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te—those; yoga-mayaya—through His internal potency; arabdha—had been revealed; paramesthya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; maha-udayam—multiglories; procuh—spoke; pranjalayah—with folded hands; viprah—the four brahmanas; prahrstah—extremely delighted; ksubhita-tvacah—hair standing on end.

The four brahmana sages were nevertheless extremely delighted to behold Him, and they experienced a thrill throughout their bodies. They then spoke as follows to the Lord, who had revealed the multiglories of the Supreme Personality through His internal potency, yogamaya.

The sages were almost too puzzled to speak before the Supreme Personality of Godhead for the first time, and the hairs of their bodies stood erect due to their extreme joy. The highest opulence in the material world is called paramesthya, the opulence of Brahma. But that material opulence of Brahma, who lives on the topmost planet within this material world, cannot compare to the opulence of the Supreme Lord because the transcendental opulence in the spiritual world is caused by yogamaya, whereas the opulence in the material world is caused by mahamaya.

SB3.16.16

TEXT 16

rsaya ucuh

na vayam bhagavan vidmas

tava deva cikirsitam

krto me ’nugrahas ceti

yad adhyaksah prabhasase

rsayah—the sages; ucuh—said; na—not; vayam—we; bhagavan—O Supreme Personality of Godhead; vidmah—did know; tava—Your; deva—O Lord; cikirsitam—wish for us to do; krtah—has been done; me—unto Me; anugrahah—favor; ca—and; iti—thus; yat—which; adhyaksah—the supreme ruler; prabhasase—You say.

The sages said: O Supreme Personality of Godhead, we are unable to know what You intend for us to do, for even though You are the supreme ruler of all, You speak in our favor as if we had done something good for You.

The sages could understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is above everyone, was speaking as if He were in the wrong; therefore it was difficult for them to understand the words of the Lord. They could understand, however, that the Lord was speaking in such a humble way just to show them His all-merciful favor.

SB3.16.17

TEXT 17

brahmanyasya param daivam

brahmanah kila te prabho

vipranam deva-devanam

bhagavan atma-daivatam

brahmanyasya—of the supreme director of the brahminical culture; param—the highest; daivam—position; brahmanah—the brahmanas; kila—for the teaching of others; te—Your; prabho—O Lord; vipranam—of the brahmanas; deva-devanam—to be worshiped by the demigods; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; atma—the self; daivatam—worshipable Deity.

O Lord, You are the supreme director of the brahminical culture. Your considering the brahmanas to be in the highest position is Your example for teaching others. Actually You are the supreme worshipable Deity, not only for the gods but for the brahmanas also.

In the Brahma-samhita it is clearly stated that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes. There are undoubtedly many demigods, the chiefs of whom are Brahma and Siva. Lord Visnu is the Lord of Brahma and Siva, not to speak of the brahmanas in this material world. As mentioned in Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord is very favorable towards all activities performed according to brahminical culture, or the qualities of control of the senses and mind, cleanliness, forbearance, faith in scripture, and practical and theoretical knowledge. The Lord is the Supersoul of everyone. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that the Lord is the source of all emanations; thus He is also the source of Brahma and Siva.

SB3.16.18

TEXT 18

tvattah sanatano dharmo

raksyate tanubhis tava

dharmasya paramo guhyo

nirvikaro bhavan matah

tvattah—from You; sanatanah—eternal; dharmah—occupation; raksyate—is protected; tanubhih—by multimanifestations; tava—Your; dharmasya—of religious principles; paramah—the supreme; guhyah—objective; nirvikarah—unchangeable; bhavan—You; matah—in our opinion.

You are the source of the eternal occupation of all living entities, and by Your multimanifestations of Personalities of Godhead, You have always protected religion. You are the supreme objective of religious principles, and in our opinion You are inexhaustible and unchangeable eternally.

The statement in this verse dharmasya paramo guhyah refers to the most confidential part of all religious principles. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita. The conclusion of Lord Krsna in His advice to Arjuna is: “Give up all other religious engagement and just surrender unto Me.” This is the most confidential knowledge in executing religious principles. In the Bhagavatam also it is stated that if one does not become Krsna conscious after very rigidly executing one’s specified religious duties, all his labor in following so-called religious principles is simply a waste of time. Here also the sages confirm the statement that the Supreme Lord, not the demigods, is the ultimate goal of all religious principles. There are many foolish propagandists who say that worship of the demigods is also a way to reach the supreme goal, but in the authorized statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita this is not accepted. Bhagavad-gita says that one who worships a particular demigod can reach the demigod’s planet, but one who worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead can enter into Vaikuntha. Some propagandists say that regardless of what one does he will ultimately reach the supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, but this is not valid. The Lord is eternal, the Lord’s servitor is eternal, and the Lord’s abode is also eternal. They are all described here as sanatana, or eternal. The result of devotional service, therefore, is not temporary, as is the achievement of heavenly planets by worshiping the demigods. The sages wanted to stress that although the Lord, out of His causeless mercy, says that He worships the brahmanas and Vaisnavas, actually the Lord is worshipable not only by the brahmanas and Vaisnavas but also by the demigods.

SB3.16.19

TEXT 19

taranti hy anjasa mrtyum

nivrtta yad-anugrahat

yoginah sa bhavan kim svid

anugrhyeta yat paraih

taranti—cross over; hi—because; anjasa—easily; mrtyum—birth and death; nivrttah—ceasing all material desires; yat—Your; anugrahat—by mercy; yoginah—transcendentalists; sah—the Supreme Lord; bhavan—You; kim svit—never possible; anugrhyeta—may be favored; yat—which; paraih—by others.

Mystics and transcendentalists, by the mercy of the Lord, cross beyond nescience by ceasing all material desires. It is not possible, therefore, that the Supreme Lord can be favored by others.

Unless one is favored by the Supreme Lord, one cannot cross over the ocean of the nescience of repeated birth and death. Here it is stated that yogis or mystics cross beyond nescience by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are many kinds of mystics, such as the karma-yogi, jnana-yogi, dhyana-yogi and bhakti-yogi. The karmis particularly search after the favor of the demigods, the jnanis want to become one with the Supreme Absolute Truth, and the yogis are satisfied simply by partial vision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramatma, and ultimately by oneness with Him. But the bhaktas, the devotees, want to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead eternally and serve Him. It has already been admitted that the Lord is eternal, and those who want the favor of the Supreme Lord perpetually are also eternal. Therefore yogis here means devotees. By the mercy of the Lord, devotees can easily pass beyond the nescience of birth and death and attain the eternal abode of the Lord. The Lord is therefore not in need of another’s favor because no one is equal to or greater than Him. Actually, everyone needs the favor of the Lord for successful understanding of his human mission.

SB3.16.20

TEXT 20

yam vai vibhutir upayaty anuvelam anyair

artharthibhih sva-sirasa dhrta-pada-renuh

dhanyarpitanghri-tulasi-nava-dama-dhamno

lokam madhuvrata-pater iva kama-yana

yam—whom; vai—certainly; vibhutih—Laksmi, the goddess of fortune; upayati—waits upon; anuvelam—occasionally; anyaih—by others; artha—material facility; arthibhih—by those who desire; sva-sirasa—on their own heads; dhrta—accepting; pada—of the feet; renuh—the dust; dhanya—by the devotees; arpita—offered; anghri—at Your feet; tulasi—of tulasi leaves; nava—fresh; dama—on the garland; dhamnah—having a place; lokam—the place; madhu-vrata-pateh—of the king of the bees; iva—like; kama-yana—is anxious to secure.

The goddess of fortune, Laksmi, the dust of whose feet is worn on the head by others, waits upon You, as appointed, for she is anxious to secure a place in the abode of the king of bees, who hovers on the fresh wreath of tulasi leaves offered at Your feet by some blessed devotee.

As previously described, tulasi has attained all superior qualities due to being placed at the lotus feet of the Lord. The comparison made here is very nice. As the king of bees hovers over the tulasi leaves offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, so Laksmi, the goddess who is sought by the demigods, brahmanas, Vaisnavas and everyone else, always engages in rendering service to the lotus feet of the Lord. The conclusion is that no one can be the benefactor of the Lord; everyone is actually the servant of the servant of the Lord.

