Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8: “Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Fifteen
SB8.15.23
TEXT 23
tam deva-dhanim sa varuthini-patir
bahih samantad rurudhe prtanyaya
acarya-dattam jalajam maha-svanam
dadhmau prayunjan bhayam indra-yositam
SYNONYMS
tam—that; deva-dhanim—place where Indra lived; sah—he (Bali Maharaja); varuthini-patih—the commander of the soldiers; bahih—outside; samantat—in all directions; rurudhe—attacked; prtanyaya—by soldiers; acarya-dattam—given by Sukracarya; jala-jam—the conchshell; maha-svanam—a loud sound; dadhmau—resounded; prayunjan—creating; bhayam—fear; indra-yositam—of all the ladies protected by Indra.
TRANSLATION
Bali Maharaja, who was the commander of numberless soldiers, gathered his soldiers outside this abode of Indra and attacked it from all directions. He sounded the conchshell given him by his spiritual master, Sukracarya, thus creating a fearful situation for the women protected by Indra.
SB8.15.24
TEXT 24
maghavams tam abhipretya
baleh paramam udyamam
sarva-deva-ganopeto
gurum etad uvaca ha
SYNONYMS
maghavan—Indra; tam—the situation; abhipretya—understanding; baleh—of Bali Maharaja; paramam udyamam—great enthusiasm; sarva-deva-gana—by all the demigods; upetah—accompanied; gurum—unto the spiritual master; etat—the following words; uvaca—said; ha—indeed.
TRANSLATION
Seeing Bali Maharaja’s indefatigable endeavor and understanding his motive, King Indra, along with the other demigods, approached his spiritual master, Brhaspati, and spoke as follows.
SB8.15.25
TEXT 25
bhagavann udyamo bhuyan
baler nah purva-vairinah
avisahyam imam manye
kenasit tejasorjitah
SYNONYMS
bhagavan—O my lord; udyamah—enthusiasm; bhuyan—great; baleh—of Bali Maharaja; nah—our; purva-vairinah—past enemy; avisahyam—unbearable; imam—this; manye—I think; kena—by whom; asit—got; tejasa—prowess; urjitah—achieved.
TRANSLATION
My lord, our old enemy Bali Maharaja now has new enthusiasm, and he has obtained such astonishing power that we think that perhaps we cannot resist his prowess.
SB8.15.26
TEXT 26
nainam kascit kuto vapi
prativyodhum adhisvarah
pibann iva mukhenedam
lihann iva diso dasa
dahann iva diso drgbhih
samvartagnir ivotthitah
SYNONYMS
na—not; enam—this arrangement; kascit—anyone; kutah—from anywhere; va api—either; prativyodhum—to counteract; adhisvarah—capable; piban iva—as if drinking; mukhena—by the mouth; idam—this (world); lihan iva—as if licking up; disah dasa—all ten directions; dahan iva—as if burning; disah—all directions; drgbhih—by his vision; samvarta-agnih—the fire known as samvarta; iva—like; utthitah—now arisen.
TRANSLATION
No one anywhere can counteract this military arrangement of Bali’s. It now appears that Bali is trying to drink up the entire universe with his mouth, lick up the ten directions with his tongue, and raise fire in every direction with his eyes. Indeed, he has arisen like the annihilating fire known as samvartaka.
SB8.15.27
TEXT 27
bruhi karanam etasya
durdharsatvasya mad-ripoh
ojah saho balam tejo
yata etat samudyamah
SYNONYMS
bruhi—kindly inform us; karanam—the cause; etasya—of all this; durdharsatvasya—of the formidableness; mat-ripoh—of my enemy; ojah—prowess; sahah—energy; balam—strength; tejah—influence; yatah—wherefrom; etat—all this; samudyamah—endeavor.
TRANSLATION
Kindly inform me. What is the cause for Bali Maharaja’s strength, endeavor, influence and victory? How has he become so enthusiastic?
SB8.15.28
TEXT 28
sri-gurur uvaca
janami maghavan chatror
unnater asya karanam
sisyayopabhrtam tejo
bhrgubhir brahma-vadibhih
SYNONYMS
sri-guruh uvaca—Brhaspati said; janami—I know; maghavan—O Indra; satroh—of the enemy; unnateh—of the elevation; asya—of him; karanam—the cause; sisyaya—unto the disciple; upabhrtam—endowed; tejah—power; bhrgubhih—by the descendants of Bhrgu; brahma-vadibhih—all-powerful brahmanas.
