Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3: “The Status Quo”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Two
Remembrance of Lord Krsna
SB3.2.1
TEXT 1
sri-suka uvaca
iti bhagavatah prstah
ksattra vartam priyasrayam
prativaktum na cotseha
autkanthyat smaritesvarah
SYNONYMS
sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva said; iti—thus; bhagavatah—the great devotee; prstah—being asked; ksattra—by Vidura; vartam—message; priya-asrayam—regarding the dearest; prativaktum—to reply; na—not; ca—also; utsehe—became eager; autkanthyat—by excessive anxiety; smarita—remembrance; isvarah—the Lord.
TRANSLATION
Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: When the great devotee Uddhava was asked by Vidura to speak on the messages of the dearest [Lord Krsna], Uddhava was unable to answer immediately due to excessive anxiety at the remembrance of the Lord.
SB3.2.2
TEXT 2
yah panca-hayano matra
pratar-asaya yacitah
tan naicchad racayan yasya
saparyam bala-lilaya
SYNONYMS
yah—one who; panca—five; hayanah—years old; matra—by his mother; pratah-asaya—for breakfast; yacitah—called for; tat—that; na—not; aicchat—liked; racayan—playing; yasya—whose; saparyam—service; bala-lilaya—childhood.
TRANSLATION
He was one who even in his childhood, at the age of five years, was so absorbed in the service of Lord Krsna that when he was called by his mother for morning breakfast, he did not wish to have it.
PURPORT
From his very birth, Uddhava was a natural devotee of Lord Krsna, or a nitya-siddha, a liberated soul. From natural instinct he used to serve Lord Krsna, even in his childhood. He used to play with dolls in the form of Krsna, he would serve the dolls by dressing, feeding and worshiping them, and thus he was constantly absorbed in the play of transcendental realization. These are the signs of an eternally liberated soul. An eternally liberated soul is a devotee of the Lord who never forgets Him. Human life is meant for reviving one’s eternal relation with the Lord, and all religious injunctions are meant for awakening this dormant instinct of the living entity. The sooner this awakening is brought about, the quicker the mission of human life is fulfilled. In a good family of devotees, the child gets the opportunity to serve the Lord in many ways. A soul who is already advanced in devotional service has the opportunity to take birth in such an enlightened family. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (6.41). Sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrasto ’bhijayate: even the fallen devotee gets the opportunity to take his birth in the family of a well-situated brahmana or in a rich, well-to-do mercantile family. In both these families there is a good opportunity to revive one’s sense of God consciousness automatically because particularly in these families the worship of Lord Krsna is regularly performed and the child gets the opportunity to imitate the process of worship called arcana.
The pancaratriki formula for training persons in devotional service is temple worship, whereby the neophytes get the opportunity to learn devotional service to the Lord. Maharaja Pariksit also used to play with Krsna dolls in his childhood. In India the children in good families are still given dolls of the Lord like Rama and Krsna, or sometimes the demigods, so that they may develop the aptitude of service to the Lord. By the grace of the Lord we were given the same opportunity by our parents, and the beginning of our life was based on this principle. SB3.2.3 TEXT 3 sa katham sevaya tasya kalena jarasam gatah prsto vartam pratibruyad bhartuh padav anusmaran SYNONYMS sah—Uddhava; katham—how; sevaya—by such service; tasya—his; kalena—in course of time; jarasam—invalidity; gatah—undergone; prstah—asked for; vartam—message; pratibruyat—just to reply; bhartuh—of the Lord; padau—His lotus feet; anusmaran—remembering. TRANSLATION Uddhava thus served the Lord continually from childhood, and in his old age that attitude of service never slackened. As soon as he was asked about the message of the Lord, he at once remembered all about Him. PURPORT Transcendental service to the Lord is not mundane. The service attitude of the devotee gradually increases and never becomes slackened. Generally, in old age a person is allowed retirement from mundane service. But in the transcendental service of the Lord there is no retirement at all; on the contrary, the service attitude increases more and more with the progress of age. In the transcendental service there is no satiation, and therefore there is no retirement. Materially, when a man becomes tired by rendering service in his physical body, he is allowed retirement, but in the transcendental service there is no feeling of fatigue because it is spiritual service and is not on the bodily plane. Service on the bodily plane dwindles as the body grows older, but the spirit is never old, and therefore on the spiritual plane the service is never tiresome. Uddhava undoubtedly became old, but that does not mean that his spirit became old. His service attitude matured on the transcendental plane, and therefore as soon as he was questioned by Vidura about Lord Krsna, he at once remembered his Lord by reference to the context and forgot himself on the physical plane. That is the sign of pure devotional service to the Lord, as will be explained later on (laksanam bhakti-yogasya, etc.) in Lord Kapila’s instructions to His mother, Devahuti. SB3.2.4 TEXT 4 sa muhurtam abhut tusnim krsnanghri-sudhaya bhrsam tivrena bhakti-yogena nimagnah sadhu nirvrtah SYNONYMS sah—Uddhava; muhurtam—for a moment; abhut—became; tusnim—dead silent; krsna-anghri—the lotus feet of the Lord; sudhaya—by the nectar; bhrsam—well matured; tivrena—by very strong; bhakti-yogena—devotional service; nimagnah—absorbed in; sadhu—good; nirvrtah—fully in love. TRANSLATION For a moment he remained dead silent, and his body did not move. He became absorbed in the nectar of remembering the Lord’s lotus feet in devotional ecstasy, and he appeared to be going increasingly deeper into that ecstasy. PURPORT On the inquiry by Vidura about Krsna, Uddhava appeared to be awakened from slumber. He appeared to regret that he had forgotten the lotus feet of the Lord. Thus he again remembered the lotus feet of the Lord and remembered all his transcendental loving service unto Him, and by so doing he felt the same ecstasy that he used to feel in the presence of the Lord. Because the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His remembrance and His personal presence. Thus Uddhava remained completely silent for a moment, but then he appeared to be going deeper and deeper into ecstasy. Feelings of ecstasy are displayed by highly advanced devotees of the Lord. There are eight kinds of transcendental changes in the body—tears, shivering of the body, perspiration, restlessness, throbbing, choking of the throat, etc.—and all were manifested by Uddhava in the presence of Vidura. SB3.2.5 TEXT 5 pulakodbhinna-sarvango muncan milad-drsa sucah purnartho laksitas tena sneha-prasara-samplutah SYNONYMS pulaka-udbhinna—bodily changes of transcendental ecstasy; sarva-angah—every part of the body; muncan—smearing; milat—opening; drsa—by the eyes; sucah—tears of grief; purna-arthah—complete achievement; laksitah—thus observed; tena—by Vidura; sneha-prasara—extensive love; samplutah—thoroughly assimilated. TRANSLATION It was so observed by Vidura that Uddhava had all the transcendental bodily changes due to total ecstasy, and he was trying to wipe away tears of separation from his eyes. Thus Vidura could understand that Uddhava had completely assimilated extensive love for the Lord. PURPORT The symptoms of the highest order of devotional life were observed by Vidura, an experienced devotee of the Lord, and he confirmed Uddhava’s perfectional stage of love of Godhead. Ecstatic bodily changes are manifested from the spiritual plane and are not artificial expressions developed by practice. There are three different stages of development in devotional service. The first stage is that of following the regulative principles prescribed in the codes of devotional service, the second stage is that of assimilation and realization of the steady condition of devotional service, and the last stage is that of ecstasy symptomized by transcendental bodily expression. The nine different modes of devotional service, such as hearing, chanting and remembering, are the beginning of the process. By regular hearing of the glories and pastimes of the Lord, the impurities in the student’s heart begin to be washed off. The more one is cleansed of impurities, the more one becomes fixed in devotional service. Gradually the activities take the forms of steadiness, firm faith, taste, realization and assimilation, one after another. These different stages of gradual development increase love of God to the highest stage, and in the highest stage there are still more symptoms, such as affection, anger and attachment, gradually rising in exceptional cases to the maha-bhava stage, which is generally not possible for the living entities. All these were manifested by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the personification of love of God. In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu by Srila Rupa Gosvami, the chief disciple of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, these transcendental symptoms displayed by pure devotees like Uddhava are systematically described. We have written a summary study of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu entitled The Nectar of Devotion, and one may consult this book for more detailed information on the science of devotional service. SB3.2.6 TEXT 6 sanakair bhagaval-lokan nrlokam punar agatah vimrjya netre viduram prityahoddhava utsmayan SYNONYMS sanakaih—gradually; bhagavat—the Lord; lokat—from the abode; nrlokam—the planet of the human beings; punah agatah—coming again; vimrjya—wiping; netre—eyes; viduram—unto Vidura; pritya—in affection; aha—said; uddhavah—Uddhava; utsmayan—by all those remembrances. TRANSLATION The great devotee Uddhava soon came back from the abode of the Lord to the human plane, and wiping his eyes, he awakened his reminiscence of the past and spoke to Vidura in a pleasing mood. PURPORT When Uddhava was fully absorbed in the transcendental ecstasy of love of God, he actually forgot all about the external world. The pure devotee lives constantly in the abode of the Supreme Lord, even in the present body, which apparently belongs to this world. The pure devotee is not exactly on the bodily plane, since he is absorbed in the transcendental thought of the Supreme. When Uddhava wanted to speak to Vidura, he came down from the abode of the Lord, Dvaraka, to the material plane of human beings. Even though a pure devotee is present on this mortal planet, he is here in relation to the Lord for engagement in transcendental loving service, and not for any material cause. A living entity can live either on the material plane or in the transcendental abode of the Lord, in accordance with his existential condition. The conditional changes of the living entity are explained in the Caitanya-caritamrta in the instructions given to Srila Rupa Gosvami by Lord Sri Caitanya: “The living entities all over the universes are enjoying the effects of the respective fruitive results of their own work, life after life. Out of all of them, some may be influenced by the association of pure devotees and thus get the chance to execute devotional service by attainment of taste. This taste is the seed of devotional service, and one who is fortunate enough to have received such a seed is advised to sow it in the core of his heart. As one cultivates a seed by pouring water to fructify it, the seed of devotional service sown in the heart of the devotee may be cultured by pouring water in the form of hearing and chanting of the holy name and pastimes of the Lord. The creeper of devotional service, so nourished, gradually grows, and the devotee, acting as a gardener, goes on pouring the water of constant hearing and chanting. The creeper of devotional service gradually grows so high that it passes through the entire material universe and enters into the spiritual sky, growing still higher and higher until it reaches the planet Goloka Vrndavana. The devotee-gardener is in touch with the abode of the Lord even from the material plane by dint of performing devotional service to the Lord simply by hearing and chanting. As a creeper takes shelter of another, stronger tree, similarly the creeper of devotional service, nourished by the devotee, takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and thus becomes fixed. When the creeper is fixed, then the fruit of the creeper comes into existence, and the gardener who nourished it is able to enjoy this fruit of love, and his life becomes successful.” That Uddhava attained this stage is evident from his dealings. He could simultaneously reach the supreme planet and still appear in this world. SB3.2.7 TEXT 7 uddhava uvaca krsna-dyumani nimloce girnesv ajagarena ha kim nu nah kusalam bruyam gata-srisu grhesv aham SYNONYMS uddhavah uvaca—Sri Uddhava said; krsna-dyumani—the Krsna sun; nimloce—having set; girnesu—being swallowed; ajagarena—by the great snake; ha—in the past; kim—what; nu—else; nah—our; kusalam—welfare; bruyam—may I say; gata—gone away; srisu grhesu—in the house; aham—I. TRANSLATION Sri Uddhava said: My dear Vidura, the sun of the world, Lord Krsna, has set, and our house has now been swallowed by the great snake of time. What can I say to you about our welfare? PURPORT The disappearance of the Krsna sun may be explained as follows, according to the commentary of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. Vidura was struck with great sorrow when he got the hint of the annihilation of the great Yadu dynasty as well as of his own family, the Kuru dynasty. Uddhava could understand the grief of Vidura, and therefore he first of all wanted to sympathize with him by saying that after the sunset everyone is in darkness. Since the entire world was merged in the darkness of grief, neither Vidura nor Uddhava nor anyone else could be happy. Uddhava was as much aggrieved as Vidura, and there was nothing further to be said about their welfare. The comparison of Krsna to the sun is very appropriate. As soon as the sun sets, darkness automatically appears. But the darkness experienced by the common man does not affect the sun itself either at the time of sunrise or of sunset. Lord Krsna’s appearance and disappearance are exactly like that of the sun. He appears and disappears in innumerable universes, and as long as He is present in a particular universe there is all transcendental light in that universe, but the universe from which He passes away is put into darkness. His pastimes, however, are everlasting. The Lord is always present in some universe, just as the sun is present in either the eastern or the western hemisphere. The sun is always present either in India or in America, but when the sun is present in India, the American land is in darkness, and when the sun is present in America, the Indian hemisphere is in darkness. As the sun appears in the morning and gradually rises to the meridian and then again sets in one hemisphere while simultaneously rising in the other, so Lord Krsna’s disappearance in one universe and the beginning of His different pastimes in another take place simultaneously. As soon as one pastime is finished here, it is manifested in another universe. And thus His nitya-lila, or eternal pastimes, are going on without ending. As the sunrise takes place once in twenty-four hours, similarly the pastimes of Lord Krsna take place in a universe once in a daytime of Brahma, the account of which is given in the Bhagavad-gita as 4,300,000,000 solar years. But wherever the Lord is present, all His different pastimes as described in the revealed scriptures take place at regular intervals. As at sunset the snakes become powerful, thieves are encouraged, ghosts become active, the lotus becomes disfigured and the cakravaki laments, so with the disappearance of Lord Krsna, the atheists feel enlivened, and the devotees become sorry. SB3.2.8 TEXT 8 durbhago bata loko ’yam yadavo nitaram api ye samvasanto na vidur harim mina ivodupam SYNONYMS durbhagah—unfortunate; bata—certainly; lokah—universe; ayam—this; yadavah—the Yadu dynasty; nitaram—more specifically; api—also; ye—those; samvasantah—living together; na—did not; viduh—understand; harim—the Personality of Godhead; minah—the fishes; iva udupam—like the moon. TRANSLATION This universe with all its planets is most unfortunate. And even more unfortunate are the members of the Yadu dynasty because they could not identify Lord Hari as the Personality of Godhead, any more than the fish could identify the moon. PURPORT Uddhava lamented for the unfortunate persons of the world who could not recognize Lord Sri Krsna in spite of seeing all His transcendental godly qualities. From the very beginning of His appearance within the prison bars of King Kamsa up to His mausala-lila, although He exhibited His potencies as the Personality of Godhead in the six opulences of wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation, the foolish persons of the world could not understand that He was the Supreme Lord, Foolish persons might have thought Him an extraordinary historic figure because they had no intimate touch with the Lord, but more unfortunate were the family members of the Lord, the members of the Yadu dynasty, who were always in company with the Lord but were unable to recognize Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Uddhava lamented his own fortune also because although he knew Krsna to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he could not properly use the opportunity to render devotional service to the Lord. He regretted everyone’s misfortune, including his own. The pure devotee of the Lord thinks himself most unfortunate. That is due to excessive love for the Lord and is one of the transcendental perceptions of viraha, the suffering of separation. It is learned from the revealed scriptures that the moon was born from the milk ocean. There is a milk ocean in the upper planets, and there Lord Visnu, who controls the heart of every living being as Paramatma (the Supersoul), resides as the Ksirodakasayi Visnu. Those who do not believe in the existence of the ocean of milk because they have experience only of the salty water in the ocean should know that the world is also called the go, which means the cow. The urine of a cow is salty, and according to Ayur-vedic medicine the cow’s urine is very effective in treating patients suffering from liver trouble. Such patients may not have any experience of the cow’s milk because milk is never given to liver patients. But the liver patient may know that the cow has milk also, although he has never tasted it. Similarly, men who have experience only of this tiny planet where the saltwater ocean exists may take information from the revealed scriptures that there is also an ocean of milk, although we have never seen it. From this ocean of milk the moon was born, but the fish in the milk ocean could not recognize that the moon. was not another fish and was different from them. The fish took the moon to be one of them or maybe something illuminating, but nothing more. The unfortunate persons who do not recognize Lord Krsna are like such fish. They take Him to be one of them, although a little extraordinary in opulence, strength, etc. The Bhagavad-gita (9.11) confirms such foolish persons to be most unfortunate: avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam. SB3.2.9 TEXT 9 ingita -jnah puru-praudha ekaramas ca satvatah satvatam rsabham sarve bhutavasam amamsata SYNONYMS ingita -jnah—expert in psychic study; puru-praudhah—highly experienced; eka—one; aramah—relaxation; ca—also; satvatah—devotees, or own men; satvatam rsabham—head of the family; sarve—all; bhuta-avasam—all-pervading; amamsata—could think. TRANSLATION The Yadus were all experienced devotees, learned and expert in psychic study. Over and above this, they were always with the Lord in all kinds of relaxations, and still they were only able to know Him as the one Supreme who dwells everywhere. PURPORT In the Vedas it is said that the Supreme Lord or the Paramatma cannot be understood simply by the strength of one’s erudition or power of mental speculation: nayam atma pravacanena labhyo na medhaya na bahuna srutena (Katha Upanisad 1.2.23). He can be known only by one who has the mercy of the Lord. The Yadavas were all exceptionally learned and experienced, but in spite of their knowing the Lord as the one who lives in everyone’s heart, they could not understand that He is the original Personality of Godhead. This lack of knowledge was not due to their insufficient erudition; it was due to their misfortune. In Vrndavana, however, the Lord was not even known as the Paramatma because the residents of Vrndavana were pure unconventional devotees of the Lord and could think of Him only as their object of love. They did not know that He is the Personality of Godhead. The Yadus, or the residents of Dvaraka, however, could know Lord Krsna as Vasudeva, or the Supersoul living everywhere, but not as the Supreme Lord. As scholars of the Vedas, they verified the Vedic hymns: eko devah. .. sarva-bhutadhivasah… antaryami… and vrsninam para-devata. … The Yadus, therefore, accepted Lord Krsna as the Supersoul incarnated in their family, and not more than that. SB3.2.10 TEXT 10 devasya mayaya sprsta ye canyad asad-asritah bhramyate dhir na tad-vakyair atmany uptatmano harau SYNONYMS devasya—of the personality of Godhead; mayaya—by the influence of external energy; sprstah—infected; ye—all those; ca—and; anyat—others; asat—illusory; asritah—being taken to; bhramyate—bewilder; dhih—intelligence; na—not; tat—of them; vakyaih—by those words; atmani—in the Supreme Self; upta-atmanah—surrendered souls; harau—unto the Lord. TRANSLATION Under no circumstances can the words of persons bewildered by the illusory energy of the Lord deviate the intelligence of those who are completely surrendered souls. PURPORT Lord Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to all the evidences of the Vedas. He is accepted by all acaryas, including Sripada Sankaracarya. But when He was present in the world, different classes of men accepted Him differently, and therefore their calculations of the Lord were also different. Generally, persons who had faith in the revealed scriptures accepted the Lord as He is, and all of them merged into great bereavement when the Lord disappeared from the world. In the First Canto we have already discussed the lamentation of Arjuna and Yudhisthira, to whom the disappearance of Lord Krsna was almost intolerable up to the end of their lives. The Yadavas were only partially cognizant of the Lord, but they are also glorious because they had the opportunity to associate with the Lord, who acted as the head of their family, and they also rendered the Lord intimate service. The Yadavas and other devotees of the Lord are different from those who wrongly calculated Him to be an ordinary human personality. Such persons are certainly bewildered by the illusory energy. They are hellish and are envious of the Supreme Lord. The illusory energy acts very powerfully on them because in spite of their elevated mundane education, such persons are faithless and are infected by the mentality of atheism. They are always very eager to establish that Lord Krsna was an ordinary man who was killed by a hunter due to His many impious acts in plotting to kill the sons of Dhrtarastra and Jarasandha, the demoniac kings of the earth. Such persons have no faith in the statement of the Bhagavad-gita that the Lord is unaffected by the reactions of work: na mam karmani limpanti. According to the atheistic point of view, Lord Krsna’s family, the Yadu dynasty, was vanquished due to being cursed by the brahmanas for the sins committed by Krsna in killing the sons of Dhrtarastra, etc. All these blasphemies do not touch the heart of the devotees of the Lord because they know perfectly well what is what. Their intelligence regarding the Lord is never disturbed. But those who are disturbed by the statements of the asuras are also condemned. That is what Uddhava meant in this verse. SB3.2.11 TEXT 11 pradarsyatapta-tapasam avitrpta-drsam nrnam adayantar adhad yas tu sva-bimbam loka-locanam SYNONYMS pradarsya—by exhibiting; atapta—without undergoing; tapasam—penances; avitrpta-drsam—without fulfillment of vision; nrnam—of persons; adaya—taking; antah—disappearance; adhat—performed; yah—He who; tu—but; sva-bimbam—His own form; loka-locanam—public vision. TRANSLATION Lord Sri Krsna, who manifested His eternal form before the vision of all on the earth, performed His disappearance by removing His form from the sight of those who were unable to see Him [as He is] due to not executing required penance. PURPORT In this verse the word avitrpta-drsam is most significant. The conditioned souls in the material world are all trying to satisfy their senses in various ways, but they have failed to do so because it is impossible to be satisfied by such efforts. The example of the fish on land is very appropriate. If one takes a fish from the water and puts in on the land, it cannot be made happy by any amount of offered pleasure. The spirit soul can be happy only in the association of the supreme living being, the Personality of Godhead, and nowhere else. The Lord, by His unlimited causeless mercy, has innumerable Vaikuntha planets in the brahmajyoti sphere of the spiritual world, and in that transcendental world there is an unlimited arrangement for the unlimited pleasure of the living entities. The Lord Himself comes to display His transcendental pastimes, typically represented at Vrndavana, Mathura and Dvaraka. He appears just to attract the conditioned souls back to Godhead, back home to the eternal world. But for want of sufficient piety, the onlookers are not attracted by such pastimes of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that only those who have completely surpassed the way of sinful reaction can engage themselves in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The entire Vedic way of ritualistic performances is to put every conditioned soul on the path of piety. By strict adherence to the prescribed principles for all orders of social life, one can attain the qualities of truthfulness, control of the mind, control of the senses, forbearance, etc., and can be elevated to the plane of rendering pure devotional service to the Lord. Only by such a transcendental vision are one’s material hankerings fully satisfied. When the Lord was present, persons who were able to satisfy their material hankerings by seeing Him in true perspective were thus able to go back with Him to His kingdom. But those persons who were unable to see the Lord as He is remained attached to material hankerings and were not able to go back home, back to Godhead. When the Lord passed beyond the vision of all, He did so in His original eternal form, as stated in this verse. The Lord left in His own body; He did not leave His body as is generally misunderstood by the conditioned souls. This statement defeats the false propaganda of the faithless nondevotees that the Lord passed away like an ordinary conditioned soul. The Lord appeared in order to release the world from the undue burden of the nonbelieving asuras, and after doing this, He disappeared from the world’s eyes.