Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Eleven
SB9.11.20
TEXT 20
nedam yaso raghupateh sura-yacnayatta-
lila-tanor adhika-samya-vimukta-dhamnah
rakso-vadho jaladhi-bandhanam astra-pugaih
kim tasya satru-hanane kapayah sahayah
SYNONYMS
na—not; idam—all these; yasah—fame; raghu-pateh—of Lord Ramacandra; sura-yacnaya—by the prayers of the demigods; atta-lila-tanoh—whose spiritual body is always engaged in various pastimes; adhika-samya-vimukta-dhamnah—no one is greater than or equal to Him; raksah-vadhah—killing the Raksasa (Ravana); jaladhi-bandhanam—bridging the ocean; astra-pugaih—with bow and arrows; kim—whether; tasya—His; satru-hanane—in killing the enemies; kapayah—the monkeys; sahayah—assistants.
TRANSLATION
Lord Ramacandra’s reputation for having killed Ravana with showers of arrows at the request of the demigods and for having built a bridge over the ocean does not constitute the factual glory of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Ramacandra, whose spiritual body is always engaged in various pastimes. Lord Ramacandra has no equal or superior, and therefore He had no need to take help from the monkeys to gain victory over Ravana.
PURPORT
As stated in the Vedas (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.8):
na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate
na tat-samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyate
parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate
svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca
“The Supreme Lord has nothing to do, and no one is found to be equal to or greater than Him, for everything is done naturally and systematically by His multifarious energies.” The Lord has nothing to do (na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate); whatever He does is His pastime. The Lord has no duty to perform to oblige anyone. Nonetheless, He appears to act to protect His devotees or kill His enemies. Of course, no one can be the Lord’s enemy, since who could be more powerful than the Lord? There is actually no question of anyone’s being His enemy, but when the Lord wants to take pleasure in pastimes, He comes down to this material world and acts like a human being, thus showing His wonderful, glorious activities to please the devotees. His devotees always want to see the Lord victorious in varied activities, and therefore, to please Himself and them, the Lord sometimes agrees to act as a human being and perform wonderful, uncommon pastimes for the satisfaction of the devotees. SB9.11.21 TEXT 21 yasyamalam nrpa-sadahsu yaso ’dhunapi gayanty agha-ghnam rsayo dig-ibhendra-pattam tam nakapala-vasupala-kirita-justa- padambujam raghupatim saranam prapadye SYNONYMS yasya—whose (Lord Ramacandra’s); amalam—spotless, free from material qualities; nrpa-sadahsu—in the assembly of great emperors like Maharaja Yudhisthira; yasah—famous glories; adhuna api—even today; gayanti—glorify; agha-ghnam—which vanquish all sinful reactions; rsayah—great saintly persons like Markandeya; dik-ibha-indra-pattam—as the ornamental cloth covering the elephant that conquers the directions; tam—that; naka-pala—of heavenly demigods; vasu-pala—of earthly kings; kirita—by the helmets; justa—are worshiped; pada-ambujam—whose lotus feet; raghu-patim—unto Lord Ramacandra; saranam—surrender; prapadye—I offer. TRANSLATION Lord Ramacandra’s spotless name and fame, which vanquish all sinful reactions, are celebrated in all directions, like the ornamental cloth of the victorious elephant that conquers all directions. Great saintly persons like Markandeya Rsi still glorify His characteristics in the assemblies of great emperors like Maharaja Yudhisthira. Similarly, all the saintly kings and all the demigods, including Lord Siva and Lord Brahma, worship the Lord by bowing down with their helmets. Let me offer my obeisances unto His lotus feet. SB9.11.22 TEXT 22 sa yaih sprsto ’bhidrsto va samvisto ’nugato ’pi va kosalas te yayuh sthanam yatra gacchanti yoginah SYNONYMS sah—He, Lord Ramacandra; yaih—by which persons; sprstah—touched; abhidrstah—seen; va—either; samvistah—eating together, lying together; anugatah—followed as servants; api va—even; kosalah—all those inhabitants of Kosala; te—they; yayuh—departed; sthanam—to the place; yatra—wherein; gacchanti—they go; yoginah—all the bhakti-yogis. TRANSLATION Lord Ramacandra returned to His abode, to which bhakti-yogis are promoted. This is the place to