By regular attendance in classes on the Bhagavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.
PURPORT
Here is the remedy for eliminating all inauspicious things within the heart which are considered to be obstacles in the path of self-realization. The remedy is the association of the Bhagavatas. There are two types of Bhagavatas, namely the book Bhagavata and the devotee Bhagavata. Both the Bhagavatas are competent remedies, and both of them or either of them can be good enough to eliminate the obstacles. A devotee Bhagavata is as good as the book Bhagavatabecause the devotee Bhagavata leads his life in terms of the book Bhagavata and the book Bhagavata is full of information about the Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees, who are also Bhagavatas. Bhagavata book and person are identical.
The devotee Bhagavata is a direct representative of Bhagavan, the Personality of Godhead. So by pleasing the devotee Bhagavata one can receive the benefit of the book Bhagavata. Human reason fails to understand how by serving the devotee Bhagavata or the book Bhagavata one gets gradual promotion on the path of devotion. But actually these are facts explained by Srila Naradadeva, who happened to be a maidservant’s son in his previous life. The maidservant was engaged in the menial service of the sages, and thus he also came into contact with them. And simply by associating with them and accepting the remnants of foodstuff left by the sages, the son of the maidservant got the chance to become the great devotee and personality Srila Naradadeva. These are the miraculous effects of the association of Bhagavatas. And to understand these effects practically, it should be noted that by such sincere association of the Bhagavatas one is sure to receive transcendental knowledge very easily, with the result that he becomes fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. The more progress is made in devotional service under the guidance of the Bhagavatas, the more one becomes fixed in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The messages of the book Bhagavata, therefore, have to be received from the devotee Bhagavata, and the combination of these two Bhagavatas will help the neophyte devotee to make progress on and on.
SB 9.12.9: All these kings in the dynasty of Ikshvaku have passed away. Now please listen as I describe the kings who will be born in the future. From Brihadbala will come Brihadrana.
SB 9.12.10: The son of Brihadrana will be Urukriya, who will have a son named Vatsavriddha. Vatsavriddha will have a son named Prativyoma, and Prativyoma will have a son named Bhanu, from whom Divaka, a great commander of soldiers, will take birth.
SB 9.12.11: Thereafter, from Divaka will come a son named Sahadeva, and from Sahadeva a great hero named Brihadasva. From Brihadasva will come Bhanuman, and from Bhanuman will come Pratikasva. The son of Pratikasva will be Supratika.
SB 9.12.12: Thereafter, from Supratika will come Marudeva; from Marudeva, Sunakshatra; from Sunakshatra, Pushkara; and from Pushkara, Antariksha. The son of Antariksha will be Sutapa, and his son will be Amitrajit.
SB 9.12.13: From Amitrajit will come a son named Brihadraja, from Brihadraja will come Barhi, and from Barhi will come Kritanjaya. The son of Kritanjaya will be known as Rananjaya, and from him will come a son named Sanjaya.
SB 9.12.15: From Kshudraka will come Ranaka, from Ranaka will come Suratha, and from Suratha will come Sumitra, ending the dynasty. This is a description of the dynasty of Brihadbala.
SB 9.12.16: The last king in the dynasty of Ikshvaku will be Sumitra; after Sumitra there will be no more sons in the dynasty of the sun-god, and thus the dynasty will end.
This chapter describes the dynasty in which the great and learned scholar Janaka was born. This is the dynasty of MaharajaNimi, who is said to have been the son of Ikshvaku.
When MaharajaNimi began performing great sacrifices, he appointed Vasishtha to be chief priest, but Vasishtha refused, for he had already agreed to be priest in performing a yajna for Lord Indra. Vasishtha therefore requested MaharajaNimi to wait until Lord Indra‘s sacrifice was finished, but MaharajaNimi did not wait. He thought, “Life is very short, so there is no need to wait.” He therefore appointed another priest to perform the yajna. Vasishtha was very angry at King Nimi and cursed him, saying, “May your body fall down.” Cursed in that way, MaharajaNimi also became very angry, and he retaliated by saying, “May your body also fall down.” As a result of this cursing and countercursing, both of them died. After this incident, Vasishtha took birth again, begotten by Mitra and Varuna, who were agitated by Urvasi.
