Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Fourteen
SB9.14.26
TEXT 26
apasyann urvasim indro
gandharvan samacodayat
urvasi-rahitam mahyam
asthanam natisobhate
SYNONYMS
apasyan—without seeing; urvasim—Urvasi; indrah—the King of the heavenly planet; gandharvan—unto the Gandharvas; samacodayat—instructed; urvasi-rahitam—without Urvasi; mahyam—my; asthanam—place; na—not; atisobhate—appears beautiful.
TRANSLATION
Not seeing Urvasi in his assembly, the King of heaven, Lord Indra, said, “Without Urvasi my assembly is no longer beautiful.” Considering this, he requested the Gandharvas to bring her back to his heavenly planet.
SB9.14.27
TEXT 27
te upetya maha-ratre
tamasi pratyupasthite
urvasya uranau jahrur
nyastau rajani jayaya
SYNONYMS
te—they, the Gandharvas; upetya—coming there; maha-ratre—in the dead of night; tamasi—when the darkness; pratyupasthite—appeared; urvasya—by Urvasi; uranau—two lambs; jahruh—stole; nyastau—given in charge; rajani—unto the King; jayaya—by his wife, Urvasi.
TRANSLATION
Thus the Gandharvas came to earth, and at midnight, when everything was dark, they appeared in the house of Pururava and stole the two lambs entrusted to the King by his wife, Urvasi.
PURPORT
“The dead of night” refers to midnight. The maha-nisa is described in this smrti-mantra: maha-nisa dve ghatike ratrer madhyama-yamayoh, “Twelve o’clock midnight is called the dead of night.” SB9.14.28 TEXT 28 nisamyakranditam devi putrayor niyamanayoh hatasmy aham kunathena napumsa vira-manina SYNONYMS nisamya—by hearing; akranditam—crying (because of being stolen); devi—Urvasi; putrayoh—of those two lambs, which she treated as sons; niyamanayoh—as they were being taken away; hata—killed; asmi—am; aham—I; ku-nathena—under the protection of a bad husband; na-pumsa—by the eunuch; vira-manina—although considering himself a hero. TRANSLATION Urvasi treated the two lambs like her own sons. Therefore, when they were being taken by the Gandharvas and began crying, Urvasi heard them and rebuked her husband. “Now I am being killed,” she said, “under the protection of an unworthy husband, who is a coward and a eunuch although he thinks himself a great hero. SB9.14.29 TEXT 29 yad-visrambhad aham nasta hrtapatya ca dasyubhih yah sete nisi santrasto yatha nari diva puman SYNONYMS yat-visrambhat—because of depending upon whom; aham—I (am); nasta—lost; hrta-apatya—bereft of my two sons, the lambs; ca—also; dasyubhih—by the plunderers; yah—he who (my so-called husband); sete—lies down; nisi—at night; santrastah—being afraid; yatha—as; nari—a woman; diva—during the daytime; puman—male. TRANSLATION “Because I depended on him, the plunderers have deprived me of my two sons the lambs, and therefore I am now lost. My husband lies down at night in fear, exactly like a woman, although he appears to be a man during the day.” SB9.14.30 TEXT 30 iti vak-sayakair biddhah pratottrair iva kunjarah nisi nistrimsam adaya vivastro ’bhyadravad rusa SYNONYMS iti—thus; vak-sayakaih—by the arrows of strong words; biddhah—being pierced; pratottraih—by the goads; iva—like; kunjarah—an elephant; nisi—in the night; nistrimsam—a sword; adaya—taking in hand; vivastrah—naked; abhyadravat—went out; rusa—in anger. TRANSLATION Pururava, stricken by the sharp words of Urvasi like an elephant struck by its driver’s pointed rod, became very angry. Not even dressing himself properly, he took a sword in hand and went out naked into the night to follow the Gandharvas who had stolen the lambs. SB9.14.31 TEXT 31 te visrjyoranau tatra vyadyotanta sma vidyutah adaya mesav ayantam nagnam aiksata sa patim SYNONYMS te—they, the Gandharvas; visrjya—after giving up; uranau—the two lambs; tatra—on the spot; vyadyotanta sma—illuminated; vidyutah—shining like lightning; adaya—taking in hand; mesau—the two lambs; ayantam—returning; nagnam—naked; aiksata—saw; sa—Urvasi; patim—her husband. TRANSLATION After giving up the two lambs, the Gandharvas shone brightly like lightning, thus illuminating the house of Pururava. Urvasi then saw her