Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Four
Ambarīṣa Mahārāja Offended by Durvāsā Muni
SB9.4Summary
This chapter describes the history of Mahārāja Nabhaga, of his son Nābhāga, and of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa.
The son of Manu was Nabhaga, and his son Nābhāga lived for many years in the gurukula. In Nābhāga’s absence, his brothers did not consider his share of the kingdom, but instead divided the property among themselves. When Nābhāga returned home, his brothers bestowed upon him their father as his share, but when Nābhāga went to his father and told him about the dealings of the brothers, his father informed him that this was cheating and advised him that for his livelihood he should go to the sacrificial arena and describe two mantras to be chanted there. Nābhāga executed the order of his father, and thus Aṅgirā and other great saintly persons gave him all the money collected in that sacrifice. To test Nābhāga, Lord Śiva challenged his claim to the wealth, but when Lord Śiva was satisfied by Nābhāga’s behavior, Lord Śiva offered him all the riches.
From Nābhāga was born Ambarīṣa, the most powerful and celebrated devotee. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was the emperor of the entire world, but he considered his opulence temporary. Indeed, knowing that such material opulence is the cause of downfall into conditional life, he was unattached to this opulence. He engaged his senses and mind in the service of the Lord. This process is called yukta-vairāgya, or feasible renunciation, which is quite suitable for worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, as the emperor, was immensely opulent, he performed devotional service with great opulence, and therefore, despite his wealth, he had no attachment to his wife, children or kingdom. He constantly engaged his senses and mind in the service of the Lord. Therefore, to say nothing of enjoying material opulence, he never desired even liberation.
Once Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Vṛndāvana, observing the vow of Dvādaśī. On Dvādaśī, the day after Ekādaśī, when he was about to break his Ekādaśī fast, the great mystic yogī Durvāsā appeared in his house and became his guest. King Ambarīṣa respectfully received Durvāsā Muni, and Durvāsā Muni, after accepting his invitation to eat there, went to bathe in the Yamunā River at noontime. Because he was absorbed in samādhi, he did not come back very soon. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, however, upon seeing that the time to break the fast was passing, drank a little water, in accordance with the advice of learned brāhmaṇas, just to observe the formality of breaking the fast. By mystic power, Durvāsā Muni could understand that this had happened, and he was very angry. When he returned he began to chastise Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, but he was not satisfied, and finally he created from his hair a demon appearing like the fire of death. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, is always the protector of His devotee, and to protect Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, He sent His disc, the Sudarśana cakra, which immediately vanquished the fiery demon and then pursued Durvāsā, who was so envious of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. Durvāsā fled to Brahmaloka, Śivaloka and all the other higher planets, but he could not protect himself from the wrath of the Sudarśana cakra. Finally he went to the spiritual world and surrendered to Lord Nārāyaṇa, but Lord Nārāyaṇa could not excuse a person who had offended a Vaiṣṇava. To be excused from such an offense, one must submit to the Vaiṣṇava whom he has offended. There is no other way to be excused. Thus Lord Nārāyaṇa advised Durvāsā to return to Mahārāja Ambarīṣa and beg his pardon.
SB9.4.1 TEXT 1 śrī-śuka uvāca nābhāgo nabhagāpatyaṁ yaṁ tataṁ bhrātaraḥ kavim yaviṣṭhaṁ vyabhajan dāyaṁ brahmacāriṇam āgatam SYNONYMS śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; nābhāgaḥ—Nābhāga; nabhaga-apatyam—was the son of Mahārāja Nabhaga; yam—unto whom; tatam—the father; bhrātaraḥ—the elder brothers; kavim—the learned; yaviṣṭham—the youngest; vyabhajan—divided; dāyam—the property; brahmacāriṇam—having accepted the life of a brahmacārī perpetually (naiṣṭhika); āgatam—returned.
