Monday, January 30, 2012

Sri Bhagavatam - Canto 9 (Skandha 9) chapter 15
















Vyasadev
Praneetha
                 
The Mad Bhagavatam




Canto 9
Chapter 15  
Paras'urâma, the Lord's Warrior Incarnation
This chapter describes the history of Gādhi in the dynasty of Aila.
From the womb of Urvaśī came six sons, named Āyu, Śrutāyu, Satyāyu, Raya, Jaya and Vijaya. The son of Śrutāyu was Vasumān, the son of Satyāyu was Śrutañjaya, the son of Raya was Eka, the son of Jaya was Amita, and the son of Vijaya was Bhīma. Bhīma's son was named Kāñcana, the son of Kāñcana was Hotraka, and the son of Hotraka was Jahnu, who was celebrated for having drunk all the water of the Ganges in one sip. The descendants of Jahnu, one after another, were Puru, Balāka, Ajaka and Kuśa. The sons of Kuśa were Kuśāmbu, Tanaya, Vasu and Kuśanābha. From Kuśāmbu came Gādhi, who had a daughter named Satyavatī. Satyavatī married Ṛcīka Muni after the muni contributed a substantial dowry, and from the womb of Satyavatī by Ṛcīka Muni, Jamadagni was born. The son of Jamadagni was Rāma, or Paraśurāma. When a king named Kārtavīryārjuna stole Jamadagni's desire cow, Paraśurāma, who is ascertained by learned experts to be a saktyāveśa incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, killed Kārtavīryārjuna. Later, he annihilated the kṣatriya dynasty twenty-one times. After Paraśurāma killed Kārtavīryārjuna, Jamadagni told him that killing a king is sinful and that as a brāhmaṇa he should have tolerated the offense. Therefore Jamadagni advised Paraśurāma to atone for his sin by traveling to various holy places.


9.15.1
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
ailasya corvaśī-garbhāt
rayo 'tha vijayo jayaḥ
 (1) The son of Vyâsadeva said: 'By Purûravâ were there from Urvas'î's womb six sons, o ruler of man: Âyu, S'rutâyu, Satyâyu, Raya, Vijaya and Jaya.

9.15.2-3
śrutāyor vasumān putraḥ
satyāyoś ca śrutañjayaḥ
bhīmas tu vijayasyātha
kāñcano hotrakas tataḥ


(2-3) S'rutâyu had a son Vasumân, Satyâyu also had one called S'rutañjaya, of Raya there was a son called Eka and of Jaya there was a son called Amita. Bhîma was the son of Vijaya and next came Kâñcana as Bhîma's son. From Hotraka, Kâñcana's son, there was the son Jahnu who drank the water of the Ganges in one sip.
9.15.4
jahnos tu purus tasyātha
balākaś cātmajo 'jakaḥ
tataḥ kuśaḥ kuśasyāpi
kuśāmbus tanayo vasuḥ
kuśanābhaś ca catvāro


(4) Of Jahnu was indeed Pûru [see 1.12: 15 & 3.8: 1] born and from him appeared next Balâka and his son Ajaka. Kus'a followed and of Kus'a next then came the four sons Kus'âmbu, Tanaya, Vasu and Kus'anâbha after whom Gâdhi came as the son of Kus'âmbu.
9.15.5-6
ṛcīko 'yācata dvijaḥ

(5-6) Of Gâdhi there was the daughter Satyavatî who by the brahmin Ricîka was requested to be his wife, but not considering him fit replied King Gâdhi that son of Bhrigu: 'Please deliver me as a dowry to this daughter of the Kus'a dynasty we belong to, one thousand horses as brilliant as the light of the moon with each one black ear.
The son of King Gādhi was Viśvāmitra, who was said to be a brāhmaṇa and kṣatriya combined. Viśvāmitra attained the status of a brahmarṣi, as explained later. From the marriage of Satyavatī with Ṛcīka Muni would come a son with the spirit of a kṣatriya. King Gādhi demanded that an uncommon request be fulfilled before the brāhmaṇa Ṛcīka could marry his daughter.

9.15.7
gataḥ sa varuṇāntikam
upayeme varānanām

(7) Thus requested understood the sage the point he made and went he to where Varuna was from where he brought and delivered those horses. Thereafter he married the beautiful daughter.
9.15.8
śrapayitvobhayair mantraiś


(8) He as a seer was by his wife and his mother-in-law wishing for a son [for each of them] requested to cook a preparation, which he with mantras offered to them both [to his wife with a brâhmana mantra and to his mother-in-law with a kshatriya mantra]. Then the muni went out for a bath.

9.15.9
śreṣṭhaḿ matvā tayāyacchan

 (9) In the meantime was Satyavatî by her mother asked to give the oblation that was meant for her, because she thought it was the better of the two. She handed it over to her while she herself ate her mothers oblation.
A husband naturally has some affection for his wife. Therefore Satyavatī's mother thought that the oblation prepared for Satyavatī by the sage Ṛcīka must have been better than her own oblation. In Ṛcīka's absence, the mother took the better oblation from Satyavatī and ate it.

9.15.10
ghoro daṇḍa-dharaḥ putro

(10) Learning about this said the sage to his wife: 'That is a most regrettable thing you did, your son will be a fierce punitive personality while your brother will be a learned scholar of spirituality!'
A brāhmaṇa is highly qualified when he can control his senses and mind, when he is a learned scholar in spiritual science and when he is tolerant and forgiving. A kṣatriya, however, is highly qualified when he is fierce in giving punishment to wrongdoers. These qualities are stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.42-43). Because Satyavatī, instead of eating her own oblation, had eaten that which was meant for her mother, she would give birth to a son imbued with the kṣatriya spirit. This was undesirable. The son of a brāhmaṇa is generally expected to become a brāhmaṇa, but if such a son becomes fierce like a kṣatriya, he is designated according to the description of the four varṇas in Bhagavad-gītā (cātur-varṇyaḿ mayā sṛṣṭaḿ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13]). If the son of a brāhmaṇa does not become like a brāhmaṇa, he may be called a kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra, according to his qualifications. The basic principle for dividing society is not a person's birth but his qualities and actions.

9.15.11
maivaḿ bhūr iti bhārgavaḥ
jamadagnis tato 'bhavat

(11) Satyavatî beseeched him that it would not be so, and thus said that son of Bhrigu: 'If not, then will his son become that!', and next was Jamadagni born.
The great sage Ṛcīka was very angry, but somehow or other Satyavatī pacified him, and at her request he changed his mind. It is indicated here that the son of Jamadagni would be born as Paraśurāma.

9.15.12-13
jamadagnir uvāha yām

(12-13) She [Satyavatî] became as great and sacred as the Kaus'ikî [a river] which purifies all the world. Jamadagni so married Renukâ, the daughter of Renu, who from the seer of Bhrigu indeed gave birth to many sons of whom Vasumân was the eldest and the widely famed Paras'urâma [also known as Râma] was the youngest son.
9.15.14
yam āhur vāsudevāḿśaḿ
haihayānāḿ kulāntakam

(14) Of him [Paras'urâma] who twenty-one times acted as the annihilator of the Haihaya-dynasty, do all speak as an [ams'a] incarnation of Vâsudeva; he rid the earth of all its kshatriyas.
9.15.15
rajas-tamo-vṛtam ahan
phalguny api kṛte 'ḿhasi

(15) He wiped off the planet the burden of the arrogant governing class that, covered by passion and ignorance void of respect for the brahminical rule, was killed by him despite of the fact that it had committed no great offense [see also 1.11: 34].'
The kṣatriyas, or the ruling class, must govern the world in accordance with the rules and regulations enacted by great brāhmaṇas and saintly persons. As soon as the ruling class becomes irresponsible in regard to the religious principles, it becomes a burden on the earth. As stated here, rajas-tamo-vṛtaḿ, bhāram abrahmaṇyam: when the ruling class is influenced by the lower modes of nature, namely ignorance and passion, it becomes a burden to the world and must then be annihilated by superior power. We actually see from modern history that monarchies have been abolished by various revolutions, but unfortunately the monarchies have been abolished to establish the supremacy of third-class and fourth-class men. Although monarchies overpowered by the modes of passion and ignorance have been abolished in the world, the inhabitants of the world are still unhappy, for although the qualities of the former monarchs were degraded by taints of ignorance, these monarchs have been replaced by men of the mercantile and worker classes whose qualities are even more degraded. When the government is actually guided by brāhmaṇas, or God conscious men, then there can be real happiness for the people. Therefore in previous times, when the ruling class was degraded to the modes of passion and ignorance, the brāhmaṇas, headed by such a kṣatriya-spirited brāhmaṇa as Paraśurāma, killed them twenty-one consecutive times.
In Kali-yuga, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.2.13), dasyu-prāyeṣu rājasu: the ruling class (rājanya) will be no better than plunderers (dasyus) because the third-class and fourth-class men will monopolize the affairs of the government. Ignoring the religious principles and brahminical rules and regulations, they will certainly try to plunder the riches of the citizens without consideration. As stated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.1.40):
asaḿskṛtāḥ kriyā-hīnā
rajasā tamasāvṛtāḥ
Being unpurified, neglecting to discharge human duties properly, and being influenced by the modes of passion (rajas) and ignorance (tamas), unclean people (mlecchas), posing as members of the government (rājanya-rūpiṇaḥ), will swallow the citizens (prājas te bhakṣayiṣyanti). And in still another place, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.2.7-8) says:
evaḿ prajābhir duṣṭābhir
prajā hi lubdhai rājanyair
nirghṛṇair dasyu-dharmabhiḥ
Human society is naturally grouped into four divisions, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (cātur-varṇyaḿ mayā sṛṣṭaḿ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13]). But if this system is neglected and the qualities and divisions of society are not considered, the result will be brahma-viṭ-kṣatra-śūdrāṇāḿ yo balī bhavitā nṛpaḥ: the so-called caste system of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra will be meaningless. As a result, whoever somehow or other becomes powerful will be the king or president, and thus the prajās, or citizens, will be so harassed that they will give up hearth and home and will go to the forest (yāsyanti giri-kānanam) to escape harassment by government officials who have no mercy and are addicted to the ways of plunderers. Therefore the prajās, or the people in general, must take to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, which is the sound incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kali-kāle nāma-rūpe kṛṣṇa-avatāra: Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has now appeared as an incarnation by His holy name. Therefore, when the prajās become Kṛṣṇa conscious, they can then expect a good government and good society, a perfect life, and liberation from the bondage of material existence.
9.15.16
śrī-rājovāca
kiḿ tad aḿho bhagavato
rājanyair ajitātmabhiḥ

(16) The honorable king said: 'What was of those degraded nobles out of control the offense committed unto the Supreme Lord, because of which time and again the dynasty was annihilated?'
9.15.17-19
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
haihayānām adhipatir
arjunaḥ kṣatriyarṣabhaḥ
dattaḿ nārāyaṇāḿśāḿśam
avyāhatendriyaujaḥ śrī-
yogeśvaratvam aiśvaryaḿ
guṇā yatrāṇimādayaḥ
cacārāvyāhata-gatir

(17-19) The son of Vyâsa said: 'The king of the Haihayas, Kârtavîryârjuna, the best of the kshatriyas, had, being of full-duty worship with Dattâtreya - who is a plenary portion of Nârâyana -, received thereafter a thousand arms and was, most difficult to conquer, invincible in the midst of enemies, of the strongest sense, of beauty, of influence, power, fame and physical strength. With the opulence of yogi c control wherein the perfections like animâ [see siddhi] etc. are found, went he all over the world like the indefatigable wind.
9.15.20
revāmbhasi madotkaṭaḥ

(20) Surrounded by beautiful women enjoying [once] in the water of the Revâ [the Narmadâ], stopped he, overly proud of being decorated with the garland of victory, the flow of the river with his arms.
9.15.21
nāmṛṣyat tasya tad vīryaḿ
vīramānī daśānanaḥ

(21) The conceited hero Ten-head [Râvana] could not bear that influence because the water going upstream because of him had inundated his camp.
Rāvaṇa was out touring to gain victory over all other countries (dig-vijaya), and he had camped on the bank of the Narmadā River near the city of Māhiṣmatī.
9.15.22
māhiṣmatyāḿ sanniruddho
mukto yena kapir yathā

 (22) Having insulted him [the king] in the presence of the women was he without much difficulty arrested and held in custody in [their capital] Mâhishmatî and then released again as if it concerned a monkey.
9.15.23
yadṛcchayāśrama-padaḿ
jamadagner upāviśat

(23) One time during a hunt wandering undirected alone in the forest, ran he [Kârtavîryârjuna] into the âs'rama where Jamadagni muni had his shelter.
Kārtavīryārjuna had no business going to the residence of Jamadagni, but because he was puffed-up by his extraordinary power, he went there and offended Paraśurāma. This was the prelude to his being killed by Paraśurāma for his offensive act.

9.15.24
sasainyāmātya-vāhāya

(24) Unto him, that god of men together with his soldiers, ministers and the rest of his retinue, could the great sage as the triumph of austerity from his cow of plenty [kâmadhenu] offer everything that was needed.
The Brahma-saḿhitā informs us that the spiritual world, and especially the planet Goloka Vṛndāvana, where Kṛṣṇa lives, is full of surabhi cows (surabhīr abhipālayantam [Bs. 5.29]). The surabhi cow is also called kāmadhenu. Although Jamadagni possessed only one kāmadhenu, he was able to get from it everything desirable. Thus he was able to receive the King, along with the King's great number of followers, ministers, soldiers, animals and palanquin carriers. When we speak of a king, we understand that he is accompanied by many followers. Jamadagni was able to receive all the King's followers properly and feed them sumptuously with food prepared in ghee. The King was astonished at how opulent Jamadagni was because of possessing only one cow, and therefore he became envious of the great sage. This was the beginning of his offense. Paraśurāma, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, killed Kārtavīryārjuna because Kārtavīryārjuna was too proud. One may possess unusual opulence in this material world, but if one becomes puffed up and acts whimsically he will be punished by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the lesson to learn from this history, in which Paraśurāma became angry at Kārtavīryārjuna and killed him and rid the entire world of kṣatriyas twenty-one times.
9.15.25
ātmaiśvaryātiśāyanam
tan nādriyatāgnihotryāḿ
sābhilāṣaḥ sahaihayaḥ

 (25) He [the king] seeing what source of wealth greater than his own personal opulence it in fact was, could not appreciate it really and became with his Haihayas desirous after that cow of the fire sacrifice.
Jamadagni was more powerful than Kārtavīryārjuna because of performing the agnihotra-yajña with clarified butter received from the kāmadhenu. Not everyone can be expected to possess such a cow. Nonetheless, an ordinary man may possess an ordinary cow, give protection to this animal, take sufficient milk from it, and engage the milk to produce butter and clarified ghee, especially for performing the agnihotra-yajña. This is possible for everyone. Thus we find that in Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa advises go-rakṣya, the protection of cows. This is essential because if cows are cared for properly they will surely supply sufficient milk. We have practical experience in America that in our various ISKCON farms we are giving proper protection to the cows and receiving more than enough milk. In other farms the cows do not deliver as much milk as in our farms; because our cows know very well that we are not going to kill them, they are happy, and they give ample milk. Therefore this instruction given by Lord Kṛṣṇa — go-rakṣya — is extremely meaningful. The whole world must learn from Kṛṣṇa how to live happily without scarcity simply by producing food grains (annād bhavanti bhūtāni) and giving protection to the cows (go-rakṣya). Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaḿ vaiśya-karma svabhāvajam [Bg. 18.44]. Those who belong to the third level of human society, namely the mercantile people, must keep land for producing food grains and giving protection to cows. This is the injunction of Bhagavad-gītā. In the matter of protecting the cows, the meat-eaters will protest, but in answer to them we may say that since Kṛṣṇa gives stress to cow protection, those who are inclined to eat meat may eat the flesh of unimportant animals like hogs, dogs, goats and sheep, but they should not touch the life of the cows, for this is destructive to the spiritual advancement of human society.
9.15.26
havirdhānīm ṛṣer darpān

(26) In his conceitedness encouraged he his men to steal the sage his cow of plenty that by them was taken to Mâhishmatî with the calf crying of the violence.
The word havirdhānīm is significant in this verse. Havirdhānīm refers to a cow required for supplying havis, or ghee, for the performance of ritualistic ceremonies in sacrifices. In human life, one should be trained to perform yajñas. As we are informed in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9), yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaḿ karma-bandhanaḥ: if we do not perform yajña, we shall simply work very hard for sense gratification like dogs and hogs. This is not civilization. A human being should be trained to perform yajña. Yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ [Bg. 3.14]. If yajñas are regularly performed, there will be proper rain from the sky, and when there is regular rainfall, the land will be fertile and suitable for producing all the necessities of life. Yajña, therefore, is essential. For performing yajña, clarified butter is essential, and for clarified butter, cow protection is essential. Therefore, if we neglect the Vedic way of civilization, we shall certainly suffer. So-called scholars and philosophers do not know the secret of success in life, and therefore they suffer in the hands of prakṛti, nature (prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ [Bg. 3.27]). Nonetheless, although they are forced to suffer, they think they are advancing in civilization (ahańkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate). The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore meant to revive a mode of civilization in which everyone will be happy. This is the motive of our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Yajñe sukhena bhavantu.
9.15.27
cukrodhāhir ivāhataḥ

 (27) After the king was gone became Paras'urâma, upon returning to the âs'rama [of his father], as furious as a snake trampled upon when he heard of that nefarious act.
9.15.28
satūṇaḿ varma kārmukam
anvadhāvata durmarṣo

(28) Taking up a ghastly chopper, a quiver, a bow and a shield went he, the One Ever more Angry, after them like a lion attacking an elephant.
9.15.29
dhanur-dharaḿ bāṇa-paraśvadhāyudham
aiṇeya-carmāmbaram arka-dhāmabhir


 (29) With him, the best of the Bhrigu's coming after him in fury carrying a bow, arrows and a chopper for his weapons saw he him, entering the capital with his black deerskin covering his body and his matted locks, radiating like sunshine.

9.15.30
acodayad dhasti-rathāśva-pattibhir
gadāsi-bāṇarṣṭi-śataghni-śaktibhiḥ
akṣauhiṇīḥ sapta-daśātibhīṣaṇās

 (30) He sent seventeen akshauhinîs [*] to fight him with elephants, chariots, horses and infantry, with swords, arrows, lances, slings and weapons of fire but Paras'urâma, the Supreme Master, most fierce killed them all by himself.
The word akṣauhiṇī refers to a military phalanx consisting of 21,870 chariots and elephants, 109,350 infantry soldiers and 65,610 horses. An exact description is given in the Mahābhārata, Ādi parva, Second Chapter, as follows:
eko ratho gajaś caikaḥ
trayaś ca turagās taj-jñaiḥ
pattir ity abhidhīyate
pattiḿ tu triguṇām etāḿ
viduḥ senāmukhaḿ budhāḥ
trīṇi senāmukhāny eko
gulma ity adhidhīyate
trayo gulmā gaṇo nāma
śrutās tisras tu vāhinyaḥ
pṛtaneti vicakṣaṇaiḥ
camūs tu pṛtanās tisraś
caḿvas tisras tv anīkinī
anīkinīḿ daśa-guṇām
āhur akṣauhiṇīḿ budhāḥ
akṣauhiṇyas tu sańkhyātā
sańkhyā-gaṇita-tattvajñaiḥ
sahasrāṇy eka-viḿśati
śatāny upari cāṣṭau ca
bhūyas tathā ca saptatiḥ
tāvad evātra nirdiśet
narāṇām adhi pañcāśac
chatāni trīṇi cānaghāḥ
tathāśvānāḿ śatāni ca
daśottarāṇi ṣaṭ cāhur
yathāvad abhisańkhyayā
etām akṣauhiṇīḿ prāhuḥ
"One chariot, one elephant, five infantry soldiers and three horses are called a patti by those who are learned in the science. The wise also know that a senāmukha is three times what a patti is. Three senāmukhas are known as one gulma, three gulmas are called a gaṇa, and three gaṇas are called a vāhinī. Three vāhinīs have been referred to by the learned as a pṛtanā, three pṛtanās equal one camū, and three camūs equal one anīkinī. The wise refer to ten anīkinīs as one akṣauhiṇī. The chariots of an akṣauhiṇī have been calculated at 21,870 by those who know the science of such calculations, O best of the twice-born, and the number of elephants is the same. The number of infantry soldiers is 109,350, and the number of horses is 65,610. This is called an akṣauhiṇī."


9.15.31
yato yato 'sau praharat-paraśvadho
mano-'nilaujāḥ para-cakra-sūdanaḥ
tatas tataś chinna-bhujoru-kandharā


(31) Wherever, whomever was by him as an expert with the chopper as fast as the wind and as speedy as the mind slashed; with all the force of the killer of the false order lay scattered here and there the cut off arms and legs and shoulders of the drivers of the elephants and horses that slain had fallen on the field.
In the beginning, when the army of the enemy was full of fighting soldiers, elephants and horses, Lord Paraśurāma proceeded into their midst at the speed of mind to kill them. When somewhat tired, he slowed down to the speed of wind and continued to kill the enemies vigorously. The speed of mind is greater than the speed of the wind.

9.15.32

(32) Seeing his soldiers by the axe of Râma in mud and blood on the field with all arrows, shields, flags and bows and dead bodies scattered, rushed Haihaya [Kârtavîryârjuna] infuriated over there.
9.15.33
athārjunaḥ pañca-śateṣu bāhubhir
rāmāya rāmo 'stra-bhṛtāḿ samagraṇīs
tāny eka-dhanveṣubhir ācchinat samam

(33) Kârtavîryârjuna then fixed with five hundred of his arms simultaneously as many arrows on as many bows to kill Râma but he as the best with all the weapons cut with one bow only all of them to pieces.
9.15.34
punaḥ sva-hastair acalān mṛdhe 'ńghripān
utkṣipya vegād abhidhāvato yudhi


 (34) Again attacked he with by himself uprooted hills and trees in the field, but by Paras'urâma's razor-sharp axe were with great force on the spot all the arms of him who was rushing in cut off like they were the hoods of snakes.
9.15.35-36
ayutaḿ dudruvur bhayāt
savatsāḿ para-vīra-
samupetyāśramaḿ pitre


(35-36) Rid of his arms was the mountain peak that was his head severed and fled all the ten-thousand sons away in fear when their father was killed. Fetching the cow and calf of the fire sacrifice that had suffered badly, returned the Killer of False Heroism to his fathers hermitage to hand them over to him.
9.15.37
pitre bhrātṛbhya eva ca
varṇayām āsa tac chrutvā
jamadagnir abhāṣata


 (37) After recounting to his father and brothers all that he had done, spoke Jamadagni after listening to that as follows:
9.15.38
avadhīn naradevaḿ yat
sarva-devamayaḿ vṛthā

(38) 'O Râma Râma, o great and mighty one, you have committed a sin unnecessarily killing that master of man, who embodies all the godly.
9.15.39
vayaḿ hi brāhmaṇās tāta
kṣamayārhaṇatāḿ gatāḥ

(39) We indeed are brahmins, my dear, who with their forgiveness have achieved a position of respect; it is this quality by which the god that is the spiritual master of the universe [Lord Brahmâ] has achieved his position as the supreme authority.

9.15.40
kṣamiṇām āśu bhagavāḿs

(40) Simply forgiving becomes the Goddess of Fortune pleasing and will she relate to the brahminical as the light of the sun-god; with the merciful will the Supreme Lord Hari, our Controller, quickly be pleased.
Different personalities become beautiful by possessing different qualities. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that the cuckoo bird, although very black, is beautiful because of its sweet voice. Similarly, a woman becomes beautiful by her chastity and faithfulness to her husband, and an ugly person becomes beautiful when he becomes a learned scholar. In the same way, brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras become beautiful by their qualities. Brāhmaṇas are beautiful when they are forgiving, kṣatriyas when they are heroic and never retreat from fighting, vaiśyas when they enrich cultural activities and protect cows, and śūdras when they are faithful in the discharge of duties pleasing to their masters. Thus everyone becomes beautiful by his special qualities. And the special quality of the brāhmaṇa, as described here, is forgiveness.


9.15.41
rājño mūrdhābhiṣiktasya
vadho brahma-vadhād guruḥ
jahy ańgācyuta-cetanaḥ

(41) To kill the king famed as an emperor is a thing worse than killing a brahmin, and so wash out that sin, my best, worshiping the holy places in the consciousness of the Infallible One.'
One who fully surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is freed from all sins (ahaḿ tvāḿ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi). From the very day or moment he fully surrenders to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, even the most sinful person is freed. Nonetheless, as an example, Jamadagni advised his son Paraśurāma to worship the holy places. Because an ordinary person cannot immediately surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is advised to go from one holy place to another to find saintly persons and thus gradually be released from sinful reactions.

*: The Mahâbhârata describes an akshauhinî in the Âdi parva, chapter two: "One chariot, one elephant, five infantry soldiers and three horses are called a patti by those who are learned in the science. The wise also know that a senâmukha is three times what a patti is. Three senâmukhas are known as one gulma, three gulmas are called a gana, and three ganas are called a vâhinî. Three vâhinîs have been referred to by the learned as a pritanâ, three pritanâs equal one camû, and three camûs equal one anîkinî. The wise refer to ten anîkinîs as one akshauhinî. The chariots of an akshauhinî have been calculated at 21.870 by those who know the science of such calculations, O best of the twice-born, and the number of elephants is the same. The number of infantry soldiers is 109.350, and the number of horses is 65.610. This is called an akshauhinî."  


(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Swamyjis, Philosophers, Scholars and Knowledge Seekers for the collection)




No comments:

Post a Comment