husband returning with the lambs in hand, but he was naked, and therefore she left. SB9.14.32 TEXT 32 ailo ’pi sayane jayam apasyan vimana iva tac-citto vihvalah socan babhramonmattavan mahim SYNONYMS ailah—Pururava; api—also; sayane—on the bedstead; jayam—his wife; apasyan—not seeing; vimanah—morose; iva—like that; tat-cittah—being too much attached to her; vihvalah—disturbed in mind; socan—lamenting; babhrama—traveled; unmatta-vat—like a madman; mahim—on the earth. TRANSLATION No longer seeing Urvasi on his bed, Pururava was most aggrieved. Because of his great attraction for her, he was very much disturbed. Thus, lamenting, he began traveling about the earth like a madman. SB9.14.33 TEXT 33 sa tam viksya kuruksetre sarasvatyam ca tat-sakhih panca prahrsta-vadanah praha suktam pururavah SYNONYMS sah—he, Pururava; tam—Urvasi; viksya—observing; kuruksetre—at the place known as Kuruksetra; sarasvatyam—on the bank of the Sarasvati; ca—also; tat-sakhih—her companions; panca—five; prahrsta-vadanah—being very happy and smiling; praha—said; suktam—sweet words; pururavah—King Pururava. TRANSLATION Once during his travels all over the world, Pururava saw Urvasi, accompanied by five companions, on the bank of the Sarasvati at Kuruksetra. With jubilation in his face, he then spoke to her in sweet words as follows. SB9.14.34 TEXT 34 aho jaye tistha tistha ghore na tyaktum arhasi mam tvam adyapy anirvrtya vacamsi krnavavahai SYNONYMS aho—hello; jaye—O my dear wife; tistha tistha—kindly stay, stay; ghore—O most cruel one; na—not; tyaktum—to give up; arhasi—you ought; mam—me; tvam—you; adya api—until now; anirvrtya—having not gotten any happiness from me; vacamsi—some words; krnavavahai—let us talk for some time. TRANSLATION O my dear wife, O most cruel one, kindly stay, kindly stay. I know that I have never made you happy until now, but you should not give me up for that reason. This is not proper for you. Even if you have decided to give up my company, let us nonetheless talk for some time. SB9.14.35 TEXT 35 sudeho ’yam pataty atra devi duram hrtas tvaya khadanty enam vrka grdhras tvat-prasadasya naspadam SYNONYMS su-dehah—very beautiful body; ayam—this; patati—will now fall down; atra—on the spot; devi—O Urvasi; duram—far, far away from home; hrtah—taken away; tvaya—by you; khadanti—they will eat; enam—this (body); vrkah—foxes; grdhrah—vultures; tvat—your; prasadasya—in mercy; na—not; aspadam—suitable. TRANSLATION O goddess, now that you have refused me, my beautiful body will fall down here, and because it is unsuitable for your pleasure, it will be eaten by foxes and vultures. SB9.14.36 TEXT 36 urvasy uvaca ma mrthah puruso ’si tvam ma sma tvadyur vrka ime kvapi sakhyam na vai strinam vrkanam hrdayam yatha SYNONYMS urvasi uvaca—Urvasi said; ma—do not; mrthah—give up your life; purusah—male; asi—are; tvam—you; ma sma—do not allow it; tva—unto you; adyuh—may eat; vrkah—the foxes; ime—these senses (do not be under the control of your senses); kva api—anywhere; sakhyam—friendship; na—not; vai—indeed; strinam—of women; vrkanam—of the foxes; hrdayam—the heart; yatha—as. TRANSLATION Urvasi said: My dear King, you are a man, a hero. Don’t be impatient and give up your life. Be sober and don’t allow the senses to overcome you like foxes. Don’t let the foxes eat you. In other words, you should not be controlled by your senses. Rather, you should know that the heart of a woman is like that of a fox. There is no use making friendship with women. PURPORT Canakya Pandita has advised, visvaso naiva kartavyah strisu raja-kulesu ca: “Never place your faith in a woman or a politician.” Unless elevated to spiritual consciousness, everyone is conditioned and fallen, what to speak of women, who are less intelligent than men. Women have been compared to sudras and vaisyas (striyo vaisyas tatha sudrah). On the spiritual platform, however, when one is elevated to the platform of Krsna consciousness, whether one is a man, woman, sudra or whatever, everyone is equal. Otherwise, Urvasi, who was a