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esah—the same Supreme Personality of Godhead; manavi—O daughter of Manu; te—your; garbham—womb; pravistah—has entered; kaitabha-ardanah—the killer of the demon Kaitabha; avidya—of ignorance; samsaya—and of doubt; granthim—the knot; chittva—cutting off; gam—the world; vicarisyati—He will travel over.

Lord Brahma then told Devahuti: My dear daughter of Manu, the same Supreme Personality of Godhead who killed the demon Kaitabha is now within your womb. He will cut off all the knots of your ignorance and doubt. Then He will travel all over the world.

Here the word avidya is very significant. Avidya means forgetfulness of one’s identity. Every one of us is a spirit soul, but we have forgotten. We think, “I am this body.” This is called avidya. Samsaya-granthi means “doubtfulness.” The knot of doubtfulness is tied when the soul identifies with the material world. That knot is also called ahankara, the junction of matter and spirit. By proper knowledge received from the scriptures in disciplic succession and by proper application of that knowledge, one can free himself from this binding combination of matter and spirit. Brahma assures Devahuti that her son will enlighten her, and after enlightening her He will travel all over the world, distributing the system of Sankhya philosophy.

The word samsaya means “doubtful knowledge.” Speculative and pseudo yogic knowledge is all doubtful. At the present moment the so-called yoga system is prosecuted on the understanding that by agitation of the different stations of the bodily construction one can find that he is God. The mental speculators think similarly, but they are all doubtful. Real knowledge is expounded in Bhagavad-gita: “Just become Krsna conscious. Just worship Krsna and become a devotee of Krsna.” That is real knowledge, and anyone who follows that system becomes perfect without a doubt.

SB3.24.19

TEXT 19

ayam siddha-ganadhisah

sankhyacaryaih susammatah

loke kapila ity akhyam

ganta te kirti-vardhanah

ayam—this Personality of Godhead; siddha-gana—of the perfected sages; adhisah—the head; sankhya-acaryaih—by acaryas expert in Sankhya philosophy; su-sammatah—approved according to Vedic principles; loke—in the world; kapilah iti—as Kapila; akhyam—celebrated; ganta—He will go about; te—your; kirti—fame; vardhanah—increasing.

Your son will be the head of all the perfected souls. He will be approved by the acaryas expert in disseminating real knowledge, and among the people He will be celebrated by the name Kapila. As the son of Devahuti, He will increase your fame.

Sankhya philosophy is the philosophical system enunciated by Kapila, the son of Devahuti. The other Kapila, who is not the son of Devahuti, is an imitation. This is the statement of Brahma, and because we belong to Brahma’s disciplic succession we should accept his statement that the real Kapila is the son of Devahuti and that real Sankhya philosophy is the system of philosophy which He introduced and which will be accepted by the acaryas, the directors of spiritual discipline. The word susammata means “accepted by persons who are counted upon to give their good opinion.”

SB3.24.20

TEXT 20

maitreya uvaca

tav asvasya jagat-srasta

kumaraih saha-naradah

hamso hamsena yanena

tri-dhama-paramam yayau

maitreyah uvaca—Maitreya said; tau—the couple; asvasya—having reassured; jagat-srasta—the creator of the universe; kumaraih—along with the Kumaras; saha-naradah—with Narada; hamsah—Lord Brahma; hamsena yanena—by his swan carrier; tri-dhama-paramam—to the highest planetary system; yayau—went.

Sri Maitreya said: After thus speaking to Kardama Muni and his wife Devahuti, Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe, who is also known as Hamsa, went back to the highest of the three planetary systems on his swan carrier with the four Kumaras and Narada.

The words hamsena yanena are very significant here. Hamsa-yana, the airplane by which Brahma travels all over outer space, resembles a swan. Brahma is also known as Hamsa because he can grasp the essence of everything. His abode is called tri-dhama-paramam. There are three divisions of the universe—the upper planetary system, the middle planetary system and the lower planetary system—but his abode is above even Siddhaloka, the upper planetary system. He returned to his own planet with the four Kumaras and Narada because they were not going to be married. The other rsis who came with him, such as Marici and Atri, remained there because they were to be married to the daughters of Kardama, but his other sons— Sanat, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Narada—went back with him in his swan-shaped airplane. The four Kumaras and Narada are naisthika-brahmacaris. Naisthika-brahmacari refers to one who never wastes his semen at any time. They were not to attend the marriage ceremony of their other brothers, Marici and the other sages, and therefore they went back with their father, Hamsa.

