Chapter Fifteen
King Pṛthu’s Appearance and Coronation
TEXT 1
maitreya uvāca
atha tasya punar viprair
aputrasya mahīpateḥ
bāhubhyāṁ mathyamānābhyāṁ
mithunaṁ samapadyata
SYNONYMS
maitreyaḥ uvāca—Maitreya continued to speak; atha—thus; tasya—his; punaḥ—again; vipraiḥ—by the brāhmaṇas; aputrasya—without a son; mahīpateḥ—of the King; bāhubhyām—from the arms; mathyamānābhyām—being churned; mithunam—a couple; samapadyata—took birth.
TRANSLATION
The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, thus the brāhmaṇas and the great sages again churned the two arms of King Vena’s dead body. As a result a male and female couple came out of his arms.
TEXT 2
tad dṛṣṭvā mithunaṁ jātam
ṛṣayo brahma-vādinaḥ
ūcuḥ parama-santuṣṭā
viditvā bhagavat-kalām
SYNONYMS
tat—that; dṛṣṭvā—seeing; mithunam—couple; jātam—born; ṛṣayaḥ—the great sages; brahma-vādinaḥ—very learned in Vedic knowledge; ūcuḥ—said; parama—very much; santuṣṭāḥ—being pleased; viditvā—knowing; bhagavat—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kalām—expansion.
TRANSLATION
The great sages were highly learned in Vedic knowledge. When they saw the male and female born of the arms of Vena’s body, they were very pleased, for they could understand that the couple was an expansion of a plenary portion of Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
The method adopted by the great sages and scholars, who were learned in Vedic knowledge, was perfect. They removed all the reactions of King Vena’s sinful activities by seeing that King Vena first gave birth to Bāhuka, described in the previous chapter. After King Vena’s body was thus purified, a male and female came out of it, and the great sages could understand that this was an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. This expansion, of course, was not viṣṇu-tattva but a specifically empowered expansion of Lord Viṣṇu known as āveśa.
TEXT 3
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ
eṣa viṣṇor bhagavataḥ
kalā bhuvana-pālinī
iyaṁ ca lakṣmyāḥ sambhūtiḥ
puruṣasyānapāyinī
SYNONYMS
ṛṣayaḥ ūcuḥ—the sages said; eṣaḥ—this male; viṣṇoḥ—of Lord Viṣṇu; bhagavataḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kalā—expansion; bhuvana-pālinī—who maintains the world; iyam—this female; ca—also; lakṣmyāḥ—of the goddess of fortune; sambhūtiḥ—expansion; puruṣasya—of the Lord; anapāyinī—inseparable.
TRANSLATION
The great sages said: The male is a plenary expansion of the power of Lord Viṣṇu, who maintains the entire universe, and the female is a plenary expansion of the goddess of fortune, who is never separated from the Lord.
PURPORT
The significance of the goddess of fortune’s never being separated from the Lord is clearly mentioned herein. People in the material world are very fond of the goddess of fortune, and they want her favor in the form of riches. They should know, however, that the goddess of fortune is inseparable from Lord Viṣṇu. Materialists should understand that the goddess of fortune should be worshiped along with Lord Viṣṇu and should not be regarded separately. Materialists seeking the favor of the goddess of fortune must worship Lord Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī together to maintain material opulence. If a materialist follows the policy of Rāvaṇa, who wanted to separate Sītā from Lord Rāmacandra, the process of separation will vanquish him. Those who are very rich and have taken favor of the goddess of fortune in this world must engage their money in the service of the Lord. In this way they can continue in their opulent position without disturbance.
TEXT 4
ayaṁ tu prathamo rājñāṁ
pumān prathayitā yaśaḥ
pṛthur nāma mahārājo
bhaviṣyati pṛthu-śravāḥ
SYNONYMS
ayam—this; tu—then; prathamaḥ—the first; rājñām—of kings; pumān—the male; prathayitā—will expand; yaśaḥ—reputation; pṛthuḥ—Mahārāja Pṛthu; nāma—by name; mahā-rājaḥ—the great king; bhaviṣyati—will become; pṛthu-śravāḥ—of wide renown.
TRANSLATION
Of the two, the male will be able to expand his reputation throughout the world. His name will be Pṛthu. Indeed, he will be the first among kings.
PURPORT
There are different types of incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the śāstras it is said that Garuḍa (the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu) and Lord Śiva and Ananta are all very powerful incarnations of the Brahman feature of the Lord. Similarly, Śacīpati, or Indra, the King of heaven, is an incarnation of the lusty feature of the Lord. Aniruddha is an incarnation of the Lord’s mind. Similarly, King Pṛthu is an incarnation of the ruling force of the Lord. Thus the saintly persons and great sages predicted the future activities of King Pṛthu, who was already explained as a partial incarnation of a plenary expansion of the Lord.
TEXT 5
iyaṁ ca sudatī devī
guṇa-bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇā
arcir nāma varārohā
pṛthum evāvarundhatī
SYNONYMS
iyam—this female child; ca—and; su-datī—who has very nice teeth; devī—the goddess of fortune; guṇa—by good qualities; bhūṣaṇa—ornaments; bhūṣaṇā—who beautifies; arciḥ—Arci; nāma—by name; vara-ārohā—very beautiful; pṛthum—unto King Pṛthu; eva—certainly; avarundhatī—being very much attached.
TRANSLATION
The female has such beautiful teeth and beautiful qualities that she will actually beautify the ornaments she wears. Her name will be Arci. In the future she will accept King Pṛthu as her husband.
TEXT 6
eṣa sākṣād dharer aṁśo
jāto loka-rirakṣayā
iyaṁ ca tat-parā hi śrīr
anujajñe ’napāyinī
SYNONYMS
eṣaḥ—this male; sākṣāt—directly; hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; aṁśaḥ—partial representative; jātaḥ—born; loka—the entire world; rirakṣayā—with a desire to protect; iyam—this female; ca—also; tat-parā—very much attached to him; hi—certainly; śrīḥ—the goddess of fortune; anujajñe—took birth; anapāyinī—inseparable.
TRANSLATION
In the form of King Pṛthu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has appeared through a part of His potency to protect the people of the world. The goddess of fortune is the constant companion of the Lord, and therefore she has incarnated partially as Arci to become King Pṛthu’s queen.
PURPORT
In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that whenever one sees an extraordinary power, he should conclude that a specific partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present. There are innumerable such personalities, but not all of them are direct viṣṇu-tattva plenary expansions of the Lord. Many living entities are classified among the śakti-tattvas. Such incarnations, empowered for specific purposes, are known as śaktyāveśa-avatāras. King Pṛthu was such a śaktyāveśa-avatāra of the Lord. Similarly, Arci, King Pṛthu’s wife, was a śaktyāveśa-avatāra of the goddess of fortune.
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