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sri-sukah uvaca—Sukadeva Gosvami continued to speak; etavat—so much; anuvada-paribhasaya—by explanatory repetition of words spoken previously by the King; pratyudirya—giving replies one after another; muni-varah—great sage Jada Bharata; upasama-silah—who was calm and peaceful in character; uparata—ceased; anatmya—things not related to the soul; nimittah—whose cause (ignorance) for identification with things not related to the soul; upabhogena—by accepting the consequences of his karma; karma-arabdham—the resultant action now attained; vyapanayan—finishing; raja-yanam—the palanquin of the King; api—again; tatha—as before; uvaha—continued to carry.

Sukadeva Gosvami said: O Maharaja Pariksit, when King Rahugana chastised the exalted devotee Jada Bharata with harsh words, that peaceful, saintly person tolerated it all and replied properly. Nescience is due to the bodily conception, and Jada Bharata was not affected by this false conception. Out of his natural humility, he never considered himself a great devotee, and he agreed to suffer the results of his past karma. Like an ordinary man, he thought that by carrying the palanquin, he was destroying the reactions of his past misdeeds. Thinking in this way, he began to carry the palanquin as before.

An exalted devotee of the Lord never thinks that he is a paramahamsa or a liberated person. He always remains a humble servant of the Lord. In all reverse conditions, he agrees to suffer the results of his past life. He never accuses the Lord of putting him into a distressed condition. These are the signs of an exalted devotee. Tat te ’nukampam susamiksyamanah. When suffering reversed conditions, the devotee always considers that the reverse conditions are the Lord’s concessions. He is never angry with his master; he is always satisfied with the position his master offers. In any case, he continues performing his duty in devotional service. Such a person is guaranteed promotion back home, back to Godhead. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.8):

tat te ’nukampam susamiksamano
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak

“My dear Lord, one who constantly waits for Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him and who goes on suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances from the core of his heart. is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.”

SB5.10.15

TEXT 15

sa capi pandaveya sindhu-sauvira-patis tattva-jijnasayam samyak-sraddhayadhikrtadhikaras tad dhrdaya-granthi-mocanam dvija-vaca asrutya bahu-yoga-grantha-sammatam tvarayavaruhya sirasa pada-mulam upasrtah ksamapayan vigata-nrpa-deva-smaya uvaca.

sah—he (Maharaja Rahugana); ca—also; api—indeed; pandaveya—O best of the Pandu dynasty (Maharaja Pariksit); sindhu-sauvira-patih—the King of the states known as Sindhu and Sauvira; tattva-jijnasayam—in the matter of inquiring about the Absolute Truth; samyak-sraddhaya—by faith consisting of complete control of the senses and the mind; adhikrta-adhikarah—who attained the proper qualification; tat—that; hrdaya-granthi—the knot of false conceptions within the heart; mocanam—which eradicates; dvija-vacah—the words of the brahmana (Jada Bharata); asrutya—hearing; bahu-yoga-grantha-sammatam—approved by all yogic processes and their scriptures; tvaraya—very hastily; avaruhya—getting down (from the palanquin); sirasa—by his head; pada-mulam—at the lotus feet; upasrtah—falling down flat to offer obeisances; ksamapayan—obtaining pardon for his offense; vigata-nrpa-deva-smayah—giving up the false pride of being the King and therefore being worshipable; uvaca—said.

Sukadeva Gosvami continued: O best of the Pandu dynasty [Maharaja Pariksit], the King of the Sindhu and Sauvira states [Maharaja Rahugana] had great faith in discussions of the Absolute Truth. Being thus qualified, he heard from Jada Bharata that philosophical presentation which is approved by all scriptures on the mystic yoga process and which slackens the knot in the heart. His material conception of himself as a king was thus destroyed. He immediately descended from his palanquin and fell flat on the ground with his head at the lotus feet of Jada Bharata in such a way that he might be excused for his insulting words against the great brahmana. He then prayed as follows.

kas tvam nigudhas carasi dvijanam

In Bhagavad-gita (4.2) Lord Krsna says:

evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata
yogo nastah parantapa

“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.”

