Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3: “The Status Quo”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter One

SB3.1.31

TEXT 31

ksemam sa kaccid yuyudhana aste

yah phalgunal labdha-dhanu-rahasyah

lebhe ’njasadhoksaja-sevayaiva

gatim tadiyam yatibhir durapam

SYNONYMS

ksemam—all good; sah—he; kaccit—whether; yuyudhanah—Satyaki; aste—is there; yah—one who; phalgunat—from Arjuna; labdha—has achieved; dhanuh-rahasyah—one who understands the intricacies of military art; lebhe—also achieved; anjasa—summarily; adhoksaja—of the Transcendence; sevaya—by service; eva—certainly; gatim—destination; tadiyam—transcendental; yatibhih—by great renouncers; durapam—very difficult to achieve.

TRANSLATION

O Uddhava, does Yuyudhana fare well? He learned the intricacies of the military art from Arjuna and attained the transcendental destination which is very difficult to reach even for great renouncers.

PURPORT

The destination of transcendence is to become the personal associate of the Personality of Godhead, who is known as adhoksaja, He who is beyond the reach of the senses. The renouncers of the world, the sannyasis, give up all worldly connections, namely, family, wife, children, friends, home, wealth—everything—to attain the transcendental bliss of Brahman happiness. But adhoksaja happiness is beyond Brahman happiness. The empiric philosophers enjoy a transcendental quality of bliss by philosophical speculation on the Supreme Truth, but beyond that pleasure is the pleasure enjoyed by Brahman in His eternal form of the Personality of Godhead. Brahman bliss is enjoyed by living entities after liberation from material bondage. But Parabrahman, the Personality of Godhead, enjoys eternally a bliss of His own potency, which is called the hladini potency. The empiric philosopher who studies Brahman by negation of the external features has not yet learned the quality of the hladini potency of Brahman. Out of many potencies of the Omnipotent, there are three features of His internal potency—namely samvit, sandhini and hladini. And in spite of their strict adherence to the principles of yama, niyama, asana, dhyana, dharana and pranayama, the great yogis and jnanis are unable to enter into the internal potency of the Lord. This internal potency is, however, easily realized by the devotees of the Lord by dint of devotional service. Yuyudhana achieved this stage of life, just as he achieved expert knowledge in military science from Arjuna. Thus his life was successful to the fullest extent from both the material and spiritual angles of vision. That is the way of devotional service to the Lord.

SB3.1.32

TEXT 32

kaccid budhah svasty anamiva aste

svaphalka-putro bhagavat-prapannah

yah krsna-padankita-marga-pamsusv

acestata prema-vibhinna-dhairyah

SYNONYMS

kaccit—whether; budhah—very learned; svasti—well; anamivah—faultless; aste—does exist; svaphalka-putrah—the son of Svaphalka, Akrura; bhagavat—regarding the Personality of Godhead; prapannah—surrendered; yah—one who; krsna—the Lord; pada-ankita—marked with footprints; marga—path; pamsusu—in the dust; acestata—exhibited; prema-vibhinna—lost in transcendental love; dhairyah—mental equilibrium.

TRANSLATION

Please tell me whether Akrura, the son of Svaphalka, is doing well. He is a faultless soul surrendered unto the Personality of Godhead. He once lost his mental equilibrium due to his ecstasy of transcendental love and fell down on the dust of a road which was marked with the footprints of Lord Krsna.

PURPORT

When Akrura came to Vrndavana in search of Krsna, he saw the footprints of the Lord on the dust of Nanda-grama and at once fell on them in ecstasy of transcendental love. This ecstasy is possible for a devotee who is fully absorbed in incessant thoughts of Krsna. Such a pure devotee of the Lord is naturally faultless because he is always associated with the supremely pure Personality of Godhead. Constant thought of the Lord is the antiseptic method for keeping oneself free from the infectious contamination of the material qualities. The pure devotee of the Lord is always in company with the Lord by thinking of Him. Yet, in the particular context of time and place, the transcendental emotions take a different turn, and this breaks the mental equilibrium of the devotee. Lord Caitanya displayed the typical example of transcendental ecstasy, as we can understand from the life of this incarnation of God.