which all the inhabitants of Ayodhya went after they served the Lord in His manifest pastimes by offering Him obeisances, touching His lotus feet, fully observing Him as a fatherlike King, sitting or lying down with Him like equals, or even just accompanying Him. PURPORT The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (4.9): janma karma ca me divyam “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” Here this is confirmed. All the inhabitants of Ayodhya who saw Lord Ramacandra as citizens, served Him as servants, sat and talked with Him as friends or were somehow or other present during His reign went back home, back to Godhead. After giving up the body, the devotee who becomes perfect in devotional service enters that particular universe where Lord Ramacandra or Lord Krsna is engaged in His pastimes. Then, after being trained to serve the Lord in various capacities in that prakata-lila, the devotee is finally promoted to sanatana-dhama, the supreme abode in the spiritual world. This sanatana-dhama is also mentioned in Bhagavad-gita (paras tasmat tu bhavo ’nyo’vyakto’vyaktat sanatanah [Bg. 8.20]). One who enters the transcendental pastimes of the Lord is called nitya-lila-pravista. To understand clearly why Lord Ramacandra returned, it is mentioned herewith that the Lord went to that particular place where the bhakti-yogis go. The impersonalists misunderstand the statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam to mean that the Lord entered His own effulgence and therefore become impersonal. But the Lord is a person, and His devotees are persons. Indeed, the living entities, like the Lord, were persons in the past, they are persons in the present, and they will continue to be persons even after giving up the body. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita. SB9.11.23 TEXT 23 puruso rama-caritam sravanair upadharayan anrsamsya-paro rajan karma-bandhair vimucyate SYNONYMS purusah—any person; rama-caritam—the narration concerning the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Ramacandra; sravanaih—by aural reception; upadharayan—simply by this process of hearing; anrsamsya-parah—becomes completely free from envy; rajan—O King Pariksit; karma-bandhaih—by the bondage of fruitive activities; vimucyate—one becomes liberated. TRANSLATION O King Pariksit, anyone who aurally receives the narrations concerning the characteristics of Lord Ramacandra’s pastimes will ultimately be freed from the disease of envy and thus be liberated from the bondage of fruitive activities. PURPORT Here in this material world, everyone is envious of someone else. Even in religious life, it is sometimes found that if one devotee has advanced in spiritual activities, other devotees are envious of him. Such envious devotees are not completely freed from the bondage of birth and death. As long as one is not completely free from the cause of birth and death, one cannot enter the sanatana-dhama or the eternal pastimes of the Lord. One becomes envious because of being influenced by the designations of the body, but the liberated devotee has nothing to do with the body, and therefore he is completely on the transcendental platform. A devotee is never envious of anyone, even his enemy. Because the devotee knows that the Lord is his supreme protector, he thinks, “What harm can the so-called enemy do?” Thus a devotee is confident about his protection. The Lord says, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: [Bg. 4.11] “According to the proportion of one’s surrender unto Me, I respond accordingly.” A devotee must therefore be completely free from envy, especially of other devotees. To envy other devotees is a great offense, a vaisnava-aparadha. A devotee who constantly engages in hearing and chanting (sravana-kirtana) is certainly freed from the disease of envy, and thus he becomes eligible to go back home, back to Godhead. SB9.11.24 TEXT 24 sri-rajovaca katham sa bhagavan ramo bhratrn va svayam atmanah tasmin va te ’nvavartanta prajah pauras ca isvare SYNONYMS sri-raja uvaca—Maharaja Pariksit inquired; katham—how; sah—He, the Lord; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ramah—Lord Ramacandra; bhratrn—unto the brothers (Laksmana, Bharata and Satrughna); va—either; svayam—personally; atmanah—expansions of His person; tasmin—unto the Lord; va—either; te—they (all the inhabitants and the brothers); anvavartanta—behaved; prajah—all the