Through the disciplic succession the royal order was on the same platform as great saintly persons (raja-rsis). Formerly they could understand the philosophy of life and knew how to train the citizens to come to the same standard. In other words, they knew how to deliver the citizens from the entanglement of birth and death. When Maharaja Dasaratha ruled Ayodhya, the great sage Visvamitra once came to him to take away Lord Ramacandra and Laksmana to the forest to kill a demon. When the saintly person Visvamitra came to the court of Maharaja Dasaratha, the King, in order to receive the saintly person, asked him, aihistam yat tat punar janma jayaya. He asked the sage whether everything was going on well in his endeavor to conquer the repetition of birth and death. The whole process of Vedic civilization is based on this point. We must know how to conquer the repetition of birth and death. Maharaja Rahugana also knew the purpose of life; therefore when Jada Bharata put the philosophy of life before him, he immediately appreciated it. This is the foundation of Vedic society. Learned scholars, brahmanas, saintly persons and sages who were fully aware of the Vedic purpose advised the royal order how to benefit the general masses, and by their cooperation, the general masses were benefited. Therefore everything was successful. Maharaja Rahugana attained this perfection of understanding the value of human life; therefore he regretted his insulting words to Jada Bharata, and he immediately descended from his palanquin and fell down at the lotus feet of Jada Bharata in order to be excused and to hear from him further about the values of life known as brahma jijnasa (inquiry into the Absolute Truth). At the present moment, high government officials are ignorant of the values of life, and when saintly persons endeavor to broadcast the Vedic knowledge, the so-called executives do not offer their respectful obeisances but try to obstruct the spiritual propaganda. Thus one can say that the former kingly government was like heaven and that the present government is like hell.

SB5.10.16

TEXT 16

bibharsi sutram katamo ’vadhutah

kasyasi kutratya ihapi kasmat

ksemaya nas ced asi nota suklah

kah tvam—who are you; nigudhah—very much covered; carasi—you move within this world; dvijanam—among the brahmanas or saintly persons; bibharsi—you also wear; sutram—the sacred thread belonging to the first-class brahmanas; katamah—which; avadhutah—highly elevated person; kasya asi—whose are you (whose disciple or son are you); kutratyah—from where; iha api—here in this place; kasmat—for what purpose; ksemaya—for the benefit; nah—of us; cet—if; asi—you are; na uta—or not; suklah—the personality of the pure mode of goodness (Kapiladeva).

King Rahugana said: O brahmana, you appear to be moving in this world very much covered and unknown to others. Who are you? Are you a learned brahmana and saintly person? I see that you are wearing a sacred thread. Are you one of those exalted, liberated saints such as Dattatreya and other highly advanced, learned scholars? May I ask whose disciple you are? Where do you live? Why have you come to this place? Is your mission in coming here to do good for us? Please let me know who you are.

Maharaja Rahugana was very anxious to receive further enlightenment in Vedic knowledge because he could understand that Jada Bharata belonged to a brahmana family either by disciplic succession or by birth in a brahmana dynasty. As stated in the Vedas: tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. Rahugana was accepting Jada Bharata as a guru, but a guru must prove his position not only by wearing a sacred thread but by advancing knowledge in spiritual life. It is also significant that Rahugana asked Jada Bharata which family he belonged to. There are two types of families—one according to dynasty and the other according to disciplic succession. In either way, one can be enlightened. The word suklah refers to a person in the mode of goodness. If one wants to receive spiritual knowledge, he must approach a bona fide brahmana-guru, either in the disciplic succession or in a family of learned brahmanas.

SB5.10.17

TEXT 17

naham visanke sura-raja-vajran

na tryaksa-sulan na yamasya dandat

nagny-arka-somanila-vittapastrac

chanke bhrsam brahma-kulavamanat

na—not; aham—I; visanke—am afraid; sura-raja-vajrat—from the thunderbolt of the King of heaven, Indra; na—nor; tryaksa-sulat—from the piercing trident of Lord Siva; na—nor; yamasya—of the superintendent of death, Yamaraja; dandat—from the punishment; na—nor; agni—of fire; arka—of the scorching heat of the sun; soma—of the moon; anila—of the wind; vitta-pa—of the owner of riches, Kuvera, the treasurer of the heavenly planets; astrat—from the weapons; sanke—I am afraid; bhrsam—very much; brahma-kula—the group of the brahmanas; avamanat—from offending.

