Vyasadev
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Canto 6
Chapter 17: Mother Pârvatî Curses Citraketu
The Seventeenth Chapter is summarized as follows. This chapter describes Citraketu's receiving the body of an asura, or demon, because of joking with Lord Śiva.
After personally talking with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, King Citraketu enjoyed life in his airplane with the women of the Vidyādhara planet. Engaging in the congregational chanting of the glories of the Lord, he began flying his plane and traveling in outer space. One day while traveling like this, he wandered into the bowers of Sumeru Mountain, where he came upon Lord Śiva embracing Pārvatī, surrounded by an assembly of Siddhas, Cāraṇas and great sages. Seeing Lord Śiva in that situation, Citraketu laughed very loudly, but Pārvatī became very angry at him and cursed him. Because of this curse, Citraketu later appeared as the demon Vṛtrāsura.
Citraketu, however, was not at all afraid of Pārvatī's curse, and thus he spoke as follows: "Everyone in human society enjoys happiness and distress according to his past deeds and in this way travels in the material world. Therefore no one is responsible for his happiness and distress. One is controlled by the influence of material nature in the material world, yet one thinks himself the doer of everything. In this material world, which is made of the external energy of the Supreme Lord, one is sometimes cursed and sometimes favored, and thus he sometimes enjoys in the upper planetary systems and sometimes suffers in the lower planets, but all these situations are the same because they are within this material world. None of these positions has any factual existence, for all of them are temporary. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate controller because the material world is created, maintained and annihilated under His control while He nonetheless remains neutral to these different transformations of the material world in time and space. The material, external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is in charge of this material world. The Lord helps the world by creating situations for the living entities within it."
When Citraketu spoke in this way, all the members in the great assembly in which Lord Śiva and Pārvatī were present were astonished. Then Lord Śiva began speaking about the devotees of the Lord. A devotee is neutral in all conditions of life, whether in the heavenly planets or hellish planets, whether liberated from the material world or conditioned by it, and whether blessed with happiness or subjected to distress. These are all merely dualities created by the external energy. Being influenced by the external energy, the living entity accepts a gross and subtle material body, and in this illusory position he apparently suffers miseries, although everyone is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. The so-called demigods consider themselves independent lords, and in this way they are misled from understanding that all living entities are part of the Supreme. This chapter concludes by glorifying the devotee and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
6.17.1
yataś cāntarhito 'nantas
vidyādharaś citraketuś
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'After making his obeisances in the direction in which Lord Ananta had disappeared, Citraketu, the King of the Vidyâdharas began traveling, moving about in the atmosphere.
6.17.2-3
avyāhata-balendriyaḥ
reme vidyādhara-strībhir
(2-3) On his way not diminished in his power and sense control he visited hundreds of thousands of people in thousands of places and was by the sages, the perfected ones and the monks praised for being a great yogi. Pleased to stay in the valleys around Kulâcalendra [Mount Sumeru] where one exercises for the different forms of perfection, he took great delight in persuading the wives of the Vidyâdharas to praise the Supreme Personality, Lord Hari.
6.17.4-5
ālińgyāńkīkṛtāḿ devīḿ
(4-5) One day roaming in the brightly shining, heavenly vehicle that he had received from Lord Vishnu, he saw Lord S'iva in the midst of all the saintly personalities. Surrounded by the perfected ones and the singers of heaven, he had his arm around the goddess who sat on his lap. Citraketu laughed loudly about it and then spoke in the presence of the mother words she could clearly hear.
6.17.6
citraketur uvāca
(6) Citraketu said: 'This spiritual master of all the world, who is the direct representative of dharma for all embodied souls, sits here as head of an assembly while embracing his wife!
6.17.7
(7) With his hair matted, intensely repentant, following the Vedic principles and presiding a gathering, he is hugging a woman sitting there unashamed like an ordinary materially motivated person.
6.17.8
(8) Normally even conditioned souls embrace their women in private ... and this one master of vow and austerity enjoys his woman in an assembly!'
6.17.9
6.17.9
prahasyāgādha-dhīr nṛpa
(9) S'rî S'uka said: 'When the great Lord of fathomless intelligence heard that oh King, he only smiled and remained silent, and so did everyone in the assembly following his example.
Lord Śiva, who is always deep in knowledge, could understand Citraketu's purpose, and therefore he was not at all angry; rather, he simply smiled and remained silent. The members of the assembly surrounding Lord Śiva could also understand Citraketu's purpose. Consequently, following the behavior of Lord Śiva, they did not protest; instead, following their master, they remained silent. If the members of the assembly thought that Citraketu had blasphemed Lord Śiva, they would certainly have left at once, blocking their ears with their hands.
6.17.10
ruṣāha devī dhṛṣṭāya
nirjitātmābhimānine
(10) With him unaware of the might [of S'iva] thus speaking against all etiquette, the devî angrily addressed the impudent one who thought he was so well restrained.
6.17.11
asmad-vidhānāḿ duṣṭānāḿ
(11) S'rî Pârvatî said: 'And now would this one here all of a sudden be the Supreme Controller, the one to chastise and the master of restraint for persons like us as the ones criminal and shameless?
6.17.12
(12) It must be so that the one born on the lotus has no notion of dharma. Nor do Brahmâ's sons, Bhrigu or Nârada, the four Kumâras, Lord Kapila or Manu himself have a clue, otherwise they would have stopped our S'iva from breaking the rules!
6.17.13
(13) This one here is the lowest of all kshatriyas. He who by him positioning himself above the gods so impudently was chastised, is the one who is the teacher of all the world, the auspicious one of auspiciousness in person upon whose lotus feet one meditates. Therefore this man deserves it to be punished.
6.17.14
pāda-mūlopasarpaṇam
(14) This impudent, haughty fellow doesn't deserve it to approach the shelter of the lotus feet of Vaikunthha that are worshiped by all the saints [compare: S'rî S'rî S'ikshâshthaka].
6.17.15
yatheha bhūyo mahatāḿ
(15) Therefore, oh greatest of all sinners, leave this place to be born among the demons oh fool, so that this world again belongs to the great ones and you, my son, no longer will commit any offense.'
6.17.16
6.17.16
evaḿ śaptaś citraketur
(16) S'rî S'uka said: 'Thus being cursed Citraketu came down from his heavenly chariot to propitiate Pârvatî by bowing his head deeply before her, oh son of Bharata.
6.17.17
citraketur uvāca
ātmano 'ñjalināmbike
(17) Citraketu said: 'Folding my hands before you oh mother, I accept your curse. That which the gods impose upon a mortal is entirely determined by his deeds in the past.
Since Citraketu was a devotee of the Lord, he was not at all disturbed by the curse of mother Pārvatī. He knew very well that one suffers or enjoys the results of one's past deeds as ordained by daiva-netra — superior authority, or the agents of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He knew that he had not committed any offense at the lotus feet of Lord Śiva or the goddess Pārvatī, yet he had been punished, and this means that the punishment had been ordained. Thus the King did not mind it. A devotee is naturally so humble and meek that he accepts any condition of life as a blessing from the Lord. Tat te 'nukampāḿ susamīkṣamāṇaḥ (Bhāg. 10.14.8). A devotee always accepts punishment from anyone as the mercy of the Lord. If one lives in this conception of life, he sees whatever reverses occur to be due to his past misdeeds, and therefore he never accuses anyone. On the contrary, he becomes increasingly attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of his being purified by his suffering. Suffering, therefore, is also a process of purification.
The Lord is very kind and affectionate toward His devotees, and therefore a devotee, in any condition, is not subjected to the results of karma. A devotee never aspires for the heavenly planets. The heavenly planets, liberation and hell are nondifferent for a devotee, for he does not discriminate between different positions in the material world. A devotee is always eager to return home, back to Godhead, and remain there as the Lord's associate. This ambition becomes increasingly fervent in his heart, and therefore he does not care about material changes in his life. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments that Mahārāja Citraketu's being cursed by Pārvatī should be considered the mercy of the Lord. The Lord wanted Citraketu to return to Godhead as soon as possible, and therefore he terminated all the reactions of his past deeds. Acting through the heart of Pārvatī, the Lord, who is situated in everyone's heart, cursed Citraketu in order to end all his material reactions. Thus Citraketu became Vṛtrāsura in his next life and returned home, back to Godhead.
6.17.18
(18) Deluded in his ignorance the living entity is caught wandering around in the vicious circle, the cycle of rebirth of this material life wherein he constantly is subject to happiness and distress.
6.17.19
(19) The individual soul, nor anyone else, can be really the one who calls for the happiness and sorrow [the illusion and disillusion]. A person lacking in awareness nevertheless considers himself or someone else the cause in this matter.
6.17.20
(20) What would in this stream, this constantly changing flow of the modes of matter, actually be a curse or a favor, what would [the meaning of] a promotion to heaven or a fall down in hell be, or [the eternal value of] happiness and distress?
6.17.21
(21) He, the One Supreme Lord, by His potencies creates the conditioned existence of all living beings as also the life of liberation [in devotional service]. He is the One responsible for the happiness and distress on the one hand and the position in which one [with Him] is elevated above time on the other hand.
6.17.22
(22) He considers no one His favorite or enemy, a kinsman or friend, an insider or outsider. He is equal to all, omnipresent and unaffected by the world. In His happiness being free from attachments, one finds no anger in Him.
6.17.23
śarīriṇāḿ saḿsṛtaye 'vakalpate
(23) Still there is, in a repetition of being born and dying again, for the ones embodied the [karmic] answer of an existence settled for happiness and grief, gain and loss, bondage and liberation which generated from the energy of the Lord [as a secondary creation].
Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate doer of everything, in His original transcendental existence He is not responsible for the happiness and distress, or bondage and liberation, of the conditioned souls. These are due to the results of the fruitive activities of the living entities within this material world. By the order of a judge, one person is released from jail, and another is imprisoned, but the judge is not responsible, for the distress and happiness of these different people is due to their own activities. Although the government is ultimately the supreme authority, the justice is administered by the departments of the government, and the government is not responsible for the individual judgments. Therefore the government is equal to all the citizens. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is neutral to everyone, but for the maintenance of law and order His supreme government has various departments, which control the activities of the living entities. Another example given in this regard is that lilies open or close because of the sunshine, and thus the bumblebees enjoy or suffer, but the sunshine and the sun globe are not responsible for the happiness and distress of the bumblebees.
6.17.24
(24) Therefore I do not ask for your mercy to be released from your curse oh angry one. All I want is that you accept my excuses for everything I've said that in your eyes oh chaste one, was unbecoming.'
6.17.25
citraketur arindama
(25) S'rî S'uka said: 'After thus having propitiated these elevated personalities oh persistent conqueror of the enemies, Citraketu left in his heavenly vehicle while the two were watching and smiling at him.
6.17.26
(26) With Nârada, the Daityas, the Siddhas and his personal associates all listening, the great Lord then spoke to his wife the following words.
6.17.27
dṛṣṭavaty asi suśroṇi
(27) S'rî Rudra said: 'Have you seen, my beauty, how magnanimous the servants of the servants are, the great souls who have forsaken their sense gratification in relating to the Supreme Personality whose actions are so wonderful?
Lord Śiva, the husband of Pārvatī, told his wife, "My dear Pārvatī, you are very beautiful in your bodily features. Certainly you are glorious. But I do not think that you can compete with the beauty and glory of devotees who have become servants of the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Of course, Lord Śiva smiled when he joked with his wife in that way, for others cannot speak like that. "The Supreme Lord," Śiva continued, "is always exalted in His activities, and here is another example of His wonderful influence upon King Citraketu, His devotee. Just see, although you cursed the King, he was not at all afraid or sorry. Rather, he offered respect to you, called you mother and accepted your curse, thinking himself faulty. He did not say anything in retaliation. This is the excellence of a devotee. By mildly tolerating your curse, he has certainly excelled the glory of your beauty and your power to curse him. I can impartially judge that this devotee, Citraketu, has defeated you and your excellence simply by becoming a pure devotee of the Lord." As stated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, taror api sahiṣṇunā. Just like a tree, a devotee can tolerate all kinds of curses and reversals in life. This is the excellence of a devotee. Indirectly, Lord Śiva forbade Pārvatī to commit the mistake of cursing a devotee like Citraketu. He indicated that although she was powerful, the King, without showing any power, had excelled her power by his tolerance.
6.17.28
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
(28) None of the pure devotees of Nârâyana are ever afraid. To be in heaven, on the path of liberation or to have a place in hell makes no difference to them [in their service].
Pārvatī might naturally have inquired how devotees become so exalted. Therefore this verse explains that they are nārāyaṇa-para, simply dependent on Nārāyaṇa. They do not mind reverses in life because in the service of Nārāyaṇa they have learned to tolerate whatever hardships there may be. They do not care whether they are in heaven or in hell: they simply engage in the service of the Lord. This is their excellence. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam: they are liberally engaged in the service of the Lord, and therefore they are excellent. By using the word bhṛtya-bhṛtyānām, Lord Śiva pointed out that although Citraketu provided one example of tolerance and excellence, all the devotees who have taken shelter of the Lord as eternal servants are glorious. They have no eagerness to be happy by being placed in the heavenly planets, becoming liberated or becoming one with Brahman, the supreme effulgence. These benefits do not appeal to their minds. They are simply interested in giving direct service to the Lord.
6.17.29
dvandvānīśvara-līlayā
(29) With the game played by the Lord those who are embodied are, because they identify themselves with their bodies, bound to the dualities of happiness and distress, dying and being born and being cursed or favored.
6.17.30
(30) The way one may take a flower garland for something else or speaks of qualities or faults in a [dream] image of oneself, also the appraisals of a person that are based upon a lack of insight are deceptive.
6.17.31
(31) People who lead to or propagate bhakti, or love in devotional service for the Supreme Lord Vâsudeva, possess the strength of spiritual knowledge and detachment and take no interest in any other shelter [see also 1.2: 7]
6.17.32
vidāma yasyehitam aḿśakāḿśakā
(32) Not I nor Lord Brahmâ, neither the As'vinî-kumâras nor Nârada, the sons of Brahmâ, the saints or all the great demigods, know the true nature of Him of whom we, who like to think of ourselves as independent rulers, all are but parts of a partial aspect.
advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam
"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who is the original person. He is absolute, infallible and beginningless, and although expanded into unlimited forms, He is still the same original person, the oldest person, who always appears as a fresh youth. The eternal, blissful, all-knowing forms of the Lord can not be understood even by the best Vedic scholars, but they are always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees." Lord Śiva places himself as one of the nondevotees, who cannot understand the identity of the Supreme Lord. The Lord, being ananta, has an unlimited number of forms. Therefore, how is it possible for an ordinary, common man to understand Him? Lord Śiva, of course, is above the ordinary human beings, yet be is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Śiva is not among the ordinary living entities, nor is he in the category of Lord Viṣṇu. He is between Lord Viṣṇu and the common living entity.
6.17.33
(33) No one in particular is loved or disliked by Him, He calls no one His own nor does He exclude anyone. The Lord as the Soul of the soul of all living beings is the one dearest to all.
6.17.34-35
citraketuḥ priyo 'nugaḥ
(34-35) This greatly fortunate King Citraketu is His obedient servant loved by everyone. He, peaceful and equal to all, is the love of the Infallible One just as I am. Don't be surprised to find the devotees of the Supreme Personality among the people to be the great souls who bring peace and equality.'
"I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him." From this statement by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is clear that the devotees of the Lord are always extremely dear to Him. In effect, Lord Śiva told Pārvatī, "Both Citraketu and I are always very dear to the Supreme Lord. In other words, both he and I are on the same level as servants of the Lord. We are always friends, and sometimes we enjoy joking words between us. When Citraketu loudly laughed at my behavior, he did so on friendly terms, and therefore there was no reason to curse him." Thus Lord Śiva tried to convince his wife, Pārvatī, that her cursing of Citraketu was not very sensible.Here is a difference between male and female that exists even in the higher statuses of life — in fact, even between Lord Śiva and his wife. Lord Śiva could understand Citraketu very nicely, but Pārvatī could not. Thus even in the higher statuses of life there is a difference between the understanding of a male and that of a female. It may be clearly said that the understanding of a woman is always inferior to the understanding of a man. In the Western countries there is now agitation to the effect that man and woman should be considered equal, but from this verse it appears that woman is always less intelligent than man.
It is clear that Citraketu wanted to criticize the behavior of his friend Lord Śiva because Lord Śiva was sitting with his wife on his lap. Then, too, Lord Śiva wanted to criticize Citraketu for externally posing as a great devotee but being interested in enjoying with the Vidyādharī women. These were all friendly jokes; there was nothing serious for which Citraketu should have been cursed by Pārvatī. Upon hearing the instructions of Lord Śiva, Pārvatī must have been very much ashamed for cursing Citraketu to become a demon. Mother Pārvatī could not appreciate Citraketu's position, and therefore she cursed him, but when she understood the instructions of Lord Śiva she was ashamed.
6.17.36
śivasyomābhibhāṣitam
(36) S'rî S'uka said: After thus having heard what the great Lord S'iva had to tell her, the goddess Pârvatî was freed from her doubt and perplexity and found back her peace of mind oh King.
6.17.37
(37) He, who as a great devotee was fully capable of pronouncing a counter-curse against the goddess, [nevertheless] in resignation accepted his condemnation and that characterized him as a true saint.
Upon being informed by Lord Śiva, mother Pārvatī could understand that she was wrong in cursing Citraketu. King Citraketu was so exalted in his character that in spite of being wrongly cursed by Pārvatī, he immediately descended from his airplane and bowed his head before the mother, accepting her curse. This has already been explained: nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati. Citraketu very sportingly felt that since the mother wanted to curse him, he could accept this curse just to please her. This is called sādhu-lakṣaṇam, the characteristic of a sādhu, or a devotee. As explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā. A devotee should always be very humble and meek and should offer all respect to others, especially to superiors. Being protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a devotee is always powerful, but a devotee does not wish to show his power unnecessarily. However, when a less intelligent person has some power, he wants to use it for sense gratification. This is not the behavior of a devotee.
6.17.38
jajñe tvaṣṭur dakṣiṇāgnau
vṛtra ity abhivikhyāto
(38) [Because of this curse he thereafter despite] of all his knowledge and wisdom found his place in the department of the demoniac species of life. [After being reborn as Vis'varûpa and being killed by Indra,] he then being summoned by Tvashthâ's dakshinâgni sacrifice, thus became known as Vritrâsura [*, see 6.9 and compare with 1.5: 19].
The word yoni is generally understood to mean jāti — family, group or species. Although Vṛtrāsura appeared in a family of demons, it is clearly said that his knowledge of spiritual life still existed. Jñāna-vijñāna-saḿyutaḥ: his spiritual knowledge and the practical application of that knowledge in life were not lost. Therefore it is said that even if a devotee falls down for some reason, he is still not lost.yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiḿ
(Bhāg. 1.5.17)
Once one is advanced in devotional service, his spiritual assets are never lost under any circumstances. Whatever spiritual advancement he has achieved continues. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā. Even if a bhakti-yogī falls, he takes birth in a rich family or family of brāhmaṇas, in which he again starts devotional activities from the point where he left off. Although Vṛtrāsura was known as an asura, or demon, he did not lose his consciousness of Kṛṣṇa or devotional service.
6.17.39
vṛtrasyāsura-jāteś ca
(39) This [my dear Parîkchit] was all I had to tell you concerning your question about Vritrâsura, he of an exalted intelligence who appeared in the world as a demon.
6.17.40
citraketor mahātmanaḥ
(40) Hearing this sacred history about the great soul Citraketu which reflects the greatness of the devotees of Vishnu, one is freed from bondage.
6.17.41
(41) Anyone who, remembering the Lord, rises early in the morning to control with faith his voice by reciting this story, will reach the supreme destination.'
*: Tvashthâ having lost his son to Indra, according to verse 5.15: 14-15 fathered another son to continue the line. He thus factually had two sons. The second son was called Viraja. 
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