VedaVyasa
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Chapter 86
Arjuna Kidnaps Subhadrâ, and Krishna Instructs Bahulas'va and S'rutadeva
This chapter describes how Arjuna kidnapped Subhadrā and how Lord Kṛṣṇa went to Mithilā to bless His devotees Bahulāśva and Śrutadeva.
When King Parīkṣit desired to learn about the marriage of his grandmother, Subhadrā-devī, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, "While touring on pilgrimage, Arjuna heard that Lord Baladeva intended to give the hand of His sister Subhadrā to Duryodhana in marriage. Wanting to kidnap Subhadrā and marry her himself, Arjuna disguised himself as a renunciant and went to Dvārakā. So effective was the disguise that neither Balarāma nor any other resident of Dvārakā recognized him; rather, they all showed him the respect due a Vaiṣṇava mendicant. In this way the four months of the rainy season passed. One day Arjuna received an invitation to dine at Lord Balarāma's home. There he caught sight of Subhadrā and was immediately overwhelmed with desire for her. Subhadrā also desired to have Arjuna as her husband, and thus she glanced back at him shyly. A few days later, Subhadrā left the palace to participate in a chariot festival. Taking this opportunity, Arjuna abducted Subhadrā and defeated the Yādavas who tried to stop him. Lord Balarāma was at first greatly angered to hear of this, but when Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and other family members pacified Him, He became joyful and sent the bride and groom off with elaborate wedding gifts."
There was a brāhmaṇa devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's named Śrutadeva, who lived in the city of Mithila. By the will of Providence, he could earn only barely enough to keep himself and his family alive. Still, he was always satisfied and spent all his time executing his religious duties. King Bahulāśva was another great devotee of the Lord residing in Mithilā. A member of the dynasty in which King Janaka had appeared, Bahulāśva ruled over the whole province of Videha, yet he remained as detached from material wealth as Śrutadeva. Pleased with the devotional attitude of both these great souls, Lord Kṛṣṇa went on His chariot to Mithilā to visit them, taking along Nārada and several other learned sages. The people of Mithila greeted the Lord and His saintly entourage with great delight. Bearing various gifts for Kṛṣṇa, they bowed down and offered obeisances to both Him and the sages.
Bahulāśva and Śrutadeva both stepped forward and respectfully requested Śrī Kṛṣṇa to visit their homes. To satisfy both of them, the Lord expanded Himself and went to each of their homes simultaneously. They each worshiped Him suitably, offered prayers, washed His feet and then sprinkled themselves and all their family members with the wash water. Lord Kṛṣṇa then praised the sages who were with Him and glorified brāhmaṇas in general. He also imparted instructions to His hosts concerning devotional service. Understanding these instructions, both Śrutadeva and Bahulāśva honored the sages and Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa with single-minded devotion. Lord Kṛṣṇa then returned to Dvārakā.
10.86.1
śrī-rājovāca
yathopayeme vijayo
(1) The honorable king (Parîkchit) said: 'O brahmin, we'd like to know how she who is my grandmother, the sister of Krishna and Râma [Subhadrâ, see 9.24: 53-55], got married to Arjuna.'
Parīkṣit Mahārāja turns now to the topic of the marriage of Lord Kṛṣṇa's sister, Subhadrā. In the opinion of Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, King Parīkṣit's question here follows from the previous narration because Arjuna's winning the hand of Subhadrā was just as difficult a feat as Lord Kṛṣṇa's retrieving the sons of Devakī from the realm of the dead, since Lord Balarāma Himself opposed Subhadrā's marriage to Arjuna.
10.86.2-3
duryodhanāya rāmas tāḿ
dāsyatīti na cāpare
(2-3) S'rî S'uka said: 'Arjuna, the great lord, gone on a pilgrimage to Prabhâsa, heard as he wandered the earth that Râma intended to give his maternal cousin away to Duryodhana and to no one else, and so went he, desirous of her, to Dvârakâ disguised as a renunciate with a tridanda [*].
