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

Chapter Nineteen

SB1.19.25

TEXT 25

tatrabhavad bhagavan vyasa-putro

yadrcchaya gam atamano ’napeksah

alaksya-lingo nija-labha-tusto

vrtas ca balair avadhuta-vesah

SYNONYMS

tatra—there; abhavat—appeared; bhagavan—powerful; vyasa-putrah—son of Vyasadeva; yadrcchaya—as one desires; gam—the earth; atamanah—while traveling; anapeksah—disinterested; alaksya—unmanifested; lingah—symptoms; nija-labha—self-realized; tustah—satisfied; vrtah—surrounded; ca—and; balaih—by children; avadhuta—neglected by others; vesah—dressed.

TRANSLATION

At that moment there appeared the powerful son of Vyasadeva, who traveled over the earth disinterested and satisfied with himself. He did not manifest any symptoms of belonging to any social order or status of life. He was surrounded with women and children, and he dressed as if others had neglected him.

PURPORT

The word bhagavan is sometimes used in relation with some of the great devotees of the Lord, like Sukadeva Gosvami. Such liberated souls are disinterested in the affairs of this material world because they are self-satisfied by the great achievements of devotional service. As explained before, Sukadeva Gosvami never accepted any formal spiritual master, nor did he undergo any formal reformatory performances. His father, Vyasadeva, was his natural spiritual master because Sukadeva Gosvami heard Srimad-Bhagavatam from him. After this, he became completely self-satisfied. Thus he was not dependent on any formal process. The formal processes are necessary for those who are expected to reach the stage of complete liberation, but Sri Sukadeva Gosvami was already in that status by the grace of his father. As a young boy he was expected to be properly dressed, but he went about naked and was uninterested in social customs. He was neglected by the general populace, and inquisitive boys and women surrounded him as if he were a madman. He thus appears on the scene while traveling on the earth of his own accord. It appears that upon the inquiry of Maharaja Pariksit, the great sages were not unanimous in their decision as to what was to be done. For spiritual salvation there were many prescriptions according to the different modes of different persons. But the ultimate aim of life is to attain the highest perfectional stage of devotional service to the Lord. As doctors differ, so also sages differ in their different prescriptions. While such things were going on, the great and powerful son of Vyasadeva appeared on the scene.

SB1.19.26

TEXT 26

tam dvyasta-varsam su-kumara-pada-

karoru-bahv-amsa-kapola-gatram

carv-ayataksonnasa-tulya-karna-

subhrv-ananam kambu-sujata-kantham

SYNONYMS

tam—him; dvi-asta—sixteen; varsam—years; su-kumara—delicate; pada—legs; kara—hands; uru—thighs; bahu—arms; amsa—shoulders; kapola—forehead; gatram—body; caru—beautiful; ayata—broad; aksa—eyes; unnasa—high nose; tulya—similar; karna—ears; subhru—nice brows; ananam—face; kambu—conchshell; sujata—nicely built; kantham—neck.

TRANSLATION

This son of Vyasadeva was only sixteen years old. His legs, hands, thighs, arms, shoulders, forehead and the other parts of his body were all delicately formed. His eyes were beautifully wide, and his nose and ears were highly raised. He had a very attractive face, and his neck was well formed and beautiful like a conchshell.

PURPORT

A respectable personality is described beginning with the legs, and this honored system is observed here with Sukadeva Gosvami. He was only sixteen years of age. A person is honored for his achievements and not for advanced age. A person can be older by experience and not by age. Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, who is described herein as the son of Vyasadeva, was by his knowledge more experienced than all the sages present there, although he was only sixteen years old.

SB1.19.27

TEXT 27

nigudha-jatrum prthu-tunga-vaksasam

avarta-nabhim vali-valgudaram ca

dig-ambaram vaktra-vikirna-kesam

pralamba-bahum svamarottamabham

SYNONYMS

nigudha—covered; jatrum—collarbone; prthu—broad; tunga—swollen; vaksasam—chest; avarta—whirled; nabhim—navel; vali-valgu—striped; udaram—abdomen; ca—also; dik-ambaram—dressed by all directions (naked); vaktra—curled; vikirna—scattered; kesam—hair; pralamba—elongated; bahum—hands; su-amara-uttama—the best among the gods (Krsna); abham—hue.

TRANSLATION

His collarbone was fleshy, his chest broad and thick, his navel deep and his abdomen beautifully striped. His arms were long, and curly hair was strewn over his beautiful face. He was naked, and the hue of his body reflected that of Lord Krsna.

PURPORT

His bodily features indicate him to be different from common men. All the signs described in connection with the bodily features of Sukadeva Gosvami are uncommon symptoms, typical of great personalities, according to physiognomical calculations. His bodily hue resembled that of Lord Krsna, who is the supreme among the gods, demigods and all living beings.

SB1.19.28

TEXT 28

syamam sadapivya-vayo-’nga-laksmya

strinam mano-jnam rucira-smitena

pratyutthitas te munayah svasanebhyas

tal-laksana-jna api gudha-varcasam

SYNONYMS

syamam—blackish; sada—always; apivya—excessively; vayah—age; anga—symptoms; laksmya—by the opulence of; strinam—of the fair sex; manah-jnam—attractive; rucira—beautiful; smitena—smiling; pratyutthitah—stood up; te—all of them; munayah—the great sages; sva—own; asanebhyah—from the seats; tat—those; laksana-jnah—expert in the art of physiognomy; api—even; gudha-varcasam—covered glories.

TRANSLATION

He was blackish and very beautiful due to his youth. Because of the glamor of his body and his attractive smiles, he was pleasing to women. Though he tried to cover his natural glories, the great sages present there were all expert in the art of physiognomy, and so they honored him by rising from their seats.

SB1.19.29

TEXT 29

sa visnu-rato ’tithaya agataya

tasmai saparyam sirasajahara

tato nivrtta hy abudhah striyo ’rbhaka

mahasane sopavivesa pujitah

SYNONYMS

sah—he; visnu-ratah—Maharaja Pariksit (who is always protected by Lord Visnu); atithaye—to become a guest; agataya—one who arrived there; tasmai—unto him; saparyam—with the whole body; sirasa—with bowed head; ajahara—offered obeisances; tatah—thereafter; nivrttah—ceased; hi—certainly; abudhah—less intelligent; striyah—women; arbhakah—boys; maha-asane—exalted seat; sa—he; upavivesa—sat down; pujitah—being respected.

TRANSLATION

Maharaja Pariksit, who is also known as Visnurata [one who is always protected by Visnu], bowed his head to receive the chief guest, Sukadeva Gosvami. At that time all the ignorant women and boys ceased following Srila Sukadeva. Receiving respect from all, Sukadeva Gosvami took his exalted seat.

PURPORT

On Sukadeva Gosvami’s arrival at the meeting, everyone, except Srila Vyasadeva, Narada and a few others, stood up, and Maharaja Pariksit, who was glad to receive a great devotee of the Lord, bowed down before him with all the limbs of his body. Sukadeva Gosvami also exchanged the greetings and reception by embrace, shaking of hands, nodding and bowing down, especially before his father and Narada Muni. Thus he was offered the presidential seat at the meeting. When he was so received by the king and sages, the street boys and less intelligent women who followed him were struck with wonder and fear. So they retired from their frivolous activities, and everything was full of gravity and calm.

SB1.19.30

TEXT 30

sa samvrtas tatra mahan mahiyasam

brahmarsi-rajarsi-devarsi-sanghaih

vyarocatalam bhagavan yathendur

graharksa-tara-nikaraih paritah

SYNONYMS

sah—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami; samvrtah—surrounded by; tatra—there; mahan—great; mahiyasam—of the greatest; brahmarsi—saint among the brahmanas; rajarsi—saint among the kings; devarsi—saint among the demigods; sanghaih—by the assembly of; vyarocata—well deserved; alam—able; bhagavan—powerful; yatha—as; induh—the moon; graha—planets; rksa—heavenly bodies; tara—stars; nikaraih—by the assembly of; paritah—surrounded by.

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami was then surrounded by saintly sages and demigods just as the moon is surrounded by stars, planets and other heavenly bodies. His presence was gorgeous, and he was respected by all.

PURPORT

In the great assembly of saintly personalities, there was Vyasadeva the brahmarsi, Narada the devarsi, Parasurama the great ruler of the ksatriya kings, etc. Some of them were powerful incarnations of the Lord. Sukadeva Gosvami was not known as brahmarsi, rajarsi or devarsi, nor was he an incarnation like Narada, Vyasa or Parasurama. And yet he excelled them in respects paid. This means that the devotee of the Lord is more honored in the world than the Lord Himself. One should therefore never minimize the importance of a devotee like Sukadeva Gosvami.

SB1.19.31

TEXT 31

prasantam asinam akuntha-medhasam

munim nrpo bhagavato ’bhyupetya

pranamya murdhnavahitah krtanjalir

natva gira sunrtayanvaprcchat

SYNONYMS

prasantam—perfectly pacified; asinam—sitting; akuntha—without hesitation; medhasam—one who has sufficient intelligence; munim—unto the great sage; nrpah—the King (Maharaja Pariksit); bhagavatah—the great devotee; abhyupetya—approaching him; pranamya—bowing down; murdhna—his head; avahitah—properly; krta-anjalih—with folded hands; natva—politely; gira—by words; sunrtaya—in sweet voices; anvaprcchat—inquired.

TRANSLATION

The sage Sri Sukadeva Gosvami sat perfectly pacified, intelligent and ready to answer any question without hesitation. The great devotee, Maharaja Pariksit, approached him, offered his respects by bowing before him, and politely inquired with sweet words and folded hands.

PURPORT

The gesture now adopted by Maharaja Pariksit of questioning a master is quite befitting in terms of scriptural injunctions. The scriptural injunction is that one should humbly approach a spiritual master to understand the transcendental science. Maharaja Pariksit was now prepared for meeting his death, and within the very short time of seven days he was to know the process of entering the kingdom of God. In such important cases, one is required to approach a spiritual master. There is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master unless one is in need of solving the problems of life. One who does not know how to put questions before the spiritual master has no business seeing him. And the qualification of the spiritual master is perfectly manifested in the person of Sukadeva Gosvami. Both the spiritual master and the disciple, namely Sri Sukadeva Gosvami and Maharaja Pariksit, attained perfection through the medium of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Sukadeva Gosvami learned Srimad-Bhagavatam from his father, Vyasadeva, but he had no chance to recite it. Before Maharaja Pariksit he recited Srimad-Bhagavatam and answered the questions of Maharaja Pariksit unhesitatingly, and thus both the master and the disciple got salvation.

SB1.19.32

TEXT 32

pariksid uvaca

aho adya vayam brahman

sat-sevyah ksatra-bandhavah

krpayatithi-rupena

bhavadbhis tirthakah krtah

SYNONYMS

pariksit uvaca—the fortunate Maharaja Pariksit said; aho—ah; adya—today; vayam—we; brahman—O brahmana; sat-sevyah—eligible to serve the devotee; ksatra—the ruling class; bandhavah—friends; krpaya—by your mercy; atithi-rupena—in the manner of a guest; bhavadbhih—by your good self; tirthakah—qualified for being places of pilgrimage; krtah—done by you.

TRANSLATION

The fortunate King Pariksit said: O brahmana, by your mercy only, you have sanctified us, making us like unto places of pilgrimage, all by your presence here as my guest. By your mercy, we, who are but unworthy royalty, become eligible to serve the devotee.

PURPORT

Saintly devotees like Sukadeva Gosvami generally do not approach worldly enjoyers, especially those in royal orders. Maharaja Prataparudra was a follower of Lord Caitanya, but when he wanted to see the Lord, the Lord refused to see him because he was a king. For a devotee who desires to go back to Godhead, two things are strictly prohibited: worldly enjoyers and women. Therefore, devotees of the standard of Sukadeva Gosvami are never interested in seeing kings. Maharaja Pariksit was, of course, a different case. He was a great devotee, although a king, and therefore Sukadeva Gosvami came to see him in his last stage of life. Maharaja Pariksit, out of his devotional humility, felt himself an unworthy descendant of his great ksatriya forefathers, although he was as great as his predecessors. The unworthy sons of the royal orders are called ksatra-bandhavas, as the unworthy sons of the brahmanas are called dvija-bandhus or brahma-bandhus. Maharaja Pariksit was greatly encouraged by the presence of Sukadeva Gosvami. He felt himself sanctified by the presence of the great saint whose presence turns any place into a place of pilgrimage.

SB1.19.33

TEXT 33

yesam samsmaranat pumsam

sadyah suddhyanti vai grhah

kim punar darsana-sparsa-

pada-saucasanadibhih

SYNONYMS

yesam—of whom; samsmaranat—by remembrance; pumsam—of a person; sadyah—instantly; suddhyanti—cleanses; vai—certainly; grhah—all houses; kim—what; punah—then; darsana—meeting; sparsa—touching; pada—the feet; sauca—washing; asana-adibhih—by offering a seat, etc.

TRANSLATION

Simply by our remembering you, our houses become instantly sanctified. And what to speak of seeing you, touching you, washing your holy feet and offering you a seat in our home?

PURPORT

The importance of holy places of pilgrimage is due to the presence of great sages and saints. It is said that sinful persons go to the holy places and leave their sins there to accumulate. But the presence of the great saints disinfects the accumulated sins, and thus the holy places continue to remain sanctified by the grace of the devotees and saints present there. If such saints appear in the homes of worldly people, certainly the accumulated sins of such worldly enjoyers become neutralized. Therefore, the holy saints actually have no self-interest with the householders. The only aim of such saints is to sanctify the houses of the householders, and the householders therefore should feel grateful when such saints and sages appear at their doors. A householder who dishonors such holy orders is a great offender. It is enjoined, therefore, that a householder who does not bow down before a saint at once must undergo fasting for the day in order to neutralize the great offense.

SB1.19.34

TEXT 34

sannidhyat te maha-yogin

patakani mahanty api

sadyo nasyanti vai pumsam

visnor iva suretarah

SYNONYMS

sannidhyat—on account of the presence; te—your; maha-yogin—O great mystic; patakani—sins; mahanti—invulnerable; api—in spite of; sadyah—immediately; nasyanti—vanquished; vai—certainly; pumsam—of a person; visnoh—like the presence of the Personality of Godhead; iva—like; sura-itarah—other than the demigods.

TRANSLATION

Just as the atheist cannot remain in the presence of the Personality of Godhead, so also the invulnerable sins of a man are immediately vanquished in your presence, O saint! O great mystic!

PURPORT

There are two classes of human beings, namely the atheist and the devotee of the Lord. The devotee of the Lord, because of manifesting godly qualities, is called a demigod, whereas the atheist is called a demon. The demon cannot stand the presence of Visnu, the Personality of Godhead. The demons are always busy in trying to vanquish the Personality of Godhead, but factually as soon as the Personality of Godhead appears, by either His transcendental name, form, attributes, pastimes, paraphernalia or variegatedness, the demon is at once vanquished. It is said that a ghost cannot remain as soon as the holy name of the Lord is chanted. The great saints and devotees of the Lord are in the list of His paraphernalia, and thus as soon as a saintly devotee is present, the ghostly sins are at once vanquished. That is the verdict of all Vedic literatures. One is recommended, therefore, to associate only with saintly devotees so that worldly demons and ghosts cannot exert their sinister influence.

SB1.19.35

TEXT 35

api me bhagavan pritah

krsnah pandu-suta-priyah

paitr-svaseya-prity-artham

tad-gotrasyatta-bandhavah

SYNONYMS

api—definitely; me—unto me; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; pritah—pleased; krsnah—the Lord; pandu-suta—the sons of King Pandu; priyah—dear; paitr—in relation with the father; svaseya—the sons of the sister; priti—satisfaction; artham—in the matter of; tat—their; gotrasya—of the descendant; atta—accepted; bandhavah—as a friend.

TRANSLATION

Lord Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, who is very dear to the sons of King Pandu, has accepted me as one of those relatives just to please His great cousins and brothers.

PURPORT

A pure and exclusive devotee of the Lord serves his family interest more dexterously than others, who are attached to illusory family affairs. Generally people are attached to family matters, and the whole economic impetus of human society is moving under the influence of family affection. Such deluded persons have no information that one can render better service to the family by becoming a devotee of the Lord. The Lord gives special protection to the family members and descendants of a devotee, even though such members are themselves nondevotees! Maharaja Prahlada was a great devotee of the Lord, but his father, Hiranyakasipu, was a great atheist and declared enemy of the Lord. But despite all this, Hiranyakasipu was awarded salvation due to his being the father of Maharaja Prahlada. The Lord is so kind that he gives all protection to the family members of His devotee, and thus the devotee has no need to bother about his family members, even if one leaves such family members aside to discharge devotional service. Maharaja Yudhisthira and his brothers were the sons of Kunti, the paternal aunt of Lord Krsna, and Maharaja Pariksit admits the patronage of Lord Krsna because of his being the only grandson of the great Pandavas.

SB1.19.36

TEXT 36

anyatha te ’vyakta-gater

darsanam nah katham nrnam

nitaram mriyamananam

samsiddhasya vaniyasah

SYNONYMS

anyatha—otherwise; te—your; avyakta-gateh—of one whose movements are invisible; darsanam—meeting; nah—for us; katham—how; nrnam—of the people; nitaram—specifically; mriyamananam—of those who are about to die; samsiddhasya—of one who is all-perfect; vaniyasah—voluntary appearance.

TRANSLATION

Otherwise [without being inspired by Lord Krsna] how is it that you have voluntarily appeared here, though you are moving incognito to the common man and are not visible to us who are on the verge of death?

PURPORT

The great sage Sukadeva Gosvami was certainly inspired by Lord Krsna to appear voluntarily before Maharaja Pariksit, the great devotee of the Lord, just to give him the teachings of Srimad-Bhagavatam. One can achieve the nucleus of the devotional service of the Lord by the mercy of the spiritual master and the Personality of Godhead. The spiritual master is the manifested representative of the Lord to help one achieve ultimate success. One who is not authorized by the Lord cannot become a spiritual master. Srila Sukadeva Gosvami is an authorized spiritual master, and thus he was inspired by the Lord to appear before Maharaja Pariksit and instruct him in the teachings of Srimad-Bhagavatam. One can achieve the ultimate success of going back to Godhead if he is favored by the Lord’s sending His true representative. As soon as a true representative of the Lord is met by a devotee of the Lord, the devotee is assured a guarantee for going back to Godhead just after leaving the present body. This, however, depends on the sincerity of the devotee himself. The Lord is seated in the heart of all living beings, and thus he knows very well the movements of all individual persons. As soon as the Lord finds that a particular soul is very eager to go back to Godhead, the Lord at once sends His bona fide representative. The sincere devotee is thus assured by the Lord of going back to Godhead. The conclusion is that to get the assistance and help of a bona fide spiritual master means to receive the direct help of the Lord Himself.

SB1.19.37

TEXT 37

atah prcchami samsiddhim

yoginam paramam gurum

purusasyeha yat karyam

mriyamanasya sarvatha

SYNONYMS

atah—therefore; prcchami—beg to inquire; samsiddhim—the way of perfection; yoginam—of the saints; paramam—the supreme; gurum—the spiritual master; purusasya—of a person; iha—in this life; yat—whatever; karyam—duty; mriyamanasya—of one who is going to die; sarvatha—in every way.

TRANSLATION

You are the spiritual master of great saints and devotees. I am therefore begging you to show the way of perfection for all persons, and especially for one who is about to die.

PURPORT

Unless one is perfectly anxious to inquire about the way of perfection, there is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master. A spiritual master is not a kind of decoration for a householder. Generally a fashionable materialist engages a so-called spiritual master without any profit. The pseudo spiritual master flatters the so-called disciple, and thereby both the master and his ward go to hell without a doubt. Maharaja Pariksit is the right type of disciple because he puts forward questions vital to the interest of all men, particularly for the dying men. The question put forward by Maharaja Pariksit is the basic principle of the complete thesis of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Now let us see how intelligently the great master replies.

SB1.19.38

TEXT 38

yac chrotavyam atho japyam

yat kartavyam nrbhih prabho

smartavyam bhajaniyam va

bruhi yad va viparyayam

SYNONYMS

yat—whatever; srotavyam—worth hearing; atho—thereof; japyam—chanted; yat—what also; kartavyam—executed; nrbhih—by the people in general; prabho—O master; smartavyam—that which is remembered; bhajaniyam—worshipable; va—either; bruhi—please explain; yad va—what it may be; viparyayam—against the principle.

TRANSLATION

Please let me know what a man should hear, chant, remember and worship, and also what he should not do. Please explain all this to me.

SB1.19.39

TEXT 39

nunam bhagavato brahman

grhesu grha-medhinam

na laksyate hy avasthanam

api go-dohanam kvacit

SYNONYMS

nunam—because; bhagavatah—of you, who are powerful; brahman—O brahmana; grhesu—in the houses; grha-medhinam—of the householders; na—not; laksyate—are seen; hi—exactly; avasthanam—staying in; api—even; go-dohanam—milking the cow; kvacit—rarely.

TRANSLATION

O powerful brahmana, it is said that you hardly stay in the houses of men long enough to milk a cow.

PURPORT

Saints and sages in the renounced order of life go to the houses of the householders at the time they milk the cows, early in the morning, and ask some quantity of milk for subsistence. A pound of milk fresh from the milk bag of a cow is sufficient to feed an adult with all vitamin values, and therefore saints and sages live only on milk. Even the poorest of the householders keep at least ten cows, each delivering twelve to twenty quarts of milk, and therefore no one hesitates to spare a few pounds of milk for the mendicants. It is the duty of householders to maintain the saints and sages, like the children. So a saint like Sukadeva Gosvami would hardly stay at the house of a householder for more than five minutes in the morning. In other words, such saints are very rarely seen in the houses of householders, and Maharaja Pariksit therefore prayed to him to instruct him as soon as possible. The householders also should be intelligent enough to get some transcendental information from visiting sages. The householder should not foolishly ask a saint to deliver what is available in the market. That should be the reciprocal relation between the saints and the householders.

SB1.19.40

TEXT 40

suta uvaca

evam abhasitah prstah

sa rajna slaksnaya gira

pratyabhasata dharma-jno

bhagavan badarayanih

SYNONYMS

sutah uvaca—Sri Suta Gosvami said; evam—thus; abhasitah—being spoken; prstah—and asked for; sah—he; rajna—by the King; slaksnaya—by sweet; gira—language; pratyabhasata—began to reply; dharma-jnah—one who knows the principles of religion; bhagavan—the powerful personality; badarayanih—son of Vyasadeva.

TRANSLATION

Sri Suta Gosvami said: The King thus spoke and questioned the sage, using sweet language. Then the great and powerful personality, the son of Vyasadeva, who knew the principles of religion, began his reply.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the First Canto, Nineteenth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “The Appearance of Sukadeva Gosvami.”

END OF THE FIRST CANTO