Vyasadev
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Chapter 11
Lord Râmacandra Rules the World
This chapter describes how Lord Rāmacandra resided in Ayodhyā with His younger brothers and performed various sacrifices.
Lord Rāmacandra, 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 hotā, adhvaryu, udgātā and brahmā priests. He gave them the eastern, western, northern and southern directions respectively, and the balance He gave to the ācārya. Lord Rāmacandra's faith in the brāhmaṇas and affection for His servants was observed by all the brāhmaṇas, 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 Rāmacandra 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 Sītādevī. The Lord immediately returned home, and, fearing such rumors, He superficially decided to give up Sītādevī's company. Thus He banished Sītādevī, who was pregnant, to the shelter of Vālmīki Muni, where she gave birth to twin sons, named Lava and Kuśa. In Ayodhyā, Lakṣmaṇa begot two sons named Ańgada and Citraketu, Bharata begot two sons named Takṣa and Puṣkala, and Śatrughna begot two sons named Subāhu and Śrutasena. When Bharata went out to conquer various lands on behalf of the emperor, Lord Rāmacandra, He fought many millions of Gandharvas. By killing them in the fight, He acquired immense wealth, which He then brought home. Śatrughna killed a demon named Lavaṇa at Madhuvana and thus established the capital of Mathurā. Meanwhile, Sītādevī placed her two sons in the care of Vālmīki Muni and then entered into the earth. Upon hearing of this, Lord Rāmacandra was very much aggrieved, and thus He performed sacrifices for thirteen thousand years. After describing the pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra's disappearance and establishing that the Lord appears for His pastimes only, Śukadeva Gosvāmī ends this chapter by describing the results of hearing about the activities of Lord Rāmacandra and by describing how the Lord protected His citizens and displayed affection for His brothers.
9.11.1
bhagavān ātmanātmānaḿ
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'The Supreme Lord Râma, the Godhead, heart and soul of the godly, accepted an âcârya so that of Himself by Himself with the greatest opulence there was worship in the performance of sacrifices [see also 4.31: 14].
Sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā. If Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is worshiped, then everyone is worshiped. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.31.14):
yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāḿ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā
"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 yajña involves worshiping the Supreme Lord. Here the Supreme Lord worshiped the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is said, bhagavān ātmanātmānam īje: the Lord worshiped Himself by Himself. This does not, of course, justify the Māyāvāda philosophy, by which one thinks himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The jīva, the living entity, is always different from the Supreme Lord. The living entities (vibhinnāḿśa) never become one with the Lord, although Māyāvādīs sometimes imitate the Lord's worship of Himself. Lord Kṛṣṇa meditated upon Himself every morning as a gṛhastha, and similarly Lord Rāmacandra performed yajñas to satisfy Himself, but this does not mean that an ordinary living being should imitate the Lord by accepting the process of ahańgraha-upāsanā. Such unauthorized worship is not recommended herein.9.11.2
(2) The hotâ priest [the one offering oblations] He gave the entire east, the brahmâ priest [supervising the proceedings] received the southern side from His Lordship, the adhvaryu priest [who chants the Yajur mantras preparing the sacrifice] got the entire west and the northern side went to the udgâtâ priest [singing the Sâma Veda hymns].
9.11.3
brāhmaṇo 'rhati niḥspṛhaḥ
(3) Thinking that the brahmins free from desire deserved the complete of it, gave He the teacher of example, the âcârya, the rest of whatever land there was in between the regions.
9.11.4
saumańgalyāvaśeṣitā
(4) All that He kept for Himself this way were His personal ornaments and garments while for the queen, the daughter of the king of Videha, just her nose ring remained.
9.11.5
pratyarpyedaḿ babhāṣire
(5) But when they saw how He as the God of the brahmins was of such a great care melted, pleased with Him, their hearts and worshiped they Him with prayers with returning to Him all they received and said they:
In the previous chapter it was said that the prajās, the citizens, strictly followed the system of varṇāśrama-dharma. The brāhmaṇas acted exactly like brāhmaṇas, the kṣatriyas exactly like kṣatriyas, and so on. Therefore, when Lord Rāmacandra gave everything in charity to the brāhmaṇas, the brāhmaṇas, being qualified, wisely considered that brāhmaṇas are not meant to possess property to make a profit from it. The qualifications of a brāhmaṇa are given in Bhagavad-gītā (18.42):.
śamo damas tapaḥ śaucaḿ
"Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness — these are the qualities by which the brāhmaṇas work." The brahminical character offers no scope for possessing land and ruling citizens; these are the duties of a kṣatriya. Therefore, although the brāhmaṇas did not refuse Lord Rāmacandra's gift, after accepting it they returned it to the King. The brāhmaṇas were so pleased with Lord Rāmacandra's affection toward them that their hearts melted. They saw that Lord Rāmacandra, aside from being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was fully qualified as a kṣatriya and was exemplary in character. One of the qualifications of a kṣatriya is to be charitable. A kṣatriya, or ruler, levies taxes upon the citizens not for his personal sense gratification but to give charity in suitable cases. Dānam īśvara-bhāvaḥ. On one hand, kṣatriyas have the propensity to rule, but on the other they are very liberal with charity. When Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira gave charity, he engaged Karṇa to take charge of distributing it. Karṇa was very famous as Dātā Karṇa. The word dātā 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 kṣatriya's duty is to give charity, and a brāhmaṇa's duty is to accept charity, but not more than needed to maintain body and soul together. Therefore, when the brāhmaṇas were given so much land by Lord Rāmacandra, they returned it to Him and were not greedy.
9.11.6
(6) 'What indeed have You not given us o Supreme Lord, o Master of the Universe? With You entering the core of our hearts do You, with Your effulgence, dissipate the darkness of our ignorance.
When Dhruva Mahārāja 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 Prahlāda Mahārāja was offered a benediction by Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva, he also refused to accept it and instead declared that a devotee should not be like a vaṇik, 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. Brāhmaṇas are always enlightened by the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the heart (sarvasya cāhaḿ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaḿ ca [Bg. 15.15]). And because the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas 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 Vāmanadeva. Acting as a brahmacārī, Lord Vāmanadeva 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 brāhmaṇa or Vaiṣṇava.
9.11.7
rāmāyākuṇṭha-medhase
nyasta-daṇḍārpitāńghraye
(7) Our obseisances unto You Râmacandra, o best of all the renown, o You whose memory and knowledge, in Your divine respect for the brahmins, are never disturbed by anxiety. Those beyond the sanctions [the sages] are delivered to Your feet!'
9.11.8
kadācil loka-jijñāsur
gūḍho rātryām alakṣitaḥ
caran vāco 'śṛṇod rāmo
(8) One night curious about the public opinion walked Râma in disguise unnoticed and heard He someone speaking who was referring to his [and His] wife.
9.11.9
(9) 'I can't maintain you since you are an impure, unchaste woman keeping it with another man; I'll not again accept to be the henpecked one like even Râma is with Sîtâ!'
9.11.10
durārādhyād asaḿvidaḥ
prāptā prācetasāśramam
(10) Apprehensive of folk who, not knowing where to stop, in their poor fund of knowledge speak a lot of nonsense, was she [Sîtâ] thus by her husband abandoned and went she to the hermitage of Prâcetasa [Vâlmîki Muni].
9.11.11
(11) There delivered she, being pregnant, when the time had arrived twin sons who thus from the sage performing the birth-rituals received the names Kus'a and Lava ['from the grass' and 'what's cut off'].
9.11.12
ańgadaś citraketuś ca
lakṣmaṇasyātmajau smṛtau
(12) Also Lakshmana had two sons: Angada and Citraketu [named after 6.14-17] and Bharata, o great ruler, had two who were remembered as Taksha and Pushkala.
9.11.13-14
gandharvān koṭiśo jaghne
(13-14) Subâhu and S'utrasena were born of S'atrughna. The Gandharvas [pretenders and gamblers] were by the millions killed by Lord Bharata who in His conquest brought all directions under the control of the King [Râma] whom He offered all their riches. The Râkshasa listening to the name of Lavana, a son of Madhu, was killed by S'atrughna in the great forest of Madhuvana where he established the great town known as Mathurâ.
9.11.15
(15) Entrusting the sage her sons did Sîtâ, who banished by her husband kept meditating on Râma's feet, enter the earth.
9.11.16
tac chrutvā bhagavān rāmo
(16) Hearing about this was He, Râma, the Supreme Lord remembering her qualities in the different circumstances, not able to check His grief, however much He tried to ban it with His intelligence.
Lord Rāmacandra's grief at the news of Sītādevī'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-vaśyatva-svabhāva, being under the influence of hlādinī-śakti and being controlled by love. In the material world such feelings of separation are only a perverted reflection.
9.11.17
(17) An attraction between husband and wife like this is a universal source of worries; even to the great controllers - how much then woudn't that be true for the common people who are enslaved to a household existence?
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.
9.11.18
trayodaśābda-sāhasram
(18) After she went to heaven observed He complete celibacy and performed the Lord a ceremony, a fire-sacrifice [Agnihotra], that continued for a thirteen thousand years without interruption.
9.11.19
(19) Thereafter placed Râma the lotuspetals of His feet that were pierced by the thorns of the Dandakâranya forest [were He stayed during His exile] in the hearts of those remembering Him, and entered He, the Light of the Soul [âtma-jyoti], the Beyond.
The lotus feet of the Lord are always a subject matter for meditation for devotees. Sometimes when Lord Rāmacandra wandered in the forest of Daṇḍakāraṇya, 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 gopīs when they thought of Kṛṣṇa 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 karmīs, jñānīs or yogīs. 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 ātma-jyotiḥ is significant. The brahmajyoti, which is greatly appreciated by jñānīs, or monistic philosophers who desire to enter it for liberation, is nothing but the rays of the Lord's body.
yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-
"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-saḿhitā 5.40) The brahmajyoti is the beginning of the spiritual world, and beyond the brahmajyoti are the Vaikuṇṭha planets. In other words, the brahmajyoti stays outside the Vaikuṇṭha 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 Vaikuṇṭha planets, they go through the brahmajyoti. The jñānīs, or monistic philosophers, because of their impersonal conception of the Lord, cannot enter the Vaikuṇṭha planets, but they also cannot stay eternally in the brahmajyoti. Thus after some time they fall again to this material world. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraḿ padaḿ tataḥ patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-ańghrayaḥ (Bhāg. 10.2.32). The Vaikuṇṭha planets are covered by the brahmajyoti, and therefore one cannot properly understand what those Vaikuṇṭha planets are unless one is a pure devotee.
9.11.20
nedaḿ yaśo raghupateḥ sura-yācñayātta-
(20) The Lord of the Raghu dynasty [Râma], spiritually relating to us in His pastimes, had, with no one greater or equal to Him, [personally] no need for all this fame, all the prayers of the godly, the killing of the Râkshasas, bridging the ocean and His bow and arrows, nor needed He the monkeys to assist Him in defeating the enemy [compare B.G. 3: 20-26].
As stated in the Vedas (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8):
na tasya kāryaḿ karaṇaḿ ca vidyate
"The Supreme Lord has nothing to do, and no one is found to be equal to or greater than Him, for everything is done naturally and systematically by His multifarious energies." The Lord has nothing to do (na tasya kāryaḿ karaṇaḿ ca vidyate); whatever He does is His pastime. The Lord has no duty to perform to oblige anyone. Nonetheless, He appears to act to protect His devotees or kill His enemies. Of course, no one can be the Lord's enemy, since who could be more powerful than the Lord? There is actually no question of anyone's being His enemy, but when the Lord wants to take pleasure in pastimes, He comes down to this material world and acts like a human being, thus showing His wonderful, glorious activities to please the devotees. His devotees always want to see the Lord victorious in varied activities, and therefore, to please Himself and them, the Lord sometimes agrees to act as a human being and perform wonderful, uncommon pastimes for the satisfaction of the devotees.
9.11.21
(21) Unto Him whose spotless fame in royal assemblies to the present day is glorified, unto Him whose sin-devouring lotusfeet are to the saintly as what the cloth covering the elephant of victory is to the gods of heaven and kings of earth who greet it with their helmets - unto that Master of the Raghu dynasty I surrender myself.
9.11.22
saḿviṣṭo 'nugato 'pi vā
(22) He, who the people of Kosala looked for and wanted to touch, was by them all, whether they ate and slept with Him or respected Him as a servant, followed to the place for which He left where all [bhakti-]yoga practicioners go to [see also B.G. 4: 9].
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):
janma karma ca me divyam
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna." Here this is confirmed. All the inhabitants of Ayodhyā who saw Lord Rāmacandra as citizens, served Him as servants, sat and talked with Him as friends or were somehow or other present during His reign went back home, back to Godhead. After giving up the body, the devotee who becomes perfect in devotional service enters that particular universe where Lord Rāmacandra or Lord Kṛṣṇa is engaged in His pastimes. Then, after being trained to serve the Lord in various capacities in that prakaṭa-līlā, the devotee is finally promoted to sanātana-dhāma, the supreme abode in the spiritual world. This sanātana-dhāma is also mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo'vyakto'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ [Bg. 8.20]). One who enters the transcendental pastimes of the Lord is called nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa. To understand clearly why Lord Rāmacandra returned, it is mentioned herewith that the Lord went to that particular place where the bhakti-yogīs go. The impersonalists misunderstand the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to mean that the Lord entered His own effulgence and therefore become impersonal. But the Lord is a person, and His devotees are persons. Indeed, the living entities, like the Lord, were persons in the past, they are persons in the present, and they will continue to be persons even after giving up the body. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā.
9.11.23
śravaṇair upadhārayan
ānṛśaḿsya-paro rājan
(23) Any person hearing about the activities of Lord Râma will simply by this process be freed from the human weakness [envy, or original sin], o King, and be liberated from the clutches of karma.'
Here in this material world, everyone is envious of someone else. Even in religious life, it is sometimes found that if one devotee has advanced in spiritual activities, other devotees are envious of him. Such envious devotees are not completely freed from the bondage of birth and death. As long as one is not completely free from the cause of birth and death, one cannot enter the sanātana-dhāma or the eternal pastimes of the Lord. One becomes envious because of being influenced by the designations of the body, but the liberated devotee has nothing to do with the body, and therefore he is completely on the transcendental platform. A devotee is never envious of anyone, even his enemy. Because the devotee knows that the Lord is his supreme protector, he thinks, "What harm can the so-called enemy do?" Thus a devotee is confident about his protection. The Lord says, ye yathā māḿ prapadyante tāḿs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: [Bg. 4.11] "According to the proportion of one's surrender unto Me, I respond accordingly." A devotee must therefore be completely free from envy, especially of other devotees. To envy other devotees is a great offense, a vaiṣṇava-aparādha. A devotee who constantly engages in hearing and chanting (śravaṇa-kīrtana) is certainly freed from the disease of envy, and thus he becomes eligible to go back home, back to Godhead.
9.11.24
śrī-rājovāca
(24) The King asked: 'How did He, the Supreme Lord, Râma, relate to His brothers who were His personal expansions and how did they as well as all His people, His subjects, behave towards Him, their Controller?'
9.11.25
bhrātṝḿs tri-bhuvaneśvaraḥ
(25) The son of Vyâsadeva said: 'After accepting the throne ordered He, the Lord of the Universe, His younger brothers to conquer the world [*] while He personally gave audience to His people supervising the affairs of the capital with other assistants.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not allow any of His devotees or assistants to be engaged in sense gratification. The younger brothers of Lord Rāmacandra were at home enjoying the personal presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the Lord ordered Them to go out and achieve victory all over the world. It was the custom (and this custom, in some places, is still current) that all other kings would have to accept the supremacy of the emperor. If the king of a small state did not accept the emperor's supremacy, there would be a fight, and the king of the small state would be obliged to accept the emperor as supreme; otherwise, it would not be possible for the emperor to rule the country.
Lord Rāmacandra showed His favor to His brothers by ordering Them to go out. Many of the Lord's devotees residing in Vṛndāvana have taken the vow not to leave Vṛndāvana to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But the Lord says that Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be spread all over the world, in every village and every town. This is the open order of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
A pure devotee, therefore, must execute the order of the Lord and must not gratify his senses by remaining stagnant in one place, falsely proud, thinking that because he does not leave Vṛndāvana but chants in a solitary place he has become a great devotee. A devotee must carry out the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Every devotee, therefore, should spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness by preaching, asking whomever he meets to accept the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja: [Bg. 18.66] "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me." This is the order of the Lord, who speaks as the supreme emperor. Everyone should be induced to accept this order, for this is victory (dig-vijaya). And it is the duty of the soldier, the devotee, to impress upon everyone this philosophy of life.
Of course, those who are kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs do not preach, but the Lord shows mercy to them also, as He did by staying personally in Ayodhyā to give audience to the people in general. One should not mistakenly think that the Lord asked His younger brothers to leave Ayodhyā because He especially favored the citizens. The Lord is merciful to everyone, and He knows how to show His favor to each individual person according to his capacity. One who abides by the order of the Lord is a pure devotee.
9.11.26
(26) The streets were sprinkled with perfumed water and the musth of the elephants. To see Him, their Master and Ruler, present in person was the highest and greatest delight.
We have simply heard about the opulence of Rāma-rājya during the reign of Lord Rāmacandra. Now, here is one example of the opulence of the Lord's kingdom. The streets of Ayodhyā were not only cleaned but also sprinkled with perfumed water and drops of perfumed liquor, which were distributed by elephants through their trunks. There was no need of sprinkling machines, for the elephant has a natural ability to suck water through its trunk and again throw it out in a shower. We can understand the opulence of the city from this one example: it was actually sprinkled with perfumed water. Moreover, the citizens had the opportunity to see the Lord personally supervising the affairs of the state. He was not a sleeping monarch, as we can understand from His activities in sending His brothers to see to affairs outside the capital and punish anyone who did not obey the emperor's orders. This is called dig-vijaya. The citizens were all given facilities for peaceful life, and they were also qualified with appropriate attributes according to varṇāśrama. As we have seen from the previous chapter, varṇāśrama-guṇānvitāḥ: the citizens were trained according to the varṇāśrama system. A class of men were brāhmaṇas, a class of men were kṣatriyas, a class were vaiśyas, and a class were śūdras. Without this scientific division, there can be no question of good citizenship. The King, being magnanimous and perfect in His duty, performed many sacrifices and treated the citizens as His sons, and the citizens, being trained in the varṇāśrama system, were obedient and perfectly ordered. The entire monarchy was so opulent and peaceful that the government was even able to sprinkle the street with perfumed water, what to speak of other management. Since the city was sprinkled with perfumed water, we can simply imagine how opulent it was in other respects. Why should the citizens not have felt happy during the reign of Lord Rāmacandra.
9.11.27
patākābhiś ca maṇḍitām
(27) In the palaces, at the palace gates, in the assembly-houses on the platforms and the houses of God and such were golden waterpots placed together with flags.
9.11.28
pūgaiḥ savṛntai rambhābhiḥ
paṭṭikābhiḥ suvāsasām
ādarśair aḿśukaiḥ sragbhiḥ
(28) Everywhere was He received with the charm of reception gates, tapestries, garlands, betel nut, flowers and fruits, banana-trees, colorful flags and mirrors.
9.11.29
āśiṣo yuyujur deva
pāhīmāḿ prāk tvayoddhṛtām
(29) Wherever He passed approached the locals Him carrying their articles of worship to receive His blessings saying: 'O my Lord, maintain this land that You, like You did before [as the other vishnu-avatâras], have rescued'.
9.11.30
(30) The men and women in the city thereafter, desirous to see their king returning after so long a time, left their homes to get on the rooftops of the greater mansions in order to feast their hungry eyes on the Lord with the Lotus-eyes and shower Him with flowers.
9.11.31-34
anantākhila-koṣāḍhyam
anarghyoruparicchadam
vidrumodumbara-dvārair
sthalair mārakataiḥ svacchair
kānta-kāmopapattibhiḥ
(31-34) Thereafter, Lord Rāmacandra entered the palace of His forefathers. Within the palace were various treasures and valuable wardrobes. The sitting places on the two sides of the entrance door were made of coral, the yards were surrounded by pillars of vaidūrya-maṇi, the floor was made of highly polished marakata-maṇi, and the foundation was made of marble. The entire palace was decorated with flags and garlands and bedecked with valuable stones, shining with a celestial effulgence. The palace was fully decorated with pearls and surrounded by lamps and incense. The men and women within the palace all resembled demigods and were decorated with various ornaments, which seemed beautiful because of being placed on their bodies.
9.11.35
snigdhayā priyayeṣṭayā
(35) There enjoyed He, the Supreme Lord Râma [lit.: 'the source of joy'], ever pleased by His dearmost wife, mother Sîtâ, His personal happiness as the chief of the greatest scholars.
9.11.36
abhidhyātāńghri-pallavaḥ
(36) For many many years, enjoyed He without interruption, with the people meditating His lotus feet, and without transgressing the dharma, of all the pleasures of life.'
this Râma-mission of conquering the world: 'prithivîte âche yata nagarâdi grâma sarvatra pracâra haibe mora nâma'; A pure devotee, therefore, must execute the order of the Lord and must not gratify his senses by remaining stagnant in one place, falsely proud, thinking that because he does not leave Vrindâvana but chants in a solitary place he has become a great devotee. He also said: 'yâre dekha, târe kaha 'Krishna'-upades'a'; every devotee, therefore, should spread Krishna consciousness by preaching, asking whomever he meets to accept the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Swamyjis, Philosophers, Scholars and Knowledge Seekers for the collection)
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