Chapter Four
Ambarīṣa Mahārāja Offended by Durvāsā Muni
TEXT 60
tato nirāśo durvāsāḥ
padaṁ bhagavato yayau
vaikuṇṭhākhyaṁ yad adhyāste
śrīnivāsaḥ śriyā saha
SYNONYMS
tataḥ—thereafter; nirāśaḥ—disappointed; durvāsāḥ—the great mystic Durvāsā; padam—to the place; bhagavataḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu; yayau—went; vaikuṇṭha-ākhyam—the place known as Vaikuṇṭha; yat—wherein; adhyāste—lives perpetually; śrīnivāsaḥ—Lord Viṣṇu; śriyā—with the goddess of fortune; saha—with.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, being disappointed even in taking shelter of Lord Śiva, Durvāsā Muni went to Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, resides with His consort, the goddess of fortune.
TEXT 61
sandahyamāno ’jita-śastra-vahninā
tat-pāda-mūle patitaḥ savepathuḥ
āhācyutānanta sad-īpsita prabho
kṛtāgasaṁ māvahi viśva-bhāvana
SYNONYMS
sandahyamānaḥ—being burned by the heat; ajita-śastra-vahninā—by the blazing fire of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s weapon; tat-pāda-mūle—at His lotus feet; patitaḥ—falling down; sa-vepathuḥ—with trembling of the body; āha—said; acyuta—O my Lord, O infallible one; ananta—O You of unlimited prowess; sat-īpsita—O Lord desired by saintly persons; prabho—O Supreme; kṛta-āgasam—the greatest offender; mā—to me; avahi—give protection; viśva-bhāvana—O well-wisher of the whole universe.
TRANSLATION
Durvāsā Muni, the great mystic, scorched by the heat of the Sudarśana cakra, fell at the lotus feet of Nārāyaṇa. His body trembling, he spoke as follows: O infallible, unlimited Lord, protector of the entire universe, You are the only desirable objective for all devotees. I am a great offender, my Lord. Please give me protection.
TEXT 62
ajānatā te paramānubhāvaṁ
kṛtaṁ mayāghaṁ bhavataḥ priyāṇām
vidhehi tasyāpacitiṁ vidhātar
mucyeta yan-nāmny udite nārako ’pi
SYNONYMS
ajānatā—without knowledge; te—of Your Lordship; parama-anubhāvam—the inconceivable prowess; kṛtam—has been committed; mayā—by me; agham—a great offense; bhavataḥ—of Your Lordship; priyāṇām—at the feet of the devotees; vidhehi—now kindly do the needful; tasya—of such an offense; apacitim—counteraction; vidhātaḥ—O supreme controller; mucyeta—can be delivered; yat—of whose; nāmni—when the name; udite—is awakened; nārakaḥ api—even a person fit for going to hell.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, O supreme controller, without knowledge of Your unlimited prowess I have offended Your most dear devotee. Very kindly save me from the reaction of this offense. You can do everything, for even if a person is fit for going to hell, You can deliver him simply by awakening within his heart the holy name of Your Lordship.
TEXT 63
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno
hy asvatantra iva dvija
sādhubhir grasta-hṛdayo
bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ
SYNONYMS
śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; aham—I; bhakta-parādhīnaḥ—am dependent on the will of My devotees; hi—indeed; asvatantraḥ—am not independent; iva—exactly like that; dvija—O brāhmaṇa; sādhubhiḥ—by pure devotees, completely free from all material desires; grasta-hṛdayaḥ—My heart is controlled; bhaktaiḥ—because they are devotees; bhakta-jana-priyaḥ—I am dependent not only on My devotee but also on My devotee’s devotee (the devotee’s devotee is extremely dear to Me).
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said to the brāhmaṇa: I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotee are very dear to Me.
PURPORT
All the great stalwart personalities in the universe, including Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, are fully under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is fully under the control of His devotee. Why is this? Because the devotee is anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya; in other words, he has no material desires in his heart. His only desire is to think always of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and how to serve Him best. Because of this transcendental qualification, the Supreme Lord is extremely favorable to the devotees—indeed, not only the devotees, but also the devotees of the devotees. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: without being a devotee of a devotee, one cannot be released from material entanglement. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu identified Himself as gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ. Thus he instructed us to become not directly servants of Kṛṣṇa but servants of the servant of Kṛṣṇa. Devotees like Brahmā, Nārada, Vyāsadeva and Śukadeva Gosvāmī are directly servants of Kṛṣṇa, and one who becomes a servant of Nārada, Vyāsadeva and Śukadeva, like the six Gosvāmīs, is still more devoted. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura therefore says, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ: if one very sincerely serves the spiritual master, Kṛṣṇa certainly becomes favorable to such a devotee. Following the instructions of a devotee is more valuable than following the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly.
TEXT 64
nāham ātmānam āśāse
mad-bhaktaiḥ sādhubhir vinā
śriyaṁ cātyantikīṁ brahman
yeṣāṁ gatir ahaṁ parā
SYNONYMS
na—not; aham—I; ātmānam—transcendental bliss; āśāse—desire; mat-bhaktaiḥ—with My devotees; sādhubhiḥ—with the saintly persons; vinā—without them; śriyam—all My six opulences; ca—also; ātyantikīm—the supreme; brahman—O brāhmaṇa; yeṣām—of whom; gatiḥ—destination; aham—I am; parā—the ultimate.
TRANSLATION
O best of the brāhmaṇas, without saintly persons for whom I am the only destination, I do not desire to enjoy My transcendental bliss and My supreme opulences.
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is self-sufficient, but to enjoy His transcendental bliss He requires the cooperation of His devotees. In Vṛndāvana, for example, although Lord Kṛṣṇa is full in Himself, He wants the cooperation of His devotees like the cowherd boys and the gopīs to increase His transcendental bliss. Such pure devotees, who can increase the pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are certainly most dear to Him. Not only does the Supreme Personality of Godhead enjoy the company of His devotees, but because He is unlimited He wants to increase His devotees unlimitedly. Thus, He descends to the material world to induce the nondevotees and rebellious living entities to return home, back to Godhead. He requests them to surrender unto Him because, unlimited as He is, He wants to increase His devotees unlimitedly. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is an attempt to increase the number of pure devotees of the Supreme Lord more and more. It is certain that a devotee who helps in this endeavor to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes indirectly a controller of the Supreme Lord. Although the Supreme Lord is full in six opulences, He does not feel transcendental bliss without His devotees. An example that may be cited in this regard is that if a very rich man does not have sons in a family he does not feel happiness. Indeed, sometimes a rich man adopts a son to complete his happiness. The science of transcendental bliss is known to the pure devotee. Therefore the pure devotee is always engaged in increasing the transcendental happiness of the Lord.
TEXT 65
ye dārāgāra-putrāpta-
prāṇān vittam imaṁ param
hitvā māṁ śaraṇaṁ yātāḥ
kathaṁ tāṁs tyaktum utsahe
SYNONYMS
ye—those devotees of Mine who; dāra—wife; agāra—house; putra—children, sons; āpta—relatives, society; prāṇān—even life; vittam—wealth; imam—all these; param—elevation to the heavenly planets or becoming one by merging into Brahman; hitvā—giving up (all these ambitions and paraphernalia); mām—unto Me; śaraṇam—shelter; yātāḥ—having taken; katham—how; tān—such persons; tyaktum—to give them up; utsahe—I can be enthusiastic in that way (it is not possible).
TRANSLATION
Since pure devotees give up their homes, wives, children, relatives, riches and even their lives simply to serve Me, without any desire for material improvement in this life or in the next, how can I give up such devotees at any time?
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped by the words brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. Thus He is the well-wisher of the brāhmaṇas. Durvāsā Muni was certainly a very great brāhmaṇa, but because he was a nondevotee, he could not sacrifice everything in devotional service. Great mystic yogīs are actually self-interested. The proof is that when Durvāsā Muni created a demon to kill Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, the King stayed fixed in his place, praying to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and depending solely and wholly on Him, whereas when Durvāsā Muni was chased by the Sudarśana cakra by the supreme will of the Lord, he was so perturbed that he fled all over the world and tried to take shelter in every nook and corner of the universe. At last, in fear of his life, he approached Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He was so interested in his own body that he wanted to kill the body of a Vaiṣṇava. Therefore, he did not have very good intelligence, and how can an unintelligent person be delivered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead? The Lord certainly tries to give all protection to His devotees who have given up everything for the sake of serving Him.
Another point in this verse is that attachment to dārāgāra-putrāpta—home, wife, children, friendship, society and love—is not the way to achieve the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who is attached to hearth and home for material pleasure cannot become a pure devotee. Sometimes a pure devotee may have a habit or attraction for wife, children and home but at the same time want to serve the Supreme Lord to the best of his ability. For such a devotee, the Lord makes a special arrangement to take away the objects of his false attachment and thus free him from attachment to wife, home, children, friends and so on. This is special mercy bestowed upon the devotee to bring him back home, back to Godhead.
TEXT 66
mayi nirbaddha-hṛdayāḥ
sādhavaḥ sama-darśanāḥ
vaśe kurvanti māṁ bhaktyā
sat-striyaḥ sat-patiṁ yathā
SYNONYMS
mayi—unto Me; nirbaddha-hṛdayāḥ—firmly attached in the core of the heart; sādhavaḥ—the pure devotees; sama-darśanāḥ—who are equal to everyone; vaśe—under control; kurvanti—they make; mām—unto Me; bhaktyā—by devotional service; sat-striyaḥ—chaste women; sat-patim—unto the gentle husband; yathā—as.
TRANSLATION
As chaste women bring their gentle husbands under control by service, the pure devotees, who are equal to everyone and completely attached to Me in the core of the heart, bring Me under their full control.
PURPORT
In this verse, the word sama-darśanāḥ is significant. The pure devotee is actually equal toward everyone, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.54): brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati/ samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Universal brotherhood is possible when one is a pure devotee (paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ [Bg. 5.18]). A pure devotee is actually learned because he knows his constitutional position, he knows the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he knows the relationship between the living entity and the Supreme Lord. Thus he has full spiritual knowledge and is automatically liberated (brahma-bhūtaḥ). He can therefore see everyone on the spiritual platform. He can comprehend the happiness and distress of all living entities. He understands that what is happiness to him is also happiness to others and that what is distress to him is distressing for others. Therefore he is sympathetic to everyone. As Prahlāda Mahārāja said:
śoce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyārtha-
māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān
(Bhāg. 7.9.43)
People suffer from material distress because they are not attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure devotee’s chief concern, therefore, is to raise the ignorant mass of people to the sense of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
TEXT 67
mat-sevayā pratītaṁ te
sālokyādi-catuṣṭayam
necchanti sevayā pūrṇāḥ
kuto ’nyat kāla-viplutam
SYNONYMS
mat-sevayā—by being engaged fully in My transcendental loving service; pratītam—automatically achieved; te—such pure devotees are fully satisfied; sālokya-ādi-catuṣṭayam—the four different types of liberation (sālokya, sārūpya, sāmīpya and sārṣṭi, what to speak of sāyujya); na—not; icchanti—desire; sevayā—simply by devotional service; pūrṇāḥ—fully complete; kutaḥ—where is the question; anyat—other things; kāla-viplutam—which are finished in the course of time.
TRANSLATION
My devotees, who are always satisfied to be engaged in My loving service, are not interested even in the four principles of liberation [sālokya, sārūpya, sāmīpya and sārṣṭi], although these are automatically achieved by their service. What then is to be said of such perishable happiness as elevation to the higher planetary systems?
PURPORT
Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura has estimated the value of liberation as follows:
muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjaliḥ sevate ’smān
dharmārtha-kāma-gatayaḥ samaya-pratīkṣāḥ
Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura realized that if one develops his natural devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, mukti stands before him with folded hands to offer all kinds of service. In other words, the devotee is already liberated. There is no need for him to aspire for different types of liberation. The pure devotee automatically achieves liberation, even without desiring it.
TEXT 68
sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyaṁ
sādhūnāṁ hṛdayaṁ tv aham
mad-anyat te na jānanti
nāhaṁ tebhyo manāg api
SYNONYMS
sādhavaḥ—the pure devotees; hṛdayam—in the core of the heart; mahyam—of Me; sādhūnām—of the pure devotees also; hṛdayam—in the core of the heart; tu—indeed; aham—I am; mat-anyat—anything else but me; te—they; na—not; jānanti—know; na—not; aham—I; tebhyaḥ—than them; manāk api—even by a little fraction.
TRANSLATION
The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything else but Me, and I do not know anyone else but them.
PURPORT
Since Durvāsā Muni wanted to chastise Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, it is to be understood that he wanted to give pain to the heart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the Lord says, sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyam: “The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart.” The Lord’s feelings are like those of a father, who feels pain when his child is in pain. Therefore, offenses at the lotus feet of a devotee are serious. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has very strongly recommended that one not commit any offense at the lotus feet of a devotee. Such offenses are compared to a mad elephant because when a mad elephant enters a garden it causes devastation. Therefore one should be extremely careful not to commit offenses at the lotus feet of a pure devotee. Actually Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was not at all at fault; Durvāsā Muni unnecessarily wanted to chastise him on flimsy grounds. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa wanted to complete the Ekādaśī-pāraṇa as part of devotional service to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore he drank a little water. But although Durvāsā Muni was a great mystic brāhmaṇa, he did not know what is what. That is the difference between a pure devotee and a so-called learned scholar of Vedic knowledge. The devotees, being always situated in the core of the Lord’s heart, surely get all instructions directly from the Lord, as confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (10.11):
teṣām evānukampārtham
aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ
nāśayāmy ātma-bhāvastho
jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā
“Out of compassion for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.” The devotee does not do anything not sanctioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is said, vaiṣṇavera kriyā mudrā vijñeha nā bujhaya. Even the most learned or experienced person cannot understand the movements of a Vaiṣṇava, a pure devotee. No one, therefore, should criticize a pure Vaiṣṇava. A Vaiṣṇava knows his own business; whatever he does is precisely right because he is always guided by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 69
upāyaṁ kathayiṣyāmi
tava vipra śṛṇuṣva tat
ayaṁ hy ātmābhicāras te
yatas taṁ yāhi mā ciram
sādhuṣu prahitaṁ tejaḥ
prahartuḥ kurute ’śivam
SYNONYMS
upāyam—the means of protection in this dangerous position; kathayiṣyāmi—I shall speak to you; tava—of your deliverance from this danger; vipra—O brāhmaṇa; śṛṇuṣva—just hear from me; tat—what I say; ayam—this action taken by you; hi—indeed; ātma-abhicāraḥ—self-envy or envious of yourself (your mind has become your enemy); te—for you; yataḥ—because of whom; tam—to him (Mahārāja Ambarīṣa); yāhi—immediately go; mā ciram—do not wait even a moment; sādhuṣu—unto devotees; prahitam—applied; tejaḥ—power; prahartuḥ—of the executor; kurute—does; aśivam—inauspiciousness.
TRANSLATION
O brāhmaṇa, let Me now advise you for your own protection. Please hear from Me. By offending Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, you have acted with self-envy. Therefore you should go to him immediately, without a moment’s delay. One’s so-called prowess, when employed against the devotee, certainly harms he who employs it. Thus it is the subject, not the object, who is harmed.
PURPORT
A Vaiṣṇava is always an object of envy for nondevotees, even when the nondevotee happens to be his father. To give a practical example, Hiraṇyakaśipu was envious of Prahlāda Mahārāja, but this envy of the devotee was harmful to Hiraṇyakaśipu, not to Prahlāda. Every action taken by Hiraṇyakaśipu against his son Prahlāda Mahārāja was taken very seriously by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus when Hiraṇyakaśipu was on the verge of killing Prahlāda, the Lord personally appeared and killed Hiraṇyakaśipu. Service to a Vaiṣṇava gradually accumulates and becomes an asset for the devotee. Similarly, harmful activities directed against the devotee gradually become the ultimate cause of the performer’s falldown. Even such a great brāhmaṇa and mystic yogī as Durvāsā was in a most dangerous situation because of his offense at the lotus feet of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, a pure devotee.
TEXT 70
tapo vidyā ca viprāṇāṁ
niḥśreyasa-kare ubhe
te eva durvinītasya
kalpete kartur anyathā
SYNONYMS
tapaḥ—austerities; vidyā—knowledge; ca—also; viprāṇām—of the brāhmaṇas; niḥśreyasa—of what is certainly very auspicious for upliftment; kare—are causes; ubhe—both of them; te—such austerity and knowledge; eva—indeed; durvinītasya—when such a person is an upstart; kalpete—become; kartuḥ—of the performer; anyathā—just the opposite.
TRANSLATION
For a brāhmaṇa, austerity and learning are certainly auspicious, but when acquired by a person who is not gentle, such austerity and learning are most dangerous.
PURPORT
It is said that a jewel is very valuable, but when it is on the hood of a serpent, it is dangerous despite its value. Similarly, when a materialistic nondevotee achieves great success in learning and austerity, that success is dangerous for all of society. So-called learned scientists, for example, invented atomic weapons that are dangerous for all humanity. It is therefore said, maṇinā bhūṣitaḥ sarpaḥ kim asau na bhayaṅkaraḥ. A serpent with a jewel on its hood is as dangerous as a serpent without such a jewel. Durvāsā Muni was a very learned brāhmaṇa equipped with mystic power, but because he was not a gentleman, he did not know how to use his power. He was therefore extremely dangerous. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is never inclined toward a dangerous person who uses his mystic power for some personal design. By the laws of nature, therefore, such misuse of power is ultimately dangerous not for society but for the person who misuses it.
TEXT 71
brahmaṁs tad gaccha bhadraṁ te
nābhāga-tanayaṁ nṛpam
kṣamāpaya mahā-bhāgaṁ
tataḥ śāntir bhaviṣyati
SYNONYMS
brahman—O brāhmaṇa; tat—therefore; gaccha—you go; bhadram—all auspiciousness; te—unto you; nābhāga-tanayam—to the son of Mahārāja Nābhāga; nṛpam—the King (Ambarīṣa); kṣamāpaya—just try to pacify him; mahā-bhāgam—a great personality, a pure devotee; tataḥ—thereafter; śāntiḥ—peace; bhaviṣyati—there will be.
TRANSLATION
O best of the brāhmaṇas, you should therefore go immediately to King Ambarīṣa, the son of Mahārāja Nābhāga. I wish you all good fortune. If you can satisfy Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, then there will be peace for you.
PURPORT
In this regard, Madhva Muni quotes from the Garuḍa Purāṇa:
brahmādi-bhakti-koṭy-aṁśād
aṁśo naivāmbarīṣake
naivanyasya cakrasyāpi
tathāpi harir īśvaraḥ
tātkālikopaceyatvāt
teṣāṁ yaśasa ādirāṭ
brahmādayaś ca tat-kīrtiṁ
vyañjayām āsur uttamām
mohanāya ca daityānāṁ
brahmāde nindanāya ca
anyārthaṁ ca svayaṁ viṣṇur
brahmādyāś ca nirāśiṣaḥ
mānuṣeṣūttamātvāc ca
teṣāṁ bhaktyādibhir guṇaiḥ
brahmāder viṣṇv-adhīnatva-
jñāpanāya ca kevalam
durvāsāś ca svayaṁ rudras
tathāpy anyāyām uktavān
tasyāpy anugrahārthāya
darpa-nāśārtham eva ca
The lesson to be derived from this narration concerning Mahārāja Ambarīṣa and Durvāsā Muni is that all the demigods, including Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, are under the control of Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore, when a Vaiṣṇava is offended, the offender is punished by Viṣṇu, the Supreme Lord. No one can protect such a person, even Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva.
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