SB4.20.26

TEXT 26

yaśaḥ śivaṁ suśrava ārya-saṅgame

yadṛcchayā copaśṛṇoti te sakṛt

kathaṁ guṇa-jño viramed vinā paśuṁ

śrīr yat pravavre guṇa-saṅgrahecchayā

SYNONYMS

yaśaḥ—glorification; śivam—all-auspicious; su-śravaḥ—O highly glorified Lord; ārya-saṅgame—in the association of advanced devotees; yadṛcchayā—somehow or other; ca—also; upaśṛṇoti—hears; te—Your; sakṛt—even once; katham—how; guṇa-jñaḥ—one who appreciates good qualities; viramet—can cease; vinā—unless; paśum—an animal; śrīḥ—the goddess of fortune; yat—which; pravavre—accepted; guṇa—Your qualities; saṅgraha—to receive; icchayā—with a desire.

TRANSLATION

My dear highly glorified Lord, if one, in the association of pure devotees, hears even once the glories of Your activities, he does not, unless he is nothing but an animal, give up the association of devotees, for no intelligent person would be so careless as to leave their association. The perfection of chanting and hearing about Your glories was accepted even by the goddess of fortune, who desired to hear of Your unlimited activities and transcendental glories.

PURPORT

The association of devotees (ārya-saṅgama) is the most important factor in this world. The word ārya refers to those who are advancing spiritually. In the history of the human race, the Āryan family is considered to be the most elevated community in the world because it adopts the Vedic civilization. The Āryan family is distributed all over the world and is known as Indo-Āryan. In prehistoric days all of the members of the Āryan family followed the Vedic principles, and therefore they became spiritually advanced. The kings, known as rājarṣis, were so perfectly educated as kṣatriyas, or protectors of the citizens, and so greatly advanced in spiritual life, that there was not a bit of trouble for the citizens.

The glorification of the Supreme Lord can be very much appreciated by the Āryan family. Although there is no bar for others, the members of the Āryan family very quickly catch the essence of spiritual life. How is it that we are finding it very easy to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness among the Europeans and Americans? History reports that the Americans and Europeans proved their capability when they were anxious to expand colonization, but at the present time, being contaminated by the advancement of material science, their sons and grandsons are turning into reprobates. This is due to their having lost their original spiritual culture, which is Vedic civilization. Presently these descendants of the Āryan family are taking this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement very seriously. Others who are associating with them and hearing the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra from the lips of pure devotees are also becoming captivated by the transcendental vibration. Transcendental vibrations are very much effective when chanted among Āryans, but even though one does not belong to the Āryan family, he will become a Vaiṣṇava simply by hearing the mantra because the vibration has great influence over everyone.

TEXT 27

athābhaje tvākhila-pūruṣottamaṁ

guṇālayaṁ padma-kareva lālasaḥ

apy āvayor eka-pati-spṛdhoḥ kalir

na syāt kṛta-tvac-caraṇaika-tānayoḥ

SYNONYMS

atha—therefore; ābhaje—I shall engage in devotional service; tvā—unto You; akhila—all-inclusive; pūruṣa-uttamam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; guṇa-ālayam—the reservoir of all transcendental qualities; padma-karā—the goddess of fortune, who carries a lotus flower in her hand; iva—like; lālasaḥ—being desirous; api—indeed; āvayoḥ—of Lakṣmī and me; eka-pati—one master; spṛdhoḥ—competing; kaliḥ—quarrel; na—not; syāt—may take place; kṛta—having done; tvat-caraṇa—unto Your lotus feet; eka-tānayoḥ—one attention.

TRANSLATION

Now I wish to engage in the service of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and to serve just like the goddess of fortune, who carries a lotus flower in her hand, because His Lordship, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the reservoir of all transcendental qualities. I am afraid that the goddess of fortune and I would quarrel because both of us would be attentively engaged in the same service.