woman herself and who knew the nature of women, said that a woman’s heart is like that of a sly fox. If a man cannot control his senses, he becomes a victim of such sly foxes. But if one can control the senses, there is no chance of his being victimized by sly, foxlike women. Canakya Pandita has also advised that if one has a wife like a sly fox, he must immediately give up his life at home and go to the forest. mata yasya grhe nasti (Canakya-sloka 57) Krsna conscious grhasthas must be very careful of the sly fox woman. If the wife at home is obedient and follows her husband in Krsna consciousness, the home is welcome. Otherwise one should give up one’s home and go to the forest. hitvatma-patam grham andha-kupam One should go to the forest and take shelter of the lotus feet of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. SB9.14.37 TEXT 37 striyo hy akarunah krura durmarsah priya-sahasah ghnanty alparthe ’pi visrabdham patim bhrataram apy uta SYNONYMS striyah—women; hi—indeed; akarunah—merciless; krurah—cunning; durmarsah—intolerant; priya-sahasah—for their own pleasure they can do anything; ghnanti—they kill; alpa-arthe—for a slight reason; api—indeed; visrabdham—faithful; patim—husband; bhrataram—brother; api—also; uta—it is said. TRANSLATION Women as a class are merciless and cunning. They cannot tolerate even a slight offense. For their own pleasure they can do anything irreligious, and therefore they do not fear killing even a faithful husband or brother. PURPORT King Pururava was greatly attached to Urvasi. Yet despite his faithfulness to her, she had left him. Now, considering that the King was wasting his rarely achieved human form of life, Urvasi frankly explained the nature of a woman. Because of her nature, a woman can respond to even a slight offense from her husband by not only leaving him but even killing him if required. To say nothing of her husband, she can even kill her brother. That is a woman’s nature. Therefore, in the material world, unless women are trained to be chaste and faithful to their husbands, there cannot be peace or prosperity in society. SB9.14.38 TEXT 38 vidhayalika-visrambham ajnesu tyakta-sauhrdah navam navam abhipsantyah pumscalyah svaira-vrttayah SYNONYMS vidhaya—by establishing; alika—false; visrambham—faithfulness; ajnesu—unto the foolish men; tyakta-sauhrdah—who have given up the company of well-wishers; navam—new; navam—new; abhipsantyah—desiring; pumscalyah—women very easily allured by other men; svaira—independently; vrttayah—professional. TRANSLATION Women are very easily seduced by men. Therefore, polluted women give up the friendship of a man who is their well-wisher and establish false friendship among fools. Indeed, they seek newer and newer friends, one after another. PURPORT Because women are easily seduced, the Manu-samhita enjoins that they should not be given freedom. A woman must always be protected, either by her father, by her husband, or by her elderly son. If women are given freedom to mingle with men like equals, which they now claim to be, they cannot keep their propriety. The nature of a woman, as personally described by Urvasi, is to establish false friendship with someone and then seek new male companions, one after another, even if this means giving up the company of a sincere well-wisher. SB9.14.39 TEXT 39 samvatsarante hi bhavan eka-ratram mayesvarah ramsyaty apatyani ca te bhavisyanty aparani bhoh SYNONYMS samvatsara-ante—at the end of every year; hi—indeed; bhavan—your good self; eka-ratram—one night only; maya—with me; isvarah—my husband; ramsyati—will enjoy sex life; apatyani—children; ca—also; te—your; bhavisyanti—will generate; aparani—others, one after another; bhoh—O my dear King. TRANSLATION O my dear King, you will be able to enjoy with me as my husband at the end of every year, for one night only. In this way you will have other children, one after another. PURPORT Although Urvasi had adversely explained the nature of woman, Maharaja Pururava was very much attached to her, and