Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Twenty-four
SB9.24.59
TEXT 59
akṣauhiṇīnāṁ patibhir
asurair nṛpa-lāñchanaiḥ
bhuva ākramyamāṇāyā
abhārāya kṛtodyamaḥ
SYNONYMS
akṣauhiṇīnām—of kings possessing great military power; patibhiḥ—by such kings or government; asuraiḥ—actually demons (because they do not need such military power but create it unnecessarily); nṛpa-lāñchanaiḥ—who are actually unfit to be kings (although they have somehow taken possession of the government); bhuvaḥ—on the surface of the earth; ākramyamāṇāyāḥ—aiming at attacking one another; abhārāya—paving the way for diminishing the number of demons on the surface of the earth; kṛta-udyamaḥ—enthusiastic (they spend all the revenue of the state to increase military power).
TRANSLATION
Although the demons who take possession of the government are dressed like men of government, they do not know the duty of the government. Consequently, by the arrangement of God, such demons, who possess great military strength, fight with one another, and thus the great burden of demons on the surface of the earth is reduced. The demons increase their military power by the will of the Supreme, so that their numbers will be diminished and the devotees will have a chance to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
PURPORT
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8), paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām. The sādhus, the devotees of the Lord, are always eager to advance the cause of Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that the conditioned souls may be released from the bondage of birth and death. But the asuras, the demons, impede the advancement of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and therefore Kṛṣṇa arranges occasional fights between different asuras who are very much interested in increasing their military power. The duty of the government or king is not to increase military power unnecessarily; the real duty of the government is to see that the people of the state advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For this purpose, Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13), cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: “According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me.” There should be an ideal class of men who are bona fide brāhmaṇas, and they should be given all protection. Namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. Kṛṣṇa is very fond of brāhmaṇas and cows, The brāhmaṇas promulgate the cause of advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and the cows give enough milk to maintain the body in the mode of goodness. The kṣatriyas and the government should be advised by the brāhmaṇas. Next, the vaiśyas should produce enough foodstuffs, and the śūdras, who cannot do anything beneficial on their own, should serve the three higher classes (the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas). This is the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that the conditioned souls will be released from the material condition and return home, back to Godhead. This is the purpose of Kṛṣṇa’s descent on the surface of the earth (paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām [Bg. 4.8]).
Everyone must understand Kṛṣṇa’s activities (janma karma ca me divyam [Bg. 4.9]). If one understands the purpose of Kṛṣṇa’s coming to this earth and performing His activities, one is immediately liberated. This liberation is the purpose of the creation and Kṛṣṇa’s descent upon the surface of the earth. Demons are very much interested in advancing a plan by which people will labor hard like cats, dogs and hogs, but Kṛṣṇa’s devotees want to teach Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that people will be satisfied with plain living and Kṛṣṇa conscious advancement. Although demons have created many plans for industry and hard labor so that people will work day and night like animals, this is not the purpose of civilization. Such endeavors are jagato’hitaḥ; that is, they are meant for the misfortune of the people in general. Kṣayāya: such activities lead to annihilation. One who understands the purpose of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, should seriously understand the importance of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and seriously take part in it. One should not endeavor for ugra-karma, or unnecessary work for sense gratification. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti (Bhāg. 5.5.4). Simply for sense gratification, people make plans for material happiness. Māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (Bhāg. 7.9.43). They do this because they are all vimūḍhas, rascals. For flickering happiness, people waste their human energy, not understanding the importance of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement but instead accusing the simple devotees of brainwashing. Demons may falsely accuse the preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, but Kṛṣṇa will arrange a fight between the demons in which all their military power will be engaged and both parties of demons will be annihilated.
SB9.24.60 TEXT 60 karmāṇy aparimeyāṇi manasāpi sureśvaraiḥ saha-saṅkarṣaṇaś cakre bhagavān madhusūdanaḥ SYNONYMS karmāṇi—activities; aparimeyāṇi—immeasurable, unlimited; manasā api—even by such plans perceived within the mind; sura-īśvaraiḥ—by the controllers of the universe like Brahmā and Śiva; saha-saṅkarṣaṇaḥ—along with Saṅkarṣaṇa (Baladeva); cakre—performed; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; madhu-sūdanaḥ—the killer of the Madhu demon.
TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, with the cooperation of Saṅkarṣaṇa, Balarāma, performed activities beyond the mental comprehension of even such personalities as Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. [For instance, Kṛṣṇa arranged the Battle of Kurukṣetra to kill many demons for the relief of the entire world.] SB9.24.61 TEXT 61 kalau janiṣyamāṇānāṁ duḥkha-śoka-tamo-nudam anugrahāya bhaktānāṁ supuṇyaṁ vyatanod yaśaḥ SYNONYMS kalau—in this age of Kali; janiṣyamāṇānām—of the conditioned souls who will take birth in the future; duḥkha-śoka-tamaḥ-nudam—to minimize their unlimited unhappiness and lamentation, which are caused by ignorance; anugrahāya—just to show mercy; bhaktānām—to the devotees; su-puṇyam—very pious, transcendental activities; vyatanot—expanded; yaśaḥ—His glories or reputation.