inhabitants; paurah—the citizens; ca—and; isvare—unto the Supreme Lord. TRANSLATION Maharaja Pariksit inquired from Sukadeva Gosvami: How did the Lord conduct Himself, and how did He behave in relationship with His brothers, who were expansions of His own self? And how did His brothers and the inhabitants of Ayodhya treat Him? SB9.11.25 TEXT 25 sri-badarayanir uvaca athadisad dig-vijaye bhratrms tri-bhuvanesvarah atmanam darsayan svanam purim aiksata sanugah SYNONYMS sri-badarayanih uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; atha—hereafter (when the Lord accepted the throne on the request of Bharata); adisat—ordered; dik-vijaye—to conquer all the world; bhratrn—His younger brothers; tri-bhuvana-isvarah—the Lord of the universe; atmanam—personally, Himself; darsayan—giving audience; svanam—to the family members and the citizens; purim—the city; aiksata—supervised; sa-anugah—with other assistants. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami replied: After accepting the throne of the government by the fervent request of His younger brother Bharata, Lord Ramacandra ordered His younger brothers to go out and conquer the entire world, while He personally remained in the capital to give audience to all the citizens and residents of the palace and supervise the governmental affairs with His other assistants. PURPORT The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not allow any of His devotees or assistants to be engaged in sense gratification. The younger brothers of Lord Ramacandra were at home enjoying the personal presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the Lord ordered Them to go out and achieve victory all over the world. It was the custom (and this custom, in some places, is still current) that all other kings would have to accept the supremacy of the emperor. If the king of a small state did not accept the emperor’s supremacy, there would be a fight, and the king of the small state would be obliged to accept the emperor as supreme; otherwise, it would not be possible for the emperor to rule the country. Lord Ramacandra showed His favor to His brothers by ordering Them to go out. Many of the Lord’s devotees residing in Vrndavana have taken the vow not to leave Vrndavana to preach Krsna consciousness. But the Lord says that Krsna consciousness should be spread all over the world, in every village and every town. This is the open order of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama A pure devotee, therefore, must execute the order of the Lord and must not gratify his senses by remaining stagnant in one place, falsely proud, thinking that because he does not leave Vrndavana but chants in a solitary place he has become a great devotee. A devotee must carry out the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Every devotee, therefore, should spread Krsna consciousness by preaching, asking whomever he meets to accept the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: [Bg. 18.66] “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” This is the order of the Lord, who speaks as the supreme emperor. Everyone should be induced to accept this order, for this is victory (dig-vijaya). And it is the duty of the soldier, the devotee, to impress upon everyone this philosophy of life. Of course, those who are kanistha-adhikaris do not preach, but the Lord shows mercy to them also, as He did by staying personally in Ayodhya to give audience to the people in general. One should not mistakenly think that the Lord asked His younger brothers to leave Ayodhya because He especially favored the citizens. The Lord is merciful to everyone, and He knows how to show His favor to each individual person according to his capacity. One who abides by the order of the Lord is a pure devotee. SB9.11.26 TEXT 26 asikta-margam gandhodaih karinam mada-sikaraih svaminam praptam alokya mattam va sutaram iva SYNONYMS asikta-margam—the streets were sprinkled; gandha-udaih—with perfumed water; karinam—of elephants; mada-sikaraih—with particles of perfumed liquor; svaminam—the master or proprietor; praptam—present; alokya—seeing personally; mattam—very opulent; va—either; sutaram—highly; iva—as if. TRANSLATION During the reign of Lord Ramacandra, the streets of the capital, Ayodhya, were sprinkled with perfumed water and drops of perfumed liquor, thrown about by elephants from their trunks. When the citizens saw the Lord personally supervising the affairs of the city in such opulence, they appreciated this opulence very much. PURPORT We have simply heard about the opulence of Rama-rajya during the reign of Lord Ramacandra. Now, here is one example of the opulence of the Lord’s kingdom. The streets of Ayodhya were not only cleaned but also sprinkled with perfumed water and drops of perfumed liquor, which were distributed by elephants through their trunks. There was no need of sprinkling machines, for the elephant has a natural ability to suck water through its trunk and again throw it out in a shower. We can understand the opulence of the city from this one example: it was actually sprinkled with perfumed water. Moreover, the citizens had the opportunity to see the Lord personally supervising the affairs of the state. He was not a sleeping monarch, as we can understand from His activities in sending His brothers to see to affairs outside the capital and punish anyone who did not obey the emperor’s orders. This is called dig-vijaya. The citizens were all given facilities for peaceful life, and they were also qualified with appropriate attributes according to varnasrama. As we have seen from the previous chapter, varnasrama-gunanvitah: the citizens were trained according to the varnasrama system. A class of men were brahmanas, a class of men were ksatriyas, a class were vaisyas, and a class were sudras. Without this scientific division, there can be no question of good citizenship. The King, being magnanimous and perfect in His duty, performed many sacrifices and treated the citizens as His sons, and the citizens, being trained in the varnasrama system, were obedient and perfectly ordered. The entire monarchy was so opulent and peaceful that the government was even able to sprinkle the street with perfumed water, what to speak of other management. Since the city was sprinkled with perfumed water, we can simply imagine how opulent it was in other respects. Why should the citizens not have felt happy during the reign of Lord Ramacandra. SB9.11.27 TEXT 27 prasada-gopura-sabha- caitya-deva-grhadisu vinyasta-hema-kalasaih patakabhis ca manditam SYNONYMS prasada—in palaces; gopura—palace gates; sabha—assembly houses; caitya—raised platforms; deva-grha—temples wherein deities are worshiped; adisu—and so on; vinyasta—placed; hema-kalasaih—with golden waterpots; patakabhih—by flags; ca—also; manditam—bedecked. TRANSLATION The palaces, the palace gates, the assembly houses, the platforms for meeting places, the temples and all such places were decorated with golden waterpots and bedecked with various types of flags. SB9.11.28 TEXT 28 pugaih savrntai rambhabhih pattikabhih suvasasam adarsair amsukaih sragbhih krta-kautuka-toranam SYNONYMS pugaih—by trees of betel nut; sa-vrntaih—with bunches of flowers and fruits; rambhabhih—with banana trees; pattikabhih—with flags; su-vasasam—decorated with colorful cloth; adarsaih—with mirrors; amsukaih—with cloths; sragbhih—with garlands; krta-kautuka—made auspicious; toranam—possessing reception gates. TRANSLATION Wherever Lord Ramacandra visited, auspicious welcome gates were constructed, with banana trees and betel nut trees, full of flowers and fruits. The gates were decorated with various flags made of colorful cloth and with tapestries, mirrors and garlands. SB9.11.29 TEXT 29 tam upeyus tatra tatra paura arhana-panayah asiso yuyujur deva pahimam prak tvayoddhrtam SYNONYMS tam—unto Him, Lord Ramacandra; upeyuh—approached; tatra tatra—wherever He visited; paurah—the inhabitants of the neighborhood; arhana-panayah—carrying paraphernalia to worship the Lord; asisah—blessings from the Lord; yuyujuh—came down; deva—O my Lord; pahi—just maintain; imam—this land; prak—as before; tvaya—by You; uddhrtam—rescued (from the bottom of the sea in Your incarnation as Varaha). TRANSLATION Wherever Lord Ramacandra visited, the people approached Him with paraphernalia of worship and begged the Lord’s blessings. “O Lord,” they said, “as You rescued the earth from the bottom of the sea in Your incarnation as a boar, may You now maintain it. Thus we beg Your blessings.” SB9.11.30 TEXT 30 tatah praja viksya patim ciragatam didrksayotsrsta-grhah striyo narah aruhya harmyany aravinda-locanam atrpta-netrah kusumair avakiran SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter; prajah—the citizens; viksya—by seeing; patim—the King; cira-agatam—returned after a long time; didrksaya—desiring to see; utsrsta-grhah—vacating their respective residences; striyah—the women; narah—the men; aruhya—getting on top of; harmyani—great palaces; aravinda-locanam—Lord Ramacandra, whose eyes are like the petals of a lotus; atrpta-netrah—whose eyes were not fully satisfied; kusumaih—by flowers; avakiran—showered the Lord. TRANSLATION Thereafter, not having seen the Lord for a long time, the citizens, both men and women, being very eager to see Him, left their homes and got up on the roofs of the palaces. Being incompletely satiated with seeing the face of the lotus-eyed Lord Ramacandra, they showered flowers upon Him. SB9.11.31-34 TEXTS 31–34 atha pravistah sva-grham justam svaih purva-rajabhih anantakhila-kosadhyam anarghyoruparicchadam vidrumodumbara-dvarair vaidurya-stambha-panktibhih sthalair marakataih svacchair bhrajat-sphatika-bhittibhih citra-sragbhih pattikabhir vaso-mani-ganamsukaih mukta-phalais cid-ullasaih kanta-kamopapattibhih dhupa-dipaih surabhibhir manditam puspa-mandanaih stri-pumbhih sura-sankasair justam bhusana-bhusanaih SYNONYMS atha—thereafter; pravistah—He entered; sva-grham—His own palace; justam—occupied; svaih—by His own family members; purva-rajabhih—by the previous members of the royal family; ananta—unlimited; akhila—everywhere; kosa—treasury; adhyam—prosperous; anarghya—priceless; uru—high; paricchadam—paraphernalia; vidruma—of coral; udumbara-dvaraih—with the two sides of the doors; vaidurya-stambha—with pillars of vaidurya-mani; panktibhih—in a line; sthalaih—with floors; marakataih—made of marakata stone; svacchaih—very cleanly polished; bhrajat—dazzling; sphatika—marble; bhittibhih—foundations; citra-sragbhih—with varieties of flower garlands; pattikabhih—with flags; vasah—clothing; mani-gana-amsukaih—by various effulgent and valuable stones; mukta-phalaih—with pearls; cit-ullasaih—increasing celestial pleasure; kanta-kama—fulfilling one’s desires; upapattibhih—by such paraphernalia; dhupa-dipaih—with incense and lamps; surabhibhih—very fragrant; manditam—decorated; puspa-mandanaih—by bunches of various flowers; stri-pumbhih—by men and women; sura-sankasaih—appearing like the demigods; justam—full of; bhusana-bhusanaih—whose bodies beautified their ornaments. TRANSLATION Thereafter, Lord Ramacandra entered the palace of His forefathers. Within the palace were various treasures and valuable wardrobes. The sitting places on the two sides of the entrance door were made of coral, the yards were surrounded by pillars of vaidurya-mani, the floor was made of highly polished marakata-mani, and the foundation was made of marble. The entire palace was decorated with flags and garlands and bedecked with valuable stones, shining with a celestial effulgence. The palace was fully decorated with pearls and surrounded by lamps and incense. The men and women within the palace all resembled demigods and were decorated with various ornaments, which seemed beautiful because of being placed on their bodies. SB9.11.35 TEXT 35 tasmin sa bhagavan ramah snigdhaya priyayestaya reme svarama-dhiranam rsabhah sitaya kila SYNONYMS tasmin—in that celestial palace; sah—He; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ramah—Lord Ramacandra; snigdhaya—always pleased by her behavior; priyaya istaya—with His dearmost wife; reme—enjoyed; sva-arama—personal pleasure; dhiranam—of the greatest learned persons; rsabhah—the chief; sitaya—with mother Sita; kila—indeed. TRANSLATION Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, chief of the best learned scholars, resided in that palace with His pleasure potency, mother Sita, and enjoyed complete peace. SB9.11.36 TEXT 36 bubhuje ca yatha-kalam kaman dharmam apidayan varsa-pugan bahun nrnam abhidhyatanghri-pallavah SYNONYMS bubhuje—He enjoyed; ca—also; yatha-kalam—as long as required; kaman—all enjoyment; dharmam—religious principles; apidayan—without transgressing; varsa-pugan—duration of years; bahun—many; nrnam—of the people in general; abhidhyata—being meditated upon; anghri-pallavah—His lotus feet. TRANSLATION Without transgressing the religious principles, Lord Ramacandra, whose lotus feet are worshiped by devotees in meditation, enjoyed with all the paraphernalia of transcendental pleasure for as long as needed. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Ninth Canto, Eleventh Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Lord Ramacandra Rules the World.”
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama