Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Twenty
SB9.20.22
TEXT 22
reto-dhah putro nayati
naradeva yama-ksayat
tvam casya dhata garbhasya
satyam aha sakuntala
SYNONYMS
retah-dhah—a person who discharges semen; putrah—the son; nayati—saves; nara-deva—O King (Maharaja Dusmanta); yama-ksayat—from punishment by Yamaraja, or from the custody of Yamaraja; tvam—your good self; ca—and; asya—of this child; dhata—the creator; garbhasya—of the embryo; satyam—truthfully; aha—said; sakuntala—your wife, Sakuntala.
TRANSLATION
O King Dusmanta, he who discharges semen is the actual father, and his son saves him from the custody of Yamaraja. You are the actual procreator of this child. Indeed, Sakuntala is speaking the truth.
PURPORT
Upon hearing the omen, Maharaja Dusmanta accepted his wife and child. According to Vedic smrti:
pun-namno narakad yasmat
pitaram trayate sutah
tasmat putra iti proktah
svayam eva svayambhuva
Because a son delivers his father from punishment in the hell called put, the son is called putra. According to this principle, when there is a disagreement between the father and mother, it is the father, not the mother, who is delivered by the son. But if the wife is faithful and firmly adherent to her husband, when the father is delivered the mother is also delivered. Consequently, there is no such thing as divorce in the Vedic literature. A wife is always trained to be chaste and faithful to her husband, for this helps her achieve deliverance from any abominable material condition. This verse clearly says, putro nayati naradeva yama-ksayat: “The son saves his father from the custody of Yamaraja.” It never says, putro nayati mataram: “The son saves his mother.” The seed-giving father is delivered, not the storekeeper mother. Consequently, husband and wife should not separate under any condition, for if they have a child whom they raise to be a Vaisnava, he can save both the father and mother from the custody of Yamaraja and punishment in hellish life. SB9.20.23 TEXT 23 pitary uparate so ’pi cakravarti maha-yasah mahima giyate tasya harer amsa-bhuvo bhuvi SYNONYMS pitari—after his father; uparate—passed away; sah—the King’s son; api—also; cakravarti—the emperor; maha-yasah—very famous; mahima—glories; giyate—are glorified; tasya—his; hareh—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; amsa-bhuvah—a partial representation; bhuvi—upon this earth. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami said: When Maharaja Dusmanta passed away from this earth, his son became the emperor of the world, the proprietor of the seven islands. He is referred to as a partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in this world. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gita (10.41) it is said: yad yad vibhutimat sattvam Anyone extraordinarily powerful must be considered a partial representation of the opulence of the Supreme Godhead. Therefore when the son of Maharaja Dusmanta became the emperor of the entire world, he was celebrated in this way. SB9.20.24-26 TEXTS 24–26 cakram daksina-haste ’sya padma-koso ’sya padayoh ije mahabhisekena so ’bhisikto ’dhirad vibhuh panca-pancasata medhyair gangayam anu vajibhih mamateyam purodhaya yamunam anu ca prabhuh asta-saptati-medhyasvan babandha pradadad vasu bharatasya hi dausmanter agnih saci-gune citah sahasram badvaso yasmin brahmana ga vibhejire SYNONYMS cakram—the mark of Krsna’s disc; daksina-haste—on the palm of the right hand; asya—of him (Bharata); padma-kosah—the mark of the whorl of a lotus; asya—of him; padayoh—on the soles of the feet; ije—worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead; maha-abhisekena—by a grand Vedic ritualistic ceremony; sah—he (Maharaja Bharata); abhisiktah—being promoted; adhirat—to the topmost position of a ruler; vibhuh—the master of everything; panca-pancasata—fifty-five; medhyaih—fit for sacrifices; gangayam anu—from the mouth of the Ganges to the source; vajibhih—with horses; mamateyam—the great sage Bhrgu; purodhaya—making him the great priest; yamunam—on the bank of the Yamuna; anu—in regular order; ca—also; prabhuh—the supreme master, Maharaja Bharata; asta-saptati—seventy-eight; medhya-asvan—horses fit for sacrifice; babandha—he bound; pradadat—gave in charity; vasu—riches; bharatasya—of Maharaja Bharata; hi—indeed; dausmanteh—the son of Maharaja Dusmanta; agnih—the sacrificial fire; saci-gune—on an excellent site; citah—established; sahasram—thousands; badvasah—by the number of one badva (one badva equals 13,084); yasmin—in which sacrifices; brahmanah—all the brahmanas present; gah—the cows; vibhejire—received their respective share. TRANSLATION Maharaja Bharata, the son of Dusmanta, had the mark of Lord Krsna’s disc on the palm of his right hand, and he had the mark of a lotus whorl on the soles of his feet. By worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead with a grand ritualistic ceremony, he became the emperor and master of the entire world. Then, under the priesthood of Mamateya, Bhrgu Muni, he performed fifty-five horse sacrifices on the bank of the Ganges, beginning from its mouth and ending at its source, and seventy-eight horse sacrifices on the bank of the Yamuna, beginning from the confluence at Prayaga and ending at the source. He established the sacrificial fire on an excellent site, and he distributed great wealth to the brahmanas. Indeed, he distributed so many cows that each of thousands of brahmanas had one badva [13,084] as his share. PURPORT As indicated here by the words dausmanter agnih saci-gune citah, Bharata, the son of Maharaja Dusmanta, arranged for many ritualistic ceremonies all over the world, especially all over India on the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna, from the mouth to the source, and all such sacrifices were performed in very distinguished places. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (3.9), yajnarthat karmano ’nyatra loko ’yam karma-bandhanah: “Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world.” Everyone should engage in the performance of yajna, and the sacrificial fire should be ignited everywhere, the entire purpose being to make people happy, prosperous and progressive in spiritual life. Of course, these things were possible before the beginning of Kali-yuga because there were qualified brahmanas who could perform such yajnas. For the present, however, the Brahma-vaivarta Purana enjoins: asvamedham gavalambham “In this age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: offering a horse in sacrifice, offering a cow in sacrifice, accepting the order of sannyasa, offering oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and begetting children in the wife of one’s brother.” In this age, such yajnas as the asvamedha-yajna and gomedha-yajna are impossible to perform because there are neither sufficient riches nor qualified brahmanas. This verse says, mamateyam purodhaya: Maharaja Bharata engaged the son of Mamata, Bhrgu Muni, to take charge of performing this yajna. Now, however, such brahmanas are impossible to find. Therefore the sastras recommend, yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah: those who are intelligent should perform the sankirtana-yajna inaugurated by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam “In this age of Kali, people endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of sankirtana-yajna.” (Bhag. 11.5.32) Yajna must be performed, for otherwise people will be entangled in sinful activities and will suffer immensely. Therefore the Krsna consciousness movement has taken charge of introducing the chanting of Hare Krsna all over the world. This Hare Krsna movement is also yajna, but without the difficulties involved in securing paraphernalia and qualified brahmanas. This congregational chanting can be performed anywhere and everywhere. If people somehow or other assemble together and are induced to chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, all the purposes of yajna will be fulfilled. The first purpose is that there must be sufficient rain, for without rain there cannot be any produce (annad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad anna-sambhavah). All our necessities can be produced simply by rainfall (kamam vavarsa parjanyah [SB 1.10.4]), and the earth is the original source of all necessities (sarva-kama-dugha mahi). In conclusion, therefore, in this age of Kali people all over the world should refrain from the four principles of sinful life—illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling—and in a pure state of existence should perform the simple yajna of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Then the earth will certainly produce all the necessities for life, and people will be happy economically, politically, socially, religiously and culturally. Everything will be in proper order. SB9.20.27 TEXT 27 trayas-trimsac-chatam hy asvan baddhva vismapayan nrpan dausmantir atyagan mayam devanam gurum ayayau SYNONYMS trayah—three; trimsat—thirty; satam—hundred; hi—indeed; asvan—horses; baddhva—arresting in the yajna; vismapayan—astonishing; nrpan—all other kings; dausmantih—the son of Maharaja Dusmanta; atyagat—surpassed; mayam—material opulences; devanam—of the demigods; gurum—the supreme spiritual master; ayayau—achieved. TRANSLATION Bharata, the son of Maharaja Dusmanta, bound thirty-three hundred horses for those sacrifices, and thus he astonished all other kings. He surpassed even the opulence of the demigods, for he achieved the supreme spiritual master, Hari. PURPORT One who achieves the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead certainly surpasses all material wealth, even that of the demigods in the heavenly planets. Yam labdhva caparam labham manyate nadhikam tatah. The achievement of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the most exalted achievement in life. SB9.20.28 TEXT 28 mrgan chukla-datah krsnan hiranyena parivrtan adat karmani masnare niyutani caturdasa SYNONYMS mrgan—first-class elephants; sukla-datah—with very white tusks; krsnan—with black bodies; hiranyena—with gold ornaments; parivrtan—completely covered; adat—give in charity; karmani—in the sacrifice; masnare—by the name Masnara, or in the place known as Masnara; niyutani—lakhs (one lakh equals one hundred thousand); caturdasa—fourteen. TRANSLATION When Maharaja Bharata performed the sacrifice known as Masnara [or a sacrifice in the place known as Masnara], he gave in charity fourteen lakhs of excellent elephants with white tusks and black bodies, completely covered with golden ornaments. SB9.20.29 TEXT 29 bharatasya mahat karma na purve napare nrpah naivapur naiva prapsyanti bahubhyam tridivam yatha SYNONYMS bharatasya—of Maharaja Bharata, the son of Maharaja Dusmanta; mahat—very great, exalted; karma—activities; na—neither; purve—previously; na—nor; apare—after his time; nrpah—kings as a class; na—neither; eva—certainly; apuh—attained; na—nor; eva—certainly; prapsyanti—will get; bahubhyam—by the strength of his arms; tri-divam—the heavenly planets; yatha—as. TRANSLATION As one cannot approach the heavenly planets simply by the strength of his arms (for who can touch the heavenly planets with his hands?), one cannot imitate the wonderful activities of Maharaja Bharata. No one could perform such activities in the past, nor will anyone be able to do so in the future. SB9.20.30 TEXT 30 kirata-hunan yavanan paundran kankan khasan chakan abrahmanya-nrpams cahan mlecchan dig-vijaye ’khilan SYNONYMS kirata—the black people called Kiratas (mostly the Africans); hunan—the Huns, the tribes from the far north; yavanan—the meat-eaters; paundran—the Paundras; kankan—the Kankas; khasan—the Mongolians; sakan—the Sakas; abrahmanya—against the brahminical culture; nrpan—kings; ca—and; ahan—he killed; mlecchan—such atheists, who had no respect for Vedic civilization; dik-vijaye—while conquering all directions; akhilan—all of them. TRANSLATION When Maharaja Bharata was on tour, he defeated or killed all the Kiratas, Hunas, Yavanas, Paundras, Kankas, Khasas, Sakas and the kings who were opposed to the Vedic principles of brahminical culture. SB9.20.31 TEXT 31 jitva purasura devan ye rasaukamsi bhejire deva-striyo rasam nitah pranibhih punar aharat SYNONYMS jitva—conquering; pura—formerly; asurah—the demons; devan—the demigods; ye—all who; rasa-okamsi—in the lower planetary system known as Rasatala; bhejire—took shelter; deva-striyah—the wives and daughters of the demigods; rasam—in the lower planetary system; nitah—were brought; pranibhih—with their own dear associates; punah—again; aharat—brought back to their original places. TRANSLATION Formerly, after conquering the demigods, all the demons had taken shelter in the lower planetary system known as Rasatala and had brought all the wives and daughters of the demigods there also. Maharaja Bharata, however, rescued all those women, along with their associates, from the clutches of the demons, and he returned them to the demigods. SB9.20.32 TEXT 32 sarvan kaman duduhatuh prajanam tasya rodasi samas tri-nava-sahasrir diksu cakram avartayat SYNONYMS sarvan kaman—all necessities or desirable things; duduhatuh—fulfilled; prajanam—of the subjects; tasya—his; rodasi—this earth and the heavenly planets; samah—years; tri-nava-sahasrih—three times nine thousand (that is, twenty-seven thousand); diksu—in all directions; cakram—soldiers or orders; avartayat—circulated. TRANSLATION Maharaja Bharata provided all necessities for his subjects, both on this earth and in the heavenly planets, for twenty-seven thousand years. He circulated his orders and distributed his soldiers in all directions. SB9.20.33 TEXT 33 sa samrad loka-palakhyam aisvaryam adhirat sriyam cakram caskhalitam pranan mrsety upararama ha SYNONYMS sah—he (Maharaja Bharata); samrat—the emperor; loka-pala-akhyam—known as the ruler of all the lokas, or planets; aisvaryam—such opulences; adhirat—thoroughly in power; sriyam—kingdom; cakram—soldiers or orders; ca—and; askhalitam—without failure; pranan—life or sons and family; mrsa—all false; iti—thus; upararama—ceased to enjoy; ha—in the past. TRANSLATION As the ruler of the entire universe, Emperor Bharata had the opulences of a great kingdom and unconquerable soldiers. His sons and family had seemed to him to be his entire life. But finally he thought of all this as an impediment to spiritual advancement, and therefore he ceased from enjoying it. PURPORT Maharaja Bharata had incomparable opulence in sovereignty, soldiers, sons, daughters and everything for material enjoyment, but when he realized that all such material opulences were useless for spiritual advancement, he retired from material enjoyment. The Vedic civilization enjoins that after a certain age, following in the footsteps of Maharaja Bharata, one should cease to enjoy material opulences and should take the order of vanaprastha. SB9.20.34 TEXT 34 tasyasan nrpa vaidarbhyah patnyas tisrah susammatah jaghnus tyaga-bhayat putran nanurupa itirite SYNONYMS tasya—of him (Maharaja Bharata); asan—there were; nrpa—O King (Maharaja Pariksit); vaidarbhyah—daughters of Vidarbha; patnyah—wives; tisrah—three; su-sammatah—very pleasing and suitable; jaghnuh—killed; tyaga-bhayat—fearing rejection; putran—their sons; na anurupah—not exactly like the father; iti—like this; irite—considering. TRANSLATION O King Pariksit, Maharaja Bharata had three pleasing wives, who were daughters of the King of Vidarbha. When all three of them bore children who did not resemble the King, these wives thought that he would consider them unfaithful queens and reject them, and therefore they killed their own sons. SB9.20.35 TEXT 35 tasyaivam vitathe vamse tad-artham yajatah sutam marut-stomena maruto bharadvajam upadaduh SYNONYMS tasya—his (Maharaja Bharata’s); evam—thus; vitathe—being baffled; vamse—in generating progeny; tat-artham—to get sons; yajatah—performing sacrifices; sutam—a son; marut-stomena—by performing a marut-stoma sacrifice; marutah—the demigods named the Maruts; bharadvajam—Bharadvaja; upadaduh—presented. TRANSLATION The King, his attempt for progeny frustrated in this way, performed a sacrifice named marut-stoma to get a son. The demigods known as the Maruts, being fully satisfied with him, then presented him a son named Bharadvaja. SB9.20.36 TEXT 36 antarvatnyam bhratr-patnyam maithunaya brhaspatih pravrtto varito garbham saptva viryam upasrjat SYNONYMS antah-vatnyam—pregnant; bhratr-patnyam—with the brother’s wife; maithunaya—desiring sexual enjoyment; brhaspatih—the demigod named Brhaspati; pravrttah—so inclined; varitah—when forbidden to do so; garbham—the son within the abdomen; saptva—by cursing; viryam—semen; upasrjat—discharged. TRANSLATION When the demigod named Brhaspati was attracted by his brother’s wife, Mamata, who at that time was pregnant, he desired to have sexual relations with her. The son within her womb forbid this, but Brhaspati cursed him and forcibly discharged semen into the womb of Mamata. PURPORT The sex impulse is so strong in this material world that even Brhaspati, who is supposed to be the priest of the demigods and a very learned scholar, wanted to have a sexual relationship with his brother’s pregnant wife. This can happen even in the society of the higher demigods, so what to speak of human society? The sex impulse is so strong that it can agitate even a learned personality like Brhaspati. SB9.20.37 TEXT 37 tam tyaktu-kamam mamatam bhartus tyaga-visankitam nama-nirvacanam tasya slokam enam sura jaguh SYNONYMS tam—that newly born baby; tyaktu-kamam—who was trying to avoid; mamatam—unto Mamata; bhartuh tyaga-visankitam—very much afraid of being forsaken by her husband because of giving birth to an illegitimate son; nama-nirvacanam—a name-giving ceremony, or nama-karana; tasya—to the child; slokam—verse; enam—this; surah—the demigods; jaguh—enunciated. TRANSLATION Mamata very much feared being forsaken by her husband for giving birth to an illegitimate son, and therefore she considered giving up the child. But then the demigods solved the problem by enunciating a name for the child. PURPORT According to Vedic scripture, whenever a child is born there are some ceremonies known as jata-karma and nama-karana, in which learned brahmanas, immediately after the birth of the child, make a horoscope according to astrological calculations. But the child to which Mamata gave birth was begotten by Brhaspati irreligiously, for although Mamata was the wife of Utathya, Brhaspati made her pregnant by force. Therefore Brhaspati became bharta. According to Vedic culture, a wife is considered the property of her husband, and a son born by illicit sex is called dvaja. The common word still current in Hindu society for such a son is dogla, which refers to a son not begotten by the husband of his mother. In such a situation, it is difficult to give the child a name according to proper regulative principles. Mamata, therefore, was perplexed, but the demigods gave the child the appropriate name Bharadvaja, which indicated that the child born illegitimately should be maintained by both Mamata and Brhaspati. SB9.20.38 TEXT 38 mudhe bhara dvajam imam bhara dvajam brhaspate yatau yad uktva pitarau bharadvajas tatas tv ayam SYNONYMS mudhe—O foolish woman; bhara—just maintain; dvajam—although born by an illicit connection between two; imam—this child; bhara—maintain; dvajam—although born by an illicit connection between two; brhaspate—O Brhaspati; yatau—left; yat—because; uktva—having said; pitarau—both the father and mother; bharadvajah—by the name Bharadvaja; tatah—thereafter; tu—indeed; ayam—this child. TRANSLATION Brhaspati said to Mamata, “You foolish woman, although this child was born from the wife of one man through the semen discharged by another, you should maintain him.” Upon hearing this, Mamata replied, “O Brhaspati, you maintain him!” After speaking in this way, Brhaspati and Mamata both left. Thus the child was known as Bharadvaja. SB9.20.39 TEXT 39 codyamana surair evam matva vitatham atmajam vyasrjan maruto ’bibhran datto ’yam vitathe ’nvaye SYNONYMS codyamana—although Mamata was encouraged (to maintain the child); suraih—by the demigods; evam—in this way; matva—considering; vitatham—purposeless; atmajam—her own child; vyasrjat—rejected; marutah—the demigods known as the Maruts; abibhran—maintained (the child); dattah—the same child was given; ayam—this; vitathe—was disappointed; anvaye—when the dynasty of Maharaja Bharata. TRANSLATION Although encouraged by the demigods to maintain the child, Mamata considered him useless because of his illicit birth, and therefore she left him. Consequently, the demigods known as the Maruts maintained the child, and when Maharaja Bharata was disappointed for want of a child, this child was given to him as his son. PURPORT From this verse it is understood that those who are rejected from the higher planetary system are given a chance to take birth in the most exalted families on this planet earth. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Ninth Canto, Twentieth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “The Dynasty of Puru.”
srimad urjitam eva va
tat tad evavagaccha tvam
mama tejo ’msa-sambhavam
sannyasam pala-paitrkam
devarena sutotpattim
kalau panca vivarjayet
sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi sumedhasah