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

Chapter Twenty

SB3.20.18

TEXT 18

sasarja cchayayavidyam

panca-parvanam agratah

tamisram andha-tamisram

tamo moho maha-tamah

SYNONYMS

sasarja—created; chayaya—with his shadow; avidyam—ignorance; panca-parvanam—five varieties; agratah—first of all; tamisramtamisra; andha-tamisram—andha-tamisra; tamah—tamas; mohah—moha; maha-tamah—maha-tamas, or maha-moha.

TRANSLATION

First of all, Brahma created from his shadow the coverings of ignorance of the conditioned souls. They are five in number and are called tamisra, andha-tamisra, tamas, moha and maha-moha.

PURPORT

The conditioned souls, or living entities who come to the material world to enjoy sense gratification, are covered in the beginning by five different conditions. The first condition is a covering of tamisra, or anger. Constitutionally, each and every living entity has minute independence; it is misuse of that minute independence for the conditioned soul to think that he can also enjoy like the Supreme Lord or to think, “Why shall I not be a free enjoyer like the Supreme Lord?” This forgetfulness of his constitutional position is due to anger or envy. The living entity, being eternally a part-and-parcel servitor of the Supreme Lord, can never, by constitution, be an equal enjoyer with the Lord. When he forgets this, however, and tries to be one with Him, his condition is called tamisra. Even in the field of spiritual realization, this tamisra mentality of the living entity is hard to overcome. In trying to get out of the entanglement of material life, there are many who want to be one with the Supreme. Even in their transcendental activities, this lower-grade mentality of tamisra continues.

Andha-tamisra involves considering death to be the ultimate end. The atheists generally think that the body is the self and that everything is therefore ended with the end of the body. Thus they want to enjoy material life as far as possible during the existence of the body. Their theory is: “As long as you live, you should live prosperously. Never mind whether you commit all kinds of so-called sins. You must eat sumptuously. Beg, borrow and steal, and if you think that by stealing and borrowing you are being entangled in sinful activities for which you will have to pay, then just forget that misconception because after death everything is finished. No one is responsible for anything he does during his life.” This atheistic conception of life is killing human civilization, for it is without knowledge of the continuation of eternal life.

This andha-tamisra ignorance is due to tamas. The condition of not knowing anything about the spirit soul is called tamas. This material world is also generally called tamas because ninety-nine percent of its living entities are ignorant of their identity as soul. Almost everyone is thinking that he is this body; he has no information of the spirit soul. Guided by this misconception, one always thinks, “This is my body, and anything in relationship with this body is mine.” For such misguided living entities, sex life is the background of material existence. Actually, the conditioned souls, in ignorance in this material world, are simply guided by sex life, and as soon as they get the opportunity for sex life, they become attached to so-called home, motherland, children, wealth and opulence. As these attachments increase, moha, or the illusion of the bodily concept of life, also increases. Thus the idea that “I am this body, and everything belonging to this body is mine” also increases, and as the whole world is put into moha, sectarian societies, families and nationalities are created, and they fight with one another. Maha-moha means to be mad after material enjoyment. Especially in this age of Kali, everyone is overwhelmed by the madness to accumulate paraphernalia for material enjoyment. These definitions are very nicely given in Visnu Purana, wherein it is said:

tamo ’viveko mohah syad
antah-karana-vibhramah
maha-mohas tu vijneyo
gramya-bhoga-sukhaisana

maranam hy andha-tamisram
tamisram krodha ucyate
avidya panca-parvaisa
pradurbhuta mahatmanah

SB3.20.19

TEXT 19

visasarjatmanah kayam

nabhinandams tamomayam

jagrhur yaksa-raksamsi

ratrim ksut-trt-samudbhavam

SYNONYMS

visasarja—threw off; atmanah—his own; kayam—body; na—not; abhinandan—being pleased; tamah-mayam—made of ignorance; jagrhuh—took possession; yaksa-raksamsi—the Yaksas and Raksasas; ratrim—night; ksut—hunger; trt—thirst; samudbhavam—the source.