TRANSLATION Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The son of Nabhaga named Nābhāga lived for a long time at the place of his spiritual master. Therefore, his brothers thought that he was not going to become a gṛhastha and would not return. Consequently, without providing a share for him, they divided the property of their father among themselves. When Nābhāga returned from the place of his spiritual master, they gave him their father as his share. PURPORT There are two kinds of brahmacārīs. One may return home, marry and become a householder, whereas the other, known as bṛhad-vrata, takes a vow to remain a brahmacārī perpetually. The bṛhad-vrata brahmacārī does not return from the place of the spiritual master; he stays there, and later he directly takes sannyāsa. Because Nābhāga did not return from the place of his spiritual master, his brothers thought that he had taken bṛhadvrata-brahmacarya. Therefore, they did not preserve his share, and when he returned they gave him their father as his share.
SB9.4.2 TEXT 2 bhrātaro ’bhāṅkta kiṁ mahyaṁ bhajāma pitaraṁ tava tvāṁ mamāryās tatābhāṅkṣur mā putraka tad ādṛthāḥ SYNONYMS bhrātaraḥ—O my brothers; abhāṅkta—have you given as the share of our father’s property; kim—what; mahyam—unto me; bhajāma—we allot; pitaram—the father himself; tava—as your share; tvām—you; mama—unto me; āryāḥ—my elder brothers; tata—O my father; abhāṅkṣuḥ—have given the share; mā—do not; putraka—O my dear son; tat—to this statement; ādṛthāḥ—give any importance.
TRANSLATION Nābhāga inquired, “My dear brothers, what have you given to me as my share of our father’s property?” His elder brothers answered, “We have kept our father as your share.” But when Nābhāga went to his father and said, “My dear father, my elder brothers have given you as my share of property,” the father replied, “My dear son, do not rely upon their cheating words. I am not your property.” SB9.4.3 TEXT 3 ime aṅgirasaḥ satram āsate ’dya sumedhasaḥ ṣaṣṭhaṁ ṣaṣṭham upetyāhaḥ kave muhyanti karmaṇi SYNONYMS ime—all these; aṅgirasaḥ—descendants of the dynasty of Aṅgirā; satram—sacrifice; āsate—are performing; adya—today; sumedhasaḥ—who are all very intelligent; ṣaṣṭham—sixth; ṣaṣṭham—sixth; upetya—after achieving; ahaḥ—day; kave—O best of learned men; muhyanti—become bewildered; karmaṇi—in discharging fruitive activities.
TRANSLATION Nābhāga’s father said: All the descendants of Aṅgirā are now going to perform a great sacrifice, but although they are very intelligent, on every sixth day they will be bewildered in performing sacrifice and will make mistakes in their daily duties. PURPORT Nābhāga was very simple hearted. Therefore when he went to his father, the father, in compassion for his son, suggested that as a means of livelihood Nābhāga could go to the descendants of Aṅgirā and take advantage of their misgivings in performing yajña.
SB9.4.4-5 TEXTS 4–5 tāṁs tvaṁ śaṁsaya sūkte dve vaiśvadeve mahātmanaḥ te svar yanto dhanaṁ satra- pariśeṣitam ātmanaḥ dāsyanti te ’tha tān arccha tathā sa kṛtavān yathā tasmai dattvā yayuḥ svargaṁ te satra-pariśeṣaṇam SYNONYMS tān—to all of them; tvam—yourself; śaṁsaya—describe; sūkte—Vedic hymns; dve—two; vaiśvadeve—in connection with Vaiśvadeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; mahātmanaḥ—to all of those great souls; te—they; svaḥ yantaḥ—while going to their respective destinations in the heavenly planets; dhanam—the wealth; satra-pariśeṣitam—which remains after the end of the yajña; ātmanaḥ—their own property; dāsyanti—will deliver; te—unto you; atha—therefore; tān—to them; arccha—go there; tathā—in that way (according to his father’s orders); saḥ—he (Nābhāga); kṛtavān—executed; yathā—as advised by his father; tasmai—unto him; dattvā—after giving; yayuḥ—went; svargam—to the heavenly planets; te—all of them; satra-pariśeṣaṇam—remnants of yajña.
TRANSLATION Nābhāga’s father continued: “Go to those great souls and describe two Vedic hymns pertaining to Vaiśvadeva. When the great sages have completed the sacrifice and are going to the heavenly planets, they will give you the remnants of the money they have received from the sacrifice. Therefore, go there immediately.” Thus Nābhāga acted exactly according to the advice of his father, and the great sages of the Aṅgirā dynasty gave him all their wealth and then went to the heavenly planets. SB9.4.6 TEXT 6 taṁ kaścit svīkariṣyantaṁ puruṣaḥ kṛṣṇa-darśanaḥ uvācottarato ’bhyetya mamedaṁ vāstukaṁ vasu SYNONYMS tam—unto Nābhāga; kaścit—someone; svīkariṣyantam—while accepting the riches given by the great sages; puruṣaḥ—a person; kṛṣṇa-darśanaḥ—black-looking; uvāca—said; uttarataḥ—from the north; abhyetya—coming; mama—my; idam—these; vāstukam—remnants of the sacrifice; vasu—all the riches.
TRANSLATION Thereafter, while Nābhāga was accepting the riches, a black-looking person from the north came to him and said, “All the wealth from this sacrificial arena belongs to me.” SB9.4.7 TEXT 7 mamedam ṛṣibhir dattam iti tarhi sma mānavaḥ syān nau te pitari praśnaḥ pṛṣṭavān pitaraṁ yathā SYNONYMS mama—my; idam—all these; ṛṣibhiḥ—by the great saintly persons; dattam—have been delivered; iti—thus; tarhi—therefore; sma—indeed; mānavaḥ—Nābhāga; syāt—let there be; nau—of ourselves; te—your; pitari—unto the father; praśnaḥ—an inquiry; pṛṣṭavān—he also inquired; pitaram—from his father; yathā—as requested.
TRANSLATION Nābhāga then said, “These riches belong to me. The great saintly persons have delivered them to me.” When Nābhāga said this, the black-looking person replied, “Let us go to your father and ask him to settle our disagreement.” In accordance with this, Nābhāga inquired from his father. SB9.4.8 TEXT 8 yajña-vāstu-gataṁ sarvam ucchiṣṭam ṛṣayaḥ kvacit cakrur hi bhāgaṁ rudrāya sa devaḥ sarvam arhati SYNONYMS yajña-vāstu-gatam—things belonging to the sacrificial arena; sarvam—everything; ucchiṣṭam—remnants; ṛṣayaḥ—the great sages; kvacit—sometimes, in the Dakṣa-yajña; cakruḥ—did so; hi—indeed; bhāgam—share; rudrāya—unto Lord Śiva; saḥ—that; devaḥ—demigod; sarvam—everything; arhati—deserves.
TRANSLATION The father of Nābhāga said: Whatever the great sages sacrificed in the arena of the Dakṣa-yajña, they offered to Lord Śiva as his share. Therefore, everything in the sacrificial arena certainly belongs to Lord Śiva. SB9.4.9 TEXT 9 nābhāgas taṁ praṇamyāha taveśa kila vāstukam ity āha me pitā brahmañ chirasā tvāṁ prasādaye SYNONYMS nābhāgaḥ—Nābhāga; tam—unto him (Lord Śiva); praṇamya—offering obeisances; āha—said; tava—yours; īśa—O lord; kila—certainly; vāstukam—everything in the arena of sacrifice; iti—thus; āha—said; me—my; pitā—father; brahman—O brāhmaṇa; śirasā—bowing my head; tvām—unto you; prasādaye—I am begging your mercy.
TRANSLATION Thereupon, after offering obeisances to Lord Śiva, Nābhāga said: O worshipable lord, everything in this arena of sacrifice is yours. This is the assertion of my father. Now, with great respect, I bow my head before you, begging your mercy. SB9.4.10 TEXT 10 yat te pitāvadad dharmaṁ tvaṁ ca satyaṁ prabhāṣase dadāmi te mantra-dṛśo jñānaṁ brahma sanātanam SYNONYMS yat—whatever; te—your; pitā—father; avadat—explained; dharmam—truth; tvam ca—you also; satyam—truth; prabhāṣase—are speaking; dadāmi—I shall give; te—unto you; mantra-dṛśaḥ—who know the science of mantra; jñānam—knowledge; brahma—transcendental; sanātanam—eternal.
TRANSLATION Lord Śiva said: Whatever your father has said is the truth, and you also are speaking the same truth. Therefore, I, who know the Vedic mantras, shall explain transcendental knowledge to you. SB9.4.11 TEXT 11 gṛhāṇa draviṇaṁ dattaṁ mat-satra-pariśeṣitam ity uktvāntarhito rudro bhagavān dharma-vatsalaḥ SYNONYMS gṛhāṇa—please take now; draviṇam—all the wealth; dattam—is given (to you by me); mat-satra-pariśeṣitam—the remnants of the sacrifice executed on my behalf; iti uktvā—after speaking like this; antarhitaḥ—disappeared; rudraḥ—Lord Śiva; bhagavān—the most powerful demigod; dharma-vatsalaḥ—adherent to the principles of religion.
TRANSLATION Lord Śiva said, “Now you may take all the wealth remaining from the sacrifice, for I give it to you.” After saying this, Lord Śiva, who is most adherent to the religious principles, disappeared from that place. SB9.4.12 TEXT 12 ya etat saṁsmaret prātaḥ sāyaṁ ca susamāhitaḥ kavir bhavati mantra-jño gatiṁ caiva tathātmanaḥ SYNONYMS yaḥ—anyone who; etat—about this incident; saṁsmaret—may remember; prātaḥ—in the morning; sāyam ca—and in the evening; susamāhitaḥ—with great attention; kaviḥ—learned; bhavati—becomes; mantra-jñaḥ—well aware of all Vedic mantras; gatim—the destination; ca—also; eva—indeed; tathā ātmanaḥ—like that of the self-realized soul.
TRANSLATION If one hears and chants or remembers this narration in the morning and evening with great attention, he certainly becomes learned, experienced in understanding the Vedic hymns, and expert in self-realization. SB9.4.13 TEXT 13 nābhāgād ambarīṣo ’bhūn mahā-bhāgavataḥ kṛtī nāspṛśad brahma-śāpo ’pi yaṁ na pratihataḥ kvacit SYNONYMS nābhāgāt—from Nābhāga; ambarīṣaḥ—Mahārāja Ambarīṣa; abhūt—took birth; mahā-bhāgavataḥ—the most exalted devotee; kṛtī—very celebrated; na aspṛśat—could not touch; brahma-śāpaḥ api—even the curse of a brāhmaṇa; yam—unto whom (Ambarīṣa Mahārāja); na—neither; pratihataḥ—failed; kvacit—at any time.
TRANSLATION From Nābhāga, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa took birth. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was an exalted devotee, celebrated for his great merits. Although he was cursed by an infallible brāhmaṇa, the curse could not touch him. SB9.4.14 TEXT 14 śrī-rājovāca bhagavañ chrotum icchāmi rājarṣes tasya dhīmataḥ na prābhūd yatra nirmukto brahma-daṇḍo duratyayaḥ SYNONYMS śrī-rājā uvāca—King Parīkṣit inquired; bhagavan—O great brāhmaṇa; śrotum icchāmi—I wish to hear (from you); rājarṣeḥ—of the great King Ambarīṣa; tasya—of him; dhīmataḥ—who was such a greatly sober personality; na—not; prābhūt—could act; yatra—upon whom (Mahārāja Ambarīṣa); nirmuktaḥ—being released; brahma-daṇḍaḥ—the curse of a brāhmaṇa; duratyayaḥ—which is insurmountable.
TRANSLATION King Parīkṣit inquired: O great personality, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was certainly most exalted and meritorious in character. I wish to hear about him. How surprising it is that the curse of a brāhmaṇa, which is insurmountable, could not act upon him. SB9.4.15-16 TEXTS 15–16 śrī-śuka uvāca ambarīṣo mahā-bhāgaḥ sapta-dvīpavatīṁ mahīm avyayāṁ ca śriyaṁ labdhvā vibhavaṁ cātulaṁ bhuvi mene ’tidurlabhaṁ puṁsāṁ sarvaṁ tat svapna-saṁstutam vidvān vibhava-nirvāṇaṁ tamo viśati yat pumān SYNONYMS śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; ambarīṣaḥ—King Ambarīṣa; mahā-bhāgaḥ—the greatly fortunate king; sapta-dvīpavatīm—consisting of seven islands; mahīm—the whole world; avyayām ca—and inexhaustible; śriyam—beauty; labdhvā—after achieving; vibhavam ca—and opulences; atulam—unlimited; bhuvi—in this earth; mene—he decided; ati-durlabham—which is rarely obtained; puṁsām—of many persons; sarvam—everything (he had obtained); tat—that which; svapna-saṁstutam—as if imagined in a dream; vidvān—completely understanding; vibhava-nirvāṇam—the annihilation of that opulence; tamaḥ—ignorance; viśati—fallen into; yat—because of which; pumān—a person.
TRANSLATION Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, the most fortunate personality, achieved the rule of the entire world, consisting of seven islands, and achieved inexhaustible, unlimited opulence and prosperity on earth. Although such a position is rarely obtained, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa did not care for it at all, for he knew very well that all such opulence is material. Like that which is imagined in a dream, such opulence will ultimately be destroyed. The King knew that any nondevotee who attains such opulence merges increasingly into material nature’s mode of darkness. PURPORT For a devotee material opulence is insignificant, whereas for a nondevotee material opulence is the cause of increasing bondage, for a devotee knows that anything material is temporary, whereas a nondevotee regards the temporary so-called happiness as everything and forgets the path of self-realization. Thus for the nondevotee material opulence is a disqualification for spiritual advancement.
SB9.4.17 TEXT 17 vāsudeve bhagavati tad-bhakteṣu ca sādhuṣu prāpto bhāvaṁ paraṁ viśvaṁ yenedaṁ loṣṭravat smṛtam SYNONYMS vāsudeve—unto the all-pervading Supreme Personality; bhagavati—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tat-bhakteṣu—unto His devotees; ca—also; sādhuṣu—unto the saintly persons; prāptaḥ—one who has achieved; bhāvam—reverence and devotion; param—transcendental; viśvam—the whole material universe; yena—by which (spiritual consciousness); idam—this; loṣṭra-vat—as insignificant as a piece of stone; smṛtam—is accepted (by such devotees).
TRANSLATION Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, and of the saintly persons who are the Lord’s devotees. Because of this devotion, he thought of the entire universe as being as insignificant as a piece of stone. SB9.4.18-20 TEXTS 18–20 sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane karau harer mandira-mārjanādiṣu śrutiṁ cakārācyuta-sat-kathodaye mukunda-liṅgālaya-darśane dṛśau tad-bhṛtya-gātra-sparśe ’ṅga-saṅgamam ghrāṇaṁ ca tat-pāda-saroja-saurabhe śrīmat-tulasyā rasanāṁ tad-arpite pādau hareḥ kṣetra-padānusarpaṇe śiro hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane kāmaṁ ca dāsye na tu kāma-kāmyayā yathottamaśloka-janāśrayā ratiḥ SYNONYMS saḥ—he (Mahārāja Ambarīṣa); vai—indeed; manaḥ—his mind; kṛṣṇa-pada-aravindayoḥ—(fixed) upon the two lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vacāṁsi—his words; vaikuṇṭha-guṇa-anuvarṇane—describing the glories of Kṛṣṇa; karau—his two hands; hareḥ mandira-mārjana-ādiṣu—in activities like cleansing the temple of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; śrutim—his ear; cakāra—engaged; acyuta—of or about Kṛṣṇa, who never falls down; sat-kathā-udaye—in hearing the transcendental narrations; mukunda-liṅga-ālaya-darśane—in seeing the Deity and temples and holy dhāmas of Mukunda; dṛśau—his two eyes; tat-bhṛtya—of the servants of Kṛṣṇa; gātra-sparśe—in touching the bodies; aṅga-saṅgamam—contact of his body; ghrāṇam ca—and his sense of smell; tat-pāda—of His lotus feet; saroja—of the lotus flower; saurabhe—in (smelling) the fragrance; śrīmat-tulasyāḥ—of the tulasī leaves; rasanām—his tongue; tat-arpite—in the prasāda offered to the Lord; pādau—his two legs; hareḥ—of the Personality of Godhead; kṣetra—holy places like the temple or Vṛndāvana and Dvārakā; pada-anusarpaṇe—walking to those places; śiraḥ—the head; hṛṣīkeśa—of Kṛṣṇa, the master of the senses; pada-abhivandane—in offering obeisances to the lotus feet; kāmam ca—and his desires; dāsye—in being engaged as a servant; na—not; tu—indeed; kāma-kāmyayā—with a desire for sense gratification; yathā—as; uttamaśloka-jana-āśrayā—if one takes shelter of a devotee such as Prahlāda; ratiḥ—attachment.
TRANSLATION Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord’s temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Kṛṣṇa or about Kṛṣṇa. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s temples and Kṛṣṇa’s places like Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord’s devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord’s prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (7.1) the Lord recommends, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. This indicates that one must execute devotional service under the guidance of a devotee or directly under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not possible, however, to train oneself without guidance from the spiritual master. Therefore, according to the instructions of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the first business of a devotee is to accept a bona fide spiritual master who can train him to engage his various senses in rendering transcendental service to the Lord. The Lord also says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.1), asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu. In other words, if one wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in completeness, one must follow the prescriptions given by Kṛṣṇa by following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. It is said, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] bhakti means to engage the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Kṛṣṇa, who is called Hṛṣīkeśa or Acyuta. These words are used in these verses. Acyuta-sat-kathodaye, hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane. The words Acyuta and Hṛṣīkeśa are also used in Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is kṛṣṇa-kathā spoken directly by Kṛṣṇa, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also kṛṣṇa-kathā because everything described in the Bhāgavatam is in relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
SB9.4.21 TEXT 21 evaṁ sadā karma-kalāpam ātmanaḥ pare ’dhiyajñe bhagavaty adhokṣaje sarvātma-bhāvaṁ vidadhan mahīm imāṁ tan-niṣṭha-viprābhihitaḥ śaśāsa ha SYNONYMS evam—thus (living a devotional life); sadā—always; karma-kalāpam—the prescribed occupational duties as a kṣatriya king; ātmanaḥ—of himself, personally (the head of the state); pare—unto the supreme transcendence; adhiyajñe—unto the supreme proprietor, the supreme enjoyer; bhagavati—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adhokṣaje—unto He who is beyond material sense perception; sarva-ātma-bhāvam—all different varieties of devotional service; vidadhat—executing, offering; mahīm—the planet earth; imām—this; tat-niṣṭha—who are faithful devotees of the Lord; vipra—by such brāhmaṇas; abhihitaḥ—directed; śaśāsa—ruled; ha—in the past.
TRANSLATION In performing his prescribed duties as king, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always offered the results of his royal activities to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is the enjoyer of everything and is beyond the perception of material senses. He certainly took advice from brāhmaṇas who were faithful devotees of the Lord, and thus he ruled the planet earth without difficulty. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29):
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ People are very much anxious to live in peace and prosperity in this material world, and here in Bhagavad-gītā the peace formula is given personally by the Supreme Personality of Godhead: everyone should understand that Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the ultimate proprietor of all the planets and is therefore the enjoyer of all activities, political, social, cultural, religious, economic and so on. The Lord has given perfect advice in Bhagavad-gītā, and Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, as the ideal executive head, ruled the entire world as a Vaiṣṇava, taking advice from Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇas. The śāstras enjoin that even though a brāhmaṇa may be well versed in the occupational brahminical duties and may be very learned in Vedic knowledge, he cannot give advice as a guru until he is a Vaiṣṇava.
ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro Therefore, as indicated here by the words tan-niṣṭha-viprābhihitaḥ, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa took advice from brāhmaṇas who were pure devotees of the Lord, for ordinary brāhmaṇas who are merely learned scholars or experts in performing ritualistic ceremonies are not competent to give advice.
In modern times, there are legislative assemblies whose members are authorized to make laws for the welfare of the state, but according to this description of the kingdom of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, the country or the world should be ruled by a chief executive whose advisors are all devotee brāhmaṇas. Such advisors or members of the legislative assembly should not be professional politicians, nor should they be selected by the ignorant public. Rather, they should be appointed by the king. When the king, the executive head of the state, is a devotee and he follows the instructions of devotee brāhmaṇas in ruling the country, everyone will be peaceful and prosperous. When the king and his advisors are perfect devotees, nothing can be wrong in the state. All the citizens should become devotees of the Lord, and then their good character will automatically follow.
yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā “One who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only material qualifications that are of little value. This is because he is hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring material energy.” (Bhāg. 5.18.12) Citizens under the guidance of a Kṛṣṇa conscious king will become devotees, and then there will be no need to enact new laws every day to reform the way of life in the state. If the citizens are trained to become devotees, they will automatically become peaceful and honest, and if they are guided by a devoted king advised by devotees, the state will not be in the material world but in the spiritual world. All the states of the world should therefore follow the ideal of the rule or administration of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, as described here.
SB9.4.22 TEXT 22 īje ’śvamedhair adhiyajñam īśvaraṁ mahā-vibhūtyopacitāṅga-dakṣiṇaiḥ tatair vasiṣṭhāsita-gautamādibhir dhanvany abhisrotam asau sarasvatīm SYNONYMS īje—worshiped; aśvamedhaiḥ—by performing the horse sacrifice yajñas; adhiyajñam—to satisfy the master of all yajñas; īśvaram—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; mahā-vibhūtyā—with great opulence; upacita-aṅga-dakṣiṇaiḥ—with all prescribed paraphernalia and contributions of dakṣiṇā to the brāhmaṇas; tataiḥ—executed; vasiṣṭha-asita-gautama-ādibhiḥ—by such brāhmaṇas as Vasiṣṭha, Asita and Gautama; dhanvani—in the desert; abhisrotam—inundated by the water of the river; asau—Mahārāja Ambarīṣa; sarasvatīm—on the bank of the Sarasvatī.
TRANSLATION In desert countries where there flowed the River Sarasvatī, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa performed great sacrifices like the aśvamedha-yajña and thus satisfied the master of all yajñas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such sacrifices were performed with great opulence and suitable paraphernalia and with contributions of dakṣiṇā to the brāhmaṇas, who were supervised by great personalities like Vasiṣṭha, Asita and Gautama, representing the king, the performer of the sacrifices. PURPORT When one performs ritualistic sacrifices as prescribed in the Vedas, one needs expert brāhmaṇas known as yājñika-brāhmaṇas. In Kali-yuga, however, there is a scarcity of such brāhmaṇas. Therefore in Kali-yuga the sacrifice recommended in śāstra is saṅkīrtana-yajña (yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ [SB 11.5.32]). Instead of spending money unnecessarily on performing yajñas impossible to perform in this age of Kali because of the scarcity of yājñika-brāhmaṇas, one who is intelligent performs saṅkīrtana-yajña. Without properly performed yajñas to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there will be scarcity of rain (yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ [Bg. 3.14]). Therefore the performance of yajña is essential. Without yajña there will be a scarcity of rain, and because of this scarcity, no food grains will be produced, and there will be famines. It is the duty of the king, therefore, to perform different types of yajñas, such as the aśvamedha-yajña, to maintain the production of food grains. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni. Without food grains, both men and animals will starve. Therefore yajña is necessary for the state to perform because by yajña the people in general will be fed sumptuously. The brāhmaṇas and yājñika priests should be sufficiently paid for their expert service. This payment is called dakṣiṇā. Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, as the head of the state, performed all these yajñas through great personalities like Vasiṣṭha, Gautama and Asita. Personally, however, he was engaged in devotional service, as mentioned before (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ). The king or head of state must see that things go on well under proper guidance, and he must be an ideal devotee, as exemplified by Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. It is the duty of the king to see that food grains are produced even in desert countries, what to speak of elsewhere.
THIS WEB PAGE URL: http://causelessmercy.com/SB9.4.htm
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ
avaiṣṇavo gurur na syād
vaiṣṇavaḥ śva-paco guruḥ
sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā
manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