Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 4: “The Creation of the Fourth Order”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Twenty-four

Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Siva

SB4.24.1

TEXT 1

maitreya uvaca

vijitasvo ’dhirajasit

prthu-putrah prthu-sravah

yaviyobhyo ’dadat kastha

bhratrbhyo bhratr-vatsalah

SYNONYMS

maitreyah uvaca—Maitreya continued to speak; vijitasvah—of the name Vijitasva; adhiraja—the emperor; asit—became; prthu-putrah—the son of Maharaja Prthu; prthu-sravah—of great activities; yaviyobhyah—unto the younger brothers; adadat—offered; kasthah—different directions; bhratrbhyah—unto the brothers; bhratr-vatsalah—very affectionate to the brothers.

TRANSLATION

The great sage Maitreya continued: Vijitasva, the eldest son of Maharaja Prthu, who had a reputation like his father’s, became emperor and gave his younger brothers different directions of the world to govern, for he was very affectionate toward his brothers.

PURPORT

After describing the life and character of Maharaja Prthu in the previous chapter, the great sage Maitreya began to speak about the sons and grandsons in the genealogical line of the Prthu dynasty. After the death of Maharaja Prthu, his eldest son, Vijitasva, became emperor of the world. King Vijitasva was very affectionate toward his younger brothers, and therefore he wanted them to rule different directions of the world. From time immemorial the eldest son generally becomes king after the death of the previous king. When the Pandavas ruled the earth, Maharaja Yudhisthira, the eldest son of King Pandu, became emperor, and his younger brothers assisted him. Similarly, King Vijitasva’s younger brothers were appointed to govern the different directions of the world.

SB4.24.2

TEXT 2

haryaksayadisat pracim

dhumrakesaya daksinam

praticim vrka-samjnaya

turyam dravinase vibhuh

SYNONYMS

haryaksaya—unto Haryaksa; adisat—delivered; pracim—eastern; dhumrakesaya—unto Dhumrakesa; daksinam—the southern side; praticim—the western side; vrka-samjnaya—unto his brother whose name was Vrka; turyam—the northern side; dravinase—unto another brother of his named Dravina; vibhuh—the master.

TRANSLATION

Maharaja Vijitasva offered the eastern part of the world to his brother Haryaksa, the southern part to Dhumrakesa, the western part to Vrka and the northern part to Dravina.

SB4.24.3

TEXT 3

antardhana-gatim sakral

labdhvantardhana-samjnitah

apatya-trayam adhatta

sikhandinyam susammatam

SYNONYMS

antardhana—of disappearance; gatim—achievement; sakrat—from King Indra; labdhva—getting; antardhana—of the name; samjnitah—so nominated; apatya—children; trayam—three; adhatta—begot; sikhandinyam—in Sikhandini, his wife; su-sammatam—approved by everyone.

TRANSLATION

Formerly, Maharaja Vijitasva pleased the King of heaven, Indra, and from him received the title Antardhana. His wife’s name was Sikhandini, and by her he begot three good sons.

PURPORT

Maharaja Vijitasva was known as Antardhana, which means “disappearance.” He received this title from Indra, and it refers to the time when Indra stole Maharaja Prthu’s horse from the sacrificial arena. Indra was not visible to others when he was stealing the horse, but Maharaja Prthu’s son Vijitasva could see him. Yet despite his knowing that Indra was taking away his father’s horse, Vijitasva did not attack him. This indicates that Maharaja Vijitasva respected the right persons. Although Indra was stealing the horse from his father, Vijitasva knew perfectly well that Indra was not an ordinary thief. Since Indra was a great and powerful demigod and servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vijitasva purposefully excused him due to sentiment only, even though Indra was acting wrongly. Thus Indra became very pleased with Vijitasva at that time. The demigods have the great mystic power of being able to appear and disappear according to their will, and since Indra was very pleased with Vijitasva, he bestowed this mystic power upon him. Thus Vijitasva became known as Antardhana.

