one without a second; atma—the Supersoul; atmanam—by His energies; sva-drk—qualitatively like Him; antarah—without; anantarah—within and by Himself; bhati—so manifests; pasya—look; tam—unto Him only; mayaya—by manifestations of different energies; urudha—appears to be many.

TRANSLATION

Therefore, O King, you should look to the Supreme Lord only, who is one without a second and who manifests Himself by different energies and is both within and without.

PURPORT

The Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead is one without a second, but He manifests Himself by different energies because He is by nature blissful. The living beings are also manifestations of His marginal energy, qualitatively one with the Lord, and there are innumerable living beings both within and without the external and internal energies of the Lord. Since the spiritual world is a manifestation of the Lord’s internal energy, the living beings within that internal potency are qualitatively one with the Lord without contamination from the external potency. Although qualitatively one with the Lord, the living being, due to contamination of the material world, is pervertedly manifested, and therefore he experiences so-called happiness and distress in the material world. Such experiences are all ephemeral and do not affect the spirit soul. The perception of such ephemeral happiness and distress is due only to the forgetfulness of his qualities, which are equal to the Lord’s. There is, however, a regular current from the Lord Himself, from within and without, by which to rectify the fallen condition of the living being. From within He corrects the desiring living beings as localized Paramatma, and from without He corrects by His manifestations, the spiritual master and the revealed scriptures. One should look unto the Lord; one should not be disturbed by the so-called manifestations of happiness or distress, but he should try to cooperate with the Lord in His outward activities for correcting the fallen souls. By His order only, one should become a spiritual master and cooperate with the Lord. One should not become a spiritual master for one’s personal benefit, for some material gain or as an avenue of business or occupation for earning livelihood. Bona fide spiritual masters who look unto the Supreme Lord to cooperate with Him are actually qualitatively one with the Lord, and the forgetful ones are perverted reflections only. Yudhisthira Maharaja is advised by Narada, therefore, not to be disturbed by the affairs of so-called happiness and distress, but to look only unto the Lord to execute the mission for which the Lord has descended. That was his prime duty.

SB1.13.49

TEXT 49

so ’yam adya maharaja

bhagavan bhuta-bhavanah

kala-rupo ’vatirno ’syam

abhavaya sura-dvisam

SYNONYMS

sah—that Supreme Lord; ayam—the Lord Sri Krsna; adya—at present; maharaja—O King; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; bhuta-bhavanah—the creator or the father of everything created; kala-rupah—in the disguise of all-devouring time; avatirnah—descended; asyam—upon the world; abhavaya—for eliminating; sura-dvisam—those who are against the will of the Lord.

TRANSLATION

That Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, in the guise of all-devouring time [kala-rupa] has now descended on earth to eliminate the envious from the world.

PURPORT

There are two classes of human beings, namely the envious and the obedient. Since the Supreme Lord is one and the father of all living beings, the envious living beings are also His sons, but they are known as the asuras. But the living beings who are obedient to the supreme father are called devatas, or demigods, because they are not contaminated by the material conception of life. Not only are the asuras envious of the Lord in even denying the existence of the Lord, but they are also envious of all other living beings. The predominance of asuras in the world is occasionally rectified by the Lord when He eliminates them from the world and establishes a rule of devatas like the Pandavas. His designation as kala in disguise is significant. He is not at all dangerous, but He is the transcendental form of eternity, knowledge and bliss. For the devotees His factual form is disclosed, and for the nondevotees He appears like kala-rupa, which is causal form. This causal form of the Lord is not at all pleasing to the asuras, and therefore they think of the Lord as formless in order to feel secure that they will not be vanquished by the Lord.

SB1.13.50

TEXT 50

nispaditam deva-krtyam

avasesam pratiksate

tavad yuyam aveksadhvam

bhaved yavad ihesvarah

SYNONYMS

nispaditam—performed; deva-krtyam—what was to be done on behalf of the demigods; avasesam—the rest; pratiksate—being awaited; tavat—up to that time; yuyam—all of you Pandavas; aveksadhvam—observe and wait; bhavet—may; yavat—as long as; iha—in this world; isvarah—the Supreme Lord.

TRANSLATION

The Lord has already performed His duties to help the demigods, and He is awaiting the rest. You Pandavas may wait as long as the Lord is here on earth.

PURPORT

The Lord descends from His abode (Krsnaloka), the topmost planet in the spiritual sky, in order to help the demigod administrators of this material world when they are greatly vexed by the asuras, who are envious not only of the Lord but also of His devotees. As referred to above, the conditioned living beings contact material association by their own choice, dictated by a strong desire to lord it over the resources of the material world and become imitation lords of all they survey. Everyone is trying to become an imitation God; there is keen competition amongst such imitation gods, and such competitors are generally known as asuras. When there are too many asuras in the world, then it becomes a hell for those who are devotees of the Lord. Due to the growth of the asuras, the mass of people who are generally devoted to the Lord by nature and the pure devotees of the Lord, including the demigods in higher planets, pray to the Lord for relief, and the Lord either descends personally from His abode or deputes some of His devotees to remodel the fallen condition of human society, or even animal society. Such disruptions take place not only in human society but also among animals, birds or other living beings, including the demigods in the higher planets. Lord Sri Krsna descended personally to vanquish asuras like Kamsa, Jarasandha and Sisupala, and during the reign of Maharaja Yudhisthira almost all these asuras were killed by the Lord. Now he was awaiting the annihilation of His own dynasty, called the Yadu-vamsa, who appeared by His will in this world. He wanted to take them away before His own departure to His eternal abode. Narada, like Vidura, did not disclose the imminent annihilation of the Yadu dynasty, but indirectly gave a hint to the King and his brothers to wait till the incident happened and the Lord departed.

SB1.13.51

TEXT 51

dhrtarastrah saha bhratra

gandharya ca sva-bharyaya

daksinena himavata

rsinam asramam gatah

SYNONYMS

dhrtarastrah—Dhrtarastra; saha—along with; bhratra—his brother Vidura; gandharya—Gandhari also; ca—and; sva-bharyaya—his own wife; daksinena—by the southern side; himavatah—of the Himalaya Mountains; rsinam—of the rsis; asramam—in shelter; gatah—he has gone.

TRANSLATION

O King, your uncle Dhrtarastra, his brother Vidura and his wife Gandhari have gone to the southern side of the Himalaya Mountains, where there are shelters of the great sages.

PURPORT

To pacify the mourning Maharaja Yudhisthira, Narada first of all spoke from the philosophical point of view, and then he began to describe the future movements of his uncle, which he could see by his foreseeing powers, and thus began to describe as follows.

SB1.13.52

TEXT 52

srotobhih saptabhir ya vai

svardhuni saptadha vyadhat

saptanam pritaye nana

sapta-srotah pracaksate

SYNONYMS

srotobhih—by currents; saptabhih—by seven (divisions); ya—the river; vai—certainly; svardhuni—the sacred Ganges; saptadha—seven branches; vyadhat—created; saptanam—of the seven; pritaye—for the satisfaction of; nana—various; sapta-srotah—seven sources; pracaksate—known by name.

TRANSLATION

The place is called Saptasrota [“divided by seven”] because there the waters of the sacred Ganges were divided into seven branches. This was done for the satisfaction of the seven great rsis.

SB1.13.53

TEXT 53

snatvanusavanam tasmin

hutva cagnin yatha-vidhi

ab-bhaksa upasantatma

sa aste vigataisanah

SYNONYMS

snatva—by taking bath; anusavanam—regularly three times (morning, noon and evening); tasmin—in that Ganges divided into seven; hutva—by performing the Agni-hotra sacrifice; ca—also; agnin—in the fire; yatha-vidhi—just according to the tenets of the scripture; ap-bhaksah—fasting by drinking only water; upasanta—completely controlled; atma—the gross senses and the subtle mind; sah—Dhrtarastra; aste—would be situated; vigata—devoid of; esanah—thoughts in relation with family welfare.

TRANSLATION

On the banks at Saptasrota, Dhrtarastra is now engaged in beginning astanga-yoga by bathing three times daily, in the morning, noon and evening, by performing the Agni-hotra sacrifice with fire and by drinking only water. This helps one control the mind and the senses and frees one completely from thoughts of familial affection.

PURPORT

The yoga system is a mechanical way to control the senses and the mind and divert them from matter to spirit. The preliminary processes are the sitting posture, meditation, spiritual thoughts, manipulation of air passing within the body, and gradual situation in trance, facing the Absolute Person, Paramatma. Such mechanical ways of rising to the spiritual platform prescribe some regulative principles of taking bath daily three times, fasting as far as possible, sitting and concentrating the mind on spiritual matters and thus gradually becoming free from visaya, or material objectives. Material existence means to be absorbed in the material objective, which is simply illusory. House, country, family, society, children, property, and business are some of the material coverings of the spirit, atma, and the yoga system helps one to become free from all these illusory thoughts and gradually turn towards the Absolute Person, Paramatma. By material association and education, we learn simply to concentrate on flimsy things, but yoga is the process of forgetting them altogether. Modern so-called yogis and yoga systems manifest some magical feats, and ignorant persons are attracted by such false things, or they accept the yoga system as a cheap healing process for diseases of the gross body. But factually the yoga system is the process of learning to forget what we have acquired throughout the struggle for existence. Dhrtarastra was all along engaged in improving family affairs by raising the standard of living of his sons or by usurping the property of the Pandavas for the sake of his own sons. These are common affairs for a man grossly materialistic and without knowledge of the spiritual force. He does not see how this can drag one from heaven to hell. By the grace of his younger brother Vidura, Dhrtarastra was enlightened and could see his grossly illusory engagements, and by such enlightenment he was able to leave home for spiritual realization. Sri Naradadeva was just foretelling the way of his spiritual progress in a place which was sanctified by the flow of the celestial Ganges. Drinking water only, without solid food, is also considered fasting. This is necessary for advancement of spiritual knowledge. A foolish man wants to be a cheap yogi without observing the regulative principles. A man who has no control over the tongue at first can hardly become a yogi. Yogi and bhogi are two opposite terms. The bhogi, or the merry man who eats and drinks, cannot be a yogi, for a yogi is never allowed to eat and drink unrestrictedly. We may note with profit how Dhrtarastra began his yoga system by drinking water only and sitting calmly in a place with a spiritual atmosphere, deeply absorbed in the thoughts of the Lord Hari, the Personality of Godhead.

SB1.13.54

TEXT 54

jitasano jita-svasah

pratyahrta-sad-indriyah

hari-bhavanaya dhvasta-

rajah-sattva-tamo-malah

SYNONYMS

jita-asanah—one who has controlled the sitting posture; jita-svasah—one who has controlled the breathing process; pratyahrta—turning back; sat—six; indriyah—senses; hari—the Absolute Personality of Godhead; bhavanaya—absorbed in; dhvasta—conquered; rajah—passion; sattva—goodness; tamah—ignorance; malah—contaminations.

TRANSLATION

One who has controlled the sitting postures [the yogic asanas] and the breathing process can turn the senses toward the Absolute Personality of Godhead and thus become immune to the contaminations of the modes of material nature, namely mundane goodness, passion and ignorance.

PURPORT

The preliminary activities of the way of yoga are asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dhyana, dharana, etc. Maharaja Dhrtarastra was to attain success in those preliminary actions because he was seated in a sanctified place and was concentrating upon one objective, namely the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Hari). Thus all his senses were being engaged in the service of the Lord. This process directly helps the devotee to get freedom from the contaminations of the three material modes of nature. Even the highest mode, the material mode of goodness, is also a cause of material bondage, and what to speak of the other qualities, namely passion and ignorance. Passion and ignorance increase the material propensities of hankering for material enjoyment, and a strong sense of lust provokes the accumulation of wealth and power. One who has conquered these two base mentalities and has raised himself to the platform of goodness, which is full of knowledge and morality, cannot also control the senses, namely the eyes, the tongue, the nose, the ear and touch. But one who has surrendered himself unto the lotus feet of Lord Hari, as above mentioned, can transcend all influences of the modes of material nature and be fixed in the service of the Lord. The bhakti-yoga process, therefore, directly applies the senses to the loving service of the Lord. This prohibits the performer from engaging in material activities. This process of turning the senses from material attachment to the loving transcendental service of the Lord is called pratyahara, and the very process is called pranayama, ultimately ending in samadhi, or absorption in pleasing the Supreme Lord Hari by all means.

SB1.13.55

TEXT 55

vijnanatmani samyojya

ksetrajne pravilapya tam

brahmany atmanam adhare

ghatambaram ivambare

SYNONYMS

vijnana—purified identity; atmani—in intelligence; samyojya—perfectly fixing; ksetra-jne—in the matter of the living being; pravilapya—merging; tam—him; brahmani—in the Supreme; atmanam—pure living being; adhare—in the reservoir; ghata-ambaram—sky within the block; iva—like; ambare—in the supreme sky.

TRANSLATION

Dhrtarastra will have to amalgamate his pure identity with intelligence and then merge into the Supreme Being with knowledge of his qualitative oneness, as a living entity, with the Supreme Brahman. Being freed from the blocked sky, he will have to rise to the spiritual sky.

PURPORT

The living being, by his desiring to lord it over the material world and declining to cooperate with the Supreme Lord, contacts the sum total of the material world, namely the mahat-tattva, and from the mahat-tattva his false identity with the material world, intelligence, mind and senses is developed. This covers his pure spiritual identity. By the yogic process, when his pure identity is realized in self-realization, one has to revert to the original position by amalgamating the five gross elements and the subtle elements, mind and intelligence, into the mahat-tattva again. Thus getting freed from the clutches of the mahat-tattva, he has to merge in the existence of the Supersoul. In other words, he has to realize that qualitatively he is nondifferent from the Supersoul, and thus he transcends the material sky by his pure identical intelligence and thus becomes engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. This is the highest perfectional development of spiritual identity, which was attained by Dhrtarastra by the grace of Vidura and the Lord. The Lord’s mercy was bestowed upon him by his personal contact with Vidura, and when he was actually practicing the instructions of Vidura, the Lord helped him to attain the highest perfectional stage.

A pure devotee of the Lord does not live on any planet of the material sky, nor does he feel any contact with material elements. His so-called material body does not exist, being surcharged with the spiritual current of the Lord’s identical interest, and thus he is permanently freed from all contaminations of the sum total of the mahat-tattva. He is always in the spiritual sky, which he attains by being transcendental to the sevenfold material covering by the effect of his devotional service. The conditioned souls are within the coverings, whereas the liberated soul is far beyond the cover.

SB1.13.56

TEXT 56

dhvasta-maya-gunodarko

niruddha-karanasayah

nivartitakhilahara

aste sthanur ivacalah

tasyantarayo maivabhuh

sannyastakhila-karmanah

SYNONYMS

dhvasta—being destroyed; maya-guna—the modes of material nature; udarkah—after effects; niruddha—being suspended; karana-asayah—the senses and the mind; nivartita—stopped; akhila—all; aharah—food for the senses; aste—is sitting; sthanuh—immovable; iva—like; acalah—fixed; tasya—his; antarayah—hindrances; ma eva—never like that; abhuh—be; sannyasta—renounced; akhila—all sorts; karmanah—material duties.

TRANSLATION

He will have to suspend all the actions of the senses, even from the outside, and will have to be impervious to interactions of the senses, which are influenced by the modes of material nature. After renouncing all material duties, he must become immovably established, beyond all sources of hindrances on the path.

PURPORT

Dhrtarastra had attained, by the yogic process, the stage of negation of all sorts of material reaction. The effects of the material modes of nature draw the victim to indefatigable desires of enjoying matter, but one can escape such false enjoyment by the yogic process. Every sense is always busy in searching for its food, and thus the conditioned soul is assaulted from all sides and has no chance to become steady in any pursuit. Maharaja Yudhisthira was advised by Narada not to disturb his uncle by attempting to bring him back home. He was now beyond the attraction of anything material. The material modes of nature (the gunas) have their different modes of activities, but above the material modes of nature is a spiritual mode, which is absolute. Nirguna means without reaction. The spiritual mode and its effect are identical; therefore the spiritual quality is distinguished from its material counterpart by the word nirguna. After complete suspension of the material modes of nature, one is admitted to the spiritual sphere, and action dictated by the spiritual modes is called devotional service, or bhakti. Bhakti is therefore nirguna attained by direct contact with the Absolute.

SB1.13.57

TEXT 57

sa va adyatanad rajan

paratah pancame ’hani

kalevaram hasyati svam

tac ca bhasmi-bhavisyati

SYNONYMS

sah—he; va—in all probability; adya—today; tanat—from; rajan—O King; paratah—ahead; pancame—on the fifth; ahani—day; kalevaram—body; hasyati—shall quit; svam—his own; tat—that; ca—also; bhasmi—ashes; bhavisyati—will turn into.

TRANSLATION

O King, he will quit his body, most probably on the fifth day from today. And his body will turn to ashes.

PURPORT

Narada Muni’s prophecy prohibited Yudhisthira Maharaja from going to the place where his uncle was staying because even after quitting the body by his own mystic power, Dhrtarastra would not be in need of any funeral ceremony; Narada Muni indicated that his body by itself would burn to ashes. The perfection of the yoga system is attained by such mystic power. The yogi is able to quit his body by his own choice of time and can attain any planet he desires by turning the present body into ashes by self-made fire.

SB1.13.58

TEXT 58

dahyamane ’gnibhir dehe

patyuh patni sahotaje

bahih sthita patim sadhvi

tam agnim anu veksyati

SYNONYMS

dahyamane—while it is burning; agnibhih—by the fire; dehe—the body; patyuh—of the husband; patni—the wife; saha-utaje—along with the thatched cottage; bahih—outside; sthita—situated; patim—unto the husband; sadhvi—the chaste lady; tam—that; agnim—fire; anu veksyati—looking with great attention will enter the fire.

TRANSLATION

While outside observing her husband, who will burn in the fire of mystic power along with his thatched cottage, his chaste wife will enter the fire with rapt attention.

PURPORT

Gandhari was an ideal chaste lady, a life companion of her husband, and therefore when she saw her husband burning in the fire of mystic yoga along with his cottage of leaves, she despaired. She left home after losing her one hundred sons, and in the forest she saw that her most beloved husband was also burning. Now she actually felt alone, and therefore she entered the fire of her husband and followed her husband to death. This entering of a chaste lady into the fire of her dead husband is called the sati rite, and the action is considered to be most perfect for a woman. In a later age, this sati rite became an obnoxious criminal affair because the ceremony was forced upon even an unwilling woman. In this fallen age it is not possible for any lady to follow the sati rite as chastely as it was done by Gandhari and others in past ages. A chaste wife like Gandhari would feel the separation of her husband to be more burning than actual fire. Such a lady can observe the sati rite voluntarily, and there is no criminal force by anyone. When the rite became a formality only and force was applied upon a lady to follow the principle, actually it became criminal, and therefore the ceremony was to be stopped by state law. This prophecy of Narada Muni to Maharaja Yudhisthira forbade him to go to his widowed aunt.

SB1.13.59

TEXT 59

viduras tu tad ascaryam

nisamya kuru-nandana

harsa-soka-yutas tasmad

ganta tirtha-nisevakah

SYNONYMS

vidurah—Vidura also; tu—but; tat—that incident; ascaryam—wonderful; nisamya—seeing; kuru-nandana—O son of the Kuru dynasty; harsa—delight; soka—grief; yutah—affected by; tasmat—from that place; ganta—will go away; tirtha—place of pilgrimage; nisevakah—for being enlivened.

TRANSLATION

Vidura, being affected with delight and grief, will then leave that place of sacred pilgrimage.

PURPORT

Vidura was astonished to see the marvelous departure of his brother Dhrtarastra as a liberated yogi, for in his past life he was much attached to materialism. Of course it was only due to Vidura that his brother attained the desirable goal of life. Vidura was therefore glad to learn about it. But he was sorry that he could not make his brother turn into a pure devotee. This was not done by Vidura because of Dhrtarastra’s being inimical to the Pandavas, who were all devotees of the Lord. An offense at the feet of a Vaisnava is more dangerous than an offense at the lotus feet of the Lord. Vidura was certainly very liberal to bestow mercy upon his brother Dhrtarastra, whose past life was very materialistic. But ultimately the result of such mercy certainly depended on the will of the Supreme Lord in the present life; therefore Dhrtarastra attained liberation only, and after many such liberated states of life one can attain to the stage of devotional service. Vidura was certainly very mortified by the death of his brother and sister-in-law, and the only remedy to mitigate such lamentation was to go out to pilgrimage. Thus Maharaja Yudhisthira had no chance to call back Vidura, his surviving uncle.

SB1.13.60

TEXT 60

ity uktvatharuhat svargam

naradah saha-tumburuh

yudhisthiro vacas tasya

hrdi krtvajahac chucah

SYNONYMS

iti—thus; uktva—having addressed; atha—thereafter; aruhat—ascended; svargam—into outer space; naradah—the great sage Narada; saha—along with; tumburuh—his stringed instrument; yudhisthirah—Maharaja Yudhisthira; vacah—instructions; tasya—of his; hrdi krtva—keeping in the heart; ajahat—gave up; sucah—all lamentations.

TRANSLATION

Having spoken thus, the great sage Narada, along with his vina, ascended into outer space. Yudhisthira kept his instruction in his heart and so was able to get rid of all lamentations.

PURPORT

Sri Naradaji is an eternal spaceman, having been endowed with a spiritual body by the grace of the Lord. He can travel in the outer spaces of both the material and spiritual worlds without restriction and can approach any planet in unlimited space within no time. We have already discussed his previous life as the son of a maidservant. Because of his association with pure devotees, he was elevated to the position of an eternal spaceman and thus had freedom of movement. One should therefore try to follow in the footsteps of Narada Muni and not make a futile effort to reach other planets by mechanical means. Maharaja Yudhisthira was a pious king, and therefore he could see Narada Muni occasionally; anyone who desires to see Narada Muni must first be pious and follow in the footsteps of Narada Muni.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the First Canto, Thirteenth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Dhrtarastra Quits Home.”

Next chapter (SB 1.14)