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vayam—we; tu—then; saksat—directly; bhagavan—O Lord; bhavasya—of Lord Siva; priyasya—very dear; sakhyuh—Your friend; ksana—for a moment; sangamena—by association; suduscikitsyasya—very difficult to cure; bhavasya—of material existence; mrtyoh—of death; bhisak-tamam—the most expert physician; tva—You; adya—today; gatim—destination; gatah—have achieved; sma—certainly.

Dear Lord, by virtue of a moment’s association with Lord Siva, who is very dear to You and who is Your most intimate friend, we were fortunate to attain You. You are the most expert physician, capable of treating the incurable disease of material existence. On account of our great fortune, we have been able to take shelter at Your lotus feet.

It has been said: harim vina na srtim taranti. Without taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, one cannot attain relief from the clutches of maya, the repetition of birth, old age, disease and death. The Pracetas received the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the grace of Lord Siva. Lord Siva is the supreme devotee of Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh: the most exalted Vaisnava is Lord Siva, and those who are actually devotees of Lord Siva follow Lord Siva’s advice and take shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Visnu. The so-called devotees of Lord Siva, who are simply after material prosperity, are in a way deceived by Lord Siva. He does not actually deceive them, because Lord Siva has no business deceiving people, but because the so-called devotees of Lord Siva want to be deceived, Lord Siva, who is very easily pleased, allows them all kinds of material benedictions. These benedictions might ironically result in the destruction of the so-called devotees. For instance, Ravana took all material benediction from Lord Siva, but the result was that he was ultimately destroyed with his family, kingdom and everything else because he misused Lord Siva’s benediction. Because of his material power, he became very proud and puffed up so that he dared kidnap the wife of Lord Ramacandra. In this way he was ruined. To get material benedictions from Lord Siva is not difficult, but actually these are not benedictions. The Pracetas received benediction from Lord Siva, and as a result they attained the shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Visnu. This is real benediction. The gopis also worshiped Lord Siva in Vrndavana, and the lord is still staying there as Gopisvara. The gopis, however, prayed that Lord Siva bless them by giving them Lord Krsna as their husband. There is no harm in worshiping the demigods, provided that one’s aim is to return home, back to Godhead. Generally people go to the demigods for material benefit, as indicated in Bhagavad-gita (7.20):

kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah
prapadyante ’nya-devatah
tam tam niyamam asthaya
prakrtya niyatah svaya

“Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.” One enamored by material benefits is called hrta jnana (“one who has lost his intelligence”). In this connection it is to be noted that sometimes in revealed scriptures Lord Siva is described as being nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The point is that Lord Siva and Lord Visnu are so intimately connected that there is no difference in opinion. The actual fact is, ekale isvara krsna, ara saba bhrtya: “The only supreme master is Krsna, and all others are His devotees or servants.” (Cc. Adi 5.142) This is the real fact, and there is no difference of opinion between Lord Siva and Lord Visnu in this connection. Nowhere in revealed scripture does Lord Siva claim to be equal to Lord Visnu. This is simply the creation of the so-called devotees of Lord Siva, who claim that Lord Siva and Lord Visnu are one. This is strictly forbidden in the Vaisnava-tantra: yas tu narayanam devam. Lord Visnu, Lord Siva and Lord Brahma are intimately connected as master and servants. Siva-virinci-nutam. Visnu is honored and offered obeisances by Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. To consider that they are all equal is a great offense. They are all equal in the sense that Lord Visnu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and all others are His eternal servants.

SB4.30.39-40

TEXTS 39–40

yan nah svadhitam guravah prasadita

vipras ca vrddhas ca sad-anuvrttya

arya natah suhrdo bhrataras ca

sarvani bhutany anasuyayaiva

yan nah sutaptam tapa etad isa

nirandhasam kalam adabhram apsu

sarvam tad etat purusasya bhumno

vrnimahe te paritosanaya

yat—what; nah—by us; svadhitam—studied; guravah—superior persons, spiritual masters; prasaditah—satisfied; viprah—the brahmanas; ca—and; vrddhah—those who are elderly; ca—and; sat-anuvrttya—by our gentle behavior; aryah—those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge; natah—were offered obeisances; su-hrdah—friends; bhratarah—brothers; ca—and; sarvani—all; bhutani—living entities; anasuyaya—without envy; eva—certainly; yat—what; nah—of us; su-taptam—severe; tapah—penance; etat—this; isa—O Lord; nirandhasam—without taking any food; kalam—time; adabhram—for a long duration; apsu—within the water; sarvam—all; tat—that; etat—this; purusasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhumnah—the most exalted; vrnimahe—we want this benediction; te—of You; paritosanaya—for the satisfaction.

Dear Lord, we have studied the Vedas, accepted a spiritual master and offered respect to brahmanas, advanced devotees and aged personalities who are spiritually very advanced. We have offered our respects to them, and we have not been envious of any brother, friends or anyone else. We have also undergone severe austerities within the water and have not taken food for a long time. All these spiritual assets of ours are simply offered for Your satisfaction. We pray for this benediction only, and nothing more.

manuh svayambhur bhagavan bhavas ca

As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, samsiddhir hari-tosanam: [SB 1.2.13] the real perfection of life is pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah: [Bg. 15.15] in understanding the Vedas, one has to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who has actually understood Him surrenders unto Him after many, many births. We find all these qualifications in the Pracetas. They underwent severe austerities and penances within the water, and they did not take any food for a very long time. They practiced these austerities not for material benediction but for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. One may engage in any business—material or spiritual—but the purpose should be the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This verse presents a perfect picture of Vedic civilization. People training to become devotees should be respectful not only to the Supreme Personality of Godhead but also to those who are elderly in knowledge, who are Aryans and actual devotees of the Lord. An Aryan is one who does not boast, but is an actual devotee of the Lord. Aryan means “advanced.” Formerly, those who claimed to be Aryans had to be devotees of the Lord. For instance, in Bhagavad-gita (2.2) Krsna chastised Arjuna by saying that he was speaking like a non-Aryan.

sri-bhagavan uvaca
kutas tva kasmalam idam
visame samupasthitam
anarya-justam asvargyam
akirti-karam arjuna

“The Supreme Person [Bhagavan] said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy.” Arjuna, the ksatriya, was refusing to fight despite being directly ordered by the Supreme Lord. He was thus chastised by the Lord as belonging to a non-Aryan family. Anyone who is advanced in the devotional service of the Lord certainly knows his duty. It does not matter whether his duty is violent or nonviolent. If it is sanctioned and ordered by the Supreme Lord, it must be performed. An Aryan performs his duty. It is not that the Aryans are unnecessarily inimical to living entities. The Aryans never maintain slaughterhouses, and they are never enemies of poor animals. The Pracetas underwent severe austerities for many, many years, even within the water. Accepting austerities and penances is the avowed business of those interested in advanced civilization.

The word nirandhasam means “without food.” Eating voraciously and unnecessarily is not the business of an Aryan. Rather, the eating process should be restricted as far as possible. When Aryans eat, they eat only prescribed eatables. Regarding this, the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (9.26):

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” Thus there are restrictions for the advanced Aryans. Although the Lord Himself can eat anything and everything, He restricts Himself to vegetables, fruits, milk and so on. This verse thus describes the activities of those who claim to be Aryans.

SB4.30.41

TEXT 41

ye ’nye tapo-jnana-visuddha-sattvah

adrsta-para api yan-mahimnah

stuvanty atho tvatma-samam grnimah

manuh—Svayambhuva Manu; svayambhuh—Lord Brahma; bhagavan—the most powerful; bhavah—Lord Siva; ca—also; ye—who; anye—others; tapah—by austerity; jnana—by knowledge; visuddha—pure; sattvah—whose existence; adrsta-parah—who cannot see the end; api—although; yat—Your; mahimnah—of glories; stuvanti—they offer prayers; atho—therefore; tva—unto You; atma-samam—according to capacity; grnimah—we offered prayers.

Dear Lord, even great yogis and mystics who are very much advanced by virtue of austerities and knowledge and who have completely situated themselves in pure existence, as well as great personalities like Manu, Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, cannot fully understand Your glories and potencies. Nonetheless they have offered their prayers according to their own capacities. In the same way, we, although much lower than these personalities, also offer our prayers according to our own capability.

Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Manu (the father of mankind), great saintly persons and also great sages who have elevated themselves to the transcendental platform through austerities and penance, as well as devotional service, are imperfect in knowledge compared to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the case with anyone within this material world. No one can be equal to the Supreme Lord in anything, certainly not in knowledge. Consequently, anyone’s prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never complete. It is not possible to measure the complete glories of the Supreme Lord, who is unlimited. Even the Lord Himself in His incarnation as Ananta, or Sesa, cannot describe His own glories. Although Ananta has many thousands of faces and has been glorifying the Lord for many, many years, He could not find the limit of the glories of the Lord. Thus it is not possible to estimate the complete potencies and glories of the Supreme Lord.

Nonetheless, everyone in devotional service can offer essential prayers to the Lord. Everyone is situated in a relative position, and no one is perfect in glorifying the Lord. Beginning with Lord Brahma and Lord Siva down to ourselves, everyone is the servant of the Supreme Lord. We are all situated in relative positions according to our own karma. Yet every one of us can offer prayers with heart and soul as far as we can appreciate the Lord’s glories. That is our perfection. Even when one is in the darkest region of existence, he is allowed to offer prayers to the Lord according to his own capacity. The Lord therefore says in Bhagavad-gita (9.32):

mam hi partha vyapasritya
ye ’pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras
te ’pi yanti param gatim

“O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaisyas [merchants], as well as sudras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.”

If one seriously accepts the lotus feet of the Lord, he is purified by the grace of the Lord and by the grace of the Lord’s servant. This is confirmed by Sukadeva Gosvami: ye ’nye ca papa yad-apasrayasrayah sudhyanti tasmai prabhavisnave namah (Bhag. 2.4.18). One who is brought under the lotus feet of the Lord by the endeavor of the Lord’s servant, the spiritual master, is certainly immediately purified, however lowborn he may be. He becomes eligible to return home, back to Godhead.

SB4.30.42

TEXT 42

namah samaya suddhaya

purusaya paraya ca

vasudevaya sattvaya

tubhyam bhagavate namah

namah—we offer our respectful obeisances; samaya—who is equal to everyone; suddhaya—who is never contaminated by sinful activities; purusaya—unto the Supreme Person; paraya—transcendental; ca—also; vasudevaya—living everywhere; sattvaya—who is in the transcendental position; tubhyam—unto You; bhagavate—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; namah—obeisances.

Dear Lord, You have no enemies or friends. Therefore You are equal to everyone. You cannot be contaminated by sinful activities, and Your transcendental form is always beyond the material creation. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead because You remain everywhere within all existence. You are consequently known as Vasudeva. We offer You our respectful obeisances.

iti pracetobhir abhistuto harih

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as Vasudeva because He lives everywhere. The word vas means “to live.” As stated in Brahma-samhita, eko ’py asau racayitum jagad-anda-kotim: [Bs. 5.35] the Lord, through His plenary portion, enters into each and every universe to create the material manifestation. He also enters into each and every heart in all living entities and into each and every atom also (paramanu-cayantara-stham). Because the Supreme Lord lives everywhere, He is known as Vasudeva. Although He lives everywhere within the material world, He is not contaminated by the modes of nature. The Lord is therefore described in Isopanisad as apapa-viddham. He is never contaminated by the modes of material nature. When the Lord descends on this planet, He acts in many ways. He kills demons and performs acts not sanctioned by the Vedic principles, that is, acts considered sinful. Even though He acts in such a way, He is never contaminated by His action. He is therefore described herein as suddha, meaning “always free from contamination.” The Lord is also sama, equal to everyone. In this regard, He states in Bhagavad-gita (9.29), samo’ham sarva-bhutesu na me dvesyo ’sti na priyah: the Lord has no one as His friend or enemy, and He is equal to everyone.

The word sattvaya indicates that the form of the Lord is not material. It is sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. His body is different from our material bodies. One should not think that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has a material body, like ours.

SB4.30.43

TEXT 43

maitreya uvaca

pritas tathety aha saranya-vatsalah

anicchatam yanam atrpta-caksusam

yayau sva-dhamanapavarga-viryah

maitreyah uvaca—Maitreya said; iti—thus; pracetobhih—by the Pracetas; abhistutah—being praised; harih—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pritah—being pleased; tatha—so; iti—thus; aha—said; saranya—to the surrendered souls; vatsalah—affectionate; anicchatam—not desiring; yanam—His departure; atrpta—not satisfied; caksusam—their eyes; yayau—He left; sva-dhama—to His own abode; anapavarga-viryah—whose prowess is never defeated.

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the protector of surrendered souls, being thus addressed by the Pracetas and worshiped by them, replied, “May whatever you have prayed for be fulfilled.” After saying this, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose prowess is never defeated, left. The Pracetas were unwilling to be separated from Him because they had not seen Him to their full satisfaction.

The word anapavarga-virya is significant in this verse. The word ana means “without,” pavarga means “the materialistic way of life,” and virya means “prowess.” The prowess of the Supreme Personality of Godhead always contains six basic opulences, one of which is renunciation. Although the Pracetas desired to see the Lord to their full satisfaction, the Lord left. According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, this is an exhibition of His kindness to innumerable other devotees. Although He was being attracted by the Pracetas, He left. This is an example of His renunciation. This renunciation was also exhibited by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu when He stayed with Advaita Prabhu after taking sannyasa. All the devotees there wanted Him to stay a few days longer, but Lord Caitanya left without hesitation. The conclusion is that although the Supreme Lord has unlimited kindness for His devotees, He is not attached to anyone. He is equally kind to His innumerable devotees all over the creation.

viksyakupyan drumais channam

gam gam roddhum ivocchritaih

atha—thereafter; niryaya—after coming out; salilat—from the water; pracetasah—all the Pracetas; udanvatah—of the sea; viksya—having observed; akupyan—became very angry; drumaih—by trees; channam—covered; gam—the world; gam—the heavenly planets; roddhum—to obstruct; iva—as if; ucchritaih—very tall.

Thereafter all the Pracetas emerged from the waters of the sea. They then saw that all the trees on land had grown very tall, as if to obstruct the path to the heavenly planets. These trees had covered the entire surface of the world. At this time the Pracetas became very angry.

King Pracinabarhisat left his kingdom before his sons arrived after their execution of penance and austerity. The sons, the Pracetas, were ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to come out of the water and go to the kingdom of their father in order to take care of that kingdom. However, when they came out, they saw that everything had been neglected due to the King’s absence. They first observed that food grains were not being produced and that there were no agricultural activities. Indeed, the surface of the world was practically covered by very tall trees. It seemed as though the trees were determined to stop people from going into outer space to reach the heavenly kingdoms. The Pracetas became very angry when they saw the surface of the globe covered in this way. They desired that the land be cleared for crops.

It is not a fact that jungles and trees attract clouds and rain, because we find rainfall over the sea. Human beings can inhabit any place on the surface of the earth by clearing jungles and converting land for agricultural purposes. People can keep cows, and all economic problems can be solved in that way. One need only work to produce grains and take care of the cows. The wood found in the jungles may be used for constructing cottages. In this way the economic problem of humanity can be solved. At the present moment there are many vacant lands throughout the world, and if they are properly utilized, there will be no scarcity of food. As far as rain is concerned, it is the performance of yajna that attracts rain. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (3.14):

annad bhavanti bhutani
parjanyad anna-sambhavah
yajnad bhavati parjanyo
yajnah karma-samudbhavah

“All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.” By performing sacrifice, man will have sufficient rainfall and crops.

SB4.30.45

TEXT 45

tato ’gni-marutau rajann

amuncan mukhato rusa

mahim nirvirudham kartum

samvartaka ivatyaye

tatah—thereafter; agni—fire; marutau—and air; rajan—O King; amuncan—they emitted; mukhatah—from their mouths; rusa—out of anger; mahim—the earth; nirvirudham—treeless; kartum—to make; samvartakah—the fire of devastation; iva—like; atyaye—at the time of devastation.

My dear King, at the time of devastation, Lord Siva emits fire and air from his mouth out of anger. To make the surface of the earth completely treeless, the Pracetas also emitted fire and air from their mouths.

In this verse Vidura is addressed as rajan, which means “O King.” In this regard, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments that a dhira never becomes angry because he is always situated in devotional service. Advanced devotees can control their senses; therefore a devotee can be addressed as rajan. A king controls and rules in various ways among citizens; similarly, one who can control his senses is the king of his senses. He is a svami or gosvami. The svamis and gosvamis are therefore sometimes addressed as maharaja, or king.

SB4.30.46

TEXT 46

bhasmasat kriyamanams tan

druman viksya pitamahah

agatah samayam asa

putran barhismato nayaih

bhasmasat—into ashes; kriyamanan—being made; tan—all of them; druman—the trees; viksya—seeing; pitamahah—Lord Brahma; agatah—came there; samayam asa—pacified; putran—the sons; barhismatah—of King Barhisman; nayaih—by logic.

After seeing that all the trees on the surface of the earth were being turned to ashes, Lord Brahma immediately came to the sons of King Barhisman and pacified them with words of logic.

Whenever there is some uncommon occurrence on any planet, Lord Brahma, being in charge of the whole universe, immediately comes to control the situation. Lord Brahma also came when Hiranyakasipu underwent severe penances and austerities and made the whole universe tremble. A responsible man in any establishment is always alert to keep peace and harmony within the establishment. Similarly, Lord Brahma is also allowed to keep peace and harmony within this universe. He consequently pacified the sons of King Barhisman with good logic.

SB4.30.47

TEXT 47

tatravasista ye vrksa

bhita duhitaram tada

ujjahrus te pracetobhya

upadistah svayambhuva

tatra—there; avasistah—remaining; ye—which; vrksah—trees; bhitah—being afraid; duhitaram—their daughter; tada—at that time; ujjahruh—delivered; te—they; pracetobhyah—unto the Pracetas; upadistah—being advised; svayambhuva—by Lord Brahma.

The remaining trees, being very much afraid of the Pracetas, immediately delivered their daughter at the advice of Lord Brahma.

The daughter of the trees is referred to in text 13 of this chapter. This daughter was born of Kandu and Pramloca. The society girl Pramloca, after giving birth to the child, immediately left for the heavenly kingdom. While the child was crying, the king of the moon took compassion upon her and saved her by putting his finger into her mouth. This child was cared for by the trees, and when she grew up, by the order of Lord Brahma, she was delivered to the Pracetas as their wife. The name of the girl was Marisa, as the next verse will explain. It was the predominating deity of the trees that delivered the daughter. In this connection, Srila Jiva Gosvami Prabhupada states, vrksah tad-adhisthatr-devatah: “The ‘trees’ means the controlling deity of those trees.” In Vedic literatures we find that there is a controlling deity of the water; similarly, there is a controlling deity of the trees. The Pracetas were engaged in burning all the trees to ashes, and they considered the trees their enemies. To pacify the Pracetas, the predominating deity of the trees, under the advice of Lord Brahma, delivered the daughter Marisa.

SB4.30.48

TEXT 48

te ca brahmana adesan

marisam upayemire

yasyam mahad-avajnanad

ajany ajana-yonijah

te—all the Pracetas; ca—also; brahmanah—of Lord Brahma; adesat—by the order; marisam—Marisa; upayemire—married; yasyam—in whom; mahat—to a great personality; avajnanat—on account of disrespect; ajani—took birth; ajana-yoni-jah—the son of Lord Brahma, Daksa.

Following the order of Lord Brahma, all the Pracetas accepted the girl as their wife. From the womb of this girl, the son of Lord Brahma named Daksa took birth. Daksa had to take birth from the womb of Marisa due to his disobeying and disrespecting Lord Mahadeva [Siva]. Consequently he had to give up his body twice.

In this connection the word mahad-avajnanat is significant. King Daksa was the son of Lord Brahma; therefore in a previous birth he was a brahmana, but because of his behaving like a non-brahmana (abrahmana) by insulting or disrespecting Lord Mahadeva, he had to take birth within the semen of a ksatriya. That is to say, he became the son of the Pracetas. Not only that, but because of his disrespecting Lord Siva, he had to undergo the tribulation of taking birth from within the womb of a woman. In the Daksa-yajna arena, he was once killed by Lord Siva’s servant, Virabhadra. Because that was not sufficient, he again took birth, from the womb of Marisa. At the end of the Daksa-yajna and the disastrous incidents there, Daksa offered his prayer to Lord Siva. Although he had to give up his body and take birth from the womb of a woman impregnated by the semen of a ksatriya, he received all opulence by the grace of Lord Siva. These are the subtle laws of material nature. Unfortunately, people in this modern age do not know how these laws are working. Having no knowledge of the eternity of the spirit soul and its transmigration, the population of the present age is in the greatest ignorance. Because of this, it is said in Bhagavatam (1.1.10): mandah sumanda-matayo manda-bhagya hy upadrutah. The total population in this age of Kali-yuga is very bad, lazy, unfortunate and disturbed by material conditions.

SB4.30.49

TEXT 49

caksuse tv antare prapte

prak-sarge kala-vidrute

yah sasarja praja istah

sa dakso daiva-coditah

caksuse—named Caksusa; tu—but; antare—the manvantara; prapte—when it happened; prak—previous; sarge—creation; kala-vidrute—destroyed in due course of time; yah—one who; sasarja—created; prajah—living entities; istah—desirable; sah—he; daksah—Daksa; daiva—by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; coditah—inspired.

His previous body had been destroyed, but he, the same Daksa, inspired by the supreme will, created all the desired living entities in the Caksusa manvantara.

As stated in Bhagavad-gita (8.17):

sahasra-yuga-paryantam
ahar yad brahmano viduh
ratrim yuga-sahasrantam
te ’ho-ratra-vido janah

“By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma’s one day. And such also is the duration of his night.” Brahma’s one day consists of one thousand cycles of the four yugas—Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. In that one day there are fourteen manvantaras, and out of these manvantaras this Caksusa manvantara is the sixth. The various Manus existing in one day of Lord Brahma are as follows: (1) Svayambhuva, (2) Svarocisa, (3) Uttama, (4) Tamasa, (5) Raivata, (6) Caksusa, (7) Vaivasvata, (8) Savarni, (9) Daksasavarni, (10) Brahma-savarni, (11) Dharma-savarni, (12) Rudra-savarni, (13) Deva-savarni and (14) Indra-savarni.

Thus there are fourteen Manus in one day of Brahma. In a year there are 5,040 Manus. Brahma has to live for one hundred years; consequently, the total of Manus appearing and disappearing during the life of one Brahma is 504,000. This is the calculation for one universe, and there are innumerable universes. All these Manus come and go simply by the breathing process of Maha-Visnu. As stated in the Brahma-samhita:

yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya
jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah
visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

[Bs. 5.48]

The word jagad-anda-natha means Lord Brahma. There are innumerable jagad-anda-natha Brahmas, and thus we can calculate the many Manus. The present age is under the control of Vaivasvata Manu. Each Manu lives 4,320,000 years multiplied by 71. The present Manu has already lived for 4,320,000 years multiplied by 28. All these long life-spans are ultimately ended by the laws of material nature. The controversy of the Daksa-yajna took place in the Svayambhuva manvantara period. As a result, Daksa was punished by Lord Siva, but by virtue of his prayers to Lord Siva he became eligible to regain his former opulence. According to Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, Daksa underwent severe penances up to the fifth manvantara. Thus at the beginning of the sixth manvantara, known as the Caksusa manvantara, Daksa regained his former opulence by the blessings of Lord Siva.

SB4.30.39-40

TEXTS 50–51

yo jayamanah sarvesam

tejas tejasvinam ruca

svayopadatta daksyac ca

karmanam daksam abruvan

tam praja-sarga-raksayam

anadir abhisicya ca

yuyoja yuyuje ’nyams ca

sa vai sarva-prajapatin

yah—one who; jayamanah—just after his birth; sarvesam—of all; tejah—the brilliance; tejasvinam—brilliant; ruca—by effulgence; svaya—his; upadatta—covered; daksyat—from being expert; ca—and; karmanam—in fruitive activities; daksam—Daksa; abruvan—was called; tam—him; praja—living beings; sarga—generating; raksayam—in the matter of maintaining; anadih—the firstborn, Lord Brahma; abhisicya—having appointed; ca—also; yuyoja—engaged; yuyuje—engaged; anyan—others; ca—and; sah—he; vai—certainly; sarva—all; praja-patin—progenitors of living entities.

After being born, Daksa, by the superexcellence of his bodily luster, covered all others’ bodily opulence. Because he was very expert in performing fruitive activity, he was called by the name Daksa, meaning “the very expert.” Lord Brahma therefore engaged Daksa in the work of generating living entities and maintaining them. In due course of time, Daksa also engaged other Prajapatis [progenitors] in the process of generation and maintenance.