Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 4: “The Creation of the Fourth Order”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter One
Genealogical Table of the Daughters of Manu
SB4.1.1
TEXT 1
maitreya uvaca
manos tu satarupayam
tisrah kanyas ca jajnire
akutir devahutis ca
prasutir iti visrutah
SYNONYMS
maitreyah uvaca—the great sage Maitreya said; manoh tu—of Svayambhuva Manu; satarupayam—in his wife Satarupa; tisrah—three; kanyah ca—daughters also; jajnire—gave birth; akutih—named Akuti; devahutih—named Devahuti; ca—also; prasutih—named Prasuti; iti—thus; visrutah—well known.
TRANSLATION
Sri Maitreya said: Svayambhuva Manu begot three daughters in his wife Satarupa, and their names were Akuti, Devahuti and Prasuti.
PURPORT
First of all let us offer our respectful obeisances unto our spiritual master, Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, by whose order I am engaged in this herculean task of writing commentary on the Srimad-Bhagavatam as the Bhaktivedanta purports. By his grace we have finished three cantos already, and we are just trying to begin the Fourth Canto. By his divine grace let us offer our respectful obeisances unto Lord Caitanya, who began this Krsna consciousness movement of Bhagavata-dharma five hundred years ago, and through His grace let us offer our obeisances to the six Gosvamis, and then let us offer our obeisances to Radha and Krsna, the spiritual couple who enjoy eternally in Vrndavana with Their cowherd boys and damsels in Vrajabhumi. Let us also offer our respectful obeisances to all the devotees and eternal servitors of the Supreme Lord.
In this Fourth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam there are thirty-one chapters, and all these chapters describe the secondary creation by Brahma and the Manus. The Supreme Lord Himself does the real creation by agitating His material energy, and then, by His order, Brahma, the first living creature in the universe, attempts to create the different planetary systems and their inhabitants, expanding the population through his progeny, like Manu and other progenitors of living entities, who work perpetually under the order of the Supreme Lord. ln the First Chapter of this Fourth Canto there are descriptions of the three daughters of Svayambhuva Manu and their descendants. The next six chapters describe the sacrifice performed by King Daksa and how it was spoiled. Thereafter the activities of Maharaja Dhruva are described in five chapters. Then, in eleven chapters, the activities of King Prthu are described, and the next eight chapters are devoted to the activities of the Praceta kings.
As described in the first verse of this chapter, Svayambhuva Manu had three daughters, named Akuti, Devahuti and Prasuti. Of these three daughters, one daughter, Devahuti, has already been described, along with her husband, Kardama Muni, and her son, Kapila Muni. In this chapter the descendants of the first daughter, Akuti, will specifically be described. Svayambhuva Manu was the son of Brahma. Brahma had many other sons, but Manu’s name is specifically mentioned first because he was a great devotee of the Lord. In this verse there is also the word ca, indicating that besides the three daughters mentioned, Svayambhuva Manu also had two sons. SB4.1.2 TEXT 2 akutim rucaye pradad api bhratrmatim nrpah putrika-dharmam asritya satarupanumoditah SYNONYMS akutim—Akuti; rucaye—unto the great sage Ruci; pradat—handed over; api—although; bhratr-matim—daughter having a brother; nrpah—the King; putrika—get the resultant son; dharmam—religious rites; asritya—taking shelter; satarupa—by the wife of Svayambhuva Manu; anumoditah—being sanctioned. TRANSLATION Akuti had two brothers, but in spite of her brothers, King Svayambhuva Manu handed her over to Prajapati Ruci on the condition that the son born of her be returned to Manu as his son. This he did in consultation with his wife, Satarupa. PURPORT Sometimes a sonless person offers his daughter to a husband on the condition that his grandson be returned to him to be adopted as his son and inherit his property. This is called putrika-dharma, which means that by execution of religious rituals one gets a son, although one is sonless by one’s own wife. But here we see extraordinary behavior in Manu, for in spite of his having two sons, he handed over his first daughter to Prajapati Ruci on the condition that the son born of his daughter be returned to him as his son. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments in this connection that King Manu knew that the Supreme Personality of Godhead would take birth in the womb of Akuti; therefore, in spite of having two sons, he wanted the particular son born of Akuti because he was ambitious to have the Supreme Personality of Godhead appear as his son and grandson. Manu is the lawgiver of mankind, and since he personally executed the putrika-dharma, we may accept that such a system may be adopted by mankind also. Thus, even though one has a son, if one wants to have a particular son from one’s daughter, one may give one’s daughter in charity on that condition. That is the opinion of Srila Jiva Gosvami. SB4.1.3 TEXT 3 prajapatih sa bhagavan rucis tasyam ajijanat mithunam brahma-varcasvi paramena samadhina SYNONYMS prajapatih—one who is entrusted with begetting children; sah—he; bhagavan—the most opulent; rucih—the great sage Ruci; tasyam—in her; ajijanat—gave birth; mithunam—couple; brahma-varcasvi—spiritually very much powerful; paramena—with great strength; samadhina—in trance. TRANSLATION Ruci, who was very powerful in his brahminical qualifications and was appointed one of the progenitors of the living entities, begot one son and one daughter by his wife, Akuti. PURPORT The word brahma-varcasvi is very significant. Ruci was a brahmana, and he executed the brahminical duties very rigidly. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the brahminical qualifications are control of the senses, control of the mind, cleanliness within and without, development of spiritual and material knowledge, simplicity, truthfulness, faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, etc. There are many qualities which indicate a brahminical personality, and it is understood that Ruci followed all the brahminical principles rigidly. Therefore he is specifically mentioned as brahma-varcasvi. One who is born of a brahmana father but does not act as a brahmana is called, in Vedic language, a brahma-bandhu, and is calculated to be on the level of sudras and women. Thus in the Bhagavatam we find that Mahabharata was specifically compiled by Vyasadeva for stri-sudra-brahma-bandhu. Stri means women, sudra means the lower class of civilized human society, and brahma-bandhu means persons who are born in the families of brahmanas but do not follow the rules and regulations carefully. All of these three classes are called less intelligent; they have no access to the study of the Vedas, which are specifically meant for persons who have acquired the brahminical qualifications. This restriction is based not upon any sectarian distinction but upon qualification. The Vedic literatures cannot be understood unless one has developed the brahminical qualifications. It is regrettable, therefore, that persons who have no brahminical qualifications and have never been trained under a bona fide spiritual master nevertheless comment on Vedic literatures like the Srimad-Bhagavatam and other puranas, for such persons cannot deliver their real message. Ruci was considered a first-class brahmana; therefore he is mentioned here as brahma-varcasvi, one who had full prowess in brahminical strength. SB4.1.4 TEXT 4 yas tayoh purusah saksad visnur yajna-svarupa-dhrk ya stri sa daksina bhuter amsa-bhutanapayini SYNONYMS yah—one who; tayoh—out of them; purusah—male; saksat—directly; visnuh—the Supreme Lord; yajna—Yajna; svarupa-dhrk—accepting the form; ya—the other; stri—female; sa—she; daksina—Daksina; bhuteh—of the goddess of fortune; amsa-bhuta—being a plenary expansion; anapayini—never to be separated. TRANSLATION Of the two children born of Akuti, the male child was directly an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His name was Yajna, which is another name of Lord Visnu. The female child was a partial incarnation of Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, the eternal consort of Lord Visnu. PURPORT Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, is the eternal consort of Lord Visnu. Here it is stated that both the Lord and Laksmi, who are eternal consorts, appeared from Akuti simultaneously. Both the Lord and His consort are beyond this material creation, as confirmed by many authorities (narayanah paro ’vyaktat); therefore their eternal relationship cannot be changed, and Yajna, the boy born of Akuti, later married the goddess of fortune. SB4.1.5 TEXT 5 aninye sva-grham putryah putram vitata-rocisam svayambhuvo muda yukto rucir jagraha daksinam SYNONYMS aninye—brought to; sva-grham—home; putryah—born of the daughter; putram—the son; vitata-rocisam—very powerful; svayambhuvah—the Manu named Svayambhuva; muda—being very pleased; yuktah—with; rucih—the great sage Ruci; jagraha—kept; daksinam—the daughter named Daksina. TRANSLATION Svayambhuva Manu very gladly brought home the beautiful boy named Yajna, and Ruci, his son-in-law, kept with him the daughter, Daksina. PURPORT Svayambhuva Manu was very glad to see that his daughter Akuti had given birth to both a boy and girl. He was afraid that he would take one son and that because of this his son-in-law Ruci might be sorry. Thus when he heard that a daughter was born along with the boy, he was very glad. Ruci, according to his promise, returned his male child to Svayambhuva Manu and decided to keep the daughter, whose name was Daksina. One of Lord Visnu’s names is Yajna because He is the master of the Vedas. The name Yajna comes from yajusam patih, which means “Lord of all sacrifices.” In the Yajur Veda there are different ritualistic prescriptions for performing yajnas, and the beneficiary of all such yajnas is the Supreme Lord, Visnu. Therefore it is stated in Bhagavad-gita (3.9), yajnarthat karmanah: one should act, but one should perform one’s prescribed duties only for the sake of Yajna, or Visnu. lf one does not act for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or if one does not perform devotional service, then there will be reactions to all one’s activities. It does not matter if the reaction is good or bad; if our activities are not dovetailed with the desire of the Supreme Lord, or if we do not act in Krsna consciousness, then we shall be responsible for the results of all our activities. There is always a reaction to every kind of action, but if actions are performed for Yajna, there is no reaction. Thus if one acts for Yajna, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is not entangled in the material condition, for it is mentioned in the Vedas and also in Bhagavad-gita that the Vedas and the Vedic rituals are all meant for understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. From the very beginning one should try to act in Krsna consciousness; that will free one from the reactions of material activities. SB4.1.6 TEXT 6 tam kamayanam bhagavan uvaha yajusam patih tustayam tosam apanno ’janayad dvadasatmajan SYNONYMS tam—her; kamayanam—desiring; bhagavan—the Lord; uvaha—married; yajusam—of all sacrifices; patih—master; tustayam—in His wife, who was very much pleased; tosam—great pleasure; apannah—having obtained; ajanayat—gave birth; dvadasa—twelve; atmajan—sons. TRANSLATION The Lord of the ritualistic performance of yajna later married Daksina, who was anxious to have the Personality of Godhead as her husband, and in this wife the Lord was also very much pleased to beget twelve children. PURPORT An ideal husband and wife are generally called Laksmi-Narayana to compare them to the Lord and the goddess of fortune, for it is significant that Laksmi-Narayana are forever happy as husband and wife. A wife should always remain satisfied with her husband, and a husband should always remain satisfied with his wife. In the Canakya-sloka, the moral instructions of Canakya Pandita, it is said that if a husband and wife are always satisfied with one another, then the goddess of fortune automatically comes. In other words, where there is no disagreement between husband and wife, all material opulence is present, and good children are born. Generally, according to Vedic civilization, the wife is trained to be satisfied in all conditions, and the husband, according to Vedic instruction, is required to please the wife with sufficient food, ornaments and clothing. Then, if they are satisfied with their mutual dealings, good children are born. In this way the entire world can become peaceful, but unfortunately in this age of Kali there are no ideal husbands and wives; therefore unwanted children are produced, and there is no peace and prosperity in the present-day world. SB4.1.7 TEXT 7 tosah pratosah santoso bhadrah santir idaspatih idhmah kavir vibhuh svahnah sudevo rocano dvi-sat SYNONYMS tosah—Tosa; pratosah—Pratosa; santosah—Santosa; bhadrah—Bhadra; santih—Santi; idaspatih—Idaspati; idhmah—Idhma; kavih—Kavi; vibhuh—Vibhu; svahnah—Svahna; sudevah—Sudeva; rocanah—Rocana; dvi-sat—twelve. TRANSLATION The twelve boys born of Yajna and Daksina were named Tosa, Pratosa, Santosa, Bhadra, Santi, Idaspati, Idhma, Kavi, Vibhu, Svahna, Sudeva and Rocana. SB4.1.8 TEXT 8 tusita nama te deva asan svayambhuvantare marici-misra rsayo yajnah sura-ganesvarah SYNONYMS tusitah—the category of the Tusitas; nama—of the name; te—all of them; devah—demigods; asan—became; svayambhuva—the name of the Manu; antare—at that period; marici-misrah—headed by Marici; rsayah—great sages; yajnah—the incarnation of Lord Visnu; sura-gana-isvarah—the king of the demigods. TRANSLATION During the time of Svayambhuva Manu, these sons all became the demigods collectively named the Tusitas. Marici became the head of the seven rsis, and Yajna became the king of the demigods, Indra. PURPORT During the life of Svayambhuva Manu, six kinds of living entities were generated from the demigods known as the Tusitas, from the sages headed by Marici, and from descendants of Yajna, king of the demigods, and all of them expanded their progeny to observe the order of the Lord to fill the universe with living entities. These six kinds of living entities are known as manus, devas, manu-putras, amsavataras, suresvaras and rsis. Yajna, being the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, became the leader of the demigods, Indra. SB4.1.9 TEXT 9 priyavratottanapadau manu-putrau mahaujasau tat-putra-pautra-naptrnam anuvrttam tad-antaram SYNONYMS priyavrata—Priyavrata; uttanapadau—Uttanapada; manu-putrau—sons of Manu; maha-ojasau—very great, powerful; tat—their; putra—sons; pautra—grandsons; naptrnam—grandsons from the daughter; anuvrttam—following; tat-antaram—in that Manu’s period. TRANSLATION Svayambhuva Manu’s two sons, Priyavrata and Uttanapada, became very powerful kings, and their sons and grandsons spread all over the three worlds during that period. SB4.1.10 TEXT 10 devahutim adat tata kardamayatmajam manuh tat-sambandhi sruta-prayam bhavata gadato mama SYNONYMS devahutim—Devahuti; adat—handed over; tata—my dear son; kardamaya—unto the great sage Kardama; atmajam—daughter; manuh—Lord Svayambhuva Manu; tat-sambandhi—in that connection; sruta-prayam—heard almost in full; bhavata—by you; gadatah—spoken; mama—by me. TRANSLATION My dear son, Svayambhuva Manu handed over his very dear daughter Devahuti to Kardama Muni. I have already spoken to you about them, and you have heard about them almost in full. SB4.1.11 TEXT 11 daksaya brahma-putraya prasutim bhagavan manuh prayacchad yat-krtah sargas tri-lokyam vitato mahan SYNONYMS daksaya—unto Prajapati Daksa; brahma-putraya—the son of Lord Brahma; prasutim—Prasuti; bhagavan—the great personality; manuh—Svayambhuva Manu; prayacchat—handed over; yat-krtah—done by whom; sargah—creation; tri-lokyam—in the three worlds; vitatah—expanded; mahan—greatly. TRANSLATION Svayambhuva Manu handed over his daughter Prasuti to the son of Brahma named Daksa, who was also one of the progenitors of the living entities. The descendants of Daksa are spread throughout the three worlds. SB4.1.12 TEXT 12 yah kardama-sutah prokta nava brahmarsi-patnayah tasam prasuti-prasavam procyamanam nibodha me SYNONYMS yah—those who; kardama-sutah—the daughters of Kardama; proktah—were mentioned; nava—nine; brahma-rsi—great sages of spiritual knowledge; patnayah—wives; tasam—their; prasuti-prasavam—generations of sons and grandsons; procyamanam—describing; nibodha—try to understand; me—from me. TRANSLATION You have already been informed about the nine daughters of Kardama Muni, who were handed over to nine different sages. I shall now describe the descendants of those nine daughters. Please hear from me. PURPORT The Third Canto has already described how Kardama Muni begot nine daughters in Devahuti and how all the daughters were later handed over to great sages like Marici, Atri and Vasistha. SB4.1.13 TEXT 13 patni marices tu kala susuve kardamatmaja kasyapam purnimanam ca yayor apuritam jagat SYNONYMS patni—wife; mariceh—of the sage named Marici; tu—also; kala—named Kala; susuve—gave birth; kardama-atmaja—daughter of Kardama Muni; kasyapam—of the name Kasyapa; purnimanam ca—and of the name Purnima; yayoh—by whom; apuritam—spread all over; jagat—the world. TRANSLATION Kardama Muni’s daughter Kala, who was married to Marici, gave birth to two children, whose names were Kasyapa and Purnima. Their descendants are spread all over the world. SB4.1.14 TEXT 14 purnimasuta virajam visvagam ca parantapa devakulyam hareh pada- saucad yabhut sarid divah SYNONYMS purnima—Purnima; asuta—begot; virajam—a son named Viraja; visvagam ca—and named Visvaga; param-tapa—O annihilator of enemies; devakulyam—a daughter named Devakulya; hareh—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pada-saucat—by the water which washed His lotus feet; ya—she; abhut—became; sarit divah—the transcendental water within the banks of the Ganges. TRANSLATION My dear Vidura, of the two sons, Kasyapa and Purnima, Purnima begot three children, namely Viraja, Visvaga and Devakulya. Of these three, Devakulya was the water which washed the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead and which later on transformed into the Ganges of the heavenly planets. PURPORT Of the two sons Kasyapa and Purnima, herein Purnima’s descendants are described. An elaborate description of these descendants will be given in the Sixth Canto. lt is also understood herein that Devakulya is the presiding deity of the River Ganges, which comes down from the heavenly planets to this planet and is accepted to be sanctified because it touched the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari. SB4.1.15 TEXT 15 atreh patny anasuya trin jajne suyasasah sutan dattam durvasasam somam atmesa-brahma-sambhavan SYNONYMS atreh—of Atri Muni; patni—wife; anasuya—named Anasuya; trin—three; jajne—bore; su-yasasah—very famous; sutan—sons; dattam—Dattatreya; durvasasam—Durvasa; somam—Soma (the moon-god); atma—the Supersoul; isa—Lord Siva; brahma—Lord Brahma; sambhavan—incarnations of. TRANSLATION Anasuya, the wife of Atri Muni, gave birth to three very famous sons—Soma, Dattatreya and Durvasa—who were partial representations of Lord Visnu, Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. Soma was a partial representation of Lord Brahma, Dattatreya was a partial representation of Lord Visnu, and Durvasa was a partial representation of Lord Siva. PURPORT In this verse we find the words atma-isa-brahma-sambhavan. Atma means the Supersoul, or Visnu, isa means Lord Siva, and brahma means the four-headed Lord Brahma. The three sons born of Anasuya—Dattatreya, Durvasa and Soma—were born as partial representations of these three demigods. Atma is not in the category of the demigods or living entities because He is Visnu; therefore He is described as vibhinnamsa-bhutanam. The Supersoul, Visnu, is the seed-giving father of all living entities, including Brahma and Lord Siva. Another meaning of the word atma may be accepted in this way: the principle who is the Supersoul in every atma, or, one may say, the soul of everyone, became manifested as Dattatreya, because the word amsa, part and parcel, is used here. In Bhagavad-gita the individual souls are also described as parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or Supersoul, so why not accept that Dattatreya was one of those parts? Lord Siva and Lord Brahma are also described here as parts, so why not accept all of them as ordinary individual souls? The answer is that the manifestations of Visnu and those of the ordinary living entities are certainly all parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, and no one is equal to Him, but among the parts and parcels there are different categories. In the Varaha Purana it is nicely explained that some of the parts are svamsa and some are vibhinnamsa. Vibhinnamsa parts are called jivas, and svamsa parts are in the Visnu category. In the jiva category, the vibhinnamsa parts and parcels, there are also gradations. That is explained in the Visnu Purana, where it is clearly stated that the individual parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord are subject to being covered by the external energy, called illusion, or maya. Such individual parts and parcels, who can travel to any part of the Lord’s creation, are called sarva-gata and are suffering the pangs of material existence. They are proportionately freed from the coverings of ignorance under material existence according to different levels of work and under different influences of the modes of material nature. For example, the sufferings of jivas situated in the mode of goodness are less than those of jivas situated in the mode of ignorance. Pure Krsna consciousness, however, is the birthright of all living entities because every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. The consciousness of the Lord is also in the part and parcel, and according to the proportion to which that consciousness is cleared of material dirt, the living entities are differently situated. ln the Vedanta-sutra, the living entities of different gradations are compared to candles or lamps with different candle power. For example, some electric bulbs have the power of one thousand candles, some have the power of five hundred candles, some the power of one hundred candles, some fifty candles, etc., but all electric bulbs have light. Light is present in every bulb, but the gradations of light are different. Similarly, there are gradations of Brahman. The Visnu svamsa expansions of the Supreme Lord in different Visnu forms are like lamps, Lord Siva is also like a lamp, and the supreme candle power, or the one-hundred-percent light, is Krsna. The visnu-tattva has ninety-four percent, the siva-tattva has eighty-four percent, Lord Brahma has seventy-eight percent, and the living entities are also like Brahma, but in the conditioned state their power is still more dim. There are gradations of Brahman, and no one can deny this fact. Therefore the words atmesa-brahma-sambhavan indicate that Dattatreya was directly part and parcel of Visnu, whereas Durvasa and Soma were parts and parcels of Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. SB4.1.16 TEXT 16 vidura uvaca atrer grhe sura-sresthah sthity-utpatty-anta-hetavah kincic cikirsavo jata etad akhyahi me guro SYNONYMS vidurah uvaca—Sri Vidura said; atreh grhe—in the house of Atri; sura-sresthah—chief demigods; sthiti—maintenance; utpatti—creation; anta—destruction; hetavah—causes; kincit—something; cikirsavah—desiring to do; jatah—appeared; etat—this; akhyahi—tell; me—to me; guro—my dear spiritual master. TRANSLATION After hearing this, Vidura inquired from Maitreya: My dear master, how is it that the three deities Brahma, Visnu and Siva, who are the creator, maintainer and destroyer of the whole creation, became the offspring of the wife of Atri Muni? PURPORT The inquisitiveness of Vidura was quite fitting, for he understood that when the Supersoul, Lord Brahma and Lord Siva all appeared through the person of Anasuya, the wife of Atri Muni, there must have been some great purpose. Otherwise why should they have appeared in such a way?