Srīmad Bhāgavatam

Canto Ten. Volume 1. Chapter 1

TRANSLATION AND PURPORT BY

Mahamandaleshwar Mahant Sri Kṛṣṇa Balaram Swamiji

The Atrocities of King Kaṁsa


Text 1


rājovācakathito vaṁśa-vistāro
bhavatā soma-sūryayoḥ
rājñāṁ cobhaya-vaṁśyānāṁ
caritaṁ paramādbhutam
yadoś ca dharma-śilasya
nitarāṁ muni-sattama


Translation

King Parīkṣit said, Oh best of all sages, Śrī Śukadeva Goswāmi, you have vividly described the dynasty descending from the Sun God and the Moon God. You have also narrated the wonderful activities of the kings appearing in the Sun and Moon dynasties, including the activities of the greatly pious King Yadu, which you described in detail. Purport

Over the previous nine cantos Śrī Śukadeva Goswāmi has expounded upon the dynasties originating from Lord Brahmā from whom the Sun God and Moon God were born. From the Sun Dynasty came Lord Rāma, and Lord Kṛṣṇa descended from the Moon Dynasty. Therefore, it would appear that these two forms of the Lord incarnated from two distinct dynasties. But this is not the case. When translating Sanskrit into English, one must be purified with the Lord's blessing and very carefully scrutinize the verse in order to ascertain its correct meaning. For example, Śrī Śukadeva Goswāmi uses the word 'dynasty' in the singular form, although above, we just spoke of two different dynasties. Śrī Śukadeva Goswāmi's usage of the singular term in this verse signifies that both Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Rāma ultimately came from the same dynasty--the dynasty of Lord Brahmā.

From Lord Brahmā descended Marīchi and Atri, two of the seven sons conceived from Lord Brahmā's mind. From Marīchi was born his son, Kaśyapa, the progenitor of the present millennium, and from Kaśyapa came the Sun God. The other of Brahmā's sons, Atri, fathered the God of the Moon, thus making the Moon God Lord Brahmā's grandson. The Sun and the Moon are Lord Kṛṣṇa's eyes. As Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Gītā; "As the ambrosial moon I nourish all vegetation and, through the help of the sun, the whole material world awakens and performs its activities." Their mutual identity as Lord Kṛṣṇa's eyes connects these two dynasties, the Sun and the Moon, and so Śrī Śukadeva Goswāmi uses the singular, "dynasty," to show this relationship.

Furthermore, the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam tells us that King Sudyumna, son of Vaivaśvata Manu, was born in the Sun Dynasty and acted as both mother and father to his children. The history behind this is that King Sudyumna's father, Manu, could not beget children from his wife, Śraddhā. Therefore he asked his priest, Vaśiṣṭha, to ensure that a sacrifice would be performed to bring him a son. When the sacrifice was being performed Śraddhā secretly asked the priest, whom Vaśiṣṭha had assigned to do the sacrifice, to chant a Maṅtra so that she could have a daughter instead of a son. The priest granted her request and, thus, she had a daughter who was given the name, Ilā. Shocked at the outcome of his wife's labor, the unhappy king asked Vaśiṣṭha how such a thing could have happened. How could the performing priest have offered a sacrifice for a son, and yet a daughter was born? Through meditation Vaśiṣṭha unearthed what had caused this surprising occurrence and informed the king as to his wife's clandestine intervention. King Manu then requested that the sage turn the daughter into a son. Such was done, and the king named his new son, Sudyumna.

When Sudyumna grew up he went hunting and entered into the premises of Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva had handed down a decree which said that any male who entered into that part of his domain would turn into a female. Thus Pārvatī, his wife, would not be disturbed by any other male while she was enjoying Śiva's company. Not knowing this, Sudyumna entered into this forbidden area with his soldiers, and directly turned into a woman. All the soldiers and horses underwent a similar transformation, and Sudyumna completely forgot that he had previously been a male. While wandering hither and thither, Sudyumna (now Ilā) saw Budha, the son of the Moon God, who was meditating. And she became attracted to him. And Budha likewise cast eyes upon Ilä and wanted to have her as his wife. Thus, they were married and had a son whom they named Purūravā. Ilā was born in the Sun Dynasty and thus Sudyumna carried that dynasty. However, since Sudyumna was changed back into a female and married Budha who was of the Moon Dynasty, Sudyumna (as Ilā) adopted that dynasty, as well. The newly born child, Purūravā, carried his father's dynasty and thus it was with Purūravā that the Moon Dynasty first split from the Sun Dynasty.

After finding that his son had again been changed into a woman by Lord Śiva, Manu requested his priest, Vaśiṣṭha, to again help him transform Ilä back to Sudyumna. Then, Vaśiṣṭha performed penance to please Lord Śiva who granted a boon to allow Sudyumna to become a male every other month. When Sudyumna was a male he did not remember anything about his female life and, when he was a female, did not remember anything about his male life. Undergoing this continuing cycle of gender shifting, Sudyumna was absent from his throne half the time because females did not rule in those days. Having only a part-time ruler caused great disquietude among the inhabitants of the kingdom, and soon after learning of this Sudyumna established his son, Purūravā, as the king and then sought solitude in the forest. So we see that the Moon Dynasty began on this earth with King Purūravā.

King Parīkṣit refers to King Yadu of the Moon Dynasty as "very pious", although Canto Nine of this literature (9.18.44) narrates the disobedience of King Yadu who descended from the same Moon Dynasty. King Yadu had acted disrespectfully towards his father. Parīkṣit uses this description for King Yadu out of his knowledge of Yadu's constant meditation upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. As the Lord Himself says; dharmo mad bhakti kṛd proktaḥ: "Devotion to Me alone is authentic religion." Just as real milk has four naturally flawless qualities--its color, fat, sweetness and nourishment--devotional service to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is faultless, affectionate, very loving and charming, and uplifting for the consciousness. As drinking milk nourishes the body, bringing vigor and strength, faithful devotional service strengthens the soul and develops a wholesome dedication to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Parīkṣit Mahārāja, serves as the questioner throughout the text of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and was himself a very pure and unalloyed devotee of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's. Knowing that he had only seven days to live he began fasting from all food and drink, turning his full attentions to God. King Parīkṣit controlled his body's demands without strain, for he was a devotee of the highest order. How else could he have listened to Śrī Śukadeva Goswāmi's devotional words for seven days without once worrying about his own physical needs?

In regards to controlling the body's demands so that one may become completely immersed in the name of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, there is a history in the Mahābhārat, which tells the story of Gāndhārī, wife of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. All of Gāndhārī's one hundred sons were killed on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra. By the order of King Yudhiṣṭhira, all their corpses were gathered together under a ber tree, similar to a plum tree. Although, like Parīkṣit, Gāṅdhāri was a devotee of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's, she cried out and blamed Him for her sons' deaths. She said, "If Kṛṣṇa had wanted to save my sons, He could have done so." As she continued to wail on in such a manner, Gāndhārī began feeling very hungry--she was being affected by the illusory energy of the Lord. At that time no one was there and there was no food; Gāndhārī could see nothing but the rotting dead bodies of her sons. Because she was so hungry, she finally took the blindfold from her eyes and looked up to the tree where the ripened fruits were hanging. She tried to pick some of the fruits, but she could not reach them. Being affected by the illusory energy of the Lord she thought, "All my sons are dead and will not return to me. Why should I not use them by putting them one upon another in order to reach the fruits and pacify my intolerable hunger?" She gradually stacked all the bodies into a pile and climbed upon them to pick the fruits. At that time, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared and said, "O aunt, why are you working so hard? If you say so, I will pick some fruits for you." Upon Seeing the Lord, Gāndhārī realized her shameful act and said, "O Lord, no one can know Your transcendental desire." The essential message of this narration tells us that although she was a devotee of the Lord, Gāndhārī could not control her hunger. However, Parīkṣit Mahārāja felt neither hunger or thirst, even though the fifth day of listening to the Bhāgavatam had begun. When seated in the heart of a dedicated devotee, the Lord reciprocates with the devotee, as per his advancement, building a world of pure, ecstatic love between them.

Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is worshipped by King Parīkṣit, appeared in the Moon Dynasty and therefore King Pariksit made further inquiry into the intricacies of the Yadu Dynasty, although he had briefly heard about them before. This exceptional devotional attitude on the part of the Yadu Dynasty will be further explained in the Canto Eleven of this great literature.