Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 6: “Prescribed Duties for Mankind”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Three
Yamaraja Instructs His Messengers
SB6.3Summary
As related in this chapter, the Yamadutas approached Yamaraja, who very exhaustively explained bhagavata-dharma, the religious principle of devotional service. Yamaraja thus satisfied the Yamadutas, who had been very disappointed. Yamaraja said, “Although Ajamila was calling for his son, he chanted the holy name of the Lord, Narayana, and simply by a glimpse of the chanting of the holy name, he immediately achieved the association of Lord Visnu’s order carriers, who saved him from your attempt to arrest him. This is quite all right. It is a fact that even a chronically sinful person who chants the holy name of the Lord, although not completely without offenses, does not take another material birth.”
By chanting the holy name of the Lord, Ajamila had met four order carriers of Lord Visnu. They were very beautiful and had quickly come to rescue him. Yamaraja now described them. “The Visnudutas are all pure devotees of the Lord, the Supreme Person in regard to the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation. Neither King Indra, Varuna, Siva, Brahma, the seven rsis nor I myself can understand the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord, who is self-sufficient and beyond the reach of the material senses. With material senses, no one can attain enlightenment about Him. The Lord, the master of the illusory energy, possesses transcendental qualities for the good fortune of everyone, and His devotees are also qualified in that way. The devotees, concerned only with rescuing the fallen souls from this material world, apparently take birth in different places in the material world just to save the conditioned souls. If one is somewhat interested in spiritual life, the devotees of the Lord protect him in many ways.”
Yamaraja continued, “The essence of sanatana-dharma, or eternal religion, is extremely confidential. No one but the Lord Himself can deliver that confidential religious system to human society. It is by the mercy of the Lord that the transcendental system of religion can be understood by His pure devotees, and specifically by the twelve mahajanas—Lord Brahma, Narada Muni, Lord Siva, the Kumaras, Kapila, Manu, Prahlada, Janaka, Bhisma, Bali, Sukadeva Gosvami and me. Other learned scholars, headed by Jaimini, are almost always covered by the illusory energy, and therefore they are more or less attracted by the flowery language of the three Vedas, namely Rg, Yajur and Sama, which are called trayi. Instead of becoming pure devotees, people captivated by the flowery words of these three Vedas are interested in the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. They cannot understand the glories of chanting the holy name of the Lord. Intelligent persons, however, take to the devotional service of the Lord. When they chant the holy name of the Lord without offenses, they are no longer subject to my rulings. If by chance they commit some sinful act, they are protected by the holy name of the Lord because that is where their interest lies. The four weapons of the Lord, especially the club and the Sudarsana cakra, always protect the devotees. One who chants, hears or remembers the holy name of the Lord without duplicity, or who prays or offers obeisances to the Lord, becomes perfect, whereas even a learned person may be called to hell if he is bereft of devotional service.”