TRANSLATION To show causeless mercy to the devotees who would take birth in the future in this age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, acted in such a way that simply by remembering Him one will be freed from all the lamentation and unhappiness of material existence. [In other words, He acted so that all future devotees, by accepting the instructions of Kṛṣṇa consciousness stated in Bhagavad-gītā, could be relieved from the pangs of material existence.] PURPORT The Lord’s activities of saving the devotees and killing the demons (paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām [Bg. 4.8]) take place side by side. Kṛṣṇa actually appears for the deliverance of the sādhus, or bhaktas, but by killing the demons He shows them mercy also, for anyone killed by Kṛṣṇa is liberated. Whether the Lord kills or gives protection, He is kind to both the demons and the devotees.
SB9.24.62 TEXT 62 yasmin sat-karṇa-pīyuṣe yaśas-tīrtha-vare sakṛt śrotrāñjalir upaspṛśya dhunute karma-vāsanām SYNONYMS yasmin—in the history of the transcendental activities of Kṛṣṇa upon the surface of the earth; sat-karṇa-pīyuṣe—who pleases the demands of the transcendental, purified ears; yaśaḥ-tīrtha-vare—keeping oneself in the best of holy places by hearing the transcendental activities of the Lord; sakṛt—once only, immediately; śrotra-añjaliḥ—in the form of hearing the transcendental message; upaspṛśya—touching (exactly like the water of the Ganges); dhunute—destroys; karma-vāsanām—the strong desire for fruitive activities.
TRANSLATION Simply by receiving the glories of the Lord through purified transcendental ears, the devotees of the Lord are immediately freed from strong material desires and engagement in fruitive activities. PURPORT When the devotees aurally receive the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as enacted in Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they immediately achieve a transcendental vision in which they are no longer interested in materialistic activities. Thus they achieve freedom from the material world. For sense gratification practically everyone is engaged in materialistic activities, which prolong the process of janma-mṛtyu jarā-vyādhi—birth, death, old age and disease—but the devotee, simply by hearing the message of Bhagavad-gītā and further relishing the narrations of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, becomes so pure that he no longer takes interest in materialistic activities. At the moment, devotees in the Western countries are being attracted by Kṛṣṇa consciousness and becoming uninterested in materialistic activities, and therefore people are trying to oppose this movement. But they cannot possibly check this movement or stop the activities of the devotees in Europe and America by their artificial impositions. Here the words śrotrāñjalir upaspṛśya indicate that simply by hearing the transcendental activities of the Lord the devotees become so pure that they are immediately immune to the contamination of materialistic fruitive activities. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11] Materialistic activities are unnecessary for the soul, and therefore the devotees are freed from such activities. The devotees are situated in liberation (brahma-bhūyāya kalpate), and therefore they cannot be called back to their material homes and materialistic activities.
SB9.24.63-64 TEXTS 63–64 bhoja-vṛṣṇy-andhaka-madhu- śūrasena-daśārhakaiḥ ślāghanīyehitaḥ śaśvat kuru-sṛñjaya-pāṇḍubhiḥ snigdha-smitekṣitodārair vākyair vikrama-līlayā nṛlokaṁ ramayām āsa mūrtyā sarvāṅga-ramyayā SYNONYMS bhoja—assisted by the Bhoja dynasty; vṛṣṇi—and by the Vṛṣṇis; andhaka—and by the Andhakas; madhu—and by the Madhus; śūrasena—and by the Śūrasenas; daśārhakaiḥ—and by the Daśārhakas; ślāghanīya—by the praiseworthy; īhitaḥ—endeavoring; śaśvat—always; kuru-sṛñjaya-pāṇḍubhiḥ—assisted by the Pāṇḍavas, Kurus and Sṛñjayas; snigdha—affectionate; smita—smiling; īkṣita—being regarded as; udāraiḥ—magnanimous; vākyaiḥ—the instructions; vikrama-līlayā—the pastimes of heroism; nṛ-lokam—human society; ramayām āsa—pleased; mūrtyā—by His personal form; sarva-aṅga-ramyayā—the form that pleases everyone by all parts of the body.
TRANSLATION Assisted by the descendants of Bhoja, Vṛṣṇi, Andhaka, Madhu, Śūrasena, Daśārha, Kuru, Sṛñjaya and Pāṇḍu, Lord Kṛṣṇa performed various activities. By His pleasing smiles, His affectionate behavior, His instructions and His uncommon pastimes like raising Govardhana Hill, the Lord, appearing in His transcendental body, pleased all of human society. PURPORT The words nṛlokaṁ ramayām āsa mūrtyā sarvāṅga-ramyayā are significant. Kṛṣṇa is the original form. Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is therefore described here by the word mūrtyā. The word mūrti means “form.” Kṛṣṇa, or God, is never impersonal; the impersonal feature is but a manifestation of His transcendental body (yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi [Bs. 5.40]). The Lord is narākṛti, exactly resembling the form of a human being, but His form is different from ours. Therefore the word sarvāṅga-ramyayā informs us that every part of His body is pleasing for everyone to see. Apart from His smiling face, every part of His body—His hands, His legs, His chest—is pleasing to the devotees, who cannot at any time stop seeing the beautiful form of the Lord.
SB9.24.65 TEXT 65 yasyānanaṁ makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa- bhrājat-kapola-subhagaṁ savilāsa-hāsam nityotsavaṁ na tatṛpur dṛśibhiḥ pibantyo nāryo narāś ca muditāḥ kupitā nimeś ca SYNONYMS yasya—whose; ānanam—face; makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa—decorated by earrings resembling sharks and by beautiful ears; bhrājat—brilliantly decorated; kapola—forehead; subhagam—declaring all opulences; sa-vilāsa-hāsam—with smiles of enjoyment; nitya-utsavam—whenever one sees Him, one feels festive; na tatṛpuḥ—they could not be satisfied; dṛśibhiḥ—by seeing the form of the Lord; pibantyaḥ—as if drinking through the eyes; nāryaḥ—all the women of Vṛndāvana; narāḥ—all the male devotees; ca—also; muditāḥ—fully satisfied; kupitāḥ—angry; nimeḥ—the moment they are disturbed by the blinking of the eyes; ca—also.
TRANSLATION Kṛṣṇa’s face is decorated with ornaments, such as earrings resembling sharks. His ears are beautiful, His cheeks brilliant, and His smiling attractive to everyone. Whoever sees Lord Kṛṣṇa sees a festival. His face and body are fully satisfying for everyone to see, but the devotees are angry at the creator for the disturbance caused by the momentary blinking of their eyes. PURPORT As stated by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.3):
manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu “Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” Unless one is qualified to understand Kṛṣṇa, one cannot appreciate the presence of Kṛṣṇa on earth. Among the Bhojas, Vṛṣṇis, Andhakas, Pāṇḍavas and many other kings intimately related with Kṛṣṇa, the intimate relationship between Kṛṣṇa and the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana is especially to be noted. That relationship is described in this verse by the words nityotsavaṁ na tatṛpur dṛśibhiḥ pibantyaḥ. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana especially, such as the cowherd boys, the cows, the calves, the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa’s father and mother, were never fully satisfied, although they saw Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful features constantly. Seeing Kṛṣṇa is described here as nitya-utsava, a daily festival. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana saw Kṛṣṇa almost every moment, but when Kṛṣṇa left the village for the pasturing grounds, where He tended the cows and calves, the gopīs were very much afflicted because they saw Kṛṣṇa walking on the sand and thought that Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, which they dared not place on their breasts because they thought their breasts not soft enough, were being pierced by broken chips of stone. By even thinking of this, the gopīs were affected, and they cried at home. These gopīs, who were therefore the exalted friends of Kṛṣṇa, saw Kṛṣṇa constantly, but because their eyelids disturbed their vision of Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs condemned the creator, Lord Brahmā. Therefore the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, especially the beauty of His face, is described here. At the end of the Ninth Canto, in the Twenty-fourth Chapter, we find a hint of Kṛṣṇa’s beauty. Now we are proceeding to the Tenth Canto, which is considered Kṛṣṇa’s head. The entire Śrīmad-Bhāgavata Purāṇa is the embodiment of Kṛṣṇa’s form, and the Tenth Canto is His face. This verse gives a hint of how beautiful His face is. Kṛṣṇa’s smiling face, with His cheeks, His lips, the ornaments in His ears, His chewing of betel nuts—all this was minutely observed by the gopīs, who thus enjoyed transcendental bliss, so much so that they were never fully satisfied to see Kṛṣṇa’s face, but instead condemned the creator of the body for making eyelids that obstructed their vision. The beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s face was therefore much more appreciated by the gopīs than by His friends the cowherd boys or even by Yaśodā Mātā, who was also interested in decorating the face of Kṛṣṇa.
SB9.24.66 TEXT 66 jāto gataḥ pitṛ-gṛhād vrajam edhitārtho hatvā ripūn suta-śatāni kṛtorudāraḥ utpādya teṣu puruṣaḥ kratubhiḥ samīje ātmānam ātma-nigamaṁ prathayañ janeṣu SYNONYMS jātaḥ—after taking birth as the son of Vasudeva; gataḥ—went away; pitṛ-gṛhāt—from the houses of His father; vrajam—to Vṛndāvana; edhita-arthaḥ—to exalt the position (of Vṛndāvana); hatvā—killing there; ripūn—many demons; suta-śatāni—hundreds of sons; kṛta-urudāraḥ—accepting many thousands of wives, the best of women; utpādya—begot; teṣu—in them; puruṣaḥ—the Supreme Person, who exactly resembles a human being; kratubhiḥ—by many sacrifices; samīje—worshiped; ātmānam—Himself (because He is the person worshiped by all sacrifices); ātma-nigamam—exactly according to the ritualistic ceremonies of the Vedas; prathayan—expanding the Vedic principles; janeṣu—among the people in general.
TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, known as līlā-puruṣottama, appeared as the son of Vasudeva but immediately left His father’s home and went to Vṛndāvana to expand His loving relationship with His confidential devotees. In Vṛndāvana the Lord killed many demons, and afterwards He returned to Dvārakā, where according to Vedic principles He married many wives who were the best of women, begot through them hundreds of sons, and performed sacrifices for His own worship to establish the principles of householder life. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: by all the Vedas, it is Kṛṣṇa who is to be known. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, setting an example by His own behavior, performed many ritualistic ceremonies described in the Vedas and established the principles of gṛhastha life by marrying many wives and begetting many children just to show people in general how to be happy by living according to Vedic principles. The center of Vedic sacrifice is Kṛṣṇa (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [Bg. 15.15]). To advance in human life, human society must follow the Vedic principles personally demonstrated by Lord Kṛṣṇa in His householder life. The real purpose of Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, however, was to manifest how one can take part in loving affairs with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Reciprocations of loving affairs in ecstasy are possible only in Vṛndāvana. Therefore just after His appearance as the son of Vasudeva, the Lord immediately left for Vṛndāvana. In Vṛndāvana, the Lord not only took part in loving affairs with His father and mother, the gopīs and the cowherd boys, but also gave liberation to many demons by killing them. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8), paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: the Lord appears in order to protect the devotees and kill the demons. This was fully exhibited by His personal behavior. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord is understood by Arjuna to be puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam—the eternal, transcendental Supreme Person. Here also we find the words utpādya teṣu puruṣaḥ. Therefore it is to be concluded that the Absolute Truth is puruṣa, a person. The impersonal feature is but one of the features of His personality. Ultimately, He is a person; He is not impersonal. And not only is He puruṣa, a person, but He is the līlā-puruṣottama, the best of all persons.
SB9.24.67 TEXT 67 pṛthvyāḥ sa vai guru-bharaṁ kṣapayan kurūṇām antaḥ-samuttha-kalinā yudhi bhūpa-camvaḥ dṛṣṭyā vidhūya vijaye jayam udvighoṣya procyoddhavāya ca paraṁ samagāt sva-dhāma SYNONYMS pṛthvyāḥ—on the earth; saḥ—He (Lord Kṛṣṇa); vai—indeed; guru-bharam—a great burden; kṣapayan—completely finishing; kurūṇām—of the personalities born in the Kuru dynasty; antaḥ-samuttha-kalinā—by creating enmity between the brothers by disagreement; yudhi—in the Battle of Kurukṣetra; bhūpa-camvaḥ—all the demoniac kings; dṛṣṭyā—by His glance; vidhūya—cleansing their sinful activities; vijaye—in victory; jayam—victory; udvighoṣya—declaring (the victory for Arjuna); procya—giving instructions; uddhavāya—unto Uddhava; ca—also; param—transcendental; samagāt—returned; sva-dhāma—to His own place.
TRANSLATION Thereafter, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa created a misunderstanding between family members just to diminish the burden of the world. Simply by His glance, He annihilated all the demoniac kings on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra and declared victory for Arjuna. Finally, He instructed Uddhava about transcendental life and devotion and then returned to His abode in His original form. PURPORT paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām [Bg. 4.8]. The mission of Lord Kṛṣṇa was performed on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, for by the Lord’s mercy Arjuna was victorious due to being a great devotee whereas the others were killed simply by the Lord’s glance, which cleansed them of all sinful activities and enabled them to attain sārūpya. Finally, Lord Kṛṣṇa instructed Uddhava about the transcendental life of devotional service, and then, in due course of time, He returned to His abode. The Lord’s instructions in the form of Bhagavad-gītā are full of jñāna and vairāgya, knowledge and renunciation. In the human form of life, one must learn these two things—how to become detached from the material world and how to acquire full knowledge in spiritual life. This is the Lord’s mission (paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām [Bg. 4.8]). After executing His complete mission, the Lord returned to His home, Goloka Vṛndāvana.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Ninth Canto, Twenty-fourth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead” END OF THE NINTH CANTO THIS WEB PAGE URL: http://causelessmercy.com/SB9.24.2.htm
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