SB5.5.24

TEXT 24

dhṛtā tanūr uśatī me purāṇī

yeneha sattvaṁ paramaṁ pavitram

śamo damaḥ satyam anugrahaś ca

tapas titikṣānubhavaś ca yatra

SYNONYMS

dhṛtā—maintained by transcendental education; tanūḥ—body; uśatī—free from material contamination; me—My; purāṇī—eternal; yena—by whom; iha—in this material world; sattvam—the mode of goodness; paramam—supreme; pavitram—purified; śamaḥ—control of the mind; damaḥ—control of the senses; satyam—truthfulness; anugrahaḥ—mercy; ca—and; tapaḥ—austerity; titikṣā—tolerance; anubhavaḥ—realization of God and the living entity; ca—and; yatra—wherein.

TRANSLATION

The Vedas are My eternal transcendental sound incarnation. Therefore the Vedas are śabda-brahma. In this world, the brāhmaṇas thoroughly study all the Vedas, and because they assimilate the Vedic conclusions, they are also to be considered the Vedas personified. The brāhmaṇas are situated in the supreme transcendental mode of nature—sattva-guṇa. Because of this, they are fixed in mind control [śama], sense control [dama], and truthfulness [satya]. They describe the Vedas in their original sense, and out of mercy [anugraha] they preach the purpose of the Vedas to all conditioned souls. They practice penance [tapasya] and tolerance [titikṣā], and they realize the position of the living entity and the Supreme Lord [anubhava]. These are the eight qualifications of the brāhmaṇas. Therefore among all living entities, no one is superior to the brāhmaṇas.

PURPORT

TEXT 25

matto ’py anantāt parataḥ parasmāt

svargāpavargādhipater na kiñcit

yeṣāṁ kim u syād itareṇa teṣām

akiñcanānāṁ mayi bhakti-bhājām

SYNONYMS

mattaḥ—from Me; api—even; anantāt—unlimited in strength and opulence; parataḥ parasmāt—higher than the highest; svarga-apavarga-adhipateḥ—able to bestow happiness obtainable by living in the heavenly kingdom. by liberation, or by enjoyment of material comfort and then liberation; na—not; kiñcit—anything; yeṣām—of whom; kim—what need; u—oh; syāt—can there be; itareṇa—with any other; teṣām—of them; akiñcanānām—without needs or without possessions; mayi—unto Me; bhakti-bhājām—executing devotional service.

TRANSLATION

I am fully opulent, almighty and superior to Lord Brahmā and Indra, the King of the heavenly planets. I am also the bestower of all happiness obtained in the heavenly kingdom and by liberation. Nonetheless, the brāhmaṇas do not seek material comforts from Me. They are very pure and do not want to possess anything. They simply engage in My devotional service. What is the need of their asking for material benefits from anyone else?

PURPORT

TEXT 26

sarvāṇi mad-dhiṣṇyatayā bhavadbhiś

carāṇi bhūtāni sutā dhruvāṇi

sambhāvitavyāni pade pade vo

vivikta-dṛgbhis tad u hārhaṇaṁ me

SYNONYMS

sarvāṇi—all; mat-dhiṣṇyatayā—because of being My sitting place; bhavadbhiḥ—by you; carāṇi—that move; bhūtāni—living entities; sutāḥ—My dear sons; dhruvāṇi—that do not move; sambhāvitavyāni—to be respected; pade pade—at every moment; vaḥ—by you; vivikta-dṛgbhiḥ—possessing clear vision and understanding (that the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Paramātmā feature is situated everywhere); tat u—that indirectly; ha—certainly; arhaṇam—offering respect; me—unto Me.

TRANSLATION

My dear sons, you should not envy any living entity—be he moving or nonmoving. Knowing that I am situated in them, you should offer respect to all of them at every moment. In this way, you offer respect to Me.

PURPORT

In this verse the word vivikta-dṛgbhiḥ, meaning without envy, is used. All living entities are the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Paramātmā feature. As confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā: aṇḍāntara-sthaṁ paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham. The Lord is situated in this universe as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. He is also situated within every atom. According to the Vedic statement: īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam. The Supreme Lord is situated everywhere, and wherever He is situated is His temple. We even offer respects to a temple from a distant place, and all living entities should similarly be offered respect. This is different from the theory of pantheism, which holds that everything is God. Everything has a relationship with God because God is situated everywhere. We should not make any particular distinction between the poor and the rich like the foolish worshipers of daridra-nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa is present in the rich as well as the poor. One should not simply think Nārāyaṇa is situated among the poor. He is everywhere. An advanced devotee will offer respects to everyone—even to cats and dogs.

