Vyasadev
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Chapter 19
King Yayâti Achieves Liberation: the Goats of Lust
This Nineteenth Chapter describes how Mahārāja Yayāti achieved liberation after he recounted the figurative story of the he-goat and she-goat.
After many, many years of sexual relationships and enjoyment in the material world, King Yayāti finally became disgusted with such materialistic happiness. When satiated with material enjoyment, he devised a story of a he-goat and she-goat, corresponding to his own life, and narrated the story before his beloved Devayānī. The story is as follows. Once upon a time, while a goat was searching in a forest for different types of vegetables to eat, by chance he came to a well, in which he saw a she-goat. He became attracted to this she-goat and somehow or other delivered her from the well, and thus they were united. One day thereafter, when the she-goat saw the he-goat enjoying sex with another she-goat, she became angry, abandoned the he-goat, and returned to her brāhmaṇa owner, to whom she described her husband's behavior. The brāhmaṇa became very angry and cursed the he-goat to lose his sexual power. Thereupon, the he-goat begged the brāhmaṇa's pardon and was given back the power for sex. Then the he-goat enjoyed sex with the she-goat for many years, but still he was not satisfied. If one is lusty and greedy, even the total stock of gold in this world cannot satisfy one's lusty desires. These desires are like a fire. One may pour clarified butter on a blazing fire, but one cannot expect the fire to be extinguished. To extinguish such a fire, one must adopt a different process. The śāstra therefore advises that by intelligence one renounce the life of enjoyment. Without great endeavor, those with a poor fund of knowledge cannot give up sense enjoyment, especially in relation to sex, because a beautiful woman bewilders even the most learned man. King Yayāti, however, renounced worldly life and divided his property among his sons. He personally adopted the life of a mendicant, or sannyāsī, giving up all attraction to material enjoyment, and engaged himself fully in devotional service to the Lord. Thus he attained perfection. Later, when his beloved wife, Devayānī, was freed from her mistaken way of life, she also engaged herself in the devotional service of the Lord.
9.19.1
straiṇo 'pahnavam ātmanaḥ
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'He [Yayâti] this way behaving in lust with the women did disgusted, for his own well-being counteracting with intelligence, narrate the following story to his wife [Devayânî].
9.19.2
mad-vidhācaritāḿ bhuvi
dhīrā yasyānuśocanti
(2) 'Please listen o daughter of S'ukra to this tale that exemplifies perfectly the behavior of someone worldly like me, someone over whom the sober ones of the forest [who retired] always lament as being too attached to material enjoyment.
Persons who live in the village or town are called grāma-nivāsī, and those who live in the forest are called vana-vāsī or vānaprastha. The vānaprasthas, who have retired from family life, generally lament about their past family life because it engaged them in trying to fulfill lusty desires. Prahlāda Mahārāja said that one should retire from family life as soon as possible, and he described family life as the darkest well (hitvātma-pātaḿ gṛham andha-kūpam). If one continuously or permanently concentrates on living with his family, he should be understood to be killing himself. In the Vedic civilization, therefore, it is recommended that one retire from family life at the end of his fiftieth year and go to vana, the forest. When he becomes expert or accustomed to forest life, or retired life as a vānaprastha, he should accept sannyāsa. Vanaḿ gato yad dharim āśrayeta [SB 7.5.5]. Sannyāsa means accepting unalloyed engagement in the service of the Lord. Vedic civilization therefore recommends four different stages of life — brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. One should be very much ashamed of remaining a householder and not promoting oneself to the two higher stages, namely vānaprastha and sannyāsa.
9.19.3
(3) There was a goat in the forest searching for some food for his dearmost self. By chance met he with a she-goat that as a consequence of her own actions had fallen into a well.
Here Mahārāja Yayāti compares himself to a he-goat and Devayānī to a she-goat and describes the nature of man and woman. Like a he-goat, a man searches for sense gratification, wandering here and there, and a woman without the shelter of a man or husband is like a she-goat that has fallen into a well. Without being cared for by a man, a woman cannot be happy. Indeed, she is just like a she-goat that has fallen into a well and is struggling for existence. Therefore a woman must take shelter of her father, as Devayānī did when under the care of Śukrācārya, and then the father must give the daughter in charity to a suitable man, or a suitable man should help the woman by placing her under the care of a husband. This is shown vividly by the life of Devayānī. When King Yayāti delivered Devayānī from the well, she felt great relief and requested Yayāti to accept her as his wife. But when Mahārāja Yayāti accepted Devayānī, he became too attached and had sex life not only with her but with others, like Śarmiṣṭhā. Yet still he was dissatisfied. Therefore one should retire by force from such family life as Yayāti's. When one is fully convinced of the degrading nature of worldly family life, one should completely renounce this way of life, take sannyāsa, and engage himself fully in the service of the Lord. Then one's life will be successful.
9.19.4
tasyā uddharaṇopāyaḿ
viṣāṇāgreṇa rodhasī
(4) Motivated for lust thought the he-goat of a way to free her and engaged he with the tip of his horns in digging into the earth around the well.
Attraction for woman is the impetus for economic development, housing and many other things meant for living comfortably in this material world. Digging up the earth to make a way out for the she-goat was a laborious task, but before accepting the she-goat, the he-goat underwent this labor. Aho gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaḿ mameti [SB 5.5.8]. The union between male and female provides the impetus for gaining a nice apartment, a good income, children and friends. Thus one becomes entangled in this material world.
9.19.5-6
sottīrya kūpāt suśroṇī
ātmānaḿ nāvabudhyata
(5-6) She getting out of the well had to the taste of the he-goat indeed nice hips and she too fancied him as a sex partner just as the many other onlooking she-goats did. Stout with a nice beard being a first class seed donor and master lover could that he-goat, the number one goat to them all, like someone haunted, ever more lusty as the only one enjoy the great number of them forgetting himself completely [compare 6.5: 6-20].
Materialists are certainly very much attracted by sexual intercourse. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaḿ hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. Although one becomes a gṛhastha, or householder, to enjoy sex life to his heart's content, one is never satisfied. Such a lusty materialist is like a goat, for it is said that if goats meant for slaughter get the opportunity, they enjoy sex before being killed. Human beings, however, are meant for self-realization.
tapo divyaḿ putrakā yena sattvaḿ
Human life is meant for realization of the self, the spiritual soul within the body (dehino 'smin yathā dehe [Bg. 2.13]). A materialistic rascal does not know that he is not the body but a spiritual soul within the body. However, one should understand his real position and cultivate knowledge by which to get free from bodily entanglement. Like an unfortunate person who acts madly, haunted by ghosts, a materialist haunted by the ghost of lust forgets his real business so that he can enjoy so-called happiness in the bodily concept of life.
9.19.7
ramamāṇam ajānyayā
(7) When the she-goat of the well saw him, her beloved, engaged in delighting with another one could that business of the goat not be tolerated.
9.19.8
taḿ durhṛdaḿ suhṛd-rūpaḿ
indriyārāmam utsṛjya
(8) Him as a lusty cruel hearted pretender, a friend to the occasion only sensually interested, she aggrieved gave up to return to her former caretaker.
The word svāminam is significant. Svāmī means "caretaker" or "master." Devayānī was cared for by Śukrācārya before her marriage, and after her marriage she was cared for by Yayāti, but here the word svāminam indicates that Devayānī left the protection of her husband, Yayāti, and returned to her former protector, Śukrācārya. Vedic civilization recommends that a woman stay under the protection of a man. During childhood she should be cared for by her father, in youth by her husband, and in old age by a grown son. In any stage of life, a woman should not have independence.
9.19.9
so 'pi cānugataḥ straiṇaḥ
kṛpaṇas tāḿ prasāditum
(9) He then under her spell in pain poorly followed her and tried to pacify her on the road with what goats so say, but he couldn't satisfy her.
9.19.10
sandadhe 'rthāya yogavit
(10) Angry were thereupon by the brahmin caring about some [other] she-goat [-wife] his dangling testicles cut off but they were for his own good by the yoga expert reattached.
Here Śukrācārya is figuratively described as the husband of another she-goat. This indicates that the relationship between husband and wife in any society, whether higher or lower than human society, is nothing but the same relationship between he-goat and she-goat, for the material relationship between man and woman is one of sex. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaḿ hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. Śukrācārya was an ācārya, or expert, in family affairs, which involve the transfer of semen from he-goat to she-goat, The words kaścid ajā-svāmī expressly indicate herein that Śukrācārya was no better than Yayāti, for both of them were interested in family affairs generated by śukra, or semen. Śukrācārya first cursed Yayāti to become old so that he could no longer indulge in sex, but when Śukrācārya saw that Yayāti's emasculation would make his own daughter a victim of punishment, he used his mystic power to restore Yayāti's masculinity. Because he used his power of mystic yoga for family affairs and not to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this exercise in the magic of yoga was no better than the affairs of he-goats and she-goats. Yogic power should properly be used to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord Himself recommends in Bhagavad-gītā (6.47):
yoginām api sarveṣāḿ
mad-gatenāntarātmanā
"Of all yogīs, 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."9.19.11
sambaddha-vṛṣaṇaḥ so 'pi
kāmair nādyāpi tuṣyati
(11) O dearest wife, with his testicles restored could he with the she-goat he had saved from the well for a time of many, many years up to the day of today not get his lusty desires satisfied.
When one is bound by affection for one's wife, one is attached to sexual desires that are very difficult to overcome. Therefore, according to Vedic civilization, one must voluntarily leave his so-called home and go to the forest. Pañcāśordhvaḿ vanaḿ vrajet. Human life is meant for such tapasya, or austerity. By the austerity of voluntarily stopping sex life at home and going to the forest to engage in spiritual activities in the association of devotees, one achieves the actual purpose of human life.
9.19.12
tathāhaḿ kṛpaṇaḥ subhru
ātmānaḿ nābhijānāmi
(12) I am a poor miser just like that; in the company of you with your beautiful eyebrows am I tied in love and could I as yet, bewildered as I am by your outer appearance, not be of the soul [compare 3.30: 6-12, 4.25: 56, 4.28: 17, 5.4: 18, 7.14 and 8.16: 9].
If one remains a victim of the so-called beauty of his wife, his family life is nothing but a dark well. Hitvātma-pātaḿ gṛham andha-kūpam. Existence in such a dark well is certainly suicidal. If one wants relief from the miserable condition of material life, one must voluntarily give up his lusty relationship with his wife; otherwise there is no question of self-realization. Unless one is extremely advanced in spiritual consciousness, household life is nothing but a dark well in which one commits suicide. Prahlāda Mahārāja therefore recommended that in due time, at least after one's fiftieth year, one must give up household life and go to the forest. Vanaḿ gato yad dharim āśrayeta [SB 7.5.5]. There one should seek shelter at the lotus feet of Hari.
9.19.13
(13) What of the food grains, barley, gold, animals and women in this world; they do not satisfy the mind of the person who is a victim of lust.
Improvement of one's economic condition is the aim and object of a materialist, but there is no end to this material advancement, for if one cannot control his lusty desires, he will never be pleased, even if he gets all the material wealth of the world. In this age we see much material improvement, but still people are struggling to get more and more material opulence. Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati [Bg. 15.7]. Although every living entity is a part of the Supreme Being, because of lusty desires one continuously struggles for so-called betterment of one's economic condition. To have a satisfied mind, one must give up his heart disease of lusty desires. This can be done only when one is Kṛṣṇa conscious.
bhaktiḿ parāḿ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaḿ
(Bhāg. 10.33.39)
If one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, then he can give up this heart disease; otherwise this disease of lusty desires will continue, and one cannot have peace in his mind.
9.19.14
(14) Never at any time will by enjoyment the lust of the lusty be pacified, just like feeding fire with butter again and again will increase the fire.
One may have enough money and enough resources to satisfy the senses but still not be satisfied, for the endeavor to stop lusty desires by enjoying can never be successful. The example given here is very appropriate. One cannot stop a blazing fire by trying to extinguish it with butter.
9.19.15
(15) When a man does not envy, nor goes at the detriment of any living being will, to that person who then has an equal vision, all directions appear equally happy [see also B.G. 2: 56, 2: 71, & 4: 10].
Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī said, viśvaḿ pūrṇa-sukhāyate: when one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, for him the entire world appears happy, and he has nothing for which to hanker. On the brahma-bhūta stage, or the platform of spiritual realization, there is no lamentation and no material hankering (na śocati na kāńkṣati). As long as one lives in the material world, actions and reactions will continue, but when one is unaffected by such material actions and reactions, he is to be considered free from the danger of being victimized by material desires. The symptoms of those who are satiated with lusty desires are described in this verse. As explained by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, when one is not envious even of his enemy, does not expect honor from anyone, but instead desires all well-being even for his enemy, he is understood to be a paramahaḿsa, one who has fully subdued the lusty desires for sense gratification.
9.19.16
(16) That which is so difficult to forsake for people who are too attached, that root cause of all tribulation that is not overcome even when one is crippled by old age, such a desire, should by the one who seeks happiness be given up.
We have actually seen, especially in the Western countries, that men who have reached more than eighty years of age still go to nightclubs and pay heavy fees to drink wine and associate with women. Although such men are too old to enjoy anything, their desires have not ceased. Time deteriorates even the body itself, which is the medium for all sensual satisfaction, but even when a man becomes old and invalid, his desires are strong enough to dictate that he go here and there to satisfy the desires of his senses. Therefore, by the practice of bhakti-yoga, one should give up his lusty desires. As explained by Śrī Yāmunācārya:
yadavadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde
When one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, he gets more and more happiness by discharging duties for Kṛṣṇa. Such a person spits on sense gratification, especially that of sexual enjoyment. An experienced, advanced devotee is no longer interested in sex life. The strong desire for sex can be subdued only by advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
9.19.17
nāviviktāsano bhavet
(17) Nor with one's mother, one's sister or one's daughter should one sit close, because the senses so very strong will even agitate the most learned.
Learning the etiquette of how to deal with women does not free one from sexual attraction. As specifically mentioned herewith, such attraction is possible even with one's mother, sister or daughter. Generally, of course, one is not sexually attracted to his mother, sister or daughter, but if one allows himself to sit very close to such a woman, one may be attracted. This is a psychological fact. It may be said that one is liable to be attracted if he is not very advanced in civilized life; however, as specifically mentioned here, vidvāḿsam api karṣati: even if one is highly advanced, materially or spiritually, he may be attracted by lusty desires. The object of attraction may even be one's mother, sister or daughter. Therefore, one should be extremely careful in dealings with women. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was most strict in such dealings, especially after He accepted the sannyāsa order. Indeed, no woman could come near Him to offer Him respect. Again, one is warned herewith that one should be extremely careful in dealings with women. A brahmacārī is forbidden even to see the wife of his spiritual master if she happens to be young. The wife of the spiritual master may sometimes take some service from the disciple of her husband, as she would from a son, but if the wife of the spiritual master is young, a brahmacārī is forbidden to render service to her.
9.19.18
tathāpi cānusavanaḿ
tṛṣṇā teṣūpajāyate
(18) For as long as a thousand years enjoyed I without interruption in sense-gratificiation, and still increases the desire for it more and more.
Mahārāja Yayāti is explaining, in terms of his actual experience, how strong are sexual desires, even in old age.
9.19.19
nirdvandvo nirahańkāraś
(19) For that reason will I give up on these desires by fixing my mind upon the absolute Truth, and will I without duality, without falsely identifying myself, wander with the [freedom of the] animals of nature.
To go to the forest and live there with the animals, meditating upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the only means by which to give up lusty desires. Unless one gives up such desires, one's mind cannot be freed from material contamination. Therefore, if one is at all interested in being freed from the bondage of repeated birth, death, old age and disease, after a certain age one must go to the forest. pañcāśordhvaḿ vanaḿ vrajet. After fifty years of age, one should voluntarily give up family life and go to the forest. The best forest is Vṛndāvana, where one need not live with the animals but can associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who never leaves Vṛndāvana. Cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Vṛndāvana is the best means of being liberated from material bondage, for in Vṛndāvana one can automatically meditate upon Kṛṣṇa. Vṛndāvana has many temples, and in one or more of these temples one may see the form of the Supreme Lord as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma and meditate upon this form. As expressed here by the words brahmaṇy adhyāya, one should concentrate one's mind upon the Supreme Lord, Parabrahman. This Parabrahman is Kṛṣṇa, as confirmed by Arjuna in Bhagavad-gītā (paraḿ brahma paraḿ dhāma pavitraḿ paramaḿ bhavān [Bg. 10.12]). Kṛṣṇa and His abode, Vṛndāvana, are not different. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam. Vṛndāvana is as good as Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, if one somehow or other gets the opportunity to live in Vṛndāvana, and if one is not a pretender but simply lives in Vṛndāvana and concentrates his mind upon Kṛṣṇa, one is liberated from material bondage. One's mind is not purified, however, even in Vṛndāvana, if one is agitated by lusty desires. One should not live in Vṛndāvana and commit offenses, for a life of offenses in Vṛndāvana is no better than the lives of the monkeys and hogs there. Many monkeys and hogs live in Vṛndāvana, and they are concerned with their sexual desires. Men who have gone to Vṛndāvana but who still hanker for sex should immediately leave Vṛndāvana and stop their grievous offenses at the lotus feet of the Lord. There are many misguided men who live in Vṛndāvana to satisfy their sexual desires, but they are certainly no better than the monkeys and hogs. Those who are under the control of māyā, and specifically under the control of lusty desires, are called māyā-mṛga. Indeed, everyone in the conditional stage of material life is a māyā-mṛga. It is said, māyā-mṛgaḿ dayitayepsitam anvadhāvad: [SB 11.5.34] Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa to show His causeless mercy to the māyā-mṛgas, the people of this material world, who suffer because of lusty desires. One should follow the principles of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and always think of Kṛṣṇa in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then one will be eligible to live in Vṛndāvana, and his life will be successful.
