VedaVyasa
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Chapter 81
The Brahmin Honored: Lord Krishna the Godhead of the Brahmins
This chapter describes how Lord Kṛṣṇa ate a morsel of the flat rice brought by His friend Sudāmā and bestowed upon him wealth greater than that of the King of heaven.
In the course of His loving talks with His friend Sudāmā, Lord Kṛṣṇa said, "My dear brāhmaṇa, have you brought any gift for Me from home? I regard as very significant even the smallest offering from My loving devotee." But the poor brāhmaṇa was ashamed to present Kṛṣṇa with his meager gift of flat rice. However, since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supersoul dwelling in all hearts, He knew why Sudāmā had come to visit Him. So He grabbed the bundle of flat rice Sudāmā was hiding and ate a handful of it with great pleasure. He was about to eat a second morsel when Rukmiṇī devī stopped Him.
Feeling as if he had gone back to Godhead, Sudāmā spent that night comfortably in Lord Kṛṣṇa's palace, and the next morning he set off for home. As he passed along the highway, he thought of how fortunate he was to have been so honored by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Absorbed in this meditation, Sudāmā arrived at the place where his home used to be — and he was struck with great wonder. Instead of his broken-down hovel, he saw a series of opulent palaces. While he stood astonished, a group of beautiful men and women came forward to greet him with singing and music. The brāhmaṇa's wife, wonderfully adorned with celestial jewelry, came out of the palace and welcomed him with great love and reverence. Sudāmā entered his home together with her, thinking that this extraordinary transformation must have been due to the Supreme Lord's mercy on him.
From then on Sudāmā lived his life amidst lavish wealth, yet he maintained his mood of detachment and constantly chanted the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa In a short time he broke off all bonds of bodily attachment and attained to the kingdom of God.
10.81.1-2
brahmaṇyo brāhmaṇaḿ kṛṣṇo
premṇā nirīkṣaṇenaiva
(1-2) S'rî S'uka said: 'He, Bhagavân Krishna, the True Goal of the Devotees, the Lord Knowing Perfectly the Minds of All Beings, in this manner conversing with this best one among the brahmins, then, in His dedication to the ones of learning, spoke to His dear friend, with a loving glance looking at him, smiling and laughing.
sarva-bhūta-mano-'bhijña indicate that since Lord Kṛṣṇa knows the minds of everyone, He could tell at once that His friend Sudāmā had brought some flat rice for Him and was ashamed to present it. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī's further explanation of this verse, Lord Kṛṣṇa smiled at this moment, thinking "Yes, I am going to make you show what you brought for Me." His smile then turned to laughter as He thought, "How long are you going to keep this precious gift hidden in your cloth?"
Kṛṣṇa glanced toward the bundle hidden inside His friend's garment, telling Sudāmā by His loving glance, "The veins showing through your emaciated skin and your ragged clothes astonish everyone present, but these symptoms of poverty will last only until tomorrow morning."
Although Lord Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān, the supreme, independent Lord, He is always pleased to reciprocate with those who are priya, His cherished servants. As the indulgent patron of the brāhmaṇa class, He especially enjoys favoring brāhmaṇas who are additionally qualified by unconditional devotion to Him.
10.81.3
aṇv apy upāhṛtaḿ bhaktaiḥ
bhūry apy abhaktopahṛtaḿ
(3) The Supreme Lord said: 'What gift have you brought for Me from home, o brahmin? Even the slightest thing offered by devotees in pure love turns into something immense for Me, whereas not even the greatest being presented by non-devotees may please Me.
10.81.4
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
(4) Whoever offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit and water with devotion, that offer brought from the heart by a soul of good habits I accept [same as in B.G. 9: 26].'
These famous words are also spoken by the Lord in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26); the translation and word meanings here are taken from Śrīla Prabhupāda's Bhagavad-gītā As lt Is.
In the context of the current episode of Sudāmā's visit to Dvārakā, Here Lord Kṛṣṇa's statements: This verse is a reply to Sudāmā's anxiety that his bringing such an unfit offering was ill-considered. The use of the words bhaktyā prayacchati and bhakty-upahṛtam may seem redundant, since they both mean "offered with devotion," but bhaktyā can indicate how the Lord reciprocates the devotional mood of whoever offers Him something with love. In other words, Lord Kṛṣṇa here declares that His reciprocation in a pure loving exchange is not dependent on the external quality of what is offered. Kṛṣṇa says, "Something may or may not be impressive and pleasing in its own right, but when My devotee offers it to Me in devotion, with the expectation that I will enjoy it, it gives Me great pleasure; in this regard I make no discrimination." The verb aśnāmi, "I eat," implies that Lord Kṛṣṇa eats even a flower, which is supposed to be smelled, bewildered as He is by the ecstatic love He feels for His devotee.
Someone might then question the Lord, "So, will You refuse an offering made to You by a devotee of some other deity?" The Lord answers, "Yes, I will refuse to eat it." This the Lord states by the phrase prayatātmanaḥ, implying "Only by devotional service to Me can one become pure in heart."
10.81.5
ity ukto 'pi dviyas tasmai
(5) The one twice-born though, thus being addressed, was, bowing down his head, too embarrassed with Him, the Husband of the Goddess of Fortune, and didn't offer the few hands of rice grains, o King.
the description here of Kṛṣṇa as "the husband of the goddess of fortune" implies that Sudāmā questioned himself, "How can the Lord of Śrī eat this hard, stale rice?" By bowing his head, the brāhmaṇa revealed his meditation: "My dear master, please do not make me ashamed. Even if You request it from me repeatedly, I will not give this to You. I have made up my mind." But the Lord countered with His own thought: "The intention you had fixed in your mind while coming here must not be frustrated, for you are My devotee."
10.81.6-7
tasyāgamana-kāraṇam
vijńāyācintayan nāyaḿ
sampado 'martya-durlabhāḥ
(6-7) As the direct Witness in the heart of all living beings fully cognizant of the reason why he came thought He to Himselves: 'He worshiped Me in the past and never desired the opulence, but because he, My friend, to keep his chaste and devoted wife happy, now came to Me, will I give him riches that are [even] out of reach for the immortals [see also B.G. 9: 22].'
that the Lord momentarily wondered, "How has it come about, despite My omniscience, that this devotee of Mine has fallen into such poverty?" Then, quickly understanding the situation, He spoke to Himself the words related in this verse.
But someone may point out that Sudāmā should not have been so poverty-stricken, since appropriate enjoyment comes as a by-product of service to God even for a devotee who has no ulterior motives. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.22):
ananyāś cintayanto māḿ
teṣāḿ nityābhiyuktānāḿ
"But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form — to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have."In response to this point, a distinction must be made between two kinds of renounced devotees: one kind is inimical to sense gratification, and the other is indifferent to it. The Supreme Lord does not force sense gratification upon the devotee who is extremely averse to worldly enjoyments. This is seen among such great renouncers as Jaḍa Bharata. On the other hand, the Lord may give limitless wealth and power to a devotee who is neither repelled nor attracted by material things, such as Prahlāda Mahārāja. Up to this point in his life, Sudāmā Brāhmaṇa was totally averse to sense gratification, but now, out of compassion for his faithful wife — and also because he hankered to have Kṛṣṇa's audience — he went to beg from the Lord.
10.81.8
(8) With this in mind snatched He Himself from the garment of the twice-born one away the ricegrains tied up in a bundle, and said He: 'What is this?
10.81.9
nanv etad upanītaḿ me
(9) Have you brought this to My pleasure My dear friend? These ricegrains satiate Me and the whole universe [that I am]!'
the Supreme Personality of Godhead: "It is understood from this statement that Kṛṣṇa, being the original source of everything, is the root of the entire creation. As watering the root of a tree immediately distributes water to every part of the tree, so an offering made to Kṛṣṇa, or any action done for Kṛṣṇa, is to be considered the highest welfare work for everyone, because the benefit of such an offering is distributed throughout the creation. Love for Kṛṣṇa becomes distributed to all living entities."
10.81.10
(10) Thus speaking took He a handful to eat and a second one, whereupon S'rî [Rukminî devî] devoted to Him, the One Supreme, seized His hand [for the beaten grains were hard to digest].
Queen Rukmiṇī took hold of Kṛṣṇa's hand to prevent Him from eating any more of the flat rice. According to Śrīpāda Śrīdhara Svāmī, with this gesture she meant to tell the Lord, "This much of Your grace is sufficient to assure anyone vast riches, which are merely the play of my glance. But please do not force me to surrender myself to this brāhmaṇa, as will happen if You eat one more handful." that by taking hold of the Lord's hand Rukmiṇī implied, "If You eat all of this wonderful treat Your friend brought from his house, what will I have left for my friends, co-wives, servants and myself? There will not be enough left to distribute even one grain to each of us." And to her maidservant companions she said by her gesture, "This hard rice will upset my Lord's tender stomach."
"when food is offered to Lord Kṛṣṇa with love and devotion and He is pleased and accepts it from the devotee, Rukmiṇī-devī, the goddess of fortune, becomes so greatly obliged to the devotee that she has to personally go to the devotee's home to turn it into the most opulent home in the world. If one feeds Nārāyaṇa sumptuously, the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, automatically becomes a guest in one's house, which means that one's home becomes opulent."
10.81.11
etāvatālaḿ viśvātman
(11) 'That, o Soul of the Universe, is enough to make a person who is after Your satisfaction prosper in this world and the next with all opulence available.'
10.81.12
uṣitvācyuta-mandire
(12) The brahmin the night thereafter residing in Acyuta's palace, having drunken and eaten to his fill felt as if he had attained heaven.
10.81.13
sva-sukhenābhivanditaḥ
pathy anavrajya nanditaḥ
(13) The next day went he who was honored by Him, the Self-satisfied Maintainer of the Universe, back to his own residence my dear, feeling delighted as he walked the road.
We are here reminded that Lord Kṛṣṇa maintains the supply of desirable objects for the whole universe. Therefore it is to be understood that He was about to manifest for Sudāmā opulence greater than Indra's. Being sva-sukha, perfectly complete in His own bliss, the Lord has an unlimited capacity for bestowing gifts.
the word abhivanditaḥ indicates that Śrī Kṛṣṇa accompanied Sudāmā on the road for a short distance and finally parted with the brāhmaṇa after bowing down to him and speaking some respectful words.
10.81.14
mahad-darśana-nirvṛtaḥ
(14) Even though he had received no wealth from Krishna and had been too embarrassed to beg for it on his own accord, was he on his way home filled with joy about the audience he had with the Great One.
10.81.15
āśliṣṭo bibhratorasi
(15) 'Ah, what a privilege it is to have witnessed the extend of the devotion to the twice-born of the Godhead of the Brahmins; He who carries Lakshmî on His chest embraced the poorest man!
10.81.16
(16) Who am I? Someone poor and sinful! And who is Krishna? The temple of S'rî! And He, this friend of the brahmins, closed me unblinking in His arms!
This translation is from Śrīla Prabhupāda's English rendering of Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 7.143).
Sudāmā was so humble that he considered his poverty to be his own fault, a result of sin. Such a mentality is in accord with the saying, dāridrya-doṣo guṇa-rāśi-nāśī: "The discrepancy of being poor ruins heaps of good qualities."
10.81.17
(17) Like one of His brothers having me seated on the bed of His beloved, was I, tired as I was, by His queen fanned with a hair-fan she held.
10.81.18
pāda-saḿvāhanādibhiḥ
(18) With sincerity served and with my feet massaged and such was I like a demigod worshiped by the God of Gods, the Godhead of the Learned!
10.81.19
svargāpavargayoḥ puḿsāḿ
mūlaḿ tac-caraṇārcanam
(19) The worship of His feet is the root cause of all perfections and opulence a person may find in heaven, in his emancipation, in the lower regions and on earth.
10.81.20
(20) 'If this poor one obtains riches will he, delighting in excess, not remember Me', He must have thought, in His grace not to grant me the slightest amount of wealth.'
Sudāmā's statement that Lord Kṛṣṇa bestowed on him "not even a little wealth" may also be taken to mean that instead of giving him wealth that was abhuri, "slight," the Lord in fact gave him the immense treasure of His association.
10.81.21-23
prāpto niya-gṛhāntikam
sūryānalendu-sańkāśair
vicitropavanodyānaiḥ
kūjad-dvija-kulākulaiḥ
protphulla-kamudāmbhoja-
kahlārotpala-vāribhiḥ
strībhiś ca hariṇākṣibhiḥ
(21-23) Thus innerly occupied with these thoughts arrived he in the vicinity of his home. There he found himself placed before high rising palaces, rivaling the sun, the fire and the moon, that on all sides were surrounded by wonderful courtyards and gardens swarming with hordes of cooing birds, ponds full of lilies and night and day blooming white lotuses and well adorned and ornamented men and women with deer-like eyes. 'What is this, whose place is this, how could this come about?'
the sequence of the brāhmaṇa's thoughts: First, seeing a great, unfamiliar effulgence, he thought! "What is this?" Then, noting the palaces, he asked himself, "Whose place is this?" And recognizing it as his own, he wondered, "How has it become so transformed?"
10.81.24
(24) That way paining his mind was he welcomed by the men and women with complexions effulgent like the demigods, who most fortunately loudly sang with instrumental music.
the word pratyagṛhṇan ("they acknowledged in turn") indicates that first Sudāmā accepted the servants within his mind, deciding "My Lord must want me to have them," and in response to the visible change in his attitude, they approached him as their master.
10.81.25
patny uddharṣāti-sambhramā
rūpiṇī śrīr ivālayāt
(25) Hearing that her husband had arrived, came his excited wife extremely jubilant, quickly out of the house like it was the goddess of fortune manifesting herself from her abode.
since Lord Kṛṣṇa had turned Sudāmā's home into a heavenly abode, everyone living there now possessed beautiful bodies and attire appropriate to the residents of heaven. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī adds this insight: The night before, Sudāmā's poor, emaciated wife had been sleeping in rags under a crumbling roof, but when she woke in the morning she found herself and her house wonderfully changed. Only for a moment was she confused; she then realized that this opulence was the Lord's gift to her husband, who must be on his way home. Thus she prepared to greet him.
10.81.26
premotkaṇṭhāśru-locanā
mīlitākṣy anamad buddhyā
(26) Seeing the husband she was so devoted to, bowed she with her eyes, tearful with the spur of love, closed, solemnly her head down, embracing him within her heart.
10.81.27
(27) Seeing his wife appearing as effulgent as a goddess in a vimana, shining in the midst of maidservants with golden lockets around their necks, was he stunned.
that up to now the Supreme Lord had kept the brāhmaṇa in his wretched state so that his wife could recognize him.
10.81.28
(28) Pleased himself to be joined by her saw he, having entered his home, how it with its hundreds of gem-studded pillars looked like the palace of the great Indra.
that Sudāmā was simply astonished at the sight of his wife. As he wondered, "Who is this demigod's wife who has approached such a fallen soul as me?" the maidservants informed him, "This is indeed your wife." At that very moment Sudāmā's body became young and beautiful, bedecked in fine clothing and jewelry. The word prītaḥ here indicates that these changes gave him considerable pleasure.
The famous "Thousand Names of Viṣṇu" hymn of the Mahābhārata immortalizes Sudāmā's sudden opulence in the following phrase: śrīdāmā-rańka-bhaktārtha-bhūmy-ānītendra-vaibhavaḥ. "Lord Viṣṇu is also known as He who brought Indra's opulence to this earth for the benefit of His pitiful devotee Śrīdāmā [Sudāmā]."
10.81.29-32
mṛdūpastaraṇāni ca
(29-32) There were ivory beds ornamented with gold [with bedding] white as foam and couches with golden legs, yaktail fans, golden chairs with soft cushions and canopies hung with strings of pearls. Seeing the sparkling clear quartz walls inlaid with precious emeralds as also the jeweled lamps and the women decorated with jewels, reasoned the brahmin therewith, free from agitation with all the flourishing opulence, about the cause of the unexpected prosperity:
10.81.33
nūnaḿ bataitan mama durbhagasya
śaśvad daridrasya samṛddhi-hetuḥ
mahā-vibhūter avalokato 'nyo
naivopapadyeta yadūttamasya
(33) 'It must be so that the cause of my prosperity here, of me who poverty stricken was always so unfortunate, can be nothing but the glance upon me of Him, the Best of the Yadus, the One of the Greatest Opulence.
10.81.34
nanv abruvāṇo diśate samakṣaḿ
yāciṣṇave bhūry api bhūri-bhojaḥ
(34) After all, gave He, my Friend, the most exalted among the Das'arhas, with me being in the presence of Him, the Enjoyer of All Wealth, as plentiful as a cloud having said nothing when He took notice of my intention to beg.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa is bhūri-bhoja, the unlimited enjoyer. He did not tell Sudāmā how He was going to fulfill his unspoken request because, according to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, He was thinking at the time, "My dear friend has given Me these grains of rice, which are greater than all the treasures I own. Even though in his own house he had no such gift to bring Me, he took the trouble of begging it from a neighbor. Therefore it is only proper that I give him something more valuable than all My possessions. But nothing is equal to or greater than what I possess, so all I can do is give him such meager things as the treasures of Indra, Brahmā and other demigods." Embarrassed at being unable to properly reciprocate His devotee's offering, Lord Kṛṣṇa bestowed His favor on the brāhmaṇa silently. The Lord acted just like a magnanimous rain cloud which provides the necessities of life for everyone near and far but feels ashamed that its rain is too insignificant a gift to give in return for the abundant offerings that farmers make to it. Out of shame the cloud may wait until nighttime, when the farmers are asleep, before watering their fields.
The chiefs of the Dāśārha clan, with whom Lord Kṛṣṇa is identified in this verse, were especially renowned for their generosity.
10.81.35
mayopaṇītaḿ pṛthukaika-muṣṭiḿ
pratyagrahīt prīti-yuto mahātmā
(35) Contrary to the little that He makes of the great that He Himself gives is the insignificant given by a well-wishing friend by Him turned into something great; that is how the Supreme Soul with pleasure accepted the palmful of ricegrains brought by me.
10.81.36
mahānubhāvena guṇālayena
viṣajjatas tat-puruṣa-prasańgaḥ
(36) Let there indeed life after life repeatedly be my love [sauhrida], friendship [sakhya], sympathy [maitrî] and servitude [dâsya] with Him, the Supremely Compassionate Reservoir of Transcendental Qualities, and may I become firmly attached to the valuable association of His devotees.
affection toward Him who is so compassionate to His devotees, sakhyam is affinity manifested in the desire to live in His company, maitrī is the attitude of intimate comradeship, and dāsyam is the urge to do service.
10.81.37
(37) Upon His devotee does the Supreme Lord not bestow the wonderful opulences - a kingdom and material assets - when he, not born again [see 10.80: 32], fails in understanding. In His wisdom He sees how the intoxication [the mada] leads to the downfall of the wealthy.'
the humble brāhmaṇa Sudāmā considered himself unworthy of the Supreme Lord's most rare and valuable benediction, pure devotional service. He reasoned that if he had any true devotion, the Lord would have granted him perfect, unflinching devotion rather than the material riches and servants he had received. Lord Kṛṣṇa would have protected a more serious devotee by denying him such distractions. The Lord will give a sincere but less intelligent devotee not as much material wealth as he desires, but only what will promote his devotional progress. Sudāmā thought, "A great saint like Prahlāda Mahārāja can avoid becoming contaminated by immeasurable wealth, power and fame, but I must always be wary of temptation in my new situation."
We may understand that this humble attitude assured Sudāmā Vipra final success in his execution of bhakti-yoga by the standard process of hearing and repeating the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
10.81.38
bhakto 'tīva janārdane
(38) This way firmly fixed in intelligence was he most devoted to Janârdana and enjoyed he together with his wife free from inordinate desire. Therewith kept he aways in mind that he [time and again] had to renounce the objects of the senses.
10.81.39
brāhmaṇāḥ prabhavo daivaḿ
(39) Because of Him, the God of Gods, Hari, the Master and Lord of Sacrifice are the brahmins truly the masters; there is no higher deity to be found than them [see also 7.11: 14, 7.14: 17-18, 10.24: 25, 10.45: 32].
hat even though Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the supreme ruler of creation, He accepts the brāhmaṇas as His masters; even though He is the God of all gods, the brāhmaṇas are His deities; and even though He is the Lord of all sacrifices, He performs sacrifices to worship them.
10.81.40
(40) Thus seeing the Unconquerable One as conquered by His own servants [see also 9.4: 63 and 10.9: 19] was he, the learned friend of the Supreme Lord, by the momentum of his meditation upon Him released from his bondage to the [material] self and attained he soon His abode, the destination of the truthful.
Sudāmā's earthly fortune has been described, and now Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the treasure the brāhmaṇa enjoyed in the next world. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī mentions that Sudāmā's last trace of illusion lay in the subtle pride of being a renounced brāhmaṇa. This trace was also destroyed by his contemplating the Supreme Lord's submission to His devotees.
10.81.41
etad brahmaṇya-devasya
(41) A man hearing of this sympathy for the twice-born of the Godhead of the Brahmins, finds love for the Supreme Lord and is freed from the bondage of fruitive labor [see also 7.11: 35].'
In the introduction to the chapter of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead that describes this pastime, His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda comments, "Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul of all living entities, knows very well everyone's heart. He is especially inclined to the brāhmaṇa devotees. Lord Kṛṣṇa is also called brahmaṇya-deva, which means that He is worshiped by the brāhmaṇas. Therefore it is understood that a devotee who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead has already acquired the position of a brāhmaṇa. Without becoming a brāhmaṇa, one cannot approach the Supreme Brahman, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is especially concerned with vanquishing the distress of His devotees, and He is the only shelter of His devotees."
Thus end of the Tenth Canto, Eighty-first Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Lord Blesses Sudāmā Brāhmaṇa."
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