therefore she wanted to give the King some concession by agreeing to be his wife for one night at the end of each year. SB9.14.40 TEXT 40 antarvatnim upalaksya devim sa prayayau purim punas tatra gato ’bdante urvasim vira-mataram SYNONYMS antarvatnim—pregnant; upalaksya—by observing; devim—Urvasi; sah—he, King Pururava; prayayau—returned; purim—to his palace; punah—again; tatra—at that very spot; gatah—went; abda-ante—at the end of the year; urvasim—Urvasi; vira-mataram—the mother of one ksatriya son. TRANSLATION Understanding that Urvasi was pregnant, Pururava returned to his palace. At the end of the year, there at Kuruksetra, he again obtained the association of Urvasi, who was then the mother of a heroic son. SB9.14.41 TEXT 41 upalabhya muda yuktah samuvasa taya nisam athainam urvasi praha krpanam virahaturam SYNONYMS upalabhya—getting the association; muda—in great jubilation; yuktah—being united; samuvasa—enjoyed her company in sex; taya—with her; nisam—that night; atha—thereafter; enam—unto King Pururava; urvasi—the woman named Urvasi; praha—said; krpanam—to he who was poor-hearted; viraha-aturam—afflicted by the thought of separation. TRANSLATION Having regained Urvasi at the end of the year, King Pururava was most jubilant, and he enjoyed her company in sex for one night. But then he was very sorry at the thought of separation from her, so Urvasi spoke to him as follows. SB9.14.42 TEXT 42 gandharvan upadhavemams tubhyam dasyanti mam iti tasya samstuvatas tusta agni-sthalim dadur nrpa urvasim manyamanas tam so ’budhyata caran vane SYNONYMS gandharvan—unto the Gandharvas; upadhava—go take shelter; iman—these; tubhyam—unto you; dasyanti—will deliver; mam iti—exactly like me, or me factually; tasya—by him; samstuvatah—offering prayers; tustah—being satisfied; agni-sthalim—a girl produced from fire; daduh—delivered; nrpa—O King; urvasim—Urvasi; manya-manah—thinking; tam—her; sah—he (Pururava); abudhyata—understood factually; caran—while walking; vane—in the forest. TRANSLATION Urvasi said: “My dear King, seek shelter of the Gandharvas, for they will be able to deliver me to you again.” In accordance with these words, the King satisfied the Gandharvas by prayers, and the Gandharvas, being pleased with him, gave him an Agnisthali girl who looked exactly like Urvasi. Thinking that the girl was Urvasi, the King began walking with her in the forest, but later he could understand that she was not Urvasi but Agnisthali. PURPORT Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura remarks that Pururava was very lusty. Immediately after getting the Agnisthali girl, he wanted to have sex with her, but during sexual intercourse he could understand that the girl was Agnisthali, not Urvasi. This indicates that every man attached to a particular woman knows the particular characteristics of that woman during sex life. Thus Pururava understood during sexual intercourse that the Agnisthali girl was not Urvasi. SB9.14.43 TEXT 43 sthalim nyasya vane gatva grhan adhyayato nisi tretayam sampravrttayam manasi trayy avartata SYNONYMS sthalim—the woman Agnisthali; nyasya—immediately giving up; vane—in the forest; gatva—on returning; grhan—at home; adhyayatah—began to meditate; nisi—the whole night; tretayam—when the Treta millennium; sampravrttayam—was just on the point of beginning; manasi—in his mind; trayi—the principles of the three Vedas; avartata—became revealed. TRANSLATION King Pururava then left Agnisthali in the forest and returned home, where he meditated all night upon Urvasi. In the course of his meditation, the Treta millennium began, and therefore the principles of the three Vedas, including the process of performing yajna to fulfill fruitive activities, appeared within his heart. PURPORT It is said, tretayam yajato makhaih: in Treta-yuga, if one performed yajnas, he would get the results of those yajnas. By performing visnu-yajna specifically, one could even achieve the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Of course, yajna is intended to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. While Pururava was meditating upon Urvasi, the Treta-yuga began, and therefore the Vedic yajnas were revealed in his heart. But Pururava was a materialistic man, especially interested in enjoying the senses. Yajnas for enjoyment of the senses are called karma-kandiya-yajnas. Therefore, he decided to perform karma-kandiya-yajnas to fulfill his lusty desires. In other words, karma-kandiya-yajnas are meant for sensuous persons, whereas yajna should actually be performed to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To please the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Kali-yuga, the sankirtana-yajna is recommended. Yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah [SB 11.5.32]. Only those who are very intelligent take to sankirtana-yajna to fulfill all their desires, material and spiritual, whereas those who are lusty for sense enjoyment perform karma-kandiya-yajnas. SB9.14.44-45 TEXTS 44–45 sthali-sthanam gato ’svattham sami-garbham vilaksya sah tena dve arani krtva urvasi-loka-kamyaya urvasim mantrato dhyayann adhararanim uttaram atmanam ubhayor madhye yat tat prajananam prabhuh SYNONYMS sthali-sthanam—the place where Agnisthali was left; gatah—going there; asvattham—an asvattha tree; sami-garbham—produced from the womb of the sami tree; vilaksya—seeing; sah—he, Pururava; tena—from that; dve—two; arani—pieces of wood required for igniting a fire for sacrifice; krtva—making; urvasi-loka-kamyaya—desiring to go to the planet where Urvasi was present; urvasim—Urvasi; mantratah—by chanting the required mantra; dhyayan—meditating upon; adhara—lower; aranim—arani wood; uttaram—and the upper one; atmanam—himself; ubhayoh madhye—in between the two; yat tat—that which (he meditated upon); prajananam—as a son; prabhuh—the King. TRANSLATION When the process of fruitive yajna became manifest within his heart, King Pururava went to the same spot where he had left Agnisthali. There he saw that from the womb of a sami tree, an asvattha tree had grown. He then took a piece of wood from that tree and made it into two aranis. Desiring to go to the planet where Urvasi resided, he chanted mantras, meditating upon the lower arani as Urvasi, the upper one as himself, and the piece of wood between them as his son. In this way he began to ignite a fire. PURPORT The Vedic fire for performing yajna was not ignited with ordinary matches or similar devices. Rather, the Vedic sacrificial fire was ignited by the aranis, or two sacred pieces of wood, which produced fire by friction with a third. Such a fire is necessary for the performance of yajna. If successful, a yajna will fulfill the desire of its performer. Thus Pururava took advantage of the process of yajna to fulfill his lusty desires. He thought of the lower arani as Urvasi, the upper one as himself, and the middle one as his son. A relevant Vedic mantra quoted herein by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura is sami-garbhad agnim mantha. A similar mantra is urvasyam urasi pururavah. Pururava wanted to have children continuously by the womb of Urvasi. His only ambition was to have sex life with Urvasi and thereby get a son. In other words, he had so much lust in his heart that even while performing yajna he thought of Urvasi, instead of thinking of the master of yajna, Yajnesvara, Lord Visnu. SB9.14.46 TEXT 46 tasya nirmanthanaj jato jata-veda vibhavasuh trayya sa vidyaya rajna putratve kalpitas tri-vrt SYNONYMS tasya—of Pururava; nirmanthanat—because of interaction; jatah—was born; jata-vedah—meant for material enjoyment according to the Vedic principles; vibhavasuh—a fire; trayya—following the Vedic principles; sah—the fire; vidyaya—by such a process; rajna—by the King; putratve—a son’s being born; kalpitah—it so became; tri-vrt—the three letters a-u-m combined together as om. TRANSLATION From Pururava’s rubbing of the aranis came a fire. By such a fire one can achieve all success in material enjoyment and be purified in seminal birth, initiation