After Yamaraja thus described the glories of the Lord and His devotees, Sukadeva Gosvami further explained the potency of chanting the holy name and the futility of performing Vedic ritualistic ceremonies and pious activities for atonement. SB6.3.1 TEXT 1 sri-rajovaca nisamya devah sva-bhatopavarnitam pratyaha kim tan api dharmarajah evam hatajno vihatan murarer naidesikair yasya vase jano ’yam SYNONYMS sri-raja uvaca—the King said; nisamya—after hearing; devah—Lord Yamaraja; sva-bhata—of his own servants; upavarnitam—the statements; pratyaha—replied; kim—what; tan—unto them; api—also; dharma-rajah—Yamaraja, the superintendent of death and the judge of religious and irreligious activities; evam—thus; hata-ajnah—whose order was foiled; vihatan—who were defeated; murareh naidesikaih—by the order carriers of Murari, Krsna; yasya—of whom; vase—under the subjugation; janah ayam—all the people of the world. TRANSLATION King Pariksit said: O my lord, O Sukadeva Gosvami, Yamaraja is the controller of all living entities in terms of their religious and irreligious activities, but his order had been foiled. When his servants, the Yamadutas, informed him of their defeat by the Visnudutas, who had stopped them from arresting Ajamila, what did he reply? PURPORT Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that although the statements of the Yamadutas were fully upheld by Vedic principles, the statements of the Visnudutas were triumphant. This was confirmed by Yamaraja himself. SB6.3.2 TEXT 2 yamasya devasya na danda-bhangah kutascanarse sruta-purva asit etan mune vrscati loka-samsayam na hi tvad-anya iti me viniscitam SYNONYMS yamasya—of Yamaraja; devasya—the demigod in charge of judgment; na—not; danda-bhangah—the breaking of the order; kutascana—from anywhere; rse—O great sage; sruta-purvah—heard before; asit—was; etat—this; mune—O great sage; vrscati—can eradicate; loka-samsayam—the doubt of people; na—not; hi—indeed; tvat-anyah—anyone other than you; iti—thus; me—by me; viniscitam—concluded. TRANSLATION O great sage, never before has it been heard anywhere that an order from Yamaraja has been baffled. Therefore I think that people will have doubts about this that no one but you can eradicate. Since that is my firm conviction, kindly explain the reasons for these events. SB6.3.3 TEXT 3 sri-suka uvaca bhagavat-purusai rajan yamyah pratihatodyamah patim vijnapayam asur yamam samyamani-patim SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sukadeva Gosvami said; bhagavat-purusaih—by the order carriers of the Lord, the Visnudutas; rajan—O King; yamyah—the order carriers of Yamaraja; pratihata-udyamah—whose efforts were defeated; patim—their master; vijnapayam asuh—informed; yamam—Yamaraja; samyamani-patim—the master of the city Samyamani. TRANSLATION Sri Sukadeva Gosvami replied: My dear King, when the order carriers of Yamaraja were baffled and defeated by the order carriers of Visnu, they approached their master, the controller of Samyamani-puri and master of sinful persons, to tell him of this incident. SB6.3.4 TEXT 4 yamaduta ucuh kati santiha sastaro jiva-lokasya vai prabho trai-vidhyam kurvatah karma phalabhivyakti-hetavah SYNONYMS yamadutah ucuh—the order carriers of Yamaraja said; kati—how many; santi—are there; iha—in this world; sastarah—controllers or rulers; jiva-lokasya—of this material world; vai—indeed; prabho—O master; trai-vidhyam—under the three modes of material nature; kurvatah—performing; karma—activity; phala—of the results; abhivyakti—of the manifestation; hetavah—causes. TRANSLATION The Yamadutas said: Our dear lord, how many controllers or rulers are there in this material world? How many causes are responsible for manifesting the various results of activities performed under the three modes of material nature [sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna]? PURPORT Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that the Yamadutas, the order carriers of Yamaraja, were so disappointed that they asked their master, almost in great anger, whether there were many masters other than him. Furthermore, because the Yamadutas had been defeated and their master could not protect them, they were inclined to say that there was no need to serve such a master. If a servant cannot carry out the orders of his master without being defeated, what is the use of serving such a powerless master? SB6.3.5 TEXT 5 yadi syur bahavo loke sastaro danda-dharinah kasya syatam na va kasya mrtyus camrtam eva va SYNONYMS yadi—if; syuh—there are; bahavah—many; loke—in this world; sastarah—rulers or controllers; danda-dharinah—who punish the sinful men; kasya—of whom; syatam—there may be; na—not; va—or; kasya—of whom; mrtyuh—distress or unhappiness; ca—and; amrtam—happiness; eva—certainly; va—or. TRANSLATION If in this universe there are many rulers and justices who disagree about punishment and reward, their contradictory actions will neutralize each other, and no one will be punished or rewarded. Otherwise, if their contradictory acts fail to neutralize each other, everyone will have to be both punished and rewarded. PURPORT Because the Yamadutas had been unsuccessful in carrying out the order of Yamaraja, they doubted whether Yamaraja actually had the power to punish the sinful. Although they had gone to arrest Ajamila, following Yamaraja’s order, they found themselves unsuccessful because of the order of some higher authority. Therefore they were unsure of whether there were many authorities or only one. If there were many authorities who gave different judgments, which could be contradictory, a person might be wrongly punished or wrongly rewarded, or he might be neither punished nor rewarded. According to our experience in the material world, a person punished in one court may appeal to another. Thus the same man may be either punished or rewarded according to different judgments. However, in the law of nature or the court of the Supreme Personality of Godhead there cannot be such contradictory judgments. The judges and their judgments must be perfect and free from contradictions. Actually the position of Yamaraja was very awkward in the case of Ajamila because the Yamadutas were right in attempting to arrest Ajamila, but the Visnudutas had baffled them. Although Yamaraja, under these circumstances, was accused by both the Visnudutas and the Yamadutas, he is perfect in administering justice because he is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore he will explain what his real position is and how everyone is controlled by the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead. SB6.3.6 TEXT 6 kintu sastr-bahutve syad bahunam iha karminam sastrtvam upacaro hi yatha mandala-vartinam SYNONYMS kintu—but; sastr—of governors or judges; bahutve—in the plurality; syat—there may be; bahunam—of many; iha—in this world; karminam—persons performing actions; sastrtvam—departmental management; upacarah—administration; hi—indeed; yatha—just like; mandala-vartinam—of the departmental heads. TRANSLATION The Yamadutas continued: Since there are many different karmis, or workers, there may be different judges or rulers to give them justice, but just as one central emperor controls different departmental rulers, there must be one supreme controller to guide all the judges. PURPORT In governmental management there may be departmental officials to give justice to different persons, but the law must be one, and that central law must control everyone. The Yamadutas could not imagine that two judges would give two different verdicts in the same case, and therefore they wanted to know who the central judge is. The Yamadutas were certain that Ajamila was a most sinful man, but although Yamaraja wanted to punish him, the Visnudutas excused him. This was a puzzling situation that the Yamadutas wanted Yamaraja to clarify. SB6.3.7 TEXT 7 atas tvam eko bhutanam sesvaranam adhisvarah sasta danda-dharo nrnam subhasubha-vivecanah SYNONYMS atah—as such; tvam—you; ekah—one; bhutanam—of all living beings; sa-isvaranam—including all the demigods; adhisvarah—the supreme master; sasta—the supreme ruler; danda-dharah—the supreme administrator of punishment; nrnam—of human society; subha-asubha-vivecanah—who discriminates between what is auspicious and inauspicious. TRANSLATION The supreme judge must be one, not many. It was our understanding that you are that supreme judge and that you have jurisdiction even over the demigods. Our impression was that you are the master of all living entities, the supreme authority who discriminates between the pious and impious activities of all human beings. SB6.3.8 TEXT 8 tasya te vihito dando na loke vartate ’dhuna caturbhir adbhutaih siddhair ajna te vipralambhita SYNONYMS tasya—of the influence; te—of you; vihitah—ordained; dandah—punishment; na—not; loke—within this world; vartate—exists; adhuna—now; caturbhih—by four; adbhutaih—very wonderful; siddhaih—perfected persons; ajna—the order; te—your; vipralambhita—surpassed. TRANSLATION But now we see that the punishment ordained under your authority is no longer effective, since your order has been transgressed by four wonderful and perfect persons. PURPORT The Yamadutas had been under the impression that Yamaraja was the only person in charge of administering justice. They were fully confident that no one could counteract his judgments, but now, to their surprise, his order had been violated by the four wonderful persons from Siddhaloka. SB6.3.9 TEXT 9 niyamanam tavadesad asmabhir yatana-grhan vyamocayan patakinam chittva pasan prasahya te SYNONYMS niyamanam—being brought; tava adesat—by your order; asmabhih—by us; yatana-grhan—to the torture chambers, the hellish planets; vyamocayan—released; patakinam—the sinful Ajamila; chittva—cutting; pasan—the ropes; prasahya—by force; te—they. TRANSLATION We were bringing the most sinful Ajamila toward the hellish planets, following your order, when those beautiful persons from Siddhaloka forcibly cut the knots of the ropes with which we were arresting him. PURPORT Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura remarks that the Yamadutas wanted to bring the Visnudutas before Yamaraja. If Yamaraja could then have punished the Visnudutas, the Yamadutas would have been satisfied. SB6.3.10 TEXT 10 tams te veditum icchamo yadi no manyase ksamam narayanety abhihite ma bhair ity ayayur drutam SYNONYMS tan—about them; te—from you; veditum—to know; icchamah—we wish; yadi—if; nah—for us; manyase—you think; ksamam—suitable; narayana—Narayana; iti—thus; abhihite—being uttered; ma—do not; bhaih—fear; iti—thus; ayayuh—they arrived; drutam—very soon. TRANSLATION As soon as the sinful Ajamila uttered the name Narayana, these four beautiful men immediately arrived and reassured him, saying, “Do not fear. Do not fear.” We wish to know about them from Your Lordship. If you think we are able to understand them, kindly describe who they are. PURPORT The order carriers of Yamaraja, being very much aggrieved because of their defeat by the four Visnudutas, wanted to bring them before Yamaraja and, if possible, punish them. Otherwise they desired to commit suicide. Before pursuing either course, however, they wanted to know about the Visnudutas from Yamaraja, who is also omniscient. SB6.3.11 TEXT 11 sri-badarayanir uvaca iti devah sa aprstah praja-samyamano yamah pritah sva-dutan pratyaha smaran padambujam hareh SYNONYMS sri-badarayanih uvaca—Sukadeva Gosvami said; iti—thus; devah—the demigod; sah—he; aprstah—being questioned; praja-samyamanah yamah—Lord Yamaraja, who controls the living entities; pritah—being pleased; sva-dutan—to his own servants; pratyaha—replied; smaran—remembering; pada-ambujam—the lotus feet; hareh—of Hari, the Personality of Godhead. TRANSLATION Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: Thus having been questioned, Lord Yamaraja, the supreme controller of the living entities, was very pleased with his order carriers because of hearing from them the holy name of Narayana. He remembered the lotus feet of the Lord and began to reply. PURPORT Srila Yamaraja, the supreme controller of the living entities in terms of their pious and impious activities, was very pleased with his servants because they had chanted the holy name of Narayana in his dominion. Yamaraja has to deal with men who are all sinful and who can hardly understand Narayana. Consequently when his order carriers uttered the name of Narayana, he was extremely pleased, for he also is a Vaisnava. SB6.3.12 TEXT 12 yama uvaca paro mad-anyo jagatas tasthusas ca otam protam patavad yatra visvam yad-amsato ’sya sthiti-janma-nasa nasy otavad yasya vase ca lokah SYNONYMS yamah uvaca—Yamaraja replied; parah—superior; mat—than me; anyah—another; jagatah—of all moving things; tasthusah—of nonmoving things; ca—and; otam—crosswise; protam—lengthwise; patavat—like a woven cloth; yatra—in whom; visvam—the cosmic manifestation; yat—of whom; amsatah—from the partial expansions; asya—of this universe; sthiti—the maintenance; janma—the creation; nasah—the annihilation; nasi—in the nose; ota-vat—like the rope; yasya—of whom; vase—under the control; ca—and; lokah—the whole creation. TRANSLATION Yamaraja said: My dear servants, you have accepted me as the Supreme, but factually I am not. Above me, and above all the other demigods, including Indra and Candra, is the one supreme master and controller. The partial manifestations of His personality are Brahma, Visnu and Siva, who are in charge of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this universe. He is like the two threads that form the length and breadth of a woven cloth. The entire world is controlled by Him just as a bull is controlled by a rope in its nose. PURPORT The order carriers of Yamaraja suspected that there was a ruler even above Yamaraja. To eradicate their doubts, Yamaraja immediately replied, “Yes, there is one supreme controller above everything.” Yamaraja is in charge of some of the moving living entities, namely the human beings, but the animals, who also move, are not under his control. Only human beings have consciousness of right and wrong, and among them only those who perform sinful activities come under the control of Yamaraja. Therefore although Yamaraja is a controller, he is only a departmental controller of a few living entities. There are other demigods who control many other departments, but above them all is one supreme controller, Krsna. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]: the supreme controller is Krsna. Others, who control their own departments in the affairs of the universe, are insignificant in comparison to Krsna, the supreme controller. Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (7.7), mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: “My dear Dhananjaya [Arjuna], no one is superior to Me.” Therefore Yamaraja immediately cleared away the doubts of his assistants, the Yamadutas, by confirming that there is a supreme controller above all others. Srila Madhvacarya explains that the words otam protam refer to the cause of all causes. The Supreme Lord is both vertical and horizontal to the cosmic manifestation. This is confirmed by the following verse from the Skanda Purana: yatha kantha-patah sutra Like the two threads, horizontal and vertical, of which a quilt is manufactured, Lord Visnu is situated as the vertical and horizontal cause of the cosmic manifestation. SB6.3.13 TEXT 13 yo namabhir vaci janam nijayam badhnati tantryam iva damabhir gah yasmai balim ta ime nama-karma- nibandha-baddhas cakita vahanti SYNONYMS yah—He who; namabhih—by different names; vaci—to the Vedic language; janam—all people; nijayam—which has emanated from Himself; badhnati—binds; tantryam—to a rope; iva—like; damabhih—by cords; gah—bulls; yasmai—unto whom; balim—a small presentation of taxes; te—all of them; ime—these; nama-karma—of names and different activities; nibandha—by the obligations; baddhah—bound; cakitah—being fearful; vahanti—carry. TRANSLATION Just as the driver of a bullock cart ties ropes through the nostrils of his bulls to control them, the Supreme Personality of Godhead binds all men through the ropes of His words in the Vedas, which set forth the names and activities of the distinct orders of human society [brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra]. In fear, the members of these orders all worship the Supreme Lord by offering Him presentations according to their respective activities. PURPORT In this material world, everyone is conditioned, regardless of who he is. One may be a human being, a demigod or an animal, tree or plant, but everything is controlled by the laws of nature, and behind this natural control is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed by Bhagavad-gita (9.10), wherein Krsna says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram: “The material nature is working under My direction and producing all moving and nonmoving beings.” Thus Krsna is behind the natural machine, which works under His control. Apart from other living entities, the living being in the human form of body is systematically controlled by the Vedic injunctions in terms of the divisions of varna and asrama. A human being is expected to follow the rules and regulations of varna and asrama; otherwise he cannot escape punishment by Yamaraja. The point is that every human being is expected to elevate himself to the position of a brahmana, the most intelligent man, and then one must transcend that position to become a Vaisnava. This is the perfection of life. The brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra can elevate themselves by worshiping the Lord according to their activities (sve sve karmany abhiratah samsiddhim labhate narah). The divisions of varna and asrama are necessary to insure the proper execution of duties and peaceful existence for everyone, but everyone is directed to worship the Supreme Lord, who is all-pervading (yena sarvam idam tatam). The Supreme Lord exists vertically and horizontally (otam protam), and therefore if one follows the Vedic injunctions by worshiping the Supreme Lord according to one’s ability, his life will be perfect. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.13): atah pumbhir dvija-srestha “O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve, by discharging his prescribed duties [dharma] according to caste divisions and orders of life, is to please the Lord Hari.” The varnasrama institution offers the perfect process for making one eligible to return home, back to Godhead, because the aim of every varna and asrama is to please the Supreme Lord. One can please the Lord under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. and if one does so his life is perfect. The Supreme Lord is worshipable. and everyone worships Him directly or indirectly. Those who worship Him directly get the results of liberation quickly, whereas the liberation of those who serve Him indirectly is delayed. The words namabhir vaci are very important. In the varnasrama institution, there are different names—brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasi. The vak, or Vedic injunctions, give directions for all these divisions. Everyone is expected to offer obeisances to the Supreme Lord and perform duties as indicated in the Vedas. SB6.3.14-15 TEXTS 14–15 aham mahendro nirrtih pracetah somo ’gnir isah pavano virincih aditya-visve vasavo ’tha sadhya marud-gana rudra-ganah sasiddhah anye ca ye visva-srjo ’maresa bhrgv-adayo ’sprsta-rajas-tamaskah yasyehitam na viduh sprsta-mayah sattva-pradhana api kim tato ’nye SYNONYMS aham—I, Yamaraja; mahendrah—Indra, the King of heaven; nirrtih—Nirrti; pracetah—Varuna, the controller of water; somah—the moon; agnih—fire; isah—Lord Siva; pavanah—the demigod of the air; virincih—Lord Brahma; aditya—the sun; visve—Visvasu; vasavah—the eight Vasus; atha—also; sadhyah—the demigods; marut-ganah—masters of the wind; rudra-ganah—the expansions of Lord Siva; sa-siddhah—with the inhabitants of Siddhaloka; anye—others; ca—and; ye—who; visva-srjah—Marici and the other creators of the universal affairs; amara-isah—the demigods like Brhaspati; bhrgu-adayah—the great sages headed by Bhrgu; asprsta—who have not been contaminated; rajah-tamaskah—by the lower modes of material nature (rajo-guna and tamo-guna); yasya—of whom; ihitam—the activity; na viduh—do not know; sprsta-mayah—who are illusioned by the illusory energy; sattva-pradhanah—chiefly in the mode of goodness; api—although; kim—what to speak of; tatah—than them; anye—others. TRANSLATION I, Yamaraja; Indra, the King of heaven; Nirrti; Varuna; Candra, the moon-god; Agni; Lord Siva; Pavana; Lord Brahma; Surya, the sun-god; Visvasu; the eight Vasus; the Sadhyas; the Maruts; the Rudras; the Siddhas; and Marici and the other great rsis engaged in maintaining the departmental affairs of the universe, as well as the best of the demigods headed by Brhaspati, and the great sages headed by Bhrgu are all certainly freed from the influence of the two base material modes of nature, namely passion and ignorance. Nevertheless, although we are in the mode of goodness, we cannot understand the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What, then, is to be said of others, who, under illusion, merely speculate to know God? PURPORT The men and other living entities within this cosmic manifestation are controlled by the three modes of nature. For the living entities controlled by the base qualities of nature, passion and ignorance, there is no possibility of understanding God. Even those in the mode of goodness, like the many demigods and great rsis described in these verses, cannot understand the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, one who is situated in the devotional service of the Lord is transcendental to all the material qualities. Therefore the Lord personally says that no one can understand Him but the bhaktas, who are transcendental to all material qualities (bhaktya mam abhijanati [Bg. 18.55]). As stated by Bhismadeva to Maharaja Yudhisthira in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.9.16): na hy asya karhicid rajan “O King, no one can know the plan of the Lord [Sri Krsna]. Even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered.” No one, therefore, can understand God by speculative knowledge. Indeed, by speculation one will be bewildered (muhyanti). This is also confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita (7.3): manusyanam sahasresu Among many thousands of men, one may endeavor for perfection, and even among the siddhas, those who have already become perfect, only one who adopts the process of bhakti, devotional service, can understand Krsna.
otah protas ca sa sthitah
evam visnav idam visvam
otam protam ca samsthitam
varnasrama-vibhagasah
svanusthitasya dharmasya
samsiddhir hari-tosanam
puman veda vidhitsitam
yad-vijijnasaya yukta
muhyanti kavayo ’pi hi
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah