Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 1: “Creation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Nine
SB1.9.27
TEXT 27
dana-dharman raja-dharman
moksa-dharman vibhagasah
stri-dharman bhagavad-dharman
samasa-vyasa-yogatah
SYNONYMS
dana-dharman—the acts of charity; raja-dharman—pragmatic activities of the kings; moksa-dharman—the acts for salvation; vibhagasah—by divisions; stri-dharman—duties of women; bhagavat-dharman—the acts of the devotees; samasa—generally; vyasa—explicitly; yogatah—by means of.
TRANSLATION
He then explained, by divisions, acts of charity, the pragmatic activities of a king and activities for salvation. Then he described the duties of women and devotees, both briefly and extensively.
PURPORT
To give charity is one of the householder’s main functions, and he should be prepared to give in charity at least fifty percent of his hard-earned money. A brahmacari, or student, should perform sacrifices, a householder should give charity, and a person in the retired life or in the renounced order should practice penances and austerities. Those are the general functions of all the asramas, or orders of life on the path of self-realization. In the brahmacari life the training is sufficiently imparted so that one may understand that the world as property belongs to the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead. No one, therefore, can claim to be the proprietor of anything in the world. Therefore, in the life of a householder, which is a sort of license for sex enjoyment, one must give in charity for the service of the Lord. Everyone’s energy is generated or borrowed from the reservoir of energy of the Lord; therefore, the resultant actions of such energy must be given to the Lord in the shape of transcendental loving service for Him. As the rivers draw water from the sea through the clouds and again go down to the sea, similarly our energy is borrowed from the supreme source, the Lord’s energy, and it must return to the Lord. That is the perfection of our energy. The Lord, therefore, in the Bhagavad-gita (9.27) says that whatever we do, whatever we undergo as penance, whatever we sacrifice, whatever we eat or whatever we give in charity must be offered to Him (the Lord). That is the way of utilizing our borrowed energy. When our energy is utilized in that way, our energy is purified from the contamination of material inebrieties, and thus we become fit for our original natural life of service to the Lord.
Raja-dharma is a great science, unlike modern diplomacy for political supremacy. The kings were trained systematically to become munificent and not merely be tax collectors. They were trained to perform different sacrifices only for the prosperity of the subjects. To lead the prajas to the attainment of salvation was a great duty of the king. The father, the spiritual master and the king are not to become irresponsible in the matter of leading their subjects to the path of ultimate liberation from birth, death, diseases and old age. When these primary duties are properly discharged, there is no need of government of the people, by the people. In modern days the people in general occupy the administration by the strength of manipulated votes, but they are never trained in the primary duties of the king, and that is also not possible for everyone. Under the circumstances the untrained administrators play havoc to make the subjects happy in all respects. On the other hand, these untrained administrators gradually become rogues and thieves and increase the taxation to finance a top-heavy administration that is useless for all purposes. Actually the qualified brahmanas are meant to give direction to the kings for proper administration in terms of the scriptures like the Manu-samhita and Dharma-sastras of Parasara. A typical king is the ideal of the people in general, and if the king is pious, religious, chivalrous and munificent, the citizens generally follow him. Such a king is not a lazy sensuous person living at the cost of the subjects, but alert always to kill thieves and dacoits. The pious kings were not merciful to dacoits and thieves in the name of nonsensical ahimsa (nonviolence). The thieves and dacoits were punished in an exemplary way so that in the future no one would dare commit such nuisances in an organized form. Such thieves and dacoits were never meant for administration as they are now.
The taxation law was simple. There was no force, no encroachment. The king had a right to take one fourth of the production made by the subject. The king had a right to claim a fourth of one’s allotted wealth. One would never grudge parting with it because due to the pious king and religious harmony there was enough natural wealth, namely grains, fruits, flowers, silk, cotton, milk, jewels, minerals, etc., and therefore no one was materially unhappy. The citizens were rich in agriculture and animal husbandry, and therefore they had enough grains, fruits and milk without any artificial needs of soaps and toilets, cinemas and bars.
The king had to see that the reserved energy of humanity was properly utilized. Human energy is meant not exactly for fulfilling animal propensities, but for self-realization. The whole government was specifically designed to fulfill this particular purpose. As such, the king had to select properly the cabinet ministers, but not on the strength of voting background. The ministers, the military commanders and even the ordinary soldiers were all selected by personal qualification, and the king had to supervise them properly before they were appointed to their respective posts. The king was especially vigilant to see that the tapasvis, or persons who sacrificed everything for disseminating spiritual knowledge, were never disregarded. The king knew well that the Supreme Personality of Godhead never tolerates any insult to His unalloyed devotees. Such tapasvis were trusted leaders even of the rogues and thieves, who would never disobey the orders of tapasvis. The king would give special protection to illiterates, the helpless and widows of the state. Defense measures were arranged previous to any attack by the enemies. The taxing process was easy, and it was not meant for squandering, but was for strengthening the reserve fund. The soldiers were recruited from all parts of the world, and they were trained for special duties.
As far as salvation is concerned, one has to conquer the principles of lust, anger, unlawful desires, avarice and bewilderment. To get freedom from anger, one should learn how to forgive. To be free from unlawful desires one should not make plans. By spiritual culture one is able to conquer sleep. By tolerance only can one conquer desires and avarice. Disturbances from various diseases can be avoided by regulated diets. By self-control one can be free from false hopes, and money can be saved by avoiding undesirable association. By practice of yoga one can control hunger, and worldliness can be avoided by culturing the knowledge of impermanence. Dizziness can be conquered by rising up, and false arguments can be conquered by factual ascertainment. Talkativeness can be avoided by gravity and silence, and by prowess one can avoid fearfulness. Perfect knowledge can be obtained by self-cultivation. One must be free from lust, avarice, anger, dreaming, etc., to actually attain the path of salvation.
As far as the women class are concerned, they are accepted as a power of inspiration for men. As such, women are more powerful than men. Mighty Julius Caesar was controlled by a Cleopatra. Such powerful women are controlled by shyness. Therefore, shyness is important for women. Once this control valve is loosened, women can create havoc in society by adultery. Adultery means production of unwanted children known as varna-sankara, who disturb the world.
The last item taught by Bhismadeva was the process of pleasing the Lord. We are all eternal servants of the Lord, and when we forget this essential part of our nature we are put into material conditions of life. The simple process of pleasing the Lord (for the householders especially) is to install the Deity of the Lord at home. By concentrating on the Deity, one may progressively go on with the daily routine work. Worshiping the Deity at home, serving the devotee, hearing the Srimad-Bhagavatam, residing in a holy place and chanting the holy name of the Lord are all inexpensive items by which one can please the Lord. Thus the subject matter was explained by the grandfather to his grandchildren. SB1.9.28 TEXT 28 dharmartha-kama-moksams ca sahopayan yatha mune nanakhyanetihasesu varnayam asa tattvavit SYNONYMS dharma—occupational duties; artha—economic development; kama—fulfillment of desires; moksan—ultimate salvation; ca—and; saha—along with; upayan—means; yatha—as it is; mune—O sage; nana—various; akhyana—by recitation of historical narrations; itihasesu—in the histories; varnayam asa—described; tattva-vit—one who knows the truth. TRANSLATION Then he described the occupational duties of different orders and statuses of life, citing instances from history, for he was himself well acquainted with the truth. PURPORT Incidents mentioned in the Vedic literatures, such as the Puranas, Mahabharata and Ramayana are factual historical narrations that took place sometime in the past, although not in any chronological order. Such historical facts, being instructive for ordinary men, were assorted without chronological reference. Besides that, they happen on different planets, nay, in different universes, and thus the description of the narrations is sometimes measured by three dimensions. We are simply concerned with the instructive lessons of such incidents, even though they are not in order by our limited range of understanding. Bhismadeva described such narrations before Maharaja Yudhisthira in reply to his different questions. SB1.9.29 TEXT 29 dharmam pravadatas tasya sa kalah pratyupasthitah yo yoginas chanda-mrtyor vanchitas tuttarayanah SYNONYMS dharmam—occupational duties; pravadatah—while describing; tasya—his; sah—that; kalah—time; pratyupasthitah—exactly appeared; yah—that is; yoginah—for the mystics; chanda-mrtyoh—of one who dies according to one’s own selection of time; vanchitah—is desired by; tu—but; uttarayanah—the period when the sun runs on the northern horizon. TRANSLATION While Bhismadeva was describing occupational duties, the sun’s course ran into the northern hemisphere. This period is desired by mystics who die at their will. PURPORT The perfect yogis or mystics can leave the material body at their own sweet will at a suitable time and go to a suitable planet desired by them. In the Bhagavad-gita (8.24) it is said that self-realized souls who have exactly identified themselves with the interest of the Supreme Lord can generally leave the material body during the time of the fire-god’s effulgence and when the sun is in the northern horizon, and thus achieve the transcendental sky. In the Vedas these times are considered auspicious for quitting the body, and they are taken advantage of by the expert mystics who have perfected the system. Perfection of yoga means attainment of such supermental states as to be able to leave the material body as desired. Yogis can also reach any planet within no time without a material vehicle. The yogis can reach the highest planetary system within a very short time, and this is impossible for the materialist. Even attempting to reach the highest planet will take millions of years at a speed of millions of miles per hour. This is a different science, and Bhismadeva knew well how to utilize it. He was just waiting for the suitable moment to quit his material body, and the golden opportunity arrived when he was instructing his noble grandsons, the Pandavas. He thus prepared himself to quit his body before the exalted Lord Sri Krsna, the pious Pandavas and the great sages headed by Bhagavan Vyasa, etc., all great souls. SB1.9.30 TEXT 30 tadopasamhrtya girah sahasranir vimukta-sangam mana adi-puruse krsne lasat-pita-pate catur-bhuje purah sthite ’milita-drg vyadharayat SYNONYMS tada—at that time; upasamhrtya—withdrawing; girah—speech; sahasranih—Bhismadeva (who was expert in thousands of sciences and arts); vimukta-sangam—completely freed from everything else; manah—mind; adi-puruse—unto the original Personality of Godhead; krsne—unto Krsna; lasat-pita-pate—decorated with yellow garments; catur-bhuje—unto the four-handed original Narayana; purah—just before; sthite—standing; amilita—widespread; drk—vision; vyadharayat—fixed. TRANSLATION Thereupon that man who spoke on different subjects with thousands of meanings and who fought on thousands of battlefields and protected thousands of men, stopped speaking and, being completely freed from all bondage, withdrew his mind from everything else and fixed his wide-open eyes upon the original Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, who stood before him, four-handed, dressed in yellow garments that glittered and shined. PURPORT In the momentous hour of leaving his material body, Bhismadeva set the glorious example concerning the important function of the human form of life. The subject matter which attracts the dying man becomes the beginning of his next life. Therefore, if one is absorbed in thoughts of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, he is sure to go back to Godhead without any doubt. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (8.5–15): 5: And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt. 6: Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail. 7: Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Krsna and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt. 8: He who meditates on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, he, O Partha [Arjuna], is sure to reach Me. 9: One should meditate upon the Supreme Person as the one who knows everything, as He who is the oldest, who is the controller, who is smaller than the smallest, who is the maintainer of everything, who is beyond all material conception, who is inconceivable, and who is always a person. He is luminous like the sun and, being transcendental, is beyond this material nature. 10: One who, at the time of death, fixes his life air between the eyebrows and in full devotion engages himself in remembering the Supreme Lord will certainly attain to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 11: Persons learned in the Vedas, who utter omkara and who are great sages in the renounced order, enter into Brahman. Desiring such perfection, one practices celibacy. I shall now explain to you this process by which one may attain salvation. 12: The yogic situation is that of detachment from all sensual engagements. Closing all the doors of the senses and fixing the mind on the heart and the life air at the top of the head, one establishes himself in yoga. 13: After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable om, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the spiritual planets. 14: For one who remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Prtha, because of his constant engagement in devotional service. 15: After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection. Sri Bhismadeva attained the perfection of quitting his body at will and was fortunate enough to have Lord Krsna, the object of his attention, personally present at the time of death. He therefore fixed his open eyes upon Him. He wanted to see Sri Krsna for a long time out of his spontaneous love for Him. Because he was a pure devotee, he had very little to do with the detailed performance of yogic principles. Simple bhakti-yoga is enough to bring about perfection. Therefore, the ardent desire of Bhismadeva was to see the person of Lord Krsna, the most lovable object, and by the grace of the Lord, Sri Bhismadeva had this opportunity at the last stage of his breathing. SB1.9.31 TEXT 31 visuddhaya dharanaya hatasubhas tad-iksayaivasu gata-yudha-sramah nivrtta-sarvendriya-vrtti-vibhramas tustava janyam visrjan janardanam SYNONYMS visuddhaya—by purified; dharanaya—meditation; hata-asubhah—one who has minimized the inauspicious qualities of material existence; tat—Him; iksaya—by looking on; eva—simply; asu—immediately; gata—having gone away; yudha—from the arrows; sramah—fatigue; nivrtta—being stopped; sarva—all; indriya—senses; vrtti—activities; vibhramah—being widely engaged; tustava—he prayed; janyam—the material tabernacle; visrjan—while quitting; janardanam—to the controller of the living beings. TRANSLATION By pure meditation, looking at Lord Sri Krsna, he at once was freed from all material inauspiciousness and was relieved of all bodily pains caused by the arrow wounds. Thus all the external activities of his senses at once stopped, and he prayed transcendentally to the controller of all living beings while quitting his material body. PURPORT The material body is a gift of the material energy, technically called illusion. Identification with the material body is due to forgetfulness of our eternal relationship with the Lord. For a pure devotee of the Lord like Bhismadeva, this illusion was at once removed as soon as the Lord arrived. Lord Krsna is like the sun, and the illusory, external material energy is like darkness. In the presence of the sun there is no possibility that darkness can stand. Therefore, just on the arrival of Lord Krsna, all material contamination was completely removed, and Bhismadeva was thus able to be transcendentally situated by stopping the activities of the impure senses in collaboration with matter. The soul is originally pure and so also the senses. By material contamination the senses assume the role of imperfection and impurity. By revival of contact with the Supreme Pure, Lord Krsna, the senses again become freed from material contaminations. Bhismadeva attained all these transcendental conditions prior to his leaving the material body because of presence of the Lord. The Lord is the controller and benefactor of all living beings. That is the verdict of all Vedas. He is the supreme eternity and living entity amongst all the eternal living beings.* And He alone provides all necessities for all kinds of living beings. Thus He provided all facilities to fulfill the transcendental desires of His great devotee Sri Bhismadeva, who began to pray as follows. SB1.9.32 TEXT 32 sri-bhisma uvaca iti matir upakalpita vitrsna bhagavati satvata-pungave vibhumni sva-sukham upagate kvacid vihartum prakrtim upeyusi yad-bhava-pravahah SYNONYMS sri-bhismah uvaca—Sri Bhismadeva said; iti—thus; matih—thinking, feeling and willing; upakalpita—invested; vitrsna—freed from all sense desires; bhagavati—unto the Personality of Godhead; satvata-pungave—unto the leader of the devotees; vibhumni—unto the great; sva-sukham—self-satisfaction; upagate—unto He who has attained it; kvacit—sometimes; vihartum—out of transcendental pleasure; prakrtim—in the material world; upeyusi—do accept it; yat-bhava—from whom the creation; pravahah—is made and annihilated. TRANSLATION Bhismadeva said: Let me now invest my thinking, feeling and willing, which were so long engaged in different subjects and occupational duties, in the all-powerful Lord Sri Krsna. He is always self-satisfied, but sometimes, being the leader of the devotees, He enjoys transcendental pleasure by descending on the material world, although from Him only the material world is created. PURPORT Because Bhismadeva was a statesman, the head of the Kuru dynasty, a great general and a leader of ksatriyas, his mind was strewn over so many subjects, and his thinking, feeling and willing were engaged in different matters. Now, in order to achieve pure devotional service, he wanted to invest all powers of thinking, feeling and willing entirely in the Supreme Being, Lord Krsna. He is described herein as the leader of the devotees and all-powerful. Although Lord Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead, He Himself descends on earth to bestow upon His pure devotees the boon of devotional service. He descends sometimes as Lord Krsna as He is, and sometimes as Lord Caitanya. Both are leaders of the pure devotees. Pure devotees of the Lord have no desire other than the service of the Lord, and therefore they are called satvata. The Lord is the chief amongst such satvatas. Bhismadeva, therefore, had no other desires. Unless one is purified from all sorts of material desires, the Lord does not become one’s leader. Desires cannot be wiped out, but they have only to be purified. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita by the Lord Himself that He gives His instruction from within the heart of a pure devotee who is constantly engaged in the service of the Lord. Such instruction is given not for any material purpose but only for going back home, back to Godhead (Bg. 10.10). For the ordinary man who wants to lord it over material nature, the Lord not only sanctions and becomes a witness of activities, but He never gives the nondevotee instructions for going back to Godhead. That is the difference in dealings by the Lord with different living beings, both the devotee and the nondevotee. He is leader of all the living beings, as the king of the state rules both the prisoners and the free citizens. But His dealings are different in terms of devotee and nondevotee. Nondevotees never care to take any instruction from the Lord, and therefore the Lord is silent in their case, although He witnesses all their activities and awards them the necessary results, good or bad. The devotees are above this material goodness and badness. They are progressive on the path of transcendence, and therefore they have no desire for anything material. The devotee also knows Sri Krsna as the original Narayana because Lord Sri Krsna, by His plenary portion, appears as the Karanodakasayi Visnu, the original source of all material creation. The Lord also desires the association of His pure devotees, and for them only the Lord descends on the earth and enlivens them. The Lord appears out of His own will. He is not forced by the conditions of material nature. He is therefore described here as the vibhu, or the almighty, for He is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. SB1.9.33 TEXT 33 tri-bhuvana-kamanam tamala-varnam ravi-kara-gaura-varambaram dadhane vapur alaka-kulavrtananabjam vijaya-sakhe ratir astu me ’navadya SYNONYMS tri-bhuvana—three statuses of planetary systems; kamanam—the most desirable; tamala-varnam—bluish like the tamala tree; ravi-kara—sun rays; gaura—golden color; varambaram—glittering dress; dadhane—one who wears; vapuh—body; alaka-kula-avrta—covered with paintings of sandalwood pulp; anana-abjam—face like a lotus; vijaya-sakhe—unto the friend of Arjuna; ratih astu—may attraction be reposed upon Him; me—my; anavadya—without desire for fruitive results. TRANSLATION Sri Krsna is the intimate friend of Arjuna. He has appeared on this earth in His transcendental body, which resembles the bluish color of the tamala tree. His body attracts everyone in the three planetary systems [upper, middle and lower]. May His glittering yellow dress and His lotus face, covered with paintings of sandalwood pulp, be the object of my attraction, and may I not desire fruitive results. PURPORT When Sri Krsna by His own internal pleasure appears on earth, He does so by the agency of His internal potency. The attractive features of His transcendental body are desired in all the three worlds, namely the upper, middle and lower planetary systems. Nowhere in the universe are there such beautiful bodily features as those of Lord Krsna. Therefore His transcendental body has nothing to do with anything materially created. Arjuna is described here as the conqueror, and Krsna is described as his intimate friend. Bhismadeva, on his bed of arrows after the Battle of Kuruksetra, is remembering the particular dress of Lord Krsna which He put on as the driver of Arjuna’s chariot. While fighting was going on between Arjuna and Bhisma, Bhisma’s attraction was drawn by the glittering dress of Krsna, and indirectly he admired his so-called enemy Arjuna for possessing the Lord as his friend. Arjuna was always a conqueror because the Lord was his friend. Bhismadeva takes this opportunity to address the Lord as vijaya-sakhe (friend of Arjuna) because the Lord is pleased when He is addressed conjointly with His devotees, who are related with Him in different transcendental humors. While Krsna was the charioteer of Arjuna, sun rays glittered on the dress of the Lord, and the beautiful hue created by the reflection of such rays was never forgotten by Bhismadeva. As a great fighter he was relishing the relation of Krsna in the chivalrous humor. Transcendental relation with the Lord in any one of the different rasas (humors) is relishable by the respective devotees in the highest ecstasy. Less intelligent mundaners who want to make a show of being transcendentally related with the Lord artificially jump at once to the relation of conjugal love, imitating the damsels of Vrajadhama. Such a cheap relation with the Lord exhibits only the base mentality of the mundaner because one who has relished conjugal humor with the Lord cannot be attached to worldly conjugal rasa, which is condemned even by mundane ethics. The eternal relation of a particular soul with the Lord is evolved. A genuine relation of the living being with the Supreme Lord can take any form out of the five principal rasas, and it does not make any difference in transcendental degree to the genuine devotee. Bhismadeva is a concrete example of this, and it should be carefully observed how the great general is transcendentally related with the Lord. SB1.9.34 TEXT 34 yudhi turaga-rajo-vidhumra-visvak- kaca-lulita-sramavary-alankrtasye mama nisita-sarair vibhidyamana- tvaci vilasat-kavace ’stu krsna atma SYNONYMS yudhi—on the battlefield; turaga—horses; rajah—dust; vidhumra—turned an ashen color; visvak—waving; kaca—hair; lulita—scattered; sramavari—perspiration; alankrta—decorated with; asye—unto the face; mama—my; nisita—sharp; saraih—by the arrows; vibhidyamana—pierced by; tvaci—in the skin; vilasat—enjoying pleasure; kavace—protecting armor; astu—let there be; krsne—unto Sri Krsna; atma—mind. TRANSLATION On the battlefield [where Sri Krsna attended Arjuna out of friendship], the flowing hair of Lord Krsna turned ashen due to the dust raised by the hoofs of the horses. And because of His labor, beads of sweat wetted His face. All these decorations, intensified by the wounds dealt by my sharp arrows, were enjoyed by Him. Let my mind thus go unto Sri Krsna. PURPORT The Lord is the absolute form of eternity, bliss and knowledge. As such, transcendental loving service to the Lord in one of the five principal relations, namely santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya, i.e., neutrality, servitorship, fraternity, filial affection and conjugal love, is graciously accepted by the Lord when offered to the Lord in genuine love and affection. Sri Bhismadeva is a great devotee of the Lord in the relation of servitorship. Thus his throwing of sharp arrows at the transcendental body of the Lord is as good as the worship of another devotee who throws soft roses upon Him. It appears that Bhismadeva is repenting the actions he committed against the person of the Lord. But factually the Lord’s body was not at all pained, due to His transcendental existence. His body is not matter. Both He Himself and His body are complete spiritual identity. Spirit is never pierced, burnt, dried, moistened, etc. This is vividly explained in the Bhagavad-gita. So also it is stated in the Skanda Purana. It is said there that spirit is always uncontaminated and indestructible. It cannot be distressed, nor can it be dried up. When Lord Visnu in His incarnation appears before us, He seems to be like one of the conditioned souls, materially encaged, just to bewilder the asuras, or the nonbelievers, who are always alert to kill the Lord, even from the very beginning of His appearance. Kamsa wanted to kill Krsna, and Ravana wanted to kill Rama, because foolishly they were unaware of the fact that the Lord is never killed, for the spirit is never annihilated. Therefore Bhismadeva’s piercing of the body of Lord Krsna is a sort of bewildering problem for the nondevotee atheist, but those who are devotees, or liberated souls, are not bewildered. Bhismadeva appreciated the all-merciful attitude of the Lord because He did not leave Arjuna alone, although He was disturbed by the sharpened arrows of Bhismadeva, nor was He reluctant to come before Bhisma’s deathbed, even though He was ill-treated by him on the battlefield. Bhisma’s repentance and the Lord’s merciful attitude are both unique in this picture. Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, a great acarya and devotee in the humor of conjugal love with the Lord, remarks very saliently in this regard. He says that the wounds created on the body of the Lord by the sharpened arrows of Bhismadeva were as pleasing to the Lord as the biting of a fiancee who bites the body of the Lord directed by a strong sense of sex desire. Such biting by the opposite sex is never taken as a sign of enmity, even if there is a wound on the body. Therefore, the fighting as an exchange of transcendental pleasure between the Lord and His pure devotee, Sri Bhismadeva, was not at all mundane. Besides that, since the Lord’s body and the Lord are identical, there was no possibility of wounds in the absolute body. The apparent wounds caused by the sharpened arrows are misleading to the common man, but one who has a little absolute knowledge can understand the transcendental exchange in the chivalrous relation. The Lord was perfectly happy with the wounds caused by the sharpened arrows of Bhismadeva. The word vibhidyamana is significant because the Lord’s skin is not different from the Lord. Because our skin is different from our soul, in our case the word vibhidyamana, or being bruised and cut, would have been quite suitable. Transcendental bliss is of different varieties, and the variety of activities in the mundane world is but a perverted reflection of transcendental bliss. Because everything in the mundane world is qualitatively mundane, it is full of inebrieties, whereas in the absolute realm, because everything is of the same absolute nature, there are varieties of enjoyment without inebriety. The Lord enjoyed the wounds created by His great devotee Bhismadeva, and because Bhismadeva is a devotee in the chivalrous relation, he fixes up his mind on Krsna in that wounded condition. SB1.9.35 TEXT 35 sapadi sakhi-vaco nisamya madhye nija-parayor balayo ratham nivesya sthitavati para-sainikayur aksna hrtavati partha-sakhe ratir mamastu SYNONYMS sapadi—on the battlefield; sakhi-vacah—command of the friend; nisamya—after hearing; madhye—in the midst; nija—His own; parayoh—and the opposite party; balayoh—strength; ratham—chariot; nivesya—having entered; sthitavati—while staying there; para-sainika—of the soldiers on the opposite side; ayuh—duration of life; aksna—by looking over; hrtavati—act of diminishing; partha—of Arjuna, son of Prtha (Kunti); sakhe—unto the friend; ratih—intimate relation; mama—my; astu—let there be. TRANSLATION In obedience to the command of His friend, Lord Sri Krsna entered the arena of the Battlefield of Kuruksetra between the soldiers of Arjuna and Duryodhana, and while there He shortened the life spans of the opposite party by His merciful glance. This was done simply by His looking at the enemy. Let my mind be fixed upon that Krsna. PURPORT In the Bhagavad-gita (1.21–25) Arjuna ordered the infallible Lord Sri Krsna to place his chariot between the phalanxes of the soldiers. He asked Him to stay there until he had finished observing the enemies he had to face in the battle. When the Lord was so asked, He at once did so, just like an order carrier. And the Lord pointed out all the important men on the opposite side, saying, “Here is Bhisma, here is Drona,” and so on. The Lord, being the supreme living being, is never the order supplier or order carrier of anyone, whoever he may be. But out of His causeless mercy and affection for His pure devotees, sometimes He carries out the order of the devotee like an awaiting servant. By executing the order of a devotee, the Lord becomes pleased, as a father is pleased to carry out the order of his small child. This is possible only out of pure transcendental love between the Lord and His devotees, and Bhismadeva was quite aware of this fact. He therefore addressed the Lord as the friend of Arjuna. The Lord diminished the duration of life of the opposite party by His merciful glance. It is said that all the fighters who assembled on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra attained salvation by personally seeing the Lord at the time of death. Therefore, His diminishing the duration of life of Arjuna’s enemy does not mean that He was partial to the cause of Arjuna. Factually He was merciful to the opposite party because they would not have attained salvation by dying at home in the ordinary course of life. Here was a chance to see the Lord at the time of death and thus attain salvation from material life. Therefore, the Lord is all good, and whatever He does is for everyone’s good. Apparently it was for the victory of Arjuna, His intimate friend, but factually it was for the good of Arjuna’s enemies. Such are the transcendental activities of the Lord, and whoever understands this also gets salvation after quitting this material body. The Lord does no wrong in any circumstance because He is absolute, all good at all times.