Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 9: “Liberation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Twenty-one
The Dynasty of Bharata
SB9.21Summary
This Twenty-first Chapter describes the dynasty born from Maharaja Bharata, the son of Maharaja Dusmanta, and it also describes the glories of Rantideva, Ajamidha and others.
The son of Bharadvaja was Manyu, and Manyu’s sons were Brhatksatra, Jaya, Mahavirya, Nara and Garga. Of these five, Nara had a son named Sankrti, who had two sons, named Guru and Rantideva. As an exalted devotee, Rantideva saw every living entity in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore he completely engaged his mind, his words and his very self in the service of the Supreme Lord and His devotees. Rantideva was so exalted that he would sometimes give away his own food in charity, and he and his family would fast. Once, after Rantideva spent forty-eight days fasting, not even drinking water, excellent food made with ghee was brought to him, but when he was about to eat it a brahmana guest appeared. Rantideva, therefore, did not eat the food, but instead immediately offered a portion of it to the brahmana. When the brahmana left and Rantideva was just about to eat the remnants of the food, a sudra appeared. Rantideva therefore divided the remnants between the sudra and himself. Again, when he was just about to eat the remnants of the food, another guest appeared. Rantideva therefore gave the rest of the food to the new guest and was about to content himself with drinking the water to quench his thirst, but this also was precluded, for a thirsty guest came and Rantideva gave him the water. This was all ordained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead just to glorify His devotee and show how tolerant a devotee is in rendering service to the Lord. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, being extremely pleased with Rantideva, entrusted him with very confidential service. The special power to render the most confidential service is entrusted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to a pure devotee, not to ordinary devotees.
Garga, the son of Bharadvaja, had a son named Sini, and Sini’s son was Gargya. Although Gargya was a ksatriya by birth, his sons became brahmanas. The son of Mahavirya was Duritaksaya, whose sons were of a ksatriya king, they also achieved the position of brahmanas. The son of Brhatksatra constructed the city of Hastinapura and was known as Hasti. His sons were Ajamidha, Dvimidha and Purumidha.
From Ajamidha came Priyamedha and other brahmanas and also a son named Brhadisu. The sons, grandsons and further descendants of Brhadisu were Brhaddhanu, Brhatkaya, Jayadratha, Visada and Syenajit. From Syenajit came four sons—Rucirasva, Drdhahanu, Kasya and Vatsa. From Rucirasva came a son named Para, whose sons were Prthusena and Nipa, and from Nipa came one hundred sons. Another son of Nipa was Brahmadatta. From Brahmadatta came Visvaksena; from Visvaksena, Udaksena; and from Udaksena, Bhallata.
The son of Dvimidha was Yavinara, and from Yavinara came many sons and grandsons, such as Krtiman, Satyadhrti, Drdhanemi, Suparsva, Sumati, Sannatiman, Krti, Nipa, Udgrayudha, Ksemya, Suvira, Ripunjaya and Bahuratha. Purumidha had no sons, but Ajamidha, in addition to his other sons, had a son named Nila, whose son was Santi. The descendants of Santi were Susanti, Puruja, Arka and Bharmyasva. Bharmyasva had five sons, one of whom, Mudgala, begot a dynasty of brahmanas. Mudgala had twins—a son, Divodasa, and a daughter, Ahalya. From Ahalya, by her husband, Gautama, Satananda was born. The son of Satananda was Satyadhrti, and his son was Saradvan. Saradvan’s son was known as Krpa, and Saradvan’s daughter, known as Krpi, became the wife of Dronacarya. SB9.21.1 TEXT 1 sri-suka uvaca vitathasya sutan manyor brhatksatro jayas tatah mahaviryo naro gargah sankrtis tu naratmajah SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; vitathasya—of Vitatha (Bharadvaja), who was accepted in the family of Maharaja Bharata under special circumstances of disappointment; sutat—from the son; manyoh—named Manyu; brhatksatrah—Brhatksatra; jayah—Jaya; tatah—from him; mahaviryah—Mahavirya; narah—Nara; gargah—Garga; sankrtih—Sankrti; tu—certainly; nara-atmajah—the son of Nara. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami said: Because Bharadvaja was delivered by the Marut demigods, he was known as Vitatha. The son of Vitatha was Manyu, and from Manyu came five sons—Brhatksatra, Jaya, Mahavirya, Nara and Garga. Of these five, the one known as Nara had a son named Sankrti. SB9.21.2 TEXT 2 gurus ca rantidevas ca sankrteh pandu-nandana rantidevasya mahima ihamutra ca giyate SYNONYMS guruh—a son named Guru; ca—and; rantidevah ca—and a son named Rantideva; sankrteh—from Sankrti; pandu-nandana—O Maharaja Pariksit, descendant of Pandu; rantidevasya—of Rantideva; mahima—the glories; iha—in this world; amutra—and in the next world; ca—also; giyate—are glorified. TRANSLATION O Maharaja Pariksit, descendant of Pandu, Sankrti had two sons, named Guru and Rantideva. Rantideva is famous in both this world and the next, for he is glorified not only in human society but also in the society of the demigods. SB9.21.3-5 TEXTS 3–5 viyad-vittasya dadato labdham labdham bubhuksatah niskincanasya dhirasya sakutumbasya sidatah vyatiyur asta-catvarimsad ahany apibatah kila ghrta-payasa-samyavam toyam pratar upasthitam krcchra-prapta-kutumbasya ksut-trdbhyam jata-vepathoh atithir brahmanah kale bhoktu-kamasya cagamat SYNONYMS viyat-vittasya—of Rantideva, who received things sent by providence, just as the cataka bird receives water from the sky; dadatah—who distributed to others; labdham—whatever he got; labdham—such gains; bubhuksatah—he enjoyed; niskincanasya—always penniless; dhirasya—yet very sober; sa-kutumbasya—even with his family members; sidatah—suffering very much; vyatiyuh—passed by; asta-catvarimsat—forty-eight; ahani—days; apibatah—without even drinking water; kila—indeed; ghrta-payasa—food prepared with ghee and milk; samyavam—varieties of food grains; toyam—water; pratah—in the morning; upasthitam—arrived by chance; krcchra-prapta—undergoing suffering; kutumbasya—whose family members; ksut-trdbhyam—by thirst and hunger; jata—became; vepathoh—trembling; atithih—a guest; brahmanah—a brahmana; kale—just at that time; bhoktu-kamasya—of Rantideva, who desired to eat something; ca—also; agamat—arrived there. TRANSLATION Rantideva never endeavored to earn anything. He would enjoy whatever he got by the arrangement of providence, but when guests came he would give them everything. Thus he underwent considerable suffering, along with the members of his family. Indeed, he and his family members shivered for want of food and water, yet Rantideva always remained sober. Once, after fasting for forty-eight days, in the morning Rantideva received some water and some foodstuffs made with milk and ghee, but when he and his family were about to eat, a brahmana guest arrived. SB9.21.6 TEXT 6 tasmai samvyabhajat so ’nnam adrtya sraddhayanvitah harim sarvatra sampasyan sa bhuktva prayayau dvijah SYNONYMS tasmai—unto him (the brahmana); samvyabhajat—after dividing, gave his share; sah—he (Rantideva); annam—the food; adrtya—with great respect; sraddhaya anvitah—and with faith; harim—the Supreme Lord; sarvatra—everywhere, or in the heart of every living being; sampasyan—conceiving; sah—he; bhuktva—after eating the food; prayayau—left that place; dvijah—the brahmana. TRANSLATION Because Rantideva perceived the presence of the Supreme Godhead everywhere, and in every living entity, he received the guest with faith and respect and gave him a share of the food. The brahmana guest ate his share and then went away. PURPORT Rantideva perceived the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every living being, but he never thought that because the Supreme Lord is present in every living being, every living being must be God. Nor did he distinguish between one living being and another. He perceived the presence of the Lord both in the brahmana and in the candala. This is the true vision of equality, as confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita (5.18): vidya-vinaya-sampanne “The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].” A pandita, or learned person, perceives the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every living being. Therefore, although it has now become fashionable to give preference to the so-called daridra-narayana, or “poor Narayana,” Rantideva had no reason to give preference to any one person. The idea that because Narayana is present in the heart of one who is daridra, or poor, the poor man should be called daridra-narayana is a wrong conception. By such logic, because the Lord is present within the hearts of the dogs and hogs, the dogs and hogs would also be Narayana. One should not mistakenly think that Rantideva subscribed to this view. Rather, he saw everyone as part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (hari-sambandhi-vastunah). It is not that everyone is the Supreme Godhead. Such a theory, which is propounded by the Mayavada philosophy, is always misleading, and Rantideva would never have accepted it. SB9.21.7 TEXT 7 athanyo bhoksyamanasya vibhaktasya mahipateh vibhaktam