Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 1: “Creation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter One
SB1.1.12
TEXT 12
sūta jānāsi bhadraṁ te
bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ
devakyāṁ vasudevasya
jāto yasya cikīrṣayā
SYNONYMS
sūta—O Sūta Gosvāmī; jānāsi—you know; bhadram te—all blessings upon you; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; sātvatām—of the pure devotees; patiḥ—the protector; devakyām—in the womb of Devakī; vasudevasya—by Vasudeva; jātaḥ—born of; yasya—for the purpose of; cikīrṣayā—executing.
TRANSLATION
All blessings upon you, O Sūta Gosvāmī. You know for what purpose the Personality of Godhead appeared in the womb of Devakī as the son of Vasudeva.
PURPORT
Bhagavān means the Almighty God who is the controller of all opulences, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. He is the protector of His pure devotees. Although God is equally disposed to everyone, He is especially inclined to His devotees. Sat means the Absolute Truth. And persons who are servitors of the Absolute Truth are called sātvatas. And the Personality of Godhead who protects such pure devotees is known as the protector of the sātvatas. Bhadraṁ te, or “blessings upon you,” indicates the sages’ anxiety to know the Absolute Truth from the speaker. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared to Devakī, the wife of Vasudeva. Vasudeva is the symbol of the transcendental position wherein the appearance of the Supreme Lord takes place.
SB1.1.13 TEXT 13 tan naḥ śuśrūṣamāṇānām arhasy aṅgānuvarṇitum yasyāvatāro bhūtānāṁ kṣemāya ca bhavāya ca SYNONYMS tat—those; naḥ—unto us; śuśrūṣamāṇānām—those who are endeavoring for; arhasi—ought to do it; aṅga—O Sūta Gosvāmī; anuvarṇitum—to explain by following in the footsteps of previous ācāryas; yasya—whose; avatāraḥ—incarnation; bhūtānām—of the living beings; kṣemāya—for good; ca—and; bhavāya—upliftment; ca—and.
TRANSLATION O Sūta Gosvāmī, we are eager to learn about the Personality of Godhead and His incarnations. Please explain to us those teachings imparted by previous masters [ācāryas], for one is uplifted both by speaking them and by hearing them. PURPORT The conditions for hearing the transcendental message of the Absolute Truth are set forth herein. The first condition is that the audience must be very sincere and eager to hear. And the speaker must be in the line of disciplic succession from the recognized ācārya. The transcendental message of the Absolute is not understandable by those who are materially absorbed. Under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master, one becomes gradually purified. Therefore, one must be in the chain of disciplic succession and learn the spiritual art of submissive hearing. In the case of Sūta Gosvāmī and the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya, all these conditions are fulfilled because Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī is in the line of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, and the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya are all sincere souls who are anxious to learn the truth. Thus the transcendental topics of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s superhuman activities, His incarnation, His birth, appearance or disappearance, His forms, His names and so on are all easily understandable because all requirements are fulfilled. Such discourses help all men on the path of spiritual realization.
SB1.1.14 TEXT 14 āpannaḥ saṁsṛtiṁ ghorāṁ yan-nāma vivaśo gṛṇan tataḥ sadyo vimucyeta yad bibheti svayaṁ bhayam SYNONYMS āpannaḥ—being entangled; saṁsṛtim—in the hurdle of birth and death; ghorām—too complicated; yat—what; nāma—the absolute name; vivaśaḥ—unconsciously; gṛṇan—chanting; tataḥ—from that; sadyaḥ—at once; vimucyeta—gets freedom; yat—that which; bibheti—fears; svayam—personally; bhayam—fear itself.
TRANSLATION Living beings who are entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, which is feared by fear personified. PURPORT Vāsudeva, or Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is the supreme controller of everything. There is no one in creation who is not afraid of the rage of the Almighty. Great asuras like Rāvaṇa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Kaṁsa, and others who were very powerful living entities were all killed by the Personality of Godhead. And the almighty Vāsudeva has empowered His name with the powers of His personal Self. Everything is related to Him, and everything has its identity in Him. It is stated herein that the name of Kṛṣṇa is feared even by fear personified. This indicates that the name of Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the name of Kṛṣṇa is as powerful as Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. There is no difference at all. Anyone, therefore, can take advantage of the holy names of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa even in the midst of greatest dangers. The transcendental name of Kṛṣṇa, even though uttered unconsciously or by force of circumstances, can help one obtain freedom from the hurdle of birth and death.
