Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Eleven
Lord Ramacandra Rules the World
SB9.11Summary
This chapter describes how Lord Ramacandra resided in Ayodhya with His younger brothers and performed various sacrifices.
Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, performed various sacrifices by which to worship Himself, and at the end of these sacrifices He gave land to the hota, adhvaryu, udgata and brahma priests. He gave them the eastern, western, northern and southern directions respectively, and the balance He gave to the acarya. Lord Ramacandra’s faith in the brahmanas and affection for His servants was observed by all the brahmanas, who then offered their prayers to the Lord and returned whatever they had taken from Him. They regarded the enlightenment given to them by the Lord within the core of their hearts as a sufficient contribution. Lord Ramacandra subsequently dressed Himself like an ordinary person and began wandering within the capital to understand what impression the citizens had of Him. By chance, one night He heard a man talking to his wife, who had gone to another man’s house. In the course of rebuking his wife, the man spoke suspiciously of the character of Sitadevi. The Lord immediately returned home, and, fearing such rumors, He superficially decided to give up Sitadevi’s company. Thus He banished Sitadevi, who was pregnant, to the shelter of Valmiki Muni, where she gave birth to twin sons, named Lava and Kusa. In Ayodhya, Laksmana begot two sons named Angada and Citraketu, Bharata begot two sons named Taksa and Puskala, and Satrughna begot two sons named Subahu and Srutasena. When Bharata went out to conquer various lands on behalf of the emperor, Lord Ramacandra, He fought many millions of Gandharvas. By killing them in the fight, He acquired immense wealth, which He then brought home. Satrughna killed a demon named Lavana at Madhuvana and thus established the capital of Mathura. Meanwhile, Sitadevi placed her two sons in the care of Valmiki Muni and then entered into the earth. Upon hearing of this, Lord Ramacandra was very much aggrieved, and thus He performed sacrifices for thirteen thousand years. After describing the pastimes of Lord Ramacandra’s disappearance and establishing that the Lord appears for His pastimes only, Sukadeva Gosvami ends this chapter by describing the results of hearing about the activities of Lord Ramacandra and by describing how the Lord protected His citizens and displayed affection for His brothers. SB9.11.1 TEXT 1 sri-suka uvaca bhagavan atmanatmanam rama uttama-kalpakaih sarva-devamayam devam ije ’thacaryavan makhaih SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; atmana—by Himself; atmanam—Himself; ramah—Lord Ramacandra; uttama-kalpakaih—with very opulent paraphernalia; sarva-deva-mayam—the heart and soul of all the demigods; devam—the Supreme Lord Himself; ije—worshiped; atha—thus; acaryavan—under the guidance of an acarya; makhaih—by performing sacrifices. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami said: Thereafter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Ramacandra, accepted an acarya and performed sacrifices [yajnas] with opulent paraphernalia. Thus He Himself worshiped Himself, for He is the Supreme Lord of all demigods. PURPORT Sarvarhanam acyutejya. If Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is worshiped, then everyone is worshiped. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.31.14): yatha taror mula-nisecanena “As pouring water on the root of a tree nourishes the trunk, branches, twigs and leaves, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead satisfies the demigods, who are part of that Supreme Personality.” Performing yajna involves worshiping the Supreme Lord. Here the Supreme Lord worshiped the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is said, bhagavan atmanatmanam ije: the Lord worshiped Himself by Himself. This does not, of course, justify the Mayavada philosophy, by which one thinks himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The jiva, the living entity, is always different