Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter One
King Sudyumna Becomes a Woman
SB9.1Summary
This chapter describes how Sudyumna became a woman and how the dynasty of Vaivasvata Manu was amalgamated with the Soma-vamsa, the dynasty coming from the moon.
By the desire of Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Gosvami told about the dynasty of Vaivasvata Manu, who was formerly King Satyavrata, the ruler of Dravida. While describing this dynasty, he also described how the Supreme Personality of Godhead, while lying down in the waters of devastation, gave birth to Lord Brahma from a lotus generated from His navel. From the mind of Lord Brahma, Marici was generated, and his son was Kasyapa. From Kasyapa, through Aditi, Vivasvan was generated, and from Vivasvan came Sraddhadeva Manu, who was born from the womb of Samjna. Sraddhadeva’s wife, Sraddha, gave birth to ten sons, such as Iksvaku and Nrga.
Sraddhadeva, or Vaivasvata Manu, the father of Maharaja Iksvaku, was sonless before Iksvaku’s birth, but by the grace of the great sage Vasistha he performed a yajna to satisfy Mitra and Varuna. Then, although Vaivasvata Manu wanted a son, by the desire of his wife he got a daughter named Ila. Manu, however, was not satisfied with the daughter. Consequently, for Manu’s satisfaction, the great sage Vasistha prayed for Ila to be transformed into a boy, and his prayer was fulfilled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus Ila became a beautiful young man named Sudyumna.
Once upon a time, Sudyumna went on tour with his ministers. At the foot of the mountain Sumeru there is a forest named Sukumara, and as soon as they entered that forest, they were all transformed into women. When Maharaja Pariksit inquired from Sukadeva Gosvami about the reason for this transformation, Sukadeva Gosvami described how Sudyumna, being transformed into a woman, accepted Budha, the son of the moon, as her husband and had a son named Pururava. By the grace of Lord Siva, Sudyumna received the benediction that he would live one month as a woman and one month as a man. Thus he regained his kingdom and had three sons, named Utkala, Gaya and Vimala, who were all very religious. Thereafter, he entrusted his kingdom to Pururava and took the order of vanaprastha life. SB9.1.1 TEXT 1 sri-rajovaca manvantarani sarvani tvayoktani srutani me viryany ananta-viryasya hares tatra krtani ca SYNONYMS sri-raja uvaca—King Pariksit said; manvantarani—all about the periods of the various Manus; sarvani—all of them; tvaya—by you; uktani—have been described; srutani—have been listened to; me—by me; viryani—wonderful activities; ananta-viryasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has unlimited potency; hareh—of the Supreme Lord, Hari; tatra—in those manvantara periods; krtani—which have been performed; ca—also. TRANSLATION King Pariksit said: My lord, Sukadeva Gosvami, you have elaborately described all the periods of the various Manus and, within those periods, the wonderful activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has unlimited potency. I am fortunate to have heard all of this from you. SB9.1.2-3 TEXTS 2–3 yo ’sau satyavrato nama rajarsir dravidesvarah jnanam yo ’tita-kalpante lebhe purusa-sevaya sa vai vivasvatah putro manur asid iti srutam tvattas tasya sutah prokta iksvaku-pramukha nrpah SYNONYMS yah asau—he who was known; satyavratah—Satyavrata; nama—by the name; raja-rsih—the saintly king; dravida-isvarah—the ruler of the Dravida countries; jnanam—knowledge; yah—one who; atita-kalpa-ante—at the end of the period of the last Manu, or at the end of the last millennium; lebhe—received; purusa-sevaya—by rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sah—he; vai—indeed; vivasvatah—of Vivasvan; putrah—son; manuh asit—became the Vaivasvata Manu; iti—thus; srutam—I have already heard; tvattah—from you; tasya—his; sutah—sons; proktah—have