TRANSLATION
Brhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods, said: O Indra, I know the cause for your enemy’s becoming so powerful. The brahmana descendants of Bhrgu Muni, being pleased by Bali Maharaja, their disciple, endowed him with such extraordinary power.
PURPORT
Brhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods, informed Indra, “Ordinarily, Bali and his forces could not achieve such strength, but it appears that the brahmana descendants of Bhrgu Muni, being pleased with Bali Maharaja, endowed them with this spiritual power.” In other words, Brhaspati informed Indra that Bali Maharaja’s prowess was not his own but that of his exalted guru, Sukracarya. We sing in our daily prayers, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto ’pi **. By the pleasure of the spiritual master, one can get extraordinary power, especially in spiritual advancement. The blessings of the spiritual master are more powerful than one’s personal endeavor for such advancement. Narottama dasa Thakura therefore says:
guru-mukha-padma-vakya, cittete kariya aikya,
ara na kariha mane asa **
Especially for spiritual advancement, one should carry out the bona fide order of the spiritual master. By the parampara system, one can thus be endowed with the original spiritual power coming from the Supreme Personality of Godhead (evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]). SB8.15.29 TEXT 29 ojasvinam balim jetum na samartho ’sti kascana bhavad-vidho bhavan vapi varjayitvesvaram harim vijesyati na ko ’py enam brahma-tejah-samedhitam nasya saktah purah sthatum krtantasya yatha janah SYNONYMS ojasvinam—so powerful; balim—Bali Maharaja; jetum—to conquer; na—not; samarthah—able; asti—is; kascana—anyone; bhavat-vidhah—like you; bhavan—you yourself; va api—either; varjayitva—excepting; isvaram—the supreme controller; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vijesyati—will conquer; na—not; kah api—anyone; enam—him (Bali Maharaja); brahma-tejah-samedhitam—now empowered with brahma-tejas, extraordinary spiritual power; na—not; asya—of him; saktah—is able; purah—in front; sthatum—to stay; krta-antasya—of Yamaraja; yatha—as; janah—people. TRANSLATION Neither you nor your men can conquer the most powerful Bali. Indeed, no one but the Supreme Personality of Godhead can conquer him, for he is now equipped with the supreme spiritual power [brahma-tejas]. As no one can stand before Yamaraja, no one can now stand before Bali Maharaja. SB8.15.30 TEXT 30 tasman nilayam utsrjya yuyam sarve tri-vistapam yata kalam pratiksanto yatah satror viparyayah SYNONYMS tasmat—therefore; nilayam—not visible; utsrjya—giving up; yuyam—you; sarve—all; tri-vistapam—the heavenly kingdom; yata—go somewhere else; kalam—time; pratiksantah—waiting for; yatah—whereof; satroh—of your enemy; viparyayah—the reverse condition arrives. TRANSLATION Therefore, waiting until the situation of your enemies is reversed, you should all leave this heavenly planet and go elsewhere, where you will not be seen. SB8.15.31 TEXT 31 esa vipra-balodarkah sampraty urjita-vikramah tesam evapamanena sanubandho vinanksyati SYNONYMS esah—this (Bali Maharaja); vipra-bala-udarkah—flourishing because of the brahminical power invested in him; samprati—at the present moment; urjita-vikramah—extremely powerful; tesam—of the same brahmanas; eva—indeed; apamanena—by insult; sa-anubandhah—with friends and assistants; vinanksyati—will be vanquished. TRANSLATION Bali Maharaja has now become extremely powerful because of the benedictions given him by the brahmanas, but when he later insults the brahmanas, he will be vanquished, along with his friends and assistants. PURPORT Bali Maharaja and Indra were enemies. Therefore, when Brhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods, predicted that Bali Maharaja would be vanquished when he insulted the brahmanas by whose grace he had become so powerful, Bali Maharaja’s enemies were naturally anxious to know when that opportune moment would come. To pacify King Indra, Brhaspati assured him that the time would certainly come, for Brhaspati could see that in the future Bali Maharaja would defy the orders of Sukracarya in order to pacify Lord Visnu, Vamanadeva. Of course, to advance in Krsna consciousness, one can take all risks. To please Vamanadeva, Bali Maharaja risked defying the orders of his spiritual master, Sukracarya. Because of this, he would lose all his property, yet because of devotional service to the Lord, he would get more than he expected, and in the future, in the eighth manvantara, he would occupy the throne of Indra again. SB8.15.32 TEXT 32 evam sumantritarthas te gurunarthanudarsina hitva tri-vistapam jagmur girvanah kama-rupinah SYNONYMS evam—thus; su-mantrita—being well advised; arthah—about duties; te—they (the demigods); guruna—by their spiritual master; artha-anudarsina—whose instructions were quite befitting; hitva—giving up; tri-vistapam—the heavenly kingdom; jagmuh—went; girvanah—the demigods; kama-rupinah—who could assume any form they liked. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami continued: The demigods, being thus advised by Brhaspati for their benefit, immediately accepted his words. Assuming forms according to their desire, they left the heavenly kingdom and scattered, without being observed by the demons. PURPORT The word kama-rupinah indicates that the demigods, the inhabitants of the heavenly planets, can assume any form they desire. Thus it was not at all difficult for them to remain incognito before the eyes of the demons. SB8.15.33 TEXT 33 devesv atha nilinesu balir vairocanah purim deva-dhanim adhisthaya vasam ninye jagat-trayam SYNONYMS devesu—all the demigods; atha—in this way; nilinesu—when they disappeared; balih—Bali Maharaja; vairocanah—the son of Virocana; purim—the heavenly kingdom; deva-dhanim—the residence of the demigods; adhisthaya—taking possession of; vasam—under control; ninye—brought; jagat-trayam—the three worlds. TRANSLATION When the demigods had disappeared, Bali Maharaja, the son of Virocana, entered the heavenly kingdom, and from there he brought the three worlds under his control. SB8.15.34 TEXT 34 tam visva-jayinam sisyam bhrgavah sisya-vatsalah satena hayamedhanam anuvratam ayajayan SYNONYMS tam—unto him (Bali Maharaja); visva-jayinam—the conqueror of the entire universe; sisyam—because of his being a disciple; bhrgavah—the brahmanas, descendants of Bhrgu like Sukracarya; sisya-vatsalah—being very pleased with the disciple; satena—by one hundred; haya-medhanam—sacrifices known as asvamedha; anuvratam—following the instruction of the brahmanas; ayajayan—caused to execute. TRANSLATION The brahmana descendants of Bhrgu, being very pleased with their disciple, who had conquered the entire universe, now engaged him in performing one hundred asvamedha sacrifices. PURPORT We have seen in the dispute between Maharaja Prthu and Indra that when Maharaja Prthu wanted to perform one hundred asvamedha-yajnas, Indra wanted to impede him, for it is because of such great sacrifices that Indra was made King of heaven. Here the brahmana descendants of Bhrgu decided that although Maharaja Bali was situated on the throne of Indra, he would not be able to stay there unless he performed such sacrifices. Therefore they advised Maharaja Bali to perform at least as many asvamedha-yajnas as Indra. The word ayajayan indicates that all the brahmanas induced Bali Maharaja to perform such sacrifices. SB8.15.35 TEXT 35 tatas tad-anubhavena bhuvana-traya-visrutam kirtim diksu-vitanvanah sa reja udurad iva SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter; tat-anubhavena—because of performing such great sacrifices; bhuvana-traya—throughout the three worlds; visrutam—celebrated; kirtim—reputation; diksu—in all directions; vitanvanah—spreading; sah—he (Bali Maharaja); reje—became effulgent; udurat—the moon; iva—like. TRANSLATION When Bali Maharaja performed these sacrifices, he gained a great reputation in all directions, throughout the three worlds. Thus he shone in his position, like the brilliant moon in the sky. SB8.15.36 TEXT 36 bubhuje ca sriyam svrddham dvija-devopalambhitam krta-krtyam ivatmanam manyamano mahamanah SYNONYMS bubhuje—enjoyed; ca—also; sriyam—opulence; su-rddham—prosperity; dvija—of the brahmanas; deva—as good as the demigods; upalambhitam—achieved because of the favor; krta-krtyam—very satisfied by his activities; iva—like that; atmanam—himself; manyamanah—thinking; maha-manah—the great-minded. TRANSLATION Because of the favor of the brahmanas, the great soul Bali Maharaja, thinking himself very satisfied, became very opulent and prosperous and began to enjoy the kingdom. PURPORT The brahmanas are called dvija-deva, and ksatriyas are generally called nara-deva. The word deva actually refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The brahmanas guide human society in becoming happy by satisfying Lord Visnu, and according to their advice, the ksatriyas, who are called nara-deva, keep law and order so that other people, namely the vaisyas and sudras, may properly follow regulative principles. In this way, people are gradually elevated to Krsna consciousness. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Eighth Canto, Fifteenth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Bali Maharaja Conquers the Heavenly Planets.”