My dear sir, I am not at all afraid of the thunderbolt of King Indra, nor am I afraid of the serpentine, piercing trident of Lord Siva. I do not care about the punishment of Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, nor am I afraid of fire, scorching sun, moon, wind, nor the weapons of Kuvera. Yet I am afraid of offending a brahmana. I am very much afraid of this.

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was instructing Rupa Gosvami at the Dasasvamedha-ghata in Prayaga, He pointed out very clearly the seriousness of offending a Vaisnava. He compared the vaisnava-aparadha to hati mata, a mad elephant. When a mad elephant enters a garden, it spoils all the fruits and flowers. Similarly, if one offends a Vaisnava, he spoils all his spiritual assets. Offending a brahmana is very dangerous, and this was known to Maharaja Rahugana. He therefore frankly admitted his fault. There are many dangerous things—thunderbolts, fire, Yamaraja’s punishment, the punishment of Lord Siva’s trident, and so forth—but none is considered as serious as offending a brahmana like Jada Bharata. Therefore Maharaja Rahugana immediately descended from his palanquin and fell flat before the lotus feet of the brahmana Jada Bharata just to be excused.

SB5.10.18

TEXT 18

tad bruhy asango jadavan nigudha-

vijnana-viryo vicarasy aparah

vacamsi yoga-grathitani sadho

na nah ksamante manasapi bhettum

tat—therefore; bruhi—please speak; asangah—who have no association with the material world; jada-vat—appearing like a deaf and dumb man; nigudha—completely hidden; vijnana-viryah—who have full knowledge of the spiritual science and are thus very powerful; vicarasi—you are moving; aparah—who possess unlimited spiritual glories; vacamsi—the words uttered by you; yoga-grathitani—bearing the complete meaning of mystic yoga; sadho—O great, saintly person; na—not; nah—of us; ksamante—are able; manasa api—even by the mind; bhettum—to understand by analytical study.

My dear sir, it appears that the influence of your great spiritual knowledge is hidden. Factually you are bereft of all material association and fully absorbed in the thought of the Supreme. Consequently you are unlimitedly advanced in spiritual knowledge. Please tell me why you are wandering around like a dullard. O great, saintly person, you have spoken words approved by the yogic process, but it is not possible for us to understand what you have said. Therefore kindly explain it.

Saintly people like Jada Bharata do not speak ordinary words. Whatever they say is approved by great yogis and those advanced in spiritual life. That is the difference between ordinary people and saintly people. The listener must also be advanced to understand the words of such exalted, spiritually advanced people as Jada Bharata. Bhagavad-gita was spoken to Arjuna, not to others. Lord Krsna especially selected Arjuna for instruction in spiritual knowledge because Arjuna happened to be a great devotee and confidential friend. Similarly, great personalities also speak to the advanced, not to sudras, vaisyas, women or unintelligent men. Sometimes it is very risky to give great philosophical instructions to ordinary people, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, for the benefit of the fallen souls of Kali-yuga, has given us a very nice instrument, the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra. The general mass of people, although sudras and less, can be purified by chanting this Hare Krsna mantra. Then they can understand the exalted philosophical statements of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Our Krsna consciousness movement has therefore adopted the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra for the general masses. When people gradually become purified, they are instructed in the lessons of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Materialistic people like stri, sudra and dvija-bandhu cannot understand words of spiritual advancement, yet one can take to the shelter of a Vaisnava, for he knows the art of enlightening even sudras in the highly elevated subject matter spoken in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

SB5.10.19

TEXT 19

aham ca yogesvaram atma-tattva-

vidam muninam paramam gurum vai

prastum pravrttah kim iharanam tat

saksad dharim jnana-kalavatirnam

aham—I; ca—and; yoga-isvaram—the master of all mystic power; atma-tattva-vidam—of the learned scholars who are aware of the spiritual science; muninam—of such saintly persons; paramam—the best; gurum—the preceptor; vai—indeed; prastum—to inquire; pravrttah—engaged; kim—what; iha—in this world; aranam—the most secure shelter; tat—that which; saksat harim—directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead; jnana-kala-avatirnam—who has descended as the incarnation of complete knowledge in His plenary portion known as Kapiladeva.

