Devanagari
भूद्वीपवर्षसरिदद्रिनभ:समुद्र-
पातालदिङ्नरकभागणलोकसंस्था ।
गीता मया तव नृपाद्भुतमीश्वरस्य
स्थूलं वपु: सकलजीवनिकायधाम ॥ ४० ॥
तस्मात् सङ्कीर्तनं विष्णोर्जगन्मङ्गलमंहसाम् ।
महतामपि कौरव्य विद्ध्यैकान्तिकनिष्कृतम् ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
bhū-dvīpa-varṣa-sarid-adri-nabhaḥ-samudra-
pātāla-diṅ-naraka-bhāgaṇa-loka-saṁsthā
gītā mayā tava nṛpādbhutam īśvarasya
sthūlaṁ vapuḥ sakala-jīva-nikāya-dhāma
Synonyms
bhū
—
of this planet earth
;
dvīpa
—
and other different planetary systems
;
varṣa
—
of tracts of land
;
sarit
—
rivers
;
adri
—
mountains
;
nabhaḥ
—
the sky
;
samudra
—
oceans
;
pātāla
—
lower planets
;
dik
—
directions
;
naraka
—
the hellish planets
;
bhāgaṇa
—
loka — the luminaries and higher planets
;
saṁsthā
—
the situation
;
gītā
—
described
;
mayā
—
by me
;
tava
—
for you
;
nṛpa
—
O King
;
adbhutam
—
wonderful
;
īśvarasya
—
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
sthūlam
—
gross
;
vapuḥ
—
body
;
sakala
—
jīva — nikāya — of all the masses of living entities
;
dhāma
—
which is the place of repose .
Translation
My dear King, I have now described for you this planet earth, other planetary systems, and their lands [varṣas], rivers and mountains. I have also described the sky, the oceans, the lower planetary systems, the directions, the hellish planetary systems and the stars. These constitute the virāṭ-rūpa, the gigantic material form of the Lord, on which all living entities repose. Thus I have explained the wonderful expanse of the external body of the Lord.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O King! I have now described for you the position of the earth, the islands, the varṣas, rivers, mountains, sky and oceans, the lower planetary systems, the directions, the hellish planetary systems and the luminaries. This amazing gross body of the Lord is the shelter of all the jīvas.
Thus ends the commentary on the Twenty-sixth Chapter of the Fifth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
I desire to live by hearing the devotees who are a tolerant stream of divine nectar. Otherwise how can I progress, since I have been bitten by the uncontrollable snake of pride? I have completed the commentary on the Fifth Canto at Rādhākuṇḍa on the sixth lunar day of the waning phase of the moon in Phāguna month, on Tuesday.
Canto 6
Chapter One
The Servants of Yama Speak
Sixth Canto
Prescribed Duties for Mankind
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto 6: "Prescribed Duties for Mankind"
1. The History of the Life of Ajāmila
• Translations 1-68
2. Ajāmila Delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas
• Translations 1-49
3. Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers
• Translations 1-35
4. The Haṁsa-guhya Prayers
• Translations 1-54
5. Nārada Muni Cursed by Prajāpati Dakṣa
• Translations 1-44
6. The Progeny of the Daughters of Dakṣa
• Translations 1-45
7. Indra Offends His Spiritual Master, Bṛhaspati.
• Translations 1-40
8. The Nārāyaṇa-kavaca Shield
• Translations 1-42
9. Appearance of the Demon Vṛtrāsura
• Translations 1-55
10. The Battle Between the Demigods and Vṛtrāsura
• Translations 1-33
11. The Transcendental Qualities of Vṛtrāsura
• Translations 1-27
12. Vṛtrāsura's Glorious Death
• Translations 1-35
13. King Indra Afflicted by Sinful Reaction
• Translations 1-23
14. King Citraketu's Lamentation
• Translations 1-61
15. The Saints Nārada and Aṅgirā Instruct King Citraketu
• Translations 1-28
16. King Citraketu Meets the Supreme Lord
• Translations 1-65
17. Mother Pārvatī Curses Citraketu
• Translations 1-41
18. Diti Vows to Kill King Indra
• Translations 1-78
19. Performing the Puṁsavana Ritualistic Ceremony
• Translations 1-28
6.1: The History of the Life of Ajāmila
1. The History of the Life of Ajāmila
6.1 Summary
Throughout Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are descriptions of ten subject matters, including creation, subsequent creation and the planetary systems. Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, has already described creation, subsequent creation and the planetary systems in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Cantos. Now, in this Sixth Canto, which consists of nineteen chapters, he will describe poṣaṇa, or protection by the Lord.
The first chapter relates the history of Ajāmila, who was considered a greatly sinful man, but was liberated when four order carriers of Viṣṇu came to rescue him from the hands of the order carriers of Yamarāja. A full description of how he was liberated, having been relieved of the reactions of his sinful life, is given in this chapter. Sinful activities are painful both in this life and in the next. We should know for certain that the cause of all painful life is sinful action. On the path of fruitive work one certainly commits sinful activities, and therefore according to the considerations of karma-kāṇḍa, different types of atonement are recommended. Such methods of atonement, however, do not free one from ignorance, which is the root of sinful life. Consequently one is prone to commit sinful activities even after atonement, which is therefore very inadequate for purification. On the path of speculative knowledge one becomes free from sinful life by understanding things as they are. Therefore the acquirement of speculative knowledge is also considered a method of atonement. While performing fruitive activities one can become free from the actions of sinful life through austerity, penance, celibacy, control of the mind and senses, truthfulness and the practice of mystic yoga. By awakening knowledge one may also neutralize sinful reactions. Neither of these methods, however, can free one from the tendency to commit sinful activities.
