Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8: “Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Twenty-three
SB8.23.16
TEXT 16
mantratas tantratas chidram
desa-kalarha-vastutah
sarvam karoti nischidram
anusankirtanam tava
SYNONYMS
mantratah—in pronouncing the Vedic mantras improperly; tantratah—in insufficient knowledge for following regulative principles; chidram—discrepancy; desa—in the matter of country; kala—and time; arha—and recipient; vastutah—and paraphernalia; sarvam—all these; karoti—makes; nischidram—without discrepancy; anusankirtanam—constantly chanting the holy name; tava—of Your Lordship.
TRANSLATION
There may be discrepancies in pronouncing the mantras and observing the regulative principles, and, moreover, there may be discrepancies in regard to time, place, person and paraphernalia. But when Your Lordship’s holy name is chanted, everything becomes faultless.
PURPORT
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has recommended:
harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha
“In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.” (Brhan-naradiya Purana 38.126) In this age of Kali, it is extremely difficult to perform Vedic ritualistic ceremonies or sacrifices perfectly. Hardly anyone can chant the Vedic mantras with perfect pronunciation or accumulate the paraphernalia for Vedic performances. Therefore the sacrifice recommended in this age is sankirtana, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord. Yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah (Bhag. 11.5.29). Instead of wasting time performing Vedic sacrifices, those who are intelligent, those who possess good brain substance, should take to the chanting of the Lord’s holy name and thus perform sacrifice perfectly. I have seen that many religious leaders are addicted to performing yajnas and spending hundreds and thousands of rupees for imperfect sacrificial performances. This is a lesson for those who unnecessarily execute such imperfect sacrifices. We should take the advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah). Although Sukracarya was a strict brahmana addicted to ritualistic activities, he also admitted, nischidram anusankirtanam tava: “My Lord, constant chanting of the holy name of Your Lordship makes everything perfect.” In Kali-yuga the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies cannot be performed as perfectly as before. Therefore Srila Jiva Gosvami has recommended that although one should take care to follow all the principles in every kind of spiritual activity, especially in worship of the Deity, there is still a chance of discrepancies, and one should compensate for this by chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In our Krsna consciousness movement we therefore give special stress to the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra in all activities. SB8.23.17 TEXT 17 tathapi vadato bhuman karisyamy anusasanam etac chreyah param pumsam yat tavajnanupalanam SYNONYMS tathapi—although there was no fault on the part of Bali Maharaja; vadatah—because of your order; bhuman—O Supreme; karisyami— I must execute; anusasanam—because it is Your order; etat—this is; sreyah—that which is the most auspicious; param—supreme; pumsam—of all persons; yat—because; tava ajna-anupalanam—to obey Your order. TRANSLATION Lord Visnu, I must nonetheless act in obedience to Your order because obeying Your order is most auspicious and is the first duty of everyone. SB8.23.18 TEXT 18 sri-suka uvaca pratinandya harer ajnam usana bhagavan iti yajna-cchidram samadhatta baler viprarsibhih saha SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; pratinandya—offering all obeisances; hareh—of the Personality of Godhead; ajnam—the order; usanah—Sukracarya; bhagavan—the most powerful; iti—thus; yajna-chidram—discrepancies in the performance of sacrifices; samadhatta—made it a point to fulfill; baleh—of Bali Maharaja; vipra-rsibhih—the best brahmanas; saha—along with. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami continued: In this way, the most powerful Sukracarya accepted the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full respect. Along with the best brahmanas, he began to compensate for the discrepancies in the sacrifices performed by Bali Maharaja. SB8.23.19 TEXT 19 evam baler mahim rajan bhiksitva vamano harih dadau bhratre mahendraya tridivam yat parair hrtam SYNONYMS evam—thus; baleh—from Bali Maharaja; mahim—the land; rajan—O King Pariksit; bhiksitva—after begging; vamanah—His Lordship Vamana; harih—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dadau—delivered; bhratre—unto His brother; maha-indraya—Indra, the King of heaven; tridivam—the planetary system of the demigods; yat—which; paraih—by others; hrtam—was taken. TRANSLATION O King Pariksit, thus having taken all the land of Bali Maharaja by begging, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vamanadeva, delivered to His brother Indra all the land taken away by Indra’s enemy. SB8.23.20-21 TEXTS 20–21 prajapati-patir brahma devarsi-pitr-bhumipaih daksa-bhrgv-angiro-mukhyaih kumarena bhavena ca kasyapasyaditeh prityai sarva-bhuta-bhavaya ca lokanam loka-palanam akarod vamanam patim SYNONYMS prajapati-patih—the master of all Prajapatis; brahma—Lord Brahma; deva—with the demigods; rsi—with the great saintly persons; pitr—with the inhabitants of Pitrloka; bhumipaih—with the Manus; daksa—with Daksa; bhrgu—with Bhrgu Muni; angirah—with Angira Muni; mukhyaih—with all the chiefs of the various planetary systems; kumarena—with Karttikeya; bhavena—with Lord Siva; ca—also; kasyapasya—of Kasyapa Muni; aditeh—of Aditi; prityai—f or the pleasure; sarva-bhuta-bhavaya—for the auspiciousness of all living entities; ca—also; lokanam—of all planetary systems; loka-palanam—of the predominating persons in all planets; akarot—made; vamanam—Lord Vamana; patim—the supreme leader. TRANSLATION Lord Brahma [the master of King Daksa and all other Prajapatis], accompanied by all the demigods, the great saintly persons, the inhabitants of Pitrloka, the Manus, the munis, and such leaders as Daksa, Bhrgu and Angira, as well as Karttikeya and Lord Siva, accepted Lord Vamanadeva as the protector of everyone. He did this for the pleasure of Kasyapa Muni and his wife Aditi and for the welfare of all the inhabitants of the universe, including their various leaders. SB8.23.22-23 TEXTS 22–23 vedanam sarva-devanam dharmasya yasasah sriyah mangalanam vratanam ca kalpam svargapavargayoh upendram kalpayam cakre patim sarva-vibhutaye tada sarvani bhutani bhrsam mumudire nrpa SYNONYMS vedanam—(for the protection) of all the Vedas; sarva-devanam—of all the demigods; dharmasya—of all principles of religion; yasasah—of all fame; sriyah—of all opulences; mangalanam—of all auspiciousness; vratanam ca—and of all vows; kalpam—the most expert; svarga-apavargayoh—of elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation from material bondage; upendram—Lord Vamanadeva; kalpayam cakre—they made it the plan; patim—the master; sarva-vibhutaye—for all purposes; tada—at that time; sarvani—all; bhutani—living entities; bhrsam—very much; mumudire—became happy; nrpa—O King. TRANSLATION O King Pariksit, Indra was considered the King of all the universe, but the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma, wanted Upendra, Lord Vamanadeva, as the protector of the Vedas, the principles of religion, fame, opulence, auspiciousness, vows, elevation to the higher planetary system, and liberation. Thus they accepted Upendra, Lord Vamanadeva, as the supreme master of everything. This decision made all living entities extremely happy. SB8.23.24 TEXT 24 tatas tv indrah puraskrtya deva-yanena vamanam loka-palair divam ninye brahmana canumoditah SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter; tu—but; indrah—the King of heaven; puraskrtya—keeping forward; deva-yanena—by an airplane used by the demigods; vamanam—Lord Vamana; loka-palaih—with the chiefs of all other planets; divam—to the heavenly planets; ninye—brought; brahmana—by Lord Brahma; ca—also; anumoditah—being approved. TRANSLATION Thereafter, along with all the leaders of the heavenly planets, Indra, the King of heaven, placed Lord Vamanadeva before him and, with the approval of Lord Brahma, brought Him to the heavenly planet in a celestial airplane. SB8.23.25 TEXT 25 prapya tri-bhuvanam cendra upendra-bhuja-palitah sriya paramaya justo mumude gata-sadhvasah SYNONYMS prapya—after obtaining; tri-bhuvanam—the three worlds; ca—also; indrah—the King of heaven; upendra-bhuja-palitah—being protected by the arms of Vamanadeva, Upendra; sriya—by opulence; paramaya—by supreme; justah—thus being served; mumude—enjoyed; gata-sadhvasah—without fear of the demons. TRANSLATION Indra, King of heaven, being protected by the arms of Vamanadeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thus regained his rule of the three worlds and was reinstated in his own position, supremely opulent, fearless and fully satisfied. SB8.23.26-27 TEXTS 26–27 brahma sarvah kumaras ca bhrgv-adya munayo nrpa pitarah sarva-bhutani siddha vaimanikas ca ye sumahat karma tad visnor gayantah param adbhutam dhisnyani svani te jagmur aditim ca sasamsire SYNONYMS brahma—Lord Brahma; sarvah—Lord Siva; kumarah ca—also Lord Karttikeya; bhrgu-adyah—headed by Bhrgu Muni, one of the seven rsis; munayah—the saintly persons; nrpa—O King; pitarah—the inhabitants of Pitrloka; sarva-bhutani—other living entities; siddhah—the residents of Siddhaloka; vaimanikah ca—human beings who can travel everywhere in outer space by airplane; ye—such persons; sumahat—highly praiseworthy; karma—activities; tat—all those (activities); visnoh—done by Lord Visnu; gayantah—glorifying; param adbhutam—uncommon and wonderful; dhisnyani—to their respective planets; svani—own; te—all of them; jagmuh—departed; aditim ca—as well as Aditi; sasamsire—praised all these activities of the Lord. TRANSLATION Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Lord Karttikeya, the great sage Bhrgu, other saintly persons, the inhabitants of Pitrloka and all other living entities present, including the inhabitants of Siddhaloka and living entities who travel in outer space by airplane, all glorified the uncommon activities of Lord Vamanadeva. O King, while chanting about and glorifying the Lord, they returned to their respective heavenly planets. They also praised the position of Aditi. SB8.23.28 TEXT 28 sarvam etan mayakhyatam bhavatah kula-nandana urukramasya caritam srotrnam agha-mocanam SYNONYMS sarvam—all; etat—these incidents; maya—by me; akhyatam—have been described; bhavatah—of you; kula-nandana—O Maharaja Pariksit, the pleasure of your dynasty; urukramasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; caritam—activities; srotrnam—of the audience; agha-mocanam—such hearing of the Lord’s activities certainly vanquishes the results of sinful activities. TRANSLATION O Maharaja Pariksit, pleasure of your dynasty, I have now described to you everything about the wonderful activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Vamanadeva. Those who hear about this are certainly freed from all the results of sinful activities. SB8.23.29 TEXT 29 param mahimna uruvikramato grnano yah parthivani vimame sa rajamsi martyah kim jayamana uta jata upaiti martya ity aha mantra-drg rsih purusasya yasya SYNONYMS param—the measurement; mahimnah—of the glories; uruvikramatah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who acts wonderfully; grnanah—can count; yah—a person who; parthivani—of the whole planet earth; vimame—can count; sah—he; rajamsi—the atoms; martyah—a human being who is subject to death; kim—what; jayamanah—one who will take birth in the future; uta—either; jatah—one who is already born; upaiti—can do; martyah—a person subject to death; iti—thus; aha—said; mantra-drk—who could foresee the Vedic mantras; rsih—the great saintly Vasistha Muni; purusasya—of the supreme person; yasya—of whom. TRANSLATION One who is subject to death cannot measure the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Trivikrama, Lord Visnu, any more than he can count the number of atoms on the entire planet earth. No one, whether born already or destined to take birth, is able to do this. This has been sung by the great sage Vasistha. PURPORT Vasistha Muni has given a mantra about Lord Visnu: na te visnor jayamano na jato mahimnah param anantam apa. No one can estimate the extent of the uncommonly glorious activities of Lord Visnu. Unfortunately, there are so-called scientists who are subject to death at every moment but are trying to understand by speculation the wonderful creation of the cosmos. This is a foolish attempt. Long, long ago, Vasistha Muni said that no one in the past could measure the glories of the Lord and that no one can do so in the future. One must simply be satisfied with seeing the glorious activities of the Supreme Lord’s creation. The Lord therefore says in Bhagavad-gita (10.42), vistabhyaham idam krtsnam ekamsena sthito jagat: “With a single fragment of Myself, I pervade and support this entire universe.” The material world consists of innumerable universes, each one full of innumerable planets, which are all considered to be products of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s material energy. Yet this is only one fourth of God’s creation. The other three fourths of creation constitute the spiritual world. Among the innumerable planets in only one universe, the so-called scientists cannot understand even the moon and Mars, but they try to defy the creation of the Supreme Lord and His uncommon energy. Such men have been described as crazy. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma (Bhag. 5.5.4). Such crazy men unnecessarily waste time, energy and money in attempting to defy the glorious activities of Urukrama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. SB8.23.30 TEXT 30 ya idam deva-devasya harer adbhuta-karmanah avataranucaritam srnvan yati param gatim SYNONYMS yah—anyone who; idam—this; deva-devasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is worshiped by the demigods; hareh—of Lord Krsna, Hari; adbhuta-karmanah—whose activities are all wonderful; avatara-anucaritam—activities performed in His different incarnations; srnvan—if one continues to hear; yati—he goes; param gatim—to the supreme perfection, back home, back to Godhead. TRANSLATION If one hears about the uncommon activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His various incarnations, he is certainly elevated to the higher planetary system or even brought back home, back to Godhead. SB8.23.31 TEXT 31 kriyamane karmanidam daive pitrye ’tha manuse yatra yatranukirtyeta tat tesam sukrtam viduh SYNONYMS kriyamane—upon the performance; karmani—of a ritualistic ceremony; idam—this description of the characteristics of Vamanadeva; daive—to please the demigods; pitrye—or to please the forefathers, as in a sraddha ceremony; atha—either; manuse—for the pleasure of human society, as in marriages; yatra—wherever; yatra—whenever; anukirtyeta—is described; tat—that; tesam—for them; sukrtam—auspicious; viduh—everyone should understand. TRANSLATION Whenever the activities of Vamanadeva are described in the course of a ritualistic ceremony, whether the ceremony be performed to please the demigods, to please one’s forefathers in Pitrloka, or to celebrate a social event like a marriage, that ceremony should be understood to be extremely auspicious. PURPORT There are three kinds of ceremonies—specifically, ceremonies to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead or the demigods, those performed for social celebrations like marriages and birthdays, and those meant to please the forefathers, like the sraddha ceremony. In all these ceremonies, large amounts of money are spent for various activities, but here it is suggested that if along with this there is recitation of the wonderful activities of Vamanadeva, certainly the ceremony will be carried out successfully and will be free of all discrepancies. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Eighth Canto, Twenty-third Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “The Demigods Regain the Heavenly planets.”