from the Supreme Lord. The living entities (vibhinnamsa) never become one with the Lord, although Mayavadis sometimes imitate the Lord’s worship of Himself. Lord Krsna meditated upon Himself every morning as a grhastha, and similarly Lord Ramacandra performed yajnas to satisfy Himself, but this does not mean that an ordinary living being should imitate the Lord by accepting the process of ahangraha-upasana. Such unauthorized worship is not recommended herein. SB9.11.2 TEXT 2 hotre ’dadad disam pracim brahmane daksinam prabhuh adhvaryave praticim va uttaram samagaya sah SYNONYMS hotre—unto the hota priest, who offers oblations; adadat—gave; disam—direction; pracim—the whole eastern side; brahmane—unto the brahma priest, who supervises what is done in the sacrificial arena; daksinam—the southern side; prabhuh—Lord Ramacandra; adhvaryave—unto the adhvaryu priest; praticim—the whole western side; va—also; uttaram—the northern side; sama-gaya—unto the udgata priest, who sings the Sama Veda; sah—He (Lord Ramacandra). TRANSLATION Lord Ramacandra gave the entire east to the hota priest, the entire south to the brahma priest, the west to the adhvaryu priest, and the north to the udgata priest, the reciter of the Sama Veda. In this way, He donated His kingdom. SB9.11.3 TEXT 3 acaryaya dadau sesam yavati bhus tad-antara manyamana idam krtsnam brahmano ’rhati nihsprhah SYNONYMS acaryaya—unto the acarya, the spiritual master; dadau—gave; sesam—the balance; yavati—whatever; bhuh—land; tat-antara—existing between the east, west, north and south; manyamanah—thinking; idam—all this; krtsnam—wholly; brahmanah—the brahmanas; arhati—deserve to possess; nihsprhah—having no desire. TRANSLATION Thereafter, thinking that because the brahmanas have no material desires they should possess the entire world, Lord Ramacandra delivered the land between the east, west, north and south to the acarya. SB9.11.4 TEXT 4 ity ayam tad-alankara- vasobhyam avasesitah tatha rajny api vaidehi saumangalyavasesita SYNONYMS iti—in this way (after giving everything to the brahmanas); ayam—Lord Ramacandra; tat—His; alankara-vasobhyam—with personal ornaments and garments; avasesitah—remained; tatha—as well as; rajni—the Queen (mother Sita); api—also; vaidehi—the daughter of the King of Videha; saumangalya—with only the nose ring; avasesita—remained. TRANSLATION After thus giving everything in charity to the brahmanas, Lord Ramacandra retained only His personal garments and ornaments, and similarly the Queen, mother Sita, was left with only her nose ring, and nothing else. SB9.11.5 TEXT 5 te tu brahmana-devasya vatsalyam viksya samstutam pritah klinna-dhiyas tasmai pratyarpyedam babhasire SYNONYMS te—the hota, brahma and other priests; tu—but; brahmana-devasya—of Lord Ramacandra, who loved the brahmanas so much; vatsalyam—the paternal affection; viksya—after seeing; samstutam—worshiped with prayers; pritah—being very pleased; klinna-dhiyah—with melted hearts; tasmai—unto Him (Lord Ramacandra); pratyarpya—returning; idam—this (all the land given to them); babhasire—spoke. TRANSLATION All the brahmanas who were engaged in the various activities of the sacrifice were very pleased with Lord Ramacandra, who was greatly affectionate and favorable to the brahmanas. Thus with melted hearts they returned all the property received from Him and spoke as follows. PURPORT In the previous chapter it was said that the prajas, the citizens, strictly followed the system of varnasrama-dharma. The brahmanas acted exactly like brahmanas, the ksatriyas exactly like ksatriyas, and so on. Therefore, when Lord Ramacandra gave everything in charity to the brahmanas, the brahmanas, being qualified, wisely considered that brahmanas are not meant to possess property to make a profit from it. The qualifications of a brahmana are given in Bhagavad-gita (18.42):. samo damas tapah saucam “Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness—these are the qualities by which the brahmanas work.” The brahminical character offers no scope for possessing land and ruling citizens; these are the duties of a ksatriya. Therefore, although the brahmanas did not refuse Lord Ramacandra’s gift, after accepting it they returned it to the King. The brahmanas were so pleased with Lord Ramacandra’s affection toward them that their hearts melted. They saw that Lord Ramacandra, aside from being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was fully qualified as a ksatriya and was exemplary in character. One of the qualifications of a ksatriya is to be charitable. A ksatriya, or ruler, levies taxes upon the citizens not for his personal sense gratification but to give charity in suitable cases. Danam isvara-bhavah. On one hand, ksatriyas have the propensity to rule, but on the other they are very liberal with charity. When Maharaja Yudhisthira gave charity, he engaged Karna to take charge of distributing it. Karna was very famous as Data Karna. The word data refers to one who gives charity very liberally. The kings always kept a large quantity of food grains in stock, and whenever there was any scarcity of grains, they would distribute grains in charity. A ksatriya’s duty is to give charity, and a brahmana’s duty is to accept charity, but not more than needed to maintain body and soul together. Therefore, when the brahmanas were given so much land by Lord Ramacandra, they returned it to Him and were not greedy. SB9.11.6 TEXT 6 aprattam nas tvaya kim nu bhagavan bhuvanesvara yan no ’ntar-hrdayam visya tamo hamsi sva-rocisa SYNONYMS aprattam—not given; nah—unto us; tvaya—by Your Lordship; kim—what; nu—indeed; bhagavan—O Supreme Lord; bhuvana-isvara—O master of the whole universe; yat—because; nah—our; antah-hrdayam—within the core of the heart; visya—entering; tamah—the darkness of ignorance; hamsi—You annihilate; sva-rocisa—by Your own effulgence. TRANSLATION O Lord, You are the master of the entire universe. What have You not given to us? You have entered the core of our hearts and dissipated the darkness of our ignorance by Your effulgence. This is the supreme gift. We do not need a material donation. PURPORT When Dhruva Maharaja was offered a benediction by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he replied, “O my Lord, I am fully satisfied. I do not need any material benediction.” Similarly, when Prahlada Maharaja was offered a benediction by Lord Nrsimhadeva, he also refused to accept it and instead declared that a devotee should not be like a vanik, a mercantile man who gives something in exchange for some profit. One who becomes a devotee for some material profit is not a pure devotee. Brahmanas are always enlightened by the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the heart (sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca [Bg. 15.15]). And because the brahmanas and Vaisnavas are always directed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are not greedy for material wealth. What is absolutely necessary they possess, but they do not want an expanded kingdom. An example of this was given by Vamanadeva. Acting as a brahmacari, Lord Vamanadeva wanted only three paces of land. Aspiring to possess more and more for personal sense gratification is simply ignorance, and this ignorance is conspicuous by its absence from the heart of a brahmana or Vaisnava. SB9.11.7 TEXT 7 namo brahmanya-devaya ramayakuntha-medhase uttamasloka-dhuryaya nyasta-dandarpitanghraye SYNONYMS namah—we offer our respectful obeisances; brahmanya-devaya—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who accepts the brahmanas as His worshipable deity; ramaya—unto Lord Ramacandra; akuntha-medhase—whose memory and knowledge are never disturbed by anxiety; uttamasloka-dhuryaya—the best of very famous persons; nyasta-danda-arpita-anghraye—whose lotus feet are worshiped by sages beyond the jurisdiction of punishment. TRANSLATION O Lord, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have accepted the brahmanas as Your worshipable deity. Your knowledge and memory are never disturbed by anxiety. You are the chief of all famous persons within this world, and Your lotus feet are worshiped by sages who are beyond the jurisdiction of punishment. O Lord Ramacandra, let us offer our respectful obeisances unto You. SB9.11.8 TEXT 8 kadacil loka-jijnasur gudho ratryam alaksitah caran vaco ’srnod ramo bharyam uddisya kasyacit SYNONYMS kadacit—once upon a time; loka-jijnasuh—desiring to know about the public; gudhah—hiding Himself by a disguise; ratryam—at night; alaksitah—without being identified by anyone else; caran—walking; vacah—speaking; asrnot—heard; ramah—Lord Ramacandra; bharyam—unto His wife; uddisya—indicating; kasyacit—of someone. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami continued: Once while Lord Ramacandra was walking at night incognito, hiding Himself by a disguise to find out the people’s opinion of Himself, He heard a man speaking unfavorably about His wife, Sitadevi. SB9.11.9 TEXT 9 naham bibharmi tvam dustam asatim para-vesma-gam straino hi bibhryat sitam ramo naham bhaje punah SYNONYMS na—not; aham—I; bibharmi—can maintain; tvam—you; dustam—because you are polluted; asatim—unchaste; para-vesma-gam—one who has gone to another man’s house and committed adultery; strainah—a person who is henpecked; hi—indeed; bibhryat—can accept; sitam—even Sita; ramah—like Lord Ramacandra; na—not; aham—I; bhaje—shall accept; punah—again. TRANSLATION [Speaking to his unchaste wife, the man said] You go to another man’s house, and therefore you are unchaste and polluted. I shall not maintain you any more. A henpecked husband like Lord Rama may accept a wife like Sita, who went to another man’s house, but I am not henpecked like Him, and therefore I shall not accept you again. SB9.11.10 TEXT 10 iti lokad bahu-mukhad duraradhyad asamvidah patya bhitena sa tyakta prapta pracetasasramam SYNONYMS iti—thus; lokat—from persons; bahu-mukhat—who can talk nonsensically in various ways; duraradhyat—whom it is very difficult to stop; asamvidah—who are without full knowledge; patya—by the husband; bhitena—being afraid; sa—mother Sita; tyakta—was abandoned; prapta—went; pracetasa-asramam—to the hermitage of Pracetasa (Valmiki Muni). TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami said: Men with a poor fund of knowledge and a heinous character speak nonsensically. Fearing such rascals, Lord Ramacandra abandoned His wife, Sitadevi, although she was pregnant. Thus Sitadevi went to the asrama of Valmiki Muni. SB9.11.11 TEXT 11 antarvatny agate kale yamau sa susuve sutau kuso lava iti khyatau tayos cakre kriya munih SYNONYMS antarvatni—the pregnant wife; agate—arrived; kale—in due course of time; yamau—twins; sa—Sitadevi; susuve—gave birth to; sutau—two sons; kusah—Kusa; lavah—Lava; iti—thus; khyatau—celebrated; tayoh—of them; cakre—performed; kriyah—the ritualistic ceremonies of birth; munih—the great sage Valmiki. TRANSLATION When the time came, the pregnant mother Sitadevi gave birth to twin sons, later celebrated as Lava and Kusa. The ritualistic ceremonies for their birth were performed by Valmiki Muni. SB9.11.12 TEXT 12 angadas citraketus ca laksmanasyatmajau smrtau taksah puskala ity astam bharatasya mahipate SYNONYMS angadah—Angada; citraketuh—Citraketu; ca—also; laksmanasya—of Lord Laksmana; atmajau—two sons; smrtau—were said to be; taksah—Taksa; puskalah—Puskala; iti—thus; astam—were; bharatasya—of Lord Bharata; mahipate—O King Pariksit. TRANSLATION O Maharaja Pariksit, Lord Laksmana had two sons, named Angada and Citraketu, and Lord Bharata also had two sons, named Taksa and Puskala. SB9.11.13-14 TEXTS 13–14 subahuh srutasenas ca satrughnasya babhuvatuh gandharvan kotiso jaghne bharato vijaye disam tadiyam dhanam aniya sarvam rajne nyavedayat satrughnas ca madhoh putram lavanam nama raksasam hatva madhuvane cakre mathuram nama vai purim SYNONYMS subahuh—Subahu; srutasenah—Srutasena; ca—also; satrughnasya—of Lord Satrughna; babhuvatuh—were born; gandharvan—persons related with the Gandharvas, who are mostly pretenders; kotisah—by the tens of millions; jaghne—killed; bharatah—Lord Bharata; vijaye—while conquering; disam—all directions; tadiyam—of the Gandharvas; dhanam—riches; aniya—bringing; sarvam—everything; rajne—unto the King (Lord Ramacandra); nyavedayat—offered; satrughnah—Satrughna; ca—and; madhoh—of Madhu; putram—the son; lavanam—Lavana; nama—by the name; raksasam—a man-eater; hatva—by killing; madhuvane—in the great forest known as Madhuvana; cakre—constructed; mathuram—Mathura; nama—by the name; vai—indeed; purim—a great town. TRANSLATION Satrughna had two sons, named Subahu and Srutasena. When Lord Bharata went to conquer all directions, He had to kill many millions of Gandharvas, who are generally pretenders. Taking all their wealth, He offered it to Lord Ramacandra. Satrughna also killed a Raksasa named Lavana, who was the son of Madhu Raksasa. Thus He established in the great forest known as Madhuvana the town known as Mathura. SB9.11.15 TEXT 15 munau niksipya tanayau sita bhartra vivasita dhyayanti rama-caranau vivaram pravivesa ha SYNONYMS munau—unto the great sage Valmiki; niksipya—giving in charge; tanayau—the two sons Lava and Kusa; sita—mother Sitadevi; bhartra—by her husband; vivasita—banished; dhyayanti—meditating upon; rama-caranau—the lotus feet of Lord Ramacandra; vivaram—within the earth; pravivesa—she entered; ha—indeed. TRANSLATION Being forsaken by her husband, Sitadevi entrusted her two sons to the care of Valmiki Muni. Then, meditating upon the lotus feet of Lord Ramacandra, she entered into the earth. PURPORT It was impossible for Sitadevi to live in separation from Lord Ramacandra. Therefore, after entrusting her two sons to the care of Valmiki Muni, she entered into the earth. SB9.11.16 TEXT 16 tac chrutva bhagavan ramo rundhann api dhiya sucah smarams tasya gunams tams tan nasaknod roddhum isvarah SYNONYMS tat—this (the news of Sitadevi’s entering the earth); srutva—hearing; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ramah—Lord Ramacandra; rundhan—trying to reject; api—although; dhiya—by intelligence; sucah—grief; smaran—remembering; tasyah—of her; gunan—qualities; tan tan—under different circumstances; na—not; asaknot—was able; roddhum—to check; isvarah—although the supreme controller. TRANSLATION After hearing the news of mother Sita’s entering the earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was certainly aggrieved. Although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, upon remembering the exalted qualities of mother Sita, He could not check His grief in transcendental love. PURPORT Lord Ramacandra’s grief at the news of Sitadevi’s entering the earth is not to be considered material. In the spiritual world also there are feelings of separation, but such feelings are considered spiritual bliss. Grief in separation exists even in the Absolute, but such feelings of separation in the spiritual world are transcendentally blissful. Such feelings are a sign of tasya prema-vasyatva-svabhava, being under the influence of hladini-sakti and being controlled by love. In the material world such feelings of separation are only a perverted reflection. SB9.11.17 TEXT 17 stri-pum-prasanga etadrk sarvatra trasam-avahah apisvaranam kim uta gramyasya grha-cetasah SYNONYMS stri-pum-prasangah—attraction between husband and wife, or man and woman; etadrk—like this; sarvatra—everywhere; trasam-avahah—the cause of fear; api—even; isvaranam—of controllers; kim uta—and what to speak of; gramyasya—of ordinary men of this material world; grha-cetasah—who are attached to materialistic household life. TRANSLATION The attraction between man and woman, or male and female, always exists everywhere, making everyone always fearful. Such feelings are present even among the controllers like Brahma and Lord Siva and is the cause of fear for them, what to speak of others who are attached to household life in this material world. PURPORT As explained above, when the feelings of love and transcendental bliss from the spiritual world are pervertedly reflected in this material world, they are certainly the cause of bondage. As long as men feel attracted to women in this material world and women feel attracted to men, the bondage of repeated birth and death will continue. But in the spiritual world, where there is no fear of birth and death, such feelings of separation are the cause of transcendental bliss. In the absolute reality there are varieties of feeling, but all of them are of the same quality of transcendental bliss. SB9.11.18 TEXT 18 tata urdhvam brahmacaryam dharyann ajuhot prabhuh trayodasabda-sahasram agnihotram akhanditam SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter; urdhvam—after mother Sita’s going into the earth; brahmacaryam—complete celibacy; dharayan—observing; ajuhot—performed a ritualistic ceremony and sacrifice; prabhuh—Lord Ramacandra; trayodasa-abda-sahasram—for thirteen thousand years; agnihotram—the sacrifice known as Agnihotra-yajna; akhanditam—without ceasing. TRANSLATION After mother Sita entered the earth, Lord Ramacandra observed complete celibacy and performed an uninterrupted Agnihotra-yajna for thirteen thousand years. SB9.11.19 TEXT 19 smaratam hrdi vinyasya viddham dandaka-kantakaih sva-pada-pallavam rama atma-jyotir agat tatah SYNONYMS smaratam—of persons who always think of Him; hrdi—in the core of the heart; vinyasya—placing; viddham—pierced; dandaka-kantakaih—by thorns in the forest of Dandakaranya (while Lord Ramacandra was living there); sva-pada-pallavam—the petals of Mis lotus feet; ramah—Lord Ramacandra; atma-jyotih—the rays of His bodily luster, known as the brahmajyoti; agat—entered; tatah—beyond the brahmajyoti, or in His own Vaikuntha planet. TRANSLATION After completing the sacrifice, Lord Ramacandra, whose lotus feet were sometimes pierced by thorns when He lived in Dandakaranya, placed those lotus feet in the hearts of those who always think of Him. Then He entered His own abode, the Vaikuntha planet beyond the brahmajyoti. PURPORT The lotus feet of the Lord are always a subject matter for meditation for devotees. Sometimes when Lord Ramacandra wandered in the forest of Dandakaranya, thorns pricked His lotus feet. The devotees, upon thinking of this, would faint. The Lord does not feel pain or pleasure from any action or reaction of this material world, but the devotees cannot tolerate even the pricking of the Lord’s lotus feet by a thorn. This was the attitude of the gopis when they thought of Krsna wandering in the forest, with pebbles and grains of sand pricking His lotus feet. This tribulation in the heart of a devotee cannot be understood by karmis, jnanis or yogis. The devotees, who could not tolerate even thinking of the Lord’s lotus feet being pricked by a thorn, were again put into tribulation by thinking of the Lord’s disappearance, for the Lord had to return to His abode after finishing His pastimes in this material world. The word atma-jyotih is significant. The brahmajyoti, which is greatly appreciated by jnanis, or monistic philosophers who desire to enter it for liberation, is nothing but the rays of the Lord’s body. yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti- “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes.” (Brahma-samhita 5.40) The brahmajyoti is the beginning of the spiritual world, and beyond the brahmajyoti are the Vaikuntha planets. In other words, the brahmajyoti stays outside the Vaikuntha planets, just as the sunshine stays outside the sun. To enter the sun planet, one must go through the sunshine. Similarly, when the Lord or His devotees enter the Vaikuntha planets, they go through the brahmajyoti. The jnanis, or monistic philosophers, because of their impersonal conception of the Lord, cannot enter the Vaikuntha planets, but they also cannot stay eternally in the brahmajyoti. Thus after some time they fall again to this material world. Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adho ’nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah (Bhag. 10.2.32). The Vaikuntha planets are covered by the brahmajyoti, and therefore one cannot properly understand what those Vaikuntha planets are unless one is a pure devotee.
trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam
tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya
ksantir arjavam eva ca
jnanam vijnanam astikyam
brahma-karma svabhavajam
kotisv asesa-vasudhadi-vibhuti-bhinnam
tad brahma niskalam anantam asesa-bhutam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami