Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8: “Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Sixteen
SB8.16.21
TEXT 21
sa vidhasyati te kaman
harir dinanukampanah
amogha bhagavad-bhaktir
netareti matir mama
SYNONYMS
sah—he (Vasudeva); vidhasyati—will undoubtedly fulfill; te—your; kaman—desires; harih—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dina—unto the poor; anukampanah—very merciful; amogha—infallible; bhagavat-bhaktih—devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; na—not; itara—anything but bhagavad-bhakti; iti—thus; matih—opinion; mama—my.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is very merciful to the poor, will fulfill all of your desires, for devotional service unto Him is infallible. Any method other than devotional service is useless. That is my opinion.
PURPORT
There are three kinds of men, who are called akama, moksa-kama and sarva-kama. One who tries to get liberation from this material world is called moksa-kama, one who wants to enjoy this material world to its fullest extent is called sarva-kama, and one who has fulfilled all his desires and has no further material desires is called akama. A bhakta has no desire. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. He is purified and free from material desires. The moksa-kami wants to achieve liberation by merging into the existence of the Supreme Brahman, and because of this desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is not yet pure. And since those who want liberation are impure, what to speak of the karmis, who have so many desires to fulfill? Nonetheless, the sastra says:
akamah sarva-kamo va
moksa-kama udara-dhih
tivrena bhakti-yogena
yajeta purusam param
“Whether one desires everything or nothing or desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service.” (Bhag. 2.3.10)
Kasyapa Muni saw that his wife, Aditi, had some material desires for the welfare of her sons, but still he advised her to render devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, everyone, regardless of whether he is a karmi, jnani, yogi or bhakta, should invariably take shelter of the lotus feet of Vasudeva and render transcendental loving service unto Him so that all his desires will be duly fulfilled. Krsna is dina-anukampana: He is very merciful to everyone. Therefore if one wants to fulfill his material desires, Krsna helps him. Of course, sometimes if a devotee is very sincere, the Lord, as a special favor to him, refuses to fulfill his material desires and directly blesses him with pure, unalloyed devotional service. It is said in Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 22.38–39):
krsna kahe,——‘ama bhaje, mage visaya-sukha
amrta chadi’ visa mage,——ei bada murkha
ami——vijna, ei murkhe ‘visaya’ kene diba?
sva-caranamrta diya ‘visaya’ bhulaiba
“Krsna says, ‘If one engages in My transcendental loving service but at the same time wants the opulence of material enjoyment, he is very, very foolish. Indeed, he is just like a person who gives up ambrosia to drink poison. Since I am very intelligent, why should I give this fool material prosperity? Instead I shall induce him to take the nectar of the shelter of My lotus feet and make him forget illusory material enjoyment.’ ” If a devotee maintains some material desire and at the same time very sincerely desires to engage at the lotus feet of Krsna, Krsna may directly give him unalloyed devotional service and take away all his material desires and possessions. This is the Lord’s special favor to devotees. Otherwise, if one takes to Krsna’s devotional service but still has material desires to fulfill, he may become free from all material desires, as Dhruva Maharaja did, but this may take some time. However, if a very sincere devotee wants only Krsna’s lotus feet, Krsna directly gives him the position of suddha-bhakti, unalloyed devotional service. SB8.16.22 TEXT 22 sri-aditir uvaca kenaham vidhina brahmann upasthasye jagat-patim yatha me satya-sankalpo vidadhyat sa manoratham SYNONYMS sri-aditih uvaca—Srimati Aditi began to pray; kena—by which; aham—I; vidhina—by regulative principles; brahman—O brahmana; upasthasye—can please; jagat-patim—the Lord of the universe, Jagannatha; yatha—by which; me—my; satya-sankalpah—desire may actually be fulfilled; vidadhyat—may fulfill; sah—He (the Supreme Lord); manoratham—ambitions or desires. TRANSLATION Srimati Aditi said: O brahmana, tell me the regulative principles by which I may worship the supreme master of the world so that the Lord will be pleased with me and fulfill all my desires. PURPORT It is said, “Man proposes, God disposes.” Thus a person may desire many things, but unless these desires are fulfilled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they cannot be fulfilled. Fulfillment of desire is called satya-sankalpa. Here the word satya-sankalpa