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kim—what; barhaspatya—O disciple of Brhaspati; iha—here; paratra—in different planets; va—or; atha—as such; kaivalya-natha—to the bestower of liberation; priya—dear; parsva-vartinah—being associated with; asadya—after meeting; devam—the great demigod; giri-sam—the lord of the Kailasa Hill; yadrcchaya—by providence; prapuh—achieved; param—the Supreme; nunam—certainly; atha—therefore; pracetasah—the sons of Barhisat.

My dear Barhaspatya, what did the sons of King Barhisat, known as the Pracetas, obtain after meeting Lord Siva, who is very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the bestower of liberation? Certainly they were transferred to the spiritual world, but apart from that, what did they obtain within this material world, either in this life or in other lives?

All types of material happiness are obtained in this life or in the next life, on this planet or on another. The living entity wanders within this material universe in so many species of life and so many planetary systems. The distress and happiness obtained during the span of life are called iha, and the distress and happiness obtained in the next life are called paratra.

Actually, Lord Mahadeva (Siva) is one of the great demigods within this material world. Generally his blessings bestowed on ordinary people mean material happiness. The predominating deity of this material world, Durga, is under the control of Lord Mahadeva, Girisa. Thus Lord Mahadeva can offer anyone any kind of material happiness. Generally people prefer to become devotees of Lord Girisa to obtain material happiness, but the Pracetas met Lord Mahadeva by providential arrangement. Lord Mahadeva instructed them to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he personally offered a prayer. As stated in the previous verse (rudra-gitena), simply by chanting the prayers offered by Lord Siva to Visnu, the Pracetas were transferred to the spiritual world. Sometimes devotees desire to enjoy material happiness also; therefore, by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the devotee is given a chance to enjoy the material world before his final entrance into the spiritual world. Sometimes a devotee is transferred to a heavenly planet—to Janaloka, Maharloka, Tapoloka, Siddhaloka and so on. However, a pure devotee never aspires for any kind of material happiness. The pure devotee is consequently transferred directly to Vaikunthaloka, which is described here as param. In this verse Vidura asks Maitreya, the disciple of Brhaspati, about the different achievements of the Pracetas.

SB4.30.3

TEXT 3

maitreya uvaca

pracetaso ’ntar udadhau

maitreyah uvaca—Maitreya said; pracetasah—the Pracetas; antah—within; udadhau—the sea; pituh—of their father; adesa-karinah—the order carriers; japa-yajnena—by chanting mantras; tapasa—under severe austerities; puram-janam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; atosayan—satisfied.

The great sage Maitreya said: The sons of King Pracinabarhi, known as the Pracetas, underwent severe austerities within the seawater to carry out the order of their father. By chanting and repeating the mantras given by Lord Siva, they were able to satisfy Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

One can offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly, but if one repeats the prayers offered by great devotees like Lord Siva and Lord Brahma, or if one follows in the footsteps of great personalities, one can please the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily. For instance, we sometimes chant this mantra of Brahma-samhita (5.29):

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, yielding all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of laksmis, or gopis.” Because this prayer was offered by Lord Brahma, we follow him by reciting this prayer. That is the easiest way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The pure devotee never attempts to reach the Supreme Lord directly. The most important way to worship the Lord is to go through the disciplic succession of devotees. The prayers offered by Lord Siva to the Supreme Personality of Godhead were thus repeated by the Pracetas, who were thus very successful in pleasing the Supreme Lord.

Here the Supreme Personality of Godhead is described as puranjana. According to Madhvacarya, the living entity is called puranjana because he has become an inhabitant of this material world, and under the influence of the three modes of material nature, he is forced to live within it. The Supreme Personality of Godhead creates this material world (pura), and He also enters within it. Andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham. The Lord enters within the heart of the living entity and within the atom; therefore both the living entity and the Lord are called puranjana. One puranjana, the living entity, is subordinate to the supreme puranjana; therefore the duty of the subordinate puranjana is to satisfy the supreme puranjana. That is devotional service. Lord Rudra, or Lord Siva, is the original acarya of the Vaisnava sampradaya called the Rudra-sampradaya. Rudra-gitena indicates that under the disciplic succession of Lord Rudra, the Pracetas achieved spiritual success.

SB4.30.4

TEXT 4

dasa-varsa-sahasrante

purusas tu sanatanah

tesam avirabhut krcchram

santena samayan ruca

dasa-varsa—ten years; sahasra-ante—at the end of a thousand; purusah—the Supreme Person; tu—then; sanatanah—eternal; tesam—of the Pracetas; avirabhut—appeared; krcchram—the severe austerity; santena—satisfying; samayan—mitigating; ruca—by His beauty.

At the end of ten thousand years of severe austerities performed by the Pracetas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to reward their austerities, appeared before them in His very pleasing form. This appealed to the Pracetas and satisfied the labor of their austerities.

Performing ten thousand years of severe austerities does not seem a happy endeavor. Yet the devotees, the serious students of spiritual life, undergo such austerities to attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At that time, when the duration of life was very long, people could undergo severe austerities for thousands of years. It is said that Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, underwent meditational austerities for sixty thousand years. The Supreme Personality of Godhead appreciated the austerities undergone by the Pracetas, and He finally appeared before them in a pleasing form. Thus they all became satisfied and forgot the austerities they underwent. In the material world, if one is successful after hard labor, he is very pleased. Similarly, the devotee forgets all his labors and austerities as soon as he contacts the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although Dhruva Maharaja was only a five-year-old boy, he underwent severe austerities by eating simply dry foliage, drinking only water and taking no food. In this way, after six months, he was able to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. When he saw the Lord, he forgot all his austerities and said, svamin krtartho’smi: “My dear Lord, I am very pleased.”

Of course, these austerities were performed in the Satya-yuga, Dvapara-yuga and Treta-yuga, but not in this age of Kali. In this Kali-yuga, one can attain the same results simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Because the people of this age are fallen, the Lord is kind enough to give them the easiest method. Simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, one can attain the same results. However, as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu points out, we are so unfortunate that we are not even attracted to chanting the maha-mantra—Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

SB4.30.5

TEXT 5

suparna-skandham arudho

meru-srngam ivambudah

pita-vasa mani-grivah

kurvan vitimira disah

suparna—of Garuda, the carrier of Lord Visnu; skandham—the shoulder; arudhah—sitting on; meru—of the mountain named Meru; srngam—on the summit; iva—like; ambudah—a cloud; pita-vasah—wearing yellow garments; mani-grivah—His neck decorated with the Kaustubha jewel; kurvan—making; vitimirah—free from darkness; disah—all directions.

The Personality of Godhead, appearing on the shoulder of Garuda, seemed like a cloud resting on the summit of the mountain known as Meru. The transcendental body of the Personality of Godhead was covered by attractive yellow garments, and His neck was decorated with the jewel known as Kaustubha-mani. The bodily effulgence of the Lord dissipated all the darkness of the universe.

As stated in Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 22.31):

krsna——surya-sama; maya haya andhakara
yahan krsna, tahan nahi mayara adhikara

The Lord is just like the effulgent sun. Consequently, whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present, there cannot be darkness or ignorance. Actually this dark universe is illuminated by the sun, but the sun and moon simply reflect the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Lord. In Bhagavad-gita (7.8) the Lord says, prabhasmi sasi-suryayoh: “I am the illuminating energy of both the sun and the moon.” The conclusion is that the origin of all life is the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in Brahma-samhita: yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti [Bs. 5.40]. Being illuminated by the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything is freed from all darkness.

SB4.30.6

TEXT 6

kasisnuna kanaka-varna-vibhusanena

bhrajat-kapola-vadano vilasat-kiritah

astayudhair anucarair munibhih surendrair

asevito garuda-kinnara-gita-kirtih

kasisnuna—shining; kanaka—gold; varna—colored; vibhusanena—with ornaments; bhrajat—shining; kapola—forehead; vadanah—His face; vilasat—dazzling; kiritah—His helmet; asta—eight; ayudhaih—with weapons; anucaraih—by followers; munibhih—by great sages; sura-indraih—by demigods; asevitah—served; garuda—by Garuda; kinnara—inhabitant of the Kinnara planet; gita—sung; kirtih—His glories.

The Lord’s face was very beautiful, and His head was decorated with a shining helmet and golden ornaments. The helmet was dazzling and was very beautifully situated on His head. The Lord had eight arms, which each held a particular weapon. The Lord was surrounded by demigods, great sages and other associates. These were all engaged in His service. Garuda, the carrier of the Lord, glorified the Lord with Vedic hymns by flapping his wings. Garuda appeared to be an inhabitant of the planet known as Kinnaraloka.

Generally the Visnu form is manifested with four hands holding four objects (a conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower). However, here Lord Visnu is described as possessing eight arms with eight kinds of weapons. According to Viraraghava Acarya, the conchshell and lotus flower are also accepted as weapons. Since the Lord is the supreme controller, whatever is in His hand can be considered a weapon. Four hands hold four kinds of weapons, and the extra four hands hold an arrow, bow, trident and snake. Sri Viraraghava Acarya describes the eight weapons as sankha, cakra, gada, padma, sarnga, sara, etc.

A king is always accompanied by his ministers, secretaries and commanders, and Lord Visnu is also accompanied by His followers—the demigods, great sages, saintly persons and so on. He is never alone. Consequently there is no question of the Lord’s being impersonal. He is always Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His associates are also persons. From the description given in this verse, Garuda appears to belong to the Kinnara planet. The inhabitants of the Kinnara planet have the same features as Garuda. Their bodily features are like those of a human being, but they have wings. The word gita-kirtih indicates that the inhabitants of Kinnaraloka are very expert in singing the glories of the Lord. In Brahma-samhita it is said: jagad-anda-koti-kotisv asesa-vasudhadi-vibhuti-bhinnam. In each and every universe there are different types of planets, and each planet has distinctive features. On the strength of this verse, we can understand that in Kinnaraloka the inhabitants can fly with their wings. There is also a planet, known as Siddhaloka, where the inhabitants can fly even without wings. Thus each and every planet has some distinctive facility. That is the beauty of the varied creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB4.30.7

TEXT 7

pinayatasta-bhuja-mandala-madhya-laksmya

spardhac-chriya parivrto vana-malayadyah

barhismatah purusa aha sutan prapannan

parjanya-nada-rutaya saghrnavalokah

pina—stout; ayata—long; asta—eight; bhuja—arms; mandala—encirclement; madhya—in the midst of; laksmya—with the goddess of fortune; spardhat—contending; sriya—whose beauty; parivrtah—encircled; vana-malaya—by a flower garland; adyah—the original Personality of Godhead; barhismatah—of King Pracinabarhi; purusah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; aha—addressed; sutan—the sons; prapannan—surrendered; parjanya—like a cloud; nada—whose sound; rutaya—by a voice; sa-ghrna—with mercy; avalokah—His glancing.

Around the neck of the Personality of Godhead hung a flower garland that reached to His knees. His eight stout and elongated arms were decorated with that garland, which challenged the beauty of the goddess of fortune. With a merciful glance and a voice like thunder, the Lord addressed the sons of King Pracinabarhisat, who were very much surrendered unto Him.

varam vrnidhvam bhadram vo

The word adyah in this verse is very significant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin even of Paramatma and Brahman. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (14.27), brahmano hi pratisthaham: the Absolute Truth begins not with the impersonal Brahman but with the original Personality of Godhead, Krsna. When Arjuna realized Krsna’s greatness, he addressed Him in this way:

param brahma param dhama
pavitram paramam bhavan
purusam sasvatam divyam
adi-devam ajam vibhum

“You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty.” (Bg. 10.12)

The Brahma-samhita also says, anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam: [Bs. 5.1] “The Supreme Lord is not caused by anything [anadi], but He is the cause of all causes.” The Vedanta-sutra says, janmady asya yatah: [Bhag. 1.1.1] “The Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates.” The Absolute Truth is described as adi-purusa. The Absolute Truth is therefore a person and is not impersonal.

SB4.30.8

TEXT 8

sri-bhagavan uvaca

yuyam me nrpa-nandanah

sauhardenaprthag-dharmas

tusto ’ham sauhrdena vah

sri-bhagavan uvaca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; varam—benediction; vrnidhvam—ask; bhadram—good fortune; vah—of you; yuyam—you; me—from Me; nrpa-nandanah—O sons of the King; sauhardena—by friendship; aprthak—nondifferent; dharmah—occupation; tustah—pleased; aham—I; sauhrdena—by friendship; vah—of you.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear sons of the King, I am very much pleased by the friendly relationships among you. All of you are engaged in one occupation—devotional service. I am so pleased with your mutual friendship that I wish you all good fortune. Now you may ask a benediction of Me.

Since the sons of King Pracinabarhisat were all united in Krsna consciousness, the Lord was very pleased with them. Each and every one of the sons of King Pracinabarhisat was an individual soul, but they were united in offering transcendental service to the Lord. The unity of the individual souls attempting to satisfy the Supreme Lord or rendering service to the Lord is real unity. In the material world such unity is not possible. Even though people may officially unite, they all have different interests. In the United Nations, for instance, all the nations have their particular national ambitions, and consequently they cannot be united. Disunity between individual souls is so strong within this material world that even in a society of Krsna consciousness, members sometimes appear disunited due to their having different opinions and leaning toward material things. Actually, in Krsna consciousness there cannot be two opinions. There is only one goal: to serve Krsna to one’s best ability. If there is some disagreement over service, such disagreement is to be taken as spiritual. Those who are actually engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be disunited in any circumstance. This makes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very happy and willing to award all kinds of benediction to His devotees, as indicated in this verse. We can see that the Lord is immediately prepared to award all benedictions to the sons of King Pracinabarhisat.

SB4.30.9

TEXT 9

yo ’nusmarati sandhyayam

yusman anudinam narah

tasya bhratrsv atma-samyam

tatha bhutesu sauhrdam

yah—one who; anusmarati—always remembers; sandhyayam—in the evening; yusman—you; anudinam—every day; narah—human being; tasya bhratrsu—with his brothers; atma-samyam—personal equality; tatha—as also; bhutesu—with all living beings; sauhrdam—friendship.