SB3.1.33

TEXT 33

kaccic chivam devaka-bhoja-putrya

visnu-prajaya iva deva-matuh

ya vai sva-garbhena dadhara devam

trayi yatha yajna-vitanam artham

SYNONYMS

kaccit—whether; sivam—everything well; devaka-bhoja-putryah—of the daughter of King Devaka-bhoja; visnu-prajayah—of she who gave birth to the Personality of Godhead; iva—like that of; deva-matuh—of the mother of the demigods (Aditi); ya—one who; vai—indeed; sva-garbhena—by her own womb; dadhara—conceived; devam—the Supreme Lord; trayi—the Vedas; yatha—as much as; yajna-vitanam—of spreading the sacrifice; artham—purpose.

TRANSLATION

As the Vedas are the reservoir of sacrificial purposes, so the daughter of King Devaka-bhoja conceived the Supreme Personality of Godhead in her womb, as did the mother of the demigods. Is she [Devaki] doing well?

PURPORT

The Vedas are full of transcendental knowledge and spiritual values, and thus Devaki, the mother of Lord Krsna, conceived the Lord in her womb as the personified meaning of the Vedas. There is no difference between the Vedas and the Lord. The Vedas aim at the understanding of the Lord, and the Lord is the Vedas personified. Devaki is compared to the meaningful Vedas and the Lord to their purpose personified.

SB3.1.34

TEXT 34

apisvid aste bhagavan sukham vo

yah satvatam kama-dugho ’niruddhah

yam amananti sma hi sabda-yonim

mano-mayam sattva-turiya-tattvam

SYNONYMS

api—as also; svit—whether; aste—does He; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; sukham—all happiness; vah—of you; yah—one who; satvatam—of the devotees; kama-dughah—source of all desires; aniruddhah—the plenary expansion Aniruddha; yam—whom; amananti—they accept; sma—from yore; hi—certainly; sabda-yonim—the cause of the Rg Veda; manah-mayam—creator of the mind; sattva—transcendental; turiya—the fourth expansion; tattvam—principle.

TRANSLATION

May I inquire whether Aniruddha is doing well? He is the fulfiller of all the desires of the pure devotees and has been considered from yore to be the cause of the Rg Veda, the creator of the mind and the fourth Plenary expansion of Visnu.

PURPORT

Adi-caturbhuja, the original expansions from Baladeva, are Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. All of Them are visnu-tattvas, or nondifferent Personalities of Godhead. In the incarnation of Sri Rama, all these different expansions appeared for particular pastimes. Lord Rama is the original Vasudeva, and His brothers were Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Aniruddha is also the cause of Maha-Visnu, from whose breathing the Rg Veda appeared. All this is nicely explained in the Markandeya Purana. In the incarnation of Lord Krsna, Aniruddha appeared as the son of the Lord. Lord Krsna in Dvaraka is the Vasudeva expansion of the original group. The original Lord Krsna never leaves Goloka Vrndavana. All the plenary expansions are one and the same visnu-tattva, and there is no difference in Their potency.

SB3.1.35

TEXT 35

apisvid anye ca nijatma-daivam

ananya-vrttya samanuvrata ye

hrdika-satyatmaja-carudesna-

gadadayah svasti caranti saumya

SYNONYMS

api—as also; svit—whether; anye—others; ca—and; nija-atma—of one’s own self; daivam—Sri Krsna; ananya—absolutely; vrttya—faith; samanuvratah—followers; ye—all those who; hrdika—Hrdika; satya-atmaja—the son of Satyabhama; carudesna—Carudesna; gada—Gada; adayah—and others; svasti—all well; caranti—pass time; saumya—O sober one.

TRANSLATION

O sober one, others, such as Hrdika, Carudesna, Gada and the son of Satyabhama, who accept Lord Sri Krsna as the soul of the self and thus follow His path without deviation—are they well?

SB3.1.36

TEXT 36

api sva-dorbhyam vijayacyutabhyam

dharmena dharmah paripati setum

duryodhano ’tapyata yat-sabhayam

samrajya-laksmya vijayanuvrttya

SYNONYMS

api—as also; sva-dorbhyam—own arms; vijaya—Arjuna; acyuta-bhyam—along with Sri Krsna; dharmena—on religious principles; dharmah—King Yudhisthira; paripati—maintains; setum—the respect of religion; duryodhanah—Duryodhana; atapyata—envied; yat—whose; sabhayam—royal assembly; samrajya—imperial; laksmya—opulence; vijaya-anuvrttya—by the service of Arjuna.