9.19.20
dṛṣṭaḿ śrutam asad buddhvā
saḿsṛtiḿ cātma-nāśaḿ ca
(20) As one sees them, as one aspires them should one, knowing them to be temporal, not even think of them nor actually enjoy them nor want the prolongation of material life and the forgetfulness about the real self associated with it; he who is mindful about this is a self-realized soul [see also B.G. 2: 13].'
The living entity is a spiritual soul, and the material body is his encagement. This is the beginning of spiritual understanding.
dehino 'smin yathā dehe
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
"As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change." (Bg. 2.13) The real mission of human life is to get free from encagement in the material body. Therefore Kṛṣṇa descends to teach the conditioned soul about spiritual realization and how to become free from material bondage. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata [Bg. 4.7]. The words dharmasya glāniḥ mean "pollution of one's existence." Our existence is now polluted, and it must be purified (sattvaḿ śuddhyet). The human life is meant for this purification, not for thinking of happiness in terms of the external body, which is the cause of material bondage. Therefore, in this verse, Mahārāja Yayāti advises that whatever material happiness we see and whatever is promised for enjoyment is all merely flickering and temporary. Ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna [Bg. 8.16]. Even if one is promoted to Brahmaloka, if one is not freed from material bondage one must return to this planet earth and continue in the miserable condition of material existence (bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate). One should always keep this understanding in mind so as not to be allured by any kind of sense enjoyment, in this life or in the next. One who is fully aware of this truth is self-realized (sa ātma-dṛk), but aside from him, everyone suffers in the cycle of birth and death (mṛtyu-saḿsāra-vartmani). This understanding is one of true intelligence, and anything contrary to this is but a cause of unhappiness. Kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ataeva 'śānta.' Only a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, who knows the aim and object of life, is peaceful. All others, whether karmīs, jñānīs or yogīs, are restless and cannot enjoy real peace.9.19.21
(21) 'The son of Nahusha having said this to his wife returned, freed from desires, his youth to Pûru and took back from him his old age [see 9.18: 45].
9.19.22
(22) He made [of his other sons] Druhyu king over the southeastern direction, Yadu over the southern side, Turvasu over the western part and Anu over the north.
9.19.23
abhiṣicyāgrajāḿs tasya
(23) The entire planet its riches and wealth he placed under the control of Pûru as the most admirable of the citizens, crowning him emperor over his elder brothers, and thus having settled matters left he for the forest.
9.19.24
(24) Uninterrupted for all those years with the six of his ways [senses and mind] having enjoyed gave he it all up in a moment [see also 2.4: 18] like a bird that leaves its nest when its wings are grown.
That Mahārāja Yayāti was immediately liberated from the bondage of conditioned life is certainly astonishing. But the example given herewith is appropriate. A tiny baby bird, dependent fully on its father and mother even to eat, suddenly flies away from the nest when its wings have grown. Similarly, if one fully surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is immediately liberated from the bondage of conditioned life, as promised by the Lord Himself (ahaḿ tvāḿ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi). As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.4.18):
kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā
"Kirāta, Hūṇa, Āndhra, Pulinda, Pulkaśa, Ābhīra, Śumbha, Yavana and the Khasa races and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, for He is the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him." Lord Viṣṇu is so powerful that He can deliver anyone at once if He is pleased to do so. And Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, can be pleased immediately if we accept His order by surrendering unto Him, as Mahārāja Yayāti did. Mahārāja Yayāti was eager to serve Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, and therefore as soon as he wanted to renounce material life, Lord Vāsudeva helped him. We must therefore be very sincere in surrendering ourselves unto the lotus feet of the Lord. Then we can immediately be liberated from all the bondage of conditioned life. This is clearly expressed in the next verse.
9.19.25
ātmānubhūtyā vidhuta-trilińgaḥ
(25) Doing so was he instantly freed from all his attachments and was he, understanding his constitutional position, cleansed of the influence of the three modes [see also 1.2: 17]. Pure to the beyond achieved he the Absolute Truth of Vâsudeva, achieved he his destination as a confided associate of the Supreme Lord.
The word vidhuta, meaning "cleansed," is very significant. Everyone in this material world is contaminated (kāraṇaḿ guṇa-sańgo 'sya). Because we are in a material condition, we are contaminated either by sattva-guṇa, by rajo-guṇa or by tamo-guṇa. Even if one becomes a qualified brāhmaṇa in the mode of goodness (sattva-guṇa), he is still materially contaminated. One must come to the platform of śuddha-sattva, transcending the sattva-guṇa. Then one is vidhuta-trilińga, cleansed of the contamination caused by the three modes of material nature. This is possible by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17):
śṛṇvatāḿ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi
"Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted." A person trying to be perfectly Kṛṣṇa conscious by hearing the words of Kṛṣṇa from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā certainly has all the dirty things cleansed from the core of his heart. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also says, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam: [Cc. Antya 20.12] the process of hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord washes away the dirty things accumulated in the core of the heart. As soon as one is freed from all the dirt of material contamination, as Mahārāja Yayāti was, one's original position as an associate of the Lord is revealed. This is called svarūpa-siddhi, or personal perfection.9.19.26
parihāsam iveritam
(26) Hearing the tale understood Devayânî it was an instruction for self-realization presented as a joke in the exchange of love between a husband and a wife.
When one actually awakens from material life, one understands his real position as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is called liberation. Muktir hitvānyathā rūpaḿ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (Bhāg. 2.10.6). Under the influence of māyā, everyone living in this material world thinks that he is the master of everything (ahańkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]). One thinks that there is no God or controller and that one is independent and can do anything. This is the material condition, and when one awakens from this ignorance, he is called liberated. Mahārāja Yayāti had delivered Devayānī from the well, and finally, as a dutiful husband, he instructed her with the story about the he-goat and she-goat and thus delivered her from the misconception of material happiness. Devayānī was quite competent to understand her liberated husband, and therefore she decided to follow him as his faithful wife.
9.19.27-28
vijñāyeśvara-tantrāṇāḿ
svapnaupamyena bhārgavī
(27-28) She understood that living with friends and relatives who are all subjected to the control of the rigid laws of nature [Time], is like associating with travelers at a water place created by the power of illusion of the Lord [according one's karma]. The daughter of S'ukrâcârya forsaking all attachments in this dreamlike world, fixed her mind fully on Lord Krishna and gave up on as well the gross as the subtle [the linga] of her soul.
One should be convinced that he is a spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, but has somehow or other been entrapped by the material coverings of the gross and subtle bodies, consisting of earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. One should know that the association of society, friendship, love, nationalism, religion and so on are nothing but creations of māyā. One's only business is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and render service unto Kṛṣṇa as extensively as possible for a living being. In this way one is liberated from material bondage. By the grace of Kṛṣṇa, Devayānī attained this state through the instructions of her husband.
9.19.29
sarva-bhūtādhivāsāya
(29) My obeisances unto You, my Supreme Lord Vâsudeva, Creator of All residing in All beings and abodes; unto You my respect who in perfect peace art the Greatest of All!'
How Devayānī became self-realized by the grace of her great husband, Mahārāja Yayāti, is described here. Describing such realization is another way of performing the bhakti process.
śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ viṣṇoḥ
"Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service." (Bhāg. 7.5.23) śravaṇaḿ kīrtanam, hearing and chanting, are especially important. By hearing from her husband about the greatness of Lord Vāsudeva, Devayānī certainly became convinced and surrendered herself unto the lotus feet of the Lord (oḿ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya). This is knowledge. Bahūnāḿ janmanām ante jñānavān māḿ prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. Surrender to Vāsudeva is the result of hearing about Him for many, many births. As soon as one surrenders unto Vāsudeva, one is liberated immediately. Because of her association with her great husband, Mahārāja Yayāti, Devayānī became purified, adopted the means of bhakti-yoga, and thus became liberated.
anto 9
Chapter 20
The Dynasty of Pûru up to Bharata
This chapter describes the history of Pūru and his descendant Duṣmanta. The son of Pūru was Janamejaya, and his son was Pracinvān. The sons and grandsons in the line of Pracinvān, one after another, were Pravīra, Manusyu, Cārupada, Sudyu, Bahugava, Saḿyāti, Ahaḿyāti and Raudrāśva. Raudrāśva had ten sons — Ṛteyu, Kakṣeyu, Sthaṇḍileyu, Kṛteyuka, Jaleyu, Sannateyu, Dharmeyu, Satyeyu, Vrateyu and Vaneyu. The son of Ṛteyu was Rantināva, who had three sons — Sumati, Dhruva and Apratiratha. The son of Apratiratha was Kaṇva, and Kaṇva's son was Medhātithi. The sons of Medhātithi, headed by Praskanna, were all brāhmaṇas. The son of Rantināva named Sumati had a son named Rebhi, and his son was Duṣmanta.
While hunting in the forest, Duṣmanta once approached the āśrama of Mahāṛṣi Kaṇva, where he saw an extremely beautiful woman and became attracted to her. That woman was the daughter of Viśvāmitra, and her name was Śakuntalā. Her mother was Menakā, who had left her in the forest, where Kaṇva Muni found her. Kaṇva Muni brought her to his āśrama, where he raised and maintained her. When Śakuntalā accepted Mahārāja Duṣmanta as her husband, he married her according to the gāndharva-vidhi. Śakuntalā later became pregnant by her husband, who left her in the āśrama of Kaṇva Muni and returned to his kingdom.
In due course of time, Śakuntalā gave birth to a Vaiṣṇava son, but Duṣmanta, having returned to the capital, forgot what had taken place. Therefore, when Śakuntalā approached him with her newly born child, Mahārāja Duṣmanta refused to accept them as his wife and son. Later, however, after a mysterious omen, the King accepted them. After Mahārāja Duṣmanta's death, Bharata, the son of Śakuntalā, was enthroned. He performed many great sacrifices, in which he gave great riches in charity to the brāhmaṇas. This chapter ends by describing the birth of Bharadvāja and how Mahārāja Bharata accepted Bharadvāja as his son.
9.20.1
pūror vaḿśaḿ pravakṣyāmi
(1) The son of Vyâsadeva said: 'I shall now describe the dynasty of Pûru in which you were born o son of Bharata; the kings of that dynasty were one after the other all saintly and many a brahmin line of descendants came forth from it.
There are many historical instances by which we can understand that from kṣatriyas many brāhmaṇas have been born and that from brāhmaṇas many kṣatriyas have been born. The Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13), cātur-varṇyaḿ mayā sṛṣṭaḿ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: "According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me." Therefore, regardless of the family in which one takes birth, when one is qualified with the symptoms of a particular section, he is to be described accordingly. Yal-lakṣaṇaḿ proktam. One's place in the varṇa divisions of society is determined according to one's symptoms or qualities. This is maintained everywhere in the śāstra. Birth is a secondary consideration; the first consideration is one's qualities and activities.
9.20.2
pravīro 'tha manusyur vai
tasmāc cārupado 'bhavat
(2) Janamejaya was the one who appeared from Pûru, Pracinvân was his son and from him was there Pravîra after whom Manusyu appeared; it was of him that Cârupada appeared.
9.20.3
tasmād bahugavas tataḥ
saḿyātis tasyāhaḿyātī
(3) The son appearing from him was Sudyu who had a son named Bahugava of whom was born Samyâti who had a son named Ahamyâti; the memorable Raudrâs'va was his son.
9.20.4-5
ṛteyus tasya kakṣeyuḥ
daśaite 'psarasaḥ putrā
vaneyuś cāvamaḥ smṛtaḥ
ghṛtācyām indriyāṇīva
(4-5) With an apsara girl known as Ghritacî were there, alike the ten senses [of action and perception] from the life force of the universal self, ten sons born: Riteyu, Kaksheyu, Sthandileyu, Kriteyuka, Jaleyu, Sannateyu, Dharmeyu, Satyeyu, Vrateyu and Vaneyu as the youngest.
9.20.6
ṛteyo rantināvo 'bhūt
trayas tasyātmajā nṛpa
sumatir dhruvo 'pratirathaḥ
kaṇvo 'pratirathātmajaḥ
(6) From Riteyu appeared a son named Rantinâva and his three sons, o ruler of man, were Sumati, Dhruva and Apratiratha. Kanva was Apratiratha's son.
9.20.7
praskannādyā dvijātayaḥ
putro 'bhūt sumate rebhir
(7) From him there was Medhâtithi from whom there were Praskanna and others who were all twice-born souls. From Sumati there was Rebhi whose son is the known Dushmanta.
9.20.8-9
(8-9) Once Dushmanta went hunting and arrived at the âs'rama of Kanva. When he came there saw he a woman sitting who shone in her own beauty like the goddess of fortune. Seeing her he directly felt himself strongly drawn towards her, such a manifest divine beauty of a woman, and surrounded by some soldiers addressed he that best of all ladies.
9.20.10
(10) Exhilarated by her presence was he relieved of the fatigue of his hunting excursion and asked he, driven by lusty feelings, with pleasing words jokingly:
9.20.11
kasyāsi hṛdayań-game
kiḿ svic cikīrṣitaḿ tatra
(11) 'Who are you o lotuspetal-eyed lady, whom do you belong to, o beauty to my heart, and what are your intentions being all by yourself here in the forest?
9.20.12
vedmy ahaḿ tvāḿ sumadhyame
(12) It appears you're of royal blood. Be sure that I as a descendant of Pûru, o raving beauty, am never of a mind to enjoy against the dharma whenever!'
Mahārāja Duṣmanta indirectly expressed his desire to marry Śakuntalā, for she appeared to his mind to be the daughter of some kṣatriya king.
9.20.13
śrī-śakuntalovāca
viśvāmitrātmajaivāhaḿ
vedaitad bhagavān kaṇvo
(13) S'rî S'akuntalâ said: 'I, born from Vis'vâmitra, was all alone left behind in this forest by Menakâ [her mother]; Kanva that finest saint, knows all about it! O my hero, what may I do for you?
Śakuntalā informed Mahārāja Duṣmanta that although she never saw or knew her father or mother, Kaṇva Muni knew everything about her, and she had heard from him that she was the daughter of Viśvāmitra and that her mother was Menakā, who had left her in the forest.
9.20.14
āsyatāḿ hy aravindākṣa
bhujyatāḿ santi nīvārā
(14) Please come and sit with me o lotus eyed one, accept my humble service, eat from the nîvârâ ['of a virgin'] rice that I have to offer and stay here if you wish so.'
9.20.15
jātāyāḥ kuśikānvaye
(15) S'rî Dushmanta answered: 'This o beautiful eyebrows, is worthy your position of being born in the family of Vis'vâmitra; it is indeed so that the daughters of a royal family select to their own idea their husbands [a gandharva marriage].'
In her reception of Mahārāja Duṣmanta, Śakuntalā clearly said, "Your Majesty may stay here, and you may accept whatever reception I can offer." Thus she indicated that she wanted Mahārāja Duṣmanta as her husband. As far as Mahārāja Duṣmanta was concerned, he desired Śakuntalā as his wife from the very beginning, as soon as he saw her, so the agreement to unite as husband and wife was natural. To induce Śakuntalā to accept the marriage, Mahārāja Duṣmanta reminded her that as the daughter of a king she could select her husband in an open assembly. In the history of Āryan civilization there have been many instances in which famous princesses have selected their husbands in open competitions. For example, it was in such a competition that Sītādevī accepted Lord Rāmacandra as her husband and that Draupadī accepted Arjuna, and there are many other instances. So marriage by agreement or by selecting one's own husband in an open competition is allowed. There are eight kinds of marriage, of which marriage by agreement is called gāndharva marriage. Generally the parents select the husband or wife for their daughter or son, but gāndharva marriage takes place by personal selection. Still, although marriage by personal selection or by agreement took place in the past, we find no such thing as divorce by disagreement. Of course, divorce by disagreement took place among low-class men, but marriage by agreement was found even in the very highest classes, especially in the royal kṣatriya families. Mahārāja Duṣmanta's acceptance of Śakuntalā as his wife was sanctioned by Vedic culture. How the marriage took place is described in the next verse.
9.20.16
(16) Saying Aum [see B.G. 17: 24] to this, married the king, fully aware of what would befit the time and place, S'akuntalâ in line with the dharma to the gandharva rule.
The oḿkāra, praṇava, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead represented by letters. Bhagavad-gītā says that the letters a-u-m, combined together as oḿ, represent the Supreme Lord. Religious principles are meant to invoke the blessings and mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who says in Bhagavad-gītā that He is personally present in sexual desires that are not contrary to religious principles. The word vidhinā means, "according to religious principles." The association of men and women according to religious principles is allowed in the Vedic culture. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we allow marriage on the basis of religious principles, but the sexual combination of men and women as friends is irreligious and is not allowed.
9.20.17
amogha-vīryo rājarṣir
(17) Unerring in his virility [only for a child discharging] deposited the saintly king his semen in the queen and returned he in the morning to his own place. After due time gave she then birth to a son.
9.20.18
(18) Kanva Muni executed in the forest the prescribed ceremonies for the son who as a child was remembered to capture a lion by force and play with it.
9.20.19
ādāya pramadottamā
harer aḿśāḿśa-sambhūtaḿ
(19) Him, insurmountable in his strength as a partial expansion of the Lord, was by her, the best of women, taken along approaching her husband.
9.20.20
khe vāg āhāśarīriṇī
(20) When the king did not accept them as his real wife and son, while they had done nothing wrong, could by all people be heard a loud sound from the sky: it was an unembodied voice declaring:
Mahārāja Duṣmanta knew that Śakuntalā and the boy were his own wife and son, but because they came from outside and were unknown to the citizens, he at first declined to accept them. Śakuntalā, however, was so chaste that an omen from the sky declared the truth so that others could hear. When everyone heard from the omen that Śakuntalā and her child were truly the King's wife and son, the King gladly accepted them.
9.20.21
māvamaḿsthāḥ śakuntalām
(21) 'Since the mother is like a bellows to the son of the father that begot him, belongs the son to the father; just maintain your son o Dushmanta and do not offend S'akuntalâ!
According to the Vedic injunction ātmā vai putra-nāmāsi, the father becomes the son. The mother is simply like a storekeeper, because the seed of the child is placed in her womb, but it is the father who is responsible for maintaining the son. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that He is the seed-giving father of all living entities (ahaḿ bīja-pradaḥ pitā), and therefore He is responsible for maintaining them. This is also confirmed in the Vedas. Eko bahūnāḿ yo vidadhāti kāmān: although God is one, He maintains all living entities with their necessities for life. The living entities in different forms are sons of the Lord, and therefore the father, the Supreme Lord, supplies them food according to their different bodies. The small ant is supplied a grain of sugar, and the elephant is supplied tons of food, but everyone is able to eat. Therefore there is no question of overpopulation. Because the father, Kṛṣṇa, is fully opulent, there is no scarcity of food, and because there is no scarcity, the propaganda of overpopulation is only a myth. Actually one suffers for want of food when material nature, under the order of the father, refuses to supply him food. It is the living entity's position that determines whether food will be supplied or not. When a diseased person is forbidden to eat, this does not mean that there is a scarcity of food; rather, the diseased person requires the treatment of not being supplied with food. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.10) the Lord also says, bījaḿ māḿ sama-bhūtānām: "I am the seed of all living entities." A particular type of seed is sown within the earth, and then a particular type of tree or plant comes out. The mother resembles the earth, and when a particular type of seed is sown by the father, a particular type of body takes birth.
9.20.22
(22) What S'akuntalâ said of you being the procreator of this child is the truth; he who discharged the semen, o god of man, your good self, is the one who by the son must be saved from the punishment of [the Lord of] death.'
Upon hearing the omen, Mahārāja Duṣmanta accepted his wife and child. According to Vedic smṛti:
pun-nāmno narakād yasmāt
Because a son delivers his father from punishment in the hell called put, the son is called putra. According to this principle, when there is a disagreement between the father and mother, it is the father, not the mother, who is delivered by the son. But if the wife is faithful and firmly adherent to her husband, when the father is delivered the mother is also delivered. Consequently, there is no such thing as divorce in the Vedic literature. A wife is always trained to be chaste and faithful to her husband, for this helps her achieve deliverance from any abominable material condition. This verse clearly says, putro nayati naradeva yama-kṣayāt: "The son saves his father from the custody of Yamarāja." It never says, putro nayati mātaram: "The son saves his mother." The seed-giving father is delivered, not the storekeeper mother. Consequently, husband and wife should not separate under any condition, for if they have a child whom they raise to be a Vaiṣṇava, he can save both the father and mother from the custody of Yamarāja and punishment in hellish life.
9.20.23
pitary uparate so 'pi
(23) After his father passed away was the king succeeded by his son and he became an emperor of great fame and glory celebrated as a partial representation of the Lord on this earth [see also B.G. 10: 41].
In Bhagavad-gītā (10.41) it is said:
yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaḿ
Anyone extraordinarily powerful must be considered a partial representation of the opulence of the Supreme Godhead. Therefore when the son of Mahārāja Duṣmanta became the emperor of the entire world, he was celebrated in this way.
9.20.24-26
īje mahābhiṣekeṇa
so 'bhiṣikto 'dhirāḍ vibhuḥ
bharatasya hi dauṣmanter
(24-26) With the mark of the cakra on his right hand and the mark of the lotuswhorl on his soles, was he of worship with a great ceremony and was he promoted to the position of the topmost ruler and master over everything. Fifty-five horses he used for the sacrifices from the mouth of the Ganges up to the source for which he, the mighty one, appointed Bhrigu as the priest. In due order he also did so at the bank of Yamunâ where he bound [the as'vamedha plate to] seventy-eight horses of sacrifice. Of him Bharata, the son of Dushmanta, were riches given in charity, was the sacrifice established on an excellent site and were shares of a badva [13.084] cows handed out to the brahmins present.
As indicated here by the words dauṣmanter agniḥ sācī-guṇe citaḥ, Bharata, the son of Mahārāja Duṣmanta, arranged for many ritualistic ceremonies all over the world, especially all over India on the banks of the Ganges and Yamunā, from the mouth to the source, and all such sacrifices were performed in very distinguished places. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9), yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaḿ karma-bandhanaḥ: "Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world." Everyone should engage in the performance of yajña, and the sacrificial fire should be ignited everywhere, the entire purpose being to make people happy, prosperous and progressive in spiritual life. Of course, these things were possible before the beginning of Kali-yuga because there were qualified brāhmaṇas who could perform such yajñas. For the present, however, the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa enjoins:
aśvamedhaḿ gavālambhaḿ
devareṇa sutotpattiḿ
[Cc. Ādi 17.164]
"In this age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: offering a horse in sacrifice, offering a cow in sacrifice, accepting the order of sannyāsa, offering oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and begetting children in the wife of one's brother." In this age, such yajñas as the aśvamedha-yajña and gomedha-yajña are impossible to perform because there are neither sufficient riches nor qualified brāhmaṇas. This verse says, māmateyaḿ purodhāya: Mahārāja Bharata engaged the son of Mamatā, Bhṛgu Muni, to take charge of performing this yajña. Now, however, such brāhmaṇas are impossible to find. Therefore the śāstras recommend, yajñaiḥ sańkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ: those who are intelligent should perform the sańkīrtana-yajña inaugurated by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.kṛṣṇa-varṇaḿ tviṣākṛṣṇaḿ
sańgopāńgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ sańkīrtana-prāyair
"In this age of Kali, people endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of sańkīrtana-yajña." (Bhāg. 11.5.32) Yajña must be performed, for otherwise people will be entangled in sinful activities and will suffer immensely. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has taken charge of introducing the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa all over the world. This Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is also yajña, but without the difficulties involved in securing paraphernalia and qualified brāhmaṇas. This congregational chanting can be performed anywhere and everywhere. If people somehow or other assemble together and are induced to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, all the purposes of yajña will be fulfilled. The first purpose is that there must be sufficient rain, for without rain there cannot be any produce (annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ). All our necessities can be produced simply by rainfall (kāmaḿ vavarṣa parjanyaḥ [SB 1.10.4]), and the earth is the original source of all necessities (sarva-kāma-dughā mahī). In conclusion, therefore, in this age of Kali people all over the world should refrain from the four principles of sinful life — illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling — and in a pure state of existence should perform the simple yajña of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Then the earth will certainly produce all the necessities for life, and people will be happy economically, politically, socially, religiously and culturally. Everything will be in proper order.9.20.27
trayas-triḿśac-chataḿ hy aśvān
dauṣmantir atyagān māyāḿ
(27) The son of Dushmanta brought together for the yajña the astonishing number of three-thousand three-hundred horses and surpassed [thus], in achieving the opulence of the demigods and the Supreme Spiritual Master, all the kings.
One who achieves the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead certainly surpasses all material wealth, even that of the demigods in the heavenly planets. Yaḿ labdhvā cāparaḿ lābhaḿ manyate nādhikaḿ tataḥ. The achievement of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the most exalted achievement in life.
9.20.28
(28) In the mashnâra sacrifice gave he in charity fourteen lakhs of fine black elephants with the whitest tusks, complete with golden ornaments [Mashnâra refers to the name of the place].
9.20.29
naivāpur naiva prāpsyanti
(29) Like it for certain is impossible to seize the heavenly planets by the strength of one's arms is it neither possible to parallel the exalted activities of Bharata, nor will any of the human rulers after him ever be able to attain such a thing.
9.20.30
pauṇḍrān kańkān khaśāñ chakān
abrahmaṇya-nṛpāḿś cāhan
(30) All such barbarian rulers of man against the brahminical culture as the Kirâtas [Africans], the northern tribes [the Huns], the Yavanas [the meat-eaters] the Paundras [the wild men of south Bihar and Bengal] and the Kankas [kankana means bracelet], the Khas'âs [the Mongolians] and the S'akas [women/men] he killed conquering all directions.
9.20.31
(31) Formerly conquering the godly had all the Asuras who had taken shelter of the lower worlds [Rasâtala] brought all the wives and daughters of the godly to that place below, but he took them with all their associates back to their original places.
9.20.32
(32) For twenty-seven thousand years provided he whatever his subjects desired both on earth as in heaven and his order and command ruled in all directions.
9.20.33
(33) He the emperor, the ruler of all rulers and places, impeccable with the opulences of the power, the realm, the order of state and such, in the end considered all of his life and goods false and thus stopped he enjoying them.
Mahārāja Bharata had incomparable opulence in sovereignty, soldiers, sons, daughters and everything for material enjoyment, but when he realized that all such material opulences were useless for spiritual advancement, he retired from material enjoyment. The Vedic civilization enjoins that after a certain age, following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Bharata, one should cease to enjoy material opulences and should take the order of vānaprastha.
9.20.34
tasyāsan nṛpa vaidarbhyaḥ
patnyas tisraḥ susammatāḥ
nānurūpā itīrite
(34) Of him there were, o master of man, three wives, daughters of Vidarbha, who all three were most pleasing and suitable. They afraid thinking that their sons, not being as perfect as their father, would be rejected, had killed them.
9.20.35
(35) Thus frustrated in generating offspring performed he a marut-stoma sacrifice to beget sons whereupon the Maruts presented him Bharadvâja.
9.20.36
pravṛtto vārito garbhaḿ
(36) [It had so happened that once] With his brother's pregnant wife desiring sex Brihaspati so inclined was forbidden to engage that way by the son in the womb, upon which he had cursed him discharging his semen anyway.
The sex impulse is so strong in this material world that even Bṛhaspati, who is supposed to be the priest of the demigods and a very learned scholar, wanted to have a sexual relationship with his brother's pregnant wife. This can happen even in the society of the higher demigods, so what to speak of human society? The sex impulse is so strong that it can agitate even a learned personality like Bṛhaspati.
9.20.37
bhartus tyāga-viśańkitām
(37) For Mamatâ [the mother], who out of fear to be abandoned for the illicit practice wanted to get rid of the child, was at its name-giving ceremony by the God-conscious the following verse pronounced:
According to Vedic scripture, whenever a child is born there are some ceremonies known as jāta-karma and nāma-karaṇa, in which learned brāhmaṇas, immediately after the birth of the child, make a horoscope according to astrological calculations. But the child to which Mamatā gave birth was begotten by Bṛhaspati irreligiously, for although Mamatā was the wife of Utathya, Bṛhaspati made her pregnant by force. Therefore Bṛhaspati became bhartā. According to Vedic culture, a wife is considered the property of her husband, and a son born by illicit sex is called dvāja. The common word still current in Hindu society for such a son is doglā, which refers to a son not begotten by the husband of his mother. In such a situation, it is difficult to give the child a name according to proper regulative principles. Mamatā, therefore, was perplexed, but the demigods gave the child the appropriate name Bharadvāja, which indicated that the child born illegitimately should be maintained by both Mamatā and Bṛhaspati.
9.20.38
bharadvājas tatas tv ayam
(38) 'O foolish woman, just keep it even though it's born from a double liaison' [and:] 'Though of an illicit connection, o Bhrihaspati, do maintain it!', and so was with this being said the child named Bharadvâja ['a burden for both'] because both the parents had turned away from it.
9.20.39
(39) Even though the God-conscious encouraged to maintain it did the mother reject her child, with what had happened considering it without a purpose, and was it maintained by the Maruts and given [by them to Bharata] when the dynasty was unfulfilled.
From this verse it is understood that those who are rejected from the higher planetary system are given a chance to take birth in the most exalted families on this planet earth.
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