is very important. Aditi placed herself at the mercy of her husband so that he would give her directions by which to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that all her desires would be fulfilled. A disciple must first decide that he should worship the Supreme Lord, and then the spiritual master will give the disciple correct directions. One cannot dictate to the spiritual master, just as a patient cannot demand that his physician prescribe a certain type of medicine. Here is the beginning of worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (7.16): catur-vidha bhajante mam “O best among the Bharatas, four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” Aditi was arta, a person in distress. She was very much aggrieved because her sons, the demigods, were bereft of everything. Thus she wanted to take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead under the direction of her husband, Kasyapa Muni. SB8.16.23 TEXT 23 adisa tvam dvija-srestha vidhim tad-upadhavanam asu tusyati me devah sidantyah saha putrakaih SYNONYMS adisa—just instruct me; tvam—O my husband; dvija-srestha—O best of the brahmanas; vidhim—the regulative principles; tat—the Lord; upadhavanam—the process of worshiping; asu—very soon; tusyati—becomes satisfied; me—unto me; devah—the Lord; sidantyah—now lamenting; saha—with; putrakaih—all my sons, the demigods. TRANSLATION O best of the brahmanas, kindly instruct me in the perfect method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service, by which the Lord may very soon be pleased with me and save me, along with my sons, from this most dangerous condition. PURPORT Sometimes less intelligent men ask whether one has to approach a guru to be instructed in devotional service for spiritual advancement. The answer is given here—indeed, not only here, but also in Bhagavad-gita, where Arjuna accepted Krsna as his guru (sisyas te ’ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam). The Vedas also instruct, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet: [MU 1.2.12] one must accept a guru for proper direction if one is seriously inclined toward advancement in spiritual life. The Lord says that one must worship the acarya, who is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (acaryam mam vijaniyat). One should definitely understand this. In Caitanya-caritamrta it is said that the guru is the manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, according to all the evidence given by the sastra and by the practical behavior of devotees, one must accept a guru. Aditi accepted her husband as her guru, so that he would direct her how to advance in spiritual consciousness, devotional service, by worshiping the Supreme Lord. SB8.16.24 TEXT 24 sri-kasyapa uvaca etan me bhagavan prstah praja-kamasya padmajah yad aha te pravaksyami vratam kesava-tosanam SYNONYMS sri-kasyapah uvaca—Kasyapa Muni said; etat—this; me—by me; bhagavan—the most powerful; prstah—when he was requested; praja-kamasya—desiring offspring; padma-jah—Lord Brahma, who was born of a lotus flower; yat—whatever; aha—he said; te—unto you; pravaksyami—I shall explain; vratam—in the form of worship; kesava-tosanam—by which Kesava, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is satisfied. TRANSLATION Sri Kasyapa Muni said: When I desired offspring, I placed inquiries before Lord Brahma, who is born from a lotus flower. Now I shall explain to you the same process Lord Brahma instructed me, by which Kesava, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is satisfied. PURPORT Here the process of devotional service is further explained. Kasyapa Muni wanted to instruct Aditi in the same process recommended to him by Brahma for satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is valuable. The guru does not manufacture a new process to instruct the disciple. The disciple receives from the guru an authorized process received by the guru from his guru. This is called the system of disciplic succession (evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]). This is the bona fide Vedic system of receiving the process of devotional service, by which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased. Therefore, to approach a bona fide guru, or spiritual master, is essential. The bona fide spiritual master is he who has received the mercy of his guru, who in turn is bona fide because he has received the mercy of his guru. This is called the parampara system. Unless one follows this parampara system, the mantra one receives will be chanted for no purpose. Nowadays there are so many rascal gurus who manufacture their mantras as a process for material advancement, not spiritual advancement. Still, the mantra cannot be successful if it is manufactured. Mantras and the process of devotional service have special power, provided they are received from the authorized person. SB8.16.25 TEXT 25 phalgunasyamale pakse dvadasaham payo-vratam arcayed aravindaksam bhaktya paramayanvitah SYNONYMS phalgunasya—of the month of Phalguna (February and March); amale—during the bright; pakse—fortnight; dvadasa-aham—for twelve days, ending with Dvadasi, the day after Ekadasi; payah-vratam—accepting the vow of taking only milk; arcayet—one should worship; aravinda-aksam—the lotus-eyed Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhaktya—with devotion; paramaya—unalloyed; anvitah—surcharged. TRANSLATION In the bright fortnight of the month of Phalguna [February and March], for twelve days ending with Dvadasi, one should observe the vow of subsisting only on milk and should worship the lotus-eyed Supreme Personality of Godhead with all devotion. PURPORT Worshiping the Supreme Lord Visnu with devotion means following arcana-marga. sravanam kirtanam visnoh One should install the Deity of Lord Visnu or Krsna and worship Him nicely by dressing Him, decorating Him with flower garlands, and offering Him all kinds of fruits, flowers and cooked food, nicely prepared with ghee, sugar and grains. One should also offer a flame, incense and so on, while ringing a bell, as prescribed. This is called worship of the Lord. Here it is recommended that one observe the vow of subsisting only by drinking milk. This is called payo-vrata. As we generally perform devotional service on Ekadasi by not eating grains, it is generally recommended that on Dvadasi one not consume anything but milk. payo-vrata and arcana devotional service to the Supreme Lord should be performed with a pure devotional attitude (bhaktya). Without bhakti, one cannot worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah [Bg. 18.55]. If one wants to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead and be directly connected with Him, knowing what He wants to eat and how He is satisfied, one must take to the process of bhakti. As recommended here also, bhaktya paramayanvitah: one should be surcharged with unalloyed devotional service. SB8.16.26 TEXT 26 sinivalyam mrdalipya snayat kroda-vidirnaya yadi labhyeta vai srotasy etam mantram udirayet SYNONYMS sinivalyam—on the dark-moon day; mrda—with dirt; alipya—smearing the body; snayat—one should bathe; kroda-vidirnaya—dug up by the tusk of a boar; yadi—if; labhyeta—it is available; vai—indeed; srotasi—in a flowing river; etam mantram—this mantra; udirayet—one should chant. TRANSLATION If dirt dug up by a boar is available, on the day of the dark moon one should smear this dirt on his body and then bathe in a flowing river. While bathing, one should chant the following mantra. SB8.16.27 TEXT 27 tvam devy adi-varahena rasayah sthanam icchata uddhrtasi namas tubhyam papmanam me pranasaya SYNONYMS tvam—you; devi—O mother earth; adi-varahena—by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of a boar; rasayah—from the bottom of the universe; sthanam—a place; icchata—desiring; uddhrta asi—you have been raised; namah tubhyam—I offer my respectful obeisances unto you; papmanam—all sinful activities and their reactions; me—of me; pranasaya—please undo. TRANSLATION O mother earth, you were raised by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of a boar because of your desiring to have a place to stay. I pray that you kindly vanquish all the reactions of my sinful life. I offer my respectful obeisances unto you. SB8.16.28 TEXT 28 nirvartitatma-niyamo devam arcet samahitah arcayam sthandile surye jale vahnau gurav api SYNONYMS nirvartita—finished; atma-niyamah—the daily duties of washing, chanting other mantras and so on, according to one’s practice; devam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; arcet—one should worship; samahitah—with full attention; arcayam—unto the Deities; sthandile—unto the altar; surye—unto the sun; jale—unto the water; vahnau—unto the fire; gurau—unto the spiritual master; api—indeed. TRANSLATION Thereafter, one should perform his daily spiritual duties and then, with great attention, offer worship to the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and also to the altar, the sun, water, fire and the spiritual master. SB8.16.29 TEXT 29 namas tubhyam bhagavate purusaya mahiyase sarva-bhuta-nivasaya vasudevaya saksine SYNONYMS namah tubhyam—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; bhagavate—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; purusaya—the Supreme Person; mahiyase—the best of all personalities; sarva-bhuta-nivasaya—the person who lives in everyone’s heart; vasudevaya—the Lord who lives everywhere; saksine—the witness of everything. TRANSLATION O Supreme Personality of Godhead, greatest of all, who lives in everyone’s heart and in whom everyone lives, O witness of everything, O Vasudeva, supreme and all-pervading person, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. SB8.16.30 TEXT 30 namo ’vyaktaya suksmaya pradhana-purusaya ca catur-vimsad-guna-jnaya guna-sankhyana-hetave SYNONYMS namah—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; avyaktaya—who are never seen by material eyes; suksmaya—transcendental; pradhana-purusaya—the Supreme Person; ca—also; catuh-vimsat—twenty-four; guna-jnaya—the knower of the elements; guna-sankhyana—of the sankhya-yoga system; hetave—the original cause. TRANSLATION I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Person. Being very subtle, You are never visible to material eyes. You are the knower of the twenty-four elements, and You are the inaugurator of the sankhya-yoga system. PURPORT Catur-vimsad-guna, the twenty-four elements, are the five gross elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether), the three subtle elements (mind, intelligence and false ego), the ten senses (five for working and five for acquiring knowledge), the five sense objects, and contaminated consciousness. These are the subject matter of sankhya-yoga, which was inaugurated by Lord Kapiladeva. This sankhya-yoga was again propounded by another Kapila, but he was an atheist, and his system is not accepted as bona fide. SB8.16.31 TEXT 31 namo dvi-sirsne tri-pade catuh-srngaya tantave sapta-hastaya yajnaya trayi-vidyatmane namah SYNONYMS namah—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; dvi-sirsne—who have two heads; tri-pade—who have three legs; catuh-srngaya—who have four horns; tantave—who expand; sapta-hastaya—who have seven hands; yajnaya—unto the yajna-purusa, the supreme enjoyer; trayi—the three modes of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies; vidya-atmane—the Personality of Godhead, the embodiment of all knowledge; namah—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. TRANSLATION I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have two heads [prayaniya and udayaniya], three legs [savana-traya], four horns [the four Vedas] and seven hands [the seven chandas, such as Gayatri]. I offer my obeisances unto You, whose heart and soul are the three Vedic rituals [karma-kanda, jnana-kanda and upasana-kanda] and who expand these rituals in the form of sacrifice. SB8.16.32 TEXT 32 namah sivaya rudraya namah sakti-dharaya ca sarva-vidyadhipataye bhutanam pataye namah SYNONYMS namah—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; sivaya—the incarnation named Lord Siva; rudraya—the expansion named Rudra; namah—obeisances; sakti-dharaya—the reservoir of all potencies; ca—and; sarva-vidya-adhipataye—the reservoir of all knowledge; bhutanam—of the living entities; pataye—the supreme master; namah—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. TRANSLATION I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, Lord Siva, or Rudra, who are the reservoir of all potencies, the reservoir of all knowledge, and the master of everyone. PURPORT It is the system for one to offer obeisances unto the expansion or incarnation of the Lord. Lord Siva is the incarnation of ignorance, one of the material modes of nature. SB8.16.33 TEXT 33 namo hiranyagarbhaya pranaya jagad-atmane yogaisvarya-sariraya namas te yoga-hetave SYNONYMS namah—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; hiranyagarbhaya—situated as the four-headed Hiranyagarbha, Brahma; pranaya—the source of everyone’s life; jagat-atmane—the Supersoul of the entire universe; yoga-aisvarya-sariraya—whose body is full of opulences and mystic power; namah te—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; yoga-hetave—the original master of all mystic power. TRANSLATION I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are situated as Hiranyagarbha, the source of life, the Supersoul of every living entity. Your body is the source of the opulence of all mystic power. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. SB8.16.34 TEXT 34 namas ta adi-devaya saksi-bhutaya te namah narayanaya rsaye naraya haraye namah SYNONYMS namah te—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; adi-devaya—who are the original Personality of Godhead; saksi-bhutaya—the witness of everything within the heart of everyone; te—unto You; namah— I offer my respectful obeisances; narayanaya—who take the incarnation of Narayana; rsaye—the sage; naraya—the incarnation of a human being; haraye—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; namah—I offer my respectful obeisances. TRANSLATION I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are the original Personality of Godhead, the witness in everyone’s heart, and the incarnation of Nara-Narayana Rsi in the form of a human being. O Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. SB8.16.35 TEXT 35 namo marakata-syama- vapuse ’dhigata-sriye kesavaya namas tubhyam namas te pita-vasase SYNONYMS