SB1.1.15 TEXT 15 yat-pāda-saṁśrayāḥ sūta munayaḥ praśamāyanāḥ sadyaḥ punanty upaspṛṣṭāḥ svardhuny-āpo ’nusevayā SYNONYMS yat—whose; pāda—lotus feet; saṁśrayāḥ—those who have taken shelter of; sūta—O Sūta Gosvāmī; munayaḥ—great sages; praśamāyanāḥ—absorbed in devotion to the Supreme; sadyaḥ—at once; punanti—sanctify; upaspṛṣṭāḥ—simply by association; svardhunī—of the sacred Ganges; āpaḥ—water; anusevayā—bringing into use.
TRANSLATION O Sūta, those great sages who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord can at once sanctify those who come in touch with them, whereas the waters of the Ganges can sanctify only after prolonged use. PURPORT Pure devotees of the Lord are more powerful than the waters of the sacred river Ganges. One can derive spiritual benefit out of prolonged use of the Ganges waters. But one can be sanctified at once by the mercy of a pure devotee of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that any person, regardless of birth as śūdra, woman, or merchant, can take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and by so doing can return to Godhead. To take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord means to take shelter of the pure devotees. The pure devotees whose only business is serving are honored by the names Prabhupāda and Viṣṇupāda, which indicate such devotees to be representatives of the lotus feet of the Lord. Anyone, therefore, who takes shelter of the lotus feet of a pure devotee by accepting the pure devotee as his spiritual master can be at once purified. Such devotees of the Lord are honored equally with the Lord because they are engaged in the most confidential service of the Lord, for they deliver out of the material world the fallen souls whom the Lord wants to return home, back to Godhead. Such pure devotees are better known as vicelords according to revealed scriptures. The sincere disciple of the pure devotee considers the spiritual master equal to the Lord, but always considers himself to be a humble servant of the servant of the Lord. This is the pure devotional path.
SB1.1.16 TEXT 16 ko vā bhagavatas tasya puṇya-ślokeḍya-karmaṇaḥ śuddhi-kāmo na śṛṇuyād yaśaḥ kali-malāpaham SYNONYMS kaḥ—who; vā—rather; bhagavataḥ—of the Lord; tasya—His; puṇya—virtuous; śloka-īḍya—worshipable by prayers; karmaṇaḥ—deeds; śuddhi-kāmaḥ—desiring deliverance from all sins; na—not; śṛṇuyāt—does hear; yaśaḥ—glories; kali—of the age of quarrel; mala-apaham—the agent for sanctification.
TRANSLATION Who is there, desiring deliverance from the vices of the age of quarrel, who is not willing to hear the virtuous glories of the Lord? PURPORT The age of Kali is the most condemned age due to its quarrelsome features. Kali-yuga is so saturated with vicious habits that there is a great fight at the slightest misunderstanding. Those who are engaged in the pure devotional service of the Lord, who are without any desire for self-aggrandizement and who are freed from the effects of fruitive actions and dry philosophical speculations are capable of getting out of the estrangements of this complicated age. The leaders of the people are very much anxious to live in peace and friendship, but they have no information of the simple method of hearing the glories of the Lord. On the contrary, such leaders are opposed to the propagation of the glories of the Lord. In other words, the foolish leaders want to completely deny the existence of the Lord. In the name of secular state, such leaders are enacting various plans every year. But by the insurmountable intricacies of the material nature of the Lord, all these plans for progress are being constantly frustrated. They have no eyes to see that their attempts at peace and friendship are failing. But here is the hint to get over the hurdle. If we want actual peace, we must open the road to understanding of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa and glorify Him for His virtuous activities as they are depicted in the pages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
SB1.1.17 TEXT 17 tasya karmāṇy udārāṇi parigītāni sūribhiḥ brūhi naḥ śraddadhānānāṁ līlayā dadhataḥ kalāḥ SYNONYMS tasya—His; karmāṇi—transcendental acts; udārāṇi—magnanimous; parigītāni—broadcast; sūribhiḥ—by the great souls; brūhi—please speak; naḥ—unto us; śraddadhānānām—ready to receive with respect; līlayā—pastimes; dadhataḥ—advented; kalāḥ—incarnations.
TRANSLATION His transcendental acts are magnificent and gracious, and great learned sages like Nārada sing of them. Please, therefore, speak to us, who are eager to hear about the adventures He performs in His various incarnations. PURPORT The Personality of Godhead is never inactive as some less intelligent persons suggest. His works are magnificent and magnanimous. His creations both material and spiritual are all wonderful and contain all variegatedness. They are described nicely by such liberated souls as Śrīla Nārada, Vyāsa, Vālmīki, Devala, Asita, Madhva, Śrī Caitanya, Rāmānuja, Viṣṇusvāmī, Nimbārka, Śrīdhara, Viśvanātha, Baladeva, Bhaktivinoda, Siddhānta Sarasvatī and many other learned and self-realized souls. These creations, both material and spiritual, are full of opulence, beauty and knowledge, but the spiritual realm is more magnificent due to its being full of knowledge, bliss and eternity. The material creations are manifested for some time as perverted shadows of the spiritual kingdom and can be likened to cinemas. They attract people of less intelligent caliber who are attracted by false things. Such foolish men have no information of the reality, and they take it for granted that the false material manifestation is the all in all. But more intelligent men guided by sages like Vyāsa and Nārada know that the eternal kingdom of God is more delightful, larger, and eternally full of bliss and knowledge. Those who are not conversant with the activities of the Lord and His transcendental realm are sometimes favored by the Lord in His adventures as incarnations wherein He displays the eternal bliss of His association in the transcendental realm. By such activities He attracts the conditioned souls of the material world. Some of these conditioned souls are engaged in the false enjoyment of material senses and others in simply negating their real life in the spiritual world. These less intelligent persons are known as karmīs, or fruitive workers, and jñānīs, or dry mental speculators. But above these two classes of men is the transcendentalist known as sātvata, or the devotee, who is busy neither with rampant material activity nor with material speculation. He is engaged in the positive service of the Lord, and thereby he derives the highest spiritual benefit unknown to the karmīs and jñānīs.
As the supreme controller of both the material and spiritual worlds, the Lord has different incarnations of unlimited categories. Incarnations like Brahmā, Rudra, Manu, Pṛthu and Vyāsa are His material qualitative incarnations, but His incarnations like Rāma, Narasiṁha, Varāha and Vāmana are His transcendental incarnations. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of all incarnations, and He is therefore the cause of all causes.
SB1.1.18 TEXT 18 athākhyāhi harer dhīmann avatāra-kathāḥ śubhāḥ līlā vidadhataḥ svairam īśvarasyātma-māyayā SYNONYMS atha—therefore; ākhyāhi—describe; hareḥ—of the Lord; dhīman—O sagacious one; avatāra—incarnations; kathāḥ—narratives; śubhāḥ—auspicious; līlā—adventures; vidadhataḥ—performed; svairam—pastimes; īśvarasya—of the supreme controller; ātma—personal; māyayā—energies.
TRANSLATION O wise Sūta, please narrate to us the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Godhead’s multi-incarnations. Such auspicious adventures and pastimes of the Lord, the supreme controller, are performed by His internal powers. PURPORT For the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material worlds, the Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead Himself appears in many thousands of forms of incarnations, and the specific adventures found in those transcendental forms are all auspicious. Both those who are present during such activities and those who hear the transcendental narrations of such activities are benefited.
SB1.1.19 TEXT 19 vayaṁ tu na vitṛpyāma uttama-śloka-vikrame yac-chṛṇvatāṁ rasa-jñānāṁ svādu svādu pade pade SYNONYMS vayam—we; tu—but; na—not; vitṛpyāmaḥ—shall be at rest; uttama-śloka—the Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by transcendental prayers; vikrame—adventures; yat—which; śṛṇvatām—by continuous hearing; rasa—humor; jñānām—those who are conversant with; svādu—relishing; svādu—palatable; pade pade—at every step.
TRANSLATION We never tire of hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by hymns and prayers. Those who have developed a taste for transcendental relationships with Him relish hearing of His pastimes at every moment. PURPORT There is a great difference between mundane stories, fiction, or history and the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. The histories of the whole universe contain references to the pastimes of the incarnations of the Lord. The Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas are histories of bygone ages recorded in connection with the pastimes of the incarnations of the Lord and therefore remain fresh even after repeated readings. For example, anyone may read Bhagavad-gītā or the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam repeatedly throughout his whole life and yet find in them new light of information. Mundane news is static whereas transcendental news is dynamic, inasmuch as the spirit is dynamic and matter is static. Those who have developed a taste for understanding the transcendental subject matter are never tired of hearing such narrations. One is quickly satiated by mundane activities, but no one is satiated by transcendental or devotional activities. Uttama-śloka indicates that literature which is not meant for nescience. Mundane literature is in the mode of darkness or ignorance, whereas transcendental literature is quite different. Transcendental literature is above the mode of darkness, and its light becomes more luminous with progressive reading and realization of the transcendental subject matter. The so-called liberated persons are never satisfied by the repetition of the words ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Such artificial realization of Brahman becomes hackneyed, and so to relish real pleasure they turn to the narrations of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Those who are not so fortunate turn to altruism and worldly philanthropy. This means the Māyāvāda philosophy is mundane, whereas the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental.
SB1.1.20 TEXT 20 kṛtavān kila karmāṇi saha rāmeṇa keśavaḥ atimartyāni bhagavān gūḍhaḥ kapaṭa-mānuṣaḥ SYNONYMS kṛtavān—done by; kila—what; karmāṇi—acts; saha—along with; rāmeṇa—Balarāma; keśavaḥ—Śrī Kṛṣṇa; atimartyāni—superhuman; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; gūḍhaḥ—masked as; kapaṭa—apparently; mānuṣaḥ—human being.
TRANSLATION Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, along with Balarāma, played like a human being, and so masked He performed many superhuman acts. PURPORT The doctrines of anthropomorphism and zoomorphism are never applicable to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or the Personality of Godhead. The theory that a man becomes God by dint of penance and austerities is very much rampant nowadays, especially in India. Since Lord Rāma, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu were detected by the sages and saints to be the Personality of Godhead as indicated in revealed scriptures, many unscrupulous men have created their own incarnations. This process of concocting an incarnation of God has become an ordinary business, especially in Bengal. Any popular personality with a few traits of mystic powers will display some feat of jugglery and easily become an incarnation of Godhead by popular vote. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was not that type of incarnation. He was actually the Personality of Godhead from the very beginning of His appearance. He appeared before His so-called mother as four-armed Viṣṇu. Then, at the request of the mother, He became like a human child and at once left her for another devotee at Gokula, where He was accepted as the son of Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā Mātā. Similarly, Śrī Baladeva, the counterpart of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, was also considered a human child born of another wife of Śrī Vasudeva. In Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that His birth and deeds are transcendental and that anyone who is so fortunate as to know the transcendental nature of His birth and deeds will at once become liberated and eligible to return to the kingdom of God. So knowledge of the transcendental nature of the birth and deeds of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is sufficient for liberation. In the Bhāgavatam, the transcendental nature of the Lord is described in nine cantos, and in the Tenth Canto His specific pastimes are taken up. All this becomes known as one’s reading of this literature progresses. It is important to note here, however, that the Lord exhibited His divinity even from the lap of His mother, that His deeds are all superhuman (He lifted Govardhana Hill at the age of seven), and that all these acts definitely prove Him to be actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet, due to His mystic covering, He was always accepted as an ordinary human child by His so-called father and mother and other relatives. Whenever some herculean task was performed by Him, the father and mother took it otherwise. And they remained satisfied with unflinching filial love for their son. As such, the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya describe Him as apparently resembling a human being, but actually He is the supreme almighty Personality of Godhead.
SB1.1.21 TEXT 21 kalim āgatam ājñāya kṣetre ’smin vaiṣṇave vayam āsīnā dīrgha-satreṇa kathāyāṁ sakṣaṇā hareḥ SYNONYMS kalim—the age of Kali (iron age of quarrel); āgatam—having arrived; ājñāya—knowing this; kṣetre—in this tract of land; asmin—in this; vaiṣṇave—specially meant for the devotee of the Lord; vayam—we; āsīnāḥ—seated; dīrgha—prolonged; satreṇa—for performance of sacrifices; kathāyām—in the words of; sa-kṣaṇāḥ—with time at our disposal; hareḥ—of the Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION Knowing well that the age of Kali has already begun, we are assembled here in this holy place to hear at great length the transcendental message of Godhead and in this way perform sacrifice. PURPORT This age of Kali is not at all suitable for self-realization as was Satya-yuga, the golden age, or Tretā- or Dvāpara-yugas, the silver and copper ages. For self-realization, the people in Satya-yuga, living a lifetime of a hundred thousand years, were able to perform prolonged meditation. And in Tretā-yuga, when the duration of life was ten thousand years, self-realization was attained by performance of great sacrifice. And in the Dvāpara-yuga, when the duration of life was one thousand years, self-realization was attained by worship of the Lord. But in the Kali-yuga, the maximum duration of life being one hundred years only and that combined with various difficulties, the recommended process of self-realization is that of hearing and chanting of the holy name, fame, and pastimes of the Lord. The sages of Naimiṣāraṇya began this process in a place meant specifically for the devotees of the Lord. They prepared themselves to hear the pastimes of the Lord over a period of one thousand years. By the example of these sages one should learn that regular hearing and recitation of the Bhāgavatam is the only way for self-realization. Other attempts are simply a waste of time, for they do not give any tangible results. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu preached this system of Bhāgavata-dharma, and He recommended that all those who were born in India should take the responsibility of broadcasting the messages of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, primarily the message of Bhagavad-gītā. And when one is well established in the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, he can take up the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for further enlightenment in self-realization.
SB1.1.22 TEXT 22 tvaṁ naḥ sandarśito dhātrā dustaraṁ nistitīrṣatām kaliṁ sattva-haraṁ puṁsāṁ karṇa-dhāra ivārṇavam SYNONYMS tvam—Your Goodness; naḥ—unto us; sandarśitaḥ—meeting; dhātrā—by providence; dustaram—insurmountable; nistitīrṣatām—for those desiring to cross over; kalim—the age of Kali; sattva-haram—that which deteriorates the good qualities; puṁsām—of a man; karṇa-dhāraḥ—captain; iva—as; arṇavam—the ocean.
TRANSLATION We think that we have met Your Goodness by the will of providence, just so that we may accept you as captain of the ship for those who desire to cross the difficult ocean of Kali, which deteriorates all the good qualities of a human being. PURPORT The age of Kali is very dangerous for the human being. Human life is simply meant for self-realization, but due to this dangerous age, men have completely forgotten the aim of life. In this age, the life span will gradually decrease. People will gradually lose their memory, finer sentiments, strength, and better qualities. A list of the anomalies for this age is given in the Twelfth Canto of this work. And so this age is very difficult for those who want to utilize this life for self-realization. The people are so busy with sense gratification that they completely forget about self-realization. Out of madness they frankly say that there is no need for self-realization because they do not realize that this brief life is but a moment on our great journey towards self-realization. The whole system of education is geared to sense gratification, and if a learned man thinks it over, he sees that the children of this age are being intentionally sent to the slaughterhouses of so-called education. Learned men, therefore, must be cautious of this age, and if they at all want to cross over the dangerous ocean of Kali, they must follow the footsteps of the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya and accept Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī or his bona fide representative as the captain of the ship. The ship is the message of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the shape of Bhagavad-gītā or the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
SB1.1.23 TEXT 23 brūhi yogeśvare kṛṣṇe brahmaṇye dharma-varmaṇi svāṁ kāṣṭhām adhunopete dharmaḥ kaṁ śaraṇaṁ gataḥ SYNONYMS brūhi—please tell; yoga-īśvare—the Lord of all mystic powers; kṛṣṇe—Lord Kṛṣṇa; brahmaṇye—the Absolute Truth; dharma—religion; varmaṇi—protector; svām—own; kāṣṭhām—abode; adhunā—nowadays; upete—having gone away; dharmaḥ—religion; kam—unto whom; śaraṇam—shelter; gataḥ—gone.
TRANSLATION Since Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth, the master of all mystic powers, has departed for His own abode, please tell us to whom the religious principles have now gone for shelter. PURPORT Essentially religion is the prescribed codes enunciated by the Personality of Godhead Himself. Whenever there is gross misuse or neglect of the principles of religion, the Supreme Lord appears Himself to restore religious principles. This is stated in Bhagavad-gītā. Here the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya are inquiring about these principles. The reply to this question is given later. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the transcendental sound representation of the Personality of Godhead, and thus it is the full representation of transcendental knowledge and religious principles.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the First Canto, First Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Questions by the Sages.” THIS WEB PAGE URL: http://causelessmercy.com/SB1.1.2.htm