Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 6: “Prescribed Duties for Mankind”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Ten
The Battle Between the Demigods and Vrtrasura
SB6.10Summary
As described in this chapter, after Indra obtained the body of Dadhici, a thunderbolt was prepared from Dadhici’s bones, and a fight took place between Vrtrasura and the demigods.
Following the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the demigods approached Dadhici Muni and begged for his body. Dadhici Muni, just to hear from the demigods about the principles of religion, jokingly refused to relinquish his body, but for higher purposes he thereafter agreed to give it up, for after death the body is usually eaten by low animals like dogs and jackals. Dadhici Muni first merged his gross body made of five elements into the original stock of five elements and then engaged his soul at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus he gave up his gross body. With the help of Visvakarma, the demigods then prepared a thunderbolt from Dadhici’s bones. Armed with the thunderbolt weapon, they prepared themselves to fight and got up on the backs of elephants.
At the end of Satya-yuga and the beginning of Treta-yuga. a great fight took place between the demigods and the asuras. Unable to tolerate the effulgence of the demigods, the asuras fled the battle. leaving Vrtrasura, their commander in chief, to fight for himself. Vrtrasura, however, seeing the demons fleeing, instructed them in the importance of fighting and dying in the battlefield. One who is victorious in battle gains material possessions, and one who dies in the battlefield attains a residence at once in the celestial heavens. In either way, the fighter benefits. SB6.10.1 TEXT 1 sri-badarayanir uvaca indram evam samadisya bhagavan visva-bhavanah pasyatam animesanam tatraivantardadhe harih SYNONYMS sri-badarayanih uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; indram—Indra, the heavenly King; evam—thus; samadisya—after instructing; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; visva-bhavanah—the original cause of all cosmic manifestations; pasyatam animesanam—while the demigods were looking on; tatra—then and there; eva—indeed; antardadhe—disappeared; harih—the Lord. TRANSLATION Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: After instructing Indra in this way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, the cause of the cosmic manifestation, then and there disappeared from the presence of the onlooking demigods. SB6.10.2 TEXT 2 tathabhiyacito devair rsir atharvano mahan modamana uvacedam prahasann iva bharata SYNONYMS tatha—in that manner; abhiyacitah—being begged; devaih—by the demigods; rsih—the great saintly person; atharvanah—Dadhici, the son of Atharva; mahan—the great personality; modamanah—being merry; uvaca—said; idam—this; prahasan—smiling; iva—somewhat; bharata—O Maharaja Pariksit. TRANSLATION O King Pariksit, following the Lord’s instructions, the demigods approached Dadhici, the son of Atharva. He was very liberal, and when they begged him to give them his body, he at once partially agreed. However, just to hear religious instructions from them, he smiled and jokingly spoke as follows. SB6.10.3 TEXT 3 api vrndaraka yuyam na janitha saririnam samsthayam yas tv abhidroho duhsahas cetanapahah SYNONYMS api—although; vrndarakah—O demigods; yuyam—all of you; na janitha—do not know; saririnam—of those who have material bodies; samsthayam—at the time of death, or while quitting this body; yah—which; tu—then; abhidrohah—severe pain; duhsahah—unbearable; cetana—the consciousness; apahah—which takes away. TRANSLATION O elevated demigods, at the time of death, severe, unbearable pain takes away the consciousness of all living entities who have accepted material bodies. Don’t you know about this pain? SB6.10.4 TEXT 4 jijivisunam jivanam atma prestha ihepsitah ka utsaheta tam datum bhiksamanaya visnave SYNONYMS jijivisunam—aspiring to remain alive; jivanam—of all living entities; atma—the body; presthah—very dear; iha—here; ipsitah—desired; kah—who; utsaheta—can bear; tam—that body; datum—to deliver; bhiksamanaya—begging; visnave—even to Lord Visnu. TRANSLATION In this material world, every living entity is very much addicted to his material body. Struggling to keep his body forever, everyone tries to protect it by all means, even at the sacrifice of all his possessions. Therefore, who would be prepared to deliver his body to anyone, even if it were demanded by Lord Visnu? PURPORT It is said, atmanam sarvato rakset tato dharmam tato dhanam: one must protect his body by all means; then he may protect his religious principles and thereafter his possessions. This is the natural desire of all living