Causelessmercy - Ebook - Srimad-Bhagavatam - Canto 4 - 28.2

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 4: “The Creation of the Fourth Order”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Twenty-eight

SB4.28.32

TEXT 32

agastyah prag duhitaram

upayeme dhrta-vratam

yasyam drdhacyuto jata

idhmavahatmajo munih

SYNONYMS

agastyah—the great sage Agastya; prak—first; duhitaram—daughter; upayeme—married; dhrta-vratam—taken to vows; yasyam—through whom; drdhacyutah—named Drdhacyuta; jatah—was born; idhmavaha—named Idhmavaha; atma-jah—son; munih—the great sage.

TRANSLATION

The great sage named Agastya married the first-born daughter of Malayadhvaja, the avowed devotee of Lord Krsna. From her one son was born, whose name was Drdhacyuta, and from him another son was born, whose name was Idhmavaha.

PURPORT

The name Agastya Muni is very significant. Agastya Muni represents the mind. The word agastya indicates that the senses do not act independently, and the word muni means “mind.” The mind is the center of all the senses, and thus the senses cannot work independent of the mind. When the mind takes to the cult of bhakti, it engages in devotional service. The cult of bhakti (bhakti-lata) is the first daughter of Malayadhvaja, and as previously described, her eyes are always upon Krsna (asiteksanam). One cannot render bhakti to any demigod. Bhakti can be rendered only to Visnu (sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]). Thinking the Absolute Truth to be without form, the Mayavadis say that the word bhakti can apply to any form of worship. If this were the case, a devotee could imagine any demigod or any godly form and worship it. This, however, is not the real fact. The real fact is that bhakti can be applied only to Lord Visnu and His expansions. Therefore bhakti-lata is drdha-vrata, the great vow, for when the mind is completely engaged in devotional service, the mind does not fall down. If one tries to advance by other means—by karma-yoga or jnana-yoga—one will fall down, but if one is fixed in bhakti, he never falls down.

Thus from bhakti-lata the son Drdhacyuta is born, and from Drdhacyuta the next son, Idhmavaha, is born. The word idhma-vaha refers to one who carries wood for burning in a sacrifice when approaching a spiritual master. The point is that bhakti-lata, the cult of devotion, fixes one in his spiritual position. One so fixed never comes down, and he begets children who are strict followers of the sastric injunctions. As said in the Vedas:

tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet
samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham
[MU 1.2.12]

In the line of devotional service, those who are initiated are strict followers of the Vedic scriptural injunctions.

vibhajya tanayebhyah ksmam

rajarsir malayadhvajah

ariradhayisuh krsnam

sa jagama kulacalam

vibhajya—having divided; tanayebhyah—among his sons; ksmam—the whole world; raja-rsih—the great saintly king; malayadhvajah—named Malayadhvaja; ariradhayisuh—desiring to worship; krsnam—Lord Krsna; sah—he; jagama—went; kulacalam—unto Kulacala.

After this, the great saintly King Malayadhvaja divided his entire kingdom among his sons. Then, in order to worship Lord Krsna with full attention, he went to a solitary place known as Kulacala.

Malayadhvaja, the great king, was certainly a maha-bhagavata, topmost devotee. By executing devotional service, he begot many sons and disciples for propagating the bhakti cult (sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]). Actually, the entire world should be divided among such disciples. Everyone should be engaged in preaching the cult of Krsna consciousness. In other words, when disciples are grown up and are able to preach, the spiritual master should retire and sit down in a solitary place to write and execute nirjana-bhajana. This means sitting silently in a solitary place and executing devotional service. This nirjana-bhajana, which is the silent worship of the Supreme Lord, is not possible for a neophyte devotee. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura never advised a neophyte devotee to go to a solitary place to engage in devotional service. Indeed, he has written a song in this connection:

dusta mana! tumi kisera vaisnava?
pratisthara tare, nirjanera ghare,
tava hari-nama kevala kaitava