been explained; iksvaku-pramukhah—headed by Iksvaku; nrpah—many kings. TRANSLATION Satyavrata, the saintly king of Dravidadesa who received spiritual knowledge at the end of the last millennium by the grace of the Supreme, later became Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Vivasvan, in the next manvantara [period of Manu]. I have received this knowledge from you. I also understand that such kings as Iksvaku were his sons, as you have already explained. SB9.1.4 TEXT 4 tesam vamsam prthag brahman vamsanucaritani ca kirtayasva maha-bhaga nityam susrusatam hi nah SYNONYMS tesam—of all those kings; vamsam—the dynasties; prthak—separately; brahman—O great brahmana (Sukadeva Gosvami); vamsa-anucaritani ca—and their dynasties and characteristics; kirtayasva—kindly describe; maha-bhaga—O greatly fortunate one; nityam—eternally; susrusatam—who are engaged in your service; hi—indeed; nah—of ourselves. TRANSLATION O greatly fortunate Sukadeva Gosvami, O great brahmana, kindly describe to us separately the dynasties and characteristics of all those kings, for we are always eager to hear such topics from you. SB9.1.5 TEXT 5 ye bhuta ye bhavisyas ca bhavanty adyatanas ca ye tesam nah punya-kirtinam sarvesam vada vikraman SYNONYMS ye—all of whom; bhutah—have already appeared; ye—all of whom; bhavisyah—will appear in the future; ca—also; bhavanti—are existing; adyatanah—at present; ca—also; ye—all of whom; tesam—of all of them; nah—unto us; punya-kirtinam—who were all pious and celebrated; sarvesam—of all of them; vada—kindly explain; vikraman—about the abilities. TRANSLATION Kindly tell us about the abilities of all the celebrated kings born in the dynasty of Vaivasvata Manu, including those who have already passed, those who may appear in the future, and those who exist at present. SB9.1.6 TEXT 6 sri-suta uvaca evam pariksita rajna sadasi brahma-vadinam prstah provaca bhagavan chukah parama-dharma-vit SYNONYMS sri-sutah uvaca—Sri Suta Gosvami said; evam—in this way; pariksita—by Maharaja Pariksit; rajna—by the King; sadasi—in the assembly; brahma-vadinam—of all the great saintly experts in Vedic knowledge; prstah—having been asked; provaca—answered; bhagavan—the most powerful; sukah—Suka Gosvami; parama-dharma-vit—the most learned scholar in religious principles. TRANSLATION Suta Gosvami said: When Sukadeva Gosvami, the greatest knower of religious principles, was thus requested by Maharaja Pariksit in the assembly of all the scholars learned in Vedic knowledge, he then proceeded to speak. SB9.1.7 TEXT 7 sri-suka uvaca sruyatam manavo vamsah pracuryena parantapa na sakyate vistarato vaktum varsa-satair api SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; sruyatam—just hear from me; manavah vamsah—the dynasty of Manu; pracuryena—as expansive as possible; parantapa—O King, who can subdue your enemies; na—not; sakyate—one is able; vistaratah—very broadly; vaktum—to speak; varsa-sataih api—even if he does so for hundreds of years. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami continued: O King, subduer of your enemies, now hear from me in great detail about the dynasty of Manu. I shall explain as much as possible, although one could not say everything about it, even in hundreds of years. SB9.1.8 TEXT 8 paravaresam bhutanam atma yah purusah parah sa evasid idam visvam kalpante ’nyan na kincana SYNONYMS para-avaresam—of all living entities, in higher or lower statuses of life; bhutanam—of those who have taken material bodies (the conditioned souls); atma—the Supersoul; yah—one who is; purusah—the Supreme Person; parah—transcendental; sah—He; eva—indeed; asit—was existing; idam—this; visvam—universe; kalpa-ante—at the end of the millennium; anyat—anything else; na—not; kincana—anything whatsoever. TRANSLATION The transcendental Supreme Person, the Supersoul of all living entities, who are in different statuses of life, high and low, existed at