By bhakti-yoga one can completely avoid the tendency for sinful life; other methods are not very feasible. Therefore the Vedic literature concludes that devotional service is more important than the methods of karma-kāṇḍa and jṣāna-kāṇḍa. Only the path of devotional service is auspicious for everyone. Fruitive activities and speculative knowledge cannot independently liberate anyone, but devotional service, independent of karma and jṣāna, is so potent that one who has fixed his mind at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa is guaranteed not to meet the Yamadūtas, the order carriers of Yamarāja, even in dreams.
To prove the strength of devotional service, Śukadeva Gosvāmī described the history of Ajāmila. Ajāmila was a resident of Kānyakubja (the modern Kanauj). He was trained by his parents to become a perfect brāhmaṇa by studying the Vedas and following the regulative principles, but because of his past, this youthful brāhmaṇa was somehow attracted by a prostitute, and because of her association he became most fallen and abandoned all regulative principles. Ajāmila begot in the womb of the prostitute ten sons, the last of whom was called Nārāyaṇa. At the time of Ajāmila's death, when the order carriers of Yamarāja came to take him, he loudly called the name Nārāyaṇa in fear because he was attached to his youngest son. Thus he remembered the original Nārāyaṇa, Lord Viṣṇu. Although he did not chant the holy name of Nārāyaṇa completely offenselessly, it acted nevertheless. As soon as he chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa, the order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu immediately appeared on the scene. A discussion ensued between the order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu and those of Yamarāja, and by hearing that discussion Ajāmila was liberated. He could then understand the bad effect of fruitive activities and could also understand how exalted is the process of devotional service.
Purport
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Twenty-sixth Chapter, of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “A Description of the Hellish Planets.”
— Completed in the Honolulu temple of the Paṣca-tattva, June 5, 1975.
There is a supplementary note written by His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja Prabhupāda in his
Gauḍīya-bhāṣya.
Its translation is as follows. Learned scholars who have full knowledge of all the Vedic scriptures agree that the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are innumerable. These incarnations are classified into two divisions, called
prābhava
and
vaibhava.
According to the scriptures,
prābhava
incarnations are also classified in two divisions — those which are called eternal and those which are not vividly described. In this Fifth Canto of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
in Chapters Three through Six, there is a description of Ṛṣabhadeva, but there is not an expanded description of His spiritual activities. Therefore He is considered to belong to the second group of
prābhava
incarnations. In
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
First Canto, Chapter Three, verse 13, it is said:
aṣṭame merudevyāṁ tu
nābher jāta urukramaḥ
darśayan vartma dhīrāṇāṁ
sarvāśrama-namaskṛtam
“Lord Viṣṇu appeared in the eighth incarnation as the son of Mahārāja Nābhi [the son of Āgnīdhra] and his wife Merudevī. He showed the path of perfection, the
paramahaṁsa
stage of life, which is worshiped by all the followers of
varṇāśrama-dharma.
” Ṛṣabhadeva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His body is spiritual (
sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha
). Therefore one might ask how it might be possible that he passed stool and urine. The Gauḍīya
vedānta ācārya
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has replied to this question in his book known as
Siddhānta-ratna
(First Portion, texts 65-68). Imperfect men call attention to Ṛṣabhadeva’s passing stool and urine as a subject matter for the study of nondevotees, who do not understand the spiritual position of a transcendental body. In this Fifth Canto of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(5.6.11)
the illusioned and bewildered state of the materialists of this age is fully described. Elsewhere in Fifth Canto (5.5.19) Ṛṣabhadeva stated,
idaṁ śarīram mama durvibhāvyam:
“This body of Mine is inconceivable for materialists.” This is also confirmed by Lord Kṛṣṇa in
Bhagavad-gītā
(9.11)
:
avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā
mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto
mama bhūta-maheśvaram
“Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be.” The human form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is extremely difficult to understand, and, in fact, for a common man it is inconceivable. Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva has directly explained that His own body belongs to the spiritual platform. This being so, Ṛṣabhadeva did not actually pass stool and urine. Even though He superficially seemed to pass stool and urine, that was also transcendental and cannot be imitated by any common man. It is also stated in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
that the stool and urine of Ṛṣabhadeva were full of transcendental fragrance. One may imitate Ṛṣabhadeva, but he cannot imitate Him by passing stool that is fragrant.
The activities of Ṛṣabhadeva, therefore, do not support the claims of a certain class of men known as
arhat,
who sometimes advertise that they are followers of Ṛṣabhadeva. How can they be followers of Ṛṣabhadeva while they act against the Vedic principles? Śukadeva Gosvāmī has related that after hearing about the characteristics of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, the King of Koṅka, Veṅka and Kuṭaka initiated a system of religious principles known as
arhat.
These principles were not in accord with Vedic principles, and therefore they are called
pāṣaṇḍa-dharma.
The members of the
arhat
community considered Ṛṣabhadeva’s activities material. However, Ṛṣabhadeva is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore He is on the transcendental platform, and no one can compare to Him.
Ṛṣabhadeva personally exhibited the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(5.6.8)
,
dāvānalas tad vanam ālelihānaḥ saha tena dadāha:
at the conclusion of Ṛṣabhadeva’s pastimes, an entire forest and the Lord’s body were burned to ashes in a great forest fire. In the same way, Ṛṣabhadeva burned people’s ignorance to ashes. He exhibited the characteristics of a
paramahaṁsa
in His instructions to His sons. The principles of the
arhat
community, however, do not correspond to the teachings of Ṛṣabhadeva.
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa remarks that in the Eighth Canto of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
there is another description of Ṛṣabhadeva, but that Ṛṣabhadeva is different from the one described in this canto.
END OF THE FIFTH CANTO