SB4.24.4

TEXT 4

pavakah pavamanas ca

sucir ity agnayah pura

vasistha-sapad utpannah

punar yoga-gatim gatah

SYNONYMS

pavakah—of the name Pavaka; pavamanah—of the name Pavamana; ca—also; sucih—of the name Suci; iti—thus; agnayah—the fire-gods; pura—formerly; vasistha—the great sage Vasistha; sapat—by being cursed; utpannah—now born as such; punah—again; yoga-gatim—the destination of mystic yoga practice; gatah—attained.

TRANSLATION

The three sons of Maharaja Antardhana were named Pavaka, Pavamana and Suci. Formerly these three personalities were the demigods of fire, but due to the curse of the great sage Vasistha, they became the sons of Maharaja Antardhana. As such, they were as powerful as the fire-gods, and they attained the destination of mystic yoga power, being again situated as the demigods of fire.

PURPORT

In the Bhagavad-gita (6.41–43) it is stated that one who falls down from yoga practice is elevated to the heavenly planets, and after enjoying the material facilities there he again comes down to the earthly planet and takes birth in a very rich family or a very pious brahmana family. Thus it is to be understood that when demigods fall down, they come to earth as sons of very rich and pious families. In such families, the living entity gets an opportunity to execute Krsna consciousness and thereby gain promotion to his desired goal. The sons of Maharaja Antardhana had been the demigods in charge of fire, and they regained their former position and by mystic power returned to the heavenly planets.

SB4.24.5

TEXT 5

antardhano nabhasvatyam

havirdhanam avindata

ya indram asva-hartaram

vidvan api na jaghnivan

SYNONYMS

antardhanah—the king of the name Antardhana; nabhasvatyam—unto his wife Nabhasvati; havirdhanam—of the name Havirdhana; avindata—obtained; yah—who; indram—King Indra; asva-hartaram—who was stealing the horse of his father; vidvan api—although he knew it; na jaghnivan—did not kill.

TRANSLATION

Maharaja Antardhana had another wife, named Nabhasvati, and by her he was happy to beget another son, named Havirdhana. Since Maharaja Antardhana was very liberal, he did not kill Indra while the demigod was stealing his father’s horse at the sacrifice.

PURPORT

It is understood from various scriptures and puranas that the King of heaven, Indra, was very expert in stealing and kidnapping. He could steal anything without being visible to the proprietor, and he could kidnap anyone’s wife without being detected. Once he raped the wife of Gautama Muni by using his disappearing art, and similarly by becoming invisible he stole the horse of Maharaja Prthu. Although in human society such activities are considered abominable, the demigod Indra was not considered to be degraded by them. Although Antardhana could understand that King Indra was stealing the horse from his father, he did not kill Indra, for he knew that if one who is very powerful sometimes commits an abominable act, it should be disregarded. In Bhagavad-gita (9.30) it is clearly stated:

api cet su-duracaro
bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah
samyag vyavasito hi sah

Thus the Lord says that even if a devotee commits an abominable act, he should be considered a sadhu, or a pious man, because of his unflinching devotion to the Lord. The devotees of the Lord never willingly commit any sinful act, but sometimes they commit something abominable due to their previous habits. Such acts should not be taken very seriously, however, because the devotees of the Lord are very powerful, whether they are on the heavenly planets or on this planet. If by chance they commit something abominable, it should not be taken into account, but should be overlooked.

SB4.24.6

TEXT 6

rajnam vrttim karadana-

danda-sulkadi-darunam

manyamano dirgha-sattra-

vyajena visasarja ha

SYNONYMS

rajnam—of the kings; vrttim—source of livelihood; kara—taxes; adana—realization; danda—punishment; sulka—fines; adi—etc.; darunam—which are very severe; manyamanah—thinking like that; dirgha—long; sattra—sacrifice; vyajena—on the plea; visasarja—gave up; ha—in the past.

TRANSLATION

Whenever Antardhana, the supreme royal power, had to exact taxes, punish his citizens or fine them severely, he was not willing to do so. Consequently he retired from the execution of such duties and engaged himself in the performance of different sacrifices.

PURPORT

It is clear herein that the king sometimes has to perform duties which are not very desirable just because he is the king. Similarly, Arjuna was not at all willing to fight because fighting or killing one’s own kinsmen and family members is not at all desirable. Nonetheless the ksatriyas had to perform such undesirable actions as a matter of duty. Maharaja Antardhana was not very happy while exacting taxes or punishing the citizens for their criminal activities; therefore, on the plea of performing sacrifices, he retired from the royal majestic power at a very early age.

SB4.24.7

TEXT 7

tatrapi hamsam purusam

paramatmanam atma-drk

yajams tal-lokatam apa

kusalena samadhina

SYNONYMS

tatra api—despite his engagement; hamsam—one who kills the distress of his kinsmen; purusam—unto the Supreme Person; parama-atmanam—the most beloved Supersoul; atma-drk—one who has seen or acquired self-realization; yajan—by worshiping; tat-lokatam—achieved the same planet; apa—achieved; kusalena—very easily; samadhina—always keeping himself in ecstasy.

TRANSLATION

Although Maharaja Antardhana was engaged in performing sacrifices, because he was a self-realized soul he very intelligently rendered devotional service to the Lord, who eradicates all the fears of His devotees. By thus worshiping the Supreme Lord, Maharaja Antardhana, rapt in ecstasy, attained His planet very easily.

PURPORT

Since sacrifices are generally performed by fruitive actors, it is especially mentioned here (tatrapi) that although Maharaja Antardhana was externally engaged in performing sacrifices, his real business was rendering devotional service by hearing and chanting. In other words, he was performing the usual sacrifices by the method of sankirtana-yajna, as recommended herein:

sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam

(Bhag. 7.5.23)

Devotional service is called kirtana-yajna, and by practicing the sankirtana-yajna, one is very easily elevated to the planet where the Supreme Lord resides. Out of the five kinds of liberations, achieving the same planet where the Lord resides and living with the Lord there is called salokya liberation.

SB4.24.8

TEXT 8

havirdhanad dhavirdhani

vidurasuta sat sutan

barhisadam gayam suklam

krsnam satyam jitavratam

SYNONYMS

havirdhanat—from Havirdhana; havirdhani—the name of the wife of Havirdhana; vidura—O Vidura; asuta—gave birth; sat—six; sutan—sons; barhisadam—of the name Barhisat; gayam—of the name Gaya; suklam—of the name Sukla; krsnam—of the name Krsna; satyam—of the name Satya; jitavratam—of the name Jitavrata.

TRANSLATION

Havirdhana, the son of Maharaja Antardhana, had a wife named Havirdhani, who gave birth to six sons, named Barhisat, Gaya, Sukla, Krsna, Satya and Jitavrata.

SB4.24.9

TEXT 9

barhisat sumaha-bhago

havirdhanih prajapatih

kriya-kandesu nisnato

yogesu ca kurudvaha

SYNONYMS

barhisat—of the name Barhisat; su-maha-bhagah—very fortunate; havirdhanih—of the name Havirdhani; praja-patih—the post of Prajapati; kriya-kandesu—in the matter of fruitive activities; nisnatah—being merged in; yogesu—in mystic yoga practices; ca—also; kuru-udvaha—O best of the Kurus (Vidura).

TRANSLATION

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, Havirdhana’s very powerful son named Barhisat was very expert in performing various kinds of fruitive sacrifices, and he was also expert in the practice of mystic yoga. By his great qualifications, he became known as Prajapati.

PURPORT

In the beginning of the creation there were not many living entities, and consequently the very powerful living entities or demigods were appointed as Prajapatis in order to beget children and increase the population. There are many Prajapatis—Brahma, Daksa and Manu are sometimes known as Prajapatis—and Barhisat, the son of Havirdhana, became one of them.

SB4.24.10

TEXT 10

yasyedam deva-yajanam

anuyajnam vitanvatah

pracinagraih kusair asid

astrtam vasudha-talam

SYNONYMS

yasya—whose; idam—this; deva-yajanam—satisfying the demigods by sacrifices; anuyajnam—continually sacrificing; vitanvatah—executing; pracina-agraih—keeping the kusa grass facing toward the eastern side; kusaih—the kusa grass; asit—remained; astrtam—scattered; vasudha-talam—all over the surface of the globe.

TRANSLATION

Maharaja Barhisat executed many sacrifices all over the world. He scattered kusa grasses and kept the tops of the grasses pointed eastward.

PURPORT

As stated in the previous verse (kriya-kandesu nisnatah), Maharaja Barhisat dived very deeply into the fruitive activities of sacrifice. This means that as soon as he finished one yajna in one place, he began performing another yajna in the immediate vicinity. At the present moment there is a similar need to perform sankirtana-yajna all over the world. The Krsna consciousness movement has started performing sankirtana-yajna in different places, and it has been experienced that wherever sankirtana-yajna is performed, many thousands of people gather and take part in it. Imperceptible auspiciousness achieved in this connection should be continued all over the world. The members of the Krsna consciousness movement should perform sankirtana-yajnas one after another, so much that all the people of the world will either jokingly or seriously chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and thus they will derive the benefit of cleansing the heart. The holy name of the Lord (harer nama [Adi 17.21]) is so powerful that whether it is chanted jokingly or seriously the effect of vibrating this transcendental sound will be equally distributed. It is not possible at the present moment to perform repeated yajnas as Maharaja Barhisat performed, but it is within our means to perform sankirtana-yajna, which does not cost anything. One can sit down anywhere and chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If the surface of the globe is overflooded with the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, the people of the world will be very, very happy.

SB4.24.11

TEXT 11

samudrim devadevoktam

upayeme satadrutim

yam viksya caru-sarvangim

kisorim susthv-alankrtam

parikramantim udvahe

cakame ’gnih sukim iva

SYNONYMS

samudrim—unto the daughter of the ocean; deva-deva-uktam—being advised by the supreme demigod, Lord Brahma; upayeme—married; satadrutim—of the name Satadruti; yam—whom; viksya—seeing; caru—very attractive; sarva-angim—all the features of the body; kisorim—youthful; susthu—sufficiently; alankrtam—decorated with ornaments; parikramantim—circumambulating; udvahe—in the marriage ceremony; cakame—being attracted; agnih—the fire-god; sukim—unto Suki; iva—like.

TRANSLATION

Maharaja Barhisat—henceforward known as Pracinabarhi—was ordered by the supreme demigod Lord Brahma to marry the daughter of the ocean named Satadruti. Her bodily features were completely beautiful, and she was very young. She was decorated with the proper garments, and when she came into the marriage arena and began circumambulating it, the fire-god Agni became so attracted to her that he desired her company, exactly as he had formerly desired to enjoy Suki.

PURPORT

In this verse the word susthv-alankrtam is significant. According to the Vedic system, when a girl is married, she is very profusely and gorgeously decorated with costly saris and jewelry, and during the marriage ceremony the bride circumambulates the bridegroom seven times. After this, the bridegroom and bride look at one another and become attracted for life. When the bridegroom finds the bride very beautiful, the attraction between them immediately becomes very strongly fixed. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, men and women are naturally attracted to one another, and when they are united by marriage that attraction becomes very strong. Being so strongly attracted, the bridegroom attempts to set up a nice homestead and eventually a good field for producing grains. Then children come, then friends and then wealth. In this way the male becomes more and more entangled in the material conceptions of life, and he begins to think, “This is mine,” and”it is I who am acting.” In this way the illusion of material existence is perpetuated.

The words sukim iva are also significant, for the fire-god Agni became attracted by the beauty of Satadruti while she was circumambulating the bridegroom Pracinabarhi, just as he had previously been attracted to the beauty of Suki, the wife of Saptarsi. When the fire-god had been present long ago at the assembly of Saptarsi, he was attracted by the beauty of Suki when she was circumambulating in the same way. Agni’s wife, named Svaha, took the form of Suki and enjoyed sex life with Agni. Not only the fire-god Agni but the heavenly god Indra and sometimes even Lord Brahma and Lord Siva—all very highly situated demigods—are subject to being attracted by sex at any time. The sex drive is so strong in the living entities that the whole material world is running on sex attraction only, and it is due to sex attraction that one remains in the material world and is obliged to accept different types of bodies. The attraction of sex life is more clearly explained in the next verse.

SB4.24.12

TEXT 12

vibudhasura-gandharva-

muni-siddha-naroragah

vijitah suryaya diksu

kvanayantyaiva nupuraih

SYNONYMS

vibudha—learned; asura—the demons; gandharva—the denizens of Gandharvaloka; muni—great sages; siddha—the denizens of Siddhaloka; nara—the inhabitants of the earthly planets; uragah—denizens of Nagaloka; vijitah—captivated; suryaya—by the new bride; diksu—in all directions; kvanayantya—tinkling; eva—only; nupuraih—by her ankle bells.

TRANSLATION

While Satadruti was thus being married, the demons, the denizens of Gandharvaloka, the great sages, and the denizens of Siddhaloka, the earthly planets and Nagaloka, although highly exalted, were all captivated by the tinkling of her ankle bells.

PURPORT

Generally a woman becomes more beautiful when, after an early marriage, she gives birth to a child. To give birth to a child is the natural function of a woman, and therefore a woman becomes more and more beautiful as she gives birth to one child after another. In the case of Satadruti, however, she was so beautiful that she attracted the whole universe at her marriage ceremony. Indeed, she attracted all the learned and exalted demigods simply by the tinkling of her ankle bells. This indicates that all the demigods wanted to see her beauty completely, but they were not able to see it because she was fully dressed and covered with ornaments. Since they could only see the feet of Satadruti, they became attracted by her ankle bells, which tinkled as she walked. In other words, the demigods became captivated by her simply by hearing the tinkling of her ankle bells. They did not have to see her complete beauty. It is sometimes understood that a person becomes lusty just by hearing the tinkling of bangles on the hands of women or the tinkling of ankle bells, or just by seeing a woman’s sari. Thus it is concluded that woman is the complete representation of maya. Although Visvamitra Muni was engaged in practicing mystic yoga with closed eyes, his transcendental meditation was broken when he heard the tinkling of bangles on the hands of Menaka. In this way Visvamitra Muni became a victim of Menaka and fathered a child who is universally celebrated as Sakuntala. The conclusion is that no one can save himself from the attraction of woman, even though he be an exalted demigod or an inhabitant of the higher planets. Only a devotee of the Lord, who is attracted by Krsna, can escape the lures of woman. Once one is attracted by Krsna, the illusory energy of the world cannot attract him.

SB4.24.13

TEXT 13

pracinabarhisah putrah

satadrutyam dasabhavan

tulya-nama-vratah sarve

dharma-snatah pracetasah

SYNONYMS

pracinabarhisah—of King Pracinabarhi; putrah—sons; satadrutyam—in the womb of Satadruti; dasa—ten; abhavan—became manifest; tulya—equally; nama—name; vratah—vow; sarve—all; dharma—religiosity; snatah—completely merged in; pracetasah—all of them being designated as Pracetas.

TRANSLATION

King Pracinabarhi begot ten children in the womb of Satadruti. All of them were equally endowed with religiosity, and all of them were known as the Pracetas.

PURPORT

The word dharma-snatah is significant, for the ten children were all merged in the practice of religion. In addition, they possessed all good qualities. One is supposed to be perfect when one is perfectly religious, perfect in the execution of one’s vows to render devotional service, perfect in knowledge, perfect in good behavior, and so on. All the Pracetas were on the same level of perfection.

SB4.24.14

TEXT 14

pitradistah praja-sarge

tapase ’rnavam avisan

dasa-varsa-sahasrani

tapasarcams tapas-patim

SYNONYMS

pitra—by the father; adistah—being ordered by; praja-sarge—in the matter of begetting children; tapase—for executing austerity; arnavam—in the ocean; avisan—entered; dasa-varsa—ten years; sahasrani—such thousands; tapasa—by their austerity; arcan—worshiped; tapah—of austerity; patim—the master.

TRANSLATION

When all these Pracetas were ordered by their father to marry and beget children, they all entered the ocean and practiced austerities and penances for ten thousand years. Thus they worshiped the master of all austerity, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

Sometimes great sages and ascetics enter the Himalaya Mountains in order to find seclusion from the turmoil of the world. It appears, however, that all the Pracetas, the sons of Pracinabarhi, entered the depths of the ocean to perform austerity in a secluded place. Since they performed austerities for ten thousand years, this incident took place in the Satya-yuga, when people used to live for a hundred thousand years. It is also significant that by their austerity they worshiped the master of austerity, Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one wants to perform austerities and penances in order to attain the supreme goal, one must attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one achieves the favor of the Supreme Lord, it is to be understood that he has finished all kinds of austerities and penances and has attained efficiency in their execution. On the other hand, if one does not attain the perfect stage of devotional service, all austerities and penances actually have no meaning, for without the Supreme Lord no one can attain the highest results derived from performing them. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (5.29), Lord Sri Krsna is the master of all penances and sacrifices. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram. Thus the desired result of performing austerities may be derived from Lord Krsna.

In Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.33.7) it is stated:

aho bata sva-paco ’to gariyan
yaj-jihvagre vartate nama tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuh sasnur arya
brahmanucur nama grnanti ye te

Even if a person is born in a family of candalas—the lowest birth one can get in human society—he is glorious if he chants the holy names of the Lord, for it is to be understood that by such chanting a devotee definitely proves that he underwent all kinds of austerities in his previous life. By the grace of Lord Caitanya, one who chants the maha-mantra (Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare) attains the highest perfectional stage, which had previously been attained by people who entered the ocean and executed austerities for ten thousand years. In this age of Kali, if a person does not take advantage of chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, which is offered as a great concession to the fallen human beings of this age, it is to be understood that he is very much bewildered by the illusory energy of the Lord.

SB4.24.15

TEXT 15

yad uktam pathi drstena

girisena prasidata

tad dhyayanto japantas ca

pujayantas ca samyatah

SYNONYMS

yat—that; uktam—said; pathi—on the way; drstena—while meeting; girisena—by Lord Siva; prasidata—being very much satisfied; tat—that; dhyayantah—meditating; japantah ca—chanting also; pujayantah ca—worshiping also; samyatah—with great control.

TRANSLATION

When all the sons of Pracinabarhi left home to execute austerities, they met Lord Siva, who, out of great mercy, instructed them about the Absolute Truth. All the sons of Pracinabarhi meditated upon the instructions, chanting and worshiping them with great care and attention.

PURPORT

It is clear that to perform austerities or penances, or, for that matter, any form of devotional service, one has to be guided by a spiritual master. Here it is clearly stated that the ten sons of Maharaja Pracinabarhi were favored by the appearance of Lord Siva, who, out of great kindness, gave them instructions regarding the execution of austerities. Lord Siva actually became the spiritual master of the ten sons, and in turn his disciples took his words so seriously that simply by meditating upon his instructions (dhyayantah) they became perfect. This is the secret of success. After being initiated and receiving the orders of the spiritual master, the disciple should unhesitatingly think about the instructions or orders of the spiritual master and should not allow himself to be disturbed by anything else. This is also the verdict of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, who, while explaining a verse of Bhagavad-gita (vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana, Bg. 2.41), points out that the order of the spiritual master is the life substance of the disciple. The disciple should not consider whether he is going back home, back to Godhead; his first business should be to execute the order of his spiritual master. Thus a disciple should always meditate on the order of the spiritual master, and that is perfectional meditation. Not only should he meditate upon that order, but he should find out the means by which he can perfectly worship and execute it.

SB4.24.16

TEXT 16

vidura uvaca

pracetasam giritrena

yathasit pathi sangamah

yad utaha harah pritas

tan no brahman vadarthavat

SYNONYMS

vidurah uvaca—Vidura inquired; pracetasam—of all the Pracetas; giritrena—by Lord Siva; yatha—just as; asit—it was; pathi—on the road; sangamah—meeting; yat—which; uta aha—said; harah—Lord Siva; pritah—being pleased; tat—that; nah—unto us; brahman—O great brahmana; vada—speak; artha-vat—with clear meaning.

TRANSLATION

Vidura asked Maitreya: My dear brahmana, why did the Pracetas meet Lord Siva on the way? Please tell me how the meeting happened, how Lord Siva became very pleased with them and how he instructed them. Certainly such talks are important, and I wish that you please be merciful upon me and describe them.

PURPORT

Whenever there are some important talks between a devotee and the Lord or between exalted devotees, one should be very much curious to hear them. At the meeting of Naimisaranya, where Suta Gosvami spoke Srimad-Bhagavatam to all the great sages, Suta Gosvami was also asked about the talks between Maharaja Pariksit and Sukadeva Gosvami, for the sages believed that the talks between Sukadeva Gosvami and Maharaja Pariksit must have been as important as the talks between Lord Krsna and Arjuna. As everyone is still eager to learn the subject of Bhagavad-gita in order to become perfectly enlightened, Vidura was similarly eager to learn from the great sage Maitreya about the talks between Lord Siva and the Pracetas.

SB4.24.17

TEXT 17

sangamah khalu viprarse

siveneha saririnam

durlabho munayo dadhyur

asangad yam abhipsitam

SYNONYMS

sangamah—association; khalu—certainly; vipra-rse—O best of the brahmanas; sivena—along with Lord Siva; iha—in this world; saririnam—those who are encaged in material bodies; durlabhah—very rare; munayah—great sages; dadhyuh—engaged themselves in meditation; asangat—being detached from anything else; yam—unto whom; abhipsitam—desiring.

TRANSLATION

The great sage Vidura continued: O best of the brahmanas, it is very difficult for living entities encaged within this material body to have personal contact with Lord Siva. Even great sages who have no material attachments do not contact him, despite their always being absorbed in meditation to attain his personal contact.

PURPORT

Since Lord Siva does not incarnate himself unless there is some special reason, it is very difficult for an ordinary person to contact him. However, Lord Siva does descend on a special occasion when he is ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this regard, it is stated in the Padma Purana that Lord Siva appeared as a brahmana in the age of Kali to preach the Mayavada philosophy, which is nothing but a type of Buddhist philosophy. It is stated in Padma Purana:

mayavadam asac-chastram
pracchannam bauddham ucyate
mayaiva vihitam devi
kalau brahmana-murtina

Lord Siva, speaking to Parvati-devi, foretold that he would spread the Mayavada philosophy in the guise of a sannyasi brahmana just to eradicate Buddhist philosophy. This sannyasi was Sripada Sankaracarya. In order to overcome the effects of Buddhist philosophy and spread Vedanta philosophy, Sripada Sankaracarya had to make some compromise with the Buddhist philosophy, and as such he preached the philosophy of monism, for it was required at that time. Otherwise there was no need for his preaching Mayavada philosophy. At the present moment there is no need for Mayavada philosophy or Buddhist philosophy, and Lord Caitanya rejected both of them. This Krsna consciousness movement is spreading the philosophy of Lord Caitanya and rejecting the philosophy of both classes of Mayavadi. Strictly speaking, both Buddhist philosophy and Sankara’s philosophy are but different types of Mayavada dealing on the platform of material existence. Neither of these philosophies has spiritual significance. There is spiritual significance only after one accepts the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita, which culminates in surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Generally people worship Lord Siva for some material benefit, and although they cannot see him personally, they derive great material profit by worshiping him.

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