PURPORT

The Lord is here addressed as akhila-pūruṣottama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord of the entire creation. puruṣa means “the enjoyer,” and uttama means “the best.” There are different kinds of puruṣas, or enjoyers, within the universe. Generally they can be divided into three classes—those who are conditioned, those who are liberated and those who are eternal. In the Vedas the Supreme Lord is called the supreme eternal of all eternals (nityo nityānām). Both the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities are eternal. The supreme eternals are the viṣṇu-tattva, or Lord Viṣṇu and His expansions. So nitya refers to the Personality of Godhead, beginning from Kṛṣṇa to Mahā-Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa and other expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa. As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (rāmādi-mūrtiṣu), there are millions and trillions of expansions of Lord Viṣṇu, as Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha and other incarnations. All of them are called eternals.

The word mukta refers to the living entities who never come within this material world. The baddhas are those living entities who are almost eternally living within this material world. The baddhas are struggling very hard within this material world to become free from the threefold miseries of material nature and to enjoy life, whereas the muktas are already liberated. They never come into this material world. Lord Viṣṇu is the master of this material world, and there is no question of His being controlled by material nature. Consequently, Lord Viṣṇu is addressed here as pūruṣottama, the best of all living entities—namely viṣṇu-tattvas and jīva-tattvas. It is a great offense, therefore, to compare Lord Viṣṇu and the jīva-tattva or consider them on an equal level. The Māyāvādī philosophers equalize the jīvas and the Supreme Lord and consider them to be one, but that is the greatest offense to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu.

Here in the material world we have practical experience that a superior person is worshiped by an inferior one. Similarly, pūruṣottama, the greatest, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, or Lord Viṣṇu, is always worshiped by others. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore decided to engage in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu. Pṛthu Mahārāja is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu, but he is called a śaktyāveśa incarnation. Another significant word in this verse is guṇālayam, which refers to Viṣṇu as the reservoir of all transcendental qualities. The Māyāvādī philosophers take the Absolute Truth to be nirguṇa (“without qualities”), in accordance with the impersonalistic view, but actually the Lord is the reservoir of all good qualities. One of the most important qualities of the Lord is His inclination to His devotees, for which He is called bhakta-vatsala. The devotees are always very much inclined to render service unto the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord is also very much inclined to accept loving service from His devotees. In that exchange of service there are many transcendental transactions, which are called transcendental qualitative activities. Some of the transcendental qualities of the Lord are that He is omniscient, omnipresent, all-pervasive, all-powerful, the cause of all causes, the Absolute Truth, the reservoir of all pleasures, the reservoir of all knowledge, the all-auspicious and so on.

TEXT 28

jagaj-jananyāṁ jagad-īśa vaiśasaṁ

syād eva yat-karmaṇi naḥ samīhitam

karoṣi phalgv apy uru dīna-vatsalaḥ

sva eva dhiṣṇye ’bhiratasya kiṁ tayā

SYNONYMS

jagat-jananyām—in the mother of the universe (Lakṣmī); jagat-īśa—O Lord of the universe; vaiśasam—anger; syāt—may arise; eva—certainly; yat-karmaṇi—in whose activity; naḥ—my; samīhitam—desire; karoṣi—You consider; phalgu—insignificant service; api—even; uru—very great; dīna-vatsalaḥ—favorably inclined to the poor; sve—own; eva—certainly; dhiṣṇye—in Your opulence; abhiratasya—of one who is fully satisfied; kim—what need is there; tayā—with her.

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord of the universe, the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, is the mother of the universe, and yet I think that she may be angry with me because of my intruding upon her service and acting on that very platform to which she is so much attached. Yet I am hopeful that even though there is some misunderstanding, You will take my part, for You are very much inclined to the poor and You always magnify even insignificant service unto You. Therefore even though she becomes angry, I think that there is no harm for You, because You are so self-sufficient that You can do without her.

PURPORT

Mother Lakṣmījī, the goddess of fortune, is well known for always massaging the lotus feet of Lord Nārāyaṇa. She is an ideal wife because she takes care of Lord Nārāyaṇa in every detail. She takes care not only of His lotus feet but of the household affairs of the Lord as well. She cooks nice foods for Him, fans Him while He eats, smoothes sandalwood pulp on His face and sets His bed and sitting places in the right order. In this way she is always engaged in the service of the Lord, and there is hardly any opportunity for any other devotee to intrude upon His daily activities. Pṛthu Mahārāja was therefore almost certain that his intrusion into the service of the goddess of fortune would irritate her and cause her to become angry with him. But why should mother Lakṣmī, the mother of the universe, be angry with an insignificant devotee like Pṛthu Mahārāja? All this was not very likely. Yet Pṛthu Mahārāja, just for his personal protection, appealed to the Lord to take his part. Pṛthu Mahārāja was engaged in performing the ordinary Vedic rituals and sacrifices according to karma-kāṇḍa, or fruitive activities, but the Lord, being so kind and magnanimous, was ready to award Pṛthu Mahārāja the highest perfectional stage of life, namely devotional service.

TEXT 29

bhajanty atha tvām ata eva sādhavo

vyudasta-māyā-guṇa-vibhramodayam

bhavat-padānusmaraṇād ṛte satāṁ

nimittam anyad bhagavan na vidmahe

SYNONYMS

bhajanti—they worship; atha—therefore; tvām—You; ataḥ eva—therefore; sādhavaḥ—all saintly persons; vyudasta—who dispel; māyā-guṇa—the modes of material nature; vibhrama—misconceptions; udayam—produced; bhavat—Your; pada—lotus feet; anusmaraṇāt—constantly remembering; ṛte—except; satām—of great saintly persons; nimittam—reason; anyat—other; bhagavan—O Supreme Personality of Godhead; na—not; vidmahe—I can understand.

TRANSLATION

Great saintly persons who are always liberated take to Your devotional service because only by devotional service can one be relieved from the illusions of material existence. O my Lord, there is no reason for the liberated souls to take shelter at Your lotus feet except that such souls are constantly thinking of Your feet.

PURPORT

TEXT 30

manye giraṁ te jagatāṁ vimohinīṁ

varaṁ vṛṇīṣveti bhajantam āttha yat

vācā nu tantyā yadi te jano ’sitaḥ

kathaṁ punaḥ karma karoti mohitaḥ

SYNONYMS

manye—I consider; giram—words; te—Your; jagatām—to the material world; vimohinīm—bewildering; varam—benediction; vṛṇīṣva—just accept; iti—in this way; bhajantam—unto Your devotee; āttha—You spoke; yat—because; vācā—by the statements of the Vedas; nu—certainly; tantyā—by the ropes; yadi—if; te—Your; janaḥ—the people in general; asitaḥ—not bound; katham—how; punaḥ—again and again; karma—fruitive activities; karoti—perform; mohitaḥ—being enamored.

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, what You have said to Your unalloyed devotee is certainly very much bewildering. The allurements You offer in the Vedas are certainly not suitable for pure devotees. People in general, bound by the sweet words of the Vedas, engage themselves again and again in fruitive activities, enamored by the results of their actions.

PURPORT

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great ācārya of the Gauḍīya-sampradāya, has said that persons who are very much attached to the fruitive activities of the Vedas, namely karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kanda, are certainly doomed. In the Vedas there are three categories of activities, known as karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive activities), jñāna-kāṇḍa (philosophical research) and upāsanā-kāṇḍa (worship of different demigods for receiving material benefits). Those who are engaged in karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa are doomed in the sense that everyone is doomed who is entrapped by this material body, whether it is a body of a demigod, a king, a lower animal or whatever. The sufferings of the threefold miseries of material nature are the same for all. Cultivation of knowledge to understand one’s spiritual position is also, to a certain extent, a waste of time. Because the living entity is an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, his immediate business is to engage himself in devotional service. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore says that the allurement of material benedictions is another trap to entangle one in this material world. He therefore frankly tells the Lord that the Lord’s offerings of benedictions in the form of material facilities are certainly causes for bewilderment. A pure devotee is not at all interested in bhukti or mukti.

TEXT 31

tvan-māyayāddhā jana īśa khaṇḍito

yad anyad āśāsta ṛtātmano ’budhaḥ

yathā cared bāla-hitaṁ pitā svayaṁ

tathā tvam evārhasi naḥ samīhitum

SYNONYMS

tvat—Your; māyayā—by illusory energy; addhā—certainly; janaḥ—the people in general; īśa—O my Lord; khaṇḍitaḥ—separated; yat—because; anyat—other; āśāste—they desire; ṛta—real; ātmanaḥ—from the self; abudhaḥ—without proper understanding; yathā—as; caret—would engage in; bāla-hitam—the welfare of one’s child; pitā—the father; svayam—personally; tathā—similarly; tvam—Your Lordship; eva—certainly; arhasi naḥ samīhitum—please act on my behalf.

TRANSLATION

My Lord, due to Your illusory energy, all living beings in this material world have forgotten their real constitutional position, and out of ignorance they are always desirous of material happiness in the form of society, friendship and love. Therefore, please do not ask me to take some material benefits from You, but as a father, not waiting for the son’s demand, does everything for the benefit of the son, please bestow upon me whatever You think best for me.

PURPORT

TEXT 32

maitreya uvāca

ity ādi-rājena nutaḥ sa viśva-dṛk

tam āha rājan mayi bhaktir astu te

diṣṭyedṛśī dhīr mayi te kṛtā yayā

māyāṁ madīyāṁ tarati sma dustyajām

SYNONYMS

maitreyaḥ—Maitreya, the great sage; uvāca—spoke; iti—thus; ādi-rājena—by the original king (Pṛthu); nutaḥ—being worshiped; saḥ—He (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); viśva-dṛk—the seer of the whole universe; tam—unto him; āha—said; rājan—my dear King; mayi—unto Me; bhaktiḥ—devotional service; astu—let it be; te—your; diṣṭyā—by good fortune; īdṛśī—like this; dhīḥ—intelligence; mayi—unto Me; te—by you; kṛtā—having been performed; yayā—by which; māyām—illusory energy; madīyām—My; tarati—crosses over; sma—certainly; dustyajām—very difficult to give up.

TRANSLATION

The great sage Maitreya continued by saying that the Lord, the seer of the universe, after hearing Pṛthu Mahārāja’s prayer, addressed the King: My dear King, may you always be blessed by engaging in My devotional service. Only by such purity of purpose, as you yourself very intelligently express, can one cross over the insurmountable illusory energy of māyā.

PURPORT

TEXT 33

tat tvaṁ kuru mayādiṣṭam

apramattaḥ prajāpate

mad-ādeśa-karo lokaḥ

sarvatrāpnoti śobhanam

SYNONYMS

tat—therefore; tvam—you; kuru—do; mayā—by Me; ādiṣṭam—what is ordered; apramattaḥ—without being misguided; prajā-pate—O master of the citizens; mat—of Me; ādeśa-karaḥ—who executes the order; lokaḥ—any person; sarvatra—everywhere; āpnoti—achieves; śobhanam—all good fortune.

TRANSLATION

My dear King, O protector of the citizens, henceforward be very careful to execute My orders and not be misled by anything. Anyone who lives in that way, simply carrying out My orders faithfully, will always find good fortune all over the world.

PURPORT

TEXT 34

maitreya uvāca

iti vainyasya rājarṣeḥ

pratinandyārthavad vacaḥ

pūjito ’nugṛhītvainaṁ

gantuṁ cakre ’cyuto matim

SYNONYMS

maitreyaḥ uvāca—the great sage Maitreya continued to speak; iti—thus; vainyasya—of the son of King Vena (Pṛthu Mahārāja); rāja-ṛṣeḥ—of the saintly King; pratinandya—appreciating; artha-vat vacaḥ—the prayers, which were full of meaning; pūjitaḥ—being worshiped; anugṛhītvā—sufficiently benedicting; enam—King Pṛthu; gantum—to go from that place; cakre—made up; acyutaḥ—the infallible Lord; matim—His mind.

TRANSLATION

The great saint Maitreya told Vidura: The Supreme Personality of Godhead amply appreciated the meaningful prayers of Mahārāja Pṛthu. Thus, after being properly worshiped by the King, the Lord blessed him and decided to depart.

PURPORT

Most important in this verse are the words pratinandyārthavad vacaḥ, which indicate that the Lord appreciated the very meaningful prayers of the King. When a devotee prays to the Lord, it is not to ask for material benefits but to ask the Lord for His favor; he prays that he may be engaged in the service of the Lord’s lotus feet birth after birth. Lord Caitanya therefore uses the words mama janmani janmani, which mean “birth after birth,” because a devotee is not even interested in stopping the repetition of birth. The Lord and the devotee appear in this material world birth after birth, but such births are transcendental. In the Fourth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā the Lord informed Arjuna that both He and Arjuna had undergone many, many births previously, but the Lord remembered everything about them whereas Arjuna had forgotten. The Lord and His confidential devotees appear many times to fulfill the Lord’s mission, but since such births are transcendental, they are not accompanied by the miserable conditions of material birth, and they are therefore called divya, transcendental.

TEXTS 35–36

devarṣi-pitṛ-gandharva-

siddha-cāraṇa-pannagāḥ

kinnarāpsaraso martyāḥ

khagā bhūtāny anekaśaḥ

yajñeśvara-dhiyā rājñā

vāg-vittāñjali-bhaktitaḥ

sabhājitā yayuḥ sarve

vaikuṇṭhānugatās tataḥ

SYNONYMS

deva—the demigods; ṛṣi—the great sages; pitṛ—inhabitants of Pitṛloka; gandharva—inhabitants of Gandharvaloka; siddha—inhabitants of Siddhaloka; cāraṇa—inhabitants of Cāraṇaloka; pannagāḥ—inhabitants of the planets where serpents live; kinnara—inhabitants of the Kinnara planets; apsarasaḥ—inhabitants of Apsaroloka; martyāḥ—inhabitants of the earthly planets; khagāḥ—birds; bhūtāni—other living entities; anekaśaḥ—many; yajña-īśvara-dhiyā—with the perfect intelligence of thinking as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord; rājñā—by the King; vāk—with sweet words; vitta—wealth; añjali—with folded hands; bhaktitaḥ—in a spirit of devotional service; sabhājitāḥ—being properly worshiped; yayuḥ—went; sarve—all; vaikuṇṭha—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu; anugatāḥ—followers; tataḥ—from that place.

TRANSLATION

King Pṛthu worshiped the demigods, the great sages, the inhabitants of Pitṛloka, the inhabitants of Gandharvaloka and those of Siddhaloka, Cāraṇaloka, Pannagaloka, Kinnaraloka, Apsaroloka, the earthly planets and the planets of the birds. He also worshiped many other living entities who presented themselves in the sacrificial arena. With folded hands he worshiped all these, as well as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the personal associates of the Lord, by offering sweet words and as much wealth as possible. After this function, they all went back to their respective abodes, following in the footsteps of Lord Viṣṇu.

PURPORT

TEXT 37

bhagavān api rājarṣeḥ

sopādhyāyasya cācyutaḥ

harann iva mano ’muṣya

sva-dhāma pratyapadyata

SYNONYMS

bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; api—also; rāja-ṛṣeḥ—of the saintly King; sa-upādhyāyasya—along with all the priests; ca—also; acyutaḥ—the infallible Lord; haran—captivating; iva—indeed; manaḥ—the mind; amuṣya—of him; sva-dhāma—to His abode; pratyapadyata—returned.

TRANSLATION

The infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead, having captivated the minds of the King and the priests who were present, returned to His abode in the spiritual sky.

PURPORT

TEXT 38

adṛṣṭāya namaskṛtya

nṛpaḥ sandarśitātmane

avyaktāya ca devānāṁ

devāya sva-puraṁ yayau

SYNONYMS

adṛṣṭāya—unto one who is beyond the purview of material vision; namaḥ-kṛtya—offering obeisances; nṛpaḥ—the King; sandarśita—revealed; ātmane—unto the Supreme Soul; avyaktāya—who is beyond the manifestation of the material world; ca—also; devānām—of the demigods; devāya—unto the Supreme Lord; sva-puram—to his own house; yayau—returned.

TRANSLATION

King Pṛthu then offered his respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supreme Lord of all demigods. Although not an object of material vision, the Lord revealed Himself to the sight of Mahārāja Pṛthu. After offering obeisances to the Lord, the King returned to his home.

PURPORT

The Supreme Lord is not visible to material eyes, but when the material senses are inclined to the transcendental loving service of the Lord and are thus purified, the Lord reveals Himself to the vision of the devotee. Avyakta means “unmanifested.” Although the material world is the creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is unmanifested to material eyes. Mahārāja Pṛthu, however, developed spiritual eyes by his pure devotional service. Here, therefore, the Lord is described as sandarśitātmā, for He reveals Himself to the vision of the devotee, although He is not visible to ordinary eyes.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Twentieth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Lord Viṣṇu’s Appearance in the Sacrificial Arena of Mahārāja Pṛthu.”

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