“My dear mind, what kind of devotee are you? Simply for cheap adoration you sit in a solitary place and pretend to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, but this is all cheating.” Thus Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura advocated that every devotee, under the guidance of an expert spiritual master, preach the bhakti cult, Krsna consciousness, all over the world. Only when one is mature can he sit in a solitary place and retire from preaching all over the world. Following this example, the devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness now render service as preachers in various parts of the world. Now they can allow the spiritual master to retire from active preaching work. In the last stage of the spiritual master’s life, the devotees of the spiritual master should take preaching activities into their own hands. In this way the spiritual master can sit down in a solitary place and render nirjana-bhajana.

hitva grhan sutan bhogan

vaidarbhi madireksana

anvadhavata pandyesam

jyotsneva rajani-karam

hitva—giving up; grhan—home; sutan—children; bhogan—material happiness; vaidarbhi—the daughter of King Vidarbha; madira-iksana—with enchanting eyes; anvadhavata—followed; pandya-isam—King Malayadhvaja; jyotsna iva—like the moonshine; rajani-karam—the moon.

Just as the moonshine follows the moon at night, immediately after King Malayadhvaja departed for Kulacala, his devoted wife, whose eyes were very enchanting, followed him, giving up all homely happiness, despite family and children.

Just as in the vanaprastha stage the wife follows the husband, similarly when the spiritual master retires for nirjana-bhajana, some of his advanced devotees follow him and engage in his personal service. In other words, those who are very fond of family life should come forward in the service of the spiritual master and abandon so-called happiness afforded by society, friendship and love. A verse by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his Gurv-astaka is significant in this regard. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah **. A disciple should always remember that by serving the spiritual master he can easily advance in Krsna consciousness. All the scriptures recommend that it is by pleasing the spiritual master and serving him directly that one can attain the highest perfectional stage of devotional service.

The word madireksana is also significant in this verse. Srila Jiva Gosvami has explained in his Sandarbha that the word madira means “intoxicating.” If one’s eyes become intoxicated upon seeing the Deity, he may be called madireksana. Queen Vaidarbhi’s eyes were very enchanting, just as one’s eyes are madireksana when engaged in seeing the temple Deity. Unless one is an advanced devotee, he cannot fix his eyes on the Deity in the temple.

tatra candravasa nama

tamraparni vatodaka

tat-punya-salilair nityam

ubhayatratmano mrjan

kandastibhir mula-phalaih

puspa-parnais trnodakaih

vartamanah sanair gatra-

karsanam tapa asthitah

tatra—there; candravasa—the Candravasa River; nama—named; tamraparni—the Tamraparni River; vatodaka—the Vatodaka River; tat—of those rivers; punya—pious; salilaih—with the waters; nityam—daily; ubhayatra—in both ways; atmanah—of himself; mrjan—washing; kanda—bulbs; astibhih—and by seeds; mula—roots; phalaih—and by fruits; puspa—flowers; parnaih—and by leaves; trna—grass; udakaih—and by water; vartamanah—subsisting; sanaih—gradually; gatra—his body; karsanam—rendering thin; tapah—austerity; asthitah—he underwent.

In the province of Kulacala, there were rivers named Candravasa, Tamraparni and Vatodaka. King Malayadhvaja used to go to those pious rivers regularly and take his bath there. Thus he purified himself externally and internally. He took his bath and ate bulbs, seeds, leaves, flowers, roots, fruits and grasses and drank water. In this way he underwent severe austerities. Eventually he became very skinny.

