Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3: “The Status Quo”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Twenty-two
SB3.22.28
TEXT 28
tam ayantam abhipretya
brahmavartat prajah patim
gita-samstuti-vaditraih
pratyudiyuh praharsitah
SYNONYMS
tam—him; ayantam—who was arriving; abhipretya—knowing of; brahmavartat—from Brahmavarta; prajah—his subjects; patim—their lord; gita-samstuti-vaditraih—with songs, praise and instrumental music; pratyudiyuh—came forward to greet; praharsitah—overjoyed.
TRANSLATION
Overjoyed to know of his arrival, his subjects came forth from Brahmavarta to greet their returning lord with songs, prayers and musical instruments.
PURPORT
It is the custom of the citizens of a kingdom’s capital to receive the king when he returns from a tour. There is a similar description when Krsna returned to Dvaraka after the Battle of Kuruksetra. At that time He was received by all classes of citizens at the gate of the city. Formerly, capital cities were surrounded by walls, and there were different gates for regular entrance. Even in Delhi today there are old gates, and some other old cities have such gates where citizens would gather to receive the king. Here also the citizens of Barhismati, the capital of Brahmavarta, the kingdom of Svayambhuva, came nicely dressed to receive the Emperor with decorations and musical instruments. SB3.22.29-30 TEXTS 29–30 barhismati nama puri sarva-sampat-samanvita nyapatan yatra romani yajnasyangam vidhunvatah kusah kasas ta evasan sasvad-dharita-varcasah rsayo yaih parabhavya yajna-ghnan yajnam ijire SYNONYMS barhismati—Barhismati; nama—named; puri—city; sarva-sampat—all kinds of wealth; samanvita—full of; nyapatan—fell down; yatra—where; romani—the hairs; yajnasya—of Lord Boar; angam—His body; vidhunvatah—shaking; kusah—kusa grass; kasah—kasa grass; te—they; eva—certainly; asan—became; sasvat-harita—of evergreen; varcasah—having the color; rsayah—the sages; yaih—by which; parabhavya—defeating; yajna-ghnan—the disturbers of the sacrificial performances; yajnam—Lord Visnu; ijire—they worshiped. TRANSLATION The city of Barhismati, rich in all kinds of wealth, was so called because Lord Visnu’s hair dropped there from His body when He manifested Himself as Lord Boar. As He shook His body, this very hair fell and turned into blades of evergreen kusa grass and kasa [another kind of grass used for mats], by means of which the sages worshiped Lord Visnu after defeating the demons who had interfered with the performance of their sacrifices. PURPORT Any place directly connected with the Supreme Lord is called pitha-sthana. Barhismati, the capital of Svayambhuva Manu, was exalted not because the city was very rich in wealth and opulence, but because the hairs of Lord Varaha fell at this very spot. These hairs of the Lord later grew as green grass, and the sages used to worship the Lord with that grass after the time when the Lord killed the demon Hiranyaksa. Yajna means Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gita, karma is described as yajnartha. Yajnartha-karma means “work done only for the satisfaction of Visnu.” If something is done for sense gratification or any other purpose, it will be binding upon the worker. If one wants to be freed from the reaction of his work, he must perform everything for the satisfaction of Visnu, or Yajna. In the capital of Svayambhuva Manu, Barhismati, these particular functions were being performed by the great sages and saintly persons. SB3.22.31 TEXT 31 kusa-kasamayam barhir astirya bhagavan manuh ayajad yajna-purusam labdha sthanam yato bhuvam SYNONYMS kusa—of kusa grass; kasa—and of kasa grass; mayam—made; barhih—a seat; astirya—having spread; bhagavan—the greatly fortunate; manuh—Svayambhuva Manu; ayajat—worshiped; yajna-purusam—Lord Visnu; labdha—had achieved; sthanam—the abode; yatah—from whom; bhuvam—the earth. TRANSLATION Manu spread a seat of kusas and kasas and worshiped the Lord, the Personality of Godhead, by whose grace he had obtained the rule of the terrestrial globe. PURPORT Manu is the father of mankind, and therefore from Manu comes the word man, or, in Sanskrit, manusya. Those who are in a better position in the world, having sufficient wealth, should especially take lessons from Manu, who acknowledged his kingdom and opulence to be gifts from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus always engaged in devotional service. Similarly, the descendants of Manu, or human beings, especially those who are situated in a well-to-do condition, must consider that whatever riches they have are gifts from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those riches should be utilized for the service of the Lord in sacrifices performed to please Him. That is the way of utilizing wealth and opulence. No one can achieve wealth, opulence, good birth, a beautiful body or nice education without the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, those who are in possession of such valuable facilities must acknowledge their gratefulness to the Lord by worshiping Him and offering what they have received from Him. When such acknowledgement is given, either by a family, nation or society, their abode becomes almost like Vaikuntha, and it becomes free from the operation of the threefold miseries of this material world. In the modern age the mission of Krsna consciousness is for everyone to acknowledge the supremacy of Lord Krsna; whatever one has in his possession must be considered a gift by the grace of the Lord. Everyone, therefore, should engage in devotional service through Krsna consciousness. If one wants to be happy and peaceful in his position, either as a householder or citizen or member of human society, one must promote devotional service for the pleasure of the Lord. SB3.22.32 TEXT 32 barhismatim nama vibhur yam nirvisya samavasat tasyam pravisto bhavanam tapa-traya-vinasanam SYNONYMS barhismatim—the city Barhismati; nama—named; vibhuh—the very powerful Svayambhuva Manu; yam—which; nirvisya—having entered; samavasat—he lived in previously; tasyam—in that city; pravistah—entered; bhavanam—the palace; tapa-traya—the threefold miseries; vinasanam—destroying. TRANSLATION Having entered the city of Barhismati, in which he had previously lived, Manu entered his palace, which was filled with an atmosphere that eradicated the three miseries of material existence. PURPORT The material world, or material existential life, is filled with threefold miseries: miseries pertaining to the body and mind, miseries pertaining to natural disturbances and miseries inflicted by other living entities. Human society is meant to create a spiritual atmosphere by spreading the spirit of Krsna consciousness. The miseries of material existence cannot affect the status of Krsna consciousness. It is not that the miseries of the material world completely vanish when one takes to Krsna consciousness, but for one who is Krsna conscious the miseries of material existence have no effect. We cannot stop the miseries of the material atmosphere, but Krsna consciousness is the antiseptic method to protect us from being affected by the miseries of material existence. For a Krsna conscious person, both living in heaven and living in hell are equal. How Svayambhuva Manu created an atmosphere wherein he was not affected by material miseries is explained in the following verses. SB3.22.33 TEXT 33 sabharyah saprajah kaman bubhuje ’nyavirodhatah sangiyamana-sat-kirtih sastribhih sura-gayakaih praty-usesv anubaddhena hrda srnvan hareh kathah SYNONYMS sa-bharyah—along with his wife; sa-prajah—along with his subjects; kaman—the necessities of life; bubhuje—he enjoyed; anya—from others; avirodhatah—without disturbance; sangiyamana—being praised; sat-kirtih—reputation for pious activities; sa-stribhih—along with their wives; sura-gayakaih—by celestial musicians; prati-usesu—at every dawn; anubaddhena—being attached; hrda—with the heart; srnvan—listening to; hareh—of Lord Hari; kathah—the topics. TRANSLATION Emperor Svayambhuva Manu enjoyed life with his wife and subjects and fulfilled his desires without being disturbed by unwanted principles contrary to the process of religion. Celestial musicians and their wives sang in chorus about the pure reputation of the Emperor, and early in the morning, every day, he used to listen to the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with a loving heart. PURPORT Human society is actually meant for realization of perfection in Krsna consciousness. There is no restriction against living with a wife and children, but life should be so conducted that one may not go against the principles of religion, economic development, regulated sense enjoyment and, ultimately, liberation from material existence. The Vedic principles are designed in such a way that the conditioned souls who have come to this material existence may be guided in fulfilling their material desires and at the same time be liberated and go back to Godhead, back home. It is understood that Emperor Svayambhuva Manu enjoyed his household life by following these principles. It is stated here that early in the morning there were musicians who used to sing with musical instruments about the glories of the Lord, and the Emperor, with his family, personally used to hear about the pastimes of the Supreme Person. This custom is still prevalent in India in some of the royal families and temples. Professional musicians sing with sahnais, and the sleeping members of the house gradually get up from their beds in a pleasing atmosphere. During bedtime also the singers sing songs in relationship with the pastimes of the Lord, with sahnai accompaniment, and the householders gradually fall asleep remembering the glories of the Lord. In every house, in addition to the singing program, there is an arrangement for Bhagavatam lectures in the evening; family members sit down, hold Hare Krsna kirtana, hear narrations from Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita and enjoy music before going to bed. The atmosphere created by this sankirtana movement lives in their hearts, and while sleeping they also dream of the singing and glorification of the Lord. In such a way, perfection of Krsna consciousness can be attained. This practice is very old, as learned from this verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam; millions of years ago, Svayambhuva Manu used to avail himself of this opportunity to live householder life in the peace and prosperity of a Krsna consciousness atmosphere. As far as temples are concerned, in each and every royal palace or rich man’s house, inevitably there is a nice temple, and the members of the household rise early in the morning and go to the temple to see the mangalaratrika ceremony. The mangalaratrika ceremony is the first worship of the morning. In the aratrika ceremony a light is offered in circles before the Deities, as are a conchshell and flowers and a fan. The Lord is supposed to rise early in the morning and take some light refreshment and give audience to the devotees. The devotees then go back to the house or sing the glories of the Lord in the temple. The early morning ceremony still takes place in Indian temples and palaces. Temples are meant for the assembly of the general public. Temples within palaces are especially for the royal families, but in many of these palace temples the public is also allowed to visit. The temple of the King of Jaipur is situated within the palace, but the public is allowed to assemble; if one goes there, he will see that the temple is always crowded with at least five hundred devotees. After the mangalaratrika ceremony they sit down together and sing the glories of the Lord with musical instruments and thus enjoy life. Temple worship by the royal family is also mentioned in Bhagavad-gita, where it is stated that those who fail to achieve success in the bhakti-yoga principles within one life are given a chance to take birth in the next life in a family of rich men or in a royal family or family of learned brahmanas or devotees. If one gets the opportunity to take birth in these families, he can achieve the facilities of a Krsna conscious atmosphere without difficulty. A child born in that Krsna atmosphere is sure to develop Krsna consciousness. The perfection which he failed to attain in his last life is again offered in this life, and he can make himself perfect without fail. SB3.22.34 TEXT 34 nisnatam yogamayasu munim svayambhuvam manum yad abhramsayitum bhoga na sekur bhagavat-param SYNONYMS nisnatam—absorbed; yoga-mayasu—in temporary enjoyment; munim—who was equal to a saint; svayambhuvam—Svayambhuva; manum—Manu; yat—from which; abhramsayitum—to cause to deviate; bhogah—material enjoyments; na—not; sekuh—were able; bhagavat-param—who was a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TRANSLATION Thus Svayambhuva Manu was a saintly king. Although absorbed in material happiness, he was not dragged to the lowest grade of life, for he always enjoyed his material happiness in a Krsna conscious atmosphere. PURPORT The kingly happiness of material enjoyment generally drags one to the lowest grade of life, namely degradation to animal life, because of unrestricted sense enjoyment. But Svayambhuva Manu was considered as good as a saintly sage because the atmosphere created in his kingdom and home was completely Krsna conscious. The case is similar with the conditioned souls in general; they have come into this material life for sense gratification, but if they are able to create a Krsna conscious atmosphere, as depicted here or as prescribed in revealed scriptures, by temple worship and household Deity worship, then in spite of their material enjoyment they can make advancement in pure Krsna consciousness without a doubt. At the present moment, modern civilization is too much attached to the material way of life, or sense gratification. Therefore, the Krsna consciousness movement can give the people in general the best opportunity to utilize their human life in the midst of material enjoyment. Krsna consciousness does not stop them in their propensity for material enjoyment, but simply regulates their habits in the life of sense enjoyment. In spite of their enjoying the material advantages, they can be liberated in this very life by practicing Krsna consciousness by the simple method of chanting the holy names of the Lord—Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. SB3.22.35 TEXT 35 ayata-yamas tasyasan yamah svantara-yapanah srnvato dhyayato visnoh kurvato bruvatah kathah SYNONYMS ayata-yamah—time never lost; tasya—of Manu; asan—were; yamah—the hours; sva-antara—his duration of life; yapanah—bringing to an end; srnvatah—hearing; dhyayatah—contemplating; visnoh—of Lord Visnu; kurvatah—acting; bruvatah—speaking; kathah—the topics. TRANSLATION Consequently, although his duration of life gradually came to an end, his long life, consisting of a Manvantara era, was not spent in vain, since he ever engaged in hearing, contemplating, writing down and chanting the pastimes of the Lord. PURPORT As freshly prepared food is very tasteful but if kept for three or four hours becomes stale and tasteless, so the existence of material enjoyment can endure as long as life is fresh, but at the fag end of life everything becomes tasteless, and everything appears to be vain and painful. The life of Emperor Svayambhuva Manu, however, was not tasteless; as he grew older, his life remained as fresh as in the beginning because of his continued Krsna consciousness. The life of a man in Krsna consciousness is always fresh. It is said that the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening and its business is to reduce the duration of everyone’s life. But the sunrise and sunset cannot diminish the life of one who engages in Krsna consciousness. Svayambhuva Manu’s life did not become stale after some time, for he engaged himself always in chanting about and meditating upon Lord Visnu. He was the greatest yogi because he never wasted his time. It is especially mentioned here, visnoh kurvato bruvatah kathah. When he talked, he talked only of Krsna and Visnu, the Personality of Godhead; when he heard something, it was about Krsna; when he meditated, it was upon Krsna and His activities. It is stated that his life was very long, seventy-one yugas. One yuga is completed in 4,320,000 years, seventy-one of such yugas is the duration of the life of a Manu, and fourteen such Manus come and go in one day of Brahma. For the entire duration of his life - 4,320,000 x 71 years—Manu engaged in Krsna consciousness by chanting, hearing, talking about and meditating upon Krsna. Therefore, his life was not wasted, nor did it become stale. SB3.22.36 TEXT 36 sa evam svantaram ninye yuganam eka-saptatim vasudeva-prasangena paribhuta-gati-trayah SYNONYMS sah—he (Svayambhuva Manu); evam—thus; sva-antaram—his own period; ninye—passed; yuganam—of the cycles of four ages; eka-saptatim—seventy-one; vasudeva—with Vasudeva; prasangena—by topics connected; paribhuta—transcended; gati-trayah—the three destinations. TRANSLATION He passed his time, which lasted seventy-one cycles of the four ages [71 x 4,320,000 years], always thinking of Vasudeva and always engaged in matters regarding Vasudeva. Thus he transcended the three destinations. PURPORT The three destinations are meant for persons who are under the control of the three modes of material nature. These destinations are sometimes described as the awakened, dreaming and unconscious stages. In Bhagavad-gita the three destinations are described as the destinations of persons in the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. It is stated in the Gita that those who are in the mode of goodness are promoted to better living conditions in higher planets, and those who are in the mode of passion remain within this material world on the earth or on heavenly planets, but those who are in the mode of ignorance are degraded to an animal life on planets where life is lower than human. But one who is Krsna conscious is above these three modes of material nature. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita that anyone who engages in devotional service to the Lord automatically becomes transcendental to the three destinations of material nature and is situated in the brahma-bhuta, or self-realized, stage. Although Svayambhuva Manu, the ruler of this material world, appeared to be absorbed in material happiness, he was neither in the mode of goodness nor in the modes of passion or ignorance, but in the transcendental stage. Therefore, one who fully engages in devotional service is always liberated. Bilvamangala Thakura, a great devotee of the Lord, stated: “If I have unflinching devotion to the lotus feet of Krsna, then Mother Liberation is always engaged in my service. The complete perfection of material enjoyment, religion and economic development is at my command.” People are after dharma, artha, kama and moksa. Generally they perform religious activities to achieve some material gain, and they engage in material activity for sense gratification. After being frustrated in material sense gratification, one wants to be liberated and become one with the Absolute Truth. These four principles form the transcendental path for the less intelligent. Those who are actually intelligent engage in Krsna consciousness, not caring for these four principles of the transcendental method. They at once elevate themselves to the transcendental platform which is above liberation. Liberation is not a very great achievement for a devotee, to say nothing of the results of ritualistic performances in religion, economic development or the materialistic life of sense gratification. Devotees do not care for these. They are situated always on the transcendental platform of the brahma-bhuta stage of self-realization. SB3.22.37 TEXT 37 sarira manasa divya vaiyase ye ca manusah bhautikas ca katham klesa badhante hari-samsrayam SYNONYMS sarirah—pertaining to the body; manasah—pertaining to the mind; divyah—pertaining to supernatural powers (demigods); vaiyase—O Vidura; ye—those; ca—and; manusah—pertaining to other men; bhautikah—pertaining to other living beings; ca—and; katham—how; klesah—miseries; badhante—can trouble; hari-samsrayam—one who has taken shelter of Lord Krsna. TRANSLATION Therefore, O Vidura, how can persons completely under the shelter of Lord Krsna in devotional service be put into miseries pertaining to the body, the mind, nature, and other men and living creatures? PURPORT Every living entity within this material world is always afflicted by some kind of miseries, pertaining either to the body, the mind or natural disturbances. Distresses due to cold in winter and severe heat in summer always inflict miseries on the living entities in this material world, but one who has completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord in Krsna consciousness is in the transcendental stage; he is not disturbed by any miseries, either due to the body, the mind, or natural disturbances of summer and winter. He is transcendental to all these miseries. SB3.22.38 TEXT 38 yah prsto munibhih praha dharman nana-vidhan chubhan nrnam varnasramanam ca sarva-bhuta-hitah sada SYNONYMS yah—who; prstah—being questioned; munibhih—by the sages; praha—spoke; dharman—the duties; nana-vidhan—many varieties; subhan—auspicious; nrnam—of human society; varna-asramanam—of the varnas and asramas; ca—and; sarva-bhuta—for all living beings; hitah—who does welfare; sada—always. TRANSLATION In reply to questions asked by certain sages, he [Svayambhuva Manu], out of compassion for all living entities, taught the diverse sacred duties of men in general and the different varnas and asramas. SB3.22.39 TEXT 39 etat ta adi-rajasya manos caritam adbhutam varnitam varnaniyasya tad-apatyodayam srnu SYNONYMS etat—this; te—unto you; adi-rajasya—of the first emperor; manoh—of Svayambhuva Manu; caritam—the character; adbhutam—wonderful; varnitam—described; varnaniyasya—whose reputation is worthy of description; tat-apatya—of his daughter; udayam—to the flourishing; srnu—please listen. TRANSLATION I have spoken to you of the wonderful character of Svayambhuva Manu, the original king, whose reputation is worthy of description. Please hear as I speak of the flourishing of his daughter Devahuti. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Twenty-second Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahuti.”