vyabhajat tasmai vrsalaya harim smaran SYNONYMS atha—thereafter; anyah—another guest; bhoksyamanasya—who was just about to eat; vibhaktasya—after setting aside the share for the family; mahipateh—of the King; vibhaktam—the food allotted for the family; vyabhajat—he divided and distributed; tasmai—unto him; vrsalaya—unto a sudra; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; smaran—remembering. TRANSLATION Thereafter, having divided the remaining food with his relatives, Rantideva was just about to eat his own share when a sudra guest arrived. Seeing the sudra in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, King Rantideva gave him also a share of the food. PURPORT Because King Rantideva saw everyone as part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he never distinguished between the brahmana and the sudra, the poor and the rich. Such equal vision is called sama-darsinah (panditah sama-darsinah [Bg. 5.18]). One who has actually realized that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated in everyone’s heart and that every living being is part of the Lord does not make any distinction between the brahmana and the sudra, the poor (daridra) and the rich (dhani). Such a person sees all living beings equally and treats them equally, without discrimination. SB9.21.8 TEXT 8 yate sudre tam anyo ’gad atithih svabhir avrtah rajan me diyatam annam saganaya bubhuksate SYNONYMS yate—when he went away; sudre—the sudra guest; tam—unto the King; anyah—another; agat—arrived there; atithih—guest; svabhih avrtah—accompanied by dogs; rajan—O King; me—unto me; diyatam—deliver; annam—eatables; sa-ganaya—with my company of dogs; bubhuksate—hankering for food. TRANSLATION When the sudra went away, another guest arrived, surrounded by dogs, and said, “O King, I and my company of dogs are very hungry. Please give us something to eat.” SB9.21.9 TEXT 9 sa adrtyavasistam yad bahu-mana-puraskrtam tac ca dattva namascakre svabhyah sva-pataye vibhuh SYNONYMS sah—he (King Rantideva); adrtya—after honoring them; avasistam—the food that remained after the brahmana and sudra were fed; yat—whatever there was; bahu-mana-puraskrtam—offering him much respect; tat—that; ca—also; dattva—giving away; namah-cakre—offered obeisances; svabhyah—unto the dogs; sva-pataye—unto the master of the dogs; vibhuh—the all-powerful King. TRANSLATION With great respect, King Rantideva offered the balance of the food to the dogs and the master of the dogs, who had come as guests. The King offered them all respects and obeisances. SB9.21.10 TEXT 10 paniya-matram ucchesam tac caika-paritarpanam pasyatah pulkaso ’bhyagad apo dehy asubhaya me SYNONYMS paniya-matram—only the drinking water; ucchesam—what remained of the food; tat ca—that also; eka—for one; paritarpanam—satisfying; pasyatah—when the King was about to drink; pulkasah—a candala; abhyagat—came there; apah—water; dehi—please give; asubhaya—although I am a lowborn candala; me—to me. TRANSLATION Thereafter, only the drinking water remained, and there was only enough to satisfy one person, but when the King was just about to drink it, a candala appeared and said, “O King, although I am lowborn, kindly give me some drinking water.” SB9.21.11 TEXT 11 tasya tam karunam vacam nisamya vipula-sramam krpaya bhrsa-santapta idam ahamrtam vacah SYNONYMS tasya—of him (the candala); tam—those; karunam—pitiable; vacam—words; nisamya—hearing; vipula—very much; sramam—fatigued; krpaya—out of compassion; bhrsa-santaptah—very much aggrieved; idam—these; aha—spoke; amrtam—very sweet; vacah—words. TRANSLATION Aggrieved at hearing the pitiable words of the poor fatigued candala, Maharaja Rantideva spoke the following nectarean words. PURPORT Maharaja Rantideva’s words were like amrta, or nectar, and therefore, aside from rendering bodily service to an aggrieved person, by his words alone the King could save the life of anyone who might hear him. SB9.21.12 TEXT 12 na kamaye ’ham gatim isvarat param astarddhi-yuktam apunar-bhavam va artim prapadye ’khila-deha-bhajam antah-sthito yena bhavanty aduhkhah SYNONYMS na—not; kamaye—desire; aham—I; gatim—destination; isvarat—from the Supreme Personality of Godhead; param—great; asta-rddhi-yuktam—composed of the eight kinds of mystic perfection; apunah-bhavam—cessation of repeated birth (liberation, salvation); va—either; artim—sufferings; prapadye—I accept; akhila-deha-bhajam—of all living entities; antah-sthitah—staying among them; yena—by which; bhavanti—they become; aduhkhah—without distress. TRANSLATION I do not pray to the Supreme Personality of Godhead for the eight perfections of mystic yoga, nor for salvation from repeated birth and death. I want only to stay among all the living entities and suffer all distresses on their behalf, so that they may be freed from suffering. PURPORT Vasudeva Datta made a similar statement to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, requesting the Lord to liberate all living entities in His presence. Vasudeva Datta submitted that if they were unfit to be liberated, he himself would take all their sinful reactions and suffer personally so that the Lord might deliver them. A Vaisnava is therefore described as being para-duhkha-duhkhi, very much aggrieved by the sufferings of others. As such, a Vaisnava engages in activities for the real welfare of human society. SB9.21.13 TEXT 13 ksut-trt-sramo gatra-paribhramas ca dainyam klamah soka-visada-mohah sarve nivrttah krpanasya jantor jijivisor jiva-jalarpanan me SYNONYMS ksut—from hunger; trt—and thirst; sramah—fatigue; gatra-paribhramah—trembling of the body; ca—also; dainyam—poverty; klamah—distress; soka—lamentation; visada—moroseness; mohah—and bewilderment; sarve—all of them; nivrttah—finished; krpanasya—of the poor; jantoh—living entity (the candala); jijivisoh—desiring to live; jiva—maintaining life; jala—water; arpanat—by delivering; me—mine. TRANSLATION By offering my water to maintain the life of this poor candala, who is struggling to live, I have been freed from all hunger, thirst, fatigue, trembling of the body, moroseness, distress, lamentation and illusion. SB9.21.14 TEXT 14 iti prabhasya paniyam mriyamanah pipasaya pulkasayadadad dhiro nisarga-karuno nrpah SYNONYMS iti—thus; prabhasya—giving his statement; paniyam—drinking water; mriyamanah—although on the verge of death; pipasaya—because of thirst; pulkasaya—unto the low-class candala; adadat—delivered; dhirah—sober; nisarga-karunah—by nature very kind; nrpah—the King. TRANSLATION Having spoken thus, King Rantideva, although on the verge of death because of thirst, gave his own portion of water to the candala without hesitation, for the King was naturally very kind and sober. SB9.21.15 TEXT 15 tasya tribhuvanadhisah phaladah phalam icchatam atmanam darsayam cakrur maya visnu-vinirmitah SYNONYMS tasya—before him (King Rantideva); tri-bhuvana-adhisah—the controllers of the three worlds (demigods like Brahma and Siva); phaladah—who can bestow all fruitive results; phalam icchatam—of persons who desire material benefit; atmanam—their own identities; darsayam cakruh—manifested; mayah—the illusory energy; visnu—by Lord Visnu; vinirmitah—created. TRANSLATION Demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, who can satisfy all materially ambitious men by giving them the rewards they desire, then manifested their own identities before King Rantideva, for it was they who had presented themselves as the brahmana, sudra, candala and so on. SB9.21.16 TEXT 16 sa vai tebhyo namaskrtya nihsango vigata-sprhah vasudeve bhagavati bhaktya cakre manah param SYNONYMS sah—he (King Rantideva); vai—indeed; tebhyah—unto Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and the other demigods; namah-krtya—offering obeisances; nihsangah—with no ambition to take any benefit from them; vigata-sprhah—completely free from desires for material possessions; vasudeve—unto Lord Vasudeva; bhagavati—the Supreme Lord; bhaktya—by devotional service; cakre—fixed; manah—the mind; param—as the ultimate goal of life. TRANSLATION King Rantideva had no ambition to enjoy material benefits from the demigods. He offered them obeisances, but because he was factually attached to Lord Visnu, Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he fixed his mind at Lord Visnu’s lotus feet. PURPORT Srila Narottama dasa Thakura has sung: anya devasraya nai, tomare kahinu bhai, If one wants to become a pure devotee of the Supreme Lord, one should not hanker to take benedictions from the demigods. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (7.20), kamais tais tair hrta jnanah prapadyante ’nya-devatah: those befooled by the illusion of the material energy worship gods other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, although Rantideva was personally able to see Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, he did not hanker to take material benefits from them. Rather, he fixed his mind upon Lord Vasudeva and rendered devotional service unto Him. This is the sign of a pure devotee, whose heart is not adulterated by material desires. anyabhilasita-sunyam “One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krsna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.” SB9.21.17 TEXT 17 isvaralambanam cittam kurvato ’nanya-radhasah maya guna-mayi rajan svapnavat pratyaliyata SYNONYMS isvara-alambanam—completely taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord; cittam—his consciousness; kurvatah—fixing; ananya-radhasah—for Rantideva, who was undeviating and desired nothing other than to serve the Supreme Lord; maya—the illusory energy; guna-mayi—consisting of the three modes of nature; rajan—O Maharaja Pariksit; svapna-vat—like a dream; pratyaliyata—merged. TRANSLATION O Maharaja Pariksit, because King Rantideva was a pure devotee, always Krsna conscious and free from all material desires, the Lord’s illusory energy, maya, could not exhibit herself before him. On the contrary, for him maya entirely vanished, exactly like a dream. PURPORT As it is said: krsna——surya-sama; maya haya andhakara Just as there is no chance that darkness can exist in the sunshine, in a pure Krsna conscious person there can be no existence of maya. The Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gita (7.14): daivi hy esa guna-mayi “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” If one wants to be free from the influence of maya, the illusory energy, one must become Krsna conscious and always keep Krsna prominent within the core of his heart. In Bhagavad-gita (9.34) the Lord advises that one always think of Him (man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru). In this way, by always being Krsna-minded or Krsna conscious, one can surpass the influence of maya (mayam etam taranti te [Bg. 7.14]). Because Rantideva was Krsna conscious, he was not under the influence of the illusory energy. The word svapnavat is significant in this connection. Because in the material world the mind is absorbed in materialistic activities, when one is asleep many contradictory activities appear in one’s dreams. When one awakens, however, these activities automatically merge into the mind. Similarly, as long as one is under the influence of the material energy he makes many plans and schemes, but when one is Krsna conscious such dreamlike plans automatically disappear. SB9.21.18 TEXT 18 tat-prasanganubhavena rantidevanuvartinah abhavan yoginah sarve narayana-parayanah SYNONYMS tat-prasanga-anubhavena—because of associating with King Rantideva (when talking with him about bhakti-yoga); rantideva-anuvartinah—the followers of King Rantideva (that is, his servants, his family members, his friends and others); abhavan—became; yoginah—first-class mystic yogis, or bhakti-yogis; sarve—all of them; narayana-parayanah—devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana. TRANSLATION All those who followed the principles of King Rantideva were totally favored by his mercy and became pure devotees, attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana. Thus they all became the best of yogis. PURPORT The best yogis or mystics are the devotees, as confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita (6.47): yoginam api sarvesam “Of all yogis, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.” The best yogi is he who constantly thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the core of the heart. Because Rantideva was the king, the chief executive in the state, all the residents of the state became devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, by the king’s transcendental association. This is the influence of a pure devotee. If there is one pure devotee, his association can create hundreds and thousands of pure devotees. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has said that a Vaisnava is meritorious in proportion to the number of devotees he has created. A Vaisnava becomes superior not simply by jugglery of words but by the number of devotees he has created for the Lord. Here the word rantidevanuvartinah indicates that Rantideva’s officers, friends, relatives and subjects all became first-class Vaisnavas by his association. In other words, Rantideva is confirmed herein to be a first-class devotee, or maha-bhagavata. Mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimukteh: [SB 5.5.2] one should render service to such mahatmas, for then one will automatically achieve the goal of liberation. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura has also said, chadiya vaisnava-seva nistara payeche keba: one cannot be liberated by his own effort, but if one becomes subordinate to a pure Vaisnava, the door to liberation is open.
brahmane gavi hastini
suni caiva sva-pake ca
panditah sama-darsinah
ei bhakti parama karana
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama
yahan krsna, tahan nahi mayara adhikara
mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante
mayam etam taranti te
mad-gatenantaratmana
sraddhavan bhajate yo mam
sa me yuktatamo matah