Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter One
King Sudyumna Becomes a Woman
SB9.1Summary
This chapter describes how Sudyumna became a woman and how the dynasty of Vaivasvata Manu was amalgamated with the Soma-vaṁśa, the dynasty coming from the moon.
By the desire of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī told about the dynasty of Vaivasvata Manu, who was formerly King Satyavrata, the ruler of Draviḍa. While describing this dynasty, he also described how the Supreme Personality of Godhead, while lying down in the waters of devastation, gave birth to Lord Brahmā from a lotus generated from His navel. From the mind of Lord Brahmā, Marīci was generated, and his son was Kaśyapa. From Kaśyapa, through Aditi, Vivasvān was generated, and from Vivasvān came Śrāddhadeva Manu, who was born from the womb of Saṁjñā. Śrāddhadeva’s wife, Śraddhā, gave birth to ten sons, such as Ikṣvāku and Nṛga.
Śrāddhadeva, or Vaivasvata Manu, the father of Mahārāja Ikṣvāku, was sonless before Ikṣvāku’s birth, but by the grace of the great sage Vasiṣṭha he performed a yajña to satisfy Mitra and Varuṇa. Then, although Vaivasvata Manu wanted a son, by the desire of his wife he got a daughter named Ilā. Manu, however, was not satisfied with the daughter. Consequently, for Manu’s satisfaction, the great sage Vasiṣṭha prayed for Ilā to be transformed into a boy, and his prayer was fulfilled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus Ilā became a beautiful young man named Sudyumna.
Once upon a time, Sudyumna went on tour with his ministers. At the foot of the mountain Sumeru there is a forest named Sukumāra, and as soon as they entered that forest, they were all transformed into women. When Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī about the reason for this transformation, Śukadeva Gosvāmī described how Sudyumna, being transformed into a woman, accepted Budha, the son of the moon, as her husband and had a son named Purūravā. By the grace of Lord Śiva, Sudyumna received the benediction that he would live one month as a woman and one month as a man. Thus he regained his kingdom and had three sons, named Utkala, Gaya and Vimala, who were all very religious. Thereafter, he entrusted his kingdom to Purūravā and took the order of vānaprastha life.
SB9.1.1 TEXT 1 śrī-rājovāca manvantarāṇi sarvāṇi tvayoktāni śrutāni me vīryāṇy ananta-vīryasya hares tatra kṛtāni ca SYNONYMS śrī-rājā uvāca—King Parīkṣit said; manvantarāṇi—all about the periods of the various Manus; sarvāṇi—all of them; tvayā—by you; uktāni—have been described; śrutāni—have been listened to; me—by me; vīryāṇi—wonderful activities; ananta-vīryasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has unlimited potency; hareḥ—of the Supreme Lord, Hari; tatra—in those manvantara periods; kṛtāni—which have been performed; ca—also.
TRANSLATION King Parīkṣit said: My lord, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, you have elaborately described all the periods of the various Manus and, within those periods, the wonderful activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has unlimited potency. I am fortunate to have heard all of this from you. SB9.1.2-3 TEXTS 2–3 yo ’sau satyavrato nāma rājarṣir draviḍeśvaraḥ jñānaṁ yo ’tīta-kalpānte lebhe puruṣa-sevayā sa vai vivasvataḥ putro manur āsīd iti śrutam tvattas tasya sutāḥ proktā ikṣvāku-pramukhā nṛpāḥ SYNONYMS yaḥ asau—he who was known; satyavrataḥ—Satyavrata; nāma—by the name; rāja-ṛṣiḥ—the saintly king; draviḍa-īśvaraḥ—the ruler of the Draviḍa countries; jñānam—knowledge; yaḥ—one who; atīta-kalpa-ante—at the end of the period of the last Manu, or at the end of the last millennium; lebhe—received; puruṣa-sevayā—by rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; saḥ—he; vai—indeed; vivasvataḥ—of Vivasvān; putraḥ—son; manuḥ āsīt—became the Vaivasvata Manu; iti—thus; śrutam—I have already heard; tvattaḥ—from you; tasya—his; sutāḥ—sons; proktāḥ—have been explained; ikṣvāku-pramukhāḥ—headed by Ikṣvāku; nṛpāḥ—many kings.
TRANSLATION Satyavrata, the saintly king of Draviḍadeśa who received spiritual knowledge at the end of the last millennium by the grace of the Supreme, later became Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Vivasvān, in the next manvantara [period of Manu]. I have received this knowledge from you. I also understand that such kings as Ikṣvāku were his sons, as you have already explained. SB9.1.4 TEXT 4 teṣāṁ vaṁśaṁ pṛthag brahman vaṁśānucaritāni ca kīrtayasva mahā-bhāga nityaṁ śuśrūṣatāṁ hi naḥ SYNONYMS teṣām—of all those kings; vaṁśam—the dynasties; pṛthak—separately; brahman—O great brāhmaṇa (Śukadeva Gosvāmī); vaṁśa-anucaritāni ca—and their dynasties and characteristics; kīrtayasva—kindly describe; mahā-bhāga—O greatly fortunate one; nityam—eternally; śuśrūṣatām—who are engaged in your service; hi—indeed; naḥ—of ourselves.
TRANSLATION O greatly fortunate Śukadeva Gosvāmī, O great brāhmaṇa, kindly describe to us separately the dynasties and characteristics of all those kings, for we are always eager to hear such topics from you. SB9.1.5 TEXT 5 ye bhūtā ye bhaviṣyāś ca bhavanty adyatanāś ca ye teṣāṁ naḥ puṇya-kīrtīnāṁ sarveṣāṁ vada vikramān SYNONYMS ye—all of whom; bhūtāḥ—have already appeared; ye—all of whom; bhaviṣyāḥ—will appear in the future; ca—also; bhavanti—are existing; adyatanāḥ—at present; ca—also; ye—all of whom; teṣām—of all of them; naḥ—unto us; puṇya-kīrtīnām—who were all pious and celebrated; sarveṣām—of all of them; vada—kindly explain; vikramān—about the abilities.
TRANSLATION Kindly tell us about the abilities of all the celebrated kings born in the dynasty of Vaivasvata Manu, including those who have already passed, those who may appear in the future, and those who exist at present. SB9.1.6 TEXT 6 śrī-sūta uvāca evaṁ parīkṣitā rājñā sadasi brahma-vādinām pṛṣṭaḥ provāca bhagavāñ chukaḥ parama-dharma-vit SYNONYMS śrī-sūtaḥ uvāca—Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said; evam—in this way; parīkṣitā—by Mahārāja Parīkṣit; rājñā—by the King; sadasi—in the assembly; brahma-vādinām—of all the great saintly experts in Vedic knowledge; pṛṣṭaḥ—having been asked; provāca—answered; bhagavān—the most powerful; śukaḥ—Śuka Gosvāmī; parama-dharma-vit—the most learned scholar in religious principles.
TRANSLATION Sūta Gosvāmī said: When Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the greatest knower of religious principles, was thus requested by Mahārāja Parīkṣit in the assembly of all the scholars learned in Vedic knowledge, he then proceeded to speak. SB9.1.7 TEXT 7 śrī-śuka uvāca śrūyatāṁ mānavo vaṁśaḥ prācuryeṇa parantapa na śakyate vistarato vaktuṁ varṣa-śatair api SYNONYMS śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; śrūyatām—just hear from me; mānavaḥ vaṁśaḥ—the dynasty of Manu; prācuryeṇa—as expansive as possible; parantapa—O King, who can subdue your enemies; na—not; śakyate—one is able; vistarataḥ—very broadly; vaktum—to speak; varṣa-śataiḥ api—even if he does so for hundreds of years.
TRANSLATION Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: O King, subduer of your enemies, now hear from me in great detail about the dynasty of Manu. I shall explain as much as possible, although one could not say everything about it, even in hundreds of years. SB9.1.8 TEXT 8 parāvareṣāṁ bhūtānām ātmā yaḥ puruṣaḥ paraḥ sa evāsīd idaṁ viśvaṁ kalpānte ’nyan na kiñcana SYNONYMS para-avareṣām—of all living entities, in higher or lower statuses of life; bhūtānām—of those who have taken material bodies (the conditioned souls); ātmā—the Supersoul; yaḥ—one who is; puruṣaḥ—the Supreme Person; paraḥ—transcendental; saḥ—He; eva—indeed; āsīt—was existing; idam—this; viśvam—universe; kalpa-ante—at the end of the millennium; anyat—anything else; na—not; kiñcana—anything whatsoever.
TRANSLATION The transcendental Supreme Person, the Supersoul of all living entities, who are in different statuses of life, high and low, existed at the end of the millennium, when neither this manifested cosmos nor anything else but Him existed. PURPORT Taking the proper position from which to describe the dynasty of Manu, Śukadeva Gosvāmī begins by saying that when the entire world is inundated, only the Supreme Personality of Godhead exists, and nothing else. Śukadeva Gosvāmī will now describe how the Lord creates other things, one after another.
SB9.1.9 TEXT 9 tasya nābheḥ samabhavat padma-koṣo hiraṇmayaḥ tasmiñ jajñe mahārāja svayambhūś catur-ānanaḥ SYNONYMS tasya—of Him (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); nābheḥ—from the navel; samabhavat—generated; padma-koṣaḥ—a lotus; hiraṇmayaḥ—known as Hiraṇmaya, or golden; tasmin—on that golden lotus; jajñe—appeared; mahārāja—O King; svayambhūḥ—one who is self-manifested, who takes birth without a mother; catuḥ-ānanaḥ—with four heads.
TRANSLATION O King Parīkṣit, from the navel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead was generated a golden lotus, on which the four-faced Lord Brahmā took his birth. SB9.1.10 TEXT 10 marīcir manasas tasya jajñe tasyāpi kaśyapaḥ dākṣāyaṇyāṁ tato ’dityāṁ vivasvān abhavat sutaḥ SYNONYMS marīciḥ—the great saintly person known as Marīci; manasaḥ tasya—from the mind of Lord Brahmā; jajñe—took birth; tasya api—from Marīci; kaśyapaḥ—Kaśyapa (took birth); dākṣāyaṇyām—in the womb of the daughter of Mahārāja Dakṣa; tataḥ—thereafter; adityām—in the womb of Aditi; vivasvān—Vivasvān; abhavat—took birth; sutaḥ—a son.
TRANSLATION From the mind of Lord Brahmā, Marīci took birth, and from the semen of Marīci, Kaśyapa appeared from the womb of the daughter of Dakṣa Mahārāja. From Kaśyapa, by the womb of Aditi, Vivasvān took birth. SB9.1.11-12 TEXTS 11–12 tato manuḥ śrāddhadevaḥ saṁjñāyām āsa bhārata śraddhāyāṁ janayām āsa daśa putrān sa ātmavān ikṣvāku-nṛga-śaryāti- diṣṭa-dhṛṣṭa-karūṣakān nariṣyantaṁ pṛṣadhraṁ ca nabhagaṁ ca kaviṁ vibhuḥ SYNONYMS tataḥ—from Vivasvān; manuḥ śrāddhadevaḥ—the Manu named Śrāddhadeva; saṁjñāyām—in the womb of Saṁjñā (the wife of Vivasvān); āsa—was born; bhārata—O best of the Bhārata dynasty; śraddhāyām—in the womb of Śraddhā (the wife of Śrāddhadeva); janayām āsa—begot; daśa—ten; putrān—sons; saḥ—that Śrāddhadeva; ātmavān—having conquered his senses; ikṣvāku-nṛga-śaryāti-diṣṭa-dhṛṣṭa-karūṣakān—named Ikṣvāku, Nṛga, Śaryāti, Diṣṭa, Dhṛṣṭa and Karūṣaka; nariṣyantam—Nariṣyanta; pṛṣadhram ca—and Pṛṣadhra; nabhagam ca—and Nabhaga; kavim—Kavi; vibhuḥ—the great.
TRANSLATION O King, best of the Bhārata dynasty, from Vivasvān, by the womb of Saṁjñā, Śrāddhadeva Manu was born. Śrāddhadeva Manu, having conquered his senses, begot ten sons in the womb of his wife, Śraddhā. The names of these sons were Ikṣvāku, Nṛga, Śaryāti, Diṣṭa, Dhṛṣṭa, Karūṣaka, Nariṣyanta, Pṛṣadhra, Nabhaga and Kavi. SB9.1.13 TEXT 13 aprajasya manoḥ pūrvaṁ vasiṣṭho bhagavān kila mitrā-varuṇayor iṣṭiṁ prajārtham akarod vibhuḥ SYNONYMS aprajasya—of he who had no son; manoḥ—of Manu; pūrvam—formerly; vasiṣṭhaḥ—the great saint Vasiṣṭha; bhagavān—powerful; kila—indeed; mitrā-varuṇayoḥ—of the demigods named Mitra and Varuṇa; iṣṭim—a sacrifice; prajā-artham—for the sake of getting sons; akarot—executed; vibhuḥ—the great person.
TRANSLATION Manu at first had no sons. Therefore, in order to get a son for him, the great saint Vasiṣṭha, who was very powerful in spiritual knowledge, performed a sacrifice to satisfy the demigods Mitra and Varuṇa. SB9.1.14 TEXT 14 tatra śraddhā manoḥ patnī hotāraṁ samayācata duhitrartham upāgamya praṇipatya payovratā SYNONYMS tatra—in that sacrifice; śraddhā—Śraddhā; manoḥ—of Manu; patnī—the wife; hotāram—to the priest performing the yajña; samayācata—begged properly; duhitṛ-artham—for a daughter; upāgamya—coming near; praṇipatya—offering obeisances; payaḥ-vratā—who was observing the vow of drinking only milk.
TRANSLATION During that sacrifice, Śraddhā, Manu’s wife, who was observing the vow of subsisting only by drinking milk, approached the priest offering the sacrifice, offered obeisances to him and begged for a daughter. SB9.1.15 TEXT 15 preṣito ’dhvaryuṇā hotā vyacarat tat samāhitaḥ gṛhīte haviṣi vācā vaṣaṭ-kāraṁ gṛṇan dvijaḥ SYNONYMS preṣitaḥ—being told to execute the sacrifice; adhvaryuṇā—by the ṛtvik priest; hotā—the priest in charge of offering oblations; vyacarat—executed; tat—that (sacrifice); samāhitaḥ—with great attention; gṛhīte haviṣi—upon taking the clarified butter for the first oblation; vācā—by chanting the mantra; vaṣaṭ-kāram—the mantra beginning with the word vaṣaṭ; gṛṇan—reciting; dvijaḥ—the brāhmaṇa.
TRANSLATION Told by the chief priest “Now offer oblations,” the person in charge of oblations took clarified butter to offer. He then remembered the request of Manu’s wife and performed the sacrifice while chanting the word “vaṣaṭ.” SB9.1.16 TEXT 16 hotus tad-vyabhicāreṇa kanyelā nāma sābhavat tāṁ vilokya manuḥ prāha nātituṣṭamanā gurum SYNONYMS hotuḥ—of the priest; tat—of the yajña; vyabhicāreṇa—by that transgression; kanyā—a daughter; ilā—Ilā; nāma—by the name; sā—that daughter; abhavat—was born; tām—unto her; vilokya—seeing; manuḥ—Manu; prāha—said; na—not; atituṣṭamanāḥ—very much satisfied; gurum—unto his guru.
TRANSLATION Manu had begun that sacrifice for the sake of getting a son, but because the priest was diverted by the request of Manu’s wife, a daughter named Ilā was born. Upon seeing the daughter, Manu was not very satisfied. Thus he spoke to his guru, Vasiṣṭha, as follows. PURPORT Because Manu had no issue, he was pleased at the birth of the child, even though a daughter, and gave her the name Ilā. Later, however, he was not very satisfied to see the daughter instead of a son. Because he had no issue, he was certainly very glad at the birth of Ilā, but his pleasure was temporary.
SB9.1.17 TEXT 17 bhagavan kim idaṁ jātaṁ karma vo brahma-vādinām viparyayam aho kaṣṭaṁ maivaṁ syād brahma-vikriyā SYNONYMS bhagavan—O my lord; kim idam—what is this; jātam—born; karma—fruitive activities; vaḥ—of all of you; brahma-vādinām—of you, who are expert in chanting the Vedic mantras; viparyayam—deviation; aho—alas; kaṣṭam—painful; mā evam syāt—thus it should not have been; brahma-vikriyā—this opposite action of the Vedic mantras.
TRANSLATION My lord, all of you are expert in chanting the Vedic mantras. How then has the result been opposite to the one desired? This is a matter for lamentation. There should not have been such a reversal of the results of the Vedic mantras. PURPORT In this age, the performance of yajña has been forbidden because no one can properly chant the Vedic mantras. If Vedic mantras are chanted properly, the desire for which a sacrifice is performed must be successful. Therefore the Hare Kṛṣṇa chant is called the mahā-mantra, the great, exalted mantra above all other Vedic mantras, because simply chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra brings so many beneficial effects. As explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (Śikṣāṣṭaka 1):
ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ “Glory to the Śrī Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This saṅkīrtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.”
Therefore, the best performance of yajña given to us is the saṅkīrtana-yajña. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ (Bhāg. 11.5.32). Those who are intelligent take advantage of the greatest yajña in this age by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in congregation. When the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is chanted by many men together, the chanting is called saṅkīrtana, and as a result of such a yajña there will be clouds in the sky (yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ [Bg. 3.14]). In these days of drought, people can gain relief from scarcity of rain and food by the simple method of the Hare Kṛṣṇa yajña. Indeed, this can relieve all of human society. At present there are droughts throughout Europe and America, and people are suffering, but if people take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously, if they stop their sinful activities and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, all their problems will be solved without difficulty. In other processes of yajña there are difficulties because there are no learned scholars who can chant the mantras perfectly well, nor is it possible to secure the ingredients to perform the yajña. Because human society is poverty-stricken and men are devoid of Vedic knowledge and the power to chant the Vedic mantras, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the only shelter. people should be intelligent enough to chant it. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ [SB 11.5.32]. Those whose brains are dull cannot understand this chanting, nor can they take to it.
SB9.1.18 TEXT 18 yūyaṁ brahma-vido yuktās tapasā dagdha-kilbiṣāḥ kutaḥ saṅkalpa-vaiṣamyam anṛtaṁ vibudheṣv iva SYNONYMS yūyam—of all you; brahma-vidaḥ—completely in awareness of the Absolute Truth; yuktāḥ—self-controlled and well balanced; tapasā—by dint of austerity and penances; dagdha-kilbiṣāḥ—all kinds of material contamination having been burnt out; kutaḥ—then how; saṅkalpa-vaiṣamyam—discrepancy in the matter of determination; anṛtam—false promise, false statement; vibudheṣu—in the society of the demigods; iva—or.
TRANSLATION You are all self-controlled, well balanced in mind, and aware of the Absolute Truth. And because of austerities and penances you are completely cleansed of all material contamination. Your words, like those of the demigods, are never baffled. Then how is it possible that your determination has failed? PURPORT We have learned from many Vedic literatures that a benediction or curse given by the demigods never proves false. By performing austerities and penances, by controlling the senses and mind, and by achieving full knowledge of the Absolute Truth, one is fully cleansed of material contamination. Then one’s words and blessings, like those of the demigods, are never a failure.
SB9.1.19 TEXT 19 niśamya tad vacas tasya bhagavān prapitāmahaḥ hotur vyatikramaṁ jñātvā babhāṣe ravi-nandanam SYNONYMS niśamya—after hearing; tat vacaḥ—those words; tasya—of him (Manu); bhagavān—the most powerful; prapitāmahaḥ—the great-grandfather Vasiṣṭha; hotuḥ vyatikramam—discrepancy on the part of the hotā priest; jñātvā—understanding; babhāṣe—spoke; ravi-nandanam—unto Vaivasvata Manu, son of the sun-god.
TRANSLATION The most powerful great-grandfather Vasiṣṭha, after hearing these words of Manu, understood the discrepancy on the part of the priest. Thus he spoke as follows to the son of the sun-god. SB9.1.20 TEXT 20 etat saṅkalpa-vaiṣamyaṁ hotus te vyabhicārataḥ tathāpi sādhayiṣye te suprajāstvaṁ sva-tejasā SYNONYMS etat—this; saṅkalpa-vaiṣamyam—discrepancy in the objective; hotuḥ—of the priest; te—your; vyabhicārataḥ—from deviating from the prescribed purpose; tathā api—still; sādhayiṣye—I shall execute; te—for you; su-prajāstvam—a very nice son; sva-tejasā—by my own prowess.
TRANSLATION This discrepancy in the objective is due to your priest’s deviation from the original purpose. However, by my own prowess I shall give you a good son. SB9.1.21 TEXT 21 evaṁ vyavasito rājan bhagavān sa mahā-yaśāḥ astauṣīd ādi-puruṣam ilāyāḥ puṁstva-kāmyayā SYNONYMS evam—thus; vyavasitaḥ—deciding; rājan—O King Parīkṣit; bhagavān—the most powerful; saḥ—Vasiṣṭha; mahā-yaśāḥ—very famous; astauṣīt—offered prayers; ādi-puruṣam—unto the Supreme Person, Lord Viṣṇu; ilāyāḥ—of Ilā; puṁstva-kāmyayā—for the transformation into a male.
TRANSLATION Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King Parīkṣit, after the most famous and powerful Vasiṣṭha made this decision, he offered prayers to the Supreme Person, Viṣṇu, to transform Ilā into a male. THIS WEB PAGE URL: http://causelessmercy.com/SB9.htm
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