Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 6: “Prescribed Duties for Mankind”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Nineteen
Performing the Pumsavana Ritualistic Ceremony
SB6.19Summary
This chapter explains how Diti, Kasyapa Muni’s wife, executed Kasyapa Muni’s instructions on devotional service. During the first day of the bright fortnight of the moon in the month of Agrahayana (November–December), every woman, following in the footsteps of Diti and following the instructions of her own husband, should begin this pumsavana-vrata. In the morning, after washing her teeth, bathing and thus becoming purified, she should hear about the birth mystery of the Maruts. Then, covering her body with a white dress and being properly ornamented, before breakfast she should worship Lord Visnu and mother Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, Lord Visnu’s wife, by glorifying Lord Visnu for His mercy, patience, prowess, ability, greatness and other glories and for how He can bestow all mystic benedictions. While offering the Lord all paraphernalia for worship, such as ornaments, a sacred thread, scents, nice flowers, incense and water for bathing and washing His feet, hands and mouth, one should invite the Lord with this mantra: om namo bhagavate maha-purusaya mahanubhavaya mahavibhutipataye saha maha-vibhutibhir balim upaharami. Then one should offer twelve oblations in the fire while chanting this mantra: om namo bhagavate maha-purusaya mahavibhuti-pataye svaha. One should offer obeisances while chanting this mantra ten times. Then one should chant the Laksmi-Narayana mantra.
If either a pregnant woman or her husband regularly discharges this devotional service, both of them will receive the result. After continuing this process for one full year, the chaste wife should fast on the purnima, the full-moon day, of Karttika. On the following day, the husband should worship the Lord as before and then observe a festival by cooking nice food and distributing prasada to the brahmanas. Then, with the permission of the brahmanas, the husband and wife should take prasada. This chapter ends by glorifying the results of the pumsavana function. SB6.19.1 TEXT 1 sri-rajovaca vratam pumsavanam brahman bhavata yad udiritam tasya veditum icchami yena visnuh prasidati SYNONYMS sri-raja uvaca—Maharaja Pariksit said; vratam—the vow; pumsavanam—called pumsavana; brahman—O brahmana; bhavata—by you; yat—which; udiritam—was spoken of; tasya—of that; veditum—to know; icchami—I want; yena—by which; visnuh—Lord Visnu; prasidati—is pleased. TRANSLATION Maharaja Pariksit said: My dear lord, you have already spoken about the pumsavana vow. Now I want to hear about it in detail, for I understand that by observing this vow one can please the Supreme Lord, Visnu. SB6.19.2-3 TEXTS 2–3 sri-suka uvaca sukle margasire pakse yosid bhartur anujnaya arabheta vratam idam sarva-kamikam aditah nisamya marutam janma brahmanan anumantrya ca snatva sukla-dati sukle vasitalankrtambare pujayet pratarasat prag bhagavantam sriya saha SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; sukle—bright; margasire—during the month of November—December; pakse—during the fortnight; yosit—a woman; bhartuh—of the husband; anujnaya—with the permission; arabheta—should begin; vratam—vow; idam—this; sarva-kamikam—which fulfills all desires; aditah—from the first day; nisamya—hearing; marutam—of the Maruts; janma—the birth; brahmanan—the brahmanas; anumantrya—taking instruction from; ca—and; snatva—bathing; sukla-dati—having cleaned the teeth; sukle—white; vasita—should put on; alankrta—wearing ornaments; ambare—garments; pujayet—should worship; pratah-asat prak—before breakfast; bhagavantam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sriya saha—with the goddess of fortune. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami said: On the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Agrahayana [November–December], following the instructions of her husband, a woman should begin this regulative devotional service with a vow of penance, for it can fulfill all one’s desires. Before beginning the worship of Lord Visnu, the woman should hear the story of how the Maruts were born. Under the instructions of qualified brahmanas, in the morning she should wash her teeth, bathe, and dress herself with white cloth and ornaments, and before taking breakfast she should worship Lord Visnu and Laksmi. SB6.19.4 TEXT 4 alam te nirapeksaya purna-kama namo ’stu te mahavibhuti-pataye namah sakala-siddhaye SYNONYMS alam—enough; te—to You; nirapeksaya—indifferent; purna-kama—O Lord, whose desire is always fulfilled; namah—obeisances; astu—may there be; te—unto You; maha-vibhuti—of Laksmi; pataye—unto the husband; namah—obeisances; sakala-siddhaye—unto the master of all mystic perfections. TRANSLATION [She should then pray to the Lord as follows.] My dear Lord, You are full in all opulences, but I do not beg You for opulence. I simply offer my respectful obeisances unto You. You are the husband and master of Laksmidevi, the goddess of fortune, who has all opulences. Therefore You are the master of all mystic yoga. I simply offer my obeisances unto You. PURPORT A devotee knows how to appreciate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. om purnam adah purnam idam “The personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the complete whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the complete whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” Therefore, to take shelter of the Supreme Lord is required. Whatever a devotee needs will be supplied by the complete Supreme Personality of Godhead (tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham [Bg. 9.22]). Therefore a pure devotee will not ask anything from the Lord. He simply offers the Lord his respectful obeisances, and the Lord is prepared to accept whatever the devotee can secure to worship Him, even patram puspam phalam toyam—a leaf, flower, fruit or water. There is no need to artificially exert oneself. It is better to be plain and simple and with respectful obeisances offer to the Lord whatever one can secure. The Lord is completely able to bless the devotee with all opulences. SB6.19.5 TEXT 5 yatha tvam krpaya bhutya tejasa mahimaujasa justa isa gunaih sarvais tato ’si bhagavan prabhuh SYNONYMS yatha—as; tvam—You; krpaya—with mercy; bhutya—with opulences; tejasa—with prowess; mahima-ojasa—with glory and strength; justah—endowed; isa—O my Lord; gunaih—with transcendental qualities; sarvaih—all; tatah—therefore; asi—You are; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; prabhuh—the master. TRANSLATION O my Lord, because You are endowed with causeless mercy, all opulences, all prowess and all glories, strength and transcendental qualities, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone. PURPORT In this verse the words tato ’si bhagavan prabhuh mean “Therefore You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all six opulences in full, and moreover He is extremely kind to His devotee. Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless wants all the living entities to surrender unto Him so that they may engage in His service. Thus He becomes satisfied. Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless becomes pleased when His devotee offers Him patram puspam phalam toyam—a leaf, flower, fruit or water—in devotion. Sometimes the Lord, as the child of mother Yasoda, requests His devotee for some food, as if He were very hungry. Sometimes He tells His devotee in a dream that His temple and His garden are now very old and that He cannot enjoy them very nicely. Thus He requests the devotee to repair them. Sometimes He is buried in the earth, and as if unable to come out Himself, He requests His devotee to rescue Him. Sometimes He requests His devotee to preach His glories all over the world, although He alone is quite competent to perform this task. Even though the Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all possessions and is self-sufficient, He depends on His devotees. Therefore the relationship of the Lord with His devotees is extremely confidential. Only the devotee can perceive how the Lord, although full in Himself, depends on His devotee for some particular work. This is explained in Bhagavad-gita (11.33), where the Lord tells Arjuna, nimitta-matram bhava savyasacin: “O Arjuna, merely be an instrument in the fight.” Lord Krsna had the competence to win the Battle of Kuruksetra, but nonetheless He induced His devotee Arjuna to fight and become the cause of victory. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was quite competent enough to spread His name and mission all over the world, but still He depended upon His devotee to do this work. Considering all these points, the most important aspect of the Supreme Lord’s self-sufficiency is that He depends on His devotees. This is called His causeless mercy. The devotee who has perceived this causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by realization can understand the master and the servant. SB6.19.6 TEXT 6 visnu-patni maha-maye mahapurusa-laksane priyetha me maha-bhage loka-matar namo ’stu te SYNONYMS visnu-patni—O wife of Lord Visnu; maha-maye—O energy of Lord Visnu; maha-purusa-laksane—possessing the qualities and opulences of Lord Visnu; priyethah—kindly be pleased; me—upon me; maha-bhage—O goddess of fortune; loka-matah—O mother of the world; namah—obeisances; astu—may there be; te—unto you. TRANSLATION [After profusely offering obeisances unto Lord Visnu, the devotee should offer respectful obeisances unto mother Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, and pray as follows.] O wife of Lord Visnu, O internal energy of Lord Visnu, you are as good as Lord Visnu Himself, for you have all of His qualities and opulences. O goddess of fortune, please be kind to me. O mother of the entire world, I offer my respectful obeisances unto you. PURPORT The Lord has multifarious potencies (parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate). Since mother Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, is the Lord’s very precious potency, she is addressed here as maha-maye. The word maya means sakti. Lord Visnu, the Supreme, cannot exhibit His power everywhere without His principal energy. It is said, sakti saktiman abheda: the power and the powerful are identical. Therefore mother Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, is the constant companion of Lord Visnu; they remain together constantly. One cannot keep Laksmi in one’s home without Lord Visnu. To think that one can do so is very dangerous. To keep Laksmi, or the riches of the Lord, without the service of the Lord is always dangerous, for then Laksmi becomes the illusory energy. With Lord Visnu, however, Laksmi is the spiritual energy. SB6.19.7 TEXT 7 om namo bhagavate maha-purusaya mahanubhavaya mahavibhuti-pataye saha maha-vibhutibhir balim upaharamiti; anenahar-ahar mantrena visnor avahanarghya-padyopasparsana-snana-vasa-upavita-vibhusana-gandha-puspa-dhupa-dipopaharady-upacaran susama-hitopaharet. SYNONYMS om—O my Lord; namah—obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full with six opulences; maha-purusaya—the best of enjoyers; maha-anubhavaya—the most powerful; maha-vibhuti—of the goddess of fortune; pataye—the husband; saha—with; maha-vibhutibhih—associates; balim—presentation s; upaharami—I am offering; iti—thus; anena—by this; ahah-ahah—every day; mantrena—mantra; visnoh—of Lord Visnu; avahana—invocations; arghya-padya-upasparsana—water for washing the hands, feet and mouth; snana—water for bathing; vasa—garments; upavita—a sacred thread; vibhusana—ornaments; gandha—scents; puspa—flowers; dhupa—incense; dipa—lamps; upahara—gifts; adi—and so on; upacaran—presentations; su-samahita—with great attention; upaharet—she must offer. TRANSLATION “My Lord Visnu, full in six opulences, You are the best of all enjoyers and the most powerful. O husband of mother Laksmi, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are accompanied by many associates, such as Visvaksena. I offer all the paraphernalia for worshiping You.” One should chant this mantra every day with great attention while worshiping Lord Visnu with all paraphernalia, such as water for washing His feet, hands and mouth and water for His bath. One must offer Him various presentations for His worship, such as garments, a sacred thread, ornaments, scents, flowers, incense and lamps. PURPORT This mantra is very important. Anyone engaged in Deity worship should chant this mantra, as quoted above, beginning with om namo bhagavate maha-purusaya. SB6.19.8 TEXT 8 havih-sesam ca juhuyad xxx anale dvadasahutih xxx om namo bhagavate maha-purusaya mahavibhuti-pataye svaheti SYNONYMS havih-sesam—remnants of the offering; ca—and; juhuyat—one should offer; anale—in the fire; dvadasa—twelve; ahutih—oblations; om—O my Lord; namah—obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; maha-purusaya—the supreme enjoyer; maha-vibhuti—of the goddess of fortune; pataye—the husband; svaha—hail; iti—thus. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami continued: After worshiping the Lord with all the paraphernalia mentioned above, one should chant the following mantra while offering twelve oblations of ghee on the sacred fire: om namo bhagavate maha-purusaya mahavibhuti-pataye svaha. SB6.19.9 TEXT 9 sriyam visnum ca varadav asisam prabhavav ubhau bhaktya sampujayen nityam yadicchet sarva-sampadah SYNONYMS sriyam—the goddess of fortune; visnum—Lord Visnu; ca—and; vara-dau—the bestowers of benedictions; asisam—of blessings; prabhavau—the sources; ubhau—both; bhaktya—with devotion; sampujayet—should worship; nityam—daily; yadi—if; icchet—desires; sarva—all; sampadah—opulences. TRANSLATION If one desires all opulences, his duty is to daily worship Lord Visnu with His wife, Laksmi. With great devotion one should worship Him according to the above-mentioned process. Lord Visnu and the goddess of fortune are an immensely powerful combination. They are the bestowers of all benedictions and the sources of all good fortune. Therefore the duty of everyone is to worship Laksmi-Narayana. PURPORT Laksmi-Narayana—Lord Visnu and mother Laksmi—are always situated in everyone’s heart (isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]). However, because nondevotees do not realize that Lord Visnu stays with His eternal consort, Laksmi, within the hearts of all living entities, they are not endowed with the opulence of Lord Visnu. Unscrupulous men sometimes address a poor man as daridra-narayana, or “poor Narayana.” This is most unscientific. Lord Visnu and Laksmi are always situated in everyone’s heart, but this does not mean that everyone is Narayana, especially not those in poverty. This is a most abominable term to use in connection with Narayana. Narayana never becomes poor, and therefore He can never be called daridra-narayana. Narayana is certainly situated in everyone’s heart, but He is neither poor nor rich. Only unscrupulous persons who do not know the opulence of Narayana try to afflict Him with poverty. SB6.19.10 TEXT 10 pranamed dandavad bhumau bhakti-prahvena cetasa dasa-varam japen mantram tatah stotram udirayet SYNONYMS pranamet—should offer obeisances; danda-vat—like a stick; bhumau—on the ground; bhakti—through devotion; prahvena—humble; cetasa—with a mind; dasa-varam—ten times; japet—should utter; mantram—the mantra; tatah—then; stotram—prayer; udirayet—should chant. TRANSLATION One should offer obeisances unto the Lord with a mind humbled through devotion. While offering dandavats by falling on the ground like a rod, one should chant the above mantra ten times. Then one should chant the following prayer. SB6.19.11 TEXT 11 yuvam tu visvasya vibhu jagatah karanam param iyam hi prakrtih suksma maya-saktir duratyaya SYNONYMS yuvam—both of you; tu—indeed; visvasya—of the universe; vibhu—the proprietors; jagatah—of the universe; karanam—the cause; param—supreme; iyam—this; hi—certainly; prakrtih—energy; suksma—difficult to understand; maya-saktih—the internal energy; duratyaya—difficult to overcome. TRANSLATION My Lord Visnu and mother Laksmi, goddess of fortune, you are the proprietors of the entire creation. Indeed, you are the cause of the creation. Mother Laksmi is extremely difficult to understand because she is so powerful that the jurisdiction of her power is difficult to overcome. Mother Laksmi is represented in the material world as the external energy, but actually she is always the internal energy of the Lord. SB6.19.12 TEXT 12 tasya adhisvarah saksat tvam eva purusah parah tvam sarva-yajna ijyeyam kriyeyam phala-bhug bhavan SYNONYMS tasyah—of her; adhisvarah—the master; saksat—directly; tvam—You; eva—certainly; purusah—the