entities. No one wants to give up his body unless it is forcibly given away. Even though the demigods said that they were demanding Dadhici’s body for their benefit in accordance with the order of Lord Visnu, Dadhici superficially refused to give them his body. SB6.10.5 TEXT 5 sri-deva ucuh kim nu tad dustyajam brahman pumsam bhutanukampinam bhavad-vidhanam mahatam punya-slokedya-karmanam SYNONYMS sri-devah ucuh—the demigods said; kim—what; nu—indeed; tat—that; dustyajam—difficult to give up; brahman—O exalted brahmana; pumsam—of persons; bhuta-anukampinam—who are very sympathetic toward the suffering living entities; bhavat-vidhanam—like Your Lordship; mahatam—who are very great; punya-sloka-idya-karmanam—whose pious activities are praised by all great souls. TRANSLATION The demigods replied: O exalted brahmana, pious persons like you, whose activities are praiseworthy, are very kind and affectionate to people in general. What can’t such pious souls give for the benefit of others? They can give everything, including their bodies. SB6.10.6 TEXT 6 nunam svartha-paro loko na veda para-sankatam yadi veda na yaceta neti naha yad isvarah SYNONYMS nunam—certainly; sva-artha-parah—interested only in sense gratification in this life or the next; lokah—materialistic people in general; na—not; veda—know; para-sankatam—the pain of others; yadi—if; veda—know; na—not; yaceta—would ask; na—no; iti—thus; na aha—does not say; yat—since; isvarah—able to give charity. TRANSLATION Those who are too self-interested beg something from others, not knowing of others’ pain. But if the beggar knew the difficulty of the giver, he would not ask for anything. Similarly, he who is able to give charity does not know the beggar’s difficulty, for otherwise he would not refuse to give the beggar anything he might want as charity. PURPORT This verse describes two people—one who gives charity and one who begs for it. A beggar should not ask charity from a person who is in difficulty. Similarly, one who is able to give charity should not deny a beggar. These are the moral instructions of the sastra. Canakya Pandita says, san-nimitte varam tyago vinase niyate sati: everything within this material world will be destroyed, and therefore one should use everything for good purposes. If one is advanced in knowledge, he must always be prepared to sacrifice anything for a better cause. At the present moment the entire world is in a dangerous position under the spell of a godless civilization. The Krsna consciousness movement needs many exalted, learned persons who will sacrifice their lives to revive God consciousness throughout the world. We therefore invite all men and women advanced in knowledge to join the Krsna consciousness movement and sacrifice their lives for the great cause of reviving the God consciousness of human society. SB6.10.7 TEXT 7 sri-rsir uvaca dharmam vah srotu-kamena yuyam me pratyudahrtah esa vah priyam atmanam tyajantam santyajamy aham SYNONYMS sri-rsih uvaca—the great saint Dadhici said; dharmam—the principles of religion; vah—from you; srotu-kamena—by the desire to hear; yuyam—you; me—by me; pratyudahrtah—replied to the contrary; esah—this; vah—for you; priyam—dear; atmanam—body; tyajantam—leaving me anyway, today or tomorrow; santyajami—give up; aham—I. TRANSLATION The great sage Dadhici said: Just to hear from you about religious principles, I refused to offer my body at your request. Now, although my body is extremely dear to me, I must give it up for your better purposes since I know that it will leave me today or tomorrow. SB6.10.8 TEXT 8 yo ’dhruvenatmana natha na dharmam na yasah puman iheta bhuta-dayaya sa socyah sthavarair api SYNONYMS yah—anyone who; adhruvena—impermanent; atmana—by the body; nathah—O lords; na—not; dharmam—religious principles; na—not; yasah—fame; puman—a person; iheta—endeavors for; bhuta-dayaya—by mercy for the living beings; sah—that person; socyah—pitiable; sthavaraih—by the immobile creatures; api—even. TRANSLATION O demigods, one who has no compassion for humanity in its suffering and does not sacrifice his impermanent body for the higher causes of religious principles or eternal glory is certainly pitied even by the immovable beings. PURPORT In this regard, a very exalted example was set by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the six Gosvamis of Vrndavana. Concerning Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu it is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.34): tyaktva sudustyaja-surepsita-rajya-laksmim “We offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord. upon whom one should always meditate. He left His householder life, leaving aside His eternal consort, whom even the denizens of heaven adore. He went into the forest to deliver the fallen souls, who are put into illusion by material energy.” To accept sannyasa means to commit civil suicide. but sannyasa is compulsory, at least for every brahmana, every first-class human being. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had a very young and beautiful wife and a very affectionate mother. Indeed, the affectionate dealings of His family members were so pleasing that even the demigods could not expect such happiness at home. Nevertheless, for the deliverance of all the fallen souls of the world, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa and left home when He was only twenty-four years old. He lived a very strict life as a sannyasi, refusing all bodily comforts. Similarly, His disciples the six Gosvamis were ministers who held exalted positions in society, but they also left everything to join the movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Srinivasa Acarya says: tyaktva turnam asesa-mandala-pati-srenim sada tucchavat These Gosvamis left their very comfortable lives as ministers. Zamindars and learned scholars and joined Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement, just to show mercy to the fallen souls of the world (dina-ganesakau karunaya). Accepting very humble lives as mendicants, wearing no more than loincloths and torn quilts (kaupina-kantha). they lived in Vrndavana and followed Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s order to excavate Vrndavana’s lost glories. Similarly. everyone else with a materially comfortable condition in this world should join the Krsna consciousness movement to elevate the fallen souls. The words bhuta-dayaya, maya-mrgam dayitayepsitam and dina-ganesakau karunaya all convey the same sense. These are very significant words for those interested in elevating human society to a proper understanding of life. One should join the Krsna consciousness movement, following the examples of such great personalities as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the six Gosvamis and, before them, the great sage Dadhici. Instead of wasting one’s life for temporary bodily comforts. one should always be prepared to give up one’s life for better causes. After all, the body will be destroyed. Therefore one should sacrifice it for the glory of distributing religious principles throughout the world. SB6.10.9 TEXT 9 etavan avyayo dharmah punya-slokair upasitah yo bhuta-soka-harsabhyam atma socati hrsyati SYNONYMS etavan—this much; avyayah—imperishable; dharmah—religious principle; punya-slokaih—by famous persons who are celebrated as pious; upasitah—recognized; yah—which; bhuta—of the living beings; soka—by the distress; harsabhyam—and by the happiness; atma—the mind; socati—laments; hrsyati—feels happiness. TRANSLATION If one is unhappy to see the distress of other living beings and happy to see their happiness, his religious principles are appreciated as imperishable by exalted persons who are considered pious and benevolent. PURPORT One generally follows different types of religious principles or performs various occupational duties according to the body given to him by the modes of material nature. In this verse, however, real religious principles are explained. Everyone should be unhappy to see others in distress and happy to see others happy. Atmavat sarva-bhutesu: one should feel the happiness and distress of others as his own. It is on this basis that the Buddhist religious principle of nonviolence—ahimsah parama-dharmah—is established. We feel pain when someone disturbs us, and therefore we should not inflict pain upon other living beings. Lord Buddha’s mission was to stop unnecessary animal killing, and therefore he preached that the greatest religious principle is nonviolence. One cannot continue killing animals and at the same time be a religious man. That is the greatest hypocrisy. Jesus Christ said, “Do not kill,” but hypocrites nevertheless maintain thousands of slaughterhouses while posing as Christians. Such hypocrisy is condemned in this verse. One should be happy to see others happy, and one should be unhappy to see others unhappy. This is the principle to be followed. Unfortunately, at the present moment so-called philanthropists and humanitarians advocate the happiness of humanity at the cost of the lives of poor animals. That is not recommended herein. This verse clearly says that one should be compassionate to all living entities. Regardless of whether human. animal, tree or plant, all living entities are sons of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (14.4): sarva-yonisu kaunteya “It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.” The different forms of these living entities are only their external dresses. Every living being is actually a spirit soul, a part and parcel of God. Therefore one should not favor only one kind of living being. A Vaisnava sees all living entities as part and parcel of God. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (5.18 and Bg. 18.54): vidya-vinaya-sampanne “The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].” brahma-bhutah prasannatma “One who is transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.” A Vaisnava, therefore, is truly a perfect person because he laments to see others unhappy and feels joy at seeing others happy. A Vaisnava is para-duhkha-duhkhi; he is always unhappy to see the conditioned souls in an unhappy state of materialism. Therefore a Vaisnava is always busy preaching Krsna consciousness throughout the world. SB6.10.10 TEXT 10 aho dainyam aho kastam parakyaih ksana-bhanguraih yan nopakuryad asvarthair martyah sva-jnati-vigrahaih SYNONYMS aho—alas; dainyam—a miserable condition; aho—alas; kastam—simply tribulation; parakyaih—which after death are eatable by dogs and jackals; ksana-bhanguraih—perishable at any moment; yat—because; na—not; upakuryat—would help; a-sva-arthaih—not meant for self-interest; martyah—a living entity destined to die; sva—with his wealth; jnati—relatives and friends; vigrahaih—and his body. TRANSLATION This body, which is eatable by jackals and dogs after death, does not actually do any good for me, the spirit soul. It is usable only for a short time and may perish at any moment. The body and its possessions, its riches and relatives, must all be engaged for the benefit of others, or else they will be sources of tribulation and misery. PURPORT Similar advice is also given in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.22.35): etavaj janma-saphalyam “It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words.” This is the mission of life. One’s own body and the bodies of his friends and relatives, as well as one’s own riches and everything else one has, should be engaged for the benefit of others. This is the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. As stated in Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 9.41): bharata-bhumite haila manusya-janma yara “One who has taken birth as a human being in the land of India [Bharata-varsa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people. The word upakuryat means para-upakara, helping others. Of course, in human society there are many institutions to help others, but because philanthropists do not know how to help others, their propensity for philanthropy is ineffectual. They do not know the ultimate goal of life (sreya acaranam), which is to please the Supreme Lord. If all philanthropic and humanitarian activities were directed toward achieving the ultimate goal of life—to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead—they would all be perfect. Humanitarian work without Krsna is nothing. Krsna must be brought to the center of all our activities; otherwise no activity will have value. SB6.10.11 TEXT 11 sri-badarayanir uvaca evam krta-vyavasito dadhyann atharvanas tanum pare bhagavati brahmany atmanam sannayan jahau SYNONYMS sri-badarayanih uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; evam—thus; krta-vyavasitah—making certain of what to do (in giving his body to the demigods); dadhyan—Dadhici Muni; atharvanah—the son of Atharva; tanum—his body; pare—to the Supreme; bhagavati—Personality of Godhead; brahmani—the Supreme Brahman; atmanam—himself. the spirit soul; sannayan—offering; jahau—gave up. TRANSLATION Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: Dadhici Muni, the son of Atharva, thus resolved to give his body to the service of the demigods. He placed himself, the spirit soul, at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and in this way gave up his gross material body made of five elements. PURPORT As indicated by the words pare bhagavati brahmany atmanam sannayan, Dadhici placed himself, as spirit soul, at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this regard, one may refer to the incident of Dhrtarastra’s leaving his body, as described in the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.13.55). Dhrtarastra analytically divided his gross material body into the five different elements of which it was made—earth, water, fire, air and ether—and distributed them to the different reservoirs of these elements; in other words, he merged these five elements into the original mahat-tattva. By identifying his material conception of life, he gradually separated his spirit soul from material connections and placed himself at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The example given in this connection is that when an earthen pot is broken, the small portion of the sky within the pot is united with