and in the performance of sacrifice, which are invoked with the combined letters a-u-m. Thus the fire was considered the son of King Pururava. PURPORT According to the Vedic process, one can get a son through semen (sukra), one can get a bona fide disciple through initiation (savitra), or one can get a son or disciple through the fire of sacrifice (yajna). Thus when Maharaja Pururava generated the fire by rubbing the aranis, the fire became his son. Either by semen, by initiation or by yajna one may get a son. The Vedic mantra omkara, or pranava, consisting of the letters a-u-m, can call each of these three methods into existence. Therefore the words nirmanthanaj jatah indicate that by the rubbing of the aranis a son was born. SB9.14.47 TEXT 47 tenayajata yajnesam bhagavantam adhoksajam urvasi-lokam anvicchan sarva-devamayam harim SYNONYMS tena—by generating such a fire; ayajata—he worshiped; yajna-isam—the master or enjoyer of the yajna; bhagavantam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adhoksajam—beyond the perception of the senses; urvasi-lokam—to the planet where Urvasi was staying; anvicchan—although desiring to go; sarva-deva-mayam—the reservoir of all demigods; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TRANSLATION By means of that fire, Pururava, who desired to go to the planet where Urvasi resided, performed a sacrifice, by which he satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, the enjoyer of the results of sacrifice. Thus he worshiped the Lord, who is beyond the perception of the senses and is the reservoir of all the demigods. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gita, bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram: [Bg. 5.29] any loka, or planet, to which one wants to go is the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the enjoyer of the performance of sacrifice. The purpose of yajna is to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this age, as we have explained many times, the yajna of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra is the only sacrifice that can satisfy the Supreme Lord. When the Lord is satisfied, one can fulfill any desire, material or spiritual. Bhagavad-gita (3.14) also says, yajnad bhavati parjanyah: by offering sacrifices to Lord Visnu, one can have sufficient rainfall. When there is sufficient rainfall, the earth becomes fit to produce everything (sama-kama-dugha mahi). If one can utilize the land properly, one can get all the necessities of life from the land, including food grains, fruits, flowers and vegetables. Everything one gets for material wealth is produced from the earth, and therefore it is said, sarva-kama-dugha mahi (Bhag. 1.10.4). Everything is possible by performing yajna. Therefore although Pururava desired something material, he factually performed yajna to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is adhoksaja, beyond the perception of Pururava and everyone else. Consequently, some kind of yajna must be performed to fulfill the desires of the living entity. Yajnas can be performed in human society only when society is divided by varnasrama-dharma into four varnas and four asramas. Without such a regulative process, no one can perform yajnas, and without the performance of yajnas, no material plans can make human society happy at any time. Everyone should therefore be induced to perform yajnas. In this age of Kali, the yajna recommended is sankirtana, the individual or collective chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. This will bring the fulfillment of all necessities for human society. SB9.14.48 TEXT 48 eka eva pura vedah pranavah sarva-vanmayah devo narayano nanya eko ’gnir varna eva ca SYNONYMS ekah—only one; eva—indeed; pura—formerly; vedah—book of transcendental knowledge; pranavah—omkara; sarva-vak-mayah—consisting of all Vedic mantras; devah—the Lord, God; narayanah—only Narayana (was worshipable in the Satya-yuga); na anyah—no other; ekah agnih—one division only for agni; varnah—order