Krishna Consciousness

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 1 Video and Cover

 

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 1 Plate 1

Chapter One
Questions by Vidura

TEXT 16
svayaṁ dhanur dvāri nidhāya māyāṁ
bhrātuḥ puro marmasu tāḍito ’pi
sa ittham atyulbaṇa-karṇa-bāṇair
gata-vyatho ’yād uru mānayānaḥ
SYNONYMS
svayam—he himself; dhanuḥ dvāri—bow on the door; nidhāya—keeping; māyām—the external nature; bhrātuḥ—brother’s; puraḥ—from the palace; marmasu—in the core of the heart; tāḍitaḥ—being afflicted; api—in spite of; saḥ—he (Vidura); ittham—like this; ati-ulbaṇa—severely; karṇa—ear; bāṇaiḥ—by the arrows; gata-vyathaḥ—without being sorry; ayāt—excited; uru—great; māna-yānaḥ—so thinking.
TRANSLATION
Thus being pierced by arrows through his ears and afflicted to the core of his heart, Vidura placed his bow on the door and quit his brother’s palace. He was not sorry, for he considered the acts of the external energy to be supreme.
PURPORT
A pure devotee of the Lord is never perturbed by an awkward position created by the external energy of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (3.27) it is stated:
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
A conditioned soul is absorbed in material existence under the influence of different modes of external energy. Absorbed in the false ego, he thinks that he is doing everything by himself. The external energy of the Lord, the material nature, is fully under the control of the Supreme Lord, and the conditioned soul is fully under the grip of the external energy. Therefore, the conditioned soul is fully under the control of the law of the Lord. But, due to illusion only, he thinks himself independent in his activities. Duryodhana was acting under such influence of the external nature, by which he would be vanquished at the ultimate end. He could not accept the sound advice of Vidura, but on the contrary he insulted that great soul, who was the well-wisher of his whole family. Vidura could understand this because he was a pure devotee of the Lord. In spite of being very strongly insulted by Duryodhana’s words, Vidura could see that Duryodhana, under the influence of māyā, the external energy, was making progress on the path toward his own ruination. He therefore considered the acts of the external energy to be supreme, yet he also saw how the internal energy of the Lord helped him in that particular situation. A devotee is always in a renounced temperament because the worldly attractions can never satisfy him. Vidura was never attracted by the royal palace of his brother. He was always ready to leave the place and devote himself completely to the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Now he got the opportunity by the grace of Duryodhana, and instead of being sorry at the strong words of insult, he thanked him from within because it gave him the chance to live alone in a holy place and fully engage in the devotional service of the Lord. The word gata-vyathaḥ (without being sorry) is significant here because Vidura was relieved from the tribulations which trouble every man entangled in material activities. He therefore thought that there was no need to defend his brother with his bow because his brother was meant for ruination. Thus he left the palace before Duryodhana could act. Māyā, the supreme energy of the Lord, acted here both internally and externally.
TEXT 17
sa nirgataḥ kaurava-puṇya-labdho
gajāhvayāt tīrtha-padaḥ padāni
anvākramat puṇya-cikīrṣayorvyām
adhiṣṭhito yāni sahasra-mūrtiḥ
SYNONYMS
saḥ—he (Vidura); nirgataḥ—after having quit; kaurava—the Kuru dynasty; puṇya—piety; labdhaḥ—so achieved; gaja-āhvayāt—from Hastināpura; tīrtha-padaḥ—of the Supreme Lord; padāni—pilgrimages; anvākramat—took shelter; puṇya—piety; cikīrṣayā—desiring so; urvyām—of high grade; adhiṣṭhitaḥ—situated; yāni—all those; sahasra—thousands; mūrtiḥ—forms.
TRANSLATION
By his piety, Vidura achieved the advantages of the pious Kauravas. After leaving Hastināpura, he took shelter of many places of pilgrimages, which are the Lord’s lotus feet. With a desire to gain a high order of pious life, he traveled to holy places where thousands of transcendental forms of the Lord are situated.
PURPORT
Vidura was undoubtedly a highly elevated and pious soul, otherwise he would not have taken his birth in the Kaurava family. To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great personal beauty are all due to past pious acts. But such pious possessions are not sufficient for obtaining the grace of the Lord and being engaged in His transcendental loving service. Vidura considered himself less pious, and therefore he decided to travel to all the great places of pilgrimage in the world in order to achieve greater piety and advance nearer to the Lord. At that time, Lord Kṛṣṇa was personally present in the world, and Vidura could have at once approached Him directly, but he did not do so because he was not sufficiently freed from sin. One cannot be one hundred percent devoted to the Lord unless and until he is completely free from all effects of sin. Vidura was conscious that by the association of the diplomatic Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to associate at once with the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) this is confirmed in the following verse:
yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
Persons who are sinful asuras like Kaṁsa and Jarāsandha cannot think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. Only those who are pure devotees, those who follow the regulative principles of religious life as prescribed in the scriptures, are able to engage themselves in karma-yoga and then jñāna-yoga and thereafter, by pure meditation, can understand pure consciousness. When God consciousness is developed, one can take advantage of the association of pure devotees. Syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt: one is able to associate with the Lord even during the existence of this life.
Places of pilgrimages are meant for eradicating the sins of the pilgrims, and they are distributed all over the universe just to give facility to all concerned for attaining pure existence and God realization. One should not be satisfied, however, merely by visiting the places of pilgrimage and performing one’s prescribed duties; he should be eager to meet the great souls who are already there, engaged in the service of the Lord. In each and every place of pilgrimage, the Lord is present in His various transcendental forms.
These forms are called arcā-mūrtis, or forms of the Lord which can be easily appreciated by the common man. The Lord is transcendental to our mundane senses. He cannot be seen with our present eyes, nor can He be heard with our present ears. To the degree that we have entered into the service of the Lord or to the proportion to which our lives are freed from sins, we can perceive the Lord. But even though we are not free from sins, the Lord is kind enough to allow us the facility of seeing Him in His arcā-mūrtis in the temple. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He is able to accept our service by presentation of His arcā form. No one, therefore, should foolishly think the arcā in the temple to be an idol. Such an arcā-mūrti is not an idol but the Lord Himself, and to the proportion to which one is free from sins, he is able to know the significance of the arcā-mūrti. The guidance of a pure devotee is therefore always required.
In the land of Bhāratavarṣa there are many hundreds and thousands of places of pilgrimage distributed all over the country, and by traditional practice the common man visits such holy places during all seasons of the year. Some of the arcā representations of the Lord situated in different places of pilgrimage are mentioned herewith. The Lord is present at Mathurā (the birthplace of Lord Kṛṣṇa) as Ādi-keśava; the Lord is present at Purī (Orissa) as Lord Jagannātha (also known as Puruṣottama); He is present at Allahabad (Prayāga) as Bindu-mādhava; at Mandara Hill He is present as Madhusūdana. In the Ānandāraṇya, He is known as Vāsudeva, Padmanābha and Janārdana; at Viṣṇukāñcī, He is known as Viṣṇu; and at Māyāpura, He is known as Hari. There are millions and billions of such arcā forms of the Lord distributed all over the universe. All these arcā-mūrtis are summarized in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta in the following words:
sarvatra prakāśa tāṅra——bhakte sukha dite
jagatera adharma nāśi’ dharma sthāpite
“The Lord has so distributed Himself all over the universe just to give pleasure to the devotees, to give the common man facility to eradicate his sins, and to establish religious principles in the world.”
TEXT 18
pureṣu puṇyopavanādri-kuñjeṣv
apaṅka-toyeṣu sarit-saraḥsu
ananta-liṅgaiḥ samalaṅkṛteṣu
cacāra tīrthāyataneṣv ananyaḥ
SYNONYMS
pureṣu—holy places like Ayodhyā, Dvārakā and Mathurā; puṇya—piety; upavana—the air; adri—hill; kuñjeṣu—in the orchards; apaṅka—without sin; toyeṣu—in the water; sarit—river; saraḥsu—lakes; ananta-liṅgaiḥ—the forms of the Unlimited; samalaṅkṛteṣu—being so decorated; cacāra—executed; tīrtha—places of pilgrimage; āyataneṣu—holy lands; ananyaḥ—alone or seeing Kṛṣṇa alone.
TRANSLATION
He began to travel alone, thinking only of Kṛṣṇa, through various holy places like Ayodhyā, Dvārakā and Mathurā. He traveled where the air, hill, orchard, river and lake are all pure and sinless and where the forms of the Unlimited decorate the temples. Thus he performed the pilgrim’s progress.
PURPORT
These arcā forms of the Lord may be considered idols by the atheists, but that does not matter for persons like Vidura or His many other servants. The forms of the Lord are mentioned here as ananta-liṅga. Such forms of the Lord have unlimited potency, the same as that of the Lord Himself. There is no difference between the potencies of the arcā and those of the personal forms of the Lord. The example of the postbox and post office may be applied here. The little postboxes distributed all over the city have the same potency as the postal system in general. The duty of the post office is to carry letters from one place to another. If one puts letters in postboxes authorized by the general post office, the function of carrying letters is performed without a doubt. Similarly, the arcā-mūrti can also deliver the same unlimited potency of the Lord as when He is personally present. Vidura, therefore, could see nothing but Kṛṣṇa in the different arcā forms, and ultimately he was able to realize Kṛṣṇa alone and nothing else.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 1 Plate 2

Chapter Two
Remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa

TEXT 25
vasudevasya devakyāṁ
jāto bhojendra-bandhane
cikīrṣur bhagavān asyāḥ
śam ajenābhiyācitaḥ
SYNONYMS
vasudevasya—of the wife of Vasudeva; devakyām—in the womb of Devakī; jātaḥ—born of; bhoja-indra—of the King of the Bhojas; bandhane—in the prison house; cikīrṣuḥ—for doing; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; asyāḥ—of the earth; śam—welfare; ajena—by Brahmā; abhiyācitaḥ—being prayed for.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, being prayed to by Brahmā to bring welfare to the earth, was begotten by Vasudeva in the womb of his wife Devakī in the prison of the King of Bhoja.
PURPORT
Although there is no difference between the Lord’s pastimes of appearance and disappearance, the devotees of the Lord do not generally discuss the subject matter of His disappearance. Vidura inquired indirectly from Uddhava about the incident of the Lord’s disappearance by asking him to relate kṛṣṇa-kathā, or topics on the history of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus Uddhava began the topics from the very beginning of His appearance as the son of Vasudeva and Devakī in the prison of Kaṁsa, the King of the Bhojas, at Mathurā. The Lord has no business in this world, but when He is so requested by devotees like Brahmā, He descends on the earth for the welfare of the entire universe. This is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8): paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām/ dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge.
TEXT 26
tato nanda-vrajam itaḥ
pitrā kaṁsād vibibhyatā
ekādaśa samās tatra
gūḍhārciḥ sa-balo ’vasat
SYNONYMS
tataḥ—thereafter; nanda-vrajam—cow pastures of Nanda Mahārāja; itaḥ—being brought up; pitrā—by His father; kaṁsāt—from Kaṁsa; vibibhyatā—being afraid of; ekādaśa—eleven; samāḥ—years; tatra—therein; gūḍha-arciḥ—covered fire; sa-balaḥ—with Baladeva; avasat—resided.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, His father, being afraid of Kaṁsa, brought Him to the cow pastures of Mahārāja Nanda, and there He lived for eleven years like a covered flame with His elder brother, Baladeva.
PURPORT
There was no necessity of the Lord’s being dispatched to the house of Nanda Mahārāja out of fear of Kaṁsa’s determination to kill Him as soon as He appeared. It is the business of the asuras to try to kill the Supreme Personality of Godhead or to prove by all means that there is no God or that Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary human being and not God. Lord Kṛṣṇa is not affected by such determination of men of Kaṁsa’s class, but in order to play the role of a child He agreed to be carried by His father to the cow pastures of Nanda Mahārāja because Vasudeva was afraid of Kaṁsa. Nanda Mahārāja was due to receive Him as his child, and Yaśodāmayī was also to enjoy the childhood pastimes of the Lord, and therefore to fulfill everyone’s desire, He was carried from Mathurā to Vṛndāvana just after His appearance in the prison house of Kaṁsa. He lived there for eleven years and completed all His fascinating pastimes of childhood, boyhood and adolescence with His elder brother, Lord Baladeva, His first expansion. Vasudeva’s thought of protecting Kṛṣṇa from the wrath of Kaṁsa is part of a transcendental relationship. The Lord enjoys more when someone takes Him as his subordinate son who needs the protection of a father than He does when someone accepts Him as the Supreme Lord. He is the father of everyone, and He protects everyone, but when His devotee takes it for granted that the Lord is to be protected by the devotee’s care, it is a transcendental joy for the Lord. Thus when Vasudeva, out of fear of Kaṁsa, carried Him to Vṛndāvana, the Lord enjoyed it; otherwise, He had no fear from Kaṁsa or anyone else.
TEXT 27
parīto vatsapair vatsāṁś
cārayan vyaharad vibhuḥ
yamunopavane kūjad-
dvija-saṅkulitāṅghripe
SYNONYMS
parītaḥ—surrounded by; vatsapaiḥ—cowherd boys; vatsān—calves; cārayan—herding, tending; vyaharat—enjoyed by traveling; vibhuḥ—the Almighty; yamunā—the Yamunā River; upavane—gardens on the shore; kūjat—vibrated by the voice; dvija—the twice-born birds; saṅkulita—densely situated; aṅghripe—in the trees.
TRANSLATION
In His childhood, the Almighty Lord was surrounded by cowherd boys and calves, and thus He traveled on the shore of the Yamunā River, through gardens densely covered with trees and filled with vibrations of chirping birds.
PURPORT
Nanda Mahārāja was a landholder for King Kaṁsa, but because by caste he was a vaiśya, a member of the mercantile and agricultural community, he maintained thousands of cows. It is the duty of the vaiśyas to give protection to the cows, just as the kṣatriyas are to give protection to the human beings. Because the Lord was a child, He was put in charge of the calves with His cowherd boy friends. These cowherd boys were great ṛṣis and yogīs in their previous births, and after many such pious births, they gained the association of the Lord and could play with Him on equal terms. Such cowherd boys never cared to know who Kṛṣṇa was, but they played with Him as a most intimate and lovable friend. They were so fond of the Lord that at night they would only think of the next morning when they would be able to meet the Lord and go together to the forests for cowherding.
The forests on the shore of the Yamunā are all beautiful gardens full of trees of mango, jackfruit, apples, guava, oranges, grapes, berries, palmfruit and so many other plants and fragrant flowers. And because the forest was on the bank of the Yamunā, naturally there were ducks, cranes and peacocks on the branches of the trees. All these trees and birds and beasts were pious living entities born in the transcendental abode of Vṛndāvana just to give pleasure to the Lord and His eternal associates, the cowherd boys.
While playing like a small child with His associates, the Lord killed many demons, including Aghāsura, Bakāsura, Pralambāsura and Gardabhāsura. Although He appeared at Vṛndāvana just as a boy, He was actually like the covered flames of a fire. As a small particle of fire can kindle a great fire with fuel, so the Lord killed all these great demons, beginning from His babyhood in the house of Nanda Mahārāja. The land of Vṛndāvana, the Lord’s childhood playground, still remains today, and anyone who visits these places enjoys the same transcendental bliss, although the Lord is not physically visible to our imperfect eyes. Lord Caitanya recommended this land of the Lord as identical with the Lord and therefore worshipable by the devotees. This instruction is taken up especially by the followers of Lord Caitanya known as the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. And because the land is identical with the Lord, devotees like Uddhava and Vidura visited these places five thousand years ago in order to have direct contact with the Lord, visible or not visible, Thousands of devotees of the Lord are still wandering in these sacred places of Vṛndāvana, and all of them are preparing themselves to go back home, back to Godhead.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 1 Plate 3

Chapter Three
The Lord’s Pastimes Out of Vṛndāvana

TEXT 6
sutaṁ mṛdhe khaṁ vapuṣā grasantaṁ
dṛṣṭvā sunābhonmathitaṁ dharitryā
āmantritas tat-tanayāya śeṣaṁ
dattvā tad-antaḥ-puram āviveśa
SYNONYMS
sutam—son; mṛdhe—in the fight; kham—the sky; vapuṣā—by his body; grasantam—while devouring; dṛṣṭvā—seeing; sunābha—by the Sudarśana wheel; unmathitam—killed; dharitryā—by the earth; āmantritaḥ—being prayed for; tat-tanayāya—to the son of Narakāsura; śeṣam—that which was taken from; dattvā—returning it; tat—his; antaḥ-puram—inside the house; āviveśa—entered.
TRANSLATION
Narakāsura, the son of Dharitrī, the earth, tried to grasp the whole sky, and for this he was killed by the Lord in a fight. His mother then prayed to the Lord. This led to the return of the kingdom to the son of Narakāsura, and thus the Lord entered the house of the demon.
PURPORT
It is said in other purāṇas that Narakāsura was the son of Dharitrī, the earth, by the Lord Himself. But he became a demon due to the bad association of Bāṇa, another demon. An atheist is called a demon, and it is a fact that even a person born of good parents can turn into a demon by bad association. Birth is not always the criterion of goodness; unless and until one is trained in the culture of good association, one cannot become good.
TEXT 7
tatrāhṛtās tā nara-deva-kanyāḥ
kujena dṛṣṭvā harim ārta-bandhum
utthāya sadyo jagṛhuḥ praharṣa-
vrīḍānurāga-prahitāvalokaiḥ
SYNONYMS
tatra—inside the house of Narakāsura; āhṛtāḥ—kidnapped; tāḥ—all those; nara-deva-kanyāḥ—daughters of many kings; kujena—by the demon; dṛṣṭvā—by seeing; harim—the Lord; ārta-bandhum—the friend of the distressed; utthāya—at once got up; sadyaḥ—then and there; jagṛhuḥ—accepted; praharṣa—joyfully; vrīḍa—shyness; anurāga—attachment; prahita-avalokaiḥ—by eager glances.
TRANSLATION
There in the house of the demon, all the princesses kidnapped by Narakāsura at once became alert upon seeing the Lord, the friend of the distressed. They looked upon Him with eagerness, joy and shyness and offered to be His wives.
PURPORT
Narakāsura kidnapped many daughters of great kings and kept them imprisoned in his palace. But when he was killed by the Lord and the Lord entered the house of the demon, all the princesses were enlivened with joy and offered to become His wives because the Lord is the only friend of the distressed. Unless the Lord accepted them, there would be no chance of their being married because the demon kidnapped them from their fathers’ custody and therefore no one would agree to marry them. According to Vedic society, girls are transferred from the custody of the father to the custody of the husband. Since these princesses had already been taken away from the custody of their fathers, it would have been difficult for them to have any husband other than the Lord Himself.
TEXT 8
āsāṁ muhūrta ekasmin
nānāgāreṣu yoṣitām
sa-vidhaṁ jagṛhe pāṇīn
anurūpaḥ sva-māyayā
SYNONYMS
āsām—all those; muhūrte—at one time; ekasmin—simultaneously; nānā-āgāreṣu—in different compartments; yoṣitām—of the women; sa-vidham—with perfect rituals; jagṛhe—accepted; pāṇīn—hands; anurūpaḥ—exactly to match; sva-māyayā—by His internal potency.
TRANSLATION
All those princesses were lodged in different apartments, and the Lord simultaneously assumed different bodily expansions exactly matching each and every princess. He accepted their hands in perfect rituals by His internal potency.
PURPORT
In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) the Lord is described as follows in regard to His innumerable plenary expansions:
advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam
ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca
vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
“The Lord, Govinda, whom I worship, is the original Personality of Godhead. He is nondifferent from His innumerable plenary expansions, who are all infallible, original and unlimited and who have eternal forms. Although He is primeval, the oldest personality, He is always fresh and young.” By His internal potency the Lord can expand Himself into various personalities of svayaṁ-prakāśa and again into prābhava and vaibhava forms, and all of them are nondifferent from one another. The forms into which the Lord expanded to marry the princesses in different apartments were all slightly different just to match each and every one of them. They are called vaibhava-vilāsa forms of the Lord and are effected by His internal potency, yoga-māyā.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 1 Plate 4

Chapter Three
The Lord’s Pastimes Out of Vṛndāvana

TEXT 9
tāsv apatyāny ajanayad
ātma-tulyāni sarvataḥ
ekaikasyāṁ daśa daśa
prakṛter vibubhūṣayā
SYNONYMS
tāsu—unto them; apatyāni—offspring; ajanayat—begot; ātma-tulyāni—all like Himself; sarvataḥ—in all respects; eka-ekasyām—in each and every one of them; daśa—ten; daśa—ten; prakṛteḥ—for expanding Himself; vibubhūṣayā—so desiring.
TRANSLATION
Just to expand Himself according to His transcendental features, the Lord begot in each and every one of them ten offspring with exactly His own qualities.
TEXT 10
kāla-māgadha-śālvādīn
anīkai rundhataḥ puram
ajīghanat svayaṁ divyaṁ
sva-puṁsāṁ teja ādiśat
SYNONYMS
kāla—Kālayavana; māgadha—the King of Magadha (Jarāsandha); śālva—King Śālva; ādīn—and others; anīkaiḥ—by the soldiers; rundhataḥ—being encircled; puram—the city of Mathurā; ajīghanat—killed; svayam—personally; divyam—transcendental; sva-puṁsām—of His own men; tejaḥ—prowess; ādiśat—exhibited.
TRANSLATION
Kālayavana, the King of Magadha and Sālva attacked the city of Mathurā, but when the city was encircled by their soldiers, the Lord refrained from killing them personally, just to show the power of His own men.
PURPORT
After the death of Kaṁsa, when Mathurā was encircled by the soldiers of Kālayavana, Jarāsandha and Sālva, the Lord seemingly fled from the city, and thus He is known as Ranchor, or one who fled from fighting. Actually, the fact was that the Lord wanted to kill them through the agency of His own men, devotees like Mucukunda and Bhīma. Kālayavana and the King of Magadha were killed by Mucukunda and Bhīma respectively, who acted as agents of the Lord. By such acts the Lord wanted to exhibit the prowess of His devotees, as if He were personally unable to fight but His devotees could kill them. The relationship of the Lord with His devotees is a very happy one. Actually, the Lord descended at the request of Brahmā in order to kill all the undesirables of the world, but to divide the share of glory He sometimes engaged His devotees to take the credit. The Battle of Kurukṣetra was designed by the Lord Himself, but just to give credit to His devotee Arjuna (nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasācin), He played the part of the charioteer, while Arjuna was given the chance to play the fighter and thus become the hero of the Battle of Kurukṣetra. What He wants to do Himself by His transcendental plans, He executes through His confidential devotees. That is the way of the Lord’s mercy towards His pure unalloyed devotees.
TEXT 11
śambaraṁ dvividaṁ bāṇaṁ
muraṁ balvalam eva ca
anyāṁś ca dantavakrādīn
avadhīt kāṁś ca ghātayat
SYNONYMS
śambaram—Śambara; dvividam—Dvivida; bāṇam—Bāṇa; muram—Mura; balvalam—Balvala; eva ca—as also; anyān—others; ca—also; dantavakra-ādīn—like Dantavakra and others; avadhīt—killed; kān ca—and many others; ghātayat—caused to be killed.
TRANSLATION
Of kings like Śambara, Dvivida, Bāṇa, Mura, Balvala and many other demons, such as Dantavakra, some He killed Himself, and some He caused to be killed by others [Śrī Baladeva, etc.].
TEXT 12
atha te bhrātṛ-putrāṇāṁ
pakṣayoḥ patitān nṛpān
cacāla bhūḥ kurukṣetraṁ
yeṣām āpatatāṁ balaiḥ
SYNONYMS
atha—thereafter; te—your; bhrātṛ-putrāṇām—of the nephews; pakṣayoḥ—of both sides; patitān—killed; nṛpān—kings; cacāla—shook; bhūḥ—the earth; kurukṣetram—the Battle of Kurukṣetra; yeṣām—of whom; āpatatām—traversing; balaiḥ—by strength.
TRANSLATION
Then, O Vidura, the Lord caused all the kings, both the enemies and those on the side of your fighting nephews, to be killed in the Battle of Kurukṣetra. All those kings were so great and strong that the earth seemed to shake as they traversed the warfield.

 

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 1 Plate 5

Chapter Four
Vidura Approaches Maitreya

TEXT 12
sa eṣa sādho caramo bhavānām
āsāditas te mad-anugraho yat
yan māṁ nṛlokān raha utsṛjantaṁ
diṣṭyā dadṛśvān viśadānuvṛttyā
SYNONYMS
saḥ—that; eṣaḥ—of those; sādho—O honest one; caramaḥ—the ultimate; bhavānām—of all your incarnations (as Vasu); āsāditaḥ—now achieved; te—unto you; mat—My; anugrahaḥ—mercy; yat—as it is; yat—because; mām—Me; nṛ-lokān—the planets of the conditioned souls; rahaḥ—in seclusion; utsṛjantam—while quitting; diṣṭyā—by seeing; dadṛśvān—what you have seen; viśada-anuvṛttyā—by unflinching devotion.
TRANSLATION
O honest one, your present life is the last and the supermost because in this term of life you have been awarded My ultimate favor. Now you can go to My transcendental abode, Vaikuṇṭha, by leaving this universe of conditioned living entities. Your visit to Me in this lonely place because of your pure and unflinching devotional service is a great boon for you.
PURPORT
When a person is fully conversant with knowledge of the Lord as far as can be known by a perfect living entity in the liberated state, he is allowed to enter into the spiritual sky, where the Vaikuṇṭha planets exist. The Lord was sitting in a lonely place just about to disappear from the vision of the inhabitants of this universe, and Uddhava was fortunate to see Him even at that time and thus receive the Lord’s permission to enter Vaikuṇṭha. The Lord is everywhere at all times, and His appearance and disappearance are merely the experience of the inhabitants of a particular universe. He is just like the sun. The sun does not appear or disappear in the sky; it is only in the experience of men that in the morning the sun rises and in the evening the sun sets. The Lord is simultaneously both in Vaikuṇṭha and everywhere within and without Vaikuṇṭha.
TEXT 13
purā mayā proktam ajāya nābhye
padme niṣaṇṇāya mamādi-sarge
jñānaṁ paraṁ man-mahimāvabhāsaṁ
yat sūrayo bhāgavataṁ vadanti
SYNONYMS
purā—in the days of yore; mayā—by Me; proktam—was said; ajāya—unto Brahmā; nābhye—out of the navel; padme—on the lotus; niṣaṇṇāya—unto the one situated on; mama—My; ādi-sarge—in the beginning of creation; jñānam—knowledge; param—sublime; mat-mahimā—My transcendental glories; avabhāsam—that which clarifies; yat—which; sūrayaḥ—the great learned sages; bhāgavatam—Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; vadanti—do say.
TRANSLATION
O Uddhava, in the lotus millennium in the days of yore, at the beginning of the creation, I spoke unto Brahmā, who is situated on the lotus that grows out of My navel, about My transcendental glories, which the great sages describe as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
PURPORT
The explanation of the Supreme Self, as given to Brahmā and already explained in the Second Canto of this great literature, is further clarified herein. The Lord said that the concise form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as explained to Brahmā was meant to elucidate His personality. The impersonal explanation of those four verses in the Second Canto is nullified herewith. Śrīdhara Svāmī also explains in this connection that the same concise form of the Bhāgavatam concerned the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa and was never meant for impersonal indulgence.
TEXT 14
ity ādṛtoktaḥ paramasya puṁsaḥ
pratikṣaṇānugraha-bhājano ’ham
snehottha-romā skhalitākṣaras taṁ
muñcañ chucaḥ prāñjalir ābabhāṣe
SYNONYMS
iti—thus; ādṛta—being favored; uktaḥ—addressed; paramasya—of the Supreme; puṁsaḥ—Personality of Godhead; pratikṣaṇa—every moment; anugraha-bhājanaḥ—object of favor; aham—myself; sneha—affection; uttha—eruption; romā—hairs on the body; skhalita—slackened; akṣaraḥ—of the eyes; tam—that; muñcan—smearing; śucaḥ—tears; prāñjaliḥ—with folded hands; ābabhāṣe—said.
TRANSLATION
Uddhava said: O Vidura, when I was thus favored at every moment by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and addressed by Him with great affection, my words failed in tears, and the hairs on my body erupted. After smearing my tears, I, with folded hands, spoke like this.
TEXT 15
ko nv īśa te pāda-saroja-bhājāṁ
sudurlabho ’rtheṣu caturṣv apīha
tathāpi nāhaṁ pravṛṇomi bhūman
bhavat-padāmbhoja-niṣevaṇotsukaḥ
SYNONYMS
kaḥ nu īśa—O my Lord; te—Your; pāda-saroja-bhājām—of the devotees engaged in the transcendental loving service of Your lotus feet; su-durlabhaḥ—very difficult to obtain; artheṣu—in the matter of; caturṣu—in the four objectives; api—in spite of; iha—in this world; tathā api—yet; na—do not; aham—I; pravṛṇomi—prefer; bhūman—O great one; bhavat—Your; pada-ambhoja—lotus feet; niṣevaṇa-utsukaḥ—anxious to serve.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, devotees who engage in the transcendental loving service of Your lotus feet have no difficulty in achieving anything within the realm of the four principles of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. But, O great one, as far as I am concerned, I have preferred only to engage in the loving service of Your lotus feet.
PURPORT
Those who are associated with the Lord in the Vaikuṇṭha planets achieve all the bodily features of the Lord and appear to be the same as Lord Viṣṇu. Such liberation is called sārūpya-mukti, which is one of the five kinds of liberation. The devotees engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord never accept the sāyujya-mukti, or merging in the rays of the Lord called the brahmajyoti. The devotees can achieve not only liberation but any success in the realm of religiosity, economic development or sense gratification up to the standard of the demigods in the heavenly planets. But such a pure devotee as Uddhava refuses to accept all such facilities. A pure devotee wants simply to engage in the service of the Lord and does not consider his own personal benefit.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 1 Plate 6

Chapter Five
Vidura’s Talks with Maitreya

TEXT 1
śrī-śuka uvāca
dvāri dyu-nadyā ṛṣabhaḥ kurūṇāṁ
maitreyam āsīnam agādha-bodham
kṣattopasṛtyācyuta-bhāva-siddhaḥ
papraccha sauśīlya-guṇābhitṛptaḥ
SYNONYMS
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; dvāri—at the source of; dyu-nadyāḥ—the celestial River Ganges; ṛṣabhaḥ—the best of the Kurus; kurūṇām—of the Kurus; maitreyam—unto Maitreya; āsīnam—sitting; agādha-bodham—of unfathomed knowledge; kṣattā—Vidura; upasṛtya—having approached nearer; acyuta—the infallible Lord; bhāva—character; siddhaḥ—perfect; papraccha—inquired; sauśīlya—gentleness; guṇa-abhitṛptaḥ—satisfied in transcendental qualities.
TRANSLATION
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Vidura, the best amongst the Kuru dynasty, who was perfect in devotional service to the Lord, thus reached the source of the celestial Ganges River [Hardwar], where Maitreya, the great, fathomless learned sage of the world, was seated. Vidura, who was perfect in gentleness and satisfied in transcendence, inquired from him.
PURPORT
Vidura was already perfect due to his unalloyed devotion to the infallible Lord. The Lord and the living entities are all qualitatively the same by nature, but the Lord is quantitatively much greater than any individual living entity. He is ever infallible, whereas the living entities are prone to fall under the illusory energy. Vidura had already surpassed the fallible nature of the living entity in conditional life due to his being acyuta-bhāva, or legitimately absorbed in the devotional service of the Lord. This stage of life is called acyuta-bhāva-siddha, or perfection by dint of devotional service. Anyone, therefore, who is absorbed in the devotional service of the Lord is a liberated soul and has all admirable qualities. The learned sage Maitreya was sitting in a solitary place on the bank of the Ganges at Hardwar, and Vidura, who was a perfect devotee of the Lord and possessed all good transcendental qualities, approached him for inquiry.
TEXT 2
vidura uvāca
sukhāya karmāṇi karoti loko
na taiḥ sukhaṁ vānyad-upāramaṁ vā
vindeta bhūyas tata eva duḥkhaṁ
yad atra yuktaṁ bhagavān vaden naḥ
SYNONYMS
viduraḥ uvāca—Vidura said; sukhāya—for attaining happiness; karmāṇi—fruitive activities; karoti—everyone does so; lokaḥ—in this world; na—never; taiḥ—by those activities; sukham—any happiness; vā—or; anyat—differently; upāramam—satiation; vā—either; vindeta—achieves; bhūyaḥ—on the contrary; tataḥ—by such activities; eva—certainly; duḥkham—miseries; yat—that which; atra—under the circumstances; yuktam—right course; bhagavān—O great one; vadet—may kindly enlighten; naḥ—us.
TRANSLATION
Vidura said: O great sage, everyone in this world engages in fruitive activities to attain happiness, but one finds neither satiation nor the mitigation of distress. On the contrary, one is only aggravated by such activities. Please, therefore, give us directions on how one should live for real happiness.
PURPORT
Vidura asked Maitreya some common questions, which was not originally his intention. Uddhava asked Vidura to approach Maitreya Muni and inquire into all the truths concerning the Lord, His name, fame, quality, form, pastimes, entourage, etc., and thus when Vidura approached Maitreya, he should have asked only about the Lord. But out of natural humility he did not immediately ask about the Lord, but inquired into a subject which would be of great importance to the common man. A common man cannot understand the Lord. He must first know the real position of his life under the influence of the illusory energy. In illusion one thinks that he can be happy only by fruitive activities, but what actually happens is that one becomes more and more entangled in the network of action and reaction and does not find any solution to the problem of life. There is a nice song in this connection: “Because of a great desire to have all happiness in life, I built this house. But unfortunately the whole scheme has turned to ashes because the house was unexpectedly set on fire.” The law of nature is like that. Everyone tries to become happy by planning in the material world, but the law of nature is so cruel that it sets fire to one’s schemes; the fruitive worker is not happy in his schemes, nor is there any satiation of his continuous hankering for happiness.
TEXT 3
janasya kṛṣṇād vimukhasya daivād
adharma-śīlasya suduḥkhitasya
anugrahāyeha caranti nūnaṁ
bhūtāni bhavyāni janārdanasya
SYNONYMS
janasya—of the common man; kṛṣṇāt—from the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa; vimukhasya—of the one who has turned his face against the Lord; daivāt—by the influence of external energy; adharma-śīlasya—of one who is engaged in irreligion; su-duḥkhitasya—of one who is always unhappy; anugrahāya—due to being compassionate towards them; iha—in this world; caranti—wander; nūnam—certainly; bhūtāni—persons; bhavyāni—great philanthropic souls; janārdanasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
O my lord, great philanthropic souls travel on the earth on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to show compassion to the fallen souls who are averse to the sense of subordination to the Lord.
PURPORT
To be obedient to the wishes of the Supreme Lord is the natural position of every living entity. But due only to past misdeeds, a living being becomes averse to the sense of subordination to the Lord and suffers all the miseries of material existence. No one has anything to do but render devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore any activity other than transcendental loving service to the Lord is more or less a rebellious action against the supreme will. All fruitive activity, empirical philosophy and mysticism are more or less against the sense of subordination to the Lord, and any living entity engaged in such rebellious activity is more or less condemned by the laws of material nature, which work under the subordination of the Lord. Great unalloyed devotees of the Lord are compassionate towards the fallen, and therefore they travel all over the world with the mission of bringing souls back to Godhead, back to home. Such pure devotees of the Lord carry the message of Godhead in order to deliver the fallen souls, and therefore the common man who is bewildered by the influence of the external energy of the Lord should avail himself of their association.
TEXT 4
tat sādhu-varyādiśa vartma śaṁ naḥ
saṁrādhito bhagavān yena puṁsām
hṛdi sthito yacchati bhakti-pūte
jñānaṁ sa-tattvādhigamaṁ purāṇam
SYNONYMS
tat—therefore; sādhu-varya—O great one amongst the saints; ādiśa—please instruct; vartma—the path; śam—auspicious; naḥ—for us; saṁrādhitaḥ—being perfectly served; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; yena—by which; puṁsām—of the living entity; hṛdi sthitaḥ—residing in the heart; yacchati—awards; bhakti-pūte—unto the unalloyed devotee; jñānam—knowledge; sa—that; tattva—truth; adhigamam—by which one learns; purāṇam—authorized, old.
TRANSLATION
Therefore, O great sage, please give me instruction on the transcendental devotional service of the Lord, so that He who is situated in the heart of everyone can be pleased to impart, from within, knowledge of the Absolute Truth in terms of the ancient Vedic principles delivered only to those who are purified by the process of devotional service.
PURPORT
As already explained in the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Absolute Truth is realized in three different phases—although they are one and the same—in terms of the knower’s capacity to understand. The most capable transcendentalist is the pure devotee of the Lord, who is without any tinge of fruitive actions or philosophical speculation. By devotional service only does one’s heart become completely purified from all material coverings like karma, jñāna and yoga. Only in such a purified stage does the Lord, who is seated in everyone’s heart with the individual soul, give instruction so that the devotee can reach the ultimate destination of going back home, back to Godhead. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatām. Only when the Lord is satisfied with the devotional service of the devotee does He impart knowledge, as He did for Arjuna and Uddhava.
The jñānīs, yogīs and karmīs cannot expect this direct cooperation of the Lord. They are not able to satisfy the Lord by transcendental loving service, nor do they believe in such service to the Lord. The bhakti process, as performed under the regulative principles of vaidhī-bhakti, or devotional service following the prescribed rules and regulations, is defined by the revealed scriptures and confirmed by great ācāryas. This practice can help the neophyte devotee to rise to the stage of rāga-bhakti, in which the Lord responds from within as the caitya-guru, or the spiritual master as Superconsciousness. All transcendentalists other than devotees make no distinction between the individual soul and the Supersoul because they miscalculate the Superconsciousness and the individual consciousness to be one and the same. Such miscalculation by the nondevotees makes them unfit to receive any direction from within, and therefore they are bereft of the direct cooperation of the Lord. After many, many births, when such a nondualist comes to sense that the Lord is worshipable and that the devotee is simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, then only can he surrender unto the Lord, Vāsudeva. Pure devotional service begins from that point. The process of understanding the Absolute Truth adopted by the misguided nondualist is very difficult, whereas the devotee’s way of understanding the Absolute Truth comes directly from the Lord, who is pleased by devotional service. On behalf of many neophyte devotees, Vidura, at the very first instance, inquired from Maitreya about the path of devotional service, by which the Lord, who is seated within the heart, can be pleased.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 1 Plate 7

Chapter Eight
Manifestation of Brahmā from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu

TEXT 20
tamasy apāre vidurātma-sargaṁ
vicinvato ’bhūt sumahāṁs tri-ṇemiḥ
yo deha-bhājāṁ bhayam īrayāṇaḥ
parikṣiṇoty āyur ajasya hetiḥ
SYNONYMS
tamasi apāre—because of an ignorant way of searching; vidura—O Vidura; ātma-sargam—the cause of his creation; vicinvataḥ—while contemplating; abhūt—it so became; su-mahān—very great; tri-nemiḥ—time of three dimensions; yaḥ—which; deha-bhājām—of the embodied; bhayam—fearfulness; īrayāṇaḥ—generating; parikṣiṇoti—diminishing the one hundred years; āyuḥ—duration of life; ajasya—of the self-born; hetiḥ—the wheel of eternal time.
TRANSLATION
O Vidura, while searching in that way about his existence, Brahmā reached his ultimate time, which is the eternal wheel in the hand of Viṣṇu and which generates fear in the mind of the living entity like the fear of death.
TEXT 21
tato nivṛtto ’pratilabdha-kāmaḥ
sva-dhiṣṇyam āsādya punaḥ sa devaḥ
śanair jita-śvāsa-nivṛtta-citto
nyaṣīdad ārūḍha-samādhi-yogaḥ
SYNONYMS
tataḥ—thereafter; nivṛttaḥ—retired from that endeavor; apratilabdha-kāmaḥ—without achievement of the desired destination; sva-dhiṣṇyam—own seat; āsādya—reaching; punaḥ—again; saḥ—he; devaḥ—the demigod; śanaiḥ—without delay; jita-śvāsa—controlling the breathing; nivṛtta—retired; cittaḥ—intelligence; nyaṣīdat—sat down; ārūḍha—in confidence; samādhi-yogaḥ—in meditation on the Lord.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, being unable to achieve the desired destination, he retired from such searching and came back again to the top of the lotus. Thus, controlling all objectives, he concentrated his mind on the Supreme Lord.
PURPORT
Samādhi involves concentrating the mind upon the supreme cause of all, even if one is unaware of whether His actual nature is personal, impersonal or localized. Concentration of the mind on the Supreme is certainly a form of devotional service. To cease from personal sense endeavors and to concentrate on the supreme cause is a sign of self-surrender, and when self-surrender is present, that is a sure sign of devotional service. Each and every living entity needs to engage in devotional service to the Lord if he wishes to understand the ultimate cause of his existence.
TEXT 22
kālena so ’jaḥ puruṣāyuṣābhi-
pravṛtta-yogena virūḍha-bodhaḥ
svayaṁ tad antar-hṛdaye ’vabhātam
apaśyatāpaśyata yan na pūrvam
SYNONYMS
kālena—in due course of time; saḥ—he; ajaḥ—the self-born Brahmā; puruṣa-āyuṣā—by the duration of his age; abhipravṛtta—being engaged; yogena—in meditation; virūḍha—developed; bodhaḥ—intelligence; svayam—automatically; tat antaḥ-hṛdaye—in the heart; avabhātam—manifested; apaśyata—saw; apaśyata—did see; yat—which; na—not; pūrvam—before.
TRANSLATION
At the end of Brahmā’s one hundred years, when his meditation was complete, he developed the required knowledge, and as a result he could see in his head the Supreme within himself, whom he could not see before with the greatest endeavor.
PURPORT
The Supreme Lord can be experienced only through the process of devotional service and not by one’s personal endeavor in mental speculation. The age of Brahmā is calculated in terms of divya years, which are distinct from the solar years of human beings. The divya years are calculated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.17): sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ. Brahmā’s one day is equal to one thousand times the aggregate of the four yugas (calculated to be 4,300,000 years). On that basis, Brahmā meditated for one hundred years before he could understand the supreme cause of all causes, and then he wrote the Brahma-saṁhitā, which is approved and recognized by Lord Caitanya and in which he sings, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. One has to wait for the mercy of the Lord before one can either render service unto Him or know Him as He is.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 2 Video and Cover

 

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 2 Plate 1

Chapter Nine
Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy

TEXT 14
śaśvat svarūpa-mahasaiva nipīta-bheda-
mohāya bodha-dhiṣaṇāya namaḥ parasmai
viśvodbhava-sthiti-layeṣu nimitta-līlā-
rāsāya te nama idaṁ cakṛmeśvarāya
SYNONYMS
śaśvat—eternally; svarūpa—transcendental form; mahasā—by the glories; eva—certainly; nipīta—distinguished; bheda—differentiation; mohāya—unto the illusory conception; bodha—self-knowledge; dhiṣaṇāya—intelligence; namaḥ—obeisances; parasmai—unto the Transcendence; viśva-udbhava—creation of the cosmic manifestation; sthiti—maintenance; layeṣu—also destruction; nimitta—for the matter of; līlā—by such pastimes; rāsāya—for enjoyment; te—unto You; namaḥ—obeisances; idam—this; cakṛma—do I perform; īśvarāya—unto the Supreme.
TRANSLATION
Let me offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Transcendence, who is eternally distinguished by His internal potency. His indistinguishable impersonal feature is realized by intelligence for self-realization. I offer my obeisances unto Him who by His pastimes enjoys the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic manifestation.
PURPORT
The Supreme Lord is eternally distinguished from the living entities by His internal potency, although He is also understood in His impersonal feature by self-realized intelligence. Devotees of the Lord, therefore, offer all respectful obeisances unto the impersonal feature of the Lord. The word rāsa is significant herein. The rāsa dance is performed by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the company of the cowherd damsels at Vṛndāvana, and the Personality of Godhead Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is also engaged in rāsa enjoyment with His external potency, by which He creates, maintains and dissolves the entire material manifestation. Indirectly, Lord Brahmā offers his respectful obeisances unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is factually ever engaged in rāsa enjoyment with the gopīs, as confirmed in the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad in the following words: parārdhānte so ’budhyata gopa-veśo me puruṣaḥ purastād āvirbabhūva. The distinction between the Lord and the living entity is definitely experienced when there is sufficient intelligence to understand His internal potency, as distinguished from the external potency by which He makes possible the material manifestation.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 2 Plate 2

Chapter Nine
Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy

TEXT 15
yasyāvatāra-guṇa-karma-viḍambanāni
nāmāni ye ’su-vigame vivaśā gṛṇanti
te ’naika-janma-śamalaṁ sahasaiva hitvā
saṁyānty apāvṛtāmṛtaṁ tam ajaṁ prapadye
SYNONYMS
yasya—whose; avatāra—incarnations; guṇa—transcendental qualities; karma—activities; viḍambanāni—all mysterious; nāmāni—transcendental names; ye—those; asu-vigame—while quitting this life; vivaśāḥ—automatically; gṛṇanti—invoke; te—they; anaika—many; janma—births; śamalam—accumulated sins; sahasā—immediately; eva—certainly; hitvā—giving up; saṁyānti—obtain; apāvṛta—open; amṛtam—immortality; tam—Him; ajam—the unborn; prapadye—I take shelter.
TRANSLATION
Let me take shelter of the lotus feet of Him whose incarnations, qualities and activities are mysterious imitations of worldly affairs. One who invokes His transcendental names, even unconsciously, at the time he quits this life, is certainly washed immediately of the sins of many, many births and attains Him without fail.
PURPORT
The activities of the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are a kind of imitation of the activities going on in the material world. He is just like an actor on a stage. An actor imitates the activities of a king on stage, although actually he is not the king. Similarly, when the Lord incarnates, He imitates parts with which He has nothing to do. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.14), it is said that the Lord has nothing to do with the activities in which He is supposedly engaged: na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā. The Lord is omnipotent; simply by His will He can perform anything and everything. When the Lord appeared as Lord Kṛṣṇa, He played the part of the son of Yaśodā and Nanda, and He lifted the Govardhana Hill, although lifting a hill is not His concern. He can lift millions of Govardhana Hills by His simple desire; He does not need to lift it with His hand. But He imitates the ordinary living entity by this lifting, and at the same time He exhibits His supernatural power. Thus His name is chanted as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, or Śrī Govardhana-dhārī. Therefore, His acts in His incarnations and His partiality to the devotees are all imitations only, just like the stage makeup of an expert dramatical player. His acts in that capacity, however, are all omnipotent, and the remembrance of such activities of the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is as powerful as the Lord Himself. Ajāmila remembered the holy name of the Lord, Nārāyaṇa, by merely calling the name of his son Nārāyaṇa, and that gave him a complete opportunity to achieve the highest perfection of life.
TEXT 16
yo vā ahaṁ ca giriśaś ca vibhuḥ svayaṁ ca
sthity-udbhava-pralaya-hetava ātma-mūlam
bhittvā tri-pād vavṛdha eka uru-prarohas
tasmai namo bhagavate bhuvana-drumāya
SYNONYMS
yaḥ—one who; vai—certainly; aham ca—also I; giriśaḥ ca—also Śiva; vibhuḥ—the Almighty; svayam—personality (as Viṣṇu); ca—and; sthiti—maintenance; udbhava—creation; pralaya—dissolution; hetavaḥ—the causes; ātma-mūlam—self-rooted; bhittvā—having penetrated; tri-pāt—three trunks; vavṛdhe—grew; ekaḥ—one without a second; uru—many; prarohaḥ—branches; tasmai—unto Him; namaḥ—obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Personality of Godhead; bhuvana-drumāya—unto the tree of the planetary system.
TRANSLATION
Your Lordship is the prime root of the tree of the planetary systems. This tree has grown by first penetrating the material nature in three trunks—as me, Śiva and You, the Almighty—for creation, maintenance and dissolution, and we three have grown with many branches. Therefore I offer my obeisances unto You, the tree of the cosmic manifestation.
PURPORT
The cosmic manifestation is grossly divided into three worlds, the upper, lower and middle planetary systems, and then it broadens into the cosmos of fourteen planetary systems, with the manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the supreme root. Material nature, which appears to be the cause of the cosmic manifestation, is only the agency or energy of the Lord. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10): mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram. “Only under the superintendence of the Supreme Lord does material nature appear to be the cause of all creation, maintenance and dissolution.” The Lord expands Himself into three—Viṣṇu, Brahmā and Śiva—for maintenance, creation and destruction respectively. Of the three principal agents controlling the three modes of material nature, Viṣṇu is the Almighty; even though He is within material nature for the purpose of maintenance, He is not controlled by the laws of material nature. The other two, Brahmā and Śiva, although almost as greatly powerful as Viṣṇu, are within the control of the material energy of the Supreme Lord. The conception of many gods controlling the many departments of material nature is ill conceived of by the foolish pantheist. God is one without a second, and He is the primal cause of all causes. As there are many departmental heads of governmental affairs, so there are many heads of management of the universal affairs.
Due to a poor fund of knowledge, the impersonalist does not believe in the personal management of things as they are. But in this verse it is clearly explained that everything is personal and nothing is impersonal. We have already discussed this point in the Introduction, and it is confirmed here in this verse. The tree of the material manifestation is described in the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā as an aśvattha tree whose root is upward. We have actual experience of such a tree when we see the shadow of a tree on the bank of a reservoir of water. The reflection of the tree on the water appears to hang down from its upward roots. The tree of creation described here is only a shadow of the reality which is Parabrahman, Viṣṇu. In the internal potential manifestation of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, the actual tree exists, and the tree reflected in the material nature is only the shadow of this actual tree. The impersonalists, theory that Brahman is void of all variegatedness is false because the shadow-tree described in Bhagavad-gītā cannot exist without being the reflection of a real tree. The real tree is situated in the eternal existence of spiritual nature, full of transcendental varieties, and Lord Viṣṇu is the root of that tree also. The root is the same—the Lord—both for the real tree and the false, but the false tree is only the perverted reflection of the real tree. The Lord, being the real tree, is here offered obeisances by Brahmā on his own behalf and also on behalf of Lord Śiva.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 2 Plate 3

TEXT 29
tam evānv api dhīyante
lokā bhūr-ādayas trayaḥ
niśāyām anuvṛttāyāṁ
nirmukta-śaśi-bhāskaram
SYNONYMS
tam—that; eva—certainly; anu—after; api dhīyante—are out of sight; lokāḥ—the planets; bhūḥ-ādayaḥ—the three worlds, Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ and Svaḥ; trayaḥ—three; niśāyām—in the night; anuvṛttāyām—ordinary; nirmukta—without glare; śaśi—the moon; bhāskaram—the sun.
TRANSLATION
When the night of Brahmā ensues, all the three worlds are out of sight, and the sun and the moon are without glare, just as in the due course of an ordinary night.
PURPORT
It is understood that the glare of the sun and moon disappear from the sphere of the three worlds, but the sun and the moon themselves do not vanish. They appear in the remaining portion of the universe, which is beyond the sphere of the three worlds. The portion in dissolution remains without sunrays or moonglow. It all remains dark and full of water, and there are indefatigable winds, as explained in the following verses.
TEXT 30
tri-lokyāṁ dahyamānāyāṁ
śaktyā saṅkarṣaṇāgninā
yānty ūṣmaṇā maharlokāj
janaṁ bhṛgv-ādayo ’rditāḥ
SYNONYMS
tri-lokyām—when the spheres of the three worlds; dahyamānāyām—being set ablaze; śaktyā—by the potency; saṅkarṣaṇa—from the mouth of Saṅkarṣaṇa; agninā—by the fire; yānti—they go; ūṣmaṇā—heated by the warmth; mahaḥ-lokāt—from Maharloka; janam—to Janaloka; bhṛgu—the sage Bhṛgu; ādayaḥ—and others; arditāḥ—being so distressed.
TRANSLATION
The devastation takes place due to the fire emanating from the mouth of Saṅkarṣaṇa, and thus great sages like Bhṛgu and other inhabitants of Maharloka transport themselves to Janaloka, being distressed by the warmth of the blazing fire which rages through the three worlds below.
TEXT 31
tāvat tri-bhuvanaṁ sadyaḥ
kalpāntaidhita-sindhavaḥ
plāvayanty utkaṭāṭopa-
caṇḍa-vāteritormayaḥ
SYNONYMS
tāvat—then; tri-bhuvanam—all the three worlds; sadyaḥ—immediately after; kalpa-anta—in the beginning of the devastation; edhita—inflated; sindhavaḥ—all the oceans; plāvayanti—inundate; utkaṭa—violent; āṭopa—agitation; caṇḍa—hurricane; vāta—by winds; īrita—blown; ūrmayaḥ—waves.
TRANSLATION
At the beginning of the devastation all the seas overflow, and hurricane winds blow very violently. Thus the waves of the seas become ferocious, and in no time at all the three worlds are full of water.
PURPORT
It is said that the blazing fire from the mouth of Saṅkarṣaṇa rages for one hundred years of the demigods, or 36,000 human years. Then for another 36,000 years there are torrents of rain, accompanied by violent winds and waves, and the seas and oceans overflow. These reactions of worlds. People forget all these devastations of the worlds and think themselves happy in the material progress of civilization. This is called māyā, or “that which is not.”
TEXT 32
antaḥ sa tasmin salila
āste ’nantāsano hariḥ
yoga-nidrā-nimīlākṣaḥ
stūyamāno janālayaiḥ
SYNONYMS
antaḥ—within; saḥ—that; tasmin—in that; salile—water; āste—there is; ananta—Ananta; āsanaḥ—on the seat of; hariḥ—the Lord; yoga—mystic; nidrā—sleep; nimīla-akṣaḥ—eyes closed; stūya-mānaḥ—being glorified; jana-ālayaiḥ—by the inhabitants of the Janaloka planets.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, lies down in the water on the seat of Ananta, with His eyes closed, and the inhabitants of the Janaloka planets offer their glorious prayers unto the Lord with folded hands.
PURPORT
We should not understand the sleeping condition of the Lord to be the same as our sleep. Here the word yoga-nidrā is specifically mentioned, which indicates that the Lord’s sleeping condition is also a manifestation of His internal potency. Whenever the word yoga is used it should be understood to refer to that which is transcendental. In the transcendental stage all activities are always present, and they are glorified by prayers of great sages like Bhṛgu.
TEXT 33
evaṁ-vidhair aho-rātraiḥ
kāla-gatyopalakṣitaiḥ
apakṣitam ivāsyāpi
paramāyur vayaḥ-śatam
SYNONYMS
evam—thus; vidhaiḥ—by the process of; ahaḥ—days; rātraiḥ—by nights; kāla-gatyā—advancement of time; upalakṣitaiḥ—by such symptoms; apakṣitam—declined; iva—just like; asya—his; api—although; parama-āyuḥ—duration of life; vayaḥ—years; śatam—one hundred.
TRANSLATION
Thus the process of the exhaustion of the duration of life exists for every one of the living beings, including Lord Brahmā. One’s life endures for only one hundred years, in terms of the times in the different planets.
PURPORT
Every living being lives for one hundred years in terms of the times in different planets for different entities. These one hundred years of life are not equal in every case. The longest duration of one hundred years belongs to Brahmā, but although the life of Brahmā is very long, it expires in the course of time. Brahmā is also afraid of his death, and thus he performs devotional service to the Lord, just to release himself from the clutches of illusory energy. Animals, of course, have no sense of responsibility, but even humans, who have developed a sense of responsibility, while away their valuable time without engaging in devotional service to the Lord; they live merrily, unafraid of impending death. This is the madness of human society. The madman has no responsibility in life. Similarly, a human being who does not develop a sense of responsibility before he dies is no better than the madman who tries to enjoy material life very happily without concern for the future. It is necessary that every human being be responsible in preparing himself for the next life, even if he has a duration of life like that of Brahmā, the greatest of all living creatures within the universe.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 2 Plate 4

Chapter Twelve
Creation of the Kumāras and Others

TEXT 1
maitreya uvāca
iti te varṇitaḥ kṣattaḥ
kālākhyaḥ paramātmanaḥ
mahimā veda-garbho ’tha
yathāsrākṣīn nibodha me
SYNONYMS
maitreyaḥ uvāca—Śrī Maitreya said; iti—thus; te—unto you; varṇitaḥ—described; kṣattaḥ—O Vidura; kāla-ākhyaḥ—by the name eternal time; paramātmanaḥ—of the Supersoul; mahimā—glories; veda-garbhaḥ—Lord Brahmā, the reservoir of the Vedas; atha—hereafter; yathā—as it is; asrākṣīt—did create; nibodha—just try to understand; me—from me.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Maitreya said: O learned Vidura, so far I have explained to you the glories of the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His feature of kāla. Now you can hear from me about the creation of Brahmā, the reservoir of all Vedic knowledge.
TEXT 2
sasarjāgre ’ndha-tāmisram
atha tāmisram ādi-kṛt
mahāmohaṁ ca mohaṁ ca
tamaś cājñāna-vṛttayaḥ
SYNONYMS
sasarja—created; agre—at first; andha-tāmisram—the sense of death; atha—then; tāmisram—anger upon frustration; ādi-kṛt—all these; mahā-moham—ownership of enjoyable objects; ca—also; moham—illusory conception; ca—also; tamaḥ—darkness in self-knowledge; ca—as well as; ajñāna—nescience; vṛttayaḥ—engagements.
TRANSLATION
Brahmā first created the nescient engagements like self-deception, the sense of death, anger after frustration, the sense of false ownership, and the illusory bodily conception, or forgetfulness of one’s real identity.
PURPORT
Before the factual creation of the living entities in different varieties of species, the conditions under which a living being in the material world has to live were created by Brahmā. Unless a living entity forgets his real identity, it is impossible for him to live in the material conditions of life. Therefore the first condition of material existence is forgetfulness of one’s real identity. And by forgetting one’s real identity, one is sure to be afraid of death, although a pure living soul is deathless and birthless. This false identification with material nature is the cause of false ownership of things which are offered by the arrangement of superior control. All material resources are offered to the living entity for his peaceful living and for the discharge of the duties of self-realization in conditioned life. But due to false identification, the conditioned soul becomes entrapped by the sense of false ownership of the property of the Supreme Lord. It is evident from this verse that Brahmā himself is a creation of the Supreme Lord, and the five kinds of nescience which condition the living entities in material existence are creations of Brahmā. It is simply ludicrous to think the living entity to be equal with the Supreme Being when one can understand that the conditioned souls are under the influence of Brahmā’s magic wand. Patañjali also accepts that there are five kinds of nescience, as mentioned herein.
TEXT 3
dṛṣṭvā pāpīyasīṁ sṛṣṭiṁ
nātmānaṁ bahv amanyata
bhagavad-dhyāna-pūtena
manasānyāṁ tato ’sṛjat
SYNONYMS
dṛṣṭvā—by seeing; pāpīyasīm—sinful; sṛṣṭim—creation; na—did not; ātmānam—unto Himself; bahu—much pleasure; amanyata—felt; bhagavat—on the Personality of Godhead; dhyāna—meditation; pūtena—purified by that; manasā—by such a mentality; anyām—another; tataḥ—thereafter; asṛjat—created.
TRANSLATION
Seeing such a misleading creation as a sinful task, Brahmā did not feel much pleasure in his activity, and therefore he purified himself by meditation on the Personality of Godhead. Then he began another term of creation.
PURPORT
Although he created the different influences of nescience, Lord Brahmā was not satisfied in performing such a thankless task, but he had to do it because most of the conditioned souls wanted it to be so. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) that He is present in everyone’s heart and is helping everyone to either remember of forget. The question may be raised why the Lord, who is all-merciful, helps one to remember and another to forget. Actually, His mercy is not exhibited in partiality towards one and enmity towards another. The living entity, as part and parcel of the Lord, is partially independent because he partially possesses all the qualities of the Lord. Anyone who has some independence may sometimes misuse it due to ignorance. When the living entity prefers to misuse his independence and glide down towards nescience, the all-merciful Lord first of all tries to protect him from the trap, but when the living entity persists in gliding down to hell, the Lord helps him to forget his real position. The Lord helps the falling living entity glide down to the lowest point, just to give him the chance to see if he is happy by misusing his independence.
Almost all the conditioned souls who are rotting in the material world are misusing their independence, and therefore five kinds of nescience are imposed upon them. As an obedient servitor of the Lord, Brahmā creates all these as a matter of necessity, but he is not happy in doing so because a devotee of the Lord naturally does not like to see anyone falling down from his real position. Persons who do not care for the path of realization get full facilities from the Lord for executing their proclivities to the fullest extent, and Brahmā helps in that procedure without fail.
TEXT 4
sanakaṁ ca sanandaṁ ca
sanātanam athātmabhūḥ
sanat-kumāraṁ ca munīn
niṣkriyān ūrdhva-retasaḥ
SYNONYMS
sanakam—Sanaka; ca—also; sanandam—Sananda; ca—and; sanātanam—Sanātana; atha—thereafter; ātma-bhūḥ—Brahmā, who is self-born; sanat-kumāram—Sanat-kumāra; ca—also; munīn—the great sages; niṣkriyān—free from all fruitive action; ūrdhva-retasaḥ—those whose semen flows upwards.
TRANSLATION
In the beginning, Brahmā created four great sages named Sanaka, Sananda, Sanātana and Sanat-kumāra. All of them were unwilling to adopt materialistic activities because they were highly elevated due to their semen’s flowing upwards.
PURPORT
Although Brahmā created the principles of nescience as a matter of necessity for those living entities who were destined to ignorance by the will of the Lord, he was not satisfied in performing such a thankless task. He therefore created four principles of knowledge: sāṅkhya, or empirical philosophy for the analytical study of material conditions; yoga, or mysticism for liberation of the pure soul from material bondage; vairāgya, the acceptance of complete detachment from material enjoyment in life to elevate oneself to the highest spiritual understanding; and tapas, or the various kinds of voluntary austerities performed for spiritual perfection. Brahmā created the four great sages Sanaka, Sananda, Sanātana and Sanat to entrust them with these four principles of spiritual advancement, and they inaugurated their own spiritual party, or sampradāya, known as the Kumāra-sampradāya, or later on as the Nimbārka-sampradāya, for the advancement of bhakti. All of these great sages became great devotees, for without devotional service to the Personality of Godhead one cannot achieve success in any activity of spiritual value.
TEXT 5
tān babhāṣe svabhūḥ putrān
prajāḥ sṛjata putrakāḥ
tan naicchan mokṣa-dharmāṇo
vāsudeva-parāyaṇāḥ
SYNONYMS
tān—unto the Kumāras, as above mentioned; babhāṣe—addressed; svabhūḥ—Brahmā; putrān—unto the sons; prajāḥ—generations; sṛjata—to create; putrakāḥ—O my sons; tat—that; na—not; aicchan—desired; mokṣa-dharmāṇaḥ—pledged to the principles of liberation; vāsudeva—the Personality of Godhead; parāyaṇāḥ—who are so devoted.
TRANSLATION
Brahmā spoke to his sons after generating them. “My dear sons,” he said, “now generate progeny.” But due to their being attached to Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they aimed at liberation, and therefore they expressed their unwillingness.
PURPORT
The four sons of Brahmā, the Kumāras, declined to become family men even on the request of their great father, Brahmā. Those who are serious about gaining release from material bondage should not be entangled in the false relationship of family bondage. People may ask how the Kumāras could refuse the orders of Brahmā, who was their father and above all the creator of the universe. The reply is that one who is vāsudeva-parāyaṇa, or seriously engaged in the devotional service of the Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, need not care for any other obligation. It is enjoined in the Bhāgavatam (11.5.41):
devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ
na kiṅkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam
“Anyone who has completely given up all worldly relationships and has taken absolute shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, who gives us salvation and who alone is fit to be taken shelter of, is no longer a debtor or servant of anyone, including the demigods, forefathers, sages, other living entities, relatives, and members of human society.” Thus there was nothing wrong in the acts of the Kumāras when they refused their great father’s request that they become family men.
TEXT 6
so ’vadhyātaḥ sutair evaṁ
pratyākhyātānuśāsanaiḥ
krodhaṁ durviṣahaṁ jātaṁ
niyantum upacakrame
SYNONYMS
saḥ—he (Brahmā); avadhyātaḥ—thus being disrespected; sutaiḥ—by the sons; evam—thus; pratyākhyāta—refusing to obey; anuśāsanaiḥ—the order of their father; krodham—anger; durviṣaham—too much to be tolerated; jātam—thus generated; niyantum—to control; upacakrame—tried his best.
TRANSLATION
On the refusal of the sons to obey the order of their father, there was much anger generated in the mind of Brahmā, which he tried to control and not express.
PURPORT
Brahmā is the director in charge of the mode of passion of material nature. Therefore it was natural for him to become angry on the refusal of his sons to obey his order. Although the Kumāras were right in such acts of refusal, Brahmā, being absorbed in the mode of passion, could not check his passionate anger. He did not express it, however, because he knew that his sons were far enlightened in spiritual advancement and thus he should not express his anger before them.
TEXT 7
dhiyā nigṛhyamāṇo ’pi
bhruvor madhyāt prajāpateḥ
sadyo ’jāyata tan-manyuḥ
kumāro nīla-lohitaḥ
SYNONYMS
dhiyā—by intelligence; nigṛhyamāṇaḥ—being controlled; api—in spite of; bhruvoḥ—of the eyebrows; madhyāt—from between; prajāpateḥ—of Brahmā; sadyaḥ—at once; ajāyata—generated; tat—his; manyuḥ—anger; kumāraḥ—a child; nīla-lohitaḥ—mixture of blue and red.
TRANSLATION
Although he tried to curb his anger, it came out from between his eyebrows, and a child mixed blue and red was immediately generated.
PURPORT
The face of anger is the same whether exhibited due to ignorance or knowledge. Although Brahmā tried to curb his anger, he could not do so, even though he is the supreme being. Such anger in its true color came from between the eyebrows of Brahmā as Rudra, in a mixed color of blue (ignorance) and red (passion), because anger is the product of passion and ignorance.
TEXT 8
sa vai ruroda devānāṁ
pūrvajo bhagavān bhavaḥ
nāmāni kuru me dhātaḥ
sthānāni ca jagad-guro
SYNONYMS
saḥ—he; vai—certainly; ruroda—cried loudly; devānām pūrvajaḥ—the eldest of all demigods; bhagavān—the most powerful; bhavaḥ—Lord Śiva; nāmāni—different names; kuru—designate; me—my; dhātaḥ—O destiny maker; sthānāni—places; ca—also; jagat-guro—O teacher of the universe.
TRANSLATION
After his birth he began to cry: O destiny maker, teacher of the universe, kindly designate my name and place.
TEXT 9
iti tasya vacaḥ pādmo
bhagavān paripālayan
abhyadhād bhadrayā vācā
mā rodīs tat karomi te
SYNONYMS
iti—thus; tasya—his; vacaḥ—request; pādmaḥ—one who is born from the lotus flower; bhagavān—the powerful; paripālayan—accepting the request; abhyadhāt—pacified; bhadrayā—by gentle; vācā—words; mā—do not; rodīḥ—cry; tat—that; karomi—I shall do it; te—as desired by you.
TRANSLATION
The all-powerful Brahmā, who was born from the lotus flower, pacified the boy with gentle words, accepting his request, and said: Do not cry. I shall certainly do as you desire.
TEXT 10
yad arodīḥ sura-śreṣṭha
sodvega iva bālakaḥ
tatas tvām abhidhāsyanti
nāmnā rudra iti prajāḥ
SYNONYMS
yat—as much as; arodīḥ—cried loudly; sura-śreṣṭha—O chief of the demigods; sa-udvegaḥ—with great anxiety; iva—like; bālakaḥ—a boy; tataḥ—therefore; tvām—you; abhidhāsyanti—will call; nāmnā—by the name; rudraḥ—Rudra; iti—thus; prajāḥ—people.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter Brahmā said: O chief of the demigods, you shall be called by the name Rudra by all people because you have so anxiously cried.
TEXT 11
hṛd indriyāṇy asur vyoma
vāyur agnir jalaṁ mahī
sūryaś candras tapaś caiva
sthānāny agre kṛtāni te
SYNONYMS
hṛt—the heart; indriyāṇi—the senses; asuḥ—life air; vyoma—the sky; vāyuḥ—the air; agniḥ—fire; jalam—water; mahī—the earth; sūryaḥ—the sun; candraḥ—the moon; tapaḥ—austerity; ca—as well as; eva—certainly; sthānāni—all these places; agre—hereinbefore; kṛtāni—already made; te—for you.
TRANSLATION
My dear boy, I have already selected the following places for your residence: the heart, the senses, the air of life, the sky, the air, the fire, the water, the earth, the sun, the moon and austerity.
PURPORT
The creation of Rudra from between the eyebrows of Brahmā as the result of his anger, generated from the mode of passion partly touched by ignorance, is very significant. In Bhagavad-gītā (3.37) the principle of Rudra is described. Krodha (anger) is the product of kāma (lust), which is the result of the mode of passion. When lust and hankering are unsatisfied, the element of krodha appears, which is the formidable enemy of the conditioned soul. This most sinful and inimical passion is represented as ahaṅkāra, or the false egocentric attitude of thinking oneself to be all in all. Such an egocentric attitude on the part of the conditioned soul, who is completely under the control of material nature, is described in Bhagavad-gītā as foolish. The egocentric attitude is a manifestation of the Rudra principle in the heart, wherein krodha (anger) is generated. This anger develops in the heart and is further manifested through various senses, like the eyes, hands and legs. When a man is angry he expresses such anger with red-hot eyes and sometimes makes a display of clenching his fists or kicking his legs. This exhibition of the Rudra principle is the proof of Rudra’s presence in such places. When a man is angry he breathes very rapidly, and thus Rudra is represented in the air of life, or in the activities of breathing. When the sky is overcast with dense clouds and roars in anger, and when the wind blows very fiercely, the Rudra principle is manifested, and so also when the sea water is infuriated by the wind it appears in a gloomy feature of Rudra, which is very fearful to the common man. When fire is ablaze we can also experience the presence of Rudra, and when there is an inundation over the earth we can understand that this is also the representation of Rudra.
There are many earthly creatures who constantly represent the Rudra element. The snake, tiger and lion are always representations of Rudra. Sometimes, because of the extreme heat of the sun, there are cases of heatstroke, and due to the extreme coldness created by the moon there are cases of collapse. There are many sages empowered with the influence of austerity and many yogīs, philosophers and renouncers who sometimes exhibit their acquired power under the influence of the Rudra principle of anger and passion. The great yogī Durvāsā, under the influence of this Rudra principle, picked a quarrel with Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, and a brāhmaṇa boy exhibited the Rudra principle by cursing the great King Parīkṣit. When the Rudra principle is exhibited by persons who are not engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the angry person falls down from the peak of his improved position. This is confirmed as follows:
ye ’nye ’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas
tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ
(Bhāg. 10.2.32)
The most lamentable falldown of the impersonalist is due to his false and unreasonable claim of being one with the Supreme.
TEXT 12
manyur manur mahinaso
mahāñ chiva ṛtadhvajaḥ
ugraretā bhavaḥ kālo
vāmadevo dhṛtavrataḥ
SYNONYMS
manyuḥ, manuḥ, mahinasaḥ, mahān, śivaḥ, ṛtadhvajaḥ, ugaretāḥ, bhavaḥ, kālaḥ, vāmadevaḥ, dhṛtavrataḥ—all names of Rudra.
TRANSLATION
Lord Brahmā said: My dear boy Rudra, you have eleven other names: Manyu, Manu, Mahinasa, Mahān, Śiva, Ṛtadhvaja, Ugraretā, Bhava, Kāla, Vāmadeva and Dhṛtavrata.
TEXT 13
dhīr dhṛti-rasalomā ca
niyut sarpir ilāmbikā
irāvatī svadhā dīkṣā
rudrāṇyo rudra te striyaḥ
SYNONYMS
dhīḥ, dhṛti, rasalā, umā, niyut, sarpiḥ, ilā, ambikā, irāvatī, svadhā, dīkṣā rudrāṇyaḥ—the eleven Rudrāṇīs; rudra—O Rudra; te—unto you; striyaḥ—wives.
TRANSLATION
O Rudra, you also have eleven wives, called the Rudrāṇīs, and they are as follows: Dhī, Dhṛti, Rasalā, Umā, Niyut, Sarpi, Ilā, Ambikā, Irāvatī, Svadhā and Dīkṣā.
TEXT 14
gṛhāṇaitāni nāmāni
sthānāni ca sa-yoṣaṇaḥ
ebhiḥ sṛja prajā bahvīḥ
prajānām asi yat patiḥ
SYNONYMS
gṛhāṇa—just accept; etāni—all these; nāmāni—different names; sthānāni—as well as places; ca—also; sa-yoṣaṇaḥ—along with wives; ebhiḥ—with them; sṛja—just generate; prajāḥ—progeny; bahvīḥ—on a large scale; prajānām—of the living entities; asi—you are; yat—since; patiḥ—the master.
TRANSLATION
My dear boy, you may now accept all the names and places designated for you and your different wives, and since you are now one of the masters of the living entities, you may increase the population on a large scale.
PURPORT
Brahmā, as the father of Rudra, selected the wives of his son, his living places, and his names as well. It is natural that one should accept the wife selected by one’s father, just as a son accepts the name given by the father or as he accepts the property offered by the father. That is the general course in increasing the population of the world. On the other hand, the Kumāras did not accept the offering of their father because they were elevated far beyond the business of generating a great number of sons. As the son can refuse the order of the father for higher purposes, so the father can refuse to maintain his sons in increasing population because of higher purposes.
TEXT 15
ity ādiṣṭaḥ sva-guruṇā
bhagavān nīla-lohitaḥ
sattvākṛti-svabhāvena
sasarjātma-samāḥ prajāḥ
SYNONYMS
iti—thus; ādiṣṭaḥ—being ordered; sva-guruṇā—by his own spiritual master; bhagavān—the most powerful; nīla-lohitaḥ—Rudra, whose color is mixed blue and red; sattva—power; ākṛti—bodily features; svabhāvena—and with a very furious mode of nature; sasarja—created; ātma-samāḥ—like his own prototype; prajāḥ—generations.
TRANSLATION
The most powerful Rudra, whose bodily color was blue mixed with red, created many offspring exactly resembling him in features, strength and furious nature.
TEXT 16
rudrāṇāṁ rudra-sṛṣṭānāṁ
samantād grasatāṁ jagat
niśāmyāsaṅkhyaśo yūthān
prajāpatir aśaṅkata
SYNONYMS
rudrāṇām—of the sons of Rudra; rudra-sṛṣṭānām—who were generated by Rudra; samantāt—being assembled together; grasatām—while devouring; jagat—the universe; niśāmya—by observing their activities; asaṅkhyaśaḥ—unlimited; yūthān—assembly; prajā-patiḥ—the father of the living entities; aśaṅkata—became afraid of.
TRANSLATION
The sons and grandsons generated by Rudra were unlimited in number, and when they assembled together they attempted to devour the entire universe. When Brahmā, the father of the living entities, saw this, he became afraid of the situation.
PURPORT
The generations of Rudra, the incarnation of anger, were so dangerous to the maintenance of universal affairs that even Brahmā, the father of the living entities, became afraid of them. The so-called devotees or followers of Rudra are also a menace. They are sometimes dangerous even to Rudra himself. Descendants of Rudra sometimes make plans to kill Rudra—by the grace of Rudra. That is the nature of his devotees.
TEXT 17
alaṁ prajābhiḥ sṛṣṭābhir
īdṛśībhiḥ surottama
mayā saha dahantībhir
diśaś cakṣurbhir ulbaṇaiḥ
SYNONYMS
alam—unnecessary; prajābhiḥ—by such living entities; sṛṣṭābhiḥ—generated; īdṛśībhiḥ—of this type; sura-uttama—O best among the demigods; mayā—me; saha—along with; dahantībhiḥ—who are burning; diśaḥ—all sides; cakṣurbhiḥ—by the eyes; ulbaṇaiḥ—fiery flames.
TRANSLATION
Brahmā told Rudra: O best among the demigods, there is no need for you to generate living entities of this nature. They have begun to devastate everything on all sides with the fiery flames from their eyes, and they have even attacked me.
TEXT 18
tapa ātiṣṭha bhadraṁ te
sarva-bhūta-sukhāvaham
tapasaiva yathā pūrvaṁ
sraṣṭā viśvam idaṁ bhavān
SYNONYMS
tapaḥ—penance; ātiṣṭha—be situated; bhadram—auspicious; te—unto you; sarva—all; bhūta—living entities; sukha-āvaham—bringing happiness; tapasā—by penance; eva—only; yathā—as much as; pūrvam—before; sraṣṭā—will create; viśvam—the universe; idam—this; bhavān—yourself.
TRANSLATION
My dear son, you had better situate yourself in penance, which is auspicious for all living entities and which will bring all benediction upon you. By penance only shall you be able to create the universe as it was before.
PURPORT
In the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic manifestation, the three deities Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara, or Śiva, are respectively in charge. Rudra was advised not to destroy while the period of creation and maintenance was going on, but to situate himself in penance and wait for the time of dissolution, when his services would be called for.
TEXT 19
tapasaiva paraṁ jyotir
bhagavantam adhokṣajam
sarva-bhūta-guhāvāsam
añjasā vindate pumān
SYNONYMS
tapasā—by penance; eva—only; param—the supreme; jyotiḥ—light; bhagavantam—unto the Personality of Godhead; adhokṣajam—He who is beyond the approach of the senses; sarva-bhūta-guhā-āvāsam—residing in the heart of all living entities; añjasā—completely; vindate—can know; pumān—a person.
TRANSLATION
By penance only can one even approach the Personality of Godhead, who is within the heart of every living entity and at the same time beyond the reach of all senses.
PURPORT
Rudra was advised by Brahmā to perform penance as an example to his sons and followers that penance is necessary for attaining the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the common mass of people follow the path shown by an authority. Thus Brahmā, disgusted with the Rudra generations and afraid of being devoured by the increase of population, asked Rudra to stop producing such an unwanted generation and take to penance for attaining the favor of the Supreme Lord. We find, therefore, in pictures, that Rudra is always sitting in meditation for the attainment of the favor of the Lord. Indirectly, the sons and followers of Rudra are advised to stop the business of annihilation, following the Rudra principle while the peaceful creation of Brahmā is going on.
TEXT 20
maitreya uvāca
evam ātmabhuvādiṣṭaḥ
parikramya girāṁ patim
bāḍham ity amum āmantrya
viveśa tapase vanam
SYNONYMS
maitreyaḥ uvāca—Śrī Maitreya said; evam—thus; ātma-bhuvā—by Brahmā; ādiṣṭaḥ—being so requested; parikramya—by circumambulating; girām—of the Vedas; patim—unto the master; bāḍham—that is right; iti—thus; amum—unto Brahmā; āmantrya—thus addressing; viveśa—entered into; tapase—for the matter of penance; vanam—into the forest.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Maitreya said: Thus Rudra, having been ordered by Brahmā, circumambulated his father, the master of the Vedas. Addressing him with words of assent, he entered the forest to perform austere penances.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 2 Plate 5

Chapter Twelve
Creation of the Kumāras and Others

TEXT 21
athābhidhyāyataḥ sargaṁ
daśa putrāḥ prajajñire
bhagavac-chakti-yuktasya
loka-santāna-hetavaḥ
SYNONYMS
atha—thus; abhidhyāyataḥ—while thinking of; sargam—creation; daśa—ten; putrāḥ—sons; prajajñire—were begotten; bhagavat—regarding the Personality of Godhead; śakti—potency; yuktasya—empowered with; loka—the world; santāna—generation; hetavaḥ—the causes.
TRANSLATION
Brahmā, who was empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thought of generating living entities and begot ten sons for the extension of the generations.
TEXT 22
marīcir atry-aṅgirasau
pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ
bhṛgur vasiṣṭho dakṣaś ca
daśamas tatra nāradaḥ
SYNONYMS
marīciḥ, atri, aṅgirasau, pulastyaḥ, pulahaḥ, kratuḥ, bhṛguḥ, vasiṣṭhaḥ, dakṣaḥ—names of sons of Brahmā; ca—and; daśamaḥ—the tenth; tatra—there; nāradaḥ—Nārada.
TRANSLATION
Marīci, Atri, Aṅgirā, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhṛgu, Vasiṣṭha, Dakṣa, and the tenth son, Nārada, were thus born.
PURPORT
The whole process of the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic manifestation is meant to give the conditioned souls a chance to go back home, back to Godhead. Brahmā created Rudra to help him in his creative endeavor, but from the very beginning Rudra began to devour the whole creation, and thus he had to be stopped from such devastating activities. Brahmā therefore created another set of good children, who were mostly in favor of worldly fruitive activities. He knew very well, however, that without devotional service to the Lord there is hardly any benefit for the conditioned souls, and therefore he at last created his worthy son Nārada, who is the supreme spiritual master of all transcendentalists. Without devotional service to the Lord one cannot make progress in any department of activity, although the path of devotional service is always independent of anything material. Only the transcendental loving service of the Lord can deliver the real goal of life, and thus the service rendered by Śrīman Nārada Muni is the highest among all the sons of Brahmā.
TEXT 23
utsaṅgān nārado jajñe
dakṣo ’ṅguṣṭhāt svayambhuvaḥ
prāṇād vasiṣṭhaḥ sañjāto
bhṛgus tvaci karāt kratuḥ
SYNONYMS
utsaṅgāt—by transcendental deliberation; nāradaḥ—Mahāmuni Nārada; jajñe—was generated; dakṣaḥ—Dakṣa; aṅguṣṭhāt—from the thumb; svayambhuvaḥ—of Brahmā; prāṇāt—from the life air, or breathing; vasiṣṭhaḥ—Vasiṣṭha; sañjātaḥ—was born; bhṛguḥ—the sage Bhṛgu; tvaci—from the touch; karāt—from the hand; kratuḥ—the sage Kratu.
TRANSLATION
Nārada was born from the deliberation of Brahmā, which is the best part of the body. Vasiṣṭha was born from his breathing, Dakṣa from a thumb, Bhṛgu from his touch, and Kratu from his hand.
PURPORT
Nārada was born from the best deliberation of Brahmā because Nārada was able to deliver the Supreme Lord to anyone he liked. The Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be realized by any amount of Vedic knowledge or by any number of penances. But a pure devotee of the Lord like Nārada can deliver the Supreme Lord by his good will. The very name Nārada suggests that he can deliver the Supreme Lord. Nāra means the “Supreme Lord,” and da means “one who can deliver.” That he can deliver the Supreme Lord does not mean that the Lord is like a commodity that can be delivered to any person. But Nārada can deliver to anyone the transcendental loving service of the Lord as a servitor, friend, parent or lover, as one may desire out of one’s own transcendental love for the Lord. In other words, it is Nārada only who can deliver the path of bhakti-yoga, the highest mystic means for attainment of the Supreme Lord.
TEXT 24
pulaho nābhito jajñe
pulastyaḥ karṇayor ṛṣiḥ
aṅgirā mukhato ’kṣṇo ’trir
marīcir manaso ’bhavat
SYNONYMS
pulahaḥ—the sage Pulaha; nābhitaḥ—from the navel; jajñe—generated; pulastyaḥ—the sage Pulastya; karṇayoḥ—from the ears; ṛṣiḥ—the great sage; aṅgirāḥ—the sage Aṅgirā; mukhataḥ—from the mouth; akṣṇaḥ—from the eyes; atriḥ—the sage Atri; marīciḥ—the sage Marīci; manasaḥ—from the mind; abhavat—appeared.
TRANSLATION
Pulastya was generated from the ears, Aṅgirā from the mouth, Atri from the eyes, Marīci from the mind and Pulaha from the navel of Brahmā.
TEXT 25
dharmaḥ stanād dakṣiṇato
yatra nārāyaṇaḥ svayam
adharmaḥ pṛṣṭhato yasmān
mṛtyur loka-bhayaṅkaraḥ
SYNONYMS
dharmaḥ—religion; stanāt—from the breast; dakṣiṇataḥ—on the right side; yatra—wherein; nārāyaṇaḥ—the Supreme Lord; svayam—personally; adharmaḥ—irreligion; pṛṣṭhataḥ—from the back; yasmāt—from which; mṛtyuḥ—death; loka—to the living entity; bhayam-karaḥ—horrible.
TRANSLATION
Religion was manifested from the breast of Brahmā, wherein is seated the Supreme Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa, and irreligion appeared from his back, where horrible death takes place for the living entity.
PURPORT
That religion was manifested from the place where the Personality of Godhead is personally situated is very significant because religion means devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā as well as the Bhāgavatam. In Bhagavad-gītā the last instruction is to give up all other engagements in the name of religion and take shelter of the Personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also confirms that the highest perfection of religion is that which leads to the devotional service of the Lord, unmotivated and unhampered by material impediments. Religion in its perfect form is the devotional service of the Lord, and irreligion is just the opposite. The heart is the most important part of the body, whereas the back is the most neglected part. When one is attacked by an enemy one is apt to endure attacks from the back and protect himself carefully from all attacks on the chest. All types of irreligion spring from the back of Brahmā, whereas real religion, the devotional service of the Lord, is generated from the chest, the seat of Nārāyaṇa. Anything which does not lead to the devotional service of the Lord is irreligion, and anything which leads to the devotional service of the Lord is called religion.
TEXT 26
hṛdi kāmo bhruvaḥ krodho
lobhaś cādhara-dacchadāt
āsyād vāk sindhavo meḍhrān
nirṛtiḥ pāyor aghāśrayaḥ
SYNONYMS
hṛdi—from the heart; kāmaḥ—lust; bhruvaḥ—from the eyebrows; krodhaḥ—anger; lobhaḥ—greed; ca—also; adhara-dacchadāt—from between the lips; āsyāt—from the mouth; vāk—speaking; sindhavaḥ—the seas; meḍhrāt—from the penis; nirṛtiḥ—low activities; pāyoḥ—from the anus; agha-āśrayaḥ—reservoir of all vices.
TRANSLATION
Lust and desire became manifested from the heart of Brahmā, anger from between his eyebrows, greed from between his lips, the power of speaking from his mouth, the ocean from his penis, and low and abominable activities from his anus, the source of all sins.
PURPORT
A conditioned soul is under the influence of mental speculation. However great one may be in the estimation of mundane education and learning, he cannot be free from the influence of psychic activities. Therefore it is very difficult to give up lust and the desires for low activities until one is in the line of devotional service to the Lord. When one is frustrated in lust and low desires, anger is generated from the mind and expressed from between the eyebrows. Ordinary men are therefore advised to concentrate the mind by focusing on the place between the eyebrows, whereas the devotees of the Lord are already practiced to place the Supreme Personality of Godhead on the seat of their minds. The theory of becoming desireless is untenable because the mind cannot be made desireless. When it is recommended that one be desireless, it is understood that one should not desire things which are destructive to spiritual values. A devotee of the Lord always has the Lord in his mind, and thus he does not need to be desireless because all his desires are in relationship with the service of the Lord. The power of speaking is called Sarasvatī, or the goddess of learning, and the birthplace of the goddess of learning is the mouth of Brahmā. Even if a man is endowed with the favor of the goddess of learning, it is quite possible for his heart to be full of lust and material desire and his eyebrows to display symptoms of anger. One may be very learned in the mundane estimation, but that does not mean that he is free from all low activities of lust and anger. Good qualifications can be expected only from a pure devotee, who is always engaged in the thought of the Lord, or in samādhi, with faith.
TEXT 27
chāyāyāḥ kardamo jajñe
devahūtyāḥ patiḥ prabhuḥ
manaso dehataś cedaṁ
jajñe viśva-kṛto jagat
SYNONYMS
chāyāyāḥ—by the shadow; kardamaḥ—Kardama Muni; jajñe—became manifested; devahūtyāḥ—of Devahūti; patiḥ—husband; prabhuḥ—the master; manasaḥ—from the mind; dehataḥ—from the body; ca—also; idam—this; jajñe—developed; viśva—the universe; kṛtaḥ—of the creator; jagat—cosmic manifestation.
TRANSLATION
Sage Kardama, husband of the great Devahūti, was manifested from the shadow of Brahmā. Thus all became manifested from either the body or the mind of Brahmā.
PURPORT
Although one of the three modes of material nature is always prominent, they are never represented unalloyed by one another. Even in the most prominent existence of the two lower qualities, the modes of passion and ignorance, there is sometimes a tinge of the mode of goodness. Therefore all the sons generated from the body or the mind of Brahmā were in the modes of passion and ignorance, but some of them, like Kardama, were born in the mode of goodness. Nārada was born in the transcendental state of Brahmā.
TEXT 28
vācaṁ duhitaraṁ tanvīṁ
svayambhūr haratīṁ manaḥ
akāmāṁ cakame kṣattaḥ
sa-kāma iti naḥ śrutam
SYNONYMS
vācam—Vāk; duhitaram—unto the daughter; tanvīm—born of his body; svayambhūḥ—Brahmā; haratīm—attracting; manaḥ—his mind; akāmām—without being sexually inclined; cakame—desired; kṣattaḥ—O Vidura; sa-kāmaḥ—being sexually inclined; iti—thus; naḥ—we; śrutam—have heard.
TRANSLATION
O Vidura, we have heard that Brahmā had a daughter named Vāk who was born from his body and who attracted his mind toward sex, although she was not sexually inclined towards him.
PURPORT
Balavān indriya-grāmo vidvāṁsam api karṣati (Bhāg. 9.19.17). It is said that the senses are so mad and strong that they can bewilder even the most sensible and learned man. Therefore it is advised that one should not indulge in living alone even with one’s mother, sister or daughter. Vidvāṁsam api karṣati means that even the most learned also become victims of the sensuous urge. Maitreya hesitated to state this anomaly on the part of Brahmā, who was sexually inclined to his own daughter, but still he mentioned it because sometimes it so happens, and the living example is Brahmā himself, although he is the primeval living being and the most learned within the whole universe. If Brahmā could be a victim of the sexual urge, then what of others, who are prone to so many mundane frailties? This extraordinary immortality on the part of Brahmā was heard to have occurred in some particular kalpa, but it could not have happened in the kalpa in which Brahmā heard directly from the Lord the four essential verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam because the Lord blessed Brahmā, after giving him lessons on the Bhāgavatam, that he would never be bewildered in any kalpa whatsoever. This indicates that before the hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam he might have fallen a victim to such sensuality, but after hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam directly from the Lord, there was no possibility of such failures.
One should, however, take serious note of this incident. The human being is a social animal, and his unrestricted mixing with the fair sex leads to downfall. Such social freedom of man and woman, especially among the younger section, is certainly a great stumbling block on the path of spiritual progress. Material bondage is due only to sexual bondage, and therefore unrestricted association of man and woman is surely a great impediment. Maitreya cited this example on the part of Brahmā just to bring to our notice this great danger.
TEXT 29
tam adharme kṛta-matiṁ
vilokya pitaraṁ sutāḥ
marīci-mukhyā munayo
viśrambhāt pratyabodhayan
SYNONYMS
tam—unto him; adharme—in the matter of immortality; kṛta-matim—the mind being so given; vilokya—seeing thus; pitaram—unto the father; sutāḥ—sons; marīci-mukhyāḥ—headed by Marīci; munayaḥ—sages; viśrambhāt—with due respect; pratyabodhayan—submitted as follows.
TRANSLATION
Thus, finding their father so deluded in an act of immorality, the sages headed by Marīci, all sons of Brahmā, spoke as follows with great respect.
PURPORT
The sages like Marīci were not in the wrong in submitting their protests against the acts of their great father. They knew very well that even though their father committed a mistake, there must have been some great purpose behind the show, otherwise such a great personality could not have committed such a mistake. It might be that Brahmā wanted to warn his subordinates about human frailties in their dealings with women. This is always very dangerous for persons who are on the path of self-realization. Therefore, great personalities like Brahmā, even when in the wrong, should not be neglected, nor could the great sages headed by Marīci show any disrespect because of his extraordinary behavior.
TEXT 30
naitat pūrvaiḥ kṛtaṁ tvad ye
na kariṣyanti cāpare
yas tvaṁ duhitaraṁ gaccher
anigṛhyāṅgajaṁ prabhuḥ
SYNONYMS
na—never; etat—such a thing; pūrvaiḥ—by any other Brahmā, or yourself in any previous ka[la; kṛtam—performed; tvat—by you; ye—that which; na—nor; kariṣyanti—will do; ca—also; apare—anyone else; yaḥ—that which; tvam—you; duhitaram—unto the daughter; gaccheḥ—would do; anigṛhya—without controlling; aṅgajam—sex desire; prabhuḥ—O father.
TRANSLATION
O father, this performance in which you are endeavoring to complicate yourself was never attempted by any other Brahmā, nor by anyone else, nor by you in previous kalpas, nor will anyone dare to attempt it in the future. You are the supreme being in the universe, so how is it that you want to have sex with your daughter and cannot control your desire?
PURPORT
The post of Brahmā is the supermost post in the universe, and it appears that there are many Brahmās and many universes besides the one in which we are situated. One who fills this post must be ideal in behavior, for Brahmā sets the example for all living entities. Brahmā, the living entity who is the most pious and spiritually elevated, is entrusted with a post next to that of the Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 31
tejīyasām api hy etan
na suślokyaṁ jagad-guro
yad-vṛttam anutiṣṭhan vai
lokaḥ kṣemāya kalpate
SYNONYMS
tejīyasām—of the most powerful; api—also; hi—certainly; etat—such an act; na—not suitable; su-ślokyam—good behavior; jagat-guro—O spiritual master of the universe; yat—whose; vṛttam—character; anutiṣṭhan—following; vai—certainly; lokaḥ—the world; kṣemāya—for prosperity; kalpate—becomes eligible.
TRANSLATION
Even though you are the most powerful being, this act does not suit you because your character is followed for spiritual improvement by people in general.
PURPORT
It is said that a supremely powerful living entity can do anything and everything he likes and such acts do not affect him in any way. For example, the sun, the most powerful fiery planet in the universe, can evaporate water from anywhere and still remain as powerful. The sun evaporates water from filthy places and yet is not infected with the quality of the filth. Similarly, Brahmā remains unimpeachable in all conditions. But still, since he is the spiritual master of all living entities, his behavior and character should be so ideal that people will follow such sublime behavior and derive the highest spiritual benefit. Therefore, he should not have acted as he did.
TEXT 32
tasmai namo bhagavate
ya idaṁ svena rociṣā
ātma-sthaṁ vyañjayām āsa
sa dharmaṁ pātum arhati
SYNONYMS
tasmai—unto Him; namaḥ—obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Personality of Godhead; yaḥ—who; idam—this; svena—by His own; rociṣā—effulgence; ātma-stham—situated in Himself; vyañjayām āsa—has manifested; saḥ—He; dharmam—religion; pātum—for protection; arhati—may kindly do so.
TRANSLATION
Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the Personality of Godhead, who, by His own effulgence, while situated in Himself, has manifested this cosmos. May He also protect religion for all goodness.
PURPORT
Lust for sexual intercourse is so strong that it appears herein that Brahmā could not be dissuaded from his determination in spite of the appeal by his great sons like Marīci. Therefore, the great sons began to pray to the Supreme Lord for the good sense of Brahmā. It is only by the grace of the Supreme Lord that one can be protected from the allurement of lusty material desires. The Lord gives protection to devotees who are always engaged in His transcendental loving service, and by His causeless mercy He forgives the accidental fall of a devotee. Therefore, sages like Marīci prayed for the mercy of the Lord, and their prayer was fruitful.
TEXT 33
sa itthaṁ gṛṇataḥ putrān
puro dṛṣṭvā prajāpatīn
prajāpati-patis tanvaṁ
tatyāja vrīḍitas tadā
tāṁ diśo jagṛhur ghorāṁ
nīhāraṁ yad vidus tamaḥ
SYNONYMS
saḥ—he (Brahmā); ittham—thus; gṛṇataḥ—speaking; putrān—sons; puraḥ—before; dṛṣṭvā—seeing; prajā-patīn—all the progenitors of living entities; prajāpati-patiḥ—the father of them (Brahmā); tanvam—body; tatyāja—quit; vrīḍitaḥ—ashamed; tadā—at that time; tām—that body; diśaḥ—all directions; jagṛhuḥ—accepted; ghorām—blamable; nīhāram—fog; yat—which; viduḥ—they know as; tamaḥ—darkness.
TRANSLATION
The father of all Prajāpatis, Brahmā, thus seeing all his Prajāpati sons speaking in that way, became very much ashamed and at once gave up the body he had accepted. Later that body appeared in all directions as the dangerous fog in darkness.
PURPORT
The best way to compensate for one’s sinful acts is to give up one’s body at once, and Brahmā, the leader of the living entities, showed this by his personal example. Brahmā has a fabulous duration of life, but he was obliged to give up his body due to his grievous sin, even though he had merely contemplated it in his mind without having actually done it.
This is a lesson for the living entities, showing how sinful an act it is to indulge in unrestricted sex life. Even to think of abominable sex life is sinful, and to compensate for such acts, one has to give up his body. In other words, one’s duration of life, blessings, opulence, etc., are decreased by sinful acts, and the most dangerous type of sinful act is unrestricted sex.
Ignorance is the cause of sinful life, or sinful life is the cause of gross ignorance. The feature of ignorance is darkness or fog. Darkness or fog still covers the whole universe, and the sun is the only counteracting principle. One who takes shelter of the Lord, the perpetual light, has no fear of being annihilated in the darkness of fog or ignorance.
TEXT 34
kadācid dhyāyataḥ sraṣṭur
vedā āsaṁś catur-mukhāt
kathaṁ srakṣyāmy ahaṁ lokān
samavetān yathā purā
SYNONYMS
kadācit—once upon a time; dhyāyataḥ—while contemplating; sraṣṭuḥ—of Brahmā; vedāḥ—the Vedic literature; āsan—became manifested; catuḥ-mukhāt—from the four mouths; katham srakṣyāmi—how shall I create; aham—myself; lokān—all these worlds; samavetān—assembled; yathā—as they were; purā—in the past.
TRANSLATION
Once upon a time, when Brahmā was thinking of how to create the worlds as in the past millennium, the four Vedas, which contain all varieties of knowledge, became manifested from his four mouths.
PURPORT
As a fire can consume anything and everything without being contaminated, so, by the grace of the Lord, the fire of Brahmā’s greatness consumed his desire for the sinful act of sex with his daughter. The Vedas are the source of all knowledge, and they were first revealed to Brahmā by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead while Brahmā was thinking of re-creating the material world. Brahmā is powerful by dint of his devotional service unto the Lord, and the Lord is always ready to forgive His devotee if by chance he falls down from the noble path of devotional service. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.42) confirms this as follows:
sva-pāda-mūlaṁ bhajataḥ priyasya
tyaktvānya-bhāvasya hariḥ pareśaḥ
vikarma yac cotpatitaṁ kathañ-cid
dhunoti sarvaṁ hṛdi sannviṣṭaḥ
“Any person who is engaged one hundred percent in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, at His lotus feet, is very dear to the Personality of Godhead Hari, and the Lord, being situated in the heart of the devotee, excuses all kinds of sins committed by chance.” It was never expected that a great personality like Brahmā would ever think of sex indulgence with his daughter. The example shown by Brahmā only suggests that the power of material nature is so strong that it can act upon everyone, even Brahmā. Brahmā was saved by the mercy of the Lord with a little punishment, but by the grace of the Lord he did not lose his prestige as the great Brahmā.
TEXT 35
cātur-hotraṁ karma-tantram
upaveda-nayaiḥ saha
dharmasya pādāś catvāras
tathaivāśrama-vṛttayaḥ
SYNONYMS
cātuḥ—four; hotram—paraphernalia for sacrifice; karma—action; tantram—expansions of such activities; upaveda—supplementary to the Vedas; nayaiḥ—by logical conclusions; saha—along with; dharmasya—of religiosity; pādāḥ—principles; catvāraḥ—four; tathā eva—in the same way; āśrama—social orders; vṛttayaḥ—occupations.
TRANSLATION
The four kinds of paraphernalia for conducting the fire sacrifice became manifest: the performer [the chanter], the offerer, the fire, and the action performed in terms of the supplementary Vedas. Also the four principles of religiosity [truth, austerity, mercy and cleanliness] and the duties in the four social orders all became manifest.
PURPORT
Eating, sleeping, defending and mating are the four principles of material bodily demands which are common to both the animals and human society. To distinguish human society from the animals there is the performance of religious activities in terms of the social statuses and orders of life. They are all clearly mentioned in the Vedic literatures and were manifested by Brahmā when the four Vedas were generated from his four mouths. Thus the duties of humankind in terms of the statuses and social orders were established to be observed by the civilized man. Those who traditionally follow these principles are called Āryans, or progressive human beings.
TEXT 36
vidura uvāca
sa vai viśva-sṛjām īśo
vedādīn mukhato ’sṛjat
yad yad yenāsṛjad devas
tan me brūhi tapo-dhana
SYNONYMS
viduraḥ uvāca—Vidura said; saḥ—he (Brahmā); vai—certainly; viśva—the universe; sṛjām—of those who created; īśaḥ—the controller; veda-ādīn—the Vedas, etc.; mukhataḥ—from the mouth; asṛjat—established; yat—that; yat—which; yena—by which; asṛjat—created; devaḥ—the god; tat—that; me—unto me; brūhi—please explain; tapaḥ-dhana—O sage whose only wealth is penance.
TRANSLATION
Vidura said: O great sage whose only wealth is penance, kindly explain to me how and with whose help Brahmā established the Vedic knowledge which emanated from his mouth.
TEXT 37
maitreya uvāca
ṛg-yajuḥ-sāmātharvākhyān
vedān pūrvādibhir mukhaiḥ
śāstram ijyāṁ stuti-stomaṁ
prāyaścittaṁ vyadhāt kramāt
SYNONYMS
maitreyaḥ uvāca—Maitreya said; ṛk-yajuḥ-sāma-atharva—the four Vedas; ākhyān—of the name; vedān—Vedic literatures; pūrva-ādibhiḥ—beginning with the front; mukhaiḥ—by the mouths; śāstram—Vedic hymns not pronounced before; ijyām—priestly rituals; stuti-stomam—the subject matter of the reciters; prāyaścittam—transcendental activities; vyadhāt—established; kramāt—one after another.
TRANSLATION
Maitreya said: Beginning from the front face of Brahmā, gradually the four Vedas—Ṛk, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva—became manifest. Thereafter, Vedic hymns which had not been pronounced before, priestly rituals, the subject matters of the recitation, and transcendental activities were all established, one after another.
TEXT 38
āyur-vedaṁ dhanur-vedaṁ
gāndharvaṁ vedam ātmanaḥ
sthāpatyaṁ cāsṛjad vedaṁ
kramāt pūrvādibhir mukhaiḥ
SYNONYMS
āyuḥ-vedam—medical science; dhanuḥ-vedam—military science; gāndharvam—musical art; vedam—they are all Vedic knowledge; ātmanaḥ—of his own; sthāpatyam—architectural; ca—also; asṛjat—created; vedam—knowledge; kramāt—respectively; pūrva-ādibhiḥ—beginning from the front face; mukhaiḥ—by the mouths.
TRANSLATION
He also created the medical science, military art, musical art and architectural science, all from the Vedas. They all emanated one after another, beginning from the front face.
PURPORT
The Vedas contain perfect knowledge, which includes all kinds of knowledge for the human society, not only on this particular planet but on other planets as well. It is understood that military art is also necessary knowledge for the upkeep of social order, as is the art of music. All these groups of knowledge are called the Upapurāṇa, or supplements of the Vedas. Spiritual knowledge is the main topic of the Vedas, but to help the human being’s spiritual pursuit of knowledge, the other information, as above mentioned, forms necessary branches of the Vedic knowledge.
TEXT 39
itihāsa-purāṇāni
pañcamaṁ vedam īśvaraḥ
sarvebhya eva vaktrebhyaḥ
sasṛje sarva-darśanaḥ
SYNONYMS
itihāsa—histories; purāṇāni—the Purāṇas (supplementary Vedas); pañcamam—the fifth; vedam—the Vedic literature; īśvaraḥ—the Lord; sarvebhyaḥ—all together; eva—certainly; vaktrebhyaḥ—from his mouths; sasṛje—created; sarva—all around; darśanaḥ—one who can see all time.
TRANSLATION
Then he created the fifth Veda—the Purāṇas and the histories—from all his mouths, since he could see all the past, present and future.
PURPORT
There are histories of particular countries and nations and of the world, but the Purāṇas are the histories of the universe, not only in one millennium, but in many kalpas. Brahmā has knowledge of those historical facts, and therefore all the purāṇas are histories. As originally composed by Brahmā, they are part of the Vedas and are called the fifth Veda.
TEXT 40
ṣoḍaśy-ukthau pūrva-vaktrāt
purīṣy-agniṣṭutāv atha
āptoryāmātirātrau ca
vājapeyaṁ sagosavam
SYNONYMS
ṣoḍaśī-ukthau—types of sacrifice; pūrva-vaktrāt—from the eastern mouth; purīṣi-agniṣṭutau—types of sacrifice; atha—then; āptoryāma-atirātrau—types of sacrifice; ca—and; vājapeyam—type of sacrifice; sa-gosavam—type of sacrifice.
TRANSLATION
All the different varieties of fire sacrifices [ṣoḍaśī, uktha, purīṣi, agniṣṭoma, āptoryāma, atirātra, vājapeya and gosava] became manifested from the eastern mouth of Brahmā.
TEXT 41
vidyā dānaṁ tapaḥ satyaṁ
dharmasyeti padāni ca
āśramāṁś ca yathā-saṅkhyam
asṛjat saha vṛttibhiḥ
SYNONYMS
vidyā—education; dānam—charity; tapaḥ—penance; satyam—truth; dharmasya—of religion; iti—thus; padāni—four legs; ca—also; āśramān—orders of life; ca—also; yathā—as they are; saṅkhyam—in number; asṛjat—created; saha—along with; vṛttibhiḥ—by vocations.
TRANSLATION
Education, charity, penance and truth are said to be the four legs of religion, and to learn this there are four orders of life with different classifications of castes according to vocation. Brahmā created all these in systematic order.
PURPORT
The nucleus of the four social orders—brahmacarya, or student life, gṛhastha, or householder family life, vānaprastha, or retired life for practicing penance, and sannyāsa, or renounced life for preaching the truth—is the four legs of religion. The vocational divisions are the brāhmaṇas, or the intelligent class, the kṣatriyas, or administrative class, the vaiśyas, or mercantile productive class, and the śūdras, or general laborer class who have no specific qualifications. All were systematically planned and created by Brahmā for the regular promotion of self-realization. Student life is meant for acquiring the best education; household family life is meant for gratifying the senses, provided it is performed with a charitable disposition of mind, retirement from household life is meant for penance, for advancement in spiritual life, and renounced life is meant for preaching the Absolute Truth to the people in general. The combined actions of all members of society make the whole situation favorable for the upliftment of the mission of human life. The beginning of this social institution is based on education meant for purifying the animal propensities of the human being. The highest purificatory process is knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the purest of the pure.
TEXT 42
sāvitraṁ prājāpatyaṁ ca
brāhmaṁ cātha bṛhat tathā
vārtā sañcaya-śālīna-
śiloñcha iti vai gṛhe
SYNONYMS
sāvitram—the thread ceremony of the twice-born; prājāpatyam—to execute the vow for one year; ca—and; brāhmam—acceptance of the Vedas; ca—and; atha—also; bṛhat—complete abstinence from sex life; tathā—then; vārtā—vocation in terms of Vedic sanction; sañcaya—professional duty; śālīna—livelihood without asking anyone for cooperation; śila-uñchaḥ—picking up rejected grains; iti—thus; vai—even though; gṛhe—in household life.
TRANSLATION
Then the thread ceremony for the twice-born was inaugurated, as were the rules to be followed for at least one year after acceptance of the Vedas, rules for observing complete abstinence from sex life, vocations in terms of Vedic injunctions, various professional duties in household life, and the method of maintaining a livelihood without anyone’s cooperation by picking up rejected grains.
PURPORT
During student life the brahmacārīs were given full instructions about the importance of the human form of life. Thus the basic education was designed to encourage the student in becoming free from family encumbrances. Only students unable to accept such a vow in life were allowed to go home and marry a suitable wife. Otherwise, the student would remain a permanent brahmacārī, observing complete abstinence from sex life for his whole life. It all depended on the quality of the student’s training. We had the opportunity to meet an avowed brahmacārī in the personality of our spiritual master, Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Such a great soul is called a naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī.
TEXT 43
vaikhānasā vālakhilyau-
dumbarāḥ phenapā vane
nyāse kuṭīcakaḥ pūrvaṁ
bahvodo haṁsa-niṣkriyau
SYNONYMS
vaikhānasāḥ—the section of men who retire from active life and live on half-boiled meals; vālakhilya—one who quits his former stock of grains on receipt of more; audumbarāḥ—one who lives on what he gets from the direction towards which he starts after rising from bed; phenapāḥ—one who lives on the fruits which automatically fall from the tree; vane—in the forest; nyāse—in the order of renunciation; kuṭīcakaḥ—life in the family without attachment; pūrvam—in the beginning; bahvodaḥ—giving up all material activities and engaging fully in transcendental service; haṁsa—fully engaged in transcendental knowledge; niṣkriyau—stopping all kinds of activities.
TRANSLATION
The four divisions of retired life are the vaikhānasas, vālakhilyas, audumbaras and phenapas. The four divisions of the renounced order of life are the kuṭīcakas, bahvodas, haṁsas and niṣkriyas. All these were manifested from Brahmā.
PURPORT
The varṇāśrama-dharma, or the institution of the four divisions and orders of social and spiritual life, is not a new invention of the modern age, as proposed by the less intelligent. It is an institution established by Brahmā from the beginning of the creation. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.13): cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam.
TEXT 44
ānvīkṣikī trayī vārtā
daṇḍa-nītis tathaiva ca
evaṁ vyāhṛtayaś cāsan
praṇavo hy asya dahrataḥ
SYNONYMS
ānvīkṣikī—logic; trayī—the three goals, namely religion, economy and salvation; vārtā—sense gratification; daṇḍa—law and order; nītiḥ—moral codes; tathā—as also; eva ca—respectively; evam—thus; vyāhṛtayaḥ—the celebrated hymns bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and svaḥ; ca—also; āsan—came into existence; praṇavaḥ—the oṁkāra; hi—certainly; asya—of him (Brahmā); dahrataḥ—from the heart.
TRANSLATION
The science of logical argument, the Vedic goals of life, and also law and order, moral codes, and the celebrated hymns bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and svaḥ all became manifested from the mouths of Brahmā, and the praṇava oṁkāra was manifested from his heart.
TEXT 45
tasyoṣṇig āsīl lomabhyo
gāyatrī ca tvaco vibhoḥ
triṣṭum māṁsāt snuto ’nuṣṭub
jagaty asthnaḥ prajāpateḥ
SYNONYMS
tasya—his; uṣṇik—one of the Vedic meters; āsīt—generated; lomabhyaḥ—from the hairs on the body; gāyatrī—the principal Vedic hymn; ca—also; tvacaḥ—from the skin; vibhoḥ—of the Lord; triṣṭup—a particular type of poetic meter; māṁsāt—from the flesh; snutaḥ—from the sinews; anuṣṭup—another type of poetic meter; jagatī—another type of poetic meter; asthnaḥ—from the bones; prajāpateḥ—of the father of the living entities.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter the art of literary expression, uṣṇik, was generated from the hairs on the body of the almighty Prajāpati. The principal Vedic hymn, gāyatrī, was generated from the skin, triṣṭup from the flesh, anuṣṭup from the veins, and jagatī from the bones of the lord of the living entities.
TEXT 46
majjāyāḥ paṅktir utpannā
bṛhatī prāṇato ’bhavat
SYNONYMS
majjāyāḥ—from the bone marrow; paṅktiḥ—a particular type of verse; utpannā—became manifested; bṛhatī—another type of verse; prāṇataḥ—out of the life-breathing; abhavat—generated.
TRANSLATION
The art of writing verse, paṅkti, became manifested from the bone marrow, and that of bṛhatī, another type of verse, was generated from the life-breath of the Lord of the living entities.
TEXT 47
sparśas tasyābhavaj jīvaḥ
svaro deha udāhṛta
ūṣmāṇam indriyāṇy āhur
antaḥ-sthā balam ātmanaḥ
svarāḥ sapta vihāreṇa
bhavanti sma prajāpateḥ
SYNONYMS
sparśaḥ—the set of letters from ka to ma; tasya—his; abhavat—became; jīvaḥ—the soul; svaraḥ—vowels; dehaḥ—his body; udāhṛtaḥ—are expressed; ūṣmāṇam—the letters śa, ṣa, sa and ha; indriyāṇi—the senses; āhuḥ—are called; antaḥ-sthāḥ—the set of letters so known (ya, ra, la and va); balam—energy; ātmanaḥ—of his self; svarāḥ—music; sapta—seven; vihāreṇa—by the sensual activities; bhavanti sma—became manifested; prajāpateḥ—of the lord of the living entities.
TRANSLATION
Brahmā’s soul was manifested as the touch alphabets, his body as the vowels, his senses as the sibilant alphabets, his strength as the intermediate alphabets and his sensual activities as the seven notes of music.
PURPORT
In Sanskrit there are thirteen vowels and thirty-five consonants. The vowels are a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, ṛ, ṝ, ḷ, e, ai, o, au, and the consonants are ka, kha, ga, gha, etc. Amongst the consonants, the first twenty-five letters are called the sparśas. There are also four antaḥ-sthas. Of the ūṣmas there are three s’s, called tālavya, mūrdhanya and dantya. The musical notes are ṣa, ṛ, gā, ma, dha, and ni. All these sound vibrations are originally called śabda-brahma, or spiritual sound. It is said, therefore, that Brahmā was created in the Mahā-kalpa as the incarnation of spiritual sound. The Vedas are spiritual sound, and therefore there is no need of material interpretation as they are, although they are symbolically represented with letters which are known to us materially. In the ultimate issue there is nothing material because everything has its origin in the spiritual world. The material manifestation is therefore called illusion in the proper sense of the term. For those who are realized souls there is nothing but spirit.

Pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3 Part 2 Plate 6

Chapter Fourteen
Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening

TEXT 8
ditir dākṣāyaṇī kṣattar
mārīcaṁ kaśyapaṁ patim
apatya-kāmā cakame
sandhyāyāṁ hṛc-chayārditā
SYNONYMS
ditiḥ—Diti; dākṣāyaṇī—the daughter of Dakṣa; kṣattaḥ—O Vidura; mārīcam—the son of Marīci; kaśyapam—Kaśyapa; patim—her husband; apatya-kāmā—desirous of having a child; cakame—longed for; sandhyāyām—in the evening; hṛt-śaya—by sex desires; arditā—distressed.
TRANSLATION
Diti, daughter of Dakṣa, being afflicted with sex desire, begged her husband, Kaśyapa, the son of Marīci, to have intercourse with her in the evening in order to beget a child.
TEXT 9
iṣṭvāgni-jihvaṁ payasā
puruṣaṁ yajuṣāṁ patim
nimlocaty arka āsīnam
agny-agāre samāhitam
SYNONYMS
iṣṭvā—after worshiping; agni—fire; jihvam—tongue; payasā—by oblation; puruṣam—unto the Supreme Person; yajuṣām—of all sacrifices; patim—master; nimlocati—while setting; arke—the sun; āsīnam—sitting; agni-agāre—in the sacrificial hall; samāhitam—completely in trance.
TRANSLATION
The sun was setting, and the sage was sitting in trance after offering oblations to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, whose tongue is the sacrificial fire.
PURPORT
Fire is considered to be the tongue of the Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu, and oblations of grains and clarified butter offered to the fire are thus accepted by Him. That is the principle of all sacrifices, of which Lord Viṣṇu is the master. In other words, the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu includes the satisfaction of all demigods and other living beings.
TEXT 10
ditir uvāca
eṣa māṁ tvat-kṛte vidvan
kāma ātta-śarāsanaḥ
dunoti dīnāṁ vikramya
rambhām iva mataṅgajaḥ
SYNONYMS
ditiḥ uvāca—beautiful Diti said; eṣaḥ—all these; mām—unto me; tvat-kṛte—for you; vidvan—O learned one; kāmaḥ—Cupid; ātta-śarāsanaḥ—taking his arrows; dunoti—distresses; dīnām—poor me; vikramya—attacking; rambhām—banana tree; iva—like; matam-gajaḥ—mad elephant.
TRANSLATION
In that place the beautiful Diti expressed her desire: O learned one, Cupid is taking his arrows and distressing me forcibly, as a mad elephant troubles a banana tree.
PURPORT
Beautiful Diti, seeing her husband absorbed in trance, began to speak loudly, not attempting to attract him by bodily expressions. She frankly said that her whole body was distressed by sex desire because of her husband’s presence, just as a banana tree is troubled by a mad elephant. It was not natural for her to agitate her husband when he was in trance, but she could not control her strong sexual appetite. Her sex desire was like a mad elephant, and therefore it was the prime duty of her husband to give her all protection by fulfilling her desire.
TEXT 11
tad bhavān dahyamānāyāṁ
sa-patnīnāṁ samṛddhibhiḥ
prajāvatīnāṁ bhadraṁ te
mayy āyuṅktām anugraham
SYNONYMS
tat—therefore; bhavān—your good self; dahyamānāyām—being distressed; sa-patnīnām—of the co-wives; samṛddhibhiḥ—by the prosperity; prajā-vatīnām—of those who have children; bhadram—all prosperity; te—unto you; mayi—unto me; āyuṅktām—do unto me, in all respects; anugraham—favor.
TRANSLATION
Therefore you should be kind towards me by showing me complete mercy. I desire to have sons, and I am much distressed by seeing the opulence of my co-wives. By performing this act, you will become happy.
PURPORT
In Bhagavad-gītā sexual intercourse for begetting children is accepted as righteous. A person sexually inclined for simple sense gratification, however, is unrighteous. In Diti’s appeal to her husband for sex, it was not exactly that she was afflicted by sex desires, but she desired sons. Since she had no sons, she felt poorer than her co-wives. Therefore Kaśyapa was supposed to satisfy his bona fide wife.
TEXT 12
bhartary āptorumānānāṁ
lokān āviśate yaśaḥ
patir bhavad-vidho yāsāṁ
prajayā nanu jāyate
SYNONYMS
bhartari—by the husband; āpta-urumānānām—of those who are beloved; lokān—in the world; āviśate—spreads; yaśaḥ—fame; patiḥ—husband; bhavat-vidhaḥ—like your good self; yāsām—of those whose; prajayā—by children; nanu—certainly; jāyate—expands.
TRANSLATION
A woman is honored in the world by the benediction of her husband, and a husband like you will become famous by having children because you are meant for the expansion of living entities.
PURPORT
According to Ṛṣabhadeva, one should not become a father or mother unless one is confident that he can beget children whom he can deliver from the clutches of birth and death. Human life is the only opportunity to get out of the material scene, which is full of the miseries of birth, death, old age and diseases. Every human being should be given the opportunity to take advantage of his human form of life, and a father like Kaśyapa is supposed to beget good children for the purpose of liberation.
TEXT 13
purā pitā no bhagavān
dakṣo duhitṛ-vatsalaḥ
kaṁ vṛṇīta varaṁ vatsā
ity apṛcchata naḥ pṛthak
SYNONYMS
purā—in days long ago; pitā—father; naḥ—our; bhagavān—the most opulent; dakṣaḥ—Dakṣa; duhitṛ-vatsalaḥ—affectionate to his daughters; kam—unto whom; vṛṇīta—you want to accept; varam—your husband; vatsāḥ—O my children; iti—thus; apṛcchata—inquired; naḥ—us; pṛthak—separately.
TRANSLATION
In days long ago, our father, the most opulent Dakṣa, who was affectionate to his daughters, asked each of us separately whom we would prefer to select as our husband.
PURPORT
It appears from this verse that free selection of a husband was allowed by the father, but not by free association. The daughters were asked separately to submit their selection of a husband who was famous for his acts and personality. The ultimate selection depended on the choice of the father.
TEXT 14
sa viditvātmajānāṁ no
bhāvaṁ santāna-bhāvanaḥ
trayodaśādadāt tāsāṁ
yās te śīlam anuvratāḥ
SYNONYMS
saḥ—Dakṣa; viditvā—understanding; ātma-jānām—of the daughters; naḥ—our; bhāvam—indication; santāna—children; bhāvanaḥ—well-wisher; trayodaśa—thirteen; adadāt—handed over; tāsām—of all of them; yāḥ—those who are; te—your; śīlam—behavior; anuvratāḥ—all faithful.
TRANSLATION
Our well-wishing father, Dakṣa, after knowing our intentions, handed over thirteen of his daughters unto you, and since then we have all been faithful.
PURPORT
Generally the daughters were too shy to express their opinions before their father, but the father would accept the daughters’ intentions through someone else, such as a grandmother to whom the grandchildren had free access. King Dakṣa collected the opinions of his daughters and thus handed over thirteen to Kaśyapa. Every one of Diti’s sisters was a mother of children. Therefore, since she was equally faithful to the same husband, why should she remain without children?
TEXT 15
atha me kuru kalyāṇaṁ
kāmaṁ kamala-locana
ārtopasarpaṇaṁ bhūmann
amoghaṁ hi mahīyasi
SYNONYMS
atha—therefore; me—unto me; kuru—kindly do; kalyāṇam—benediction; kāmam—desire; kamala-locana—O lotus-eyed one; ārta—of the distressed; upasarpaṇam—the approaching; bhūman—O great one; amogham—without failure; hi—certainly; mahīyasi—to a great person.
TRANSLATION
O lotus-eyed one, kindly bless me by fulfilling my desire. When someone in distress approaches a great person, his pleas should never go in vain.
PURPORT
Diti knew well that her request might be rejected because of the untimely situation, but she pleaded that when there is an emergency or a distressful condition, there is no consideration of time or situation.
TEXT 16
iti tāṁ vīra mārīcaḥ
kṛpaṇāṁ bahu-bhāṣiṇīm
pratyāhānunayan vācā
pravṛddhānaṅga-kaśmalām
SYNONYMS
iti—thus; tām—unto her; vīra—O hero; mārīcaḥ—the son of Marīci (Kaśyapa); kṛpaṇām—unto the poor; bahu-bhāṣiṇīm—too talkative; pratyāha—replied; anunayan—pacifying; vācā—by words; pravṛddha—highly agitated; anaṅga—lust; kaśmalām—contaminated.
TRANSLATION
O hero [Vidura], Diti, being thus afflicted by the contamination of lust, and therefore poor and talkative, was pacified by the son of Marīci in suitable words.
PURPORT
When a man or woman is afflicted by the lust of sex desire, it is to be understood as sinful contamination. Kaśyapa was engaged in his spiritual activities, but he did not have sufficient strength to refuse his wife, who was thus afflicted. He could have refused her with strong words expressing impossibility, but he was not as spiritually strong as Vidura. Vidura is addressed here as a hero because no one is stronger in self-control than a devotee of the Lord. It appears that Kaśyapa was already inclined to have sexual enjoyment with his wife, and because he was not a strong man he tried to dissuade her only with pacifying words.