the large sky outside the pot. Mayavadi philosophers misunderstand this description of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Therefore Sri Ramanuja Svami, in his book Vedanta-tattva-sara, has described that this merging of the soul means that after separating himself from the material body made of eight elements—earth, water, fire, air, ether, false ego, mind and intelligence—the individual soul engages himself in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His eternal form (isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah/ anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam [Bs. 5.1]). The material cause of the material elements absorbs the material body, and the spiritual soul assumes its original position. As described by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’: [Cc. Madhya 20.108] the constitutional position of the living entity is that he is the eternal servant of Krsna. When one overcomes the material body through cultivation of spiritual knowledge and devotional service, one can revive his own position and thus engage in the service of the Lord. SB6.10.12 TEXT 12 yataksasu-mano-buddhis tattva-drg dhvasta-bandhanah asthitah paramam yogam na deham bubudhe gatam SYNONYMS yata—controlled; aksa—senses; asu—the life air; manah—the mind; buddhih—intelligence; tattva-drk—one who knows the tattvas, the material and spiritual energies; dhvasta-bandhanah—liberated from bondage; asthitah—being situated in; paramam—the supreme; yogam—absorption, trance; na—not; deham—the material body; bubudhe—perceived; gatam—left. TRANSLATION Dadhici Muni controlled his senses, life force, mind and intelligence and became absorbed in trance. Thus he cut all his material bonds. He could not perceive how his material body became separated from his self. PURPORT The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (8.5): anta-kale ca mam eva “Whoever, at the time of death, quits his body remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” Of course, one must practice before one is overcome by death, but the perfect yogi, namely the devotee, dies in trance, thinking of Krsna. He does not feel his material body being separated from his soul; the soul is immediately transferred to the spiritual world. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti: [Bg. 4.9] the soul does not enter the womb of a material mother again. but is transferred back home, back to Godhead. This yoga, bhakti-yoga, is the highest yoga system, as explained by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 6.47): yoginam api sarvesam “Of all yogis, he who always abides in Me with great faith. worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.” The bhakti-yogi always thinks of Krsna, and therefore at the time of death he can very easily transfer himself to Krsnaloka, without even perceiving the pains of death. SB6.10.13-14 TEXTS 13–14 athendro vajram udyamya nirmitam visvakarmana muneh saktibhir utsikto bhagavat-tejasanvitah vrto deva-ganaih sarvair gajendropary asobhata stuyamano muni-ganais trailokyam harsayann iva SYNONYMS atha—thereafter; indrah—the King of heaven; vajram—the thunderbolt; udyamya—firmly taking up; nirmitam—manufactured; visvakarmana—by Visvakarma; muneh—of the great sage, Dadhici; saktibhih—by the power; utsiktah—saturated; bhagavat—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tejasa—with spiritual power; anvitah—endowed; vrtah—encircled; deva-ganaih—by the other demigods; sarvaih—all; gajendra—of his elephant carrier; upari—upon the back; asobhata—shone; stuyamanah—being offered prayers; muni-ganaih—by the saintly persons; trai-lokyam—to the three worlds; harsayan—causing pleasure; iva—as it were. TRANSLATION Thereafter, King Indra very firmly took up the thunderbolt manufactured by Visvakarma from the bones of Dadhici. Charged with the exalted power of Dadhici Muni and enlightened by the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Indra rode on the back of his carrier, Airavata, surrounded by all the demigods, while all the great sages offered him praise. Thus he shone very beautifully, pleasing the three worlds as he rode off to kill Vrtrasura.
dharmistha arya-vacasa yad agad aranyam
maya-mrgam dayitayepsitam anvadhavad
vande maha-purusa te caranaravindam
bhutva dina-ganesakau karunaya kaupina-kanthasritau
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita
brahmane gavi hastini
suni caiva svapake ca
panditah sama-darsinah
na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param
dehinam iha dehisu
pranair arthair dhiya vaca
sreya-acaranam sada
janma sarthaka kari’ kara para-upakara
smaran muktva kalevaram
yah prayati sa mad-bhavam
yati nasty atra samsayah
mad-gatenantaratmana
sraddhavan bhajate yo mam
sa me yuktatamo matah