Arjuna's plan for obtaining Subhadrā as his wife may have seemed unconventional, but he was not acting without encouragement; in fact, Lord Kṛṣṇa was his prime co-conspirator. And in Dvārakā, most of the members of the royal family, especially Vasudeva, were unhappy about giving their favorite daughter to Duryodhana.
10.86.4
pauraiḥ sabhājito 'bhīkṣṇaḿ
(4) Determined to fulfill his purpose, resided he there during the months of the rainy season and was he [according the custom] honored by the citizens and by Râma without them being aware who he was.
10.86.5
śraddhayopahṛtaḿ bhaikṣyaḿ
(5) One day invited as a guest was he brought to Balarâma's house where He faithfully presented him a meal.
From the explanation of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, it is understood that Arjuna in his sannyāsī role had just finished the four-month vows of the rainy season and could now again accept general invitations from householders. Thus no one would have suspected any unusual motive in his visiting Lord Balarāma at this time.
10.86.6
prīty-utphullekṣaṇas tasyāḿ
(6) When he there, with eyes blossoming of happiness, saw the wonderful girl who enchanted heroes, put he, smitten, his mind on her.
10.86.7
hasantī vrīḍitāpańgī
(7) She also seeing him who stole each woman's heart, fixed her heart and eyes upon him as she with desire gave him a bashful smile and look.
As soon as she saw him, Subhadrā knew that Arjuna was no sannyāsī but rather her destined consort. In Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda elaborates: "Arjuna, the grandfather of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, was himself extraordinarily beautiful and his bodily structure was very attractive to Subhadrā. Subhadrā also decided within her mind that she would accept only Arjuna as her husband. As a simple girl, she was smiling with great pleasure, looking at Arjuna."
10.86.8
kāmenāti-balīyasā
(8) Thinking of nothing but her awaiting the right opportunity could Arjuna, with his heart trembling of the strongest desire, find no peace.
Even while being honored by Lord Balarāma, Arjuna was too distracted to appreciate the Lord's gracious hospitality. Arjuna's distraction and Lord Balarāma's failure to recognize Arjuna in his disguise were both arrangements of the Supreme Lord to enjoy His transcendental pastimes.
10.86.9
jahārānumataḥ pitroḥ
(9) When during an important religious festival she rode out of the fortress in a chariot, seized the mighty warrior the girl who had stolen his heart. That took place with the consent of her parents [see 1o.1: 56] and Krishna.
this festival as the annual Rathayātrā for Lord Viṣṇu on the occasion of His rising from mystic sleep at the end of Cāturmāsya. Subhadrā's parents are Vasudeva and Devakī.
10.86.10
śūrāḿś cārundhato bhaṭān
(10) Standing on the chariot raising his bow drove he, like the king of the animals claiming his share, back the heroes and guards who, while her relatives were shouting in anger, tried to stop him.
10.86.11
tac chrutvā kṣubhito rāmaḥ
parvaṇīva mahārṇavaḥ
suhṛdbhiś cānusāntvitaḥ
(11) Hearing this was Râma as disturbed as the ocean is during a badly aspected moon [astrological conjunction or opposition]. Lord Krishna and His family had to grasp Him respectfully by His feet in order to pacify Him.
10.86.12
mahā-dhanopaskarebha-
(12) He thereupon was pleased to sent presents of great value, elephants and horses and male and female servants as a wedding gift for the groom and bride.'
10.86.13
kṛṣṇasyāsīd dvija-śreṣṭhaḥ
kṛṣṇaika-bhaktyā pūrṇārthaḥ
śāntaḥ kavir alampataḥ
(13) S'rî S'uka continued: 'Of Lord Krishna there was S'rutadeva, one of the best among the twice-born, known for his fullness of realization - his serenity, learning and freedom from sense gratification - in exclusive devotion to Krishna.
10.86.14
mithilāyāḿ gṛhāśramī
anīhayāgatāhārya-
(14) He, as a householder dwelling in Mithilâ in the kingdom of Videha, carried out his obligations unconcerned about what came to him for his sustenance.
10.86.15
daivād upanamaty uta
(15) Day by day doing his duties as required was he happy with just that - and nothing more - what he by providence acquired as his share for his sober maintenance.
An ideal Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇa, even if encumbered by the ties of family life, should work only as hard as required to meet his obligations. Without being unnecessarily agitated for material advancement, he should devote the best part of his time and assets to his higher duties in the Supreme Lord's service. If a householder can succeed in this program despite the unavoidable difficulties of this degraded age, he can expect Lord Kṛṣṇa's personal attention, as will be seen in the case of Śrutadeva, the perfect brāhmaṇa of Mithilā.
10.86.16
(16) The ruler of that kingdom from the line of King Mithilâ [Janaka] was known by the name of Bahulâs'va and was likewise selfless minded, my dearest. They were both equally dear to Acyuta.
10.86.17
dārukeṇāhṛtaḿ ratham
(17) Pleased with the two of them mounted the Supreme Lord His chariot that was brought by Dâruka, and mounting together with a group of sages went the Master to Videha.
that Śrutadeva and Bahulāśva were unable to travel to Dvārakā to see Lord Kṛṣṇa because both of them had vowed to regularly worship their personal Deity at home. Śrī Kṛṣṇa was very glad to go out of His way to give them both His audience, and while leaving Dvārakā He insisted that the sages who wanted to come with Him should join Him on His chariot, because otherwise they would exhaust themselves following on foot. Renowned sages would ordinarily never even consider traveling in such an opulent conveyance, but on the Lord's order they put aside their natural aversion and joined Him on His chariot.
10.86.18
nārado vāmadevo 'triḥ
kṛṣṇo rāmo 'sito 'ruṇiḥ
ahaḿ bṛhaspatiḥ kaṇvo
maitreyaś cyavanādayaḥ
(18) Along came Nârada, Vâmadeva, Atri, Krishna Dvaipâyana Vyâsa, Paras'urâma, Asita, Aruni, I [S'uka], Brihaspati, Kanva, Maitreya and Cyavana and others.
10.86.19
upatasthuḥ sārghya-hastā
(19) Everywhere He came approached the citizens and villagers carrying arghya [offerings of water] to greet Him who was as the risen sun surrounded by the planets.
10.86.20
(20) In Ânarta [where Dvârakâ is], Dhanva [the desert region], Kuru-jângala [Thaneswar and Kurukshetra], Kanka, Matsya [Jaipur and Aloyar], Pañcâla [the Ganges region], Kunti, Madhu, Kekaya [northeast Punjab], Kos'ala [from Kâs'î to the Himalayas], Arna [east of Mithilâ] and in many other kingdoms, drank the men and women with their eyes in the lotus face that was so generous with His smiles and affectionate glances, o King.
10.86.21
(21) The Spiritual Master of the Three Worlds put an end to the blindness of their eyes by bestowing upon them the fearlessness of the spiritual vision. As He thus by and by reached Videha, heard He how by the God-conscious and the commoners His glories were sung, the glories that eradicate all misfortune and purify every corner of the universe.
the logical question of how the ordinary people along the path could even see the Lord, since not only were their eyes covered by ignorance, but the Lord's chariot was traveling faster than the wind. Supplying the answer, Śrīla Jīva indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa's special glance of mercy empowered every one of them with the devotional purity required for entering into His association. Otherwise, He would have remained outside the scope of their power to see, as He Himself states in His instructions to Uddhava: bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ. "I can be perceived only by devotion." (Bhāg. 11.14.21) By the grammatical rule of compound formation known as eka-śeṣa, the term sta-vīkṣaṇa-vinaṣṭa-tamisra-dṛgbhyaḥ, although in its primary sense inflected as a masculine noun, may be understood in this context as referring to both men and women.
10.86.22
abhīyur muditās tasmai
gṛhītārhaṇa-pāṇayaḥ
(22) The moment the villagers and citizens heard that Acyuta had arrived, o King, came they joyfully forward to greet Him with offerings in their hands.
10.86.23
prīty-utphulānanāśayāḥ
kair dhṛtāñjalibhir nemuḥ
(23) Seeing Him Who is Praised in the Verses, bowed they with their faces and hearts blossoming of love down with their joined palms held to their heads, as they also did before the sages they only knew from hearsay.
10.86.24
svānugrahāya samprāptaḿ
maithilaḥ śrutadevaś ca
(24) Each of the kings of Mithilâ and S'rutadeva prostrated at the feet supposing that the Spiritual Master of the Universe had arrived to be of mercy for especially him.
10.86.25
maithilaḥ śrutadevaś ca
yugapat saḿhatāñjalī
(25) Bahulâs'va and S'rutadeva simultaneously joining their palms, invited the Descendant of Das'ârha along with the twice-born to be their guest.
10.86.26
bhagavāḿs tad abhipretya
ubhayor āviśad geham
(26) The Supreme Lord eager to please the two of them accepted their offer by entering each his house without them knowing that of each other [He did so at the same time in vaibhava-prakâs'a].
Kṛṣṇa visited Śrutadeva and Bahulāśva at the same time by manifesting Himself in duplicate forms, along with the sages. Thus King Bahulāśva thought that Lord Kṛṣṇa had come only to his house, leaving Śrutadeva to return home disappointed, while Śrutadeva believed that just the reverse was the case. "That [Lord Kṛṣṇa] and His companions were present in both houses, although both the brāhmaṇa and the King thought He was present in his house only, is another opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This opulence is described in the revealed scriptures as vaibhava-prakāśa. Similarly, when Lord Kṛṣṇa married sixteen thousand wives, He also expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms, each one of them as powerful as He Himself. Similarly, in Vṛndāvana, when Brahmā stole away Kṛṣṇa's cows, calves and cowherd boys, Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself into many new cows, calves and cowherd boys."
10.86.27-29
ānīteṣv āsanāgryeṣu
hṛdayāsrāvilekṣaṇaḥ
gandha-mālyāmbarākalpa-
(27-29) The descendent of Janaka [Bahulas'va] who later that day saw them, fatigued, coming from a distance to his house, mindfully brought out fine seats for them so that they could comfortably sit. Overjoyed at heart with intense devotion and eyes clouded with tears bowed he down to wash those feet of which the water is able to purify the entire world. Together with his family taking it on his head, honored he the Lords [and sages] with sandalwood paste, garlands, clothing, jewelry, incense, lamps, arghya, cows and bulls.
"Bahulāśva, the King of Videha, was very intelligent and was a perfect gentleman. He was astonished that so many great sages, along with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, were personally present in his home. He knew perfectly well that the conditioned soul, especially when engaged in worldly affairs, cannot be a hundred percent pure, whereas the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees are always transcendental to worldly contamination. Therefore, when he found that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa and all the great sages were at his home, he was astonished, and he began to thank Lord Kṛṣṇa for His causeless mercy."
The word īśvara in this verse refers not only to the Supreme Lord but also to the exalted sages in His company;
10.86.30
saḿspṛśañ chanakair mudā
(30) When they had eaten their fill, said he while happily massaging the feet of Vishnu on his lap, in order to please them in a gentle voice slowly the following.
10.86.31
(31) S'rî Bahulâs'va said: 'You indeed the Self-illumined Witness and Soul of All Created Beings, o Almighty One, have now become visible to us who are remembering Your lotusfeet.
Bahulāśva's inner thoughts as follows: Bahulāśva glorifies Lord Kṛṣṇa as the inspiring Soul of all life and consciousness, thinking that even an inert dullard like himself could be awakened to devotional awareness by His mercy. He glorifies the Lord as the witness of all pious and impious actions, confident that the Lord remembers whatever little devotional service he has ever done. And he glorifies Him as self-illumined, never needing to be enlightened or informed by any external source, with the knowledge that the Lord has always been aware of Bahulāśva's long-cherished secret desire to see Him.
10.86.32
asmad-dṛg-gocaro bhavān
(32) To be true to the statement You made that 'No one, not even Ananta, S'rî or the Unborn Brahmâ is as dear to Me as the unalloyed devotee', have You appeared before our eyes [see also 7.7: 51-52, 10.9: 20-21, 10.47: 58-63].
10.86.33
(33) What person knowing this would abandon Your lotusfeet with You giving Yourself to sages who are peaceful from not striving for possessions?
10.86.34
yo 'vatīrya yador vaḿśe
yaśo vitene tac-chāntyai
(34) Descending in the Yadu dynasty for the sake of those who are caught in worldly love [samsâra] have You, to put a stop to it, disseminated Your fame which removes the sins of the three worlds.
10.86.35
kṛṣṇāyākuṇṭha-medhase
(35) All glories to You Krishna, the Supreme Lord ever fresh in His intelligence, to Nara-Nârâyana, the One perfect of peace in undergoing the austerities.
that the King offered these prayers to encourage Lord Kṛṣṇa to remain at his home for some days. The King thought, "Since contact with the Supreme Lord can free anyone from misconceptions and doubts, Kṛṣṇa's presence in my home will fortify my intelligence so that I can withstand the onslaughts of material desires. In His expansion as Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, the Lord always resides in Badarikāśrama for the good of the whole land of Bharata, and so He may also create good fortune for the land of Mithilā by remaining here for at least a few days. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa's propensity is toward peace and simplicity, He will certainly prefer my simple home to the excessive opulence of Dvārakā."
10.86.36
(36) Please o Omnipresent One, dwell, joined by the twice-born, for a few days in our home and sanctify with the dust of Your feet this dynasty of Nimi.'
10.86.37
ity upāmantrito rājñā
(37) S'rî S'uka said: 'Thus invited by the king stayed the Supreme Lord and Maintainer of the Entire World there and thus brought good fortune to the men and women of Mithilâ.
10.86.38
(38) S'rutadeva, just as Bahulas'va receiving Krishna in his house, bowing down to the sages to the occasion of which he in delight danced with waving clothes.
10.86.39
ānīteṣūpaveśya saḥ
svāgatenābhinandyāńghrīn
(39) He made them sit on mats of darbha grass which were brought, greeted them with words of welcome and washed next pleased together with his wife their feet.
To provide even this simple welcome, Śrutadeva had to go next door to his neighbors and borrow extra mats.
10.86.40
(40) With the water sprinkled he, overjoyed of having all his desires fulfilled, most piously himself, his house and his family.
10.86.41
phalārhaṇośīra-śivāmṛtāmbubhir
(41) With offerings of fruits, aromatic root [us'îra], pure nectarean sweet water, fragrant clay, tulsî leaves, kus'a grass and lotus flowers honored he them with all items of worship available and with food conducive to the mood of goodness [see B.G. 17: 8].
10.86.42
yaḥ sarva-tīrthāspada-pāda-reṇubhiḥ
kṛṣṇena cāsyātma-niketa-bhūsuraiḥ
(42) He wondered: 'How could it happen that I who fell down in the blind well of family life, may enjoy this association with Krishna and these godly people in whom He resides; it is indeed the dust of their feet that constitutes the dignity of all holy places.'
10.86.43
sūpaviṣṭān kṛtātithyān
uvācāńghry-abhimarśanaḥ
(43) With them comfortably seated and having proven the hospitality, spoke S'rutadeva, as his wife, relatives and children were sitting close, while he massaged His feet.
10.86.44
yarhīdaḿ śaktibhiḥ sṛṣṭvā
(44) S'rutadeva said: 'It is not for the first time that we see the Supreme Personality present before us; in fact is that happening ever since He, creating this universe with His energies, entered it in His own state of [transcendental] being [as an avatâra].
10.86.45
manasaivātma-māyayā
anuviśyāvabhāsate
(45) He enters this world the way a sleeping person appears in his own dream: alone with his mind creates he by his own imagination a separate world.
In the illusion of his dream, a sleeping person creates an apparent world, complete with cities populated by the fictional products of his imagination. In somewhat the same way, the Lord manifests the cosmos. Of course, the creation is not illusory for the Lord, but it is for those souls who are put under the control of His Māyā potency. As her service to the Lord, Māyā deludes the conditioned souls into accepting as real her temporary, insubstantial manifestations.
10.86.46
śṛṇvatāḿ gadatāḿ śaśvad
arcatāḿ tvābhivandatām
hṛdi bhāsy amalātmanām
(46) You appear within the hearts of those people who with a pure mind again and again hear about You, speak of You, glorify You, worship You and converse about You.
10.86.47
ātma-śaktibhir agrāhyo
'py anty upeta-guṇātmanām
(47) Even though You're situated in the heart are You far removed from minds agitated by material affairs, and even though one can't get hold of You by one's own powers, are You near to those who appreciate Your qualities [see also B.G. 7: 25].
The all-merciful Lord is in everyone's heart. Seeing Him there, however, is possible only when one's heart is completely purified. Materialists may demand that God prove His existence by coming into view as a result of their empirical investigations, but God has no need to respond to such impudence. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.25):
nāhaḿ prakāśaḥ sarvasya
mūḍho 'yaḿ nābhijānāti
"I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible."10.86.48
sva-māyayāsaḿvṛta-ruddha-dṛṣṭaye
(48) Let there be my obeisances unto You, the Supersoul from whom we know the Absolute of the Truth, the One who [as the Time] calls for the death of the conditioned soul; the One who assumes forms that have a cause [the universe] and do not have a cause [the transcendental], and thus [respectively] obstructs matters and [then again descending for Your devotees] broadens the outlook by Your own deluding potency.
PURPORT
When the Lord appears before His devotees in His eternal, spiritual form, their eyes become "uncovered" in the sense that all vestiges of illusion are dispelled and they drink in the beautiful vision of the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. For the nondevotees, on the other hand, the Lord "appears" as material nature, His universal form, and in this way He covers their vision so that His spiritual, personal form remains invisible to them.this verse, based on an alternative understanding of anātmane, a form of the word anātmā: Various classes of men know the Absolute Truth in different ways. The devotees of the Lord who are in the reciprocal mood of neutral admiration (śānta-rasa) meditate on the Supreme as possessing a divine, personal form (ātmā or śrī-vigraha) transcending all aspects of material illusion. The impersonal philosophers (jñānīs) conceive of Him as formless (anātmā). And the envious demons see Him in the form of death.
10.86.49
etad-anto nṛṇāḿ kleśo
(49) You as that Supersoul, please command us Your servants. What o God should we do? Oh, having this of You, Your good Self, visible before our eyes is what puts an end to the troubles of humanity!'
10.86.50
tad-uktam ity upākarṇya
(50) S'rî S'uka said: 'Having heard what he thus said to Him, spoke the Supreme Lord, the Destroyer of the Distress of the Surrendered, to him with a broad smile taking his hand into His.
that Lord Kṛṣṇa took Śrutadeva's hand and smiled as a gesture of friendship, to tell Him, "Yes, you know the truth about Me, and I also know all about you. So now I will tell you something special."
10.86.51
brahmaḿs te 'nugrahārthāya
samprāptān viddhy amūn munīn
(51) The Supreme Lord said: 'O brahmin, you should know that these sages came along for the purpose of blessing you; wandering with Me, they purify all the worlds with the dust of their feet.
that Lord Kṛṣṇa thought Śrutadeva had shown too much reverence to Him and not enough to the sages, and thus He turned the brāhmaṇa's attention to them.
10.86.52
darśana-sparśanārcanaiḥ
tad apy arhattamekṣayā
(52) The deities, pilgrimage sites and sacred rivers being visited, being touched and being worshiped purify gradually, but by the glance of the one who is the most worshipable is that all attained at the same time [see also 4.30: 37, 7.9: 44, 10.9: 21, 10.84: 11].
Rather than remaining in seclusion and concentrating on their own perfection, Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇas of the highest order dedicate their lives to sharing the benediction of the Lord's devotional service. In the words of the sons of King Prācīnabarhi:
teṣāḿ vicaratāḿ padbhyāḿ
tīrthānāḿ pāvanecchayā
"Dear Lord, Your personal associates, Your devotees, wander all over the world to purify even the holy places of pilgrimage. Is not such activity pleasing to those who are actually afraid of material existence?" (Bhāg. 4.30.37) And Prahlāda Mahārāja says,prāyeṇa deva munayaḥ sva-vimukti-kāmā
maunaḿ caranti vijane na parārtha-niṣṭhāḥ
"My dear Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet." (Bhāg. 7.9.44)10.86.53
(53) A brahmin is by birth the best of all living beings, and what more wouldn't he mean to Me when he by his austerity, his learning and his contentment is endowed with a grip on the time [of this age of Kali, see also ** and kâla]!
10.86.54
na brāhmaṇān me dayitaḿ
(54) This four-armed form is not as dear to Me as a brahmin is; a man of [brahminical] learning comprises all the Vedas indeed the way I comprise all the gods [see also 10.84: 12].
It is understood from the Vedic science of epistemology, the Nyāya-śāstra, that knowledge of an object (prameya) depends on a valid means of knowing (pramāṇa). The Supreme Personality of Godhead can be known only by means of the Vedas, and thus He relies on the brāhmaṇa sages, who are the Vedas personified, to reveal Him in this world. Even though Lord Kṛṣṇa embodies all the demigods and viṣṇu-tattva expansions of Nārāyaṇa, He considers Himself obliged to the brāhmaṇas.
10.86.55
duṣprajñā aviditvaivam
avajānanty asūyavaḥ
arcādāv ijya-dṛṣṭayaḥ
(55) Those who corrupted in their intelligence fail to understand it this way, behave in neglect enviously towards the man of [brahminical] learning, their guru, Me factually, their very self, while they do regard the visible form of an idol worthy of worship.
10.86.56
mad-rūpāṇīti cetasy
(56) The moving and nonmoving of this universe as well as the elementary categories basic to it are by man of learning of respect for Me kept in mind as being My forms [see also B.G. 5: 18].
10.86.57
brahman mac-chraddhayārcaya
nānyathā bhūri-bhūtibhiḥ
(57) Therefore o brahmin just worship, with the same faith you have in Me, these brahmin seers, and thus will you directly be of worship for Me, not by any other way as [e.g. offering] vast riches [and such].'
10.86.58
ārādhyaikātma-bhāvena
(58) S'rî S'ûka said: 'He as also the king of Mithilâ who were thus instructed by the Lord, attained by the single-minded devotion for Krishna and His company of the most exalted twice-born ones, the transcendental destination.
10.86.59
(59) The Supreme Lord of Devotion for His Own Devotees, thus staying and teaching the two devotees the path of the truthful [***], o King, then returned to Dvârakâ.'
"The instruction we receive from this incident is that King Bahulāśva and Śrutadeva the brāhmaṇa were accepted by the Lord on the same level because both were pure devotees. This is the real qualification for being recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because it has become the fashion of this age to become falsely proud of having taken birth in the family of a kṣatriya or a brāhmaṇa, we see persons without any qualification claiming to be brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya or vaiśya. But as it is stated in the scriptures, kalau śūdra-sambhava: 'In this age of Kali, everyone is born a śūdra.' This is because there is no performance of the purificatory process known as saḿskāras, which begin from the time of the mother's pregnancy and continue up to the point of the individual's death. No one can be classified as a member of a particular caste, especially of a higher caste — brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya — simply by birthright. If one is not purified by the process of the seed-giving ceremony, or Garbhādhāna-saḿskāra, he is immediately classified among the śūdras, because only the śūdras do not undergo this purificatory process. Sex life without the purificatory process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is merely the seed-giving process of the śūdras or the animals. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest perfection, by which everyone can come to the platform of a Vaiṣṇava. This includes having all the qualifications of a brāhmaṇa. The Vaiṣṇavas are trained to become freed from the four kinds of sinful activities — illicit sex, indulgence in intoxicants, gambling and eating animal foodstuffs. No one can be on the brahminical platform without having these preliminary qualifications, and without becoming a qualified brāhmaṇa, one cannot become a pure devotee."
Thus end of the Tenth Canto, Eighty-sixth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Arjuna Kidnaps Subhadrā, and Kṛṣṇa Blesses His Devotees."
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