TRANSLATION

Out of disgust, Brahma threw off the body of ignorance, and taking this opportunity, Yaksas and Raksasas sprang for possession of the body, which continued to exist in the form of night. Night is the source of hunger and thirst.

SB3.20.20

TEXT 20

ksut-trdbhyam upasrstas te

tam jagdhum abhidudruvuh

ma raksatainam jaksadhvam

ity ucuh ksut-trd-arditah

SYNONYMS

ksut-trdbhyam—by hunger and thirst; upasrstah—were overcome; te—the demons (Yaksas and Raksasas); tam—Lord Brahma; jagdhum—to eat; abhidudruvuh—ran toward; ma—do not; raksata—spare; enam—him; jaksadhvam—eat; iti—thus; ucuh—said; ksut-trt-arditah—afflicted by hunger and thirst.

TRANSLATION

Overpowered by hunger and thirst, they ran to devour Brahma from all sides and cried, “Spare him not! Eat him up!”

PURPORT

The representatives of the Yaksas and Raksasas still exist in some countries of the world. It is understood that such uncivilized men take pleasure in killing their own grandfathers and holding a “love feast” by roasting the bodies.

SB3.20.21

TEXT 21

devas tan aha samvigno

ma mam jaksata raksata

aho me yaksa-raksamsi

praja yuyam babhuvitha

SYNONYMS

devah—Lord Brahma; tan—to them; aha—said; samvignah—being anxious; ma—do not; mam—me; jaksata—eat; raksata—protect; aho—oh; me—my; yaksa-raksamsi—O Yaksas and Raksasas; prajah—sons; yuyam—you; babhuvitha—were born.

TRANSLATION

Brahma, the head of the demigods, full of anxiety, asked them, “Do not eat me, but protect me. You are born from me and have become my sons. Therefore you are Yaksas and Raksasas.”

PURPORT

The demons who were born from the body of Brahma were called Yaksas and Raksasas because some of them cried that Brahma should be eaten and the others cried that he should not be protected. The ones who said that he should be eaten were called Yaksas, and the ones who said that he should not be protected became Raksasas, man-eaters. The two, Yaksas and Raksasas, are the original creation by Brahma and are represented even until today in the uncivilized men who are scattered all over the universe. They are born of the mode of ignorance, and therefore, because of their behavior, they are called Raksasas, or man-eaters.

SB3.20.22

TEXT 22

devatah prabhaya ya ya

divyan pramukhato ’srjat

te aharsur devayanto

visrstam tam prabham ahah

SYNONYMS

devatah—the demigods; prabhaya—with the glory of light; yah yah—those who; divyan—shining; pramukhatah—chiefly; asrjat—created; te—they; aharsuh—took possession of; devayantah—being active; visrstam—separated; tam—that; prabham—effulgent form; ahah—daytime.

TRANSLATION

He then created the chief demigods, who were shining with the glory of goodness. He dropped before them the effulgent form of daytime, and the demigods sportingly took possession of it.

PURPORT

Demons were born from the creation of night, and the demigods were born from the creation of day. In other words, demons like the Yaksas and Raksasas are born of the quality of ignorance, and demigods are born of the quality of goodness.

SB3.20.23

TEXT 23

devo ’devan jaghanatah

srjati smatilolupan

ta enam lolupataya

maithunayabhipedire

SYNONYMS

devah—Lord Brahma; adevan—demons; jaghanatah—from his buttocks; srjati sma—gave birth; ati-lolupan—excessively fond of sex; te—they; enam—Lord Brahma; lolupataya—with lust; maithunaya—for copulation; abhipedire—approached.

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahma then gave birth to the demons from his buttocks, and they were very fond of sex. Because they were too lustful, they approached him for copulation.

PURPORT

Sex life is the background of material existence. Here also it is repeated that demons are very fond of sex life. The more one is free from the desires for sex, the more he is promoted to the level of the demigods; the more one is inclined to enjoy sex, the more he is degraded to the level of demoniac life.

SB3.20.24

TEXT 24

tato hasan sa bhagavan

asurair nirapatrapaih

anviyamanas tarasa

kruddho bhitah parapatat

SYNONYMS

tatah—then; hasan—laughing; sah bhagavan—the worshipful Lord Brahma; asuraih—by the demons; nirapatrapaih—shameless; anviyamanah—being followed; tarasa—in great haste; kruddhah—angry; bhitah—being afraid; parapatat—ran away.

TRANSLATION

The worshipful Brahma first laughed at their stupidity, but finding the shameless asuras close upon him, he grew indignant and ran in great haste out of fear.

PURPORT

Sexually inclined demons have no respect even for their father, and the best policy for a saintly father like Brahma is to leave such demoniac sons.

SB3.20.25

TEXT 25

sa upavrajya varadam

prapannarti-haram harim

anugrahaya bhaktanam

anurupatma-darsanam

SYNONYMS

sah—Lord Brahma; upavrajya—approaching; vara-dam—the bestower of all boons; prapanna—of those taking shelter at His lotus feet; arti—distress; haram—who dispels; harim—Lord Sri Hari; anugrahaya—for showing mercy; bhaktanam—to His devotees; anurupa—in suitable forms; atma-darsanam—who manifests Himself.

TRANSLATION

He approached the Personality of Godhead, who bestows all boons and who dispels the agony of His devotees and of those who take shelter of His lotus feet. He manifests His innumerable transcendental forms for the satisfaction of His devotees.

PURPORT

Here the words bhaktanam anurupatma-darsanam mean that the Personality of Godhead manifests His multiforms according to the desires of the devotees. For example, Hanumanji (Vajrangaji) wanted to see the form of the Lord as the Personality of Godhead Ramacandra, whereas other Vaisnavas want to see the form of Radha-Krsna, and still other devotees want to see the Lord in the form of Laksmi-Narayana. The Mayavadi philosophers think that although all these forms are assumed by the Lord just as the devotees desire to see Him, actually He is impersonal. From Brahma-samhita, however, we can understand that this is not so, for the Lord has multiforms. It is said in the Brahma-samhita, advaitam acyutam. The Lord does not appear before the devotee because of the devotee’s imagination. Brahma-samhita further explains that the Lord has innumerable forms: ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan [Bs. 5.39]. He exists in millions and millions of forms. There are 8,400,000 spieces of living entities, but the incarnations of the Supreme Lord are innumerable. In the Bhagavatam it is stated that as the waves in the sea cannot be counted but appear and disappear continually, the incarnations and forms of the Lord are innumerable. A devotee is attached to a particular form, and it is that form which he worships. We have just described the first appearance of the boar within this universe. There are innumerable universes, and somewhere or other the boar form is now existing. All the forms of the Lord are eternal. It is the devotee’s inclination to worship a particular form, and he engages in devotional service to that form. In a verse in the Ramayana, Hanuman, the great devotee of Rama, said, “I know that there is no difference between the Sita-Rama and Laksmi-Narayana forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but nevertheless, the form of Rama and Sita has absorbed my affection and love. Therefore I want to see the Lord in the forms of Rama and Sita.” Similarly, the Gaudiya Vaisnava loves the forms of Radha and Krsna, and Krsna and Rukmini at Dvaraka. The words bhaktanam anurupatma-darsanam mean that the Lord is always pleased to favor the devotee in the particular form in which the devotee wants to worship and render service unto Him. In this verse it is stated that Brahma approached Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This form of the Lord is Ksirodakasayi Visnu. Whenever there is some trouble and Brahma has to approach the Lord, he can approach Ksirodakasayi Visnu, and it is the grace of the Lord that whenever Brahma approaches about disturbances in the universe, the Lord gives him relief in so many ways.

SB3.20.26

TEXT 26

pahi mam paramatmams te

presanenasrjam prajah

ta ima yabhitum papa

upakramanti mam prabho

SYNONYMS

pahi—protect; mam—me; parama-atman—O Supreme Lord; te—Your; presanena—by order; asrjam—I created; prajah—living beings; tah imah—those very persons; yabhitum—to have sex; papah—sinful beings; upakramanti—are approaching; mam—me; prabho—O Lord.

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahma, approaching the Lord, addressed Him thus: My Lord, please protect me from these sinful demons, who were created by me under Your order. They are infuriated by an appetite for sex and have come to attack me.

PURPORT

It appears here that the homosexual appetite of males for each other is created in this episode of the creation of the demons by Brahma. In other words, the homosexual appetite of a man for another man is demoniac and is not for any sane male in the ordinary course of life.

SB3.20.27

TEXT 27

tvam ekah kila lokanam

klistanam klesa-nasanah

tvam ekah klesadas tesam

anasanna-padam tava

SYNONYMS

tvam—You; ekah—alone; kila—indeed; lokanam—of the people; klistanam—afflicted with miseries; klesa—the distresses; nasanah—relieving; tvam ekah—You alone; klesa-dah—inflicting distress; tesam—on those; anasanna—not taken shelter; padam—feet; tava—Your.

TRANSLATION

My Lord, You are the only one capable of ending the affliction of the distressed and inflicting agony on those who never resort to Your feet.

PURPORT

The words klesadas tesam anasanna-padam tava indicate that the Lord has two concerns. The first is to give protection to persons who take shelter of His lotus feet, and the second is to give trouble to those who are always demoniac and who are inimical toward the Lord. Maya’s function is to give afflictions to the nondevotees. Here Brahma said, “You are the protector of the surrendered souls; therefore I surrender unto Your lotus feet. Please give me protection from these demons.”

SB3.20.28

TEXT 28

so ’vadharyasya karpanyam

viviktadhyatma-darsanah

vimuncatma-tanum ghoram

ity ukto vimumoca ha

SYNONYMS

sah—the Supreme Lord, Hari; avadharya—perceiving; asya—of Lord Brahma; karpanyam—the distress; vivikta—without a doubt; adhyatma—minds of others; darsanah—one who can see; vimunca—cast off; atma-tanum—your body; ghoram—impure; iti uktah—thus commanded; vimumoca ha—Lord Brahma threw it off.

TRANSLATION

The Lord, who can distinctly see the minds of others, perceived Brahma’s distress and said to him: “Cast off this impure body of yours.” Thus commanded by the Lord, Brahma cast off his body.

PURPORT

The Lord is described here by the word viviktadhyatma-darsanah. If anyone can completely perceive another’s distress without doubt, it is the Lord Himself. If someone is in distress and wants to get relief from his friend, sometimes it so happens that his friend does not appreciate the volume of distress he is suffering. But for the Supreme Lord it is not difficult. The Supreme Lord, as Paramatma, is sitting within the heart of every living entity, and He directly perceives the exact causes of distress. In Bhagavad-gita the Lord says, sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah: “I am sitting in everyone’s heart, and because of Me one’s remembrance and forgetfulness occur.” Thus whenever one fully surrenders unto the Supreme Lord, one finds that He is sitting within one’s heart. He can give us direction how to get out of dangers or how to approach Him in devotional service. The Lord, however, asked Brahma to give up his present body because it had created the demoniac principle. According to Sridhara Svami, Brahma’s constant dropping of his body does not refer to his actually giving up his body. Rather, he suggests that Brahma gave up a particular mentality. Mind is the subtle body of the living entity. We may sometimes be absorbed in some thought which is sinful, but if we give up the sinful thought, it may be said that we give up the body. Brahma’s mind was not in correct order when he created the demons. It must have been full of passion because the entire creation was passionate; therefore such passionate sons were born. It follows that any father and mother should also be careful while begetting children. The mental condition of a child depends upon the mental status of his parents at the time he is conceived. According to the Vedic system, therefore, the garbhadhana-samskara, or the ceremony for giving birth to a child, is observed. Before begetting a child, one has to sanctify his perplexed mind. When the parents engage their minds in the lotus feet of the Lord and in such a state the child is born, naturally good devotee children come; when the society is full of such good population, there is no trouble from demoniac mentalities.

