SB 12.1.2 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच योऽन्त्य: पुरञ्जयो नाम भविष्यो बारहद्रथ: । तस्यामात्यस्तु शुनको हत्वा स्वामिनमात्मजम् ॥ १ ॥ प्रद्योतसंज्ञं राजानं कर्ता यत् पालक: सुत: । विशाखयूपस्तत्पुत्रो भविता राजकस्तत: ॥ २ ॥

Verse text

śrī-śuka uvāca yo ’ntyaḥ puraṣjayo nāma bhaviṣyo bārahadrathaḥ tasyāmātyas tu śunako hatvā svāminam ātma-jam pradyota-saṁjṣaṁ rājānaṁ kartā yat-pālakaḥ sutaḥ viśākhayūpas tat-putro bhavitā rājakas tataḥ

Synonyms

śrī śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said ; yaḥ — who ; antyaḥ — the final member (of the lineage described in the Ninth Canto) ; puraṣjayaḥ — Puraṣjaya (Ripuṣjaya) ; nāma — named ; bhaviṣyaḥ — will live in the future ; bārahadrathaḥ — the descendant of Bṛhadratha ; tasya — his ; amātyaḥ — minister ; tu — but ; śunakaḥ — Śunaka ; hatvā — killing ; svāminam — his master ; ātma — jam — his own son ; pradyota — saṁjṣam — named Pradyota ; rājānam — the king ; kartā — will make ; yat — whose ; pālakaḥ — named Pālaka ; sutaḥ — the son ; viśākhayūpaḥ — Viśākhayūpa ; tat — putraḥ — the son of Pālaka ; bhavitā — will be ; rājakaḥ — Rājaka ; tataḥ — then (coming as the son of Viśākhayūpa) .

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The last king mentioned in our previous enumeration of the future rulers of the Māgadha dynasty was Puraṣjaya, who will take birth as the descendant of Bṛhadratha. Puraṣjaya’s minister Śunaka will assassinate the king and install his own son, Pradyota, on the throne. The son of Pradyota will be Pālaka, his son will be Viśākhayūpa, and his son will be Rājaka.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The last king mentioned of the future rulers of the Māgadha dynasty was Puraṣjaya, a descendant of Bṛhadratha. Puraṣjaya's minister Śunaka will assassinate the king and install his own son, Pradyota, on the throne. The son of Pradyota will be Pālaka, his son will be Viśākhayūpa, and his son will be Rājaka. Offering respects to guru and Kṛṣṇa, the ocean of mercy, I take shelter of Śukadeva, master of the world, eye of the universe. I offer myself and everything I possess to Kṛṣṇa, who is the life of the gopīs and the controller, for service to his dear devotees. The Twelfth Canto, in thirteen chapters, discusses the four types of nirodha or destruction. Amidst this, there are also topics about Kṛṣṇa. Three chapters discuss the destruction of dharma in Kali-yuga. Two chapters describe conversations between Śukadeva and Parīkṣit. One chapter discusses the Purāṇas. Three chapters describe Mārkaṇḍeya and the movements of the sun. Three chapters conclude the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. In two Cantos (10th and 11th), the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in the moon dynasty has been described for drowning all people in bliss. Now, in order to produce detachment from all other things in people, the rest of the moon dynasty is described. The Ninth Canto described that in the Puru dynasty Uparicaravasu had a son named Bṛhadratha. His son was Jarāsandha, whose son was Sahadeva. Now, in this dynasty the son of Sahadeva was named Mārjārī, and Mārjārī’s son was Śrutaśravā. In this way, twenty kings up to Ripuṣjaya were described. [Note: SB 9.22.49] The end of the dynasty when the families become mixed is also described. Puraṣjaya (another name for Ripuṣjaya) was the descendant of Bṛhadratha. After killing him, Śunaka will install his son Pradyota as king. Pradoyta’s son was called Pālaka. Because this line arose from Pradyota it is called the Pradyotana dynasty.

Purport

The vicious political intrigue described here is symptomatic of the Age of Kali. In the Ninth Canto of this work, Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes how the great rulers of men descended from two royal dynasties, that of the sun and that of the moon. The Ninth Canto’s description of Lord Rāmacandra, a most famous incarnation of God, occurs in this genealogical narration, and at the end of the Ninth Canto Śukadeva describes the forefathers of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma. Finally, the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa and that of Lord Balarāma are mentioned within the context of the narration of the moon dynasty. The Tenth Canto is devoted exclusively to a description of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s childhood pastimes in Vṛndāvana, His teenage activities in Mathurā and His adult activities in Dvārakā. The famous epic Mahābhārata also describes the events of this period, focusing upon the five Pāṇḍava brothers and their activities in relation with Lord Kṛṣṇa and other leading historical figures, such as Bhīṣma, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Droṇācārya and Vidura. Within the Mahābhārata is Bhagavad-gītā, in which Lord Kṛṣṇa is declared to be the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, of which we are presently translating the twelfth and final canto, is considered a more advanced literature than the Mahābhārata because throughout the entire work Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth and supreme source of all existence, is directly, centrally and irrefutably revealed. In fact, the First Canto of the Bhāgavatam describes how Śrī Vyāsadeva composed this great work because he was dissatisfied with his rather sporadic glorification of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Mahābhārata. Although Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam narrates the histories of many royal dynasties and the lives of innumerable kings, not until the description of the present age, the Age of Kali, do we find a minister assassinating his own king and installing his son on the throne. This incident resembles Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s attempt to assassinate the Pāṇḍavas and crown his son Duryodhana king. As the Mahābhārata describes, Lord Kṛṣṇa thwarted this attempt, but with the departure of the Lord for the spiritual sky, the Age of Kali became fully manifested, ushering in political assassination within one’s own house as a standard technique.