The priests who were engaged in the sacrifice for King Nimi preserved Nimi‘s body in fragrant chemicals. When the sacrifice was over, the priests prayed for Nimi‘s life to all the demigods who had come to the arena of yajna, but MaharajaNimi refused to take birth again in a material body because he considered the material body obnoxious. The great sages then churned Nimi‘s body, and as a result of this churning, Janaka was born.
The son of Janaka was Udavasu, and the son of Udavasu was Nandivardhana. The son of Nandivardhana was Suketu, and his descendants continued as follows: Devarata, Brihadratha, Mahavirya, Sudhriti, Dhrishtaketu, Haryasva, Maru, Pratipaka, Kritaratha, Devamidha, Visruta, Mahadhriti, Kritirata, Maharoma, Svarnaroma, Hrasvaroma and Siradhvaja. All these sons appeared in the dynasty one after another. From Siradhvaja, mother Sitadevi was born. Siradhvaja’s son was Kusadhvaja, and the son of Kusadhvaja was Dharmadhvaja. The sons of Dharmadhvaja were Kritadhvaja and Mitadhvaja. The son of Kritadhvaja was Kesidhvaja, and the son of Mitadhvaja was Khandikya. Kesidhvaja was a self-realized soul, and his son was Bhanuman, whose descendants were as follows: Satadyumna, Suci, Sanadvaja, Urjaketu, Aja, Purujit, Arishtanemi, Srutayu, Suparsvaka, Citraratha, Kshemadhi, Samaratha, Satyaratha, Upaguru, Upagupta, Vasvananta, Yuyudha, Subhashana, Sruta, Jaya, Vijaya, Rita, Sunaka, Vitahavya, Dhriti, Bahulasva, Kriti and Mahavasi. All of these sons were great self-controlled personalities. This completes the list of the entire dynasty.
SB 9.13.2: “I shall return here after finishing the yajna for Indra. Kindly wait for me until then.” MaharajaNimi remained silent, and Vasishtha began to perform the sacrifice for Lord Indra.
SB 9.13.3: MaharajaNimi, being a self-realized soul, considered that this life is flickering. Therefore, instead of waiting long for Vasishtha, he began performing the sacrifice with other priests.
PURPORT
Canakya Pandita says, sariramkshana-vidhvamsi kalpanta-sthayino gunah: “The duration of one’s life in the material world may end at any moment, but if within this life one does something worthy, that qualification is depicted in history eternally.” Here is a great personality, MaharajaNimi, who knew this fact. In the human form of life one should perform activities in such a way that at the end he goes back home, back to Godhead. This is self-realization.
SB 9.11.27: The palaces, the palace gates, the assembly houses, the platforms for meeting places, the temples and all such places were decorated with golden waterpots and bedecked with various types of flags.
SB 9.11.28: Wherever Lord Ramacandra visited, auspicious welcome gates were constructed, with banana trees and betel nut trees, full of flowers and fruits. The gates were decorated with various flags made of colorful cloth and with tapestries, mirrors and garlands.
SB 9.11.29: Wherever Lord Ramacandra visited, the people approached Him with paraphernalia of worship and begged the Lord’s blessings. “O Lord,” they said, “as You rescued the earth from the bottom of the sea in Your incarnation as a boar, may You now maintain it. Thus we beg Your blessings.”
SB 9.11.30: Thereafter, not having seen the Lord for a long time, the citizens, both men and women, being very eager to see Him, left their homes and got up on the roofs of the palaces. Being incompletely satiated with seeing the face of the lotus-eyed Lord Ramacandra, they showered flowers upon Him.
SB 9.11.31-34: Thereafter, Lord Ramacandra entered the palace of His forefathers. Within the palace were various treasures and valuable wardrobes. The sitting places on the two sides of the entrance door were made of coral, the yards were surrounded by pillars of vaidurya-mani, the floor was made of highly polished marakata-mani, and the foundation was made of marble. The entire palace was decorated with flags and garlands and bedecked with valuable stones, shining with a celestial effulgence. The palace was fully decorated with pearls and surrounded by lamps and incense. The men and women within the palace all resembled demigods and were decorated with various ornaments, which seemed beautiful because of being placed on their bodies.
SB 9.11.35: Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, chief of the best learned scholars, resided in that palace with His pleasure potency, mother Sita, and enjoyed complete peace.
SB 9.11.36: Without transgressing the religious principles, Lord Ramacandra, whose lotus feet are worshiped by devotees in meditation, enjoyed with all the paraphernalia of transcendental pleasure for as long as needed.
SB 9.12 Summary Chapter 12: The Dynasty of Kusa, the Son of Lord Ramacandra
This chapter describes the dynasty of Kusa, the son of Lord Ramacandra. The members of this dynasty are descendants of Sasada, the son of MaharajaIksvaku.
Following in the genealogical table of Lord Ramacandra‘s dynasty, Kusa, the Lord’s son, was followed consecutively by Atithi, Nisadha, Nabha, Pundarika,Ksemadhanva, Devanika, Aniha, Pariyatra, Balasthala, Vajranabha, Sagana and Vidhrti. These personalities ruled the world. From Vidhrti came Hiranyanabha, who later became the disciple of Jaimini and propounded the system of mystic yoga in which Yajnavalkya was initiated. Following in this dynasty were Puspa, Dhruvasandhi, Sudarsana, Agnivarna, Sighra and Maru. Maru attained full perfection in the practice of yoga, and he still lives in the village of Kalapa. At the end of this age of Kali, he will revive the dynasty of the sun-god. Next in the dynasty were Prasusruta, Sandhi, Amarsana, Mahasvan, Visvabahu, Prasenajit, Taksaka and Brhadbala, who was later killed by Abhimanyu. Sukadeva Gosvami said that these were all kings who had passed away. The future descendants of Brhadbala will be Brhadrana, Urukriya, Vatsavrddha, Prativyoma, Bhanu, Divaka, Sahadeva, Brhadasva, Bhanuman, Pratikasva, Supratika, Marudeva, Sunaksatra, Puskara, Antariksa, Sutapa, Amitrajit, Brhadraja, Barhi, Krtanjaya, Rananjaya, Sanjaya, Sakya, Suddhoda, Langala, Prasenajit, Ksudraka, Ranaka, Suratha and Sumitra. All of them will become kings one after another. Sumitra, coming in this age of Kali, will be the last king in the Iksvaku dynasty; after him, the dynasty will be extinguished.
SB 9.12.2: The son of Ksemadhanva was Devanika, Devanika’s son was Aniha, Aniha‘s son was Pariyatra, and Pariyatra’s son was Balasthala. The son of Balasthala was Vajranabha, who was said to have been born from the effulgence of the sun-god.
SB 9.12.3-4: The son of Vajranabha was Sagana, and his son was Vidhrti. The son of Vidhrti was Hiranyanabha, who became a disciple of Jaimini and became a great acarya of mystic yoga. It is from Hiranyanabha that the great saint Yajnavalkya learned the highly elevated system of mystic yoga known asadhyatma-yoga, which can loosen the knots of material attachment in the heart.
SB 9.12.5: The son of Hiranyanabha was Puspa, and the son of Puspa was Dhruvasandhi. The son of Dhruvasandhi was Sudarsana, whose son was Agnivarna. The son of Agnivarna was named Sighra, and his son was Maru.
SB 9.12.6: Having achieved perfection in the power of mystic yoga, Maru still lives in a place known as Kalapa-grama. At the end of Kali-yuga, he will revive the lost Surya dynasty by begetting a son.
PURPORT
At least five thousand years ago, SrilaSukadeva Gosvami ascertained the existence of Maru in Kalapa-grama and said that Maru, having achieved ayoga-siddha body, would continue to exist until the end of Kali-yuga, which is calculated to continue for 432,000 years. Such is the perfection of mystic power. By controlling the breath, the perfect yogi can continue his life for as long as he likes. Sometimes we hear from the Vedic literature that some personalities from the Vedic age, such as Vyasadeva and Asvatthama, are still living. Here we understand that Maru is also still living. We are sometimes surprised that a mortal body can live for such a long time. The explanation of this longevity is given here by the word yoga-siddha. If one becomes perfect in the practice of yoga, he can live as long as he likes. The demonstration of some trifling yoga-siddha does not constitute perfection. Here is a factual example of perfection: a yoga-siddha can live as long as he likes.
During the reign of Lord Ramacandra, the streets of the capital, Ayodhya, were sprinkled with perfumed water and drops of perfumed liquor, thrown about by elephants from their trunks. When the citizens saw the Lord personally supervising the affairs of the city in such opulence, they appreciated this opulence very much.
PURPORT
We have simply heard about the opulence of Rama-rajya during the reign of Lord Ramacandra. Now, here is one example of the opulence of the Lord’s kingdom. The streets of Ayodhya were not only cleaned but also sprinkled with perfumed water and drops of perfumed liquor, which were distributed by elephants through their trunks. There was no need of sprinkling machines, for the elephant has a natural ability to suck water through its trunk and again throw it out in a shower. We can understand the opulence of the city from this one example: it was actually sprinkled with perfumed water. Moreover, the citizens had the opportunity to see the Lord personally supervising the affairs of the state. He was not a sleeping monarch, as we can understand from His activities in sending His brothers to see to affairs outside the capital and punish anyone who did not obey the emperor’s orders. This is called dig-vijaya. The citizens were all given facilities for peaceful life, and they were also qualified with appropriate attributes according to varnasrama. As we have seen from the previous chapter, varnasrama-gunanvitah: the citizens were trained according to the varnasrama system. A class of men were brahmanas, a class of men were kshatriyas, a class were vaisyas, and a class were sudras. Without this scientific division, there can be no question of good citizenship. The King, being magnanimous and perfect in His duty, performed many sacrifices and treated the citizens as His sons, and the citizens, being trained in the varnasrama system, were obedient and perfectly ordered. The entire monarchy was so opulent and peaceful that the government was even able to sprinkle the street with perfumed water, what to speak of other management. Since the city was sprinkled with perfumed water, we can simply imagine how opulent it was in other respects. Why should the citizens not have felt happy during the reign of Lord Ramacandra.
SriKrsna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.
PURPORT
Messages of the Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna are nondifferent from Him. Whenever, therefore, offenseless hearing and glorification of God are undertaken, it is to be understood that Lord Krsna is present there in the form of transcendental sound, which is as powerful as the Lord personally. SriCaitanyaMahaprabhu, in His Sikshastaka, declares clearly that the holy name of the Lord has all the potencies of the Lord and that He has endowed His innumerable names with the same potency. There is no rigid fixture of time, and anyone can chant the holy name with attention and reverence at his convenience. The Lord is so kind to us that He can be present before us personally in the form of transcendental sound, but unfortunately we have no taste for hearing and glorifying the Lord’s name and activities. We have already discussed developing a taste for hearing and chanting the holy sound. It is done through the medium of service to the pure devotee of the Lord.
The Lord is reciprocally respondent to His devotees. When He sees that a devotee is completely sincere in getting admittance to the transcendental service of the Lord and has thus become eager to hear about Him, the Lord acts from within the devotee in such a way that the devotee may easily go back to Him. The Lord is more anxious to take us back into His kingdom than we can desire. Most of us do not desire at all to go back to Godhead. Only a very few men want to go back to Godhead. But anyone who desires to go back to Godhead, SriKrsna helps in all respects.
One cannot enter into the kingdom of God unless one is perfectly cleared of all sins. The material sins are products of our desires to lord it over material nature. It is very difficult to get rid of such desires. Women and wealth are very difficult problems for the devotee making progress on the path back to Godhead. Many stalwarts in the devotional line fell victim to these allurements and thus retreated from the path of liberation. But when one is helped by the Lord Himself, the whole process becomes as easy as anything by the divine grace of the Lord.
To become restless in the contact of women and wealth is not an astonishment, because every living being is associated with such things from remote time, practically immemorial, and it takes time to recover from this foreign nature. But if one is engaged in hearing the glories of the Lord, gradually he realizes his real position. By the grace of God such a devotee gets sufficient strength to defend himself from the state of disturbances, and gradually all disturbing elements are eliminated from his mind.