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As by the friction of bamboos destruction takes place, so also, at sunset, by the interaction of the faults of intoxication, all their minds became unbalanced, and destruction took place.

When there is need of fire in the forest, by the will of the Supreme it takes place due to friction among the bamboos. Similarly, the descendants of Yadu were all destroyed by the will of the Lord by the process of self-destruction. Just as there is no possibility of a fire’s occurring deep in the forest due to human effort, so also there was no power in the universe which could vanquish the descendants of Yadu, who were protected by the Lord. The Lord wanted them to be so destroyed, and thus they obeyed His order, as indicated by the word tad-anujnata.

SB3.4.3

TEXT 3

bhagavan svatma-mayaya

gatim tam avalokya sah

sarasvatim upasprsya

vrksa-mulam upavisat

bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; sva-atma-mayayah—by His internal potency; gatim—the end; tam—that; avalokya—foreseeing; sah—He (Krsna); sarasvatim—the River Sarasvati; upasprsya—after sipping water; vrksa-mulam—at the foot of a tree; upavisat—sat down.

The Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, after foreseeing the end [of His family] by His internal potency, went to the bank of the River Sarasvati, sipped water, and sat down underneath a tree.

All the above-mentioned activities of the Yadus and Bhojas were executed by the internal potency of the Lord because He wanted them to be dispatched to their respective abodes after He had finished His mission of descent. They were all His sons and grandsons and were given complete protection by the paternal affection of the Lord. How they could be vanquished in the presence of the Lord is answered in this verse: everything was done by the Lord Himself (svatma-mayayah). The Lord’s family members were either incarnations of His plenary expansions or demigods from the heavenly planets, and thus before His departure He separated them by His internal potency. Before being dispatched to their respective abodes, they were sent to the holy place of Prabhasa, where they performed pious activities and took food and drink to their heart’s content. It was then arranged for them to be sent back to their abodes so that others could see that the powerful Yadu dynasty was no longer in the world. In the previous verse, the word anujnata, indicating that the whole sequence of events was arranged by the Lord, is significant. These particular pastimes of the Lord are not a manifestation of His external energy, or material nature. Such an exhibition of His internal potency is eternal, and therefore one should not conclude that the Yadus and Bhojas died in a drunken state in an ordinary fratricidal war. Sri Jiva Gosvami comments on these incidents as magical performances.

SB3.4.4

TEXT 4

aham cokto bhagavata

prapannarti-harena ha

badarim tvam prayahiti

sva-kulam sanjihirsuna

aham—I; ca—and; uktah—was told; bhagavata—by the Supreme Lord; prapanna—of the surrendered; arti-harena—by He who is the vanquisher of the distresses; ha—indeed; badarim—to Badari; tvam—you; prayahi—should go; iti—thus; sva-kulam—His own family; sanjihirsuna—who desired to destroy.

The Lord is the vanquisher of the distresses of one who is surrendered unto Him. Thus He who desired to destroy His family told me previously to go to Badarikasrama.

While at Dvaraka, Uddhava was warned to avoid the distresses which were to follow the disappearance of the Lord and the destruction of the Yadu dynasty. He was advised to proceed to Badarikasrama because there he could associate with the devotees of Nara-Narayana, and in their association of devotional service he could increase his eagerness for chanting, hearing, knowledge and detachment.

SB3.4.5

TEXT 5

tathapi tad-abhipretam

janann aham arindama

prsthato ’nvagamam bhartuh

pada-vislesanaksamah

tatha api—yet, in spite of; tat-abhipretam—His desire; janan—knowing; aham—I; arim-dama—O subduer of the enemy (Vidura); prsthatah—behind; anvagamam—followed; bhartuh—of the master; pada-vislesana—separation from His lotus feet; aksamah—not being able.

Yet in spite of my knowing His desire [to destroy the dynasty], O Arindama [Vidura], I followed Him because it was impossible for me to bear separation from the lotus feet of the master.

SB3.4.6

TEXT 6

adraksam ekam asinam

vicinvan dayitam patim

sri-niketam sarasvatyam

krta-ketam aketanam

SYNONYMS

adraksam—I saw; ekam—alone; asinam—sitting; vicinvan—deeply thinking; dayitam—patron; patim—master; sri-niketam—the shelter of the goddess of fortune; sarasvatyam—on the bank of the Sarasvati; krta-ketam—taking shelter; aketanam—being situated without a shelter.

TRANSLATION

Thus following, I saw my patron and master [Lord Sri Krsna] sitting alone and deeply thinking, taking shelter on the bank of the River Sarasvati although He is the shelter of the goddess of fortune.

PURPORT

Those who are in the renounced order of life often take shelter underneath a tree. The Lord was found by Uddhava in that condition of taking shelter as do persons who have no shelter. Because He is the proprietor of everything, everywhere is His shelter, and everywhere is under His shelter. The entire material and spiritual cosmic manifestation is sustained by Him, and therefore He is the shelter of everything. So there was nothing astonishing in His taking shelter in the way of the unsheltered who are in the renounced order of life.

dorbhis caturbhir viditam

pita-kausambarena ca

syama-avadatam—beautiful with black color; virajam—formed of pure goodness; prasanta—peaceful; aruna—reddish; locanam—eyes; dorbhih—by the arms; caturbhih—four; viditam—being recognized; pita—yellow; kausa—silken; ambarena—with garments; ca—and.

The Lord’s body is blackish, but is eternal, full of bliss and knowledge, and very, very beautiful. His eyes are always peaceful, and they are reddish like the rising morning sun. I could immediately recognize Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His four hands, different symbolic representations, and yellow silk garments.

SB3.4.8

TEXT 8

vama urav adhisritya

daksinanghri-saroruham

apasritarbhakasvattham

akrsam tyakta-pippalam

SYNONYMS

vame—on the left; urau—thigh; adhisritya—placed on; daksina-anghri-saroruham—the right lotus foot; apasrita—taking rest against; arbhaka—young; asvattham—banyan tree; akrsam—cheerful; tyakta—having left; pippalam—household comforts.

TRANSLATION

The Lord was sitting, taking rest against a young banyan tree, with His right lotus foot on His left thigh, and although He had left all household comforts, He looked quite cheerful in that posture.

PURPORT

According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, the Lord’s sitting posture—keeping His back against the newly grown banyan tree—is also meaningful. Asvattha, the banyan tree, is so called because the tree does not die very quickly; it continues to live for many, many years. His legs and their energies are the material ingredients, which are five in all: earth, water, fire, air and sky. The material energies represented by the banyan tree are all products of His external potency and are therefore kept to His back. And because this particular universe is the smallest of all, the banyan tree is therefore designated as small, or as a child. Tyakta-pippalam indicates that He had now finished His pastimes in this particular small universe, but since the Lord is absolute and eternally blissful, there is no difference between His leaving or accepting something. The Lord was now prepared to leave this particular universe and go into another, just as the sun rises on one particular planet and sets in another simultaneously but does not change its own situation.

SB3.4.9

TEXT 9

tasmin maha-bhagavato

dvaipayana-suhrt-sakha

lokan anucaran siddha

asasada yadrcchaya

tasmin—then; maha-bhagavatah—a great devotee of the Lord; dvaipayana—of Krsna-dvaipayana Vyasa; suhrt—a well-wisher; sakha—a friend; lokan—the three worlds; anucaran—traveling; siddhe—in that asrama; asasada—arrived; yadrcchaya—by his own perfect accord.

At that time, after traveling in many parts of the world, Maitreya, a great devotee of the Lord and a friend and well-wisher of the great sage Krsna-dvaipayana Vyasa, reached that spot out of his own perfect accord.

Maitreya was one of the disciples of Maharsi Parasara, the father of Vyasadeva. Thus Vyasadeva and Maitreya were friends and mutual well-wishers. By some fortunate accident, Maitreya reached the place where Lord Sri Krsna was resting. To meet the Lord is not an ordinary incident. Maitreya was a great sage and a learned scholar-philosopher but not a pure devotee of the Lord, and therefore his meeting with the Lord at that time may have been due to ajnata-sukrti, or some unknown devotional service. Pure devotees always engage in pure devotional activities, and therefore their meeting with the Lord is natural. But when those who are not up to that standard meet the Lord, it is due to the unforeseen fortune of accidental devotional service.

SB3.4.10

TEXT 10

tasyanuraktasya muner mukundah

pramoda-bhavanata-kandharasya

asrnvato mam anuraga-hasa-

samiksaya visramayann uvaca

tasya—his (Maitreya’s); anuraktasya—although attached; muneh—of the sage; mukundah—the Lord who awards salvation; pramoda-bhava—in a pleasing attitude; anata—lowered; kandharasya—of the shoulder; asrnvatah—while thus hearing; mam—unto me; anuraga-hasa—with kind smiling; samiksaya—particularly seeing me; visra-mayan—allowing me complete rest; uvaca—said.

Maitreya Muni was greatly attached to Him [the Lord], and he was listening in a pleasing attitude, with his shoulder lowered. With a smile and a particular glance upon me, having allowed me to rest, the Lord spoke as follows.