SB3.16.21

TEXT 21

yas tam vivikta-caritair anuvartamanam

natyadriyat parama-bhagavata-prasangah

sa tvam dvijanupatha-punya-rajah-punitah

srivatsa-laksma kim aga bhaga-bhajanas tvam

yah—who; tam—Laksmi; vivikta—completely pure; caritaih—devotional services; anuvartamanam—serving; na—not; atyadriyat—attached; parama—the highest; bhagavata—devotees; prasangah—attached; sah—the Supreme Lord; tvam—You; dvija—of the brahmanas; anupatha—on the path; punya—sanctified; rajah—dust; punitah—purified; srivatsa—of Srivatsa; laksma—the mark; kim—what; agah—You obtained; bhaga—all opulences or all good qualities; bhajanah—the reservoir; tvam—You.

O Lord, You are exceedingly attached to the activities of Your pure devotees, yet You are never attached to the goddesses of fortune who constantly engage in Your transcendental loving service. How can You be purified, therefore, by the dust of the path traversed by the brahmanas, and how can You be glorified or made fortunate by the marks of Srivatsa on Your chest?

It is said in the Brahma-samhita that the Lord is always served by many hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune in His Vaikuntha planet, yet because of His attitude of renunciation of all opulences, He is not attached to any one of them. The Lord has six opulences—unlimited wealth, unlimited fame, unlimited strength, unlimited beauty, unlimited knowledge and unlimited renunciation. All the demigods and other living entities worship Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, just to get her favor, yet the Lord is never attached to her because He can create an unlimited number of such goddesses for His transcendental service. The goddess of fortune, Laksmi, is sometimes envious of the tulasi leaves which are placed at the lotus feet of the Lord, for they remain fixed there and do not move, whereas Laksmiji, although stationed by the chest of the Lord, sometimes has to please other devotees who pray for her favor. Laksmiji sometimes has to go to satisfy her numerous devotees, but tulasi leaves never forsake their position, and the Lord therefore appreciates the service of the tulasi more than the service of Laksmi. When the Lord says, therefore, that it is due to the causeless mercy of the brahmanas that Laksmiji does not leave Him, we can understand that Laksmiji is attracted by the opulence of the Lord, not by the brahmanas’ benedictions upon Him. The Lord is not dependent on anyone’s mercy for His opulence; He is always self-sufficient. The Lord’s statement that His opulence is due to the benediction of the brahmanas and Vaisnavas is only to teach others that they should offer respect to the brahmanas and Vaisnavas, the devotees of the Lord.

SB3.16.22

TEXT 22

dharmasya te bhagavatas tri-yuga tribhih svaih

padbhis caracaram idam dvija-devatartham

nunam bhrtam tad-abhighati rajas tamas ca

sattvena no varadaya tanuva nirasya

dharmasya—of the personification of all religion; te—of You; bhagavatah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tri-yuga—You who are manifest in all three millenniums; tribhih—by three; svaih—Your own; padbhih—feet; cara-acaram—animate and inanimate; idam—this universe; dvija—the twice-born; devata—the demigods; artham—for the sake of; nunam—however; bhrtam—protected; tat—those feet; abhighati—destroying; rajah—the mode of passion; tamah—the mode of ignorance; ca—and; sattvena—of pure goodness; nah—unto us; vara-daya—bestowing all blessings; tanuva—by Your transcendental form; nirasya—driving away.

O Lord, You are the personification of all religion. Therefore You manifest Yourself in three millenniums, and thus You protect this universe, which consists of animate and inanimate beings. By Your grace, which is of pure goodness and is the bestower of all blessings, kindly drive away the elements of rajas and tamas for the sake of the demigods and twice-born.

The Lord is addressed in this verse as tri-yuga, or one who appears in three millenniums—namely the Satya, Dvapara and Treta yugas. He is not mentioned as appearing in the fourth millennium, or Kali-yuga. It is described in Vedic literature that in Kali-yuga He comes as channa-avatara, or an incarnation, but He does not appear as a manifest incarnation. In the other yugas, however, the Lord is a manifest incarnation, and therefore he is addressed as tri-yuga, or the Lord who appears in three yugas.

Sridhara Svami describes tri-yuga as follows: yuga means “couple,” and tri means “three.” The Lord is manifested as three couples by His six opulences, or three couples of opulences. In that way He can be addressed as tri-yuga. The Lord is the personality of religious principles. In three millenniums religious principles are protected by three kinds of spiritual culture, namely austerity, cleanliness and mercy. The Lord is called tri-yuga in that way also. In the age of Kali these three requisites to spiritual culture are almost absent, but the Lord is so kind that in spite of Kali-yuga’s being devoid of these three spiritual qualities, He comes and protects the people of this age in His covered incarnation as Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya is called “covered” because although He is Krsna Himself, He presents Himself as a devotee of Krsna, not directly Krsna. The devotees pray to Lord Caitanya, therefore, to eliminate their stock of passion and ignorance, the most conspicuous assets of this yuga. In the Krsna consciousness movement one cleanses himself of the modes of passion and ignorance by chanting the holy name of the Lord, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, as introduced by Lord Caitanya.

The four Kumaras were cognizant of their situation in the modes of passion and ignorance because, although in Vaikuntha, they wanted to curse devotees of the Lord. Since they were conscious of their own weakness, they prayed to the Lord to remove their still-existing passion and ignorance. The three transcendental qualifications—cleanliness, austerity and mercy—are the qualifications of the twice-born and the demigods. Those who are not situated in the quality of goodness cannot accept these three principles of spiritual culture. For the Krsna consciousness movement, therefore, there are three sinful activities which are prohibited—namely illicit sex, intoxication, and eating food other than the prasada offered to Krsna. These three prohibitions are based on the principles of austerity, cleanliness and mercy. Devotees are merciful because they spare the poor animals, and they are clean because they are free of contamination from unwanted foodstuff and unwanted habits. Austerity is represented by restricted sex life. These principles, indicated by the prayers of the four Kumaras, should be followed by the devotees who are engaged in Krsna consciousness.

SB3.16.23

TEXT 23

na tvam dvijottama-kulam yadi hatma-gopam

gopta vrsah svarhanena sa-sunrtena

tarhy eva nanksyati sivas tava deva pantha

loko ’grahisyad rsabhasya hi tat pramanam

na—not; tvam—You; dvija—of the twice-born; uttama-kulam—the highest class; yadi—if; ha—indeed; atma-gopam—worthy to be protected by You; gopta—the protector; vrsah—the best; su-arhanena—by worship; sa-sunrtena—along with mild words; tarhi—then; eva—certainly; nanksyati—will be lost; sivah—auspicious; tava—Your; deva—O Lord; panthah—the path; lokah—the people in general; agrahisyat—would accept; rsabhasya—of the best; hi—because; tat—that; pramanam—authority.

O Lord, You are the protector of the highest of the twice-born. If You do not protect them by offering worship and mild words, then certainly the auspicious path of worship will be rejected by people in general, who act on the strength and authority of Your Lordship.

In Bhagavad-gita it is stated by the Lord Himself that the acts and character of great authorities are followed by people in general. Leaders of ideal character are therefore needed in society. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared in this material world just to show the example of perfect authority, and people have to follow His path. The Vedic injunction is that one cannot understand the Absolute Truth simply by mental speculation or logical argument. One has to follow the authorities. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. Great authorities should be followed; otherwise, if we simply depend on the scriptures, we are sometimes misled by rascals, or else we cannot understand or follow the different spiritual injunctions. The best path is to follow the authorities. The four brahmana-sages stated that Krsna is naturally the protector of the cows and brahmanas: go-brahmana-hitaya ca. When Krsna was on this planet, He set a practical example. He was a cowherd boy, and He was very respectful to the brahmanas and devotees.

It is also affirmed herein that the brahmanas are the best of the twice-born. Brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas are all twice-born, but the brahmanas are the best. When there is a fight between two persons, each of them protects the upper part of his body—the head, the arms and the belly. Similarly, for the actual advancement of human civilization, the best part of the social body, namely the brahmanas, the ksatriyas and vaisyas (the intelligent class of men, the military class and the mercantile men) should be given special protection. Protection of the laborers should not be neglected, but special protection should be given to the upper orders. Of all classes of men, the brahmanas and the Vaisnavas should be given special protection. They should be worshiped. When their protection is performed, it is just like worshiping God. That is not exactly protection; it is a duty. One should worship the brahmanas and Vaisnavas by offering them all kinds of endowments and sweet words, and if one has no means to offer anything, he must at least use sweet words to pacify them. The Lord personally exhibited this behavior towards the Kumaras.

If this system is not introduced by the leaders, then human civilization will be lost. When there is no protection and special treatment for persons who are devotees of the Lord, who are highly intelligent in spiritual life, then the whole society is lost. The word nanksyati indicates that such a civilization becomes spoiled and is annihilated. The kind of civilization recommended is called deva-patha, which means the “royal road of the demigods.” Demigods are supposed to be fully fixed in devotional service, or Krsna consciousness; that is the auspicious path that should be protected. If the authorities or the leaders of society do not give special respect to the brahmanas and Vaisnavas and do not offer them not only sweet words but all facilities, then the path of progress will be lost to human civilization. The Lord personally wanted to teach this, and therefore He offered so much praise to the Kumaras.

SB3.16.24

TEXT 24

tat te ’nabhistam iva sattva-nidher vidhitsoh

ksemam janaya nija-saktibhir uddhrtareh

naitavata try-adhipater bata visva-bhartus

tejah ksatam tv avanatasya sa te vinodah

tat—that destruction of the path of auspiciousness; te—by You; anabhistam—is not liked; iva—as; sattva-nidheh—the reservoir of all goodness; vidhitsoh—desiring to do; ksemam—good; janaya—for the people in general; nija-saktibhih—by Your own potencies; uddhrta—destroyed; areh—the opposite element; na—not; etavata—by this; tri-adhipateh—of the proprietor of the three kinds of creations; bata—O Lord; visva-bhartuh—the maintainer of the universe; tejah—potency; ksatam—reduced; tu—but; avanatasya—submissive; sah—that; te—Your; vinodah—pleasure.

Dear Lord, You never want the auspicious path to be destroyed, for You are the reservoir of all goodness. Just to benefit people in general, You destroy the evil element by Your mighty potency. You are the proprietor of the three creations and the maintainer of the entire universe. Therefore Your potency is not reduced by Your submissive behavior. Rather, by submission You exhibit Your transcendental pastimes.

yam vanayor damam adhisa bhavan vidhatte

Lord Krsna was never reduced in His position by becoming a cowherd boy or by offering respect to Sudama Brahmana or His other devotees like Nanda Maharaja, Vasudeva, Maharaja Yudhisthira and the Pandavas’ mother, Kunti. Everyone knew that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, yet His behavior was exemplary. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]; His form is completely spiritual, full of bliss and knowledge, and it is eternal. Because the living entities are His parts and parcels, originally they also belong to the same quality of eternal form as the Lord, but when they come in contact with maya, the material potency, due to their forgetfulness their existential constitution is covered. We should try to understand the appearance of Lord Krsna in this spirit, as the Kumaras pray to Him. He is eternally a cowherd boy at Vrndavana, He is eternally the leader of the Battle of Kuruksetra, and He is eternally the opulent prince of Dvaraka and the lover of the damsels of Vrndavana; all His appearances are meaningful because they show His real characteristics to the conditioned souls, who have forgotten their relationship with the Supreme Lord. He does everything for their benefit. The force exhibited in the Battle of Kuruksetra by the desire of Krsna and through the agency of Arjuna was also necessary because when people become too irreligious, force is required. Nonviolence in this respect is rascaldom.

SB3.16.25

TEXT 25

vrttim nu va tad anumanmahi nirvyalikam

asmasu va ya ucito dhriyatam sa dando

ye ’nagasau vayam ayunksmahi kilbisena

yam—which; va—or; anayoh—of both of them; damam—punishment; adhisa—O Lord; bhavan—Your Lordship; vidhatte—awards; vrttim—better existence; nu—certainly; va—or; tat—that; anumanmahi—we accept; nirvyalikam—without duplicity; asmasu—to us; va—or; yah—whichever; ucitah—is proper; dhriyatam—may be awarded; sah—that; dandah—punishment; ye—who; anagasau—sinless; vayam—we; ayunksmahi—allotted; kilbisena—with a curse.

O Lord, whatever punishment You wish to award to these two innocent persons or also to us we shall accept without duplicity. We understand that we have cursed two faultless persons.