SB3.20.29

TEXT 29

tam kvanac-caranambhojam

mada-vihvala-locanam

kanci-kalapa-vilasad-

dukula-cchanna-rodhasam

SYNONYMS

tam—that body; kvanat—tinkling with ankle bells; carana-ambhojam—with lotus feet; mada—intoxication; vihvala—overwhelmed; locanam—with eyes; kanci-kalapa—with a girdle made of golden ornaments; vilasat—shining; dukula—by fine cloth; channa—covered; rodhasam—having hips.

TRANSLATION

The body given up by Brahma took the form of the evening twilight, when the day and night meet, a time which kindles passion. The asuras, who are passionate by nature, dominated as they are by the element of rajas, took it for a damsel, whose lotus feet resounded with the tinkling of anklets, whose eyes were wide with intoxication and whose hips were covered by fine cloth, over which shone a girdle.

PURPORT

As early morning is the period for spiritual cultivation, the beginning of evening is the period for passion. Demoniac men are generally very fond of sex enjoyment; therefore they very much appreciate the approach of evening. The demons took the approach of the evening twilight to be a beautiful woman, and they began to adore her in various ways. They imagined the twilight to be a very beautiful woman with tinkling bangles on her feet, a girdle on her hips, and beautiful breasts, and for their sexual satisfaction they imagined the appearance of this beautiful girl before them.

SB3.20.30

TEXT 30

anyonya-slesayottunga-

nirantara-payodharam

sunasam sudvijam snigdha-

hasa-lilavalokanam

SYNONYMS

anyonya—to each other; slesaya—because of clinging; uttunga—raised; nirantara—without intervening space; payah-dharam—breasts; su-nasam—shapely nose; su-dvijam—beautiful teeth; snigdha—lovely; hasa—smile; lila-avalokanam—sportful glance.

TRANSLATION

Her breasts projected upward because of their clinging to each other, and they were too contiguous to admit any intervening space. She had a shapely nose and beautiful teeth; a lovely smile played on her lips, and she cast a sportful glance at the asuras.

SB3.20.31

TEXT 31

guhantim vridayatmanam

nilalaka-varuthinim

upalabhyasura dharma

sarve sammumuhuh striyam

SYNONYMS

guhantim—hiding; vridaya—out of shyness; atmanam—herself; nila—dark; alaka—hair; varuthinim—a bunch; upalabhya—upon imagining; asurah—the demons; dharma—O Vidura; sarve—all; sammumuhuh—were captivated; striyam—woman.

TRANSLATION

Adorned with dark tresses, she hid herself, as it were, out of shyness. Upon seeing that girl, the asuras were all infatuated with an appetite for sex.

PURPORT

The difference between demons and demigods is that a beautiful woman very easily attracts the minds of demons, but she cannot attract the mind of a godly person. A godly person is full of knowledge, and a demoniac person is full of ignorance. Just as a child is attracted by a beautiful doll, similarly a demon, who is less intelligent and full of ignorance, is attracted by material beauty and an appetite for sex. The godly person knows that this nicely dressed and ornamented attraction of high breasts, high hips, beautiful nose and fair complexion is maya. All the beauty a woman can display is only a combination of flesh and blood. Sri Sankaracarya has advised all persons not to be attracted by the interaction of flesh and blood; they should be attracted by the real beauty In spiritual life. The real beauty is Krsna and Radha. One who is attracted by the beauty of Radha and Krsna cannot be attracted by the false beauty of this material world. That is the difference between a demon and a godly person or devotee.

SB3.20.32

TEXT 32

aho rupam aho dhairyam

aho asya navam vayah

madhye kamayamananam

akameva visarpati

SYNONYMS

aho—oh; rupam—what beauty; aho—oh; dhairyam—what self-control; aho—oh; asyah—her; navam—budding; vayah—youth; madhye—in the midst; kamayamananam—of those passionately longing for; akama—free from passion; iva—like; visarpati—walking with us.

TRANSLATION

The demons praised her: Oh, what a beauty! What rare self-control! What a budding youth! In the midst of us all, who are passionately longing for her, she is moving about like one absolutely free from passion.