SB3.24.21

TEXT 21

gate sata-dhrtau ksattah

kardamas tena coditah

yathoditam sva-duhitrh

pradad visva-srjam tatah

gate—after he departed; sata-dhrtau—Lord Brahma; ksattah—O Vidura; kardamah—Kardama Muni; tena—by him; coditah—ordered; yatha-uditam—as told; sva-duhitrh—his own daughters; pradat—handed over; visva-srjam—to the creators of the world’s population; tatah—thereafter.

O Vidura, after the departure of Brahma, Kardama Muni, having been ordered by Brahma, handed over his nine daughters, as instructed, to the nine great sages who created the population of the world.

SB3.24.22-23

TEXTS 22–23

maricaye kalam pradad

anasuyam athatraye

sraddham angirase ’yacchat

pulastyaya havirbhuvam

pulahaya gatim yuktam

kratave ca kriyam satim

khyatim ca bhrgave ’yacchad

vasisthayapy arundhatim

SYNONYMS

maricaye—unto Marici; kalam—Kala; pradat—he handed over; anasuyam—Anasuya; atha—then; atraye—unto Atri; sraddham—Sraddha; angirase—unto Angira; ayacchat—he gave away; pulastyaya—unto Pulastya; havirbhuvam—Havirbhu; pulahaya—unto Pulaha; gatim—Gati; yuktam—suitable; kratave—unto Kratu; ca—and; kriyam—Kriya; satim—virtuous; khyatim—Khyati; ca—and; bhrgave—unto Bhrgu; ayacchat—he gave away; vasisthaya—unto the sage Vasistha; api—also; arundhatim—Arundhati.

TRANSLATION

Kardama Muni handed over his daughter Kala to Marici, and another daughter, Anasuya, to Atri. He delivered Sraddha to Angira, and Havirbhu to Pulastya. He delivered Gati to Pulaha, the chaste Kriya to Kratu, Khyati to Bhrgu, and Arundhati to Vasistha.

SB3.24.24

TEXT 24

atharvane ’dadac chantim

yaya yajno vitanyate

viprarsabhan krtodvahan

sadaran samalalayat

SYNONYMS

atharvane—to Atharva; adadat—he gave away; santim—Santi; yaya—by whom; yajnah—sacrifice; vitanyate—is performed; vipra-rsabhan—the foremost brahmanas; krta-udvahan—married; sa-daran—with their wives; samalalayat—maintained them.

TRANSLATION

He delivered Santi to Atharva. Because of Santi, sacrificial ceremonies are well performed. Thus he got the foremost brahmanas married, and he maintained them along with their wives.

SB3.24.25

TEXT 25

tatas ta rsayah ksattah

krta-dara nimantrya tam

pratisthan nandim apannah

svam svam asrama-mandalam

SYNONYMS

tatah—then; te—they; rsayah—the sages; ksattah—O Vidura; krta-darah—thus married; nimantrya—taking leave of; tam—Kardama; pratisthan—they departed; nandim—joy; apannah—obtained; svam svam—each to his own; asrama-mandalam—hermitage.

TRANSLATION

Thus married, the sages took leave of Kardama and departed full of joy, each for his own hermitage, O Vidura.

SB3.24.26

TEXT 26

sa cavatirnam tri-yugam

ajnaya vibudharsabham

vivikta upasangamya

pranamya samabhasata

SYNONYMS

sah—the sage Kardama; ca—and; avatirnam—descended; tri-yugam—Visnu; ajnaya—having understood; vibudha-rsabham—the chief of the demigods; vivikte—in a secluded place; upasangamya—having approached; pranamya—offering obeisances; samabhasata—he spoke.

TRANSLATION

When Kardama Muni understood that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the chief of all the demigods, Visnu, had descended, Kardama approached Him in a secluded place, offered obeisances and spoke as follows.

PURPORT

Lord Visnu is called tri-yuga. He appears in three yugas—Satya, Treta and Dvapara—but in Kali-yuga He does not appear. From the prayers of Prahlada Maharaja, however, we understand that He appears garbed as a devotee in Kali-yuga. Lord Caitanya is that devotee. Krsna appeared in the form of a devotee, but although He never disclosed Himself, Rupa Gosvami could understand His identity, for the Lord cannot hide Himself from a pure devotee. Rupa Gosvami detected Him when he offered his first obeisances to Lord Caitanya. He knew that Lord Caitanya was Krsna Himself and therefore offered his obeisances with the following words: “I offer my respects to Krsna, who has now appeared as Lord Caitanya.” This is also confirmed in the prayers of Prahlada Maharaja: in Kali-yuga He does not directly appear, but He appears as a devotee. Visnu, therefore, is known as tri-yuga. Another explanation of tri-yuga is that He has three pairs of divine attributes, namely power and affluence, piety and renown, and wisdom and dispassion. According to Sridhara Svami, His three pairs of opulences are complete riches and complete strength, complete fame and complete beauty, and complete wisdom and complete renunciation. There are different interpretations of tri-yuga, but it is accepted by all learned scholars that tri-yuga means Visnu. When Kardama Muni understood that his son, Kapila, was Visnu Himself, he wanted to offer his obeisances. Therefore, when Kapila was alone he offered his respects and expressed his mind as follows.

SB3.24.27

TEXT 27

aho papacyamananam

niraye svair amangalaih

kalena bhuyasa nunam

prasidantiha devatah

aho—oh; papacyamananam—with those being much afflicted; niraye—in the hellish material entanglement; svaih—their own; amangalaih—by misdeeds; kalena bhuyasa—after a long time; nunam—indeed; prasidanti—they are pleased; iha—in this world; devatah—the demigods.

Kardama Muni said: Oh, after a long time the demigods of this universe have become pleased with the suffering souls who are in material entanglement because of their own misdeeds.

This material world is a place for suffering, which is due to the misdeeds of the inhabitants, the conditioned souls themselves. The sufferings are not extraneously imposed upon them; rather, the conditioned souls create their own suffering by their own acts. In the forest, fire takes place automatically. It is not that someone has to go there and set a fire; because of friction among various trees, fire occurs automatically. When there is too much heat from the forest fire of this material world, the demigods, including Brahma himself, being harassed, approach the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and appeal to Him to alleviate the condition. Then the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends. In other words, when the demigods become distressed by the sufferings of the conditioned souls, they approach the Lord to remedy the suffering, and the Personality of Godhead descends. When the Lord descends, all the demigods become enlivened. Therefore Kardama Muni said, “After many, many years of human suffering, all the demigods are now satisfied because Kapiladeva, the incarnation of Godhead, has appeared.”

SB3.24.28

TEXT 28

bahu-janma-vipakvena

samyag-yoga-samadhina

drastum yatante yatayah

sunyagaresu yat-padam

bahu—many; janma—after births; vipakvena—which is mature; samyak—perfect; yoga-samadhina—by trance in yoga; drastum—to see; yatante—they endeavor; yatayah—the yogis; sunya-agaresu—in secluded places; yat—whose; padam—feet.

After many births, mature yogis, by complete trance in yoga, endeavor in secluded places to see the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Some important things are mentioned here about yoga. The word bahu janma-vipakvena means “after many, many births of mature yoga practice.” And another word, samyag-yoga-samadhina, means “by complete practice of the yoga system.” Complete practice of yoga means bhakti-yoga; unless one comes to the point of bhakti-yoga, or surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one’s yoga practice is not complete. This same point is corroborated in the Srimad Bhagavad-gita. Bahunam janmanam ante: [Bg. 7.19] after many, many births, the jnani who has matured in transcendental knowledge surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kardama Muni repeats the same statement. After many, many years and many, many births of complete practice of yoga, one can see the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord in a secluded place. It is not that after one practices some sitting postures he immediately becomes perfect. One has to perform yoga a long time—“many, many births”—to become mature, and a yogi has to practice in a secluded place. One cannot practice yoga in a city or in a public park and declare that he has become God simply by some exchange of dollars. This is all bogus propaganda. Those who are actually yogis practice in a secluded place, and after many, many births they become successful, provided they surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the completion of yoga.

SB3.24.29

TEXT 29

sa eva bhagavan adya

helanam na ganayya nah

grhesu jato gramyanam

yah svanam paksa-posanah

sah eva—that very same; bhagavan—Supreme Personality of Godhead; adya—today; helanam—negligence; na—not; ganayya—considering high and low; nah—our; grhesu—in the houses; jatah—appeared; gramyanam—of ordinary householders; yah—He who; svanam—of His own devotees; paksa-posanah—who supports the party.

Not considering the negligence of ordinary householders like us, that very same Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in our homes just to support His devotees.

Devotees are so affectionate toward the Personality of Godhead that although He does not appear before those who practice yoga in a secluded place even for many, many births, He agrees to appear in a householder’s home where devotees engage in devotional service without material yoga practice. In other words, devotional service to the Lord is so easy that even a householder can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead as one of the members of his household, as his son, as Kardama Muni experienced. He was a householder, although a yogi, but he had the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kapila Muni as his son.

Devotional service is such a powerful transcendental method that it surpasses all other methods of transcendental realization. The Lord says, therefore, that He lives neither in Vaikuntha nor in the heart of a yogi, but He lives where His pure devotees are always chanting and glorifying Him. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as bhakta-vatsala. He is never described as jnani-vatsala or yogi-vatsala. He is always described as bhakta-vatsala because He is more inclined toward His devotees than toward other transcendentalists. In Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed that only a devotee can understand Him as He is. Bhaktya mam abhijanati: [Bg. 18.55] “One can understand Me only by devotional service, not otherwise.” That understanding alone is real because although jnanis, mental speculators, can realize only the effulgence, or the bodily luster, of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and yogis can realize only the partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a bhakta not only realizes Him as He is but also associates with the Personality of Godhead face to face.

SB3.24.30

TEXT 30

sviyam vakyam rtam kartum

avatirno ’si me grhe

cikirsur bhagavan jnanam

bhaktanam mana-vardhanah

sviyam—Your own; vakyam—words; rtam—true; kartum—to make; avatirnah—descended; asi—You are; me grhe—in my house; cikirsuh—desirous of disseminating; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; jnanam—knowledge; bhaktanam—of the devotees; mana—the honor; vardhanah—who increases.

Kardama Muni said: You, my dear Lord, who are always increasing the honor of Your devotees, have descended in my home just to fulfill Your word and disseminate the process of real knowledge.

When the Lord appeared before Kardama Muni after his mature yoga practice, He promised that He would become Kardama’s son. He descended as the son of Kardama Muni in order to fulfill that promise. Another purpose of His appearance is cikirsur bhagavan jnanam, to distribute knowledge. Therefore, He is called bhaktanam mana-vardhanah, “He who increases the honor of His devotees.” By distributing Sankhya He would increase the honor of the devotees; therefore, Sankhya philosophy is not dry mental speculation. Sankhya philosophy means devotional service. How could the honor of the devotees be increased unless Sankhya were meant for devotional service? Devotees are not interested in speculative knowledge; therefore, the Sankhya enunciated by Kapila Muni is meant to establish one firmly in devotional service. Real knowledge and real liberation is to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and engage in devotional service.

SB3.24.31

TEXT 31

tany eva te ’bhirupani

rupani bhagavams tava

yani yani ca rocante

sva-jananam arupinah

tani—those; eva—truly; te—Your; abhirupani—suitable; rupani—forms; bhagavan—O Lord; tava—Your; yani yani—whichever; ca—and; rocante—are pleasing; sva-jananam—to Your own devotees; arupinah—of one with no material form.

My dear Lord, although You have no material form, You have Your own innumerable forms. They truly are Your transcendental forms, which are pleasing to Your devotees.

tvam suribhis tattva-bubhutsayaddha

In the Brahma-samhita it is stated that the Lord is one Absolute, but He has ananta, or innumerable, forms. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. The Lord is the original form, but still He has multiforms. Those multiforms are manifested by Him transcendentally, according to the tastes of His multidevotees. It is understood that once Hanuman, the great devotee of Lord Ramacandra, said that he knew that Narayana, the husband of Laksmi, and Rama, the husband of Sita, are one and the same, and that there is no difference between Laksmi and Sita, but as for himself, he liked the form of Lord Rama. In a similar way, some devotees worship the original form of Krsna. When we say “Krsna” we refer to all forms of the Lord—not only Krsna, but Rama, Nrsimha, Varaha, Narayana, etc. The varieties of transcendental forms exist simultaneously. That is also stated in the Brahma-samhita: ramadi-murtisu. .. nanavataram. He already exists in multiforms, but none of the forms are material. Sridhara Svami has commented that arupinah, “without form,” means without material form. The Lord has form, otherwise how can it be stated here, tany eva te ’bhirupani rupani bhagavams tava: “You have Your forms, but they are not material. Materially You have no form, but spiritually, transcendentally, You have multiforms”? Mayavadi philosophers cannot understand these transcendental forms of the Lord, and being disappointed, they say that the Supreme Lord is impersonal. But that is not a fact; whenever there is form there is a person. Many times in many Vedic literatures the Lord is described as purusa, which means “the original form, the original enjoyer.” The conclusion is that the Lord has no material form, and yet, according to the liking of different grades of devotees, He simultaneously exists in multiforms, such as Rama, Nrsimha, Varaha, Narayana and Mukunda. There are many thousands and thousands of forms, but they are all visnu-tattva, Krsna.

SB3.24.32

TEXT 32

sadabhivadarhana-pada-pitham

aisvarya-vairagya-yaso-’vabodha-

virya-sriya purtam aham prapadye

tvam—unto You; suribhih—by the great sages; tattva—the Absolute Truth; bubhutsaya—with a desire to understand; addha—certainly; sada—always; abhivada—of worshipful respects; arhana—which are worthy; pada—of Your feet; pitham—to the seat; aisvarya—opulence; vairagya—renunciation; yasah—fame; avabodha—knowledge; virya—strength; sriya—with beauty; purtam—who are full; aham—I; prapadye—surrender.

My dear Lord, Your lotus feet are the reservoir that always deserves to receive worshipful homage from all great sages eager to understand the Absolute Truth. You are full in opulence, renunciation, transcendental fame, knowledge, strength and beauty, and therefore I surrender myself unto Your lotus feet.

Actually, those who are searching after the Absolute Truth must take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and worship Him. In Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna advised Arjuna many times to surrender unto Him, especially at the end of the Ninth Chapter—man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah: “If you want to be perfect, just always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your obeisances to Me. In this way you will understand Me, the Personality of Godhead, and ultimately you will come back to Me, back to Godhead, back home.” Why is it so? The Lord is always full in six opulences, as mentioned herein: wealth, renunciation, fame, knowledge, strength and beauty. The word purtam means “in full.” No one can claim that all wealth belongs to him, but Krsna can claim it, since He has full wealth. Similarly, He is full in knowledge, renunciation, strength and beauty. He is full in everything, and no one can surpass Him. Another one of Krsna’s names is asamaurdhva, which means that no one is equal to or greater than Him.

SB3.24.33

TEXT 33

param pradhanam purusam mahantam

kalam kavim tri-vrtam loka-palam

atmanubhutyanugata-prapancam

svacchanda-saktim kapilam prapadye

param—transcendental; pradhanam—supreme; purusam—person; mahantam—who is the origin of the material world; kalam—who is time; kavim—fully cognizant; tri-vrtam—three modes of material nature; loka-palam—who is the maintainer of all the universes; atma—in Himself; anubhutya—by internal potency; anugata—dissolved; prapancam—whose material manifestations; sva-chanda—independently; saktim—who is powerful; kapilam—to Lord Kapila; prapadye—I surrender.

I surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, descended in the form of Kapila, who is independently powerful and transcendental, who is the Supreme Person and the Lord of the sum total of matter and the element of time, who is the fully cognizant maintainer of all the universes under the three modes of material nature, and who absorbs the material manifestations after their dissolution.