I consider your good self the most exalted master of mystic power. You know the spiritual science perfectly well. You are the most exalted of all learned sages, and you have descended for the benefit of all human society. You have come to give spiritual knowledge, and you are a direct representative of Kapiladeva, the incarnation of God and the plenary portion of knowledge. I am therefore asking you, O spiritual master, what is the most secure shelter in this world?

As Krsna confirms in Bhagavad-gita:

yoginam api sarvesam
mad-gatenantaratmana
sraddhavan bhajate yo mam
sa me yuktatamo matah

“Of all yogis, he who abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.” (Bg. 6.47)

Jada Bharata was a perfect yogi. He was formerly the emperor Bharata Maharaja, and he was now the most exalted personality among learned sages and the master of all mystic powers. Although Jada Bharata was an ordinary living entity, he had inherited all the knowledge given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kapiladeva. He could therefore be taken directly as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his stanzas to the spiritual master: saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih. An exalted personality like Jada Bharata is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because he fully represents the Lord by giving knowledge to others. Jada Bharata is herein accepted as the direct representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead because he was imparting knowledge on behalf of the Supreme Lord. Therefore Maharaja Rahugana concluded that it was appropriate to ask him about atma-tattva, the spiritual science. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. This Vedic injunction is also confirmed herein. If anyone is at all interested in knowing the spiritual science (brahma jijnasa), he must approach a guru like Jada Bharata.

SB5.10.20

TEXT 20

sa vai bhaval loka-niriksanartham

avyakta-lingo vicaraty api svit

yogesvaranam gatim andha-buddhih

katham vicaksita grhanubandhah

sah—that Supreme Personality of Godhead or His incarnation Kapiladeva; vai—indeed; bhavan—your good self; loka-niriksana-artham—just to study the characteristics of the people of this world; avyakta-lingah—without manifesting your real identity; vicarati—are traveling in this world; api svit—whether; yoga-isvaranam—of all the advanced yogis; gatim—the characteristics or actual behavior; andha-buddhih—who are illusioned and have become blind to spiritual knowledge; katham—how; vicaksita—may know; grha-anubandhah—I who am bound by attachment to family life, or worldly life.

Is it not a fact that your good self is the direct representative of Kapiladeva, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? To examine people and see who is actually a human being and who is not, you have presented yourself to be a deaf and dumb person. Are you not moving this way upon the surface of the world? I am very attached to family life and worldly activities, and I am blind to spiritual knowledge. Nonetheless, I am now present before you and am seeking enlightenment from you. How can I advance in spiritual life?

drstah sramah karmata atmano vai

Although Maharaja Rahugana was playing the part of a king, he had been informed by Jada Bharata that be was not a king nor was Jada Bharata deaf and dumb. Such designations were simply coverings of the spirit soul. Everyone must come to this knowledge. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (2.13): dehino ’smin yatha dehe. Everyone is encased within the body. Since the body is never identical with the soul, the bodily activities are simply illusory. In the association of such a sadhu as Jada Bharata, Maharaja Rahugana came to the awareness that his activities as a royal authority were simply illusory phenomena. He therefore agreed to receive knowledge from Jada Bharata, and that was the beginning of his perfection. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. A person like Maharaja Rahugana, who was very inquisitive to know the value of life and the spiritual science, must approach a personality like Jada Bharata. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam (Bhag. 11.3.21). One must approach a guru like Jada Bharata, a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to inquire about the goal of human life.

SB5.10.21

TEXT 21

bhartur gantur bhavatas canumanye

yathasatodanayanady-abhavat

samula isto vyavahara-margah