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

TEXT 27

mano-vaco-dṛk-karaṇehitasya

sākṣāt-kṛtaṁ me paribarhaṇaṁ hi

vinā pumān yena mahā-vimohāt

kṛtānta-pāśān na vimoktum īśet

SYNONYMS

manaḥ—mind; vacaḥ—words; dṛk—sight; karaṇa—of the senses; īhitasya—of all activities (for maintenance of body, society, friendship and so on); sākṣāt-kṛtam—directly offered; me—of Me; paribarhaṇam—worship; hi—because; vinā—without; pumān—any person; yena—which; mahā-vimohāt—from the great illusion; kṛtānta-pāśāt—exactly like the stringent rope of Yamarāja; na—not; vimoktum—to become free; īśet—becomes able.

TRANSLATION

The true activity of the sense organs—mind, sight, words and all the knowledge-gathering and working senses—is to engage fully in My service. Unless his senses are thus engaged, a living entity cannot think of getting out of the great entanglement of material existence, which is exactly like Yamarāja’s stringent rope.

PURPORT

As stated in the Nārada-pañcarātra:

sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate

TEXT 28

śrī-śuka uvāca

evam anuśāsyātmajān svayam anuśiṣṭān api lokānuśāsanārthaṁ mahānubhāvaḥ parama-suhṛd bhagavān ṛṣabhāpadeśa upaśama-śīlānām uparata-karmaṇāṁ mahā-munīnāṁ bhakti-jñāna-vairāgya-lakṣaṇaṁ pāramahaṁsya-dharmam upaśikṣamāṇaḥ sva-tanaya-śata-jyeṣṭhaṁ parama-bhāgavataṁ bhagavaj-jana-parāyaṇaṁ bharataṁ dharaṇi-pālanāyābhiṣicya svayaṁ bhavana evorvarita-śarīra-mātra-parigraha unmatta iva gagana-paridhānaḥ prakīrṇa-keśa ātmany āropitāhavanīyo brahmāvartāt pravavrāja.

SYNONYMS

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; evam—in this way; anuśāsya—after instructing; ātma-jān—His sons; svayam—personally; anuśiṣṭān—highly educated in culture; api—although; loka-anuśāsana-artham—just to instruct the people; mahā-anubhāvaḥ—the great personality; parama-suhṛt—everyone’s sublime well-wisher; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ṛṣabha-apadeśaḥ—who is celebrated and known as Ṛṣabhadeva; upaśama-śīlānām—of persons who have no desire for material enjoyment; uparata-karmaṇām—who are no longer interested in fruitive activities; mahā-munīnām—who are sannyāsīs; bhakti—devotional service; jñāna—perfect knowledge; vairāgya—detachment; lakṣaṇam—characterized by; pāramahaṁsya—of the best of human beings; dharmam—the duties; upaśikṣamāṇaḥ—instructing; sva-tanaya—of His sons; śata—hundred; jyeṣṭham—the eldest; parama-bhāgavatam—a topmost devotee of the Lord; bhagavat-jana-parāyaṇam—a follower of the devotees of the Lord, brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas; bharatam—Bharata Mahārāja; dharaṇi-pālanāya—with a view to ruling the world; abhiṣicya—placing on the throne; svayam—personally; bhavane—at home; eva—although; urvarita—remaining; śarīra-mātra—the body only; parigrahaḥ—accepting; unmattaḥ—a madman; iva—exactly like; gagana-paridhānaḥ—taking the sky as His dress; prakīrṇa-keśaḥ—having scattered hair; ātmani—in Himself; āropita—keeping; āhavanīyaḥ—the Vedic fire; brahmāvartāt—from the place known as Brahmāvarta; pravavrāja—began to travel all over the world.

TRANSLATION

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus the great well-wisher of everyone, the Supreme Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, instructed His own sons. Although they were perfectly educated and cultured, He instructed them just to set an example of how a father should instruct his sons before retiring from family life. Sannyāsīs, who are no longer bound by fruitive activity and who have taken to devotional service after all their material desires have been vanquished, also learn by these instructions. Lord Ṛṣabhadeva instructed His one hundred sons, of whom the eldest, Bharata, was a very advanced devotee and a follower of Vaiṣṇavas. In order to rule the whole world, the Lord enthroned His eldest son on the royal seat. Thereafter, although still at home, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva lived like a madman, naked and with disheveled hair. Then the Lord took the sacrificial fire within Himself, and He left Brahmāvarta to tour the whole world.

PURPORT

TEXT 29

jaḍāndha-mūka-badhira-piśāconmādakavad-avadhūta-veṣo ’bhibhāṣyamāṇo ’pi janānāṁ gṛhīta-mauna-vratas tūṣṇīṁ babhūva.

SYNONYMS

jaḍa—idle; andha—blind; mūka—dumb; badhira—deaf; piśāca—ghost; unmādaka—a madman; vat—like; avadhūta-veṣaḥ—appearing like an avadhūta (having no concern with the material world); abhibhāṣyamāṇaḥ—being thus addressed (as deaf, dumb and blind); api—although; janānām—by the people; gṛhīta—took; mauna—of silence; vrataḥ—the vow; tūṣṇīm babhūva—He remained silent.

TRANSLATION

After accepting the feature of avadhūta, a great saintly person without material cares, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva passed through human society like a blind, deaf and dumb man, an idle stone, a ghost or a madman. Although people called Him such names, He remained silent and did not speak to anyone.

PURPORT

TEXT 30

tatra tatra pura-grāmākara-kheṭa-vāṭa-kharvaṭa-śibira-vraja-ghoṣa-sārtha-giri-vanāśramādiṣv anupatham avanicarāpasadaiḥ paribhūyamāno makṣikābhir iva vana-gajas tarjana-tāḍanāvamehana-ṣṭhīvana-grāva-śakṛd-rajaḥ-prakṣepa-pūti-vāta-duruktais tad avigaṇayann evāsat-saṁsthāna etasmin dehopalakṣaṇe sad-apadeśa ubhayānubhava-svarūpeṇa sva-mahimāvasthānenāsamāropitāhaṁ-mamābhimānatvād avikhaṇḍita-manāḥ pṛthivīm eka-caraḥ paribabhrāma.

SYNONYMS

tatra tatra—here and there; pura—cities; grāma—villages; ākara—mines; kheṭa—agricultural places; vāṭa—gardens; kharvaṭa—villages in valleys; śibira—military encampments; vraja—cow pens; ghoṣa—residential places of cowherd men; sārtha—resting places for pilgrims; giri—hills; vana—forests; āśrama—in the residential places of hermits; ādiṣu—and so on; anupatham—as He passed through; avanicara-apasadaiḥ—by undesirable elements, wicked persons; paribhūyamānaḥ—being surrounded; makṣikābhiḥ—by flies; iva—like; vana-gajaḥ—an elephant coming from the forest; tarjana—by threats; tāḍana—beating; avamehana—passing urine on the body; ṣṭhīvana—spitting on the body; grāva-śakṛt—stones and stool; rajaḥ—dust; prakṣepa—throwing; pūti-vāta—passing air over the body; duruktaiḥ—and by bad words; tat—that; avigaṇayan—without caring about; eva—thus; asat-saṁsthāne—habitat not fit for a gentleman; etasmin—in this; deha-upalakṣaṇe—in the shape of the material body; sat-apadeśe—called real; ubhaya-anubhava-svarūpeṇa—by understanding the proper situation of the body and the soul; sva-mahima—in His personal glory; avasthānena—by being situated; asamāropita-aham-mama-abhimānatvāt—from not accepting the misconception of “I and mine”; avikhaṇḍita-manāḥ—undisturbed in mind; pṛthivīm—all over the world; eka-caraḥ—alone; paribabhrāma—He wandered.

TRANSLATION

Ṛṣabhadeva began to tour through cities, villages, mines, countrysides, valleys, gardens, military camps, cow pens, the homes of cowherd men, transient hotels, hills, forests and hermitages. Wherever He traveled, all bad elements surrounded Him, just as flies surround the body of an elephant coming from a forest. He was always being threatened, beaten, urinated upon and spat upon. Sometimes people threw stones, stool and dust at Him, and sometimes people passed foul air before Him. Thus people called Him many bad names and gave Him a great deal of trouble, but He did not care about this, for He understood that the body is simply meant for such an end. He was situated on the spiritual platform, and, being in His spiritual glory, He did not care for all these material insults. In other words, He completely understood that matter and spirit are separate, and He had no bodily conception. Thus, without being angry at anyone, He walked through the whole world alone.

