Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8: “Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Seven
SB8.7.22
TEXT 22
tvam ekah sarva-jagata
isvaro bandha-moksayoh
tam tvam arcanti kusalah
prapannarti-haram gurum
SYNONYMS
tvam ekah—Your Lordship is indeed; sarva-jagatah—of the three worlds; isvarah—the controller; bandha-moksayoh—of both bondage and liberation; tam—that controller; tvam arcanti—worship you; kusalah—persons who want good fortune; prapanna-arti-haram—who can mitigate all the distresses of a sheltered devotee; gurum—you who act as a good advisor to all fallen souls.
TRANSLATION
O lord, you are the cause of bondage and liberation of the entire universe because you are its ruler. Those who are advanced in spiritual consciousness surrender unto you, and therefore you are the cause of mitigating their distresses, and you are also the cause of their liberation. We therefore worship Your Lordship.
PURPORT
Actually Lord Visnu maintains and accomplishes all good fortune. If one has to take shelter of Lord Visnu, why should the demigods take shelter of Lord Siva? They did so because Lord Visnu acts through Lord Siva in the creation of the material world. Lord Siva acts on behalf of Lord Visnu. When the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (14.4) that He is the father of all living entities (aham bija-pradah pita), this refers to actions performed by Lord Visnu through Lord Siva. Lord Visnu is always unattached to material activities, and when material activities are to be performed, Lord Visnu performs them through Lord Siva. Lord Siva is therefore worshiped on the level of Lord Visnu. When Lord Visnu is untouched by the external energy He is Lord Visnu, but when He is in touch with the external energy, He appears in His feature as Lord Siva. SB8.7.23 TEXT 23 guna-mayya sva-saktyasya sarga-sthity-apyayan vibho dhatse yada sva-drg bhuman brahma-visnu-sivabhidham SYNONYMS guna-mayya—acting in three modes of activity; sva-saktya—by the external energy of Your Lordship; asya—of this material world; sarga-sthiti-apyayan—creation, maintenance and annihilation; vibho—O lord; dhatse—you execute; yada—when; sva-drk—you manifest yourself; bhuman—O great one; brahma-visnu-siva-abhidham—as Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu or Lord Siva. TRANSLATION O lord, you are self-effulgent and supreme. You create this material world by your personal energy, and you assume the names Brahma, Visnu and Mahesvara when you act in creation, maintenance and annihilation. PURPORT This prayer is actually offered to Lord Visnu, the purusa, who in His incarnations as the guna-avataras assumes the names Brahma, Visnu and Mahesvara. SB8.7.24 TEXT 24 tvam brahma paramam guhyam sad-asad-bhava-bhavanam nana-saktibhir abhatas tvam atma jagad-isvarah SYNONYMS tvam—Your Lordship; brahma—impersonal Brahman; paramam—supreme; guhyam—confidential; sat-asat-bhava-bhavanam—the cause of varieties of creation, its cause and effect; nana-saktibhih—with varieties of potencies; abhatah—manifest; tvam—you are; atma—the Supersoul; jagat-isvarah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TRANSLATION You are the cause of all causes, the self-effulgent, inconceivable, impersonal Brahman, which is originally Parabrahman. You manifest various potencies in this cosmic manifestation. PURPORT This prayer is offered to the impersonal Brahman, which consists of the effulgent rays of Parabrahman. Parabrahman is the Supreme Personality of Godhead (param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg. 10.12]). When Lord Siva is worshiped as Parabrahman, the worship is meant for Lord Visnu. SB8.7.25 TEXT 25 tvam sabda-yonir jagad-adir atma pranendriya-dravya-gunah svabhavah kalah kratuh satyam rtam ca dharmas tvayy aksaram yat tri-vrd-amananti SYNONYMS tvam—Your Lordship; sabda-yonih—the origin and source of Vedic literature; jagat-adih—the original cause of material creation; atma—the soul; prana—the living force; indriya—the senses; dravya—the material elements; gunah—the three qualities; sva-bhavah—material nature; kalah—eternal time; kratuh—sacrifice; satyam—truth; rtam—truthfulness; ca—and; dharmah—two different types of religion; tvayi—unto you; aksaram—the original syllable, omkara; yat—that which; tri-vrt—consisting of the letters a, u and m; amananti—they say. TRANSLATION O lord, you are the original source of Vedic literature. You are the original cause of material creation, the life force, the senses, the five elements, the three modes and the mahat-tattva. You are eternal time, determination and the two religious systems called truth [satya] and truthfulness [rta]. You are the shelter of the syllable om, which consists of three letters a-u-m. SB8.7.26 TEXT 26 agnir mukham te ’khila-devatatma ksitim vidur loka-bhavanghri-pankajam kalam gatim te ’khila-devatatmano disas ca karnau rasanam jalesam SYNONYMS agnih—fire; mukham—mouth; te—of Your Lordship; akhila-devata-atma—the origin of all demigods; ksitim—the surface of the globe; viduh—they know; loka-bhava—O origin of all planets; anghri-pankajam—your lotus feet; kalam—eternal time; gatim—progress; te—of Your Lordship; akhila-devata-atmanah—the total aggregate of all the demigods; disah—all directions; ca—and; karnau—your ears; rasanam—taste; jala-isam—the demigod controller of the water. TRANSLATION O father of all planets, learned scholars know that fire is your mouth, the surface of the globe is your lotus feet, eternal time is your movement, all the directions are your ears, and Varuna, master of the waters, is your tongue. PURPORT In the sruti-mantras it is said, agnih sarva-devatah: “Fire is the aggregate of all demigods.” Agni is the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is through Agni, or fire, that the Lord accepts all sacrificial oblations. SB8.7.27 TEXT 27 nabhir nabhas te svasanam nabhasvan suryas ca caksumsi jalam sma retah paravaratmasrayanam tavatma somo mano dyaur bhagavan siras te SYNONYMS nabhih—navel; nabhah—the sky; te—of Your Lordship; svasanam—breathing; nabhasvan—the air; suryah ca—and the sun globe; caksumsi—your eyes; jalam—the water; sma—indeed; retah—semen; para-avara-atma-asrayanam—the shelter of all living entities, low and high; tava—your; atma—self; somah—the moon; manah—mind; dyauh—the higher planetary systems; bhagavan—O Your Lordship; sirah—head; te—of you. TRANSLATION O lord, the sky is your navel, the air is your breathing, the sun is your eyes, and the water is your semen. You are the shelter of all kinds of living entities, high and low. The god of the moon is your mind, and the upper planetary system is your head. SB8.7.28 TEXT 28 kuksih samudra girayo ’sthi-sangha romani sarvausadhi-virudhas te chandamsi saksat tava sapta dhatavas trayi-mayatman hrdayam sarva-dharmah SYNONYMS kuksih—abdomen; samudrah—the oceans; girayah—the mountains; asthi—bones; sanghah—combination; romani—the hairs of the body; sarva—all; ausadhi—drugs; virudhah—plants and creepers; te—your; chandamsi—Vedic mantras; saksat—directly; tava—your; sapta—seven; dhatavah—layers of the body; trayi-maya-atman—O three Vedas personified; hrdayam—core of the heart; sarva-dharmah—all kinds of religion. TRANSLATION O lord, you are the three Vedas personified. The seven seas are your abdomen, and the mountains are your bones. All drugs, creepers and vegetables are the hairs on your body, the Vedic mantras like Gayatri are the seven layers of your body, and the Vedic religious system is the core of your heart. SB8.7.29 TEXT 29 mukhani pancopanisadas tavesa yais trimsad-astottara-mantra-vargah yat tac chivakhyam paramatma-tattvam deva svayam-jyotir avasthitis te SYNONYMS mukhani—faces; panca—five; upanisadah—Vedic literatures; tava—your; isa—O lord; yaih—by which; trimsat-asta-uttara-mantra-vargah—in the category of thirty-eight important Vedic mantras; yat—that; tat—as it is; siva-akhyam—celebrated by the name Siva; paramatma-tattvam—which ascertain the truth about Paramatma; deva—O lord; svayam-jyotih—self-illuminated; avasthitih—situation; te—of Your Lordship. TRANSLATION O lord, the five important Vedic mantras are represented by your five faces, from which the thirty-eight most celebrated Vedic mantras have been generated. Your Lordship, being celebrated as Lord Siva, is self-illuminated. You are directly situated as the supreme truth, known as Paramatma. PURPORT The five mantras mentioned in this connection are as follows: (1) Purusa, (2) Aghora, (3) Sadyojata, (4) Vamadeva, and (5) Isana. These five mantras are within the category of thirty-eight special Vedic mantras chanted by Lord Siva, who is therefore celebrated as Siva or Mahadeva. Another reason why Lord Siva is called Siva, which means “all-auspicious,” is that he is self-illuminated, exactly like Lord Visnu, who is the Paramatma. Because Lord Siva is directly an incarnation of Lord Visnu, he is situated as Lord Visnu’s direct representative. This fact is corroborated by a Vedic mantra: patim visvasyatmesvaram sasvatam. sivam acyutam. The Supersoul is called by many names, of which Mahesvara, Siva and Acyuta are especially mentioned. SB8.7.30 TEXT 30 chaya tv adharmormisu yair visargo netra-trayam sattva-rajas-tamamsi sankhyatmanah sastra-krtas taveksa chandomayo deva rsih puranah SYNONYMS chaya—shadow; tu—but; adharma-urmisu—in the waves of irreligion, like kama, krodha, lobha and moha; yaih—by which; visargah—so many varieties of creation; netra-trayam—three eyes; sattva—goodness; rajah—passion; tamamsi—and darkness; sankhya-atmanah—the origin of all Vedic literatures; sastra—scriptures; krtah—made; tava—by you; iksa—simply by glancing; chandah-mayah—full of Vedic verses; deva—O lord; rsih—all Vedic literatures; puranah—and the puranas, the supplementary Vedas. TRANSLATION O lord, your shadow is seen in irreligion, which brings about varieties of irreligious creations. The three modes of nature—goodness, passion and ignorance—are your three eyes. All the Vedic literatures, which are full of verses, are emanations from you because their compilers wrote the various scriptures after receiving your glance. SB8.7.31 TEXT 31 na te giri-trakhila-loka-pala- virinca-vaikuntha-surendra-gamyam jyotih param yatra rajas tamas ca sattvam na yad brahma nirasta-bhedam SYNONYMS na—not; te—of Your Lordship; giri-tra—O King of the mountains; akhila-loka-pala—all the directors of departments of material activities; virinca—Lord Brahma; vaikuntha—Lord Visnu; sura-indra—the King of heaven; gamyam—they can understand; jyotih—effulgence; param—transcendental; yatra—wherein; rajah—the mode of passion; tamah ca—and the mode of ignorance; sattvam—the mode of goodness; na—not; yat brahma—which is impersonal Brahman; nirasta-bhedam—without distinction between demigods and human beings. TRANSLATION O Lord Girisa, since the impersonal Brahman effulgence is transcendental to the material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, the various directors of this material world certainly cannot appreciate it or even know where it is. It is not understandable even to Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu or the King of heaven, Mahendra. PURPORT The brahmajyoti is actually the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in Brahma-samhita (5.40): yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti- “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes.” Although the impersonal feature of the Absolute is an expansion of the rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He does not need to take care of the impersonalists who enter the brahmajyoti. Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (9.4), maya tatam idam sarvam jagad avyakta-murtina: “In My impersonal feature I pervade this entire universe.” Thus the avyakta-murti, the impersonal feature, is certainly an expansion of Krsna’s energy. Mayavadis, who prefer to merge into this Brahman effulgence, worship Lord Siva. The mantras referred to in text 29 are called mukhani pancopanisadas tavesa. Mayavadis take all these mantras seriously in worshiping Lord Siva. These mantras are as follows: (1) tat purusaya vidmahe santyai, (2) maha-devaya dhimahi vidyayai, (3) tan no rudrah pratisthayai, (4) pracodayat dhrtyai, (5) aghorebhyas tama. .., (6) atha ghorebhyo moha. .., (7) aghorebhyo raksa. .., (8) aghoratarebhyo nidra. .., (9) sarvebhyah sarva-vyadhyai, (10) sarva-sarvebhyo mrtyave, (11) namas te ’stu ksudha. .., (12) rudra-rupebhyas trsna. .., (13) vamadevaya raja. .., (14) jyesthaya svaha. .., (15) sresthaya ratyai, (16) rudraya kalyanyai, (17) kalaya kama. .., (18) kala-vikaranaya sandhinyai, (19) bala-vikaranaya kriya. .., (20) balaya vrddhyai, (21) balacchaya. .., (22) pramathanaya dhatryai, (23) sarva-bhuta-damanaya bhramanyai, (24) manah-sosinyai, (25) unmanaya jvara. .., (26) sadyojatam prapadyami siddhyai, (27) sadyojataya vai namah rddhyai, (28) bhave dityai, (29) abhave laksmyai, (30) natibhave medha. .., (31) bhajasva mam kantyai, (32) bhava svadha. .., (33) udbhavaya prabha…, (34) isanah sarva-vidyanam sasinyai, (35) isvarah sarva-bhutanam abhaya-da… [Bg. 18.61], (36) brahmadhipatir brahmanodhipatir brahman brahmesta-da. .., (37) sivo me astu maricyai, (38) sadasivah jvalinyai. The impersonal Brahman is unknown even to the other directors of the material creation, including Lord Brahma, Lord Indra and even Lord Visnu. This does not mean, however, that Lord Visnu is not omniscient. Lord Visnu is omniscient, but He does not need to understand what is going on in His all-pervading expansion. Therefore in Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that although everything is an expansion of Him (maya tatam idam sarvam), He does not need to take care of everything (na caham tesv avasthitah), since there are various directors like Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and Indra. SB8.7.32 TEXT 32 kamadhvara-tripura-kalagarady-aneka- bhuta-druhah ksapayatah stutaye na tat te yas tv anta-kala idam atma-krtam sva-netra- vahni-sphulinga-sikhaya bhasitam na veda SYNONYMS kama-adhvara—sacrifices for sense gratification (like Daksa-yajna, the sacrifices performed by Daksa); tripura—the demon named Tripurasura; kalagara—Kalagara; adi—and others; aneka—many; bhuta-druhah—who are meant for giving trouble to the living entities; ksapayatah—being engaged in their destruction; stutaye—your prayer; na—not; tat—that; te—speaking to you; yah tu—because; anta-kale—at the time of annihilation; idam—in this material world; atma-krtam—done by yourself; sva-netra—by your eyes; vahni-sphulinga-sikhaya—by the sparks of fire; bhasitam—burned to ashes; na veda—I do not know how it is happening. TRANSLATION When annihilation is performed by the flames and sparks emanating from your eyes, the entire creation is burned to ashes. Nonetheless, you do not know how this happens. What then is to be said of your destroying the Daksa-yajna, Tripurasura and the kalakuta poison? Such activities cannot be subject matters for prayers offered to you. PURPORT Since Lord Siva considers the great acts he performs to be very unimportant, what was to be said of counteracting the strong poison produced by the churning? The demigods indirectly prayed that Lord Siva counteract the kalakuta poison, which was spreading throughout the universe. SB8.7.33 TEXT 33 ye tv atma-rama-gurubhir hrdi cintitanghri- dvandvam carantam umaya tapasabhitaptam katthanta ugra-parusam niratam smasane te nunam utim avidams tava hata-lajjah SYNONYMS ye—persons who; tu—indeed; atma-rama-gurubhih—by those who are self-satisfied and who are considered to be spiritual masters of the world; hrdi—within the heart; cintita-anghri-dvandvam—thinking of your two lotus feet; carantam—moving; umaya—with your consort, Uma; tapasa abhitaptam—highly advanced through practice of austerity and penance; katthante—criticize your acts; ugra-parusam—not a gentle person; niratam—always; smasane—in the crematorium; te—such persons; nunam—indeed; utim—such activities; avidan—not knowing; tava—your activities; hata-lajjah—shameless. TRANSLATION Exalted, self-satisfied persons who preach to the entire world think of your lotus feet constantly within their hearts. However, when persons who do not know your austerity see you moving with Uma, they misunderstand you to be lusty, or when they see you wandering in the crematorium they mistakenly think that you are ferocious and envious. Certainly they are shameless. They cannot understand your activities. PURPORT Lord Siva is the topmost Vaisnava (vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh). It is therefore said, vaisnavera kriya-mudra vijne na bujhaya. Even the most intelligent person cannot understand what a Vaisnava like Lord Siva is doing or how he is acting. Those who are conquered by lusty desires and anger cannot estimate the glories of Lord Siva, whose position is always transcendental. In all the activities associated with lusty desires, Lord Siva is an implement of atma-rama. Ordinary persons, therefore, should not try to understand Lord Siva and his activities. One who tries to criticize the activities of Lord Siva is shameless. SB8.7.34 TEXT 34 tat tasya te sad-asatoh paratah parasya nanjah svarupa-gamane prabhavanti bhumnah brahmadayah kim uta samstavane vayam tu tat-sarga-sarga-visaya api sakti-matram SYNONYMS tat—therefore; tasya—of that; te—of Your Lordship; sat-asatoh—of the living entities, moving and not moving; paratah—transcendentally situated; parasya—very difficult to understand; na—nor; anjah—as it is; svarupa-gamane—to approach your reality; prabhavanti—it is possible; bhumnah—O great one; brahma-adayah—even such persons as Lord Brahma; kim uta—what to speak of others; samstavane—in offering prayers; vayam tu—as far as we are concerned; tat—of you; sarga-sarga-visayah—creations of the creation; api—although; sakti-matram—to our ability. TRANSLATION Even personalities like Lord Brahma and other demigods cannot understand your position, for you are beyond the moving and nonmoving creation. Since no one can understand you in truth, how can one offer you prayers? It is impossible. As far as we are concerned, we are creatures of Lord Brahma’s creation. Under the circumstances, therefore, we cannot offer you adequate prayers, but as far as our ability allows, we have expressed our feelings. SB8.7.35 TEXT 35 etat param prapasyamo na param te mahesvara mrdanaya hi lokasya vyaktis te ’vyakta-karmanah SYNONYMS etat—all these things; param—transcendental; prapasyamah—we can see; na—not; param—the actual transcendental position; te—of Your Lordship; maha-isvara—O great ruler; mrdanaya—for the happiness; hi—indeed; lokasya—of all the world; vyaktih—manifested; te—of Your Lordship; avyakta-karmanah—whose activities are unknown to everyone. TRANSLATION O greatest of all rulers, your actual identity is impossible for us to understand. As far as we can see, your presence brings flourishing happiness to everyone. Beyond this, no one can appreciate your activities. We can see this much, and nothing more. PURPORT When the demigods offered these prayers to Lord Siva, their inner purpose was to please him so that he would rectify the disturbing situation created by the halahala poison. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (7.20), kamais tais tair hrta jnanah prapadyante ’nya-devatah: when one worships demigods, this is certainly because of deep-rooted desires he wants fulfilled by the mercy of those demigods. People are generally attached to the worship of demigods for some motive. SB8.7.36 TEXT 36 sri-suka uvaca tad-viksya vyasanam tasam krpaya bhrsa-piditah sarva-bhuta-suhrd deva idam aha satim priyam SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; tat—this situation; viksya—seeing; vyasanam—dangerous; tasam—of all the demigods; krpaya—out of compassion; bhrsa-piditah—greatly aggrieved; sarva-bhuta-suhrt—the friend of all living entities; devah—Mahadeva; idam—this; aha—said; satim—unto Satidevi; priyam—his very dear wife. TRANSLATION Srila Sukadeva Gosvami continued: Lord Siva is always benevolent toward all living entities. When he saw that the living entities were very much disturbed by the poison, which was spreading everywhere, he was very compassionate. Thus he spoke to his eternal consort, Sati, as follows. SB8.7.37 TEXT 37 sri-siva uvaca aho bata bhavany etat prajanam pasya vaisasam ksiroda-mathanodbhutat kalakutad upasthitam SYNONYMS sri-sivah uvaca—Sri Siva said; aho bata—how pitiable; bhavani—my dear wife, Bhavani; etat—this situation; prajanam—of all living entities; pasya—just see; vaisasam—very dangerous; ksira-uda—of the ocean of milk; mathana-udbhutat—produced by the churning; kalakutat—because of the production of poison; upasthitam—the present situation. TRANSLATION Lord Siva said: My dear Bhavani, just see how all these living entities have been placed in danger because of the poison produced from the churning of the ocean of milk. SB8.7.38 TEXT 38 asam prana-paripsunam vidheyam abhayam hi me etavan hi prabhor artho yad dina-paripalanam SYNONYMS asam—all of these living entities; prana-paripsunam—very strongly desiring to protect their lives; vidheyam—something must be done; abhayam—safety; hi—indeed; me—by me; etavan—this much; hi—indeed; prabhoh—of the master; arthah—duty; yat—that which; dina-paripalanam—to give protection to suffering humanity. TRANSLATION It is my duty to give protection and safety to all living entities struggling for existence. Certainly it is the duty of the master to protect his suffering dependents. SB8.7.39 TEXT 39 pranaih svaih praninah panti sadhavah ksana-bhanguraih baddha-vairesu bhutesu mohitesv atma-mayaya SYNONYMS pranaih—by lives; svaih—their own; praninah—other living entities; panti—protect; sadhavah—devotees; ksana-bhanguraih—temporary; baddha-vairesu—unnecessarily engaged in animosity; bhutesu—unto living entities; mohitesu—bewildered; atma-mayaya—by the external energy of the Lord. TRANSLATION People in general, being bewildered by the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are always engaged in animosity toward one another. But devotees, even at the risk of their own temporary lives, try to save them. PURPORT This is the characteristic of a Vaisnava. Para-duhkha-duhkhi: a Vaisnava is always unhappy to see the conditioned souls unhappy. Otherwise, he would have no business teaching them how to become happy. In materialistic life, people must certainly engage in activities of animosity. Materialistic life is therefore compared to samsara-davanala, a blazing forest fire that automatically takes place. Lord Siva and his followers in the parampara system try to save people from this dangerous condition of materialistic life. This is the duty of devotees following the principles of Lord Siva and belonging to the Rudra-sampradaya. There are four Vaisnava sampradayas, and the Rudra-sampradaya is one of them because Lord Siva (Rudra) is the best of the Vaisnavas (vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh). Indeed, as we shall see, Lord Siva drank all the poison for the benefit of humanity. SB8.7.40 TEXT 40 pumsah krpayato bhadre sarvatma priyate harih prite harau bhagavati priye ’ham sacaracarah tasmad idam garam bhunje prajanam svastir astu me SYNONYMS pumsah—with a person; krpayatah—engaged in benevolent activities; bhadre—O most gentle Bhavani; sarva-atma—the Supersoul; priyate—becomes pleased; harih—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; prite—because of His pleasure; harau—the Supreme Lord, Hari; bhagavati—the Personality of Godhead; priye—also become pleased; aham—I; sa-cara-acarah—with all others, moving and nonmoving; tasmat—therefore; idam—this; garam—poison; bhunje—let me drink; prajanam—of the living entities; svastih—welfare; astu—let there be; me—by me. TRANSLATION My dear gentle wife Bhavani, when one performs benevolent activities for others, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is very pleased. And when the Lord is pleased, I am also pleased, along with all other living creatures. Therefore, let me drink this poison, for all the living entities may thus become happy because of me. SB8.7.41 TEXT 41 sri-suka uvaca evam amantrya bhagavan bhavanim visva-bhavanah tad visam jagdhum arebhe prabhava-jnanvamodata SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; evam—in this way; amantrya—addressing; bhagavan—Lord Siva; bhavanim—Bhavani; visva-bhavanah—the well-wisher of all the universe; tat visam—that poison; jagdhum—to drink; arebhe—began; prabhava-jna—mother Bhavani, who perfectly knew the capability of Lord Siva; anvamodata—gave her permission. TRANSLATION Srila Sukadeva Gosvami continued: After informing Bhavani in this way, Lord Siva began to drink the poison, and Bhavani, who knew perfectly well the capabilities of Lord Siva, gave him her permission to do so. SB8.7.42 TEXT 42 tatah karatali-krtya vyapi halahalam visam abhaksayan maha-devah krpaya bhuta-bhavanah SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter; karatali-krtya—taking in his hand; vyapi—widespread; halahalam—called halahala; visam—poison; abhaksayat—drank; maha-devah—Lord Siva; krpaya—out of compassion; bhuta-bhavanah—for the welfare of all living entities. TRANSLATION Thereafter, Lord Siva, who is dedicated to auspicious, benevolent work for humanity, compassionately took the whole quantity of poison in his palm and drank it. PURPORT Although there was such a great quantity of poison that it spread all over the universe, Lord Siva had such great power that he reduced the poison to a small quantity so that he could hold it in his palm. One should not try to imitate Lord Siva. Lord Siva can do whatever he likes, but those who try to imitate Lord Siva by smoking ganja and other poisonous things will certainly be killed because of such activities. SB8.7.43 TEXT 43 tasyapi darsayam asa sva-viryam jala-kalmasah yac cakara gale nilam tac ca sadhor vibhusanam SYNONYMS tasya—of Lord Siva; api—also; darsayam asa—exhibited; sva-viryam—its own potency; jala-kalmasah—that poison born of the water; yat—which; cakara—made; gale—on the neck; nilam—bluish line; tat—that; ca—also; sadhoh—of the saintly person; vibhusanam—ornament. TRANSLATION As if in defamation, the poison born from the ocean of milk manifested its potency by marking Lord Siva’s neck with a bluish line. That line, however, is now accepted as an ornament of the Lord. SB8.7.44 TEXT 44 tapyante loka-tapena sadhavah prayaso janah paramaradhanam tad dhi purusasyakhilatmanah SYNONYMS tapyante—voluntarily suffer; loka-tapena—because of the suffering of people in general; sadhavah—saintly persons; prayasah—almost always; janah—such persons; parama-aradhanam—the topmost method of worshiping; tat—that activity; hi—indeed; purusasya—of the Supreme Person; akhila-atmanah—who is the Supersoul of everyone. TRANSLATION It is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone’s heart. PURPORT Here is an explanation of how those engaged in activities for the welfare of others are very quickly recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (18.68–69), ya idam paramam guhyam mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyati. .. na ca tasman manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamah: “One who preaches the message of Bhagavad-gita to My devotees is most dear to Me. No one can excel him in satisfying Me by worship.” There are different kinds of welfare activities in this material world, but the supreme welfare activity is the spreading of Krsna consciousness. Other welfare activities cannot be effective, for the laws of nature and the results of karma cannot be checked. It is by destiny, or the laws of karma, that one must suffer or enjoy. For instance, if one is given a court order, he must accept it, whether it brings suffering or profit. Similarly, everyone is under obligations to karma and it reactions. No one can change this. Therefore the sastra says: tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido One should endeavor for that which is never obtained by wandering up and down the universe as a result of the reactions of karma. What is that? One should endeavor to become Krsna conscious. If one tries to spread Krsna consciousness all over the world, he should be understood to be performing the best welfare activity. The Lord is automatically very pleased with him. If the Lord is pleased with him, what is left for him to achieve? If one has been recognized by the Lord, even if he does not ask the Lord for anything, the Lord, who is within everyone, supplies him whatever he wants. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham [Bg. 9.22]). Again, as stated here, tapyante loka-tapena sadhavah prayaso janah. The best welfare activity is raising people to the platform of Krsna consciousness, since the conditioned souls are suffering only for want of Krsna consciousness. The Lord Himself also comes to mitigate the suffering of humanity. yada yada hi dharmasya paritranaya sadhunam “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.” (Bg. 4.7–8) All the sastras conclude, therefore, that spreading the Krsna consciousness movement is the best welfare activity in the world. Because of the ultimate benefit this bestows upon people in general, the Lord very quickly recognizes such service performed by a devotee. SB8.7.45 TEXT 45 nisamya karma tac chambhor deva-devasya midhusah praja daksayani brahma vaikunthas ca sasamsire SYNONYMS nisamya—after hearing; karma—the act; tat—that; sambhoh—of Lord Siva; deva-devasya—who is worshipable even for the demigods; midhusah—he who bestows great benedictions upon people in general; prajah—the people in general; daksayani—Bhavani, the daughter of Daksa; brahma—Lord Brahma; vaikunthah ca—Lord Visnu also; sasamsire—praised very much. TRANSLATION Upon hearing of this act, everyone, including Bhavani [the daughter of Maharaja Daksa], Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu, and the people in general, very highly praised this deed performed by Lord Siva, who is worshiped by the demigods and who bestows benedictions upon the people. SB8.7.46 TEXT 46 praskannam pibatah paner yat kincij jagrhuh sma tat vrscikahi-visausadhyo dandasukas ca ye ’pare SYNONYMS praskannam—scattered here and there; pibatah—of Lord Siva while drinking; paneh—from the palm; yat—which; kincit—very little; jagrhuh—took the opportunity to drink; sma—indeed; tat—that; vrscika—the scorpions; ahi—the cobras; visa-ausadhyah—poisonous drugs; dandasukah ca—and animals whose bites are poisonous; ye—who; apare—other living entities. TRANSLATION Scorpions, cobras, poisonous drugs and other animals whose bites are poisonous took the opportunity to drink whatever little poison had fallen and scattered from Lord Siva’s hand while he was drinking. PURPORT Mosquitoes, jackals, dogs and other varieties of dandasuka, or animals whose bites are poisonous, drank the poison of the samudra-manthana, the churned ocean, since it was available after it fell from the palms of Lord Siva. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Eighth Canto, Seventh Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Lord Siva Saves the Universe by Drinking Poison.”
kotisv asesa-vasudhadi-vibhuti-bhinnam
tad brahma niskalam anantam asesa-bhutam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhah
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge