Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 4: “The Creation of the Fourth Order”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Three

Talks Between Lord Siva and Sati

SB4.3.1

TEXT 1

maitreya uvaca

sada vidvisator evam

kalo vai dhriyamanayoh

jamatuh svasurasyapi

sumahan aticakrame

SYNONYMS

maitreyah uvaca—Maitreya said; sada—constantly; vidvisatoh—the tension; evam—in this manner; kalah—time; vai—certainly; dhriyamanayoh—continued to bear; jamatuh—of the son-in-law; svasurasya—of the father-in-law; api—even; su-mahan—a very great; aticakrame—passed.

TRANSLATION

Maitreya continued: In this manner the tension between the father-in-law and son-in-law, Daksa and Lord Siva, continued for a considerably long period.

PURPORT

The previous chapter has already explained that Vidura questioned the sage Maitreya as to the cause of the misunderstanding between Lord Siva and Daksa. Another question is why the strife between Daksa and his son-in-law caused Sati to destroy her body. The chief reason for Sati’s giving up her body was that her father, Daksa, began another sacrificial performance, to which Lord Siva was not invited at all. Generally, when any sacrifice is performed, although each and every sacrifice is intended to pacify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, all the demigods, especially Lord Brahma and Lord Siva and the other principal demigods, such as Indra and Candra, are invited, and they take part. lt is said that unless all the demigods are present, no sacrifice is complete. But in the tension between the father-in-law and son-in-law, Daksa began another yajna performance, to which Lord Siva was not invited. Daksa was the chief progenitor employed by Lord Brahma, and he was a son of Brahma, so he had a high position and was also very proud.

SB4.3.2

TEXT 2

yadabhisikto daksas tu

brahmana paramesthina

prajapatinam sarvesam

adhipatye smayo ’bhavat

SYNONYMS

yada—when; abhisiktah—appointed; daksah—Daksa; tu—but; brahmana—by Brahma; paramesthina—the supreme teacher; prajapatinam—of the Prajapatis; sarvesam—of all; adhipatye—as the chief; smayah—puffed up; abhavat—he became.

TRANSLATION

When Lord Brahma appointed Daksa the chief of all the Prajapatis, the progenitors of population, Daksa became very much puffed up.

PURPORT

Although he was envious and was inimical towards Lord Siva, Daksa was appointed the chief of all Prajapatis. That was the cause of his excessive pride. When a man becomes too proud of his material possessions, he can perform any disastrous act, and therefore Daksa acted out of false prestige. That is described in this chapter.

SB4.3.3

TEXT 3

istva sa vajapeyena

brahmisthan abhibhuya ca

brhaspati-savam nama

samarebhe kratuttamam

SYNONYMS

istva—after performing; sah—he (Daksa); vajapeyena—with a vajapeya sacrifice; brahmisthan—Siva and his followers; abhibhuya—neglecting; ca—and; brhaspati-savam—the brhaspati-sava; nama—called; samarebhe—began; kratu-uttamam—the best of sacrifices.

TRANSLATION

Daksa began a sacrifice named vajapeya, and he became excessively confident of his support by Lord Brahma, He then performed another great sacrifice, named brhaspati-sava.

PURPORT

In the Vedas it is prescribed that before performing a brhaspati-sava sacrifice, one should perform the sacrifice named vajapeya. While performing these sacrifices, however, Daksa neglected great devotees like Lord Siva. According to Vedic scriptures, the demigods are eligible to participate in yajnas and share the oblations, but Daksa wanted to avoid them. All sacrifices are intended to pacify Lord Visnu, but Lord Visnu includes all His devotees. Brahma, Lord Siva and the other demigods are all obedient servants of Lord Visnu; therefore Lord Visnu is never satisfied without them. But Daksa, being puffed up with his power, wanted to deprive Lord Brahma and Lord Siva of participation in the sacrifice, understanding that if one satisfies Visnu, it is not necessary to satisfy His followers. But that is not the process. Visnu wants His followers to be satisfied first. Lord Krsna says, mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika: [SB 11.19.21] “The worship of My devotees is better than worship of Me.” Similarly, in the Siva Purana, it is stated that the best mode of worship is to offer oblations to Visnu, but better than that is to worship the devotees of Krsna. Thus Daksa’s determination to neglect Lord Siva in the sacrifices was not fitting.

SB4.3.4

TEXT 4

tasmin brahmarsayah sarve

devarsi-pitr-devatah

asan krta-svastyayanas

tat-patnyas ca sa-bhartrkah

SYNONYMS

tasmin—in that (sacrifice); brahma-rsayah—the brahmarsis; sarve—all; devarsi—the devarsis; pitr—ancestors; devatah—demigods; asan—were; krta-svasti-ayanah—were very nicely decorated with ornaments; tat-patnyah—their wives; ca—and; sa-bhartrkah—along with their husbands.

TRANSLATION

While the sacrifice was being performed, many brahmarsis, great sages, ancestral demigods and other demigods, their wives all very nicely decorated with ornaments, attended from different parts of the universe.

PURPORT

In any auspicious ceremony, such as a marriage ceremony, sacrificial ceremony or puja ceremony, it is auspicious for married women to decorate themselves very nicely with ornaments, fine clothing and cosmetics. These are auspicious signs. Many heavenly women assembled with their husbands, the devarsis, demigods and rajarsis, in that great sacrifice named brhaspati-sava. It is specifically mentioned in this verse that they approached with their husbands, for when a woman is decorated nicely, her husband becomes more cheerful. The nice decorations, ornaments and dress of the wives of the demigods and sages and the cheerfulness of the demigods and sages themselves were all auspicious signs for the ceremony.

SB4.3.5-7

TEXTS 5–7

tad upasrutya nabhasi

khe-caranam prajalpatam

sati daksayani devi

pitr-yajna-mahotsavam

vrajantih sarvato digbhya

upadeva-vara-striyah

vimana-yanah sa-prestha

niska-kanthih suvasasah

drstva sva-nilayabhyase

lolaksir mrsta-kundalah

patim bhuta-patim devam

autsukyad abhyabhasata

SYNONYMS

tat—then; upasrutya—hearing; nabhasi—in the sky; khe-caranam—of those who were flying in the air (the Gandharvas); prajalpatam—the conversation; sati—Sati; daksayani—the daughter of Daksa; devi—the wife of Siva; pitr-yajna-maha-utsavam—the great festival of sacrifice performed by her father; vrajantih—were going; sarvatah—from all; digbhyah—directions; upadeva-vara-striyah—the beautiful wives of the demigods; vimana-yanah—flying in their airplanes; sa-presthah—along with their husbands; niska-kanthih—having nice necklaces with lockets; su-vasasah—dressed in fine clothing; drstva—seeing; sva-nilaya-abhyase—near her residence; lola-aksih—having beautiful glittering eyes; mrsta-kundalah—nice earrings; patim—her husband; bhuta-patim—the master of the bhutas; devam—the demigod; autsukyat—from great anxiety; abhyabhasata—she spoke.

TRANSLATION

The chaste lady Sati, the daughter of Daksa, heard the heavenly denizens flying in the sky conversing about the great sacrifice being performed by her father. When she saw that from all directions the beautiful wives of the heavenly denizens, their eyes very beautifully glittering, were near her residence and were going to the sacrifice dressed in fine clothing and ornamented with earrings and necklaces with lockets, she approached her husband, the master of the bhutas, in great anxiety, and spoke as follows.

PURPORT

It appears that the residence of Lord Siva was not on this planet but somewhere in outer space, otherwise how could Sati have seen the airplanes coming from different directions towards this planet and heard the passengers talking about the great sacrifice being performed by Daksa? Sati is described here as Daksayani because she was the daughter of Daksa. The mention of upadeva-vara refers to inferior demigods like the Gandharvas, Kinnaras and Uragas, who are not exactly demigods but between the demigods and human beings. They were also coming in planes. The word sva-nilayabhyase indicates that they were passing right near her residential quarters. The dresses and bodily features of the wives of the heavenly denizens are very nicely described here. Their eyes moved, their earrings and other ornaments glittered and glared, their dresses were the nicest possible, and all of them had special lockets on their necklaces. Each woman was accompanied by her husband. Thus they looked so beautiful that Sati, Daksayani, was impelled to dress similarly and go to the sacrifice with her husband. That is the natural inclination of a woman.

SB4.3.8

TEXT 8

saty uvaca

prajapates te svasurasya sampratam

niryapito yajna-mahotsavah kila

vayam ca tatrabhisarama vama te

yady arthitami vibudha vrajanti hi

SYNONYMS

sati uvaca—Sati said; prajapateh—of Daksa; te—your; svasurasya—of your father-in-law; sampratam—nowadays; niryapitah—has been started; yajna-maha-utsavah—a great sacrifice; kila—certainly; vayam—we; ca—and; tatra—there; abhisarama—may go; vama—O my dear Lord Siva; te—your; yadi—if; arthita—desire; ami—these; vibudhah—demigods; vrajanti—are going; hi—because.

TRANSLATION

Sati said: My dear Lord Siva, your father-in-law is now executing great sacrifices, and all the demigods, having been invited by him, are going there. If you desire, we may also go.

PURPORT

Sati knew of the tension between her father and her husband, but still she expressed to her husband, Lord Siva, that since such sacrifices were going on at her father’s house and so many demigods were going, she also desired to go. But she could not express her willingness directly, and so she told her husband that if he desired to go, then she could also accompany him. In other words, she submitted her desire very politely to her husband.

SB4.3.9

TEXT 9

tasmin bhaginyo mama bhartrbhih svakair

dhruvam gamisyanti suhrd-didrksavah

aham ca tasmin bhavatabhikamaye

sahopanitam paribarham arhitum

SYNONYMS

tasmin—in that sacrifice; bhaginyah—sisters; mama—my; bhartrbhih—with their husbands; svakaih—their own; dhruvam—surely; gamisyanti—will go; suhrt-didrksavah—desiring to meet the relatives; aham—I; ca—and; tasmin—in that assembly; bhavata—with you (Lord Siva); abhikamaye—I desire; saha—with; upanitam—given; paribarham—ornaments of decoration; arhitum—to accept.

TRANSLATION

I think that all my sisters must have gone to this great sacrificial ceremony with their husbands just to see their relatives. I also desire to decorate myself with the ornaments given to me by my father and go there with you to participate in that assemble.

PURPORT

It is a woman’s nature to want to decorate herself with ornaments and nice dresses and accompany her husband to social functions, meet friends and relatives, and enjoy life in that way. This propensity is not unusual, for woman is the basic principle of material enjoyment. Therefore in Sanskrit the word for woman is stri, which means “one who expands the field of material enjoyment.” In the material world there is an attraction between woman and man. This is the arrangement of conditional life. A woman attracts a man, and in that way the scope of material activities, involving house, wealth, children and friendship, increases, and thus instead of decreasing one’s material demands, one becomes entangled in material enjoyment. Lord Siva, however, is different; therefore his name is Siva. He is not at all attracted by material enjoyment, although his wife, Sati, was the daughter of a very great leader and was given to him by the request of Brahma. Lord Siva was reluctant, but Sati, as a woman, the daughter of a king, wanted enjoyment. She wanted to go to her father’s house, just as her other sisters might have done, and meet them and enjoy social life. Here, she specifically indicated that she would decorate herself with the ornaments given by her father. She did not say that she would decorate herself with the ornaments given by her husband because her husband was callous about all such matters. He did not know how to decorate his wife and take part in social life because he was always in ecstasy with thoughts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to the Vedic system, a daughter is given a sufficient dowry at the time of her marriage, and therefore Sati was also given a dowry by her father, and ornaments were included. It is also the custom that the husband gives some ornaments, but here it is particularly mentioned that her husband, being materially almost nothing, could not do so; therefore she wanted to decorate herself with the ornaments given by her father. It was fortunate for Sati that Lord Siva did not take the ornaments from his wife and spend them for ganja, because those who imitate Lord Siva in smoking ganja exploit everything from household affairs; they take all of their wives’ property and spend on smoking, intoxication and similar other activities.

SB4.3.10

TEXT 10

tatra svasrr me nanu bhartr-sammita

matr-svasrh klinna-dhiyam ca mataram

draksye cirotkantha-mana maharsibhir

unniyamanam ca mrdadhvara-dhvajam

SYNONYMS

tatra—there; svasrh—own sisters; me—my; nanu—surely; bhartr-sammitah—along with their husbands; matr-svasrh—the sisters of my mother; klinna-dhiyam—affectionate; ca—and; mataram—mother; draksye—I shall see; cira-utkantha-manah—being very anxious for a long time; maha-rsibhih—by great sages; unniyamanam—being raised; ca—and; mrda—O Siva; adhvara—sacrifice; dhvajam—flags.

TRANSLATION

My sisters, my mother’s sisters and their husbands, and other affectionate relatives must be assembled there, so if I go I shall be able to see them, and I shall be able to see the flapping flags and the performance of the sacrifice by the great sages. For these reasons, my dear husband, I am very much anxious to go.

PURPORT

As stated before, the tension between the father-in-law and son-in-law persisted for a considerable time. Sati, therefore, had not gone to her father’s house for a long while. Thus she was very anxious to go to her father’s house, particularly because on that occasion her sisters and their husbands and her mother’s sisters would be there. As is natural for a woman, she wanted to dress equally to her other sisters and also be accompanied by her husband. She did not, of course, want to go alone.

SB4.3.11

TEXT 11

tvayy etad ascaryam ajatma-mayaya

vinirmitam bhati guna-trayatmakam

tathapy aham yosid atattva-vic ca te

dina didrkse bhava me bhava-ksitim

SYNONYMS

tvayi—in you; etat—this; ascaryam—wonderful; aja—O Lord Siva; atma-mayaya—by the external energy of the Supreme Lord; vinirmitam—created; bhati—appears; guna-traya-atmakam—being an interaction of the three modes of material nature; tatha api—even so; aham—I; yosit—woman; atattva-vit—not conversant with the truth; ca—and; te—your; dina—poor; didrkse—I wish to see; bhava—O Lord Siva; me—my; bhava-ksitim—place of birth.

TRANSLATION

This manifested cosmos is a wonderful creation of the interaction of the three material modes, or the external energy of the Supreme Lord. This truth is fully known to you. Yet I am but a poor woman, and, as you know, I am not conversant with the truth. Therefore I wish to see my birthplace once more.

PURPORT

Daksayani, Sati, knew very well that her husband, Lord Siva, was not very much interested in the glaring manifestation of the material world, which is caused by the interaction of the three modes of nature. Therefore she addressed her husband as aja, which refers to one who has transcended the bondage of birth and death, or one who has realized his eternal position. She stated, “The illusion of accepting the perverted reflection, the material or cosmic manifestation, to be real is not present in you, because you are self-realized. For you the attraction of social life and the consideration that someone is father, someone is mother and someone is sister, which are illusory relationships, is already over; but because I am a poor woman, I am not so advanced in transcendental realization. Therefore naturally these appear to me as real.” Only less intelligent persons accept this perverted reflection of the spiritual world to be real. Those who are under the spell of the external energy accept this manifestation to be fact, whereas those who are advanced in spiritual realization know that it is illusion. Actual reality is elsewhere, in the spiritual world. “But as far as I am concerned,” Sati said, “I do not have much knowledge about self-realization. I am poor because I do not know the actual facts. I am attracted by my birthplace, and I want to see it.” One who has attraction for his birthplace, for his body, and for other such items mentioned in the Bhagavatam is considered to be like an ass or a cow. Sati might have heard all this many times from her husband, Lord Siva, but because she was a woman, yosit, she still hankered after the same material objects of affection. The word yosit means “one who is enjoyed.” Therefore woman is called yosit. In spiritual advancement, association with yosit is always restricted because if one is like a play doll in the hands of yosit, then all his spiritual advancement is at once stopped. It is said, “Those who are just like playthings in the hands of a woman (yosit-krida-mrgesu) cannot make any advancement in spiritual realization.”

SB4.3.12

TEXT 12

pasya prayantir abhavanya-yosito

’py alankrtah kanta-sakha varuthasah

yasam vrajadbhih siti-kantha manditam

nabho vimanaih kala-hamsa-pandubhih

SYNONYMS

pasya—just see; prayantih—going; abhava—O never-born; anya-yositah—other women; api—certainly; alankrtah—ornamented; kanta-sakhah—with their husbands and friends; varuthasah—in large numbers; yasam—of them; vrajadbhih—flying; siti-kantha—O blue-throated one; manditam—decorated; nabhah—the sky; vimanaih—with airplanes; kala-hamsa—swans; pandubhih—white.

TRANSLATION

O never-born, O blue-throated one, not only my relatives but also other women, dressed in nice clothes and decorated with ornaments, are going there with their husbands and friends. Just see how their flocks of white airplanes have made the entire sky very beautiful.

PURPORT

Here Lord Siva is addressed as abhava, which means “one who is never born,” although generally he is known as bhava, “one who is born.” Rudra, Lord Siva, is actually born from between the eyes of Brahma, who is called Svayambhu because he is not born of any human being or material creature but is born directly from the lotus flower which grows from the abdomen of Visnu. When Lord Siva is addressed here as abhava, this may be taken to mean “one who has never felt material miseries.” Sati wanted to impress upon her husband that even those who were not related to her father were also going, to say nothing of herself, who was intimately related with him. Lord Siva is addressed here as blue throated. Lord Siva drank an ocean of poison and kept it in his throat, not swallowing it or allowing it to go down to his stomach, and thus his throat became blue. Since then he has been known as nilakantha, or blue throated. The reason that Lord Siva drank an ocean of poison was for others’ benefit. When the ocean was churned by the demigods and the demons, the churning at first produced poison, so because the poisonous ocean might have affected others who were not so advanced, Lord Siva drank all the ocean water. In other words, he could drink such a great amount of poison for others’ benefit, and now, since his wife was personally requesting him to go to her father’s house, even if he did not wish to give that permission, he should do so out of his great kindness.

SB4.3.13

TEXT 13

katham sutayah pitr-geha-kautukam

nisamya dehah sura-varya nengate

anahuta apy abhiyanti sauhrdam

bhartur guror deha-krtas ca ketanam

SYNONYMS

katham—how; sutayah—of a daughter; pitr-geha-kautukam—the festival in the house of her father; nisamya—hearing; dehah—the body; sura-varya—O best of the demigods; na—not; ingate—disturbed; anahutah—without being called; api—even; abhiyanti—goes; sauhrdam—a friend; bhartuh—of the husband; guroh—of the spiritual master; deha-krtah—of the father; ca—and; ketanam—the house.

TRANSLATION

O best of the demigods, how can the body of a daughter remain undisturbed when she hears that some festive event is taking place in her father’s house? Even though you may be considering that I have not been invited, there is no harm if one goes to the house of one’s friend, husband, spiritual master or father without invitation.

SB4.3.14

TEXT 14

tan me prasidedam amartya vanchitam

kartum bhavan karuniko batarhati

tvayatmano ’rdhe ’ham adabhra-caksusa

nirupita manugrhana yacitah

SYNONYMS

tat—therefore; me—unto me; prasida—please be kind; idam—this; amartya—O immortal lord; vanchitam—desire; kartum—to do; bhavan—Your Honor; karunikah—kind; bata—O lord; arhati—is able; tvaya—by you; atmanah—of your own body; ardhe—in the half; aham—I; adabhra-caksusa—having all knowledge; nirupita—am situated; ma—to me; anugrhana—please show kindness; yacitah—requested.

TRANSLATION

O immortal Siva, please be kind towards me and fulfill my desire. You have accepted me as half of your body; therefore please show kindness towards me and accept my request.

SB4.3.15

TEXT 15

rsir uvaca

evam giritrah priyayabhibhasitah

pratyabhyadhatta prahasan suhrt-priyah

samsmarito marma-bhidah kuvag-isun

yan aha ko visva-srjam samaksatah

SYNONYMS

rsih uvaca—the great sage Maitreya said; evam—thus; giritrah—Lord Siva; priyaya—by his dear wife; abhibhasitah—being spoken to; pratyabhyadhatta—replied; prahasan—while smiling; suhrt-priyah—dear to the relatives; samsmaritah—remembering; marma-bhidah—heart piercing; kuvak-isun—malicious words; yan—which (words); aha—said; kah—who (Daksa); visva-srjam—of the creators of the universal manifestation; samaksatah—in the presence.

TRANSLATION

The great sage Maitreya said: Lord Siva, the deliverer of the hill Kailasa, having thus been addressed by his dear wife, replied smilingly, although at the same time he remembered the malicious, heart-piercing speeches delivered by Daksa before the guardians of the universal affairs.

PURPORT

When Lord Siva heard from his wife about Daksa, the psychological effect was that he immediately remembered the strong words spoken against him in the assembly of the guardians of the universe, and, remembering those words, he was sorry at heart, although to please his wife he smiled. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that a liberated person is always in mental equilibrium in both the distress and the happiness of this material world. Therefore the question may now be raised why a liberated personality like Lord Siva was so unhappy because of the words of Daksa. The answer is given by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. Lord Siva is atmarama, or situated in complete self-realization, but because he is the incarnation in charge of the material mode of ignorance, tamo-guna, he is sometimes affected by the pleasure and pain of the material world. The difference between the pleasure and pain of this material world and that of the spiritual world is that in the spiritual world the effect is qualitatively absolute. Therefore one may feel sorry in the absolute world, but the manifestation of so-called pain is always full of bliss. For instance, once Lord Krsna, in His childhood, was chastised by His mother, Yasoda, and Lord Krsna cried. But although He shed tears from His eyes, this is not to be considered a reaction of the mode of ignorance, for the incident was full of transcendental pleasure. When Krsna was playing in so many ways, sometimes it appeared that He caused distress to the gopis, but actually such dealings were full of transcendental bliss. That is the difference between the material and spiritual worlds. The spiritual world, where everything is pure, is pervertedly reflected in this material world. Since everything in the spiritual world is absolute, in the spiritual varieties of apparent pleasure and pain there is no perception other than eternal bliss, whereas in the material world, because everything is contaminated by the modes of material nature, there are feelings of pleasure and pain. Therefore because Lord Siva, although a fully self-realized person, was in charge of the material mode of ignorance, he felt sorrow.

SB4.3.16

TEXT 16

sri-bhagavan uvaca

tvayoditam sobhanam eva sobhane

anahuta apy abhiyanti bandhusu

te yady anutpadita-dosa-drstayo

baliyasanatmya-madena manyuna

SYNONYMS

sri-bhagavan uvaca—the great lord replied; tvaya—by you; uditam—said; sobhanam—is true; eva—certainly; sobhane—my dear beautiful wife; anahutah—without being invited; api—even; abhiyanti—go; bandhusu—among friends; te—those (friends); yadi—if; anutpadita-dosa-drstayah—not finding fault; baliyasa—more important; anatmya-madena—by pride caused by identification with the body; manyuna—by anger.

TRANSLATION

The great lord replied: My dear beautiful wife, you have said that one may go to a friend’s house without being invited, and this is true, provided such a friend does not find fault with the guest because of bodily identification and thereby become angry towards him.

PURPORT

Lord Siva could foresee that as soon as Sati reached her father’s house, her father, Daksa, being too puffed up because of bodily identification, would be angry at her presence, and although she was innocent and faultless, he would be mercilessly angry towards her. Lord Siva warned that since her father was too puffed up by his material possessions, he would be angry, and this would be intolerable for her. Therefore it was better that she not go. This fact was already experienced by Lord Siva because although Lord Siva was faultless, Daksa had cursed him in so many harsh words.

Next verse (SB4.3.17)