SB3.20.33

TEXT 33

vitarkayanto bahudha

tam sandhyam pramadakrtim

abhisambhavya visrambhat

paryaprcchan kumedhasah

SYNONYMS

vitarkayantah—indulging in speculations; bahudha—various kinds; tam—her; sandhyam—the evening twilight; pramada—a young woman; akrtim—in the form of; abhisambhavya—treating with great respect; visrambhat—fondly; paryaprcchan—questioned; ku-medhasah—wicked-minded.

TRANSLATION

Indulging in various speculations about the evening twilight, which appeared to them endowed with the form of a young woman, the wicked-minded asuras treated her with respect and fondly spoke to her as follows.

SB3.20.34

TEXT 34

kasi kasyasi rambhoru

ko varthas te ’tra bhamini

rupa-dravina-panyena

durbhagan no vibadhase

SYNONYMS

ka—who; asi—are you; kasya—belonging to whom; asi—are you; rambhoru—O pretty one; kah—what; va—or; arthah—object; te—your; atra—here; bhamini—O passionate lady; rupa—beauty; dravina—priceless; panyena—with the commodity; durbhagan—unfortunate; nah—us; vibadhase—you tantalize.

TRANSLATION

Who are you, O pretty girl? Whose wife or daughter are you, and what can be the object of your appearing before us? Why do you tantalize us, unfortunate as we are, with the priceless commodity of your beauty?

PURPORT

The mentality of the demons in being enamored by the false beauty of this material world is expressed herein. The demoniac can pay any price for the skin beauty of this material world. They work very hard all day and night, but the purpose of their hard work is to enjoy sex life. Sometimes they misrepresent themselves as karma-yogis, not knowing the meaning of the word yoga. Yoga means to link up with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or to act in Krsna consciousness. A person who works very hard, no matter in what occupation, and who offers the result of the work to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is called a karma-yogi.

SB3.20.35

TEXT 35

ya va kacit tvam abale

distya sandarsanam tava

utsunosiksamananam

kanduka-kridaya manah

SYNONYMS

ya—whosoever; va—or; kacit—anyone; tvam—you; abale—O beautiful girl; distya—by fortune; sandarsanam—seeing; tava—of you; utsunosi—you agitate; iksamananam—of the onlookers; kanduka—with a ball; kridaya—by play; manah—the mind.

TRANSLATION

Whosoever you may be, O beautiful girl, we are fortunate in being able to see you. While playing with a ball, you have agitated the minds of all onlookers.

PURPORT

Demons arrange many kinds of performances to see the glaring beauty of a beautiful woman. Here it is stated that they saw the girl playing with a ball. Sometimes the demoniac arrange for so-called sports, like tennis, with the opposite sex. The purpose of such sporting is to see the bodily construction of the beautiful girl and enjoy a subtle sex mentality. This demoniac sex mentality of material enjoyment is sometimes encouraged by so-called yogis who encourage the public to enjoy sex life in different varieties and at the same time advertise that if one meditates on a certain manufactured mantra one can become God within six months. The public wants to be cheated, and Krsna therefore creates such cheaters to misrepresent and delude. These so-called yogis are actually enjoyers of the world garbed as yogis. Bhagavad-gita, however, recommends that if one wants to enjoy life, then it cannot be with these gross senses. A patient is advised by the experienced physician to refrain from ordinary enjoyment while in the diseased condition. A diseased person cannot enjoy anything; he has to restrain his enjoyment in order to get rid of the disease. Similarly, our material condition is a diseased condition. If one wants to enjoy real sense enjoyment, then one must get free of the entanglement of material existence. In spiritual life we can enjoy sense enjoyment which has no end. The difference between material and spiritual enjoyment is that material enjoyment is limited. Even if a man engages in material sex enjoyment, he cannot enjoy it for long. But when the sex enjoyment is given up, then one can enter spiritual life, which is unending. In the Bhagavatam (5.5.1) it is stated that brahma-saukhya, spiritual happiness, is ananta, unending. Foolish creatures are enamored by the beauty of matter and think that the enjoyment it offers is real, but actually that is not real enjoyment.

Next verse (SB3.20.36)