the end of the millennium, when neither this manifested cosmos nor anything else but Him existed. PURPORT Taking the proper position from which to describe the dynasty of Manu, Sukadeva Gosvami begins by saying that when the entire world is inundated, only the Supreme Personality of Godhead exists, and nothing else. Sukadeva Gosvami will now describe how the Lord creates other things, one after another. SB9.1.9 TEXT 9 tasya nabheh samabhavat padma-koso hiranmayah tasmin jajne maharaja svayambhus catur-ananah SYNONYMS tasya—of Him (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); nabheh—from the navel; samabhavat—generated; padma-kosah—a lotus; hiranmayah—known as Hiranmaya, or golden; tasmin—on that golden lotus; jajne—appeared; maharaja—O King; svayambhuh—one who is self-manifested, who takes birth without a mother; catuh-ananah—with four heads. TRANSLATION O King Pariksit, from the navel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead was generated a golden lotus, on which the four-faced Lord Brahma took his birth. SB9.1.10 TEXT 10 maricir manasas tasya jajne tasyapi kasyapah daksayanyam tato ’dityam vivasvan abhavat sutah SYNONYMS maricih—the great saintly person known as Marici; manasah tasya—from the mind of Lord Brahma; jajne—took birth; tasya api—from Marici; kasyapah—Kasyapa (took birth); daksayanyam—in the womb of the daughter of Maharaja Daksa; tatah—thereafter; adityam—in the womb of Aditi; vivasvan—Vivasvan; abhavat—took birth; sutah—a son. TRANSLATION From the mind of Lord Brahma, Marici took birth, and from the semen of Marici, Kasyapa appeared from the womb of the daughter of Daksa Maharaja. From Kasyapa, by the womb of Aditi, Vivasvan took birth. SB9.1.11-12 TEXTS 11–12 tato manuh sraddhadevah samjnayam asa bharata sraddhayam janayam asa dasa putran sa atmavan iksvaku-nrga-saryati- dista-dhrsta-karusakan narisyantam prsadhram ca nabhagam ca kavim vibhuh SYNONYMS tatah—from Vivasvan; manuh sraddhadevah—the Manu named Sraddhadeva; samjnayam—in the womb of Samjna (the wife of Vivasvan); asa—was born; bharata—O best of the Bharata dynasty; sraddhayam—in the womb of Sraddha (the wife of Sraddhadeva); janayam asa—begot; dasa—ten; putran—sons; sah—that Sraddhadeva; atmavan—having conquered his senses; iksvaku-nrga-saryati-dista-dhrsta-karusakan—named Iksvaku, Nrga, Saryati, Dista, Dhrsta and Karusaka; narisyantam—Narisyanta; prsadhram ca—and Prsadhra; nabhagam ca—and Nabhaga; kavim—Kavi; vibhuh—the great. TRANSLATION O King, best of the Bharata dynasty, from Vivasvan, by the womb of Samjna, Sraddhadeva Manu was born. Sraddhadeva Manu, having conquered his senses, begot ten sons in the womb of his wife, Sraddha. The names of these sons were Iksvaku, Nrga, Saryati, Dista, Dhrsta, Karusaka, Narisyanta, Prsadhra, Nabhaga and Kavi. SB9.1.13 TEXT 13 aprajasya manoh purvam vasistho bhagavan kila mitra-varunayor istim prajartham akarod vibhuh SYNONYMS aprajasya—of he who had no son; manoh—of Manu; purvam—formerly; vasisthah—the great saint Vasistha; bhagavan—powerful; kila—indeed; mitra-varunayoh—of the demigods named Mitra and Varuna; istim—a sacrifice; praja-artham—for the sake of getting sons; akarot—executed; vibhuh—the great person. TRANSLATION Manu at first had no sons. Therefore, in order to get a son for him, the great saint Vasistha, who was very powerful in spiritual knowledge, performed a sacrifice to satisfy the demigods Mitra and Varuna. SB9.1.14 TEXT 14 tatra sraddha manoh patni hotaram samayacata duhitrartham upagamya pranipatya payovrata SYNONYMS tatra—in that sacrifice; sraddha—Sraddha; manoh—of Manu; patni—the wife; hotaram—to the priest performing the yajna; samayacata—begged properly; duhitr-artham—for a daughter; upagamya—coming near; pranipatya—offering obeisances; payah-vrata—who was observing the vow of drinking only milk. TRANSLATION During that sacrifice, Sraddha, Manu’s wife, who was observing the vow of subsisting only by drinking milk, approached the priest offering the sacrifice, offered obeisances to him and begged for a daughter. SB9.1.15 TEXT 15 presito ’dhvaryuna hota vyacarat tat samahitah grhite havisi vaca vasat-karam grnan dvijah SYNONYMS presitah—being told to execute the sacrifice; adhvaryuna—by the rtvik priest; hota—the priest in charge of offering oblations; vyacarat—executed; tat—that (sacrifice); samahitah—with great attention; grhite havisi—upon taking the clarified butter for the first oblation; vaca—by chanting the mantra; vasat-karam—the mantra beginning with the word vasat; grnan—reciting; dvijah—the brahmana. TRANSLATION Told by the chief priest “Now offer oblations,” the person in charge of oblations took clarified butter to offer. He then remembered the request of Manu’s wife and performed the sacrifice while chanting the word “vasat.” SB9.1.16 TEXT 16 hotus tad-vyabhicarena kanyela nama sabhavat tam vilokya manuh praha natitustamana gurum SYNONYMS hotuh—of the priest; tat—of the yajna; vyabhicarena—by that transgression; kanya—a daughter; ila—Ila; nama—by the name; sa—that daughter; abhavat—was born; tam—unto her; vilokya—seeing; manuh—Manu; praha—said; na—not; atitustamanah—very much satisfied; gurum—unto his guru. TRANSLATION Manu had begun that sacrifice for the sake of getting a son, but because the priest was diverted by the request of Manu’s wife, a daughter named Ila was born. Upon seeing the daughter, Manu was not very satisfied. Thus he spoke to his guru, Vasistha, as follows. PURPORT Because Manu had no issue, he was pleased at the birth of the child, even though a daughter, and gave her the name Ila. Later, however, he was not very satisfied to see the daughter instead of a son. Because he had no issue, he was certainly very glad at the birth of Ila, but his pleasure was temporary. SB9.1.17 TEXT 17 bhagavan kim idam jatam karma vo brahma-vadinam viparyayam aho kastam maivam syad brahma-vikriya SYNONYMS bhagavan—O my lord; kim idam—what is this; jatam—born; karma—fruitive activities; vah—of all of you; brahma-vadinam—of you, who are expert in chanting the Vedic mantras; viparyayam—deviation; aho—alas; kastam—painful; ma evam syat—thus it should not have been; brahma-vikriya—this opposite action of the Vedic mantras. TRANSLATION My lord, all of you are expert in chanting the Vedic mantras. How then has the result been opposite to the one desired? This is a matter for lamentation. There should not have been such a reversal of the results of the Vedic mantras. PURPORT In this age, the performance of yajna has been forbidden because no one can properly chant the Vedic mantras. If Vedic mantras are chanted properly, the desire for which a sacrifice is performed must be successful. Therefore the Hare Krsna chant is called the maha-mantra, the great, exalted mantra above all other Vedic mantras, because simply chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra brings so many beneficial effects. As explained by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (Siksastaka 1): ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam “Glory to the Sri Krsna sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.” Therefore, the best performance of yajna given to us is the sankirtana-yajna. Yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah (Bhag. 11.5.32). Those who are intelligent take advantage of the greatest yajna in this age by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra in congregation. When the Hare Krsna mantra is chanted by many men together, the chanting is called sankirtana, and as a result of such a yajna there will be clouds in the sky (yajnad bhavati parjanyah [Bg. 3.14]). In these days of drought, people can gain relief from scarcity of rain and food by the simple method of the Hare Krsna yajna. Indeed, this can relieve all of human society. At present there are droughts throughout Europe and America, and people are suffering, but if people take this Krsna consciousness movement seriously, if they stop their sinful activities and chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, all their problems will be solved without difficulty. In other processes of yajna there are difficulties because there are no learned scholars who can chant the mantras perfectly well, nor is it possible to secure the ingredients to perform the yajna. Because human society is poverty-stricken and men are devoid of Vedic knowledge and the power to chant the Vedic mantras, the Hare Krsna maha-mantra is the only shelter. people should be intelligent enough to chant it. Yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah [SB 11.5.32]. Those whose brains are dull cannot understand this chanting, nor can they take to it. SB9.1.18 TEXT 18 yuyam brahma-vido yuktas tapasa dagdha-kilbisah kutah sankalpa-vaisamyam anrtam vibudhesv iva SYNONYMS yuyam—of all you; brahma-vidah—completely in awareness of the Absolute Truth; yuktah—self-controlled and well balanced; tapasa—by dint of austerity and penances; dagdha-kilbisah—all kinds of material contamination having been burnt out; kutah—then how; sankalpa-vaisamyam—discrepancy in the matter of determination; anrtam—false promise, false statement; vibudhesu—in the society of the demigods; iva—or. TRANSLATION You are all self-controlled, well balanced in mind, and aware of the Absolute Truth. And because of austerities and penances you are completely cleansed of all material contamination. Your words, like those of the demigods, are never baffled. Then how is it possible that your determination has failed? PURPORT We have learned from many Vedic literatures that a benediction or curse given by the demigods never proves false. By performing austerities and penances, by controlling the senses and mind, and by achieving full knowledge of the Absolute Truth, one is fully cleansed of material contamination. Then one’s words and blessings, like those of the demigods, are never a failure. SB9.1.19 TEXT 19 nisamya tad vacas tasya bhagavan prapitamahah hotur vyatikramam jnatva babhase ravi-nandanam SYNONYMS nisamya—after hearing; tat vacah—those words; tasya—of him (Manu); bhagavan—the most powerful; prapitamahah—the great-grandfather Vasistha; hotuh vyatikramam—discrepancy on the part of the hota priest; jnatva—understanding; babhase—spoke; ravi-nandanam—unto Vaivasvata Manu, son of the sun-god. TRANSLATION The most powerful great-grandfather Vasistha, after hearing these words of Manu, understood the discrepancy on the part of the priest. Thus he spoke as follows to the son of the sun-god. SB9.1.20 TEXT 20 etat sankalpa-vaisamyam hotus te vyabhicaratah tathapi sadhayisye te suprajastvam sva-tejasa SYNONYMS etat—this; sankalpa-vaisamyam—discrepancy in the objective; hotuh—of the priest; te—your; vyabhicaratah—from deviating from the prescribed purpose; tatha api—still; sadhayisye—I shall execute; te—for you; su-prajastvam—a very nice son; sva-tejasa—by my own prowess. TRANSLATION This discrepancy in the objective is due to your priest’s deviation from the original purpose. However, by my own prowess I shall give you a good son. SB9.1.21 TEXT 21 evam vyavasito rajan bhagavan sa maha-yasah astausid adi-purusam ilayah pumstva-kamyaya SYNONYMS evam—thus; vyavasitah—deciding; rajan—O King Pariksit; bhagavan—the most powerful; sah—Vasistha; maha-yasah—very famous; astausit—offered prayers; adi-purusam—unto the Supreme Person, Lord Visnu; ilayah—of Ila; pumstva-kamyaya—for the transformation into a male. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King Pariksit, after the most famous and powerful Vasistha made this decision, he offered prayers to the Supreme Person, Visnu, to transform Ila into a male.
sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamrtasvadanam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam