Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 1: “Creation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Fifteen

SB1.15.13

TEXT 13

tatraiva me viharato bhuja-danda-yugmam

gandiva-laksanam arati-vadhaya devah

sendrah srita yad-anubhavitam ajamidha

tenaham adya musitah purusena bhumna

SYNONYMS

tatra—in that heavenly planet; eva—certainly; me—myself; viharatah—while staying as a guest; bhuja-danda-yugmam—both of my arms; gandiva—the bow named Gandiva; laksanam—mark; arati—a demon named Nivatakavaca; vadhaya—for killing; devah—all the demigods; sa—along with; indrah—the heavenly King, Indra; sritah—taken shelter of; yat—by whose; anubhavitam—made it possible to be powerful; ajamidha—O descendant of King Ajamidha; tena—by Him; aham—myself; adya—at the present moment; musitah—bereft of; purusena—the personality; bhumna—supreme.

TRANSLATION

When I stayed for some days as a guest in the heavenly planets, all the heavenly demigods, including King Indradeva, took shelter of my arms, which were marked with the Gandiva bow, to kill the demon named Nivatakavaca. O King, descendant of Ajamidha, at the present moment I am bereft of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whose influence I was so powerful.

PURPORT

The heavenly demigods are certainly more intelligent, powerful and beautiful, and yet they had to take help from Arjuna because of his Gandiva bow, which was empowered by the grace of Lord Sri Krsna. The Lord is all-powerful, and by His grace His pure devotee can be as powerful as He may desire, and there is no limit to it. And when the Lord withdraws His power from anyone, he is powerless by the will of the Lord.

SB1.15.14

TEXT 14

yad-bandhavah kuru-balabdhim ananta-param

eko rathena tatare ’ham atirya-sattvam

pratyahrtam bahu dhanam ca maya paresam

tejas-padam manimayam ca hrtam sirobhyah

SYNONYMS

yat-bandhavah—by whose friendship only; kuru-bala-abdhim—the ocean of the military strength of the Kurus; ananta-param—which was insurmountable; ekah—alone; rathena—being seated on the chariot; tatare—was able to cross over; aham—myself; atirya—invincible; sattvam—existence; pratyahrtam—drew back; bahu—very large quantity; dhanam—wealth; ca—also; maya—by my; paresam—of the enemy; tejah-padam—source of brilliance; mani-mayam—bedecked with jewels; ca—also; hrtam—taken by force; sirobhyah—from their heads.

TRANSLATION

The military strength of the Kauravas was like an ocean in which there dwelled many invincible existences, and thus it was insurmountable. But because of His friendship, I, seated on the chariot, was able to cross over it. And only by His grace was I able to regain the cows and also collect by force many helmets of the kings which were bedecked with jewels that were sources of all brilliance.

PURPORT

On the Kaurava side there were many stalwart commanders like Bhisma, Drona, Krpa and Karna, and their military strength was as insurmountable as the great ocean. And yet it was due to Lord Krsna’s grace that Arjuna alone, sitting on the chariot, could manage to vanquish them one after another without difficulty. There were many changes of commanders on the other side, but on the Pandavas’ side Arjuna alone on the chariot driven by Lord Krsna could manage the whole responsibility of the great war. Similarly, when the Pandavas were living at the palace of Virata incognito, the Kauravas picked a quarrel with King Virata and decided to take away his large number of cows. While they were taking away the cows, Arjuna fought with them incognito and was able to regain the cows along with some booty taken by force—the jewels set on the turbans of the royal order. Arjuna remembered that all this was possible by the grace of the Lord.

SB1.15.15

TEXT 15

yo bhisma-karna-guru-salya-camusv adabhra-

rajanya-varya-ratha-mandala-manditasu

agrecaro mama vibho ratha-yuthapanam

ayur manamsi ca drsa saha oja arcchat

SYNONYMS

yah—it is He only; bhisma—Bhisma; karna—Karna; guru—Dronacarya; salya—Salya; camusu—in the midst of the military phalanx; adabhra—immense; rajanya-varya—great royal princes; ratha-mandala—chain of chariots; manditasu—being decorated with; agrecarah—going forward; mama—of mine; vibho—O great King; ratha-yutha-panam—all the charioteers; ayuh—duration of life or fruitive activities; manamsi—mental upsurges; ca—also; drsa—by glance; sahah—power; ojah—strength; arcchat—withdrew.

TRANSLATION

It was He only who withdrew the duration of life from everyone and who, in the battlefield, withdrew the speculative power and strength of enthusiasm from the great military phalanx made by the Kauravas, headed by Bhisma, Karna, Drona, Salya, etc. Their arrangement was expert and more than adequate, but He [Lord Sri Krsna], while going forward, did all this.

PURPORT

The Absolute Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, expands Himself by His plenary Paramatma portion in everyone s heart, and thus He directs everyone in the matter of recollection, forgetfulness, knowledge, the absence of intelligence and all psychological activities (Bg. 15.15). As the Supreme Lord, He can increase or decrease the duration of life of a living being. Thus the Lord conducted the Battle of Kuruksetra according to His own plan. He wanted that battle to establish Yudhisthira as the Emperor of this planet, and to facilitate this transcendental business He killed all who were on the opposite party by His omnipotent will. The other party was equipped with all military strength supported by big generals like Bhisma, Drona and Salya and it would have been physically impossible for Arjuna to win the battle had the Lord not helped him by every kind of tactic. Such tactics are generally followed by every statesman, even in modern warfare, but they are all done materially by powerful espionages, military tactics and diplomatic maneuvers. But because Arjuna was the Lord’s affectionate devotee, the Lord did all this Himself without personal anxiety by Arjuna. That is the way of the devotional service to the Lord.

SB1.15.16

TEXT 16

yad-dohsu ma pranihitam guru-bhisma-karna-

naptr-trigarta-salya-saindhava-bahlikadyaih

astrany amogha-mahimani nirupitani

nopasprsur nrhari-dasam ivasurani

SYNONYMS

yat—under whose; dohsu—protection of arms; ma pranihitam—myself being situated; guru—Dronacarya; bhisma—Bhisma; karna—Karna; naptr—Bhurisrava; trigarta—King Susarma; salya—Salya; saindhava—King Jayadratha; bahlika—brother of Maharaja Santanu (Bhisma’s father); adyaih—etc.; astrani—weapons; amogha—invincible; mahimani—very powerful; nirupitani—applied; na—not; upasprsuh—touched; nrhari-dasam—servitor of Nrsimhadeva (Prahlada); iva—like; asurani—weapons employed by the demons.

TRANSLATION

Great generals like Bhisma, Drona, Karna, Bhurisrava, Susarma, Salya, Jayadratha, and Bahlika all directed their invincible weapons against me. But by His [Lord Krsna’s] grace they could not even touch a hair on my head. Similarly, Prahlada Maharaja, the supreme devotee of Lord Nrsimhadeva, was unaffected by the weapons the demons used against him.

PURPORT

The history of Prahlada Maharaja, the great devotee of Nrsimhadeva, is narrated in the Seventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Prahlada Maharaja, a small child of only five years, became the object of envy for his great father, Hiranyakasipu, only because of his becoming a pure devotee of the Lord. The demon father employed all his weapons to kill the devotee son, Prahlada, but by the grace of the Lord he was saved from all sorts of dangerous actions by his father. He was thrown in a fire, in boiling oil, from the top of a hill, underneath the legs of an elephant, and he was administered poison. At last the father himself took up a chopper to kill his son, and thus Nrsimhadeva appeared and killed the heinous father in the presence of the son. Thus no one can kill the devotee of the Lord. Similarly, Arjuna was also saved by the Lord, although all dangerous weapons were employed by his great opponents like Bhisma.

Karna: Born of Kunti by the sun-god prior to her marriage with Maharaja Pandu, Karna took his birth with bangles and earrings, extraordinary signs for an undaunted hero. In the beginning his name was Vasusena, but when he grew up he presented his natural bangles and earrings to Indradeva, and thenceforward he became known as Vaikartana. After his birth from the maiden Kunti, he was thrown in the Ganges. Later he was picked up by Adhiratha, and he and his wife Radha brought him up as their own offspring. Karna was very charitable, especially toward the brahmanas. There was nothing he could not spare for a brahmana. In the same charitable spirit he gave in charity his natural bangles and earrings to Indradeva, who, being very much satisfied with him, gave him in return a great weapon called Sakti. He was admitted as one of the students of Dronacarya, and from the very beginning there was some rivalry between him and Arjuna. Seeing his constant rivalry with Arjuna, Duryodhana picked him up as his companion, and this gradually grew into greater intimacy. He was also present in the great assembly of Draupadi’s svayamvara function, and when he attempted to exhibit his talent in that meeting, Draupadi’s brother declared that Karna could not take part in the competition because of his being the son of a sudra carpenter. Although he was refused in the competition, still when Arjuna was successful in piercing the fish target on the ceiling and Draupadi bestowed her garland upon Arjuna, Karna and the other disappointed princes offered an unusual stumbling block to Arjuna while he was leaving with Draupadi. Specifically, Karna fought with him very valiantly, but all of them were defeated by Arjuna. Duryodhana was very much pleased with Karna because of his constant rivalry with Arjuna, and when he was in power he enthroned Karna in the state of Anga. Being baffled in his attempt to win Draupadi, Karna advised Duryodhana to attack King Drupada, for after defeating him both Arjuna and Draupadi could be arrested. But Dronacarya rebuked them for this conspiracy, and they refrained from the action. Karna was defeated many times, not only by Arjuna but also by Bhimasena. He was the king of the kingdom of Bengal, Orissa and Madras combined. Later on he took an active part in the Rajasuya sacrifice of Maharaja Yudhisthira, and when there was gambling between the rival brothers, designed by Sakuni, Karna took part in the game, and he was very pleased when Draupadi was offered as a bet in the gambling. This fed his old grudge. When Draupadi was in the game he was very enthusiastic to declare the news, and it is he who ordered Duhsasana to take away the garments of both the Pandavas and Draupadi. He asked Draupadi to select another husband because, being lost by the Pandavas, she was rendered a slave of the Kurus. He was always an enemy of the Pandavas, and whenever there was an opportunity, he tried to curb them by all means. During the Battle of Kuruksetra, he foresaw the conclusive result, and he expressed his opinion that due to Lord Krsna’s being the chariot driver of Arjuna, the battle should be won by Arjuna. He always differed with Bhisma, and sometimes he was proud enough to say that within five days he could finish up the Pandavas, if Bhisma would not interfere with his plan of action. But he was much mortified when Bhisma died. He killed Ghatotkaca with the Sakti weapon obtained from Indradeva. His son, Vrsasena, was killed by Arjuna. He killed the largest number of Pandava soldiers. At last there was a severe fight with Arjuna, and it was he only who was able to knock off the helmet of Arjuna. But it so happened that the wheel of his chariot stuck in the battlefield mud, and when he got down to set the wheel right, Arjuna took the opportunity and killed him, although he requested Arjuna not to do so.

Napta, or Bhurisrava: Bhurisrava was the son of Somadatta, a member of the Kuru family. His other brother was Salya. Both the brothers and the father attended the svayamvara ceremony of Draupadi. All of them appreciated the wonderful strength of Arjuna due to his being the devotee friend of the Lord, and thus Bhurisrava advised the sons of Dhrtarastra not to pick any quarrel or fight with them. All of them also attended the Rajasuya yajna of Maharaja Yudhisthira. He possessed one aksauhini regiment of army, cavalry, elephants and chariots, and all these were employed in the Battle of Kuruksetra on behalf of Duryodhana’s party. He was counted by Bhima as one of the yutha-patis. In the Battle of Kuruksetra he was especially engaged in a fight with Satyaki, and he killed ten sons of Satyaki. Later on, Arjuna cut off his hands, and he was ultimately killed by Satyaki. After his death he merged into the existence of Visvadeva.

Trigarta, or Susarma: Son of Maharaja Vrddhaksetra, he was the King of Trigartadesa, and he was also present in the svayamvara ceremony of Draupadi. He was one of the allies of Duryodhana, and he advised Duryodhana to attack the Matsyadesa (Darbhanga). During the time of cow-stealing in Virata-nagara, he was able to arrest Maharaja Virata, but later Maharaja Virata was released by Bhima. In the Battle of Kuruksetra he also fought very valiantly, but at the end he was killed by Arjuna.

Jayadratha: Another son of Maharaja Vrddhaksetra. He was the King of Sindhudesa (modern Sind Pakistan). His wife’s name was Duhsala. He was also present in the svayamvara ceremony of Draupadi, and he desired very strongly to have her hand, but he failed in the competition. But since then he always sought the opportunity to get in touch with Draupadi. When he was going to marry in the Salyadesa, on the way to Kamyavana he happened to see Draupadi again and was too much attracted to her. The Pandavas and Draupadi were then in exile, after losing their empire in gambling, and Jayadratha thought it wise to send news to Draupadi in an illicit manner through Kotisasya, one of his associates. Draupadi at once refused vehemently the proposal of Jayadratha, but being so much attracted by the beauty of Draupadi, he tried again and again. Every time he was refused by Draupadi. He tried to take her away forcibly on his chariot, and at first Draupadi gave him a good dashing, and he fell like a cut-root tree. But he was not discouraged, and he was able to force Draupadi to sit on the chariot. This incident was seen by Dhaumya Muni, and he strongly protested the action of Jayadratha. He also followed the chariot, and through Dhatreyika the matter was brought to the notice of Maharaja Yudhisthira. The Pandavas then attacked the soldiers of Jayadratha and killed them all, and at last Bhima caught hold of Jayadratha and beat him very severely, almost dead. Then all but five hairs were cut off his head and he was taken to all the kings and introduced as the slave of Maharaja Yudhisthira. He was forced to admit himself to be the slave of Maharaja Yudhisthira before all the princely order, and in the same condition he was brought before Maharaja Yudhisthira. Maharaja Yudhisthira was kind enough to order him released, and when he admitted to being a tributary prince under Maharaja Yudhisthira, Queen Draupadi also desired his release. After this incident, he was allowed to return to his country. Being so insulted, he went to Gangatri in the Himalayas and undertook a severe type of penance to please Lord Siva. He asked his benediction to defeat all the Pandavas, at least one at a time. Then the Battle of Kuruksetra began, and he took sides with Duryodhana. In the first day’s fight he was engaged with Maharaja Drupada, then with Virata and then with Abhimanyu. While Abhimanyu was being killed, mercilessly surrounded by seven great generals, the Pandavas came to his help, but Jayadratha, by the mercy of Lord Siva, repulsed them with great ability. At this, Arjuna took a vow to kill him, and on hearing this, Jayadratha wanted to leave the warfield and asked permission from the Kauravas for this cowardly action. But he was not allowed to do so. On the contrary, he was obliged to fight with Arjuna, and while the fight was going on Lord Krsna reminded Arjuna that the benediction of Siva upon Jayadratha was that whoever would cause his head to fall on the ground would die at once. He therefore advised Arjuna to throw the head of Jayadratha directly onto the lap of his father, who was engaged in penances at the Samanta-pancaka pilgrimage. This was actually done by Arjuna. Jayadratha’s father was surprised to see a severed head on his lap, and he at once threw it to the ground. The father immediately died, his forehead being cracked in seven pieces.

SB1.15.17

TEXT 17

sautye vrtah kumatinatmada isvaro me

yat-pada-padmam abhavaya bhajanti bhavyah

mam sranta-vaham arayo rathino bhuvi-stham

na praharan yad-anubhava-nirasta-cittah

SYNONYMS

sautye—regarding a chariot driver; vrtah—engaged; kumatina—by bad consciousness; atma-dah—one who delivers; isvarah—the Supreme Lord; me—my; yat—whose; pada-padmam—lotus feet; abhavaya—in the matter of salvation; bhajanti—do render service; bhavyah—the intelligent class of men; mam—unto me; sranta—thirsty; vaham—my horses; arayah—the enemies; rathinah—a great general; bhuvi-stham—while standing on the ground; na—did not; praharan—attack; yat—whose; anubhava—mercy; nirasta—being absent; cittah—mind.

TRANSLATION

It was by His mercy only that my enemies neglected to kill me when I descended from my chariot to get water for my thirsty horses. And it was due to my lack of esteem for my Lord that I dared engage Him as my chariot driver, for He is worshiped and offered services by the best men to attain salvation.

PURPORT

The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna, is the object of worship both by impersonalists and by the devotees of the Lord. The impersonalists worship His glowing effulgence, emanating from His transcendental body of eternal form, bliss and knowledge, and the devotees worship Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who are below even the impersonalists consider Him to be one of the great historical personalities. The Lord, however, descends to attract all by His specific transcendental pastimes, and thus He plays the part of the most perfect master, friend, son and lover. His transcendental relation with Arjuna was in friendship, and the Lord therefore played the part perfectly, as He did with His parents, lovers and wives. While playing in such a perfect transcendental relation, the devotee forgets, by the internal potency of the Lord, that his friend or son is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although sometimes the devotee is bewildered by the acts of the Lord. After the departure of the Lord, Arjuna was conscious of his great friend, but there was no mistake on the part of Arjuna, nor any ill estimation of the Lord. Intelligent men are attracted by the transcendental acting of the Lord with a pure, unalloyed devotee like Arjuna.

In the warfield, scarcity of water is a well-known fact. Water is very rare there, and both the animals and men, working strenuously on the warfield, constantly require water to quench their thirst. Especially wounded soldiers and generals feel very thirsty at the time of death, and it sometimes so happens that simply for want of water one has to die unavoidably. But such scarcity of water was solved in the Battle of Kuruksetra by means of boring the ground. By God’s grace, water can be easily obtained from any place if there is facility for boring the ground. The modern system works on the same principle of boring the ground, but modern engineers are still unable to dig immediately wherever necessary. It appears, however, from the history as far back as the days of the Pandavas, that big generals like Arjuna could at once supply water even to the horses, and what to speak of men, by drawing water from underneath the hard ground simply by penetrating the stratum with a sharp arrow, a method still unknown to the modern scientists.

SB1.15.18

TEXT 18

narmany udara-rucira-smita-sobhitani

he partha he ’rjuna sakhe kuru-nandaneti

sanjalpitani nara-deva hrdi-sprsani

smartur luthanti hrdayam mama madhavasya

SYNONYMS

narmani—conversation in jokes; udara—talked very frankly; rucira—pleasing; smita-sobhitani—decorated with a smiling face; he—note of address; partha—O son of Prtha; he—note of address; arjuna—Arjuna; sakhe—friend; kuru-nandana—son of the Kuru dynasty; iti—and so on; sanjalpitani—such conversation; nara-deva—O King; hrdi—heart; sprsani—touching; smartuh—by remembering them; luthanti—overwhelms; hrdayam—heart and soul; mama—my; madhavasya—of Madhava (Krsna).

TRANSLATION

O King! His jokings and frank talks were pleasing and beautifully decorated with smiles. His addresses unto me as “O son of Prtha, O friend, O son of the Kuru dynasty,” and all such heartiness are now remembered by me, and thus I am overwhelmed.

SB1.15.19

TEXT 19

sayyasanatana-vikatthana-bhojanadisv

aikyad vayasya rtavan iti vipralabdhah

sakhyuh sakheva pitrvat tanayasya sarvam

sehe mahan mahitaya kumater agham me

SYNONYMS

sayya—sleeping on one bed; asana—sitting on one seat; atana—walking together; vikatthana—self-adoration; bhojana—dining together; adisu—and in all such dealings; aikyat—because of oneness; vayasya—O my friend; rtavan—truthful; iti—thus; vipralabdhah—misbehaved; sakhyuh—unto a friend; sakha iva—just like a friend; pitrvat—just like the father; tanayasya—of a child; sarvam—all; sehe—tolerated; mahan—great; mahitaya—by glories; kumateh—of one who is of low mentality; agham—offense; me—mine.

TRANSLATION

Generally both of us used to live together and sleep, sit and loiter together. And at the time of advertising oneself for acts of chivalry, sometimes, if there were any irregularity, I used to reproach Him by saying, “My friend, You are very truthful.” Even in those hours when His value was minimized, He, being the Supreme Soul, used to tolerate all those utterings of mine, excusing me exactly as a true friend excuses his true friend, or a father excuses his son.

PURPORT

Since the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna is all-perfect, His transcendental pastimes with His pure devotees never lack anything in any respect, either as a friend, son or lover. The Lord relishes the reproaches of friends, parents or fiancees more than the Vedic hymns offered to Him by great learned scholars and religionists in an official fashion.

SB1.15.20

TEXT 20

so ’ham nrpendra rahitah purusottamena

sakhya priyena suhrda hrdayena sunyah

adhvany urukrama-parigraham anga raksan

gopair asadbhir abaleva vinirjito ’smi

SYNONYMS

sah—that; aham—myself; nrpa-indra—O Emperor; rahitah—bereft of; purusa-uttamena—by the Supreme Lord; sakhya—by my friend; priyena—by my dearmost; suhrda—by the well-wisher; hrdayena—by the heart and soul; sunyah—vacant; adhvani—recently; urukrama-parigraham—the wives of the all-powerful; anga—bodies; raksan—while protecting; gopaih—by the cowherds; asadbhih—by the infidels; abala iva—like a weak woman; vinirjitah asmi—I have been defeated.

TRANSLATION

O Emperor, now I am separated from my friend and dearmost well-wisher, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore my heart appears to be void of everything. In His absence I have been defeated by a number of infidel cowherd men while I was guarding the bodies of all the wives of Krsna.

PURPORT

The important point in this verse is how it was possible that Arjuna could be defeated by a gang of ignoble cowherd men and how such mundane cowherd men could touch the bodies of the wives of Lord Krsna, who were under the protection of Arjuna. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has justified the contradiction by research in the Visnu Purana and Brahma Purana. In these Puranas it is said that once the fair denizens of heaven pleased Astavakra Muni by their service and were blessed by the muni to have the Supreme Lord as their husband. Astavakra Muni was curved in eight joints of his body, and thus he used to move in a peculiar curved manner. The daughters of the demigods could not check their laughter upon seeing the movements of the muni, and the muni, being angry at them, cursed them that they would be kidnapped by rogues, even if they would get the Lord as their husband. Later on, the girls again satisfied the muni by their prayers, and the muni blessed them that they would regain their husband even after being robbed by the rogues. So, in order to keep the words of the great muni, the Lord Himself kidnapped His wives from the protection of Arjuna, otherwise they would have at once vanished from the scene as soon as they were touched by the rogues. Besides that, some of the gopis who prayed to become wives of the Lord returned to their respective positions after their desire was fulfilled. After the departure of Lord Krsna, He wanted all His entourage back to Godhead, and they were called back under different conditions only.

SB1.15.21

TEXT 21

tad vai dhanus ta isavah sa ratho hayas te

so ’ham rathi nrpatayo yata anamanti

sarvam ksanena tad abhud asad isa-riktam

bhasman hutam kuhaka-raddham ivoptam usyam

SYNONYMS

tat—the same; vai—certainly; dhanuh te—the same bow; isavah—arrows; sah—the very same; rathah—chariot; hayah te—the very same horses; sah aham—I am the same Arjuna; rathi—the chariot-fighter; nrpatayah—all the kings; yatah—whom; anamanti—offered their respects; sarvam—all; ksanena—at a moment’s notice; tat—all those; abhut—became; asat—useless; isa—because of the Lord; riktam—being void; bhasman—ashes; hutam—offering butter; kuhaka-raddham—money created by magical feats; iva—like that; uptam—sown; usyam—in barren land.

TRANSLATION

I have the very same Gandiva bow, the same arrows, the same chariot drawn by the same horses, and I use them as the same Arjuna to whom all the kings offered their due respects. But in the absence of Lord Krsna, all of them, at a moment’s notice, have become null and void. It is exactly like offering clarified butter on ashes, accumulating money with a magic wand or sowing seeds on barren land.

PURPORT

As we have discussed more than once, one should not be puffed up by borrowed plumes. All energies and powers are derived from the supreme source, Lord Krsna, and they act as long as He desires and cease to function as soon as He withdraws. All electrical energies are received from the powerhouse, and as soon as the powerhouse stops supplying energy, the bulbs are of no use. In a moment’s time such energies can be generated or withdrawn by the supreme will of the Lord. Material civilization without the blessing of the Lord is child’s play only. As long as the parents allow the child to play, it is all right. As soon as the parents withdraw, the child has to stop. Human civilization and all activities thereof must be dovetailed with the supreme blessing of the Lord, and without this blessing all advancement of human civilization is like decoration on a dead body. It is said here that a dead civilization and its activities are something like clarified butter on ashes, the accumulation of money by a magic wand and the sowing of seeds in a barren land.

SB1.15.22-23

TEXTS 22–23

rajams tvayanuprstanam

suhrdam nah suhrt-pure

vipra-sapa-vimudhanam

nighnatam mustibhir mithah

varunim madiram pitva

madonmathita-cetasam

ajanatam ivanyonyam

catuh-pancavasesitah

SYNONYMS

rajan—O King; tvaya—by you; anuprstanam—as you inquired; suhrdam—of friends and relatives; nah—our; suhrt-pure—in the city of Dvaraka; vipra—the brahmanas; sapa—by the curse of; vimudhanam—of the befooled; nighnatam—of the killed; mustibhih—with bunches of sticks; mithah—among themselves; varunim—fermented rice; madiram—wine; pitva—having drunk; mada-unmathita—being intoxicated; cetasam—of that mental situation; ajanatam—of the unrecognized; iva—like; anyonyam—one another; catuh—four; panca—five; avasesitah—now remaining.

TRANSLATION

O King, since you have asked me about our friends and relatives in the city of Dvaraka, I will inform you that all of them were cursed by the brahmanas, and as a result they all became intoxicated with wine made of putrefied rice and fought among themselves with sticks, not even recognizing one another. Now all but four or five of them are dead and gone.

SB1.15.24

TEXT 24

prayenaitad bhagavata

isvarasya vicestitam

mitho nighnanti bhutani

bhavayanti ca yan mithah

SYNONYMS

prayena etat—it is almost by; bhagavatah—of the Personality of Godhead; isvarasya—of the Lord; vicestitam—by the will of; mithah—one another; nighnanti—do kill; bhutani—the living beings; bhavayanti—as also protect; ca—also; yat—of whom; mithah—one another.

TRANSLATION

Factually this is all due to the supreme will of the Lord, the Personality of Godhead. Sometimes people kill one another, and at other times they protect one another.

PURPORT

According to the anthropologists, there is nature’s law of struggle for existence and survival of the fittest. But they do not know that behind the law of nature is the supreme direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed that the law of nature is executed under the direction of the Lord. Whenever, therefore, there is peace in the world, it must be known that it is due to the good will of the Lord. And whenever there is upheaval in the world, it is also due to the supreme will of the Lord. Not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Lord. Whenever, therefore, there is disobedience of the established rules enacted by the Lord, there is war between men and nations. The surest way to the path of peace, therefore, is dovetailing everything to the established rule of the Lord. The established rule is that whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we sacrifice or whatever we give in charity must be done to the full satisfaction of the Lord. No one should do anything, eat anything, sacrifice anything or give anything in charity against the will of the Lord. Discretion is the better part of valor, and one must learn how to discriminate between actions which may be pleasing to the Lord and those which may not be pleasing to the Lord. An action is thus judged by the Lord’s pleasure or displeasure. There is no room for personal whims; we must always be guided by the pleasure of the Lord. Such action is called yogah karmasu kausalam, or actions performed which are linked with the Supreme Lord. That is the art of doing a thing perfectly.

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