Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 6: “Prescribed Duties for Mankind”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Three
SB6.3.26
TEXT 26
evaṁ vimṛśya sudhiyo bhagavaty anante
sarvātmanā vidadhate khalu bhāva-yogam
te me na daṇḍam arhanty atha yady amīṣāṁ
syāt pātakaṁ tad api hanty urugāya-vādaḥ
SYNONYMS
evam—thus; vimṛśya—considering; su-dhiyaḥ—those whose intelligence is sharp; bhagavati—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; anante—the unlimited; sarva-ātmanā—with all their heart and soul; vidadhate—take to; khalu—indeed; bhāva-yogam—the process of devotional service; te—such persons; me—my; na—not; daṇḍam—punishment; arhanti—deserve; atha—therefore; yadi—if; amīṣām—of them; syāt—there is; pātakam—some sinful activity; tat—that; api—also; hanti—destroys; urugāya-vādaḥ—the chanting of the holy name of the Supreme Lord.
TRANSLATION
Considering all these points, therefore, intelligent men decide to solve all problems by adopting the devotional service of chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is situated in everyone’s heart and who is a mine of all auspicious qualities. Such persons are not within my jurisdiction for punishment. Generally they never commit sinful activities, but even if by mistake or because of bewilderment or illusion they sometimes commit sinful acts, they are protected from sinful reactions because they always chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
PURPORT
In this regard Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura quotes the following verse from the prayers of Lord Brahmā (Bhāg. 10.14.29):
athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan
The purport is that even though one is a very learned scholar of the Vedic śāstras, he may be completely unaware of the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His name, fame, qualities and so forth, whereas one who is not a great scholar can understand the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead if he somehow or other becomes a pure devotee of the Lord by engaging in devotional service. Therefore this verse spoken by Yamarāja says, evaṁ vimṛśya sudhiyo bhagavati: those who engage in the loving service of the Lord become sudhiyaḥ, intelligent, but this is not so of a Vedic scholar who does not understand Kṛṣṇa’s name, fame and qualities. A pure devotee is one whose intelligence is clear; he is truly thoughtful because he engages in the service of the Lord—not as a matter of show, but with love, with his mind, words and body. Nondevotees may make a show of religion, but it is not very effective because although they ostentatiously attend a temple or church, they are thinking of something else. Such persons are neglecting their religious duty and are punishable by Yamarāja. But a devotee who commits sinful acts, which he may do unwillingly or accidentally because of his former habits, is excused. That is the value of the saṅkīrtana movement.
SB6.3.27 TEXT 27 te deva-siddha-parigīta-pavitra-gāthā ye sādhavaḥ samadṛśo bhagavat-prapannāḥ tān nopasīdata harer gadayābhiguptān naiṣāṁ vayaṁ na ca vayaḥ prabhavāma daṇḍe SYNONYMS te—they; deva—by the demigods; siddha—and the inhabitants of Siddhaloka; parigīta—sung; pavitra-gāthāḥ—whose pure narrations; ye—who; sādhavaḥ—devotees; samadṛśaḥ—who see everyone equally; bhagavat-prapannāḥ—being surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tān—them; na—not; upasīdata—should go near; hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; gadayā—by the club; abhiguptān—being fully protected; na—not; eṣām—of these; vayam—we; na ca—and also not; vayaḥ—unlimited time; prabhavāma—are competent; daṇḍe—in punishing.
TRANSLATION My dear servants, please do not approach such devotees, for they have fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are equal to everyone, and their narrations are sung by the demigods and the inhabitants of Siddhaloka. Please do not even go near them. They are always protected by the club of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore Lord Brahmā and I and even the time factor are not competent to chastise them. PURPORT In effect, Yamarāja warned his servants, “My dear servants, despite what you may have done previously to disturb the devotees, henceforward you should stop. The actions of devotees who have surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord and who constantly chant the holy name of the Lord are praised by the demigods and the residents of Siddhaloka. Those devotees are so respectable and exalted that Lord Viṣṇu personally protects them with the club in His hand. Therefore, regardless of what you have done this time, henceforward you should not approach such devotees; otherwise you will be killed by the club of Lord Viṣṇu. This is my warning. Lord Viṣṇu has a club and cakra to punish nondevotees. Do not risk punishment by attempting to disturb the devotees. Not to speak of you, if even Lord Brahmā or I were to punish them, Lord Viṣṇu would punish us. Therefore do not disturb the devotees any further.”
SB6.3.28 TEXT 28 tān ānayadhvam asato vimukhān mukunda- pādāravinda-makaranda-rasād ajasram niṣkiñcanaiḥ paramahaṁsa-kulair asaṅgair juṣṭād gṛhe niraya-vartmani baddha-tṛṣṇān SYNONYMS tān—them; ānayadhvam—bring before me; asataḥ—nondevotees (those who have not taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness); vimukhān—who have turned against; mukunda—of Mukunda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pāda-aravinda—of the lotus feet; makaranda—of the honey; rasāt—the taste; ajasram—continuously; niṣkiñcanaiḥ—by persons completely free from material attachment; paramahaṁsa-kulaiḥ—by the paramahaṁsas, the most exalted personalities; asaṅgaiḥ—who have no material attachment; juṣṭāt—which is enjoyed; gṛhe—to household life; niraya-vartmani—the path leading to hell; baddha-tṛṣṇān—whose desires are bound.
TRANSLATION Paramahaṁsas are exalted persons who have no taste for material enjoyment and who drink the honey of the Lord’s lotus feet. My dear servants, bring to me for punishment only persons who are averse to the taste of that honey, who do not associate with paramahaṁsas and who are attached to family life and worldly enjoyment, which form the path to hell. PURPORT After warning the Yamadūtas not to approach the devotees, Yamarāja now indicates who is to be brought before him. He specifically advises the Yamadūtas to bring him the materialistic persons who are attached to household life merely for sex. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham: [SB 7.9.45] people are attached to household life for sex only. They are always harassed in many ways by their material engagements, and their only happiness is that after working very hard all day, at night they sleep and indulge in sex. Nidrayā hriyate naktaṁ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ: [SB 2.1.3] at night, materialistic householders sleep or indulge in sex life. Divā cārthehayā rajan kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā: during the day they are busy trying to find out where money is, and if they get money they spend it to maintain their families. Yamarāja specifically advises his servants to bring these persons to him for punishment and not to bring the devotees, who always lick the honey at the lotus feet of the Lord, who are equal to everyone, and who try to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness because of sympathy for all living entities. Devotees are not liable to punishment by Yamarāja, but persons who have no information of Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be protected by their material life of so-called family enjoyment. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says (2.1.4):
dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv Such persons complacently believe that their nations, communities or families can protect them, unaware that all such fallible soldiers will be destroyed in due course of time. In conclusion, one should try to associate with persons who engage in devotional service twenty-four hours a day.
SB6.3.29 TEXT 29 jihvā na vakti bhagavad-guṇa-nāmadheyaṁ cetaś ca na smarati tac-caraṇāravindam kṛṣṇāya no namati yac-chira ekadāpi tān ānayadhvam asato ’kṛta-viṣṇu-kṛtyān SYNONYMS jihvā—the tongue; na—not; vakti—chants; bhagavat—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; guṇa—transcendental qualities; nāma—and the holy name; dheyam—imparting; cetaḥ—the heart; ca—also; na—not; smarati—remembers; tat—His; caraṇa-aravindam—lotus feet; kṛṣṇāya—unto Lord Kṛṣṇa through His Deity in the temple; no—not; namati—bows; yat—whose; śiraḥ—head; ekadā api—even once; tān—them; ānayadhvam—bring before me; asataḥ—the nondevotees; akṛta—not performing; viṣṇu-kṛtyān—duties toward Lord Viṣṇu.
TRANSLATION My dear servants, please bring to me only those sinful persons who do not use their tongues to chant the holy name and qualities of Kṛṣṇa, whose hearts do not remember the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa even once, and whose heads do not bow down even once before Lord Kṛṣṇa. Send me those who do not perform their duties toward Viṣṇu, which are the only duties in human life. Please bring me all such fools and rascals. PURPORT The word viṣṇu-kṛtyān is very important in this verse because the purpose of human life is to please Lord Viṣṇu. Varṇāśrama-dharma is also meant for that purpose. As stated in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9):
varṇāśramācāravatā Human society is meant to follow strictly the varṇāśrama-dharma, which divides society into four social divisions (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra) and four spiritual divisions (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa). Varṇāśrama-dharma easily brings one nearer to Lord Viṣṇu, who is the only true objective in human society. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum: [SB 7.5.31] unfortunately, however, people do not know that their self-interest is to return home, back to Godhead, or to approach Lord Viṣṇu. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ: instead, they are simply bewildered. Every human being is expected to perform duties meant for approaching Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore Yamarāja advises the Yamadūtas to bring him those persons who have forgotten their duties toward Viṣṇu (akṛta-viṣṇu-kṛtyān). One who does not chant the holy name of Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa), who does not bow down to the Deity of Viṣṇu, and who does not remember the lotus feet of Viṣṇu is punishable by Yamarāja. In summary, all avaiṣṇavas, persons unconcerned with Lord Viṣṇu, are punishable by Yamarāja.
SB6.3.30 TEXT 30 tat kṣamyatāṁ sa bhagavān puruṣaḥ purāṇo nārāyaṇaḥ sva-puruṣair yad asat kṛtaṁ naḥ svānām aho na viduṣāṁ racitāñjalīnāṁ kṣāntir garīyasi namaḥ puruṣāya bhūmne SYNONYMS tat—that; kṣamyatām—let it be excused; saḥ—He; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; puruṣaḥ—the Supreme Person; purāṇaḥ—the oldest; nārāyaṇaḥ—Lord Nārāyaṇa; sva-puruṣaiḥ—by my own servants; yat—which; asat—impudence; kṛtam—performed; naḥ—of us; svānām—of my own men; aho—alas; na viduṣām—not knowing; racita-añjalīnām—folding our hands together to beg Your pardon; kṣāntiḥ—forgiveness; garīyasi—in the glorious; namaḥ—respectful obeisances; puruṣāya—unto the person; bhūmne—supreme and all-pervading.
TRANSLATION [Then Yamarāja, considering himself and his servants to be offenders, spoke as follows, begging pardon from the Lord.] O my Lord, my servants have surely committed a great offense by arresting a Vaiṣṇava such as Ajāmila. O Nārāyaṇa, O supreme and oldest person, please forgive us. Because of our ignorance, we failed to recognize Ajāmila as a servant of Your Lordship, and thus we have certainly committed a great offense. Therefore with folded hands we beg Your pardon. My Lord, since You are supremely merciful and are always full of good qualities, please pardon us. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You. PURPORT Lord Yamarāja took upon himself the responsibility for the offense committed by his servants. If the servant of an establishment makes a mistake, the establishment takes responsibility for it. Although Yamarāja is above offenses, his servants, practically with his permission, went to arrest Ajāmila, which was a great offense. The nyāya-śāstra confirms, bhṛtyāparādhe svāmino daṇḍaḥ: if a servant makes a mistake, the master is punishable because he is responsible for the offense. Taking this seriously, Yamarāja, along with his servants, prayed with folded hands to be excused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa.
SB6.3.31 TEXT 31 tasmāt saṅkīrtanaṁ viṣṇor jagan-maṅgalam aṁhasām mahatām api kauravya viddhy aikāntika-niṣkṛtam SYNONYMS tasmāt—therefore; saṅkīrtanam—the congregational chanting of the holy name; viṣṇoḥ—of Lord Viṣṇu; jagat-maṅgalam—the most auspicious performance within this material world; aṁhasām—for sinful activities; mahatām api—even though very great; kauravya—O descendant of the Kuru family; viddhi—understand; aikāntika—the ultimate; niṣkṛtam—atonement.
TRANSLATION Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the saṅkīrtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to understand this so that others will take it seriously. PURPORT We should note that although Ajāmila chanted the name of Nārāyaṇa imperfectly, he was delivered from all sinful reactions. The chanting of the holy name is so auspicious that it can free everyone from the reactions of sinful activities. One should not conclude that one may continue to sin with the intention of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa to neutralize the reactions. Rather, one should be very careful to be free from all sins and never think of counteracting sinful activities by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, for this is another offense. If by chance a devotee accidentally performs some sinful activity, the Lord will excuse him, but one should not intentionally perform sinful acts.
SB6.3.32 TEXT 32 śṛṇvatāṁ gṛṇatāṁ vīryāṇy uddāmāni harer muhuḥ yathā sujātayā bhaktyā śuddhyen nātmā vratādibhiḥ SYNONYMS śṛṇvatām—of those hearing; gṛṇatām—and chanting; vīryāṇi—the wonderful activities; uddāmāni—able to counteract sin; hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; muhuḥ—always; yathā—as; su-jātayā—easily brought forth; bhaktyā—by devotional service; śuddhyet—may be purified; na—not; ātmā—the heart and soul; vrata-ādibhiḥ—by performing ritualistic ceremonies.
TRANSLATION One who constantly hears and chants the holy name of the Lord and hears and chants about His activities can very easily attain the platform of pure devotional service, which can cleanse the dirt from one’s heart. One cannot achieve such purification merely by observing vows and performing Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. PURPORT One may very easily practice chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord and thus become ecstatic in spiritual life. Padma Purāṇa states:
nāmāparādha-yuktānāṁ Even if one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra offensively, one can avoid offenses by continuously chanting without deviation. One who becomes accustomed to this practice will always remain in a pure transcendental position, untouchable by sinful reactions. Śukadeva Gosvāmī especially requested King Parīkṣit to note this fact very carefully. There is no profit, however, in executing the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. By performing such activities one may go to the higher planetary systems, but as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.21), kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti: when the period of one’s enjoyment in the heavenly planets is terminated because of the limited extent of the results of one’s pious activities, one must return to earth. Thus there is no use in endeavoring to travel up and down in the universe. It is better to chant the holy name of the Lord so that one may become fully purified and eligible to return home, back to Godhead. That is the aim of life, and that is the perfection of life.
SB6.3.33 TEXT 33 kṛṣṇāṅghri-padma-madhu-liṇ na punar visṛṣṭa- māyā-guṇeṣu ramate vṛjināvaheṣu anyas tu kāma-hata ātma-rajaḥ pramārṣṭum īheta karma yata eva rajaḥ punaḥ syāt SYNONYMS kṛṣṇa-aṅghri-padma—of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa; madhu—the honey; liṭ—one who licks; na—not; punaḥ—again; visṛṣṭa—already renounced; māyā-guṇeṣu—in the material modes of nature; ramate—desires to enjoy; vṛjina-avaheṣu—which brings distress; anyaḥ—another; tu—however; kāma-hataḥ—being enchanted by lust; ātma-rajaḥ—the sinful infection of the heart; pramārṣṭum—to cleanse; īheta—may perform; karma—activities; yataḥ—after which; eva—indeed; rajaḥ—the sinful activity; punaḥ—again; syāt—appears.
TRANSLATION Devotees who always lick the honey from the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa do not care at all for material activities, which are performed under the three modes of material nature and which bring only misery. Indeed, devotees never give up the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa to return to material activities. Others, however, who are addicted to Vedic rituals because they have neglected the service of the Lord’s lotus feet and are enchanted by lusty desires, sometimes perform acts of atonement. Nevertheless, being incompletely purified, they return to sinful activities again and again. PURPORT A devotee’s duty is to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. One may sometimes chant with offenses and sometimes without offenses, but if one seriously adopts this process, he will achieve perfection, which cannot be achieved through Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of atonement. Persons who are attached to the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, but do not believe in devotional service, who advise atonement, but do not appreciate the chanting of the Lord’s holy name, fail to achieve the highest perfection. Devotees, therefore, being completely detached from material enjoyment, never give up Kṛṣṇa consciousness for Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. Those who are attached to Vedic ritualistic ceremonies because of lusty desires are subjected to the tribulations of material existence again and again. Mahārāja Parīkṣit has compared their activities to kuñjara-śauca, the bathing of an elephant.
SB6.3.34 TEXT 34 itthaṁ svabhartṛ-gaditaṁ bhagavan-mahitvaṁ saṁsmṛtya vismita-dhiyo yama-kiṅkarās te naivācyutāśraya-janaṁ pratiśaṅkamānā draṣṭuṁ ca bibhyati tataḥ prabhṛti sma rājan SYNONYMS ittham—of such power; sva-bhartṛ-gaditam—explained by their master (Yamarāja); bhagavat-mahitvam—the extraordinary glory of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His name, fame, form and attributes; saṁsmṛtya—remembering; vismita-dhiyaḥ—whose minds were struck with wonder; yama-kiṅkarāḥ—all the servants of Yamarāja; te—they; na—not; eva—indeed; acyuta-āśraya-janam—a person sheltered by the lotus feet of Acyuta, Lord Kṛṣṇa; pratiśaṅkamānāḥ—always fearing; draṣṭum—to see; ca—and; bibhyati—they are afraid; tataḥ prabhṛti—beginning from then; sma—indeed; rājan—O King.
TRANSLATION After hearing from the mouth of their master about the extraordinary glories of the Lord and His name, fame and attributes, the Yamadūtas were struck with wonder. Since then, as soon as they see a devotee, they fear him and dare not look at him again. PURPORT Since this incident, the Yamadūtas have given up the dangerous behavior of approaching devotees. For the Yamadūtas, a devotee is dangerous.
SB6.3.35 TEXT 35 itihāsam imaṁ guhyaṁ bhagavān kumbha-sambhavaḥ kathayām āsa malaya āsīno harim arcayan SYNONYMS itihāsam—history; imam—this; guhyam—very confidential; bhagavān—the most powerful; kumbha-sambhavaḥ—Agastya Muni, the son of Kumbha; kathayām āsa—explained; malaye—in the Malaya Hills; āsīnaḥ—residing; harim arcayan—worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION When the great sage Agastya, the son of Kumbha, was residing in the Malaya Hills and worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I approached him, and he explained to me this confidential history. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Sixth Canto, Third Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers.”
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ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api
teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanaṁ
paśyann api na paśyati
puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān
viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā
nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam
nāmāny eva haranty agham
aviśrānti-prayuktāni
tāny evārtha-karāṇi ca