VedaVyasa
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
11.5.27
śrīvatsādibhir ańkaiś ca
lakṣaṇair upalakṣitaḥ
(27) In Dvâpara-yuga is the Supreme Lord gray blue, wears He yellow garments and carries He His implements [the disc, club, lotus and conch] together with the bodily marks of the S'rîvatsa and so on and His ornaments [like the peacock feather and the Kaustubha gem].
The Lord's transcendental body in Dvāpara-yuga can be compared to the color of a dark blue flower. The Lord exhibits His personal transcendental weapons such as Sudarśana cakra, and all of the limbs of His body, especially His hands and feet, are decorated with auspicious symbols such as a lotus flower and a flag. And on His chest, the Lord manifests the Kaustubha jewel as well as the auspicious Śrīvatsa, a whorl of hair curling from left to right on the right side of the Lord's chest. Actually, such auspicious marks as Kaustubha and Śrīvatsa, as well as the weapons of the Lord, are present in all of the viṣṇu-tattva incarnations. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that these universal characteristics of the Lord mentioned by the sage Karabhājana are indications of the Kṛṣṇa avatāra. Because Kṛṣṇa is the source of all incarnations, all of the symptoms of all other incarnations are to be found in His transcendental body.
11.5.28
mahā-rājopalakṣaṇam
(28) In that age, o King, do the mortals who want to gain knowledge of the Supreme worship Him, the Original Personality playing the role of a great king, according the Vedas and tantra's [like e.g. in 1.10: 16-18 and 10.4: 17-24 and ***] with the following mantra:
11.5.29-30
namas te vāsudevāya
pradyumnāyāniruddhāya
puruṣāya mahātmane
viśveśvarāya viśvāya
(29-30) 'Our obeisances to Sankarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and You, Vâsudeva; You Nârâyana Rishi, the Original One and Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Greater Soul, the Controller of the Creation, the Very Form of the Universe and the True Self of all Living Beings [see catur-vyûha].'
In Dvāpara-yuga, Deity worship of the Lord is prominent. Such Deity worship is ultimately aimed at the process of śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]. Without hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord one cannot perform Deity worship. In Deity worship it is required that the worshiper glorify the names, forms, qualities, paraphernalia, entourage and pastimes of the Supreme Lord. When such glorification is complete, the worshiper becomes eligible to realize transcendental knowledge through hearing about the Lord.
11.5.31
(31) O King, thus they praise in Dvâpara-yuga the Lord of the Universe; please hear in which manner one in respect of the scriptural regulations also is of worship in Kali-yuga [see also 7.9: 38].
The words kalāv api, "in Kali-yuga also," are very important in this verse. It is well known that Kali-yuga is an irreligious age. Thus it is surprising that in such a completely irreligious age the Supreme Lord is worshiped. Therefore it is stated kalāv api, "even in Kali-yuga." In Kali-yuga the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead does not directly assert Himself to be the Personality of Godhead, but rather He is detected by expert devotees in accordance with the revealed Vedic scriptures. Similarly, Prahlāda Mahārāja states in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.9.38):
itthaḿ nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-deva-jhaṣāvatārair
"In this way, my Lord, You appear in various incarnations as a human being, an animal, a great saintly demigod, a fish or a tortoise, thus maintaining the entire creation in different planetary systems and killing the demoniac principles. According to the age, O my Lord, You protect the principles of religion. In the age of Kali, however, You do not assert Yourself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore You are known as Triyuga, or the Lord who appears in three yugas." Thus it is understood that it is difficult for common people in Kali-yuga to recognize the incarnation of the Lord since in this age the Lord's appearance is slightly concealed.
11.5.32
sāńgopāńgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ sańkīrtana-prāyair
(32) The intelligent [then] do worship [Him who] with a bright [not-dark or golden] luster along with [His] associates, servitors, weapons and attendants, by the sacrifice of mainly congregational chanting [is] praising [speaks, spreads or is colored by] Krishna with:
11.5.33
(33) 'O Supreme Personality let me praise Your lotus feet. I always meditate upon them for they put an end to the humiliation we suffer as a consequence of the material influence. They, amply rewarding the true desire of the soul, are the abode and the place of pilgrimage to which S'iva and Brahmâ bow down. They, relieving the distress of Your servants, are the most worthy shelter, they are the boat for the ocean of birth and death.
11.5.34
dharmiṣṭha ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam
(34) O Supreme Personality let me pay homage to the lotus feet of You who upon the words of a brahmin [like Akrûra, S'rî Advaita or John the Babtist], as the Most Religious One abandoning the so hard to forsake opulence of S'rî that is so anxiously desired by the godly, being of mercy for the ones who are caught in animal nature, [as Râma, Krishna, the Buddha, as Jesus, as Caitanya etc.] went to the distant land [India, the wilderness, the forest, the desert, into sannyâsa] in pursuance of the object of Your desire [Your mission, Your dharma, Your presence as the Lord of the devotees, 4*].'
11.5.35
evaḿ yugānurūpābhyāḿ
(35) O King, thus is the Supreme Lord Hari, the Controller of All Felicity, with His names and forms as belonging to each yuga worshiped by the people of that age.
11.5.36
yatra sańkīrtanenaiva
sarva-svārtho 'bhilabhyate
(36) The faithful ones [of spiritual progress] knowing of the value of the age of Kali praise it by pointing out that it's essence implies that by [mere] congregational chanting [sankîrtana] as good as all one's goals can be attained.
It is stated here that among the four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — Kali-yuga is actually the best because in this age the Lord mercifully distributes the highest perfection of consciousness, namely Kṛṣṇa consciousness, very freely. The word ārya has been defined by Śrīla Prabhupāda as "one who is advancing spiritually." The nature of an advanced person is to search for the essence of life. For example, the essence of the material body is not the body itself but the spirit soul that is within the body; therefore an intelligent person gives more attention to the eternal spirit soul than to the temporary body. Similarly, although Kali-yuga is considered to be an ocean of contamination, there is also an ocean of good fortune in Kali-yuga, namely the sańkīrtana movement. In other words, all of the degraded qualities of this age are completely counteracted by the process of chanting the holy names of the Lord. Thus it is stated in the Vedic language,
dhyāyan kṛte yajan yajñais
"Whatever is achieved in Satya-yuga by meditation, in Tretā by offering ritual sacrifices and in Dvāpara by temple worship is achieved in Kali-yuga by chanting the names of Lord Keśava congregationally."
It is stated here that among the four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — Kali-yuga is actually the best because in this age the Lord mercifully distributes the highest perfection of consciousness, namely Kṛṣṇa consciousness, very freely. The word ārya has been defined by Śrīla Prabhupāda as "one who is advancing spiritually." The nature of an advanced person is to search for the essence of life. For example, the essence of the material body is not the body itself but the spirit soul that is within the body; therefore an intelligent person gives more attention to the eternal spirit soul than to the temporary body. Similarly, although Kali-yuga is considered to be an ocean of contamination, there is also an ocean of good fortune in Kali-yuga, namely the sańkīrtana movement. In other words, all of the degraded qualities of this age are completely counteracted by the process of chanting the holy names of the Lord. Thus it is stated in the Vedic language,
dhyāyan kṛte yajan yajñais
"Whatever is achieved in Satya-yuga by meditation, in Tretā by offering ritual sacrifices and in Dvāpara by temple worship is achieved in Kali-yuga by chanting the names of Lord Keśava congregationally."
(37) Indeed, for the embodied wandering around in this universe, there is no greater gain than this [sankîrtana] from which one obtains the Supreme Peace and of which the cycle of birth and death is broken [see also 2.1: 11, 3.33: 7, 8.23: 16 and 8.23*].
11.5.38-40
manujā manujeśvara
vāsudeve 'malāśayāḥ
(38-40) The inhabitants of Satya- and the other yugas, o King, want to take birth in Kali-yuga because one in that time o great monarch, in various places finds the devotees who are dedicated to Nârâyana. Especially finds one them in great numbers in the provinces of South India. The human beings there who drink from the water of the rivers the Tâmraparnî, the Kritamâlâ, the Payasvinî, the extremely pious Kâverî, the Mahânadî and the Pratîcî, o lord of men, are mostly pure-hearted devotees of the Supreme Lord Vâsudeva.
The Vedas contain information of past, present and future living conditions throughout the universe. This is not very wonderful. For example, although at present time in India we are experiencing spring weather, we know that in the future the torrid summer will come, followed by the rainy season, autumn and eventually winter and a new spring. Similarly, we know that these seasons have occurred repeatedly in the past. Thus, just as ordinary human beings can understand the past, present and future seasons of the earth, the liberated followers of Vedic culture can easily understand the past, present and future conditions of the seasonal ages of the earth and other planets. The inhabitants of Satya-yuga are certainly aware of the conditions of Kali-yuga. They know that in Kali-yuga the difficult material situation forces the living entity to take complete shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that the inhabitants of Kali-yuga therefore develop a high degree of love of Godhead. Therefore although the inhabitants of Satya-yuga are far more sinless, truthful and self-controlled than the people of other ages, they desire to take birth in Kali-yuga in order to taste pure love of Kṛṣṇa.
11.5.41
devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāḿ pitṝṇāḿ
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaḿ śaraṇyaḿ
gato mukundaḿ parihṛtya kartam
(41) O King, a person who, giving up on the material duties, in full surrender approached the shelter of Mukunda, the One Affording Shelter, is not the servant nor the debtor of the gods, the sages, the ordinary living beings, of friends and relatives or of the forefathers [see also B.G. 3: 9].
11.5.42
vikarma yac cotpatitaḿ kathañcid
(42) From the one who fixed at His feet is engaged in worship and thus is dear to Lord Hari, the Supreme Controller who entered the heart the moment one gave up on other engagements, are whatever irregularities that somehow occurred all removed [see 8.23: 16 and B.G. 9: 22, 9: 30, 18: 56].'
11.5.43
śrutvātha mithileśvaraḥ
sopādhyāyo hy apūjayat
(43) S'rî Nârada said: 'After he thus had heard about the science of devotional service felt the master of Mithilâ satisfied indeed and offered he next together with the priests the sagacious sons of Jayantî [the Yogendras 5.4: 8] worship.
The word jāyanteyān indicates the nine Yogendras, who were born from the womb of Jayantī, the wife of Ṛṣabhadeva.
11.5.44
tato 'ntardadhire siddhāḥ
(44) Next, with all present watching, disappeared the ones of perfection. The king, faithfully following this dharma, achieved the supreme destination.
11.5.45
(45) You [Vasudeva], o most fortunate soul, will also, endowed with faith in these principles of devotional service that you heard of, after having abandoned all material concerns, go to the Supreme.
11.5.46
(46) The earth was fulfilled indeed by the glories of the two of you being husband and wife, because the Supreme Lord, the Controller Hari assumed the position of your son.
11.5.47
darśanālińganālāpaiḥ
śayanāsana-bhojanaiḥ
(47) When you for Krishna proved your love of seeing, embracing and conversing, taking rest, sitting and eating with Him as a son, have the hearts of the two of you become purified.
11.5.48
(48) Kings like S'is'upâla, Paundraka and S'âlva who in competition enviously related to His movements, glances and so on, and thus meditating fixed their minds upon Him as they layed down, sat etc., have achieved a position at the same level; what then may one expect from those who were favorably minded [see mukti and also Jaya & Vijaya]?
11.5.49
kṛṣṇe sarvātmanīśvare
(49) Do not deign to impose upon Krishna, the Supreme Soul and Controller of All, the idea that He would be your son; by the power of His illusory potency He appeared as a normal human being in concealing His opulence as the Supreme One Infallible [see also B.G. 4: 6].
11.5.50
(50) Of Him who descended in order to kill the asura members of the noble class who burdened the earth and to award [the devotees] liberation, has the fame spread wide in the world [see also B.G. 4: 7].'
11.5.51
etac chrutvā mahā-bhāgo
vasudevo 'ti-vismitaḥ
(51) S'rî S'uka said: 'Having heard this were the greatly fortunate Vasudeva and Devakî most amazed and gave they up the folly they had cherished.
11.5.52
dhārayed yaḥ samāhitaḥ
(52) He who one-pointed of attention meditates upon this pious, historical account, will in this very life cleanse away the contamination and achieve spiritual perfection.'
Thus end of the Eleventh Canto, Fifth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Nārada Concludes His Teachings to Vasudeva."
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