of life; eva ca—and certainly. TRANSLATION In the Satya-yuga, the first millennium, all the Vedic mantras were included in one mantra—pranava, the root of all Vedic mantras. In other words, the Atharva Veda alone was the source of all Vedic knowledge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana was the only worshipable Deity; there was no recommendation for worship of the demigods. Fire was one only, and the only order of life in human society was known as hamsa. PURPORT In Satya-yuga there was only one Veda, not four. Later, before the beginning of Kali-yuga, this one Veda, the Atharva Veda (or, some say, the Yajur Veda), was divided into four—Sama, Yajur, Rg and Atharva—for the facility of human society. In Satya-yuga the only mantra was omkara (om tat sat). The same name omkara is manifest in the mantra Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Unless one is a brahmana, one cannot utter omkara and get the desired result. But in Kali-yuga almost everyone is a sudra, unfit for pronouncing the pranava, omkara. Therefore the sastras have recommended the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Omkara is a mantra, or maha-mantra, and Hare Krsna is also a maha-mantra. The purpose of pronouncing omkara is to address the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva (om namo bhagavate vasudevaya). And the purpose of chanting the Hare Krsna mantra is the same. Hare: “O energy of the Lord!” Krsna: “O Lord Krsna!” Hare: “O energy of the Lord!” Rama: “O Supreme Lord, O supreme enjoyer!” The only worshipable Lord is Hari, who is the goal of the Vedas (vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15]). By worshiping the demigods, one worships the different parts of the Lord, just as one might water the branches and twigs of a tree. But worshiping Narayana, the all-inclusive Supreme Personality of Godhead, is like pouring water on the root of the tree, thus supplying water to the trunk, branches, twigs, leaves and so on. In Satya-yuga people knew how to fulfill the necessities of life simply by worshiping Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The same purpose can be served in this age of Kali by the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, as recommended in the Bhagavatam. Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet. Simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, one becomes free from the bondage of material existence and thus becomes eligible to return home, back to Godhead. SB9.14.49 TEXT 49 pururavasa evasit trayi treta-mukhe nrpa agnina prajaya raja lokam gandharvam eyivan SYNONYMS pururavasah—from King Pururava; eva—thus; asit—there was; trayi—the Vedic principles of karma, jnana and upasana; treta-mukhe—in the beginning of the Treta-yuga; nrpa—O King Pariksit; agnina—simply by generating the fire of sacrifice; prajaya—by his son; raja—King Pururava; lokam—to the planet; gandharvam—of the Gandharvas; eyivan—achieved. TRANSLATION O Maharaja Pariksit, at the beginning of Treta-yuga, King Pururava inaugurated a karma-kanda sacrifice. Thus Pururava, who considered the yajnic fire his son, was able to go to Gandharvaloka as he desired. PURPORT In Satya-yuga, Lord Narayana was worshiped by meditation (krte yad dhyayato visnum). Indeed, everyone always meditated upon Lord Visnu, Narayana, and achieved every success by this process of meditation. In the next yuga, Treta-yuga, the performance of yajna began (tretayam yajato mukhaih). Therefore this verse says, trayi treta-mukhe. Ritualistic ceremonies are generally called fruitive activities. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that in Treta-yuga, beginning in the Svayambhuva-manvantara, ritualistic fruitive activities were similarly manifested from Priyavrata, etc. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Ninth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “King Pururava Enchanted by Urvasi.”
bharya capriya-vadini
aranyam tena gantavyam
yatharanyam tatha grham
vanam gato yad dharim asrayeta