Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Four
Ambarisa Maharaja Offended by Durvasa Muni
SB9.4Summary
This chapter describes the history of Maharaja Nabhaga, of his son Nabhaga, and of Maharaja Ambarisa.
The son of Manu was Nabhaga, and his son Nabhaga lived for many years in the gurukula. In Nabhaga’s absence, his brothers did not consider his share of the kingdom, but instead divided the property among themselves. When Nabhaga returned home, his brothers bestowed upon him their father as his share, but when Nabhaga went to his father and told him about the dealings of the brothers, his father informed him that this was cheating and advised him that for his livelihood he should go to the sacrificial arena and describe two mantras to be chanted there. Nabhaga executed the order of his father, and thus Angira and other great saintly persons gave him all the money collected in that sacrifice. To test Nabhaga, Lord Siva challenged his claim to the wealth, but when Lord Siva was satisfied by Nabhaga’s behavior, Lord Siva offered him all the riches.
From Nabhaga was born Ambarisa, the most powerful and celebrated devotee. Maharaja Ambarisa was the emperor of the entire world, but he considered his opulence temporary. Indeed, knowing that such material opulence is the cause of downfall into conditional life, he was unattached to this opulence. He engaged his senses and mind in the service of the Lord. This process is called yukta-vairagya, or feasible renunciation, which is quite suitable for worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because Maharaja Ambarisa, as the emperor, was immensely opulent, he performed devotional service with great opulence, and therefore, despite his wealth, he had no attachment to his wife, children or kingdom. He constantly engaged his senses and mind in the service of the Lord. Therefore, to say nothing of enjoying material opulence, he never desired even liberation.
Once Maharaja Ambarisa was worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Vrndavana, observing the vow of Dvadasi. On Dvadasi, the day after Ekadasi, when he was about to break his Ekadasi fast, the great mystic yogi Durvasa appeared in his house and became his guest. King Ambarisa respectfully received Durvasa Muni, and Durvasa Muni, after accepting his invitation to eat there, went to bathe in the Yamuna River at noontime. Because he was absorbed in samadhi, he did not come back very soon. Maharaja Ambarisa, however, upon seeing that the time to break the fast was passing, drank a little water, in accordance with the advice of learned brahmanas, just to observe the formality of breaking the fast. By mystic power, Durvasa Muni could understand that this had happened, and he was very angry. When he returned he began to chastise Maharaja Ambarisa, but he was not satisfied, and finally he created from his hair a demon appearing like the fire of death. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, is always the protector of His devotee, and to protect Maharaja Ambarisa, He sent His disc, the Sudarsana cakra, which immediately vanquished the fiery demon and then pursued Durvasa, who was so envious of Maharaja Ambarisa. Durvasa fled to Brahmaloka, Sivaloka and all the other higher planets, but he could not protect himself from the wrath of the Sudarsana cakra. Finally he went to the spiritual world and surrendered to Lord Narayana, but Lord Narayana could not excuse a person who had offended a Vaisnava. To be excused from such an offense, one must submit to the Vaisnava whom he has offended. There is no other way to be excused. Thus Lord Narayana advised Durvasa to return to Maharaja Ambarisa and beg his pardon. SB9.4.1 TEXT 1 sri-suka uvaca nabhago nabhagapatyam yam tatam bhratarah kavim yavistham vyabhajan dayam brahmacarinam agatam SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; nabhagah—Nabhaga; nabhaga-apatyam—was the son of Maharaja Nabhaga; yam—unto whom; tatam—the father; bhratarah—the elder brothers; kavim—the learned; yavistham—the youngest; vyabhajan—divided; dayam—the property; brahmacarinam—having accepted the life of a brahmacari perpetually (naisthika); agatam—returned. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami said: The son of Nabhaga named Nabhaga lived for a long time at the place of his spiritual master. Therefore, his brothers thought that he was not going to become a grhastha and would not return. Consequently, without providing a share for him, they divided the property of their father among themselves. When Nabhaga returned from the place of his spiritual master, they gave him their father as his share. PURPORT There are two kinds of brahmacaris. One may return home, marry and become a householder, whereas the other, known as brhad-vrata, takes a vow to remain a brahmacari perpetually. The brhad-vrata brahmacari does not return from the place of the spiritual master; he stays there, and later he directly takes sannyasa. Because Nabhaga did not return from the place of his spiritual master, his brothers thought that he had taken brhadvrata-brahmacarya. Therefore, they did not preserve his share, and when he returned they gave him their father as his share. SB9.4.2 TEXT 2 bhrataro ’bhankta kim mahyam bhajama pitaram tava tvam mamaryas tatabhanksur ma putraka tad adrthah SYNONYMS bhratarah—O my brothers; abhankta—have you given as the share of our father’s property; kim—what; mahyam—unto me; bhajama—we allot; pitaram—the father himself; tava—as your share; tvam—you; mama—unto me; aryah—my elder brothers; tata—O my father; abhanksuh—have given the share; ma—do not; putraka—O my dear son; tat—to this statement; adrthah—give any importance. TRANSLATION Nabhaga inquired, “My dear brothers, what have you given to me as my share of our father’s property?” His elder brothers answered, “We have kept our father as your share.” But when Nabhaga went to his father and said, “My dear father, my elder brothers have given you as my share of property,” the father replied, “My dear son, do not rely upon their cheating words. I am not your property.” SB9.4.3 TEXT 3 ime angirasah satram asate ’dya sumedhasah sastham sastham upetyahah kave muhyanti karmani SYNONYMS ime—all these; angirasah—descendants of the dynasty of Angira; satram—sacrifice; asate—are performing; adya—today; sumedhasah—who are all very intelligent; sastham—sixth; sastham—sixth; upetya—after achieving; ahah—day; kave—O best of learned men; muhyanti—become bewildered; karmani—in discharging fruitive activities. TRANSLATION Nabhaga’s father said: All the descendants of Angira are now going to perform a great sacrifice, but although they are very intelligent, on every sixth day they will be bewildered in performing sacrifice and will make mistakes in their daily duties. PURPORT Nabhaga was very simple hearted. Therefore when he went to his father, the father, in compassion for his son, suggested that as a means of livelihood Nabhaga could go to the descendants of Angira and take advantage of their misgivings in performing yajna. SB9.4.4-5 TEXTS 4–5 tams tvam samsaya sukte dve vaisvadeve mahatmanah te svar yanto dhanam satra- parisesitam atmanah dasyanti te ’tha tan arccha tatha sa krtavan yatha tasmai dattva yayuh svargam te satra-parisesanam SYNONYMS tan—to all of them; tvam—yourself; samsaya—describe; sukte—Vedic hymns; dve—two; vaisvadeve—in connection with Vaisvadeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; mahatmanah—to all of those great souls; te—they; svah yantah—while going to their respective destinations in the heavenly planets; dhanam—the wealth; satra-parisesitam—which remains after the end of the yajna; atmanah—their own property; dasyanti—will deliver; te—unto you; atha—therefore; tan—to them; arccha—go there; tatha—in that way (according to his father’s orders); sah—he (Nabhaga); krtavan—executed; yatha—as advised by his father; tasmai—unto him; dattva—after giving; yayuh—went; svargam—to the heavenly planets; te—all of them; satra-parisesanam—remnants of yajna. TRANSLATION Nabhaga’s father continued: “Go to those great souls and describe two Vedic hymns pertaining to Vaisvadeva. When the great sages have completed the sacrifice and are going to the heavenly planets, they will give you the remnants of the money they have received from the sacrifice. Therefore, go there immediately.” Thus Nabhaga acted exactly according to the advice of his father, and the great sages of the Angira dynasty gave him all their wealth and then went to the heavenly planets. SB9.4.6 TEXT 6 tam kascit svikarisyantam purusah krsna-darsanah uvacottarato ’bhyetya mamedam vastukam vasu SYNONYMS tam—unto Nabhaga; kascit—someone; svikarisyantam—while accepting the riches given by the great sages; purusah—a person; krsna-darsanah—black-looking; uvaca—said; uttaratah—from the north; abhyetya—coming; mama—my; idam—these; vastukam—remnants of the sacrifice; vasu—all the riches. TRANSLATION Thereafter, while Nabhaga was accepting the riches, a black-looking person from the north came to him and said, “All the wealth from this sacrificial arena belongs to me.” SB9.4.7 TEXT 7 mamedam rsibhir dattam iti tarhi sma manavah syan nau te pitari prasnah prstavan pitaram yatha SYNONYMS mama—my; idam—all these; rsibhih—by the great saintly persons; dattam—have been delivered; iti—thus; tarhi—therefore; sma—indeed; manavah—Nabhaga; syat—let there be; nau—of ourselves; te—your; pitari—unto the father; prasnah—an inquiry; prstavan—he also inquired; pitaram—from his father; yatha—as requested. TRANSLATION Nabhaga then said, “These riches belong to me. The great saintly persons have delivered them to me.” When Nabhaga said this, the black-looking person replied, “Let us go to your father and ask him to settle our disagreement.” In accordance with this, Nabhaga inquired from his father. SB9.4.8 TEXT 8 yajna-vastu-gatam sarvam ucchistam rsayah kvacit cakrur hi bhagam rudraya sa devah sarvam arhati SYNONYMS yajna-vastu-gatam—things belonging to the sacrificial arena; sarvam—everything; ucchistam—remnants; rsayah—the great sages; kvacit—sometimes, in the Daksa-yajna; cakruh—did so; hi—indeed; bhagam—share; rudraya—unto Lord Siva; sah—that; devah—demigod; sarvam—everything; arhati—deserves. TRANSLATION The father of Nabhaga said: Whatever the great sages sacrificed in the arena of the Daksa-yajna, they offered to Lord Siva as his share. Therefore, everything in the sacrificial arena certainly belongs to Lord Siva. SB9.4.9 TEXT 9 nabhagas tam pranamyaha tavesa kila vastukam ity aha me pita brahman chirasa tvam prasadaye SYNONYMS nabhagah—Nabhaga; tam—unto him (Lord Siva); pranamya—offering obeisances; aha—said; tava—yours; isa—O lord; kila—certainly; vastukam—everything in the arena of sacrifice; iti—thus; aha—said; me—my; pita—father; brahman—O brahmana; sirasa—bowing my head; tvam—unto you; prasadaye—I am begging your mercy. TRANSLATION Thereupon, after offering obeisances to Lord Siva, Nabhaga said: O worshipable lord, everything in this arena of sacrifice is yours. This is the assertion of my father. Now, with great respect, I bow my head before you, begging your mercy. SB9.4.10 TEXT 10 yat te pitavadad dharmam tvam ca satyam prabhasase dadami te mantra-drso jnanam brahma sanatanam SYNONYMS yat—whatever; te—your; pita—father; avadat—explained; dharmam—truth; tvam ca—you also; satyam—truth; prabhasase—are speaking; dadami—I shall give; te—unto you; mantra-drsah—who know the science of mantra; jnanam—knowledge; brahma—transcendental; sanatanam—eternal. TRANSLATION Lord Siva said: Whatever your father has said is the truth, and you also are speaking the same truth. Therefore, I, who know the Vedic mantras, shall explain transcendental knowledge to you. SB9.4.11 TEXT 11 grhana dravinam dattam mat-satra-parisesitam ity uktvantarhito rudro bhagavan dharma-vatsalah SYNONYMS grhana—please take now; dravinam—all the wealth; dattam—is given (to you by me); mat-satra-parisesitam—the remnants of the sacrifice executed on my behalf; iti uktva—after speaking like this; antarhitah—disappeared; rudrah—Lord Siva; bhagavan—the most powerful demigod; dharma-vatsalah—adherent to the principles of religion. TRANSLATION Lord Siva said, “Now you may take all the wealth remaining from the sacrifice, for I give it to you.” After saying this, Lord Siva, who is most adherent to the religious principles, disappeared from that place. SB9.4.12 TEXT 12 ya etat samsmaret pratah sayam ca susamahitah kavir bhavati mantra-jno gatim caiva tathatmanah SYNONYMS yah—anyone who; etat—about this incident; samsmaret—may remember; pratah—in the morning; sayam ca—and in the evening; susamahitah—with great attention; kavih—learned; bhavati—becomes; mantra-jnah—well aware of all Vedic mantras; gatim—the destination; ca—also; eva—indeed; tatha atmanah—like that of the self-realized soul. TRANSLATION If one hears and chants or remembers this narration in the morning and evening with great attention, he certainly becomes learned, experienced in understanding the Vedic hymns, and expert in self-realization. SB9.4.13 TEXT 13 nabhagad ambariso ’bhun maha-bhagavatah krti nasprsad brahma-sapo ’pi yam na pratihatah kvacit SYNONYMS nabhagat—from Nabhaga; ambarisah—Maharaja Ambarisa; abhut—took birth; maha-bhagavatah—the most exalted devotee; krti—very celebrated; na asprsat—could not touch; brahma-sapah api—even the curse of a brahmana; yam—unto whom (Ambarisa Maharaja); na—neither; pratihatah—failed; kvacit—at any time. TRANSLATION From Nabhaga, Maharaja Ambarisa took birth. Maharaja Ambarisa was an exalted devotee, celebrated for his great merits. Although he was cursed by an infallible brahmana, the curse could not touch him. SB9.4.14 TEXT 14 sri-rajovaca bhagavan chrotum icchami rajarses tasya dhimatah na prabhud yatra nirmukto brahma-dando duratyayah SYNONYMS sri-raja uvaca—King Pariksit inquired; bhagavan—O great brahmana; srotum icchami—I wish to hear (from you); rajarseh—of the great King Ambarisa; tasya—of him; dhimatah—who was such a greatly sober personality; na—not; prabhut—could act; yatra—upon whom (Maharaja Ambarisa); nirmuktah—being released; brahma-dandah—the curse of a brahmana; duratyayah—which is insurmountable. TRANSLATION King Pariksit inquired: O great personality, Maharaja Ambarisa was certainly most exalted and meritorious in character. I wish to hear about him. How surprising it is that the curse of a brahmana, which is insurmountable, could not act upon him. SB9.4.15-16 TEXTS 15–16 sri-suka uvaca ambariso maha-bhagah sapta-dvipavatim mahim avyayam ca sriyam labdhva vibhavam catulam bhuvi mene ’tidurlabham pumsam sarvam tat svapna-samstutam vidvan vibhava-nirvanam tamo visati yat puman SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; ambarisah—King Ambarisa; maha-bhagah—the greatly fortunate king; sapta-dvipavatim—consisting of seven islands; mahim—the whole world; avyayam ca—and inexhaustible; sriyam—beauty; labdhva—after achieving; vibhavam ca—and opulences; atulam—unlimited; bhuvi—in this earth; mene—he decided; ati-durlabham—which is rarely obtained; pumsam—of many persons; sarvam—everything (he had obtained); tat—that which; svapna-samstutam—as if imagined in a dream; vidvan—completely understanding; vibhava-nirvanam—the annihilation of that opulence; tamah—ignorance; visati—fallen into; yat—because of which; puman—a person. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami said: Maharaja Ambarisa, the most fortunate personality, achieved the rule of the entire world, consisting of seven islands, and achieved inexhaustible, unlimited opulence and prosperity on earth. Although such a position is rarely obtained, Maharaja Ambarisa did not care for it at all, for he knew very well that all such opulence is material. Like that which is imagined in a dream, such opulence will ultimately be destroyed. The King knew that any nondevotee who attains such opulence merges increasingly into material nature’s mode of darkness. PURPORT For a devotee material opulence is insignificant, whereas for a nondevotee material opulence is the cause of increasing bondage, for a devotee knows that anything material is temporary, whereas a nondevotee regards the temporary so-called happiness as everything and forgets the path of self-realization. Thus for the nondevotee material opulence is a disqualification for spiritual advancement. SB9.4.17 TEXT 17 vasudeve bhagavati tad-bhaktesu ca sadhusu prapto bhavam param visvam yenedam lostravat smrtam SYNONYMS vasudeve—unto the all-pervading Supreme Personality; bhagavati—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tat-bhaktesu—unto His devotees; ca—also; sadhusu—unto the saintly persons; praptah—one who has achieved; bhavam—reverence and devotion; param—transcendental; visvam—the whole material universe; yena—by which (spiritual consciousness); idam—this; lostra-vat—as insignificant as a piece of stone; smrtam—is accepted (by such devotees). TRANSLATION Maharaja Ambarisa was a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, and of the saintly persons who are the Lord’s devotees. Because of this devotion, he thought of the entire universe as being as insignificant as a piece of stone. SB9.4.18-20 TEXTS 18–20 sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayor vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane karau harer mandira-marjanadisu srutim cakaracyuta-sat-kathodaye mukunda-lingalaya-darsane drsau tad-bhrtya-gatra-sparse ’nga-sangamam ghranam ca tat-pada-saroja-saurabhe srimat-tulasya rasanam tad-arpite padau hareh ksetra-padanusarpane siro hrsikesa-padabhivandane kamam ca dasye na tu kama-kamyaya yathottamasloka-janasraya ratih SYNONYMS sah—he (Maharaja Ambarisa); vai—indeed; manah—his mind; krsna-pada-aravindayoh—(fixed) upon the two lotus feet of Lord Krsna; vacamsi—his words; vaikuntha-guna-anuvarnane—describing the glories of Krsna; karau—his two hands; hareh mandira-marjana-adisu—in activities like cleansing the temple of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; srutim—his ear; cakara—engaged; acyuta—of or about Krsna, who never falls down; sat-katha-udaye—in hearing the transcendental narrations; mukunda-linga-alaya-darsane—in seeing the Deity and temples and holy dhamas of Mukunda; drsau—his two eyes; tat-bhrtya—of the servants of Krsna; gatra-sparse—in touching the bodies; anga-sangamam—contact of his body; ghranam ca—and his sense of smell; tat-pada—of His lotus feet; saroja—of the lotus flower; saurabhe—in (smelling) the fragrance; srimat-tulasyah—of the tulasi leaves; rasanam—his tongue; tat-arpite—in the prasada offered to the Lord; padau—his two legs; hareh—of the Personality of Godhead; ksetra—holy places like the temple or Vrndavana and Dvaraka; pada-anusarpane—walking to those places; sirah—the head; hrsikesa—of Krsna, the master of the senses; pada-abhivandane—in offering obeisances to the lotus feet; kamam ca—and his desires; dasye—in being engaged as a servant; na—not; tu—indeed; kama-kamyaya—with a desire for sense gratification; yatha—as; uttamasloka-jana-asraya—if one takes shelter of a devotee such as Prahlada; ratih—attachment. TRANSLATION Maharaja Ambarisa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Krsna, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord’s temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Krsna or about Krsna. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Krsna, Krsna’s temples and Krsna’s places like Mathura and Vrndavana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord’s devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasi offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord’s prasada. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Maharaja Ambarisa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gita (7.1) the Lord recommends, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-asrayah. This indicates that one must execute devotional service under the guidance of a devotee or directly under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not possible, however, to train oneself without guidance from the spiritual master. Therefore, according to the instructions of Srila Rupa Gosvami, the first business of a devotee is to accept a bona fide spiritual master who can train him to engage his various senses in rendering transcendental service to the Lord. The Lord also says in Bhagavad-gita (7.1), asamsayam samagram mam yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu. In other words, if one wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in completeness, one must follow the prescriptions given by Krsna by following in the footsteps of Maharaja Ambarisa. It is said, hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] bhakti means to engage the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Krsna, who is called Hrsikesa or Acyuta. These words are used in these verses. Acyuta-sat-kathodaye, hrsikesa-padabhivandane. The words Acyuta and Hrsikesa are also used in Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita is krsna-katha spoken directly by Krsna, and Srimad-Bhagavatam is also krsna-katha because everything described in the Bhagavatam is in relationship with Krsna. SB9.4.21 TEXT 21 evam sada karma-kalapam atmanah pare ’dhiyajne bhagavaty adhoksaje sarvatma-bhavam vidadhan mahim imam tan-nistha-viprabhihitah sasasa ha SYNONYMS evam—thus (living a devotional life); sada—always; karma-kalapam—the prescribed occupational duties as a ksatriya king; atmanah—of himself, personally (the head of the state); pare—unto the supreme transcendence; adhiyajne—unto the supreme proprietor, the supreme enjoyer; bhagavati—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adhoksaje—unto He who is beyond material sense perception; sarva-atma-bhavam—all different varieties of devotional service; vidadhat—executing, offering; mahim—the planet earth; imam—this; tat-nistha—who are faithful devotees of the Lord; vipra—by such brahmanas; abhihitah—directed; sasasa—ruled; ha—in the past. TRANSLATION In performing his prescribed duties as king, Maharaja Ambarisa always offered the results of his royal activities to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, who is the enjoyer of everything and is beyond the perception of material senses. He certainly took advice from brahmanas who were faithful devotees of the Lord, and thus he ruled the planet earth without difficulty. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gita (5.29): bhoktaram yajna-tapasam People are very much anxious to live in peace and prosperity in this material world, and here in Bhagavad-gita the peace formula is given personally by the Supreme Personality of Godhead: everyone should understand that Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the ultimate proprietor of all the planets and is therefore the enjoyer of all activities, political, social, cultural, religious, economic and so on. The Lord has given perfect advice in Bhagavad-gita, and Ambarisa Maharaja, as the ideal executive head, ruled the entire world as a Vaisnava, taking advice from Vaisnava brahmanas. The sastras enjoin that even though a brahmana may be well versed in the occupational brahminical duties and may be very learned in Vedic knowledge, he cannot give advice as a guru until he is a Vaisnava. sat-karma-nipuno vipro Therefore, as indicated here by the words tan-nistha-viprabhihitah, Maharaja Ambarisa took advice from brahmanas who were pure devotees of the Lord, for ordinary brahmanas who are merely learned scholars or experts in performing ritualistic ceremonies are not competent to give advice. In modern times, there are legislative assemblies whose members are authorized to make laws for the welfare of the state, but according to this description of the kingdom of Maharaja Ambarisa, the country or the world should be ruled by a chief executive whose advisors are all devotee brahmanas. Such advisors or members of the legislative assembly should not be professional politicians, nor should they be selected by the ignorant public. Rather, they should be appointed by the king. When the king, the executive head of the state, is a devotee and he follows the instructions of devotee brahmanas in ruling the country, everyone will be peaceful and prosperous. When the king and his advisors are perfect devotees, nothing can be wrong in the state. All the citizens should become devotees of the Lord, and then their good character will automatically follow. yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana “One who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only material qualifications that are of little value. This is because he is hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring material energy.” (Bhag. 5.18.12) Citizens under the guidance of a Krsna conscious king will become devotees, and then there will be no need to enact new laws every day to reform the way of life in the state. If the citizens are trained to become devotees, they will automatically become peaceful and honest, and if they are guided by a devoted king advised by devotees, the state will not be in the material world but in the spiritual world. All the states of the world should therefore follow the ideal of the rule or administration of Maharaja Ambarisa, as described here. SB9.4.22 TEXT 22 ije ’svamedhair adhiyajnam isvaram maha-vibhutyopacitanga-daksinaih tatair vasisthasita-gautamadibhir dhanvany abhisrotam asau sarasvatim SYNONYMS ije—worshiped; asvamedhaih—by performing the horse sacrifice yajnas; adhiyajnam—to satisfy the master of all yajnas; isvaram—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; maha-vibhutya—with great opulence; upacita-anga-daksinaih—with all prescribed paraphernalia and contributions of daksina to the brahmanas; tataih—executed; vasistha-asita-gautama-adibhih—by such brahmanas as Vasistha, Asita and Gautama; dhanvani—in the desert; abhisrotam—inundated by the water of the river; asau—Maharaja Ambarisa; sarasvatim—on the bank of the Sarasvati. TRANSLATION In desert countries where there flowed the River Sarasvati, Maharaja Ambarisa performed great sacrifices like the asvamedha-yajna and thus satisfied the master of all yajnas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such sacrifices were performed with great opulence and suitable paraphernalia and with contributions of daksina to the brahmanas, who were supervised by great personalities like Vasistha, Asita and Gautama, representing the king, the performer of the sacrifices. PURPORT When one performs ritualistic sacrifices as prescribed in the Vedas, one needs expert brahmanas known as yajnika-brahmanas. In Kali-yuga, however, there is a scarcity of such brahmanas. Therefore in Kali-yuga the sacrifice recommended in sastra is sankirtana-yajna (yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah [SB 11.5.32]). Instead of spending money unnecessarily on performing yajnas impossible to perform in this age of Kali because of the scarcity of yajnika-brahmanas, one who is intelligent performs sankirtana-yajna. Without properly performed yajnas to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there will be scarcity of rain (yajnad bhavati parjanyah [Bg. 3.14]). Therefore the performance of yajna is essential. Without yajna there will be a scarcity of rain, and because of this scarcity, no food grains will be produced, and there will be famines. It is the duty of the king, therefore, to perform different types of yajnas, such as the asvamedha-yajna, to maintain the production of food grains. Annad bhavanti bhutani. Without food grains, both men and animals will starve. Therefore yajna is necessary for the state to perform because by yajna the people in general will be fed sumptuously. The brahmanas and yajnika priests should be sufficiently paid for their expert service. This payment is called daksina. Ambarisa Maharaja, as the head of the state, performed all these yajnas through great personalities like Vasistha, Gautama and Asita. Personally, however, he was engaged in devotional service, as mentioned before (sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh). The king or head of state must see that things go on well under proper guidance, and he must be an ideal devotee, as exemplified by Maharaja Ambarisa. It is the duty of the king to see that food grains are produced even in desert countries, what to speak of elsewhere.
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati
mantra-tantra-visaradah
avaisnavo gurur na syad
vaisnavah sva-paco guruh
sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah
harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna
manorathenasati dhavato bahih