Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.1 Pradyumna: Translation: “Suta Gosvami said: O learned brahmanas, Maharaja Pariksit then began to rule over the world as a great devotee of the Lord under the instructions of the best of the twice- born brahmanas. He ruled by those great qualities which were foretold by expert astrologers at the time of his birth.” Prabhupada: So there are many important words in this verse. The first is dvija-varya-siksaya, “trained by the best of the brahmanas.” Dvija. Dvija means twice-born: first birth by the father and mother, and second birth by the spiritual master. That is Vedic civilization, dvija-varya. One must take twice birth. Once birth, father and mother, that is done by the cats and dogs. Any birth, either you take birth as a cat or dog or human being or anything, there requires father and mother. So that birth is not sufficient. Therefore a Vaisnava kavi says, janame janame saba pita-mata paya, krsna guru nahe mile bhaja hari ei.(?) In any birth you will get father and mother. It is natural. Without father, mother, how can you get a body? So therefore it is said, janame janame, in any birth. Either human being, or cats, dog, snake, or tree or insect, you will get father and mother. But in every birth you cannot get Krsna and guru. That is not possible. So this birth you can get. This human form of birth you can get. That is the special significance. Father, mother, you can get anywhere. It doesn’t matter. But you cannot get Krsna and guru. That you can get in this birth. Therefore twice-born. You must get another birth, through the initiation of the spiritual master, diksa. Diksa means initiation. Di means divya jnanam, and ksa means ksapayati. From the day of initiation, you simply get spiritual knowledge, transcendental knowledge. That is the special significance of human form of body. Therefore in the Vedic civilization, the classification is made: first-class, second-class, third-class, four-class men. There are three gunas. The material world is conducted by three gunas, means the quality of goodness, the quality of passion, the quality of ignorance, and mixed. So first, second, third, and the mixed is called fourth. That is called varnasrama. Catur-varnyam. Guna-karma-vibhagasah. According to quality and karma. So the first, second, and third-class division, they are all dvijas, twice- born. Brahmana, ksatriya and vaisya. Dvija means samskara, reformation, to mold the character. That is called samskara. Just like you can train even a tiger, even an animal, to dance according to your desire. That is practical. So you cannot train a human being to become a brahmana? With such intelligence? But there is no such training. They are simply training all cats and dogs. But the Vedic civilization takes this opportunity of human being, to make him perfect in his life. What is that perfection? That perfection is to understand God and become His devotee. That is perfection, not that to become very stout and strong, as strong as the tiger, or as cunning as the jackal. Not that. That is not training. So according to division, the training was there. The first-class training is brahmana. Brahmana means they must be truthful first. Satyam samo damas titiksa. They must be able to control the senses, control the mind. Satyam samo damas titiksa. Must be tolerant, titiksa; arjava, very simple; jnanam, full knowledge; vijnanam, practical application in life. Satyam samo damas titiksa. Sucih, cleanliness. Brahma-karma svabhava-jam. So they should be trained. A class of men should be trained for these qualities. They are called brahmana. Similarly, another class, second class, they should be trained up as ksatriya, very powerful, never goes away from the challenge of fighting. Yuddhe capy apalayanam. Not that the fighting is going on, and the so-called president is sitting in his parlor and smoking cigarette. No. Yuddhe capy apalayanam: “Oh, everyone is fighting there? I must go in the front.” He will fight. Otherwise how people will be encouraged? The chief man is in the background, and poor men, they are fighting? No. Yuddhe capy apalayanam. That is ksatriya. So similarly, vaisya. Vaisya, they should be trained in three things, productive—krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam vaisya-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.44]—krsi, agriculture; go-raksya, cow protection. Go-raksya. That is essential, agricultural and cow protection. And vanijyam. Vanijyam means trade. If there is excess milk product, if there is excess grain product, then you can sell to others. Nowadays the trade is that you take as much milk as you can, and then kill the animal and sell the flesh to other countries. That is going on. No. Go-raksya. Go-raksya. Cow protection is very, very essential in human society because it gives the milk, the miracle food. You can prepare hundreds and thousands of preparation, all not only delicious, but brain-maintaining. You can get good brain. Therefore go-raksya, cow protection is especially recommended, not that animal protection. If you want to eat meat, you can eat many other animals. There are. But don’t eat the cows. This is Vedic civilization. Krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam vaisya-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.44]. Paricaryatmakam karyam sudra-karma svabhava-jam. And those who are neither brahmana… They have no brain to become brahmana or to become ksatriya or vaisya, they are called sudras. And sudra’s business is to serve the other upper three classes, laborer, worker classes, and satisfied with some service. So here it is said that tatah pariksid dvija-varya-siksaya: “He was educated and trained up by the best class of the brahmanas,” not by the sudras. Sudra’s training, what he can become? He can become a rascal, that’s all. The training was entrusted to the first-class brahmana, who is himself trained up to speak truth, satyam samo damah, to remain clean, to become very simple in habit, to become master of knowledge, and practical application. Such person should be the trainer, should be the teacher. Not a third-class rascal becomes a teacher and professor. He has no idea how to speak truth. He is speaking all lies, theories, and getting Nobel Prize. Such a sudra is honored at the present moment. You see? Who has no knowledge. So many so-called philosophers and scientists, simply speaking lies and untruth. They have no knowledge. As soon as you challenge them, they will say, “Yes, we are trying. In future we shall do it.” But if you are trying, then where is your knowledge? Why you are taking the post of a teacher? You are a cheater. You have no full knowledge, and still, you are putting some theory to mislead the people. For example… Just like they are putting on this theory that matter, from matter, life has come. “All right, matter, life has come from matter. Just prove it. Take matter, whatever materials you want, take, and produce life.” “That we shall see in future.” Then why you are talking this nonsense? Science means observation and experiment. There must be experiment also. But without experiment, they are putting on this theory and getting Nobel Prize. Although it is not a fact. We know. We. We are followers of Vedic principles. We know that matter or life, everything comes from life, not from matter. We know it certain. How do you know? Krsna says. Mattah sarvam pravartate: “Everything comes from Me.” And Krsna is the supreme life. So we have no difficulty, because we know, mattah sarvam prava… Sarvam means matter and life both, everything. There are two things: matter and life. There is no third thing. So Krsna says, aham sarvasya prabhavah: “I am the original source of everything.” “Everything” means matter and… There are two things: matter and life. That is not very difficult to understand. So sarvam… aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate iti matva bhajante mam budha bhava-samanvitah [Bg. 10.8] Iti matva. When one understands this, that Krsna is the source of both matter and life… So the devotees are not rascals. They are in full knowledge. Iti matva. “When they are confident that Krsna is the source of everything,” iti matva bhajante mam, “oh, they become My devotee.” Iti matva bhajante mam budhah. Budha means highly elevated in knowledge, budha. Just like Lord Buddha, elevated knowledge. So budhah. So how this knowledge can be gotten unless one is trained by dvija-varya-siksaya, first-class learned brahmanas? One has to learn from him, not from the rascals, fools, cats and dogs, No. That is not learning. Dvija-varya-siksaya. So Pariksit Maharaja, his first qualification is… Not only Pariksit Maharaja, but all the kings during the monarchy. Monarchy does not mean because he is the son of king, therefore he should be king. No. He should be fully trained up by the dvija-varya, by the best class of brahmanas. That is monarchy. So Pariksit Maharaja… Tatah… Tatah means “thereafter.” After his fathers—means panca-pandava, his father and uncles— retired and left kingdom, entrusting everything to the grandchild… Because their sons all died in the Battle of Kuruksetra. Pariksit Maharaja, only he was saved because he was a posthumous child. After the death of his father in the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, he was in the womb of his mother. He took birth. And these grandfathers took care of him. This is Pariksit Maharaja’s life. He did not see his father from birth. So these grandfathers… So grandfathers, they retired and entrusted the whole kingdom, was entrusted to the grand-child, Maharaja Pariksit. So he was trained up by the first- class brahmanas. Tatah pariksid dvija-varya-siksaya mahim maha-bhagavatah sasasa ha. Mahim. Mahim means this earthly planet. Up to Maharaja Pariksit, five thousand years ago, the whole world was being ruled over by one king, one emperor. There were no so many nations or no so many presidents or… No. Simply one king. Mahim, this world. Mahim means the earthly planet. This is the history. From Maha-bhagavata, er, Mahabharata we understand that, that the whole world was under one flag, these Pandavas. Now United Nations means three thousand flags, three thousand nations. So that is not democracy, or that is not good ruling. The best ruling is monarchy, and monarch means he must be a perfectly trained-up person by the best brahmanas. That is perfect government. Not that this democracy, some rascals and fools they are voting another rascal and fool, and by hook and crook he comes to the post. He does not like to give it up, and makes things very miserable. This kind of government… Now your Senate is proposing, “Let us pray to God how we can get good government.” They are coming down to again. But why not train? Now you are going to pray to God, “Please give us good government.” Why don’t you elect a person maha-bhagavata? Maha-bhagavata. That is Krsna consciousness movement, that “People, you become devotees, bhagavata, and you select one maha-bhagavata to be your ruler. Then you will be happy. Not only bhagavata. Not of your caliber, but still further.” There are bhagavata… There are three kinds of devotees. Three kinds of devotees means neophyte, middle class and maha-bhagavata. Maha-bhagavata. Maha-bhagavata means one who can see God in everything and everything in God. That is maha-bhagavata. That is explained in Bhagavad-gita, sarva-bhutesu yah pasyed atma: “He does not see anything except God, everything in God and God in everything.” That is the qualification of maha-bhagavata. So just see how elevated Maharaja Pariksit, that he was maha-bhagavata. In another place, he has written… I forget that word. That is also maha-bhagavata. So Pariksit Maharaja was not an ordinary person. He was maha-bhagavata. Mahim maha-bhagavatah sasasa, ruled over, a great devotee. It does not mean a great devotee is simply engaged in chanting Hare Krsna mantra. No. A great devotee may be the chief of the executive function of the state. He can become. That is required. Not that only maha-bhagavata required in church or temples. No. Maha-bhagavata required also as the head of the chief executive function. That is also required. Otherwise how people will be happy? Every field, there must be maha-bhagavata. So my Guru Maharaja used to say that when we shall see that the high-court judges are devotees of Krsna, then our preaching will be somewhat forward. So that is the aim of Krsna consciousness movement, that everyone, at least those who are ruling, those who are on the executive function, they must be all maha-bhagavata. Under them everything should be ruled. Then people will be happy. Because they will never do anything unjustly. Their only desire is… Maha-bhagavata is how to give relief to the suffering humanity. That is maha-bhagavata. So Pariksit Maharaja was maha-bhagavata, and therefore he was entrusted to rule over, not an ordinary man. Yatha hi sutyam abhijata-kovidah. Here is another important word. So yatha, as he was foretold, sutya. Sutya means in the maternity condition, maternity home or maternity room, sutya. Still, the system is current in India that when a lady is going to give birth to a child, she is offered a separate room where the child will take birth and all taken care. Nowadays they are sending in the hospital. That is another thing. But the system is when the delivery is imminent, then one room is selected. That is called sutika-ghara, or sutika room. That is referred here, sutya, means, sutya, as soon as the child is born, sutya, in that maternity room, immediately, abhijata-kovidah… Abhijata-kovidah means… Kovidah means expert learned scholars, and abhijata, they will immediately make horoscope and tell about this newly born child, what is going to happen in his life in future. That is called astrologer. It is called jata-karma, reformation. There are ten kinds of reformation. The first reformation is garbhadhana-samskara. Garbhadhana-samskara means when the father is going to give birth to a child, it is not a secret affair. It is open affair. “Now this is the good, auspicious day, and today the father will implant the seed of the son in the womb of the mother.” There is great function. That is called garbhadhana-samskara. And there are witnesses, all the brahmanas, that “This day, such and such time, this king or this person has begotten this child.” Just like when the child is born, it is recorded in the government book, similarly, when one is going to give birth to a child, that is also recorded. That is called garbhadhana-samskara. Not that like cats and dogs in secrecy we have sexual intercourse, and if there is pregnancy, give some contraceptive pill or kill the child. Oh, how rascal and animals have been introduced in the human society. Just see. Here the garbhadhana-samskara, a child has to be born. How it will be nice? When the mentality of the father and mother is completely Krsna consciousness, so that when there will be sexual intercourse, the mentality of the child will be Krsna conscious. This is the garbhadhana-samskara. So as before giving birth there is a reformation ceremony, similarly, immediately child is born, there is another reformation ceremony that is called jata-karma. Jata-karma means immediately learned scholar, brahmanas, astrologer, will come and they will make the horoscope of the child. So here it is said, yatha hi sutyam abhijata-kovidah samadisan. As they foretold, that “This child will be hero like this, he will be like this, like this…” That are described in the Bhagavatam. And it was also said at that time that “This child will die, being cursed by a brahmana.” That was also foretold. It is still, such kind of astrology there in India. They will speak what you were in your last birth and what you are now, and what you will be in your next birth. That is astrology. So still there are Bhrgu-samhita. Anyone go, and you simply give them your exact time of birth, then they will make immediately horoscope, immediately. Still there is. As I told you that in my horoscope it was declared that after seventieth year, I shall go to foreign countries and I shall establish many temples. In my horoscope that is. Now I see it is coming practically. You see? So that is horoscope. So these abhijata-kovidah, expert astrologers, whatever they predicted, everything was performed by Maharaja Pariksit. Samadisan vipra mahad-gunas tatha. So all the high qualities… Maharaja Pariksit was in his childhood play, he was worshiping Radha-Krsna Deity. Childhood play. Just like our children, some of them they are worshiping Jagannatha. This is required. From the very childhood. Our Prahlada Maharaja therefore says, kaumara acaret prajno dharm So this civilization is so risky that people are not being given the real right that human being has the right to understand God and to make his relationship reestablished and go to home, back to Godhead, back to home. That is the real facility to the people. The program should be made like that, that the human life may not be missed. That is government. Therefore a maha-bhagavata, a great devotee, advanced devotee, should be on the head of the executive function. That is the idea of Vedic civilization. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Los Angeles, December 29, 1973