We can definitely see that to advance in Krsna consciousness one must control his bodily weight. If one becomes too fat, it is to be assumed that he is not advancing spiritually. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura severely criticized his fat disciples. The idea is that one who intends to advance in Krsna consciousness must not eat very much. Devotees used to go to forests, high hills or mountains on pilgrimages, but such severe austerities are not possible in these days. One should instead eat only prasada and no more than required. According to the Vaisnava calendar, there are many fasts, such as Ekadasi and the appearance and disappearance days of God and His devotees. All of these are meant to decrease the fat within the body so that one will not sleep more than desired and will not become inactive and lazy. Overindulgence in food will cause a man to sleep more than required. This human form of life is meant for austerity, and austerity means controlling sex, food intake, etc. In this way time can be saved for spiritual activity, and one can purify himself both externally and internally. Thus both body and mind can be cleansed.

sitosna-vata-varsani

ksut-pipase priyapriye

sukha-duhkhe iti dvandvany

ajayat sama-darsanah

sita—cold; usna—heat; vata—wind; varsani—and rainy seasons; ksut—hunger; pipase—and thirst; priya—pleasant; apriye—and unpleasant; sukha—happiness; duhkhe—and distress; iti—thus; dvandvani—dualities; ajayat—he conquered; sama-darsanah—equipoised.

Through austerity, King Malayadhvaja in body and mind gradually became equal to the dualities of cold and heat, happiness and distress, wind and rain, hunger and thirst, the pleasant and the unpleasant. In this way he conquered all relativities.

Liberation means becoming free from the relativities of the world. Unless one is self-realized, he has to undergo the dual struggle of the relative world. In Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna advises Arjuna to conquer all relativities through tolerance. Lord Krsna points out that it is the relativities like winter and summer that give us trouble in the material world. In the winter we do not like taking a bath, but in the summer we wish to take a bath twice, thrice or more a day. Thus Krsna advises us not to be disturbed by such relativities and dualities when they come and go.

The common man has to undergo much austerity to become equipoised before dualities. One who becomes agitated by the relativities of life has accepted a relative position and must therefore undergo the austerities prescribed in the sastras to transcend the material body and put an end to material existence. King Malayadhvaja underwent severe austerities by leaving his home, going to Kulacala, taking his bath in the sacred rivers and eating only vegetables like stems, roots, seeds, flowers and leaves, avoiding any cooked food or grains. These are very, very austere practices. In this age it is very difficult to leave home and go to the forest or the Himalayas to adopt the processes of austerity. Indeed, it is almost impossible. If one is even advised to give up meat-eating, drinking, gambling and illicit sex, one will fail to do so. What, then, would a person do if he went to the Himalayas or Kulacala? Such acts of renunciation are not possible in this age; therefore Lord Krsna has advised us to accept the bhakti-yoga process. Bhakti-yoga will automatically liberate a person from the dualities of life. In bhakti-yoga, Krsna is the center, and Krsna is always transcendental. Thus in order to transcend dualities, one must always engage in the service of the Lord, as confirmed by Bhagavad-gita (14.26):

mam ca yo ’vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate

“One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.”

If one is factually engaged in the service of the Lord, bhakti-yoga, he will automatically control his senses, his tongue and so many other things. Once engaged in the bhakti-yoga process with all sincerity, one will have no chance of falling down. Even if one falls down, there is no loss. One’s devotional activities may be stunned or choked for the time being, but as soon as there is another chance, the practitioner begins from the point where he left off.

tapasa vidyaya pakva-

kasayo niyamair yamaih

yuyuje brahmany atmanam

vijitaksanilasayah

tapasa—by austerity; vidyaya—by education; pakva—burned up; kasayah—all dirty things; niyamaih—by regulative principles; yamaih—by self-control; yuyuje—he fixed; brahmani—in spiritual realization; atmanam—his self; vijita—completely controlled; aksa—senses; anila—life; asayah—consciousness.

By worshiping, executing austerities and following the regulative principles, King Malayadhvaja conquered his senses, his life and his consciousness. Thus he fixed everything on the central point of the Supreme Brahman [Krsna].

Whenever the word brahman appears, the impersonalists take this to mean the impersonal effulgence, the brahmajyoti. Actually, however, Parabrahman, the Supreme Brahman, is Krsna, Vasudeva. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (7.19), vasudevah sarvam iti: Vasudeva extends everywhere as the impersonal Brahman. One cannot fix one’s mind upon an impersonal “something.” Bhagavad-gita (12.5) therefore says, kleso ’dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam: “For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome.” Consequently, when it is said herein that King Malayadhvaja fixed his mind on Brahman, “Brahman” means the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva.

aste sthanur ivaikatra

divyam varsa-satam sthirah

vasudeve bhagavati

nanyad vedodvahan ratim

aste—remains; sthanuh—immovable; iva—like; ekatra—in one place; divyam—of the demigods; varsa—years; satam—one hundred; sthirah—steady; vasudeve—unto Lord Krsna; bhagavati—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; na—not; anyat—anything else; veda—did know; udvahan—possessing; ratim—attraction.

In this way he stayed immovable in one place for one hundred years by the calculations of the demigods. After this time, he developed pure devotional attraction for Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and remained fixed in that position.

bahunam janmanam ante
jnanavan mam prapadyate
vasudevah sarvam iti
sa mahatma sudurlabhah

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Bg. 7.19) Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is everything, and one who knows this is the greatest of all transcendentalists. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita that one realizes this after many, many births. This is also confirmed in this verse with the words divyam varsa-satam (“one hundred years according to the calculations of the demigods”). According to the calculations of the demigods, one day (twelve hours) is equal to six months on earth. A hundred years of the demigods would equal thirty-six thousand earth years. Thus King Malayadhvaja executed austerities and penances for thirty-six thousand years. After this time, he became fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. To live on earth for so many years, one has to take birth many times. This confirms the conclusion of Krsna. To come to the conclusion of Krsna consciousness and remain fixed in the realization that Krsna is everything, as well as render service unto Krsna, are characteristics of the perfectional stage. As said in Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 22.62): krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya. When one comes to the conclusion that Krsna is everything by worshiping or by rendering devotional service unto Krsna, one actually becomes perfect in all respects. Not only must one come to the conclusion that Krsna is everything, but he must remain fixed in this realization. This is the highest perfection of life, and it is this perfection that King Malayadhvaja attained at the end.

sa vyapakatayatmanam

vyatiriktatayatmani

vidvan svapna ivamarsa-

saksinam virarama ha

sah—King Malayadhvaja; vyapakataya—by all-pervasiveness; atmanam—the Supersoul; vyatiriktataya—by differentiation; atmani—in his own self; vidvan—perfectly educated; svapne—in a dream; iva—like; amarsa—of deliberation; saksinam—the witness; virarama—became indifferent; ha—certainly.

King Malayadhvaja attained perfect knowledge by being able to distinguish the Supersoul from the individual soul. The individual soul is localized, whereas the Supersoul is all-pervasive. He became perfect in knowledge that the material body is not the soul but that the soul is the witness of the material body.

The conditioned soul is often frustrated in trying to understand the distinctions between the material body, the Supersoul and the individual soul. There are two types of Mayavadi philosophers—the followers of the Buddhist philosophy and the followers of the Sankara philosophy. The followers of Buddha do not recognize that there is anything beyond the body; the followers of Sankara conclude that there is no separate existence of the Paramatma, the Supersoul. The Sankarites believe that the individual soul is identical with the Paramatma in the ultimate analysis. But the Vaisnava philosopher, who is perfect in knowledge, knows that the body is made of the external energy and that the Supersoul, the Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is sitting with the individual soul and is distinct from him. As Lord Krsna states in Bhagavad-gita (13.3):

ksetrajnam capi mam viddhi
sarva-ksetresu bharata
ksetra-ksetrajnayor jnanam
yat taj jnanam matam mama

“O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is My opinion.”

The body is taken to be the field, and the individual soul is taken to be the worker in that field. Yet there is another, who is known as the Supersoul, who, along with the individual soul, simply witnesses. The individual soul works and enjoys the fruits of the body, whereas the Supersoul simply witnesses the activities of the individual soul but does not enjoy the fruits of those activities. The Supersoul is present in every field of activity, whereas the individual soul is present in his one localized body. King Malayadhvaja attained this perfection of knowledge and was able to distinguish between the soul and the Supersoul and the soul and the material body.

saksad bhagavatoktena

guruna harina nrpa

visuddha-jnana-dipena

sphurata visvato-mukham

saksat—directly; bhagavata—by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; uktena—instructed; guruna—the spiritual master; harina—by Lord Hari; nrpa—O King; visuddha—pure; jnana—knowledge; dipena—by the light of; sphurata—enlightening; visvatah-mukham—all angles of vision.

In this way King Malayadhvaja attained perfect knowledge because in his pure state he was directly instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By means of such enlightening transcendental knowledge, he could understand everything from all angles of vision.

In this verse the words saksad bhagavatoktena guruna harina are very significant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead speaks directly to the individual soul when the devotee has completely purified himself by rendering devotional service to the Lord. Lord Krsna confirms this also in Bhagavad-gita (10.10):

tesam satata-yuktanam
bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

The Lord is the Supersoul seated in everyone’s heart, and He acts as the caitya-guru, the spiritual master within. However, He gives direct instructions only to the advanced, pure devotees. In the beginning, when a devotee is serious and sincere, the Lord gives him directions from within to approach a bona fide spiritual master. When one is trained by the spiritual master according to the regulative principles of devotional service and is situated on the platform of spontaneous attachment for the Lord (raga-bhakti), the Lord also gives instructions from within. Tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam [Bg. 10.10]. This distinct advantage is obtained by a liberated soul. Having attained this stage, King Malayadhvaja was directly in touch with the Supreme Lord and was receiving instructions from Him directly.

pare brahmani catmanam

param brahma tathatmani

viksamano vihayeksam

asmad upararama ha

pare—transcendental; brahmani—in the Absolute; ca—and; atmanam—the self; param—the supreme; brahma—Absolute; tatha—also; atmani—in himself; viksamanah—thus observing; vihaya—giving up; iksam—reservation; asmat—from this process; upararama—retired; ha—certainly.

King Malayadhvaja could thus observe that the Supersoul was sitting by his side, and that he, as the individual soul, was sitting by the side of the Supersoul. Since both were together, there was no need for separate interests; thus he ceased from such activities.

In the advanced stage of devotional service, the devotee does not see anything separate between his own interests and those of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Both interests become one, for the devotee does not act for a separate interest. Whatever he does, he does in the interest of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At that time he sees everything in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supreme Personality of Godhead in everything. Having attained this stage of understanding, he sees no distinction between the spiritual and material worlds. In perfect vision, the material world becomes the spiritual world due to its being the external energy of the Supreme Lord. For the perfect devotee, the energy and the energetic are nondifferent. Thus the so-called material world becomes spiritual (sarvam khalv idam brahma). Everything is intended for the service of the Supreme Lord, and the expert devotee can utilize any so-called material thing for the Lord’s service. One cannot serve the Lord without being situated on the spiritual platform. Thus if a so-called material thing is dovetailed in the service of the Lord, it is no longer to be considered material. Thus the pure devotee, in his perfect vision, sees from all angles.

patim parama-dharma-jnam

vaidarbhi malayadhvajam

premna paryacarad dhitva

bhogan sa pati-devata

patim—her husband; parama—supreme; dharma-jnam—knower of religious principles; vaidarbhi—the daughter of Vidarbha; malaya-dhvajam—named Malayadhvaja; premna—with love and affection; paryacarat—served in devotion; hitva—giving up; bhogan—sense enjoyments; sa—she; pati-devata—accepting her husband as the Supreme Lord.

The daughter of King Vidarbha accepted her husband all in all as the Supreme. She gave up all sensual enjoyment and in complete renunciation followed the principles of her husband, who was so advanced. Thus she remained engaged in his service.

Figuratively, King Malayadhvaja is the spiritual master, and his wife, Vaidarbhi, is the disciple. The disciple accepts the spiritual master as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in Gurv-astaka, saksad-dharitvena: “One directly accepts the guru, the spiritual master, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” One should accept the spiritual master not in the sense that the Mayavadi philosophers do, but in the way recommended here. Since the spiritual master is the most confidential servant of the Lord, he should be treated exactly like the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The spiritual master should never be neglected or disobeyed, like an ordinary person.

If a woman is fortunate enough to be the wife of a pure devotee, she can serve her husband without any desire for sense gratification. If she remains engaged in the service of her exalted husband, she will automatically attain the spiritual perfections of her husband. If a disciple gets a bona fide spiritual master, simply by satisfying him, he can attain a similar opportunity to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

cira-vasa vrata-ksama

veni-bhuta-siroruha

babhav upa patim santa

sikha santam ivanalam

cira-vasa—wearing old garments; vrata-ksama—lean and thin on account of austerities; veni-bhuta—entangled; siroruha—her hair; babhau—she shone; upa patim—near the husband; santa—peaceful; sikha—flames; santam—without being agitated; iva—like; analam—fire.

The daughter of King Vidarbha wore old garments, and she was lean and thin because of her vows of austerity. Since she did not arrange her hair, it became entangled and twisted in locks. Although she remained always near her husband, she was as silent and unagitated as the flame of an undisturbed fire.

When one begins to burn firewood, there is smoke and agitation in the beginning. Although there are so many disturbances in the beginning, once the fire is completely set, the firewood burns steadily. Similarly, when both husband and wife follow the regulative principles of austerity, they remain silent and are not agitated by sex impulses. At such a time both husband and wife are benefited spiritually. One can attain this stage of life by completely giving up a luxurious mode of life.

In this verse the word cira-vasa refers to very old torn garments. The wife especially should remain austere, not desiring luxurious dresses and living standards. She should accept only the bare necessities of life and minimize her eating and sleeping. There should be no question of mating. Simply by engaging in the service of her exalted husband, who must be a pure devotee, the wife will never be agitated by sex impulses. The vanaprastha stage is exactly like this. Although the wife remains with the husband, she undergoes severe austerities and penances so that although both husband and wife live together, there is no question of sex. In this way both husband and wife can live together perpetually. Since the wife is weaker than the husband, this weakness is expressed in this verse with the words upa patim. Upa means “near to,” or “almost equal to.” Being a man, the husband is generally more advanced than his wife. Nonetheless, the wife is expected to give up all luxurious habits. She should not even dress nicely or comb her hair. Hair combing is one of the main businesses of women. In the vanaprastha stage the wife should not take care of her hair. Thus her hair will become tangled in knots. Consequently the wife will no longer be attractive to the husband, and she herself will no longer be agitated by sex impulses. In this way both husband and wife can advance in spiritual consciousness. This advanced stage is called the paramahamsa stage, and once it is obtained, both husband and wife can be actually liberated from bodily consciousness. If the disciple remains steady in the service of the spiritual master, he need no longer fear falling down into the clutches of maya.

ajanati priyatamam

yadoparatam angana

susthirasanam asadya

yatha-purvam upacarat

ajanati—without any knowledge; priya-tamam—her dearmost husband; yada—when; uparatam—passed away; angana—the woman; susthira—fixed up; asanam—on the seat; asadya—going up to; yatha—as; purvam—before; upacarat—went on serving him.

The daughter of King Vidarbha continued as usual to serve her husband, who was seated in a steady posture, until she could ascertain that he had passed away from the body.

It appears that the Queen did not even talk to her husband while serving. She would simply perform her prescribed duties without talk. Thus she did not stop rendering service until she could ascertain that her husband had passed from the body.

yada nopalabhetanghrav

usmanam patyur arcati

asit samvigna-hrdaya

yutha-bhrasta mrgi yatha

yada—when; na—not; upalabheta—could feel; anghrau—in the feet; usmanam—heat; patyuh—of her husband; arcati—while serving; asit—she became; samvigna—anxious; hrdaya—at heart; yutha-bhrasta—bereft of her husband; mrgi—the she-deer; yatha—as.

While she was serving her husband by massaging his legs, she could feel that his feet were no longer warm and could thus understand that he had already passed from the body. She felt great anxiety upon being left alone. Bereft of her husband’s company, she felt exactly as the deer feels upon being separated from its mate.

As soon as the circulation of blood and air within the body stops, it is to be understood that the soul within the body has left. The stoppage of the blood’s circulation is perceived when the hands and feet lose heat. One tests whether a body is alive or not by feeling the heart’s palpitations and the coldness of the feet and hands.

atmanam socati dinam

abandhum viklavasrubhih

stanav asicya vipine

susvaram praruroda sa

atmanam—about herself; socati—lamenting; dinam—wretched; abandhum—without a friend; viklava—brokenhearted; asrubhih—by tears; stanau—her breasts; asicya—wetting; vipine—in the forest; susvaram—loudly; praruroda—began to cry; sa—she.

Being now alone and a widow in that forest, the daughter of Vidarbha began to lament, incessantly shedding tears, which soaked her breasts, and crying very loudly.

Figuratively the queen is supposed to be the disciple of the king; thus when the mortal body of the spiritual master expires, his disciples should cry exactly as the queen cries when the king leaves his body. However, the disciple and spiritual master are never separated because the spiritual master always keeps company with the disciple as long as the disciple follows strictly the instructions of the spiritual master. This is called the association of vani (words). Physical presence is called vapuh. As long as the spiritual master is physically present, the disciple should serve the physical body of the spiritual master, and when the spiritual master is no longer physically existing, the disciple should serve the instructions of the spiritual master.

uttisthottistha rajarse

imam udadhi-mekhalam

dasyubhyah ksatra-bandhubhyo

bibhyatim patum arhasi

uttistha—please get up; uttistha—please get up; raja-rse—O saintly king; imam—this earth; udadhi—by the ocean; mekhalam—surrounded; dasyubhyah—from the rogues; ksatra-bandhubhyah—from the unclean kings; bibhyatim—very much afraid; patum—to protect; arhasi—you ought.

O best of kings, please get up! Get up! Just see this world surrounded by water and infested with rogues and so-called kings. This world is very much afraid, and it is your duty to protect her.

Whenever an acarya comes, following the superior orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, he establishes the principles of religion, as enunciated in Bhagavad-gita. Religion means abiding by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Religious principles begin from the time one surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the acarya’s duty to spread a bona fide religious system and induce everyone to bow down before the Supreme Lord. One executes the religious principles by rendering devotional service, specifically the nine items like hearing, chanting and remembering. Unfortunately, when the acarya disappears, rogues and nondevotees take advantage and immediately begin to introduce unauthorized principles in the name of so-called svamis, yogis, philanthropists, welfare workers and so on. Actually, human life is meant for executing the orders of the Supreme Lord, and this is stated in Bhagavad-gita (9.34):

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi yuktvaivam
atmanam mat-parayanah

“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me and become My devotee. Offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.”

The main business of human society is to think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at all times, to become His devotees, to worship the Supreme Lord and to bow down before Him. The acarya, the authorized representative of the Supreme Lord, establishes these principles, but when he disappears, things once again become disordered. The perfect disciples of the acarya try to relieve the situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master. At the present moment practically the entire world is afraid of rogues and nondevotees; therefore this Krsna consciousness movement is started to save the world from irreligious principles. Everyone should cooperate with this movement in order to bring about actual peace and happiness in the world.

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