namah—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; marakata-syama-vapuse—whose bodily hue is blackish like the marakata gem; adhigata-sriye—under whose control is mother Laksmi, the goddess of fortune; kesavaya—Lord Kesava, who killed the Kesi demon; namah tubhyam—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; namah te—again I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; pita-vasase—whose garment is yellow. TRANSLATION My Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are dressed in yellow garments, whose bodily hue resembles the marakata gem, and who have full control over the goddess of fortune. O my Lord Kesava, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. SB8.16.36 TEXT 36 tvam sarva-varadah pumsam varenya varadarsabha atas te sreyase dhirah pada-renum upasate SYNONYMS tvam—You; sarva-vara-dah—who can give all kinds of benedictions; pumsam—to all living entities; varenya—O most worshipable; vara-da-rsabha—O most powerful of all givers of benediction; atah—for this reason; te—Your; sreyase—the source of all auspiciousness; dhirah—the most sober; pada-renum upasate—worship the dust of the lotus feet. TRANSLATION O most exalted and worshipable Lord, best of those who bestow benediction, You can fulfill the desires of everyone, and therefore those who are sober, for their own welfare, worship the dust of Your lotus feet. SB8.16.37 TEXT 37 anvavartanta yam devah sris ca tat-pada-padmayoh sprhayanta ivamodam bhagavan me prasidatam SYNONYMS anvavartanta—engaged in devotional service; yam—unto whom; devah—all the demigods; srih ca—and the goddess of fortune; tat-pada-padmayoh—of the lotus feet of His Lordship; sprhayantah—desiring; iva—exactly; amodam—celestial bliss; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; me—upon me; prasidatam—may be pleased. TRANSLATION All the demigods, as well as the goddess of fortune, engage in the service of His lotus feet. Indeed, they respect the fragrance of those lotus feet. May the Supreme Personality of Godhead be pleased with me. SB8.16.38 TEXT 38 etair mantrair hrsikesam avahana-puraskrtam arcayec chraddhaya yuktah padyopasparsanadibhih SYNONYMS etaih mantraih—by chanting all these mantras; hrsikesam—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all senses; avahana—calling; puraskrtam—honoring Him in all respects; arcayet—one should worship; sraddhaya—with faith and devotion; yuktah—engaged; padya-upasparsana-adibhih—with the paraphernalia of worship (padya, arghya, etc.). TRANSLATION Kasyapa Muni continued: By chanting all these mantras, welcoming the Supreme Personality of Godhead with faith and devotion, and offering Him items of worship [such as padya and arghya], one should worship Kesava, Hrsikesa, Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. SB8.16.39 TEXT 39 arcitva gandha-malyadyaih payasa snapayed vibhum vastropavitabharana- padyopasparsanais tatah gandha-dhupadibhis carced dvadasaksara-vidyaya SYNONYMS arcitva—worshiping in this way; gandha-malya-adyaih—with incense, flower garlands, etc.; payasa—with milk; snapayet—should bathe; vibhum—the Lord; vastra—dress; upavita—sacred thread; abharana—ornaments; padya—water for washing the lotus feet; upasparsanaih—touching; tatah—thereafter; gandha—fragrance; dhupa—incense; adibhih—with all of these; ca—and; arcet—should worship; dvadasa-aksara-vidyaya—with the mantra of twelve syllables. TRANSLATION In the beginning, the devotee should chant the dvadasaksara-mantra and offer flower garlands, incense and so on. After worshiping the Lord in this way, one should bathe the Lord with milk and dress Him with proper garments, a sacred thread, and ornaments. After offering water to wash the Lord’s feet, one should again worship the Lord with fragrant flowers, incense and other paraphernalia. PURPORT The dvadasaksara-mantra is om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. While worshiping the Deity, one should ring a bell with his left hand and offer padya, arghya, vastra, gandha, mala, abharana, bhusana and so on. In this way, one should bathe the Lord with milk, dress Him and again worship Him with all paraphernalia. SB8.16.40 TEXT 40 srtam payasi naivedyam saly-annam vibhave sati sasarpih sagudam dattva juhuyan mula-vidyaya SYNONYMS srtam—cooked; payasi—in milk; naivedyam—offering to the Deity; sali-annam—fine rice; vibhave—if available; sati—in this way; sa-sarpih—with ghee (clarified butter); sa-gudam—with molasses; dattva—offering Him; juhuyat—should offer oblations in the fire; mula-vidyaya—with chanting of the same dvadasaksara-mantra TRANSLATION If one can afford to, one should offer the Deity fine rice boiled in milk with clarified butter and molasses. While chanting the same original mantra, one should offer all this to the fire.
janah sukrtino ’rjuna
arto jijnasur artharthi
jnani ca bharatarsabha
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam