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sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami continued to speak; kimpuruse varse—the tract of land known as Kimpurusa; bhagavantam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adi-purusam—the original cause of all causes; laksmana-agra-jam—the elder brother of Laksmana; sita-abhiramam—who is very pleasing to mother Sita, or who is the husband of Sitadevi; ramam—Lord Ramacandra; tat-carana-sannikarsa-abhiratah—one always engaged in service at the lotus feet of Lord Ramacandra; parama-bhagavatah—the great devotee celebrated throughout the universe; hanuman—His Grace Hanumanji; saha—with; kimpurusaih—the inhabitants of the tract of land known as Kimpurusa; avirata—continuous; bhaktih—who possesses devotional service; upaste—worships.

Srila Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King, in Kimpurusa-varsa the great devotee Hanuman is always engaged with the inhabitants of that land in devotional service to Lord Ramacandra, the elder brother of Laksmana and dear husband of Sitadevi.

SB5.19.2

TEXT 2

arstisenena saha gandharvair anugiyamanam parama-kalyanim bhartr-bhagavat-katham samupasrnoti svayam cedam gayati.

SYNONYMS

arsti-senena—Arstisena, the chief personality of Kimpurusa-varsa; saha—with; gandharvaih—by a company of Gandharvas; anugiyamanam—being chanted; parama-kalyanim—most auspicious; bhartr-bhagavat-katham—the glories of his master, who is also the Supreme Personality of Godhead; samupasrnoti—he hears with great attention; svayam ca—and personally; idam—this; gayati—chants.

TRANSLATION

A host of Gandharvas is always engaged in chanting the glories of Lord Ramacandra. That chanting is always extremely auspicious. Hanumanji and Arstisena, the chief person in Kimpurusa-varsa, constantly hear those glories with complete attention. Hanuman chants the following mantras.

PURPORT

In the Puranas there are two different opinions concerning Lord Ramacandra. In the Laghu-bhagavatamrta (5.34–36) this is confirmed in the description of the incarnation of Manu.

vasudevadi-rupanam
avatarah prakirtitah
visnu-dharmottare rama-
laksmanadyah kramadami

padme tu ramo bhagavan
narayana itiritah
sesas cakram ca sankhas ca
kramat syur laksmanadayah

madhya-desa-sthitayodhya-
pure ’sya vasatih smrta
maha-vaikunthaloke ca
raghavedrasya kirtita

The Visnu-dharmottara describes that Lord Ramacandra and His brothers—Laksmana, Bharata and Satrughna—are incarnations of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha respectively. The Padma Purana, however, says that Lord Ramacandra is an incarnation of Narayana and that the other three brothers are incarnations of Sesa, Cakra and Sankha. Therefore Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana has concluded, tad idam kalpa-bhedenaiva sambhavyam. In other words, these opinions are not contradictory. In some millenniums Lord Ramacandra and His brothers appear as incarnations of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, and in other millenniums They appear as incarnations of Narayana, Sesa, Cakra and Sankha. The residence of Lord Ramacandra on this planet is Ayodhya. Ayodhya City is still existing in the district of Hyderabad, which is situated on the northern side of Uttar Pradesh.

SB5.19.3

TEXT 3

om namo bhagavate uttamaslokaya nama arya-laksana-sila-vrataya nama upasiksitatmana upasita-lokaya namah sadhu-vada-nikasanaya namo brahmanya-devaya maha-purusaya maha-rajaya nama iti.

om—O my Lord; namah—my respectful obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; uttama-slokaya—who is always worshiped with selected verses; namah—my respectful obeisances; arya-laksana-sila-vrataya—who possesses all the good qualities of advanced personalities; namah—my respectful obeisances; upasiksita-atmane—unto You whose senses are under control; upasita-lokaya—who is always remembered and worshiped by all the different classes of living entities; namah—my respectful obeisances; sadhu-vada-nikasanaya—to the Lord, who is like a stone for examining all the good qualities of a sadhu; namah—my respectful obeisances; brahmanya-devaya—who is worshiped by the most qualified brahmanas; maha-purusaya—unto the Supreme Lord, who is worshiped by the purusa-sukta because of being the cause of this material creation; maha-rajaya—unto the supreme king, or the king of all kings; namah—my respectful obeisances; iti—thus.

Let me please Your Lordship by chanting the bija-mantra omkara. I wish to offer my respectful obeisances unto the Personality of Godhead, who is the best among the most highly elevated personalities. Your Lordship is the reservoir of all the good qualities of Aryans, people who are advanced. Your character and behavior are always consistent, and You always control Your senses and mind. Acting just like an ordinary human being, You exhibit exemplary character to teach others how to behave. There is a touchstone that can be used to examine the quality of gold, but You are like a touchstone that can verify all good qualities. You are worshiped by brahmanas who are the foremost of all devotees. You, the Supreme Person, are the King of kings, and therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

SB5.19.4

TEXT 4

yat tad visuddhanubhava-matram ekam

sva-tejasa dhvasta-guna-vyavastham

pratyak prasantam sudhiyopalambhanam

hy anama-rupam niraham prapadye

SYNONYMS

yat—which; tat—to that supreme truth; visuddha—transcendentally pure, without contamination by material nature; anubhava—experience; matram—that sac-cid-ananda transcendental body; ekam—the one; sva-tejasa—by His own spiritual potency; dhvasta—vanquished; guna-vyavastham—the influence of the modes of material nature; pratyak—transcendental, not to be seen with material eyes; prasantam—undisturbed by material agitation; sudhiya—by Krsna consciousness, or purified consciousness, uncontaminated by material desires, fruitive activities and speculative philosophy; upalambhanam—who can be achieved; hi—indeed; anama-rupam—without a material name and form; niraham—without a material ego; prapadye—let me offer my respectful obeisances.

TRANSLATION

The Lord, whose pure form [sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]] is uncontaminated by the modes of material nature, can be perceived by pure consciousness. In the Vedanta He is described as being one without a second. Because of His spiritual potency, He is untouched by the contamination of material nature, and because He is not subjected to material vision, He is known as transcendental. He has no material activities, nor has He a material form or name. Only in pure consciousness, Krsna consciousness, can one perceive the transcendental form of the Lord. Let us be firmly fixed at the lotus feet of Lord Ramacandra, and let us offer our respectful obeisances unto those transcendental lotus feet.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, appears in various expansions, as stated in the Brahma-samhita (5.39):

ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan
nanavataram akarod bhuvanesu kintu
krsnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who is always situated in various incarnations such as Rama, Nrsimha and many subincarnations as well, but who is the original personality of Godhead known as Krsna and who incarnates personally also.” Krsna, who is visnu-tattva, has expanded Himself in many Visnu forms, of which Lord Ramacandra is one. We know that the visnu-tattva is carried by the transcendental bird Garuda and is equipped with different types of weapons in four hands. Therefore we may doubt whether Lord Ramacandra could be in the same category, since He was carried by Hanuman, not by Garuda, and had neither four hands nor the sankha, cakra, gada and padma. Consequently this verse clarifies that Ramacandra is as good as Krsna (ramadi-murtisu kala). Although Krsna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Ramacandra is not different from Him. Ramacandra is unaffected by the modes of material nature, and therefore He is prasanta, never disturbed by those modes.

Unless one is saturated with love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot appreciate the transcendental value of Lord Ramacandra; one cannot see Him with material eyes. Because demons like Ravana have no spiritual vision, they consider Lord Ramacandra an ordinary ksatriya king. Ravana therefore attempted to kidnap Lord Ramacandra’s eternal consort, Sitadevi. Actually, however, Ravana could not carry off Sitadevi in her original form. As soon as she was touched by Ravana’s hands, she gave him a material form, but she maintained her original form beyond his vision. Therefore in this verse the words pratyak prasantam indicate that Lord Ramacandra and His potency, the goddess Sita, keep themselves aloof from the influence of the material energy.

In the Upanisads it is said: yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyah. The Supreme Lord, Paramatma, the Personality of Godhead, can be seen or perceived only by persons who are saturated with devotional service. As stated in the Brahma-samhita (5.38):

premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti
yam syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, who is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of Syamasundara, situated within the heart of the devotee.” Similarly, in the Chandogya Upanisad it is stated, etas tisro devata anena jivena. In this verse of the Chandogya Upanisad the word anena is used to distinguish the atma and Paramatma as two separate identities. The words tisro devata indicate that the body of the living entity is made of three material elements—fire, earth and water. Although the Paramatma enters the heart of the jivatma, who is influenced and designated by a material body, the Paramatma has nothing to do with the jivatma’s body. Because the Paramatma has no material connections, He is described here as anama-rupam niraham. The Paramatma has no material identity, whereas the jivatma does. The jivatma may introduce himself as an Indian, American, German and so on, but the Paramatma has no such material designations, and therefore He has no material name. The jivatma is different from his name, but the Paramatma is not; His name and He Himself are one and the same. This is the meaning of niraham, which means “without material designations.” This word cannot possibly be twisted to mean that the Paramatma has no ahankara, no “I-ness” or identity. He has His transcendental identity as the Supreme. This is the explanation given by Srila Jiva Gosvami. According to another interpretation, given by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, niraham means nirniscayena aham. Niraham does not mean that the Supreme Lord has no identity. Rather, the stress given by the word aham proves strongly that He does have His personal identity because nir not only means “negative” but also means “strong ascertainment.”

SB5.19.5

TEXT 5

martyavataras tv iha martya-siksanam

rakso-vadhayaiva na kevalam vibhoh

kuto ’nyatha syad ramatah sva atmanah

sita-krtani vyasananisvarasya

martya—as a human being; avatarah—whose incarnation; tu—however; iha—in the material world; martya-siksanam—for teaching all the living entities, especially human beings; raksah-vadhaya—to kill the demon Ravana; eva—certainly; na—not; kevalam—only; vibhoh—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kutah—from where; anyatha—otherwise; syat—there would be; ramatah—of one enjoying; sve—in Himself; atmanah—the spiritual identity of the universe; sita—of the wife of Lord Ramacandra; krtani—appearing due to the separation; vyasanani—all the miseries; isvarasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

It was ordained that Ravana, chief of the Raksasas, could not be killed by anyone but a man, and for this reason Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared in the form of a human being. Lord Ramacandra’s mission, however, was not only to kill Ravana but also to teach mortal beings that material happiness centered around sex life or centered around one’s wife is the cause of many miseries. He is the self-sufficient Supreme Personality of Godhead, and nothing is lamentable for Him. Therefore why else could He be subjected to tribulations by the kidnapping of mother Sita?

na vai sa atmatmavatam suhrttamah

When the Lord appears in this universe in the form of a human being, He has two purposes, as stated in Bhagavad-gita [Bg. 4.8]—paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam: to destroy the demons and protect the devotees. To protect the devotees, the Lord not only satisfies them by His personal presence but also teaches them so that they will not fall down from devotional service. By His personal example, Lord Ramacandra taught the devotees that it is better not to enter married life, which is certainly followed by many tribulations. As confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.9.45):

yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham
kanduyanena karayor iva duhkha-duhkham
trpyanti neha krpana bahu-duhkha-bhajah
kandutivan manasijam visaheta-dhirah

Krpanas, those who are not advanced in spiritual knowledge and who are therefore just the opposite of brahmanas, generally take to family life, which is a concession for sex. Thus they enjoy sex again and again, although that sex is followed by many tribulations. This is a warning to devotees. To teach this lesson to devotees and to human society in general, Lord Sri Ramacandra, although the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, underwent a series of tribulations because He accepted a wife, mother Sita. Lord Ramacandra underwent these austerities, of course, only to instruct us; actually He never has any reason to lament for anything.

Another aspect of the Lord’s instructions is that one who accepts a wife must be a faithful husband and give her full protection. Human society is divided into two classes of men—those who strictly follow the religious principles and those who are devotees. By His personal example, Lord Ramacandra wanted to instruct both of them how to fully adopt the discipline of the religious system and how to be a beloved and dutiful husband. Otherwise He had no reason to undergo apparent tribulations. One who strictly follows religious principles must not neglect to provide all facilities for the complete protection of his wife. There may be some suffering because of this, but one must nevertheless endure it. That is the duty of a faithful husband. By His personal example, Lord Ramacandra demonstrated this duty. Lord Ramacandra could have produced hundreds and thousands of Sitas from His pleasure energy, but just to show the duty of a faithful husband, He not only rescued Sita from the hands of Ravana but also killed Ravana and all the members of his family.

Another aspect of the teachings of Lord Ramacandra is that although Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His devotees may apparently suffer from material tribulations, they have nothing to do with such tribulations. They are mukta-purusas, liberated persons, under all circumstances. It is therefore said in the Caitanya-bhagavata:

yata dekha vaisnavera vyavahara duhkha
niscaya janiha taha paramananda-sukha

A Vaisnava is always firmly situated in transcendental bliss because of engagement in devotional service. Although he may appear to suffer material pains, his position is called transcendental bliss in separation (viraha). The emotions a lover and beloved feel when separated from one another are actually very blissful, although apparently painful. Therefore the separation of Lord Ramacandra from Sitadevi, as well as the consequent tribulation they suffered, is but another display of transcendental bliss. That is the opinion of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura.

SB5.19.6

TEXT 6

saktas tri-lokyam bhagavan vasudevah

na stri-krtam kasmalam asnuvita

na laksmanam capi vihatum arhati

na—not; vai—indeed; sah—He; atma—the Supreme Soul; atmavatam—of the self-realized souls; suhrt-tamah—the best friend; saktah—attached; tri-lokyam—to anything within the three worlds; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vasudevah—the all-pervading Lord; na—not; stri-krtam—obtained because of His wife; kasmalam—sufferings of separation; asnuvita—would obtain; na—not; laksmanam—His younger brother Laksmana; ca—also; api—certainly; vihatum—to give up; arhati—be able.

Since Lord Sri Ramacandra is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, He is not attached to anything in this material world. He is the most beloved Supersoul of all self-realized souls, and He is their very intimate friend. He is full of all opulences. Therefore He could not possibly have suffered because of separation from His wife, nor could He have given up His wife and Laksmana, His younger brother. To give up either would have been absolutely impossible.

na janma nunam mahato na saubhagam

In defining the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we say that He is full in all six opulences—wealth, fame, strength, influence, beauty and renunciation. He is called renounced because He is not attached to anything in this material world; He is specifically attached to the spiritual world and the living entities there. The affairs of the material world take place under the superintendence of Durgadevi (srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka/ chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga [Bs. 5.44]). Everything is going on under the strict rules and regulations of the material energy, represented by Durga. Therefore the Lord is completely detached and need not give attention to the material world. Sitadevi belongs to the spiritual world. Similarly, Lord Laksmana, Ramacandra’s younger brother, is a manifestation of Sankarsana, and Lord Ramacandra Himself is Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Since the Lord is always spiritually qualified, He is attached to servants who always render transcendental loving service unto Him. He is attached to the truth in life, not to brahminical qualities. Indeed, He is never attached to any material qualities. Although He is the Supersoul of all living entities, He is specifically manifest to those who are self-realized, and He is especially dear to the hearts of His transcendental devotees. Because Lord Ramacandra descended to teach human society how dutiful a king should be, He apparently gave up the company of mother Sita and Laksmana. Factually, however, He could not have given them up. One should therefore learn about the activities of Lord Ramacandra from a self-realized soul. Then one can understand the transcendental activities of the Lord.

SB5.19.7

TEXT 7

na van na buddhir nakrtis tosa-hetuh

tair yad visrstan api no vanaukasas

cakara sakhye bata laksmanagrajah

na—not; janma—birth in a very polished, aristocratic family; nunam—indeed; mahatah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; na—nor; saubhagam—great fortune; na—nor; vak—an elegant manner of speaking; na—nor; buddhih—sharpness of intelligence; na—not; akrtih—features of the body; tosa-hetuh—the cause of pleasure to the Lord; taih—by all those above-mentioned qualities; yat—because; visrstan—rejected; api—although; nah—us; vana-okasah—the inhabitants of the forest; cakara—accepted; sakhye—in friendship; bata—alas; laksmana-agra-jah—Lord Sri Ramacandra, the elder brother of Laksmana.

One cannot establish a friendship with the Supreme Lord Ramacandra on the basis of material qualities such as one’s birth in an aristocratic family, one’s personal beauty, one’s eloquence, one’s sharp intelligence or one’s superior race or nation. None of these qualifications is actually a prerequisite for friendship with Lord Sri Ramacandra. Otherwise how is it possible that although we uncivilized inhabitants of the forest have not taken noble births, although we have no physical beauty and although we cannot speak like gentlemen, Lord Ramacandra has nevertheless accepted us as friends?

suro ’suro vapy atha vanaro narah

In a prayer to Krsna expressing her feelings, Srimati Kuntidevi called Him akincana-gocara. The prefix a means “not,” and kincana “something of this material world.” One may be very proud of his prestigious position, material wealth, beauty, education and so on, but although these are certainly good qualifications in material dealings, they are not necessary for achieving friendship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who possesses all these material qualities is expected to become a devotee, and when he actually does, the qualities are properly utilized. Those who are puffed up by a high birth, wealth, education and personal beauty (janmaisvarya-sruta-sri) unfortunately do not care for developing Krsna consciousness, nor does the Supreme Personality of Godhead care about all these material qualifications. The Supreme Lord is achieved by devotion (bhaktya mam abhijanati [Bg. 18.55]). One’s devotion and sincere desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead are the only qualifications. Rupa Gosvami has also said that the price for achieving God’s favor is simply one’s sincere eagerness to have it (laulyam ekam mulyam). In the Caitanya-bhagavata it is said:

kholaveca sevakera dekha bhagya-sima
brahma siva kande yara dekhiya mahima

dhane jane panditye krsna nahi pai
kevala bhaktira vasa caitanya-gosani

“Behold the great fortune of the devotee Kholaveca. Lord Brahma and Siva shed tears upon seeing his greatness. One cannot attain Lord Krsna by any amount of wealth, followers, or learning. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is controlled only by pure devotion. “Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had a very sincere devotee whose name was Kholaveca Sridhara and whose only business was to sell pots made of the skin of banana trees. Whatever income he had, he used fifty percent for the worship of mother Ganges, and with the other fifty percent he provided for his necessities. On the whole, he was so very poor that he lived in a cottage that had a broken roof with many holes in it. He could not afford brass utensils, and therefore he drank water from an iron pot. Nevertheless, he was a great devotee of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is a typical example of how a poor man with no material possessions can become a most exalted devotee of the Lord. The conclusion is that one cannot attain shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Krsna or Sri Caitanya Gosani through material opulence; that shelter is attainable only by pure devotional service.

anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama

[Madhya 19.167]

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krsna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

SB5.19.8

TEXT 8

sarvatmana yah sukrtajnam uttamam

bhajeta ramam manujakrtim harim

ya uttaran anayat kosalan divam iti

surah—demigod; asurah—demon; va api—or; atha—therefore; va—or; anarah—other than a human being (bird, beast, animal and so on); narah—a human being; sarva-atmana—wholeheartedly; yah—who; su-krtajnam—easily made grateful; uttamam—most highly elevated; bhajeta—should worship; ramam—Lord Ramacandra; manuja-akrtim—appearing as a human being; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yah—who; uttaran—of northern India; anayat—brought back; kosalan—the inhabitants of Kosala-desa, Ayodhya; divam—to the spiritual world, Vaikuntha; iti—thus.

Therefore, whether one is a demigod or a demon, a man or a creature other than man, such as a beast or bird, everyone should worship Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appears on this earth just like a human being. There is no need of great austerities or penances to worship the Lord, for Me accepts even a small service offered by His devotee. Thus He is satisfied, and as soon as He is satisfied, the devotee is successful. Indeed, Lord Sri Ramacandra brought all the devotees of Ayodhya back home, back to Godhead [Vaikuntha].