person; parah—supreme; tvam—You; sarva-yajnah—personified sacrifice; ijya—worship; iyam—this (Laksmi); kriya—activities; iyam—this; phala-bhuk—the enjoyer of the fruits; bhavan—You. TRANSLATION My Lord, You are the master of energy, and therefore You are the Supreme Person. You are sacrifice [yajna] personified. Laksmi, the embodiment of spiritual activities, is the original form of worship offered unto You, whereas You are the enjoyer of all sacrifices. SB6.19.13 TEXT 13 guna-vyaktir iyam devi vyanjako guna-bhug bhavan tvam hi sarva-sariry atma srih sarirendriyasayah nama-rupe bhagavati pratyayas tvam apasrayah SYNONYMS guna-vyaktih—the reservoir of qualities; iyam—this; devi—goddess; vyanjakah—manifester; guna-bhuk—the enjoyer of the qualities; bhavan—You; tvam—You; hi—indeed; sarva-sariri atma—the Supersoul of all living entities; srih—the goddess of fortune; sarira—the body; indriya—senses; asayah—and the mind; nama—name; rupe—and form; bhagavati—Laksmi; pratyayah—the cause of manifestation; tvam—You; apasrayah—the support. TRANSLATION Mother Laksmi, who is here, is the reservoir of all spiritual qualities, whereas You manifest and enjoy all these qualities. Indeed, You are actually the enjoyer of everything. You live as the Supersoul of all living entities, aid the goddess of fortune is the form of their bodies, senses and minds. She also has a holy name and form, whereas You are the support of all such names and forms and the cause for their manifestation. PURPORT Madhvacarya, the acarya of the Tattvavadis, has described this verse in the following way: “Visnu is described as yajna personified, and mother Laksmi is described as spiritual activities and the original form of worship. In fact, they represent spiritual activities and the Supersoul of all yajna. Lord Visnu is the Supersoul even of Laksmidevi, but no one can be the Supersoul of Lord Visnu, for Lord Visnu Himself is the spiritual Supersoul of everyone.” According to Madhvacarya, there are two tattvas, or factors. One is independent, and the other is dependent. The first tattva is the Supreme Lord, Visnu, and the second is the jiva-tattva. Laksmidevi, being dependent on Lord Visnu, is sometimes counted among the jivas. The Gaudiya Vaisnavas, however, describe Laksmidevi in accordance with the following two verses from the Prameya-ratnavali of Baladeva Vidyabhusana. The first verse is a quotation from the Visnu Purana. nityaiva sa jagan-mata visnoh syuh saktayas tisras “O best of the brahmanas, Laksmiji is the constant companion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, and therefore she is called anapayini. She is the mother of all creation. As Lord Visnu is all-pervading, His spiritual potency, mother Laksmi, is also all-pervading.” Lord Visnu has three principal potencies—internal, external and marginal. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has accepted para-sakti, the spiritual energy of the Lord, as being identical with the Lord. Thus she is also included in the independent visnu-tattva.” In the Kanti-mala commentary on the Prameya-ratnavali there is this statement: nanu kvacit nitya-mukta jivatvam laksmyah svikrtam, tatraha—praheti. nityaiveti padye sarva-vyapti-kathanena kalakasthety adi-padya-dvaye, suddho ’pity ukta ca mahaprabhuna svasisyan prati laksmya bhagavad-advaitam upadistam. kvacid yat tasyas tu dvaitam uktam, tat tu tad-avista-nitya-mukta jivam adaya sangatamas tu. “Although some authoritative Vaisnava disciplic successions count the goddess of fortune among the ever-liberated living entities (jivas) in Vaikuntha, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in accordance with the statement in the Visnu Purana, has described Laksmi as being identical with the visnu-tattva. The correct conclusion is that the descriptions of Laksmi as being different from Visnu are stated when an eternally liberated living entity is imbued with the quality of Laksmi; they do not pertain to mother Laksmi, the eternal consort of Lord Visnu.”
purnat purnam udacyate
purnasya purnam adaya
purnam evavasisyate
visnoh srir anapayini
yatha sarva-gato visnus
tathaiveyam dvijottama
tasu ya kirtita para
saiva sris tad-abhinneti
praha sisyan prabhur mahan