Devanagari
बर्हिषि तस्मिन्नेव विष्णुदत्त भगवान् परमर्षिभि: प्रसादितो नाभे: प्रियचिकीर्षया तदवरोधायने मेरुदेव्यां धर्मान्दर्शयितुकामो वातरशनानां श्रमणानामृषीणामूर्ध्वमन्थिनां शुक्लया तनुवावततार ॥ २० ॥
Verse text
barhiṣi tasminn eva viṣṇudatta bhagavān paramarṣibhiḥ prasādito nābheḥ priya-cikīrṣayā tad-avarodhāyane merudevyāṁ dharmān darśayitu-kāmo vāta-raśanānāṁ śramaṇānām ṛṣīṇām ūrdhva-manthināṁ śuklayā tanuvāvatatāra.
Synonyms
barhiṣi
—
in the arena of sacrifice
;
tasmin
—
that
;
eva
—
in this way
;
viṣṇu
—
datta — O Mahārāja Parīkṣit
;
bhagavān
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
parama
—
ṛṣibhiḥ — by the great ṛṣis
;
prasāditaḥ
—
being pleased
;
nābheḥ priya
—
cikīrṣayā — to please King Nābhi
;
tat
—
avarodhāyane — in his wife
;
merudevyām
—
Merudevī
;
dharmān
—
the principles of religion
;
darśayitu
—
kāmaḥ — desiring to exhibit how to perform
;
vāta
—
raśanānām — of the sannyāsīs (who have almost no cloth)
;
śramaṇānām
—
of the vānaprasthas
;
ṛṣīṇām
—
of the great sages
;
ūrdhva
—
manthinām — of the brahmacārīs
;
śuklayā tanuvā
—
in His original spiritual form, which is above the modes of material nature
;
avatatāra
—
appeared as an incarnation .
Translation
O Viṣṇudatta, Parīkṣit Mahārāja, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was pleased by the great sages at that sacrifice. Consequently the Lord decided to personally exhibit the method of executing religious principles [as observed by brahmacārīs, sannyāsīs, vānaprasthas and gṛhasthas engaged in rituals] and also satisfy Mahārāja Nābhi’s desire. Consequently He appeared as the son of Merudevī in His original spiritual form, which is above the modes of material nature.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O King Parīkṣit! Satisfied with the great sages, wanting to please King Nābhi, and desiring to show the path of the naked performers of austerity, who follow scripture and remain celibate, the Lord then appeared with a body of śuddha-sattva in the womb of Merudevī who was situated in the inner chambers of the palace.
O Parīkṣit (viṣṇudatta)! The Lord appeared in Merudevī, who remained in the inner chambers (tat-avarodhāyane). He desired to show the principles of the naked mendicants. “But children and fools are also naked.” To qualify that, he says that they are performers of austerities. “But atheists also perform austerities.” To qualify this further he says that they are sages, acting with knowledge according to scripture, who do not fall from celibacy. The Lord would appear with a body made of śuddha-sattva (śuklayā).
Thus ends the commentary on the Third Chapter of the Fifth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
Chapter Four
The Activities of Ṛṣabhadeva
Purport
When the Supreme Lord appears or descends as an incarnation within this material world, He does not accept a body made of the three modes of material nature (
sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa
and
tamo-guṇa
). Māyāvādī philosophers say that the impersonal God appears in this material world by accepting a body in the
sattva-guṇa.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī states that the word
śukla
means “consisting of
śuddha-sattva.
” Lord Viṣṇu descends in His
śuddha-sattva
form.
Śuddha-sattva
refers to the
sattva-guṇa
which is never contaminated. In this material world, even the mode of goodness (
sattva-guṇa
) is contaminated by tinges of
rajo-guṇa
and
tamo-guṇa.
When
sattva-guṇa
is never contaminated by
rajo-guṇa
and
tamo-guṇa,
it is called
śuddha-sattva.
Sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam
(
Bhāg.
4.3.23
). That is the platform of
vasudeva,
whereby the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, can be experienced. In
Bhagavad-gītā
(4.7)
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself says:
yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion — at that time I descend Myself.”
Unlike ordinary living entities, the Supreme Lord is not forced by the modes of material nature to appear. He appears
dharmān darśayitu-kāma
— to show how to execute the functions of a human being. The word
dharma
is meant for human beings and is never used in connection with beings inferior to human beings, such as animals. Unfortunately, without being guided by the Supreme Lord, human beings sometimes manufacture a process of
dharma
by concoction. Actually
dharma
cannot be made by man.
Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam.
(
Bhāg.
6.3.19
)
Dharma
is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as the law is given by the state government. Man-made
dharma
has no meaning.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
refers to man-made
dharma
as
kaitava-dharma,
cheating religion. The Supreme Lord sends an
avatāra
(incarnation) to teach human society the proper way to execute religious principles. Such religious principles are
bhakti-mārga.
As the Supreme Lord Himself says in
Bhagavad-gītā:
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja.
The son of Mahārāja Nābhi, Ṛṣabhadeva, appeared on this earth to preach the principles of religion. That will be explained in the Fifth Chapter of this Fifth Canto.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Third Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “Ṛṣabhadeva’s Appearance in the Womb of Merudevī, the wife of King Nābhi.”