PURPORT

TEXT 31

 ati-sukumāra-kara-caraṇoraḥ-sthala-vipula-bāhv-aṁsa-gala-vadanādy-avayava-vinyāsaḥ prakṛti-sundara-svabhāva-hāsa-sumukho nava-nalina-dalāyamāna-śiśira-tārāruṇāyata-nayana-ruciraḥ sadṛśa-subhaga-kapola-karṇa-kaṇṭha-nāso vigūḍha-smita-vadana-mahotsavena pura-vanitānāṁ manasi kusuma-śarāsanam upadadhānaḥ parāg-avalambamāna-kuṭila-jaṭila-kapiśa-keśa-bhūri-bhāro ’vadhūta-malina-nija-śarīreṇa graha-gṛhīta ivādṛśyata.

SYNONYMS

ati-su-kumāra—very delicate; kara—hands; caraṇa—feet; uraḥ-sthala—chest; vipula—long; bāhu—arms; aṁsa—shoulders; gala—neck; vadana—face; ādi—and so on; avayava—limbs; vinyāsaḥ—properly situated; prakṛti—by nature; sundara—lovely; sva-bhāva—natural; hāsa—with smiling; su-mukhaḥ—His beautiful mouth; nava-nalina-dalāyamāna—appearing like the petals of a new lotus flower; śiśira—taking away all miseries; tāra—the irises; aruṇa—reddish; āyata—spread wide; nayana—with eyes; ruciraḥ—lovely; sadṛśa—such; subhaga—beauty; kapola—forehead; karṇa—ears; kaṇṭha—neck; nāsaḥ—His nose; vigūḍha-smita—by deep smiling; vadana—by His face; mahā-utsavena—appearing like a festival; pura-vanitānām—of women within household life; manasi—in the heart; kusuma-śarāsanam—Cupid; upadadhānaḥ—awakening; parāk—all around; avalambamāna—spread; kuṭila—curly; jaṭila—matted; kapiśa—brown; keśa—of hair; bhūri-bhāraḥ—possessing a great abundance; avadhūta—neglected; malina—dirty; nija-śarīreṇa—by His body; graha-gṛhītaḥ—haunted by a ghost; iva—as if; adṛśyata—He appeared.

TRANSLATION

Lord Ṛṣabhadeva’s hands, feet and chest were very long. His shoulders, face and limbs were all very delicate and symmetrically proportioned. His mouth was beautifully decorated with His natural smile, and He appeared all the more lovely with His reddish eyes spread wide like the petals of a newly grown lotus flower covered with dew in the early morning. The irises of His eyes were so pleasing that they removed all the troubles of everyone who saw Him. His forehead, ears, neck, nose and all His other features were very beautiful. His gentle smile always made His face beautiful, so much so that He even attracted the hearts of married women. It was as though they had been pierced by arrows of Cupid. About His head was an abundance of curly, matted brown hair. His hair was disheveled because His body was dirty and not taken care of. He appeared as if He were haunted by a ghost.

PURPORT

TEXT 32

yarhi vāva sa bhagavān lokam imaṁ yogasyāddhā pratīpam ivācakṣāṇas tat-pratikriyā-karma bībhatsitam iti vratam ājagaram-āsthitaḥ śayāna evāśnāti pibati khādaty avamehati hadati sma ceṣṭamāna uccarita ādigdhoddeśaḥ.

SYNONYMS

yarhi vāva—when; saḥ—He; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; lokam—the people in general; imam—this; yogasya—to the performance of yoga; addhā—directly; pratīpam—antagonistic; iva—like; ācakṣāṇaḥ—observed; tat—of that; pratikriyā—for counteraction; karma—activity; bībhatsitam—abominable; iti—thus; vratam—the behavior; ājagaram—of a python (to stay in one place); āsthitaḥ—accepting; śayānaḥ—lying down; eva—indeed; aśnāti—eats; pibati—drinks; khādati—chews; avamehati—passes urine; hadati—passes stool; sma—thus; ceṣṭamānaḥ—rolling; uccarite—i n the stool and urine; ādigdha-uddeśaḥ—His body thus smeared.

TRANSLATION

When Lord Ṛṣabhadeva saw that the general populace was very antagonistic to His execution of mystic yoga, He accepted the behavior of a python in order to counteract their opposition. Thus He stayed in one place and lay down. While lying down, He ate and drank, and He passed stool and urine and rolled in it. Indeed, He smeared His whole body with His own stool and urine so that opposing elements might not come and disturb Him.

PURPORT

TEXT 33

tasya ha yaḥ purīṣa-surabhi-saugandhya-vāyus taṁ deśaṁ daśa-yojanaṁ samantāt surabhiṁ cakāra.

SYNONYMS

tasya—His; ha—indeed; yaḥ—which; purīṣa—of the stool; surabhi—by the aroma; saugandhya—possessing a good fragrance; vāyuḥ—the air; tam—that; deśam—country; daśa—up to ten; yojanam—yojanas (one yojana equals eight miles); samantāt—all around; surabhim—aromatic; cakāra—made.

TRANSLATION

Because Lord Ṛṣabhadeva remained in that condition, the public did not disturb Him, but no bad aroma emanated from His stool and urine. Quite the contrary, His stool and urine were so aromatic that they filled eighty miles of the countryside with a pleasant fragrance.

PURPORT

TEXT 34

evaṁ go-mṛga-kāka-caryayā vrajaṁs tiṣṭhann āsīnaḥ śayānaḥ kāka-mṛga-go-caritaḥ pibati khādaty avamehati sma.

SYNONYMS

evam—thus; go—of cows; mṛga—deer; kāka—crows; caryayā—by the activities; vrajan—moving; tiṣṭhan—standing; āsīnaḥ—sitting; śayānaḥ—lying down; kāka-mṛga-go-caritaḥ—behaving exactly like the crows, deer and cows; pibati—drinks; khādati—eats; avamehati—passes urine; sma—He did so.

TRANSLATION

In this way Lord Ṛṣabhadeva followed the behavior of cows, deer and crows. Sometimes He moved or walked, and sometimes He sat down in one place. Sometimes He lay down, behaving exactly like cows, deer and crows. In that way, He ate, drank, passed stool and urine and cheated the people in this way.

PURPORT

TEXT 35

iti nānā-yoga-caryācaraṇo bhagavān kaivalya-patir ṛṣabho ’virata-parama-mahānandānubhava ātmani sarveṣāṁ bhūtānām ātma-bhūte bhagavati vāsudeva ātmano ’vyavadhānānanta-rodara-bhāvena siddha-samastārtha-paripūrṇo yogaiśvaryāṇi vaihāyasa-mano-javāntardhāna-parakāya-praveśa-dūra-grahaṇādīni yadṛcchayopagatāni nāñjasā nṛpa hṛdayenābhyanandat.

SYNONYMS

iti—thus; nānā—various; yoga—of mystic yoga; caryā—performances; ācaraṇaḥ—practicing; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kaivalya-patiḥ—the master of kaivalya, oneness, or the giver of sāyujya-mukti; ṛṣabhaḥ—Lord Ṛṣabha; avirata—incessantly; parama—supreme; mahā—great; ānanda-anubhavaḥ—feeling transcendental bliss; ātmani—in the Supreme Soul; sarveṣām—of all; bhūtānām—living entities; ātma-bhūte—situated in the heart; bhagavati—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vāsudeve—Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva; ātmanaḥ—of Himself; avyavadhāna—by the nondifference of constitution; ananta—unlimited; rodara—like crying, laughing and shivering; bhāvena—by the symptoms of love; siddha—completely perfect; samasta—all; artha—with desirable opulences; paripūrṇaḥ—full; yoga-aiśvaryāṇi—the mystic powers; vaihāyasa—flying in the sky; manaḥ-java—traveling at the speed of mind; antardhāna—the ability to disappear; parakāya-praveśa—the ability to enter another’s body; dūra-grahaṇa—the ability to perceive things far, far away; ādīni—and others; yadṛcchayā—without difficulty, automatically; upagatāni—achieved; na—not; añjasā—directly; nṛpa—O King Parīkṣit; hṛdayena—within the heart; abhyanandat—accepted.

TRANSLATION

O King Parīkṣit, just to show all the yogīs the mystic process, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, the partial expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, performed wonderful activities. Actually He was the master of liberation and was fully absorbed in transcendental bliss, which increased a thousandfold. Lord Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, the son of Vasudeva, is the original source of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva. There is no difference in Their constitution, and consequently Lord Ṛṣabhadeva awakened the loving symptoms of crying, laughing and shivering. He was always absorbed in transcendental love. Due to this, all mystic powers automatically approached Him, such as the ability to travel in outer space at the speed of mind, to appear and disappear, to enter the bodies of others, and to see things far, far away. Although He could do all this, He did not exercise these powers.

PURPORT

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