TRANSLATION

Also let me inquire whether Maharaja Yudhisthira is now maintaining the kingdom according to religious principles and with respect for the path of religion. Formerly Duryodhana was burning with envy because Yudhisthira was being protected by the arms of Krsna and Arjuna as if they were his own arms.

PURPORT

Maharaja Yudhisthira was the emblem of religion. When he was ruling his kingdom with the help of Lord Krsna and Arjuna, the opulence of his kingdom surpassed all imaginations of the opulence of the kingdom of heaven. His actual arms were Lord Krsna and Arjuna, and thus he surpassed everyone’s opulence. Duryodhana, being envious of this opulence, planned so many schemes to put Yudhisthira into difficulty, and at last the Battle of Kuruksetra was brought about. After the Battle of Kuruksetra, Maharaja Yudhisthira was again able to rule his legitimate kingdom, and he reinstated the principles of honor and respect for religion. That is the beauty of a kingdom ruled by a pious king like Maharaja Yudhisthira.

SB3.1.37

TEXT 37

kim va krtaghesv agham atyamarsi

bhimo ’hivad dirghatamam vyamuncat

yasyanghri-patam rana-bhur na sehe

margam gadayas carato vicitram

SYNONYMS

kim—whether; va—either; krta—performed; aghesu—unto the sinners; agham—angry; ati-amarsi—unconquerable; bhimah—Bhima; ahi-vat—like a cobra; dirgha-tamam—long-cherished; vyamuncat—has released; yasya—whose; anghri-patam—putting on the steps; rana-bhuh—the field of battle; na—could not; sehe—tolerate; margam—the path; gadayah—by the clubs; caratah—playing; vicitram—wonderful.

TRANSLATION

[Please tell me] whether the unconquerable Bhima, who is like a cobra, has released his long-cherished anger upon the sinners? The field of battle could not tolerate even the wonderful playing of his club when he stepped on the path.

PURPORT

Vidura knew the strength of Bhima. Whenever Bhima was on the battlefield, his steps on the path and the wonderful playing of his club were unbearable for the enemy. Powerful Bhima did not take steps against the sons of Dhrtarastra for a long time. Vidura’s inquiry was whether he had yet released his anger, which was like that of a suffering cobra. When a cobra releases its venom after long-cherished anger, its victim cannot survive.

SB3.1.38

TEXT 38

kaccid yasodha ratha-yuthapanam

gandiva-dhanvoparatarir aste

alaksito yac-chara-kuta-gudho

maya-kirato girisas tutosa

SYNONYMS

kaccit—whether; yasah-dha—famous; ratha-yuthapanam—amongst the great chariot warriors; gandiva—Gandiva; dhanva—bow; uparata-arih—one who has vanquished the enemies; aste—doing well; alaksitah—without being identified; yat—whose; sara-kuta-gudhah—being covered by arrows; maya-kiratah—false hunter; girisah—Lord Siva; tutosa—was satisfied.

TRANSLATION

[Please tell me] whether Arjuna, whose bow bears the name Gandiva and who is always famous amongst the chariot warriors for vanquishing his enemies, is doing well. He once satisfied Lord Siva by covering him with arrows when Siva came as an unidentified false hunter.

PURPORT

Lord Siva tested Arjuna’s strength by picking a quarrel with him over a hunted boar. He confronted Arjuna in the false dress of a hunter, and Arjuna covered him with arrows until Lord Siva was satisfied with Arjuna’s fighting. He offered Arjuna the Pasupati weapon and blessed him. Here Vidura inquired about the great warrior’s well-being.

SB3.1.39

TEXT 39

yamav utasvit tanayau prthayah

parthair vrtau paksmabhir aksiniva

remata uddaya mrdhe sva-riktham

parat suparnav iva vajri-vaktrat

SYNONYMS

yamau—twins (Nakula and Sahadeva); utasvit—whether; tanayau—sons; prthayah—of Prtha; parthaih—by the sons of Prtha; vrtau—protected; paksmabhih—by shields; aksini—of the eyes; iva—like; remate—playing carelessly; uddaya—snatching; mrdhe—in the fight; sva-riktham—own property; parat—from the enemy Duryodhana; suparnau—Garuda, the carrier of Lord Visnu; iva—like; vajri-vaktrat—from the mouth of Indra.

TRANSLATION

Are the twin brothers who are protected by their brothers doing well? Just as the eye is always protected by the eyelid, they are protected by the sons of Prtha, who snatched back their rightful kingdom from the hands of their enemy Duryodhana, just as Garuda snatched nectar from the mouth of Indra, the thunderbolt carrier.

PURPORT

Indra, the King of heaven, carries a thunderbolt in his hand and is very strong, yet Garuda, the carrier of Lord Visnu, was able to snatch nectar from his mouth. Similarly, Duryodhana was as strong as the King of heaven, and still the sons of Prtha, the Pandavas, were able to snatch away their kingdom from Duryodhana. Both Garuda and the Parthas are pet devotees of the Lord, and thus it was possible for them to face such strong enemies.

Vidura’s inquiry was about the youngest brothers of the Pandavas, namely Nakula and Sahadeva. These twin brothers were sons of Madri, the stepmother of the other Pandavas. But although they were stepbrothers, because Kunti took charge of them after the departure of Madri with her husband Maharaja Pandu, Nakula and Sahadeva were as good as the other three Pandavas, Yudhisthira, Bhima and Arjuna. The five brothers are known in the world as regular brothers. The three elder Pandavas took care of the younger brothers, just as the eyelid takes care of the eye. Vidura was anxious to know whether, after winning back their own kingdom from the hands of Duryodhana, the younger brothers were still living happily under the care of the elder brothers.

SB3.1.40

TEXT 40

aho prthapi dhriyate ’rbhakarthe

rajarsi-varyena vinapi tena

yas tv eka-viro ’dhiratho vijigye

dhanur dvitiyah kakubhas catasrah

SYNONYMS

aho—O my lord; prtha—Kunti; api—also; dhriyate—bears her life; arbhaka-arthe—for the sake of fatherless children; rajarsi—King Pandu; varyena—the best; vina api—without him; tena—him; yah—one who; tu—but; eka—alone; virah—the warrior; adhirathah—commander; vijigye—could conquer; dhanuh—the bow; dvitiyah—the second; kakubhah—directions; catasrah—four.

TRANSLATION

O my lord, is Prtha still living? She lived only for the sake of her fatherless children; otherwise it was impossible for her to live without King Pandu, who was the greatest commander and who alone conquered the four directions simply with the help of a second bow.

PURPORT

A faithful wife cannot live without her lord, the husband, and therefore all widows used to voluntarily embrace the burning fire which consumed the dead husband. This system was very common in India because all the wives were chaste and faithful to their husbands. Later on, with the advent of the age of Kali, the wives gradually began to be less adherent to their husbands, and the voluntary embrace of the fire by the widows became a thing of the past. Very recently the system was abolished, since the voluntary system had become a forcible social custom.

When Maharaja Pandu died, both his wives, namely Kunti and Madri, were prepared to embrace the fire, but Madri requested Kunti to live for the sake of the younger children, the five Pandavas. This was agreed upon by Kunti at the added request of Vyasadeva. In spite of her great bereavement, Kunti decided to live, not to enjoy life in the absence of her husband, but only to give protection to the children. This incident is referred to here by Vidura because he knew all the facts about his sister-in-law Kuntidevi. It is understood that Maharaja Pandu was a great warrior and that he alone, with the help of bow and arrow, could conquer the world’s four directions. In the absence of such a husband, it was almost impossible for Kunti to live on even as a widow, but she had to do it for the sake of the five children.

SB3.1.41

TEXT 41

saumyanusoce tam adhah-patantam

bhratre paretaya vidudruhe yah

niryapito yena suhrt sva-purya

aham sva-putran samanuvratena

SYNONYMS

saumya—O gentle one; anusoce—just lamenting; tam—him; adhah-patantam—gliding down; bhratre—on his brother’s; paretaya—death; vidudruhe—revolted against; yah—one who; niryapitah—driven out; yena—by whom; suhrt—well-wisher; sva-puryah—from his own house; aham—myself; sva-putran—with his own sons; samanu-vratena—accepting the same line of action.

TRANSLATION

O gentle one, I simply lament for he [Dhrtarastra] who rebelled against his brother after death. By him I was driven out of my own house, although I am his sincere well-wisher, because he accepted the line of action adopted by his own sons.

PURPORT

Vidura did not ask about the welfare of his elder brother because there was no chance of his well-being, only news of his gliding down to hell. Vidura was a sincere well-wisher for Dhrtarastra, and he had a thought about him in the corner of his heart. He lamented that Dhrtarastra could rebel against the sons of his dead brother Pandu and that he could drive him (Vidura) out of his own house on the dictation of his crooked sons. In spite of these actions, Vidura never became an enemy of Dhrtarastra but continued to be his well-wisher, and at the last stage of Dhrtarastra’s life, it was Vidura only who proved to be his real friend. Such is the behavior of a Vaisnava like Vidura: he desires all good, even for his enemies.

SB3.1.42

TEXT 42

so ’ham harer martya-vidambanena

drso nrnam calayato vidhatuh

nanyopalaksyah padavim prasadac

carami pasyan gata-vismayo ’tra

SYNONYMS

sah aham—therefore, I; hareh—of the Personality of Godhead; martya—in this mortal world; vidambanena—without being recognized; drsah—on sight; nrnam—of the people in general; calayatah—bewildering; vidhatuh—in order to do it; na—not; anya—other; upalaksyah—seen by others; padavim—glories; prasadat—by the grace of; carami—do travel; pasyan—by seeing; gata-vismayah—without doubt; atra—in this matter.

TRANSLATION

I am not astonished at this, having traveled over the world without being seen by others. The activities of the Personality of Godhead, which are like those of a man in this mortal world, are bewildering to others, but I know of His greatness by His grace, and thus I am happy in all respects.

PURPORT

Although he was the brother of Dhrtarastra, Vidura was completely different. By the grace of Lord Krsna, he was not foolish like his brother, and thus his brother’s association could not influence him. Dhrtarastra and his materialistic sons wanted to falsely lord it over the world by dint of their own strength. The Lord encouraged them in this, and thus they became more and more bewildered. But Vidura wanted to achieve sincere devotional service of the Lord and therefore became a soul absolutely surrendered to the Absolute Personality of Godhead. He could realize this in the progress of his pilgrim’s journey, and thus he was freed from all doubts. He was not at all sorry to be bereft of his hearth and home because he now had experience that dependence on the mercy of the Lord is a greater freedom than so-called freedom at home. A person should not be in the renounced order of life unless he is firmly convinced of being protected by the Lord. This stage of life is explained in Bhagavad-gita as abhayam sattva-samsuddhih: every living entity is factually completely dependent on the mercy of the Lord, but unless one is in the pure state of existence, he cannot be established in this position. This stage of dependence is called sattva-samsuddhih, or purification of one’s existence. The result of such purification is exhibited in fearlessness. A devotee of the Lord, who is called narayana-para, is never afraid of anything because he is always aware of the fact that the Lord protects him in all circumstances. With this conviction, Vidura traveled alone, and he was not seen or recognized by any friend or foe. Thus he enjoyed freedom of life without obligation to the many duties of the world.

When Lord Sri Krsna was personally present in the mortal world in His eternal, blissful form of Syamasundara, those who were not pure devotees of the Lord could not recognize Him or know His glories. Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam (Bg. 9.11): He is always bewildering to the nondevotees, but He is always seen by the devotees by dint of their pure devotional service to Him.

SB3.1.43

TEXT 43

nunam nrpanam tri-madotpathanam

mahim muhus calayatam camubhih

vadhat prapannarti-jihirsayeso

’py upaiksatagham bhagavan kurunam

SYNONYMS

nunam—of course; nrpanam—of the kings; tri—three; mada-utpathanam—going astray out of false pride; mahim—earth; muhuh—constantly; calayatam—agitating; camubhih—by movement of soldiers; vadhat—from the act of killing; prapanna—surrendered; arti-jihirsaya—willing to relieve the distress of the sufferers; isah—the Lord; api—in spite of; upaiksata—waited; agham—offenses; bhagavan—the Supreme Lord; kurunam—of the Kurus.

TRANSLATION

Despite His being the Lord and being always willing to relieve the distress of sufferers, He [Krsna] refrained from killing the Kurus, although they committed all sorts of sins and although He saw other kings constantly agitating the earth by their strong military movements carried out under the dictation of three kinds of false pride.

PURPORT

As declared in Bhagavad-gita, the Lord appears in the mortal world to execute His much-needed mission of killing the miscreants and giving protection to the suffering faithful. In spite of that mission, Lord Krsna tolerated the insult to Draupadi by the Kurus and the injustices perpetrated against the Pandavas, as well as insults to Himself. The question may be raised, “Why did He tolerate such injustices and insults in His presence? Why did He not chastise the Kurus immediately?” When Draupadi was insulted in the assembly by the Kurus by their attempt to see her naked in the presence of all, the Lord protected Draupadi by supplying an unlimited length of clothing. But He did not chastise the insulting party immediately. This silence of the Lord did not mean, however, that He excused the offenses of the Kurus. There were many other kings on earth who had become very proud of three kinds of possessions—wealth, education and followers—and they were constantly agitating the earth by movements of military strength. The Lord was just waiting to get them together on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra and kill them all at one time, just to make a short-cut in His killing mission. Godless kings or heads of state, when puffed up by advancement of material wealth, education and increase of population, always make a show of military strength and give trouble to the innocent. When Lord Krsna was personally present, there were many such kings all over the world, and He thus arranged for the Battle of Kuruksetra. In His manifestation of visva-rupa, the Lord expressed His mission of killing as follows: “I have willingly descended on the earth in My capacity of inexorable Time in order to decrease the unwanted population. I shall finish all those who have assembled here except you, the Pandavas. This killing does not wait for you to take part in it. It is already arranged: all will be killed by Me. If you want to become famous as the hero of the battlefield and thus enjoy the booty of war, then, O Savyasaci, just become the immediate cause of this killing and thus take the credit. I have already killed all the great warriors—Bhisma, Drona, Jayadratha, Karna and many other great generals. Do not worry. Fight the battle and be famous as a great hero.” (Bg. 11.32–34)

The Lord always wants to see His devotee as the hero of some episode which He Himself performs. He wanted to see His devotee and friend Arjuna as the hero of the Battle of Kuruksetra, and thus He waited for all the miscreants of the world to assemble. That, and nothing else, is the explanation of His waiting.

SB3.1.44

TEXT 44

ajasya janmotpatha-nasanaya

karmany akartur grahanaya pumsam

nanv anyatha ko ’rhati deha-yogam

paro gunanam uta karma-tantram

SYNONYMS

ajasya—of the unborn; janma—appearance; utpatha-nasanaya—f or the sake of annihilating the upstarts; karmani—works; akartuh—of one who has nothing to do; grahanaya—to take up; pumsam—of all persons; nanu anyatha—otherwise; kah—who; arhati—may deserve; deha-yogam—contact of the body; parah—transcendental; gunanam—of the three modes of nature; uta—what to speak of; karma-tantram—the law of action and reaction.

TRANSLATION

The appearance of the Lord is manifested for the annihilation of the upstarts. His activities are transcendental and are enacted for the understanding of all persons. Otherwise, since the Lord is transcendental to all material modes, what purpose could He serve by coming to earth?

PURPORT

Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah (Brahma-samhita 5.1): the form of the Lord is eternal, blissful, and all-satisfying. His so-called birth is therefore an appearance only, like the birth of the sun on the horizon. His birth does not, like that of the living entities, take place under the influence of material nature and the bondage of the reactions of past deeds. His works and activities are independent pastimes and are not subject to the reactions of material nature. In Bhagavad-gita (4.14) it is said:

na mam karmani limpanti
na me karma-phale sprha
iti mam yo ’bhijanati
karmabhir na sa badhyate

The law of karma enacted by the Supreme Lord for the living entities cannot be applicable to Him, nor has the Lord any desire to improve Himself by activities like those of ordinary living beings. Ordinary living beings work for the improvement of their conditional lives. But the Lord is already full of all opulence, all strength, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation. Why should He desire improvement? No one can excel Him in any opulence, and therefore the desire for improvement is absolutely useless for Him. One should always discriminate between the activities of the Lord and those of ordinary living beings. Thus one may come to the right conclusion regarding the Lord’s transcendental position. One who can come to the conclusion of the Lord’s transcendence can become a devotee of the Lord and can at once be free from all reactions of past deeds. It is said, karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam: the Lord minimizes or nullifies the reactionary influence of the devotee’s past deeds. (Brahma-samhita 5.54)

The activities of the Lord are to be accepted and relished by all living entities. His activities are to attract the ordinary man towards the Lord. The Lord always acts in favor of the devotees, and therefore ordinary men who are fruitive actors or seekers of salvation may be attracted to the Lord when He acts as protector of the devotees. The fruitive actors can attain their goals by devotional service, and the salvationists can also attain their goal in life by devotional service to the Lord. The devotees do not want the fruitive results of their work, nor do they want any kind of salvation. They relish the glorious superhuman activities of the Lord, such as His lifting Govardhana Hill and His killing the demon Putana in infancy. His activities are enacted to attract all kinds of men—karmis, jnanis and bhaktas. Because He is transcendental to all laws of karma, there is no possibility of His accepting a form of maya as is forced on the ordinary living entities who are bound by the actions and reactions of their own deeds.

The secondary purpose of His appearance is to annihilate the upstart asuras and to stop the nonsense of atheistic propaganda by less intelligent persons. By the Lord’s causeless mercy, the asuras who are killed personally by the Personality of Godhead get salvation. The meaningful appearance of the Lord is always distinct from ordinary birth. Even the pure devotees have no connection with the material body, and certainly the Lord, who appears as He is, in His sac-cid-ananda form, is not limited by a material form.

SB3.1.45

TEXT 45

tasya prapannakhila-lokapanam

avasthitanam anusasane sve

arthaya jatasya yadusv ajasya

vartam sakhe kirtaya tirtha-kirteh

SYNONYMS

tasya—His; prapanna—surrendered; akhila-loka-panam—all rulers of the entire universe; avasthitanam—situated in; anusasane—under the control of; sve—own self; arthaya—for the interest of; jatasya—of the born; yadusu—in the family of the Yadus; ajasya—of the unborn; vartam—topics; sakhe—O my friend; kirtaya—please narrate; tirtha-kirteh—of the Lord, whose glories are chanted in the places of pilgrimage.

TRANSLATION

O my friend, please, therefore, chant the glories of the Lord, who is meant to be glorified in the places of pilgrimage. He is unborn, and yet He appears by His causeless mercy upon the surrendered rulers of all parts of the universe. Only for their interest did He appear in the family of His unalloyed devotees the Yadus.

PURPORT

There are innumerable rulers all over the universe in different varieties of planets: the sun-god in the sun planet, the moon-god in the moon planet, Indra in the heavenly planet, Vayu, Varuna, and those in the Brahmaloka planet, where Lord Brahma is living. All are obedient servants of the Lord. Whenever there is any trouble in the administration of the innumerable planets in different universes, the rulers pray for an appearance, and the Lord appears. The Bhagavatam (1.3.28) has already confirmed this in the following verse:

ete camsa-kalah pumsah
krsnas tu bhagavan svayam
indrari-vyakulam lokam
mrdayanti yuge yuge

In every millennium, whenever there is any trouble for the obedient rulers, the Lord appears. He also appears for the sake of His pure unalloyed devotees. The surrendered rulers and the pure devotees are always strictly under the control of the Lord, and they are never disobedient to the desires of the Lord. The Lord is therefore always attentive to them.

The purpose of pilgrimages is to remember the Lord constantly, and therefore the Lord is known as tirtha-kirti. The purpose of going to a place of pilgrimage is to get the chance to glorify the Lord. Even today, although times have changed, there are still pilgrimage sites in India. For example, in Mathura and Vrndavana, where we had a chance to stay, people are awake from early in the morning at 4 A.M. up until nighttime and are constantly engaged, some way or other, in chanting the holy glories of the Lord. The beauty of such a pilgrimage site is that automatically one remembers the holy glories of the Lord. His name, fame, quality, form, pastimes and entourage are all identical to the Lord, and therefore chanting the glories of the Lord invokes the personal presence of the Lord. Any time or anywhere pure devotees meet and chant the glories of the Lord, the Lord is present without any doubt. It is said by the Lord Himself that He always stays where His pure devotees chant His glories.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, First Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Questions by Vidura.”

Next chapter (SB 3.2)