Although both Uddhava and Maitreya were great souls, the Lord’s attention was more on Uddhava because he was a spotlessly pure devotee. A jnana-bhakta, or one whose devotion is mixed with the monistic viewpoint, is not a pure devotee. Although Maitreya was a devotee, his devotion was mixed. The Lord reciprocates with His devotees on the basis of transcendental love and not on the basis of philosophical knowledge or fruitive activities. In the transcendental loving service of the Lord, there is no place for monistic knowledge or fruitive activities. The gopis in Vrndavana were neither highly learned scholars nor mystic yogis. They had spontaneous love for the Lord, and thus He became their heart and soul, and the gopis also became the heart and soul of the Lord. Lord Caitanya approved the relationship of the gopis with the Lord as supreme. Herein the Lord’s attitude towards Uddhava was more intimate than with Maitreya Muni.

SB3.4.11

TEXT 11

sri-bhagavan uvaca

vedaham antar manasipsitam te

dadami yat tad duravapam anyaih

satre pura visva-srjam vasunam

mat-siddhi-kamena vaso tvayestah

sri-bhagavan uvaca—the Personality of Godhead said; veda—know; aham—I; antah—within; manasi—the mind; ipsitam—what you desired; te—your; dadami—I give you; yat—which is; tat—that; duravapam—very difficult to achieve; anyaih—by others; satre—in the sacrifice; pura—in the days of yore; visva-srjam—of those who expanded this creation; vasunam—of the Vasus; mat-siddhi-kamena—with a desire to achieve My association; vaso—O Vasu; tvaya—by you; istah—ultimate goal of life.

O Vasu, I know from within your mind what you desired in the days of yore when the Vasus and other demigods responsible for expanding the universal affairs performed sacrifices. You particularly desired to achieve My association. This is very difficult to obtain for others, but I award it unto you.

Uddhava is one of the eternal associates of the Lord, and a plenary portion of Uddhava was one of the eight Vasus in the days of yore. The eight Vasus and the demigods in the upper planetary system, who are responsible for the management of the universal affairs, performed a sacrifice in the days of yore, desiring to fulfill their respective ultimate goals in life. At that time an expansion of Uddhava, acting as one of the Vasus, desired to become an associate of the Lord. The Lord knew this because He is present in the heart of every living entity as Paramatma, the Superconsciousness. In everyone’s heart there is the representation of the Superconsciousness, who gives memory to the partial consciousness of every living entity. The living entity, as partial consciousness, forgets incidents of his past life, but the Superconsciousness reminds him how to act in terms of his past cultivation of knowledge. Bhagavad-gita confirms this fact in various ways: ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham (Bg. 4.11), sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca (Bg. 15.15).

Everyone is at liberty to desire as he likes, but the desire is fulfilled by the Supreme Lord. Everyone is independent to think or desire, but the fulfillment of one’s desire depends on the supreme will. This law is expressed as “Man proposes, God disposes.” In the days of yore, when the demigods and Vasus performed sacrifice, Uddhava, as one of the Vasus, desired to enter into the association of the Lord, which is very difficult for those busy in empiric philosophical speculation or fruitive activities. Such persons have practically no information of the facts about becoming an associate of the Lord. Only the pure devotees can know, by the mercy of the Lord, that the personal association of the Lord is the highest perfection of life. The Lord assured Uddhava that He would fulfill his desire. It appears that when the Lord informed him by His indication to Uddhava, the great sage Maitreya finally became aware of the importance of entering into the association of the Lord.

SB3.4.12

TEXT 12

sa esa sadho caramo bhavanam

asaditas te mad-anugraho yat

yan mam nrlokan raha utsrjantam

distya dadrsvan visadanuvrttya

sah—that; esah—of those; sadho—O honest one; caramah—the ultimate; bhavanam—of all your incarnations (as Vasu); asaditah—now achieved; te—unto you; mat—My; anugrahah—mercy; yat—as it is; yat—because; mam—Me; nr-lokan—the planets of the conditioned souls; rahah—in seclusion; utsrjantam—while quitting; distya—by seeing; dadrsvan—what you have seen; visada-anuvrttya—by unflinching devotion.

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, Vaikuntha, 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.

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 Vaikuntha 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 Vaikuntha. 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 Vaikuntha and everywhere within and without Vaikuntha.

SB3.4.13

TEXT 13

pura maya proktam ajaya nabhye

padme nisannaya mamadi-sarge

jnanam param man-mahimavabhasam

yat surayo bhagavatam vadanti

pura—in the days of yore; maya—by Me; proktam—was said; ajaya—unto Brahma; nabhye—out of the navel; padme—on the lotus; nisannaya—unto the one situated on; mama—My; adi-sarge—in the beginning of creation; jnanam—knowledge; param—sublime; mat-mahima—My transcendental glories; avabhasam—that which clarifies; yat—which; surayah—the great learned sages; bhagavatam—Srimad-Bhagavatam; vadanti—do say.

O Uddhava, in the lotus millennium in the days of yore, at the beginning of the creation, I spoke unto Brahma, who is situated on the lotus that grows out of My navel, about My transcendental glories, which the great sages describe as Srimad-Bhagavatam.

The explanation of the Supreme Self, as given to Brahma and already explained in the Second Canto of this great literature, is further clarified herein. The Lord said that the concise form of Srimad-Bhagavatam as explained to Brahma was meant to elucidate His personality. The impersonal explanation of those four verses in the Second Canto is nullified herewith. Sridhara Svami also explains in this connection that the same concise form of the Bhagavatam concerned the pastimes of Lord Krsna and was never meant for impersonal indulgence.

SB3.4.14

TEXT 14

ity adrtoktah paramasya pumsah

pratiksananugraha-bhajano ’ham

snehottha-roma skhalitaksaras tam

muncan chucah pranjalir ababhase

iti—thus; adrta—being favored; uktah—addressed; paramasya—of the Supreme; pumsah—Personality of Godhead; pratiksana—every moment; anugraha-bhajanah—object of favor; aham—myself; sneha—affection; uttha—eruption; roma—hairs on the body; skhalita—slackened; aksarah—of the eyes; tam—that; muncan—smearing; sucah—tears; pranjalih—with folded hands; ababhase—said.

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.

SB3.4.15

TEXT 15

ko nv isa te pada-saroja-bhajam

sudurlabho ’rthesu catursv apiha

tathapi naham pravrnomi bhuman

bhavat-padambhoja-nisevanotsukah

SYNONYMS

kah nu isa—O my Lord; te—Your; pada-saroja-bhajam—of the devotees engaged in the transcendental loving service of Your lotus feet; su-durlabhah—very difficult to obtain; arthesu—in the matter of; catursu—in the four objectives; api—in spite of; iha—in this world; tatha api—yet; na—do not; aham—I; pravrnomi—prefer; bhuman—O great one; bhavat—Your; pada-ambhoja—lotus feet; nisevana-utsukah—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 Vaikuntha planets achieve all the bodily features of the Lord and appear to be the same as Lord Visnu. Such liberation is called sarupya-mukti, which is one of the five kinds of liberation. The devotees engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord never accept the sayujya-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.

SB3.4.16

TEXT 16

karmany anihasya bhavo ’bhavasya te

durgasrayo ’thari-bhayat palayanam

kalatmano yat pramada-yutasramah

svatman-rateh khidyati dhir vidam iha

karmani—activities; anihasya—of one who has no desire; bhavah—birth; abhavasya—of one who is never born; te—your; durga-asrayah—taking shelter of the fort; atha—thereafter; ari-bhayat—out of fear of the enemies; palayanam—flee; kala-atmanah—of He who is the controller of eternal time; yat—that; pramada-ayuta—in the association of women; asramah—household life; sva-atman—in Your own Self; rateh—one who enjoys; khidyati—is disturbed; dhih—intelligence; vidam—of the learned; iha—in this world.

My Lord, even the learned sages become disturbed in their intelligence when they see that Your Greatness engages in fruitive work although You are free from all desires, that You take birth although You are unborn, that You flee out of fear of the enemy and take shelter in a fort although You are the controller of invincible time, and that You enjoy householder life surrounded by many women although You enjoy in Your Self.

Pure devotees of the Lord are not very much concerned with philosophical speculation in regard to transcendental knowledge of the Lord. Nor is it possible to acquire complete knowledge of the Lord. Whatever little knowledge they have about the Lord is sufficient for them because devotees are simply satisfied in hearing and chanting about the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. This gives them all transcendental bliss. But some of the pastimes of the Lord appear contradictory, even to such pure devotees, and thus Uddhava asked the Lord about some of the contradictory incidents in His pastimes. The Lord is described as having nothing to do personally, and it is actually so because even in the creation and sustenance of the material world, the Lord has nothing to do. It seems contradictory, then, to hear that the Lord personally lifts the Govardhana Hill for the protection of His unalloyed devotees. The Lord is the Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead appearing like a man, but Uddhava had doubts whether He could have so many transcendental activities.

There is no difference between the Personality of Godhead and the impersonal Brahman. How then can the Lord have so many things to do, whereas the impersonal Brahman is stated to have nothing to do either materially or spiritually? If the Lord is ever unborn, how then is He born as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki? He is fearful even to kala, the supreme fear, and yet the Lord is afraid of fighting Jarasandha and takes shelter in a fort. How can one who is full in Himself take pleasure in the association of many women? How can He take wives and, just like a householder, take pleasure in the association of family members, children, relatives and parents? All these apparently contradictory happenings bewilder even the greatest learned scholars, who, thus bewildered, cannot understand whether inactivity is a fact or whether His activities are only imitations.

The solution is that the Lord has nothing to do with anything mundane. All His activities are transcendental. This cannot be understood by the mundane speculators. For the mundane speculators there is certainly a kind of bewilderment, but for the transcendental devotees there is nothing astonishing in this. The Brahman conception of the Absolute Truth is certainly the negation of all mundane activities, but the Parabrahman conception is full with transcendental activities. One who knows the distinctions between the conception of Brahman and the conception of Supreme Brahman is certainly the real transcendentalist. There is no bewilderment for such transcendentalists. The Lord Himself also declares in Bhagavad-gita (10.2), “Even the great sages and demigods can know hardly anything about My activities and transcendental potencies.” The right explanation of the Lord’s activities is given by Grandfather Bhismadeva (Bhag. 1.9.16) as follows:

na hy asya karhicid rajan
puman veda vidhitsitam
yad-vijijnasaya yukta
muhyanti kavayo ’pi hi

SB3.4.17

TEXT 17

mantresu mam va upahuya yat tvam

akunthitakhanda-sadatma-bodhah

prccheh prabho mugdha ivapramattas

tan no mano mohayativa deva

mantresu—in consultations; mam—unto me; vai—as either; upahuya—by calling; yat—as much as; tvam—Your Lordship; akunthita—without hesitation; akhanda—without being separated; sada—eternally; atma—self; bodhah—intelligent; prccheh—asked; prabho—O my Lord; mugdhah—bewildered; iva—as if it were so; apramattah—although never bewildered; tat—that; nah—our; manah—mind; mohayati—bewilders; iva—as it is so; deva—O my Lord.

O my Lord, Your eternal Self is never divided by the influence of time, and there is no limitation to Your perfect knowledge. Thus You were sufficiently able to consult with Yourself, yet You called upon me for consultation, as if bewildered, although You are never bewildered. And this act of Yours bewilders me.

Uddhava was never actually bewildered, but he says that all these contradictions appear to be bewildering. The whole discussion between Krsna and Uddhava was meant for the benefit of Maitreya, who was sitting nearby. The Lord used to call Uddhava for consultation when the city was attacked by Jarasandha and others and when He executed great sacrifices as part of His routine royal work as Lord of Dvaraka. The Lord has no past, present and future because He is unhampered by the influence of eternal time and thus nothing is hidden from Him. He is eternally self-intelligent. Therefore His calling for Uddhava to give Him enlightenment is certainly astonishing. All these actions of the Lord appear to be contradictory, although there is no contradiction in the routine activities of the Lord. Therefore it is better to see them as they are and not attempt to explain them.

SB3.4.18

TEXT 18

jnanam param svatma-rahah-prakasam

provaca kasmai bhagavan samagram

api ksamam no grahanaya bhartar

vadanjasa yad vrjinam tarema

jnanam—knowledge; param—supreme; sva-atma—own self; rahah—mystery; prakasam—enlightening; provaca—said; kasmai—unto Ka (Brahmaji); bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; samagram—in sum total; api—if so; ksamam—able; nah—unto me; grahanaya—acceptable; bhartah—O my Lord; vada—say; anjasa—in detail; yat—that which; vrjinam—miseries; tarema—can cross over.

My Lord, kindly explain to us, if You think us competent to receive it, that transcendental knowledge which gives enlightenment about Yourself and which You explained before to Brahmaji.

A pure devotee like Uddhava has no material afflictions because he engages constantly in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. A devotee feels afflicted without the association of the Lord. Constant remembrance of the Lord’s activities keeps the devotee alive, and therefore Uddhava requested that the Lord please enlighten him with the knowledge of Srimad-Bhagavatam, as previously instructed to Brahmaji.

SB3.4.19

TEXT 19

ity avedita-hardaya

mahyam sa bhagavan parah

adidesaravindaksa

atmanah paramam sthitim

iti avedita—thus being prayed to by me; hardaya—from the core of my heart; mahyam—unto me; sah—He; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; parah—Supreme; adidesa—instructed; aravinda-aksah—the lotus-eyed; atmanah—of Himself; paramam—transcendental; sthitim—situation.

When I thus expressed my heartfelt desires unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the lotus-eyed Lord instructed me about His transcendental situation.