48 verses
Sūta said: The friend of Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, was thus questioned by his brother, the king, because he presented himself as an object of worry. He had become thin because of separation from Kṛṣṇa.
Arjuna, his lotus heart and face dried up because of grief, with dull complexion, remembering the Lord, could not reply.
sakhyaṁ maitrīṁ sauhṛdaṁ ca sārathyādiṣu saṁsmaran | nṛpam agrajam ity āha bāṣpa-gadgadayā girā || Stopping with difficulty the tears and wiping his eyes with his hands, extremely pained by the increased longing of love due to separation, remembering the pure friendship with Kṛṣṇa, friendship mixed with servitude, and friendship mixed with parental feelings towards Kṛṣṇa, he spoke to the king with choked voice filled with tears.
Stopping the tears of grief (śucaḥ) in his eyes, he wiped those tears which flowed anyway. Because of Kṛṣṇa not being present (parokṣeṇa), he was in pain. Sakhyam is mutual affection and mutual helping each other. Maitrīm is sakhya mixed with dāsya. Sauhròam is sakhya mixed with vātsalya.
Arjuna said: O King! My friend the Lord has left me. He has taken with him my great power which astonished the devatās.
Vañcitaḥ means abandoned. I have been left by my friend, the Lord, who has taken my powers which were given by him.
Just as a dead person without life becomes repulsive, the world which is separated from Kṛṣṇa even for a moment appears repulsive.
This and the verses following till verse thirteen are all connected with the lord in verse five. An example is given to show that what was attractive becomes repulsive without life (ukthena). Eṣa refers to persons like a father.
By taking shelter of him, I stole the power of the kings who had come to Drupadas house for the svayaṁvara ceremony and were mad with lust, then pierced the fish with the strung bow and obtained Draupadī.
Because of taking shelter of him, at the svayaṁvara I stole the power of the kings, and obtained Draupadī.
In his company, I conquered with my strength Indra and the devatās, gave the Khāṇòava forest to Agni, obtained the assembly hall of wonderful construction made by Maya, and presented it to you as a gift at the Rājasūya sacrifice where kings from all directions had assembled.
U expresses astonishment. The Khāṇòava forest belonged to Indra. I obtained the hall made by Maya whom I saved from the burning forest. In that marvelous hall, the sacrifice was held.
By his strength, Bhīma, endowed with the strength and enthusiasm of ten thousand elephants, killed Jarasandha at whose feet kings surrendered for the purpose of the sacrifice, by which kings who had been taken prisoner for Jarāsandhas sacrifice to Śiva were released, and brought gifts to your Rājasūya sacrifice.
He who had kings of his own nature at his feet was Jarāsandha. Tava anuja is Bhīma. Without conquering him, the sacrifice could not be performed. Bhīma had perseverance (sattva) and strength (vīryaḥ). Jarāsandha had gathered them in prison to sacrifice them to Bhairava-śiva. Because they were released, they brought tribute to the sacrifice.
And Bhīma made widows of those whose rascal husbands in the assembly untied and pulled the hair bound up beautifully during the bathing ceremony at the Rājasūya sacrifice of your wife, whose tears fell on the feet of Kṛṣṇa.
You made widows of the wives (tat-striyo krṭa-hateśa-vimukta-keśāḥ) of rascals like Duḥśāsana by whom your wifes hair done up nicely for the bathing ceremony at the Rājasūya sacrifice was untied (vikīrya) and pulled (spṛṣṭam). Yah refers to Bhīma from the previous verse. From Draupadīs face tears fell on the feet of Kṛṣṇa who appeared in her mind by remembrance. Or the phrase can mean Draupadī with a tearful face fell at the feet of Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa, arriving at the forest and eating the remnants from the food pot, saved us from the scheme of our enemy in the form of Durvāsa who is difficult to overcome and who eats with ten thousand followers, because they felt completely satisfied while submerging themselves in the water.
Because of Durvāsa, whose visit was planned out by the enemy; who has a terrible curse; who eats at the head of a line of ten thousand disciples (yaḥ ayutāgra-bhuk), Kṛṣṇa came to us in the forest and saved us, after eating (upayujya) the remnants of food in the pot. Due to that, the group of sages bathing in the water felt satisfied up to the three worlds. The story is told in the Mahābhārata. Once, Duryodhana had Durvāsa as his guest. Durvāsa, satisfied, wanted to grant him a boon. Thinking in his mind that the Pāṇòavas can be destroyed by the curse of Durvāsa, he said, Yudhiṣṭhira is the head of our family. Therefore you should be his guest with your ten thousand disciples. But you should go to their house when Draupadī has eaten and is not hungry. When Durvāsa arrived, Yudhiṣṭhira with great respect invited him for food after Durvāsa had performed the noon bathing rituals. The sages submerged themselves in water for purifying themselves with agha-marṣaṇa. The moment Draupadī thought of Kṛṣṇa he left Rukmiṇīs side and came there immediately out of affection for his devotee. When she told him what had happened, he said, O Draupadī, I want to eat. First feed me. In great shame she said, Oh! This is my misfortune and fortune. The lord of the three worlds, the lord of sacrifice, has come to my house and is asking for food. Thinking like this, she said, O master! My food pot given by the sun god is inexhaustible until I eat. After feeding everyone, I have eaten. There is no more food. She began to weep. With insistence he made her bring the pot and eating the spinach and rice stuck to the edge of the pot, he said, Bring the sages to eat. Bhīma was sent. Bhīma said, Please come and eat. Why are you delaying? Durvāsa, being too full, fled, fearing that they had prepared a meal that could not be eaten.
By his power, Śiva along with Parvatī became astonished at my prowess in fighting and gave me his own weapon; others also gave me their weapons; and in this body I sat on half of Indras throne in his hall.
Śiva with Durgā (sa-girijaḥ) was astonished and gave his own weapon. Other devatās as well gave their weapons. I shared half the throne of Indra (mahad-āsanārdham).
O descendent of Ājamīòha! I have been abandoned by that great person, by whose power, while I was staying in Svarga, the devatās along with Indra took shelter of my strong arms holding the Gāṇòiva bow for killing the Nivātakavacas.
Arāti means Nivātakavaca demons. The devatās took shelter of me for killing them. Yad-anubhāvitam here means by taking powers from Kṛṣṇa. I have been given up (muṣitaḥ) by that excellent (bhūmnā) person.
Having him as a relative, I alone crossed over the ocean of the Kurus strength, infinite in width, filled with formidable creatures, on my chariot, and took abundant wealth of cows and jeweled turbans, symbols of their power, from their head.
I, who had Kṛṣṇa as my relative (yad-bāndhavaḥ), alone, crossed the ocean of the Kuru army, to take back the cows of King Uttara. That army had no end, because of its density and placement. That ocean was filled with formidable creatures (atīrya-sattvam) such as Bhīṣma who were like timiḍgala fish in the ocean. I took wealth in the form of the cows and their turbans, symbols of their power (tejās-padam) from their heads, bewildering them with the mohana weapon.
O master! Situated in front of me as my charioteer, he stole by his glance the karma, minds, enthusiasm to fight, and ability to take up weapons of the mahārathas among the armies of Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Droṇa and Śalya decorated with an array of many royal chariots.
O lord (vibho)! He was situated in front of me as the driver. By his inconceivable influence, he took away (ārcchat) their prārabdha-karma (āyus). By his beauty he stole their minds. By showing his power, he took away their enthusiasm to fight, characterized by sharpness of mind (sahas). By his glance alone he took away their ability to take up weapons (ojas), characterized by sharpness of the senses.
Because I was in the shelter of his arms the weapons of unfailing power released by Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Bhūriśravā, Suśarmā, Śalya, Jayadratha, Valhlīka and others did not touch me, just as the weapons of the demons did not touch Prahlāda.
The weapons of Droṇa and others did not touch me, established (praṇihitam) in the arms of Kṛṣṇa (yad-doḥṣu). Guru means Droṇa. Naptṛ is Bḥūriśravā. Trigarta is the king of Trigarta, Suśarmā. Śala is Śalya. Saindhava is the king of Sindhu, Jayadratha. Bāhlīka was the brother of Śantanu. The weapons had unfailing power (amogho-mahimāni). The word mahitāni is sometimes seen instead. An example of not being harmed by formidable weapons is Prahlāda (nṛhari-dāsam).
I foolishly engaged as my charioteer the Llord, who gives life, whose feet are worshipped by the great souls aspiring for liberation, and by whose influence the enemies on chariots, losing concentration, could not strike me as I stood on the ground with thirsty horses.
Remembering Kṛṣṇas powers in separation, Arjunas dāsya-bhāva appeared. This caused his natural sakhya-bhāva to recede. Thus Arjuna sees that he was offensive to engage Kṛṣṇa as his charioteer and expresses regret in this verse. Sautye means as a charioteer. Great souls worship him for liberation (abhavāya). This individual (myself) with ego did not worship him. But listen to the mercy he showed me, who am such an offender. My horses were tired from lack of water when killing Jayadratha. I got down from the chariot, and piercing the ground produced water. At that time the enemies could not attack me, because by his influence their minds lost concentration.
O King! On remembering Mādhavas joking words, splendid with smiles, charm and eloquence, our conversations, which touched the heart, while he addressed me as Pārtha, Arjuna, friend, joy of Kurus, my heart becomes agitated.
The words touched his heart because of their sweet syllables. Luṭhanti stands for loṭhayanti. Not using the causative form is poetic license.
Because of our intimacy in sleeping, sitting, walking, boasting and eating, I would scold him, saying,O friend! You are truthful! Being exalted, by his greatness he tolerated the offenses of me, a fool, just as a father tolerates a son or a friend tolerates a friend.
Because of our mutual dependence, our oneness, I would scold him with sarcastic words such as O friend you are truthful. Instead of ṛtavān sometimes ṛbhumān (person with servants) is seen. Mahitayā means by his greatness.
O best of kings! Without the Lord, my dear friend, companion, my mind being vacant, like a weakling, I was defeated by criminal cowherds while protecting his queens on the road.
What you guessed--my defeat, also occurred. Without my friend, my mind became vacant (hṛdayena śūnyaḥ). I was almost fainting. Actually the cowherds were not low criminals. Gopa means those who protected (pa) the earth and heavens (go). These persons took the queens away. The Lord took the form of these cowherd men and took away his dear queens so that they could enter into the unmanifest pastimes.
na vayaṁ sādhvi sāmrājyaṁ svārājyaṁ bhaujyam apy uta
vairājyaṁ pārameṣṭhyaṁ ca ānantyaṁ vā hareḥ padam
O saintly lady, we do not desire dominion over the earth, the sovereignty of the King of heaven, unlimited facility for enjoyment, mystic power, the position of Lord Brahmā, immortality or even attainment of the kingdom of God.
kāmayāmaha etasya śrīmat-pāda-rajaḥ śriyaḥ
kuca-kuḍkuma-gandhāòhyaṁ mūrdhnā voòhuṁ gadā-bhṛtaḥ
We simply desire to carry on our heads the glorious dust of Lord Kṛṣṇas feet, enriched by the fragrance of kuḍkuma from His consorts bosom. SB 10.83.41-42
vraja-striyo yad vāñchanti pulindyas tṛṇa-vīrudhaḥ
gāvaś cārayato gopāḥ pada-sparśaṁ mahātmanaḥ
We desire the same contact with the Supreme Lords feet that the young women of Vraja, the cowherd boys and even the aborigine Pulinda women desirethe touch of the dust He leaves on the plants and grass as He tends His cows. SB 10.83.43
From these verses it is understood that the queens desired the form of the Lord that the gopīs hankered for. Otherwise, if the queens, who were directly Lakṣmī, enjoyed by the Lord, were touched by low material persons, they would have immediately disappeared. It is understood that they attained forms as women of Vraja in another manifested pastime. This can be understood from the Viṣṇu and Brahma Purāṇas. Vyāsa also spoke to Arjuna about this:
evaṁ tasya muneḥ śāpād aṣṭāvakrasya keśavam |
bhartāraṁ prāpya tā yātā dasyuhastā varāḍganāḥ ||
Because of the curse of the sage Aṣṭāvakra, the best of women, becoming the wives of Kṛṣṇa, would be touched by the thieves.
Long ago, the heavenly women praised Aṣṭāvakra. He blessed them by saying Viṣṇu will become your husband. Because they laughed at him on seeing his crooked body, he cursed them You will be taken by the thieves. Again being merciful he said that after the curse had ended they would again attain the Lord who would take the form of the thieves. Not being able to avoid the curse and the blessing, they experienced being taken by the thieves and attaining the Lord because of this, since Kṛṣṇa took the form of the thieves. It is also said:
tat tvayā na hi kartavyaḥ śoko lpo pi hi pāṇòava |
tenāpy akhila-nāthena sarvaṁ tad upasaṁhṛtam ||
O Pāṇòava! Do not lament at all. All of the queens have been brought close by the perfect husband Kṛṣṇa.
Akhila-nāthena means by Kṛṣṇa, the perfect husband. Sarvam refers to all the dear queens. Upasaṁhṛtam means brought close to him in a direct way, since this happened through the instrument of Arjuna.
I, the warrior, and the bow, the arrows, the chariot and the horses which made kings bow to me, have become powerless in a moment without the Lord. They are as fruitless as sacrificing ghee into ashes, or as immaterial as getting an illusory gift from a magician, or as perishable as sowing seeds in salty earth.
The reason for all this is the absence of Kṛṣṇa and nothing else. All of these things which caused kings to bow to me, have lost there effect because Kṛṣṇa is absent. Throwing ghee into ashes shows no results. Getting articles from a magician shows their insubstantiality. Sowing seeds in salty earth shows the perishable condition.
O King! Only four or five among our friends in Dvārakā remain. Drinking rice wine, by the curse of a brāhmaṇa they become bewildered, enraged in mind, and killed each other with handfuls of reeds as if not knowing each other.
Among the friends who, having drunk wine, became enraged and killed each other with handfuls of erakā reeds, only a four or five remain.
According to common vision only, the destruction of the Yadus occurred by the will of the Lord, because actually living beings themselves cause their own survival and destruction.
Why did some remain? The destruction of the Yadu family (etad) was the will of the Lord, according to common vision (prāyena), but this is not the real truth, because among themselves (mithaḥ) living beings are the cause of destroying and protecting each other.
Among the aquatics, the big eat the small and weak and those of equal strength or size can eat each other.
Among the fish (jalaukasām) the big eat the small, and the strong can eat an equally strong fish.
The Lord in this way destroyed the Yadus, who became a burden on the earth, with strong Yadus killing other great Yadus.
It is said there that the Lord destroyed the Yadus who became a burden on the earth. This perception was created by the Lord for Arjuna and others. The cause is explained at the end of the Eleventh Canto. Arjuna here says that the Yadus became a burden on the earth, but actually they were the ornaments for the earth. That is because the Yadus were eternal associates of the Lord. Just as a woman does not feel that her ornaments are a weight, so the earth did not feel the weight of the Yadus. Even the devatās who had appeared in the Yadu family cannot be said to be a burden since they also were without rajas and tamas. Therefore the destruction was a means of having the devatās and the eternal associates return to their appropriate destinations. The Lord himself makes reference to the burden:
kiyān bhuvo yaṁ kṣapitoru-bhāro
yad droṇa-bhīṣmārjuna-bhīma-mūlaiḥ
aṣṭādaśākṣauhiṇiko mad-aṁśair
āste balaṁ durviṣahaṁ yadūnām
The burden of the earth caused by the eighteen akṣauhinis formed by Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Arjuna and Bhīma has only been slightly reduced. The intolerable strength of the Yadus remains because of my portions such as Pradyumna. SB 3.3.14
When I remember the words of Govinda which were suitable to place, time and subject, and which calmed the pain in my heart, those words break my heart.
I can say nothing more. Do not ask anything else. When I remember those words of Govinda which were suitable to place, time and subject, they break (haranti) my heart.
Sūta said: When Arjuna contemplated the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa with deep affection, his intelligence, regaining steadiness, became calm.
Though his intelligence was full of pain due to separation, by attaining an appearance of the Lord from his continuous contemplation of the Lord, he became pacified, since his burning pain was extinguished. His intelligence became free of the contamination of unsteadiness (vimalā).
Arjuna had his intelligence completely freed of all contaminations by intense bhakti which was completely filled with meditation on the feet of Vāsudeva.
But the word mala means things contaminations like lust. That is true. But because Arjuna is not just an associate of the Lord, but the avatāra Nara, it is impossible for him to have such contamination. But perhaps we can say that his being an aṁśa of Indra can have contamination. That also cannot be. This verse explains. Arjuna had intelligence (dhiṣaṇa) completely free (nirmathita) of all contaminations (kaṣāya) such as lust from the very beginning by bhakti which appeared from his birth.
Arjuna again understood the knowledge sung by the Lord in the battlefield, which was not forgotten by the influence of time, action or darkness caused by separation from the Lord.
It is said that when a person is burning in separation from a beloved person, by remembering the words of the beloved the flames of that pain are extinguished. Therefore he began to recite the nectar of the Gītā which emanated from the cooling moon-like mouth of the Lord. This relieved him of all pain. That knowledge of Gītā was not forgotten (aruddham) by the influence of time, action or ignorance. Tamas here means the situation similar to darkness caused by separation from the Lord.
By the wealth of friendship with Kṛṣṇa he destroyed his lamentation. He vanquished all doubts about separation from the Lord. Since he was beyond the guṇas by his nature though difficult to perceive, and therefore was without a subtle body, he had no birth in the material world.
In the Gītā it is said:
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru |
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo si me ||
Being my devotee, offer your mind to me. Offer articles to me in worship.. Offer respects to me. I promise that you will come to me without doubt, for you are most dear to me. BG 18.65
In that verse Kṛṣṇa said You will come to me without doubt. This was indicated in the future. O Arjuna! At the right time you will come to me. But out of affection I today speak to you the method when you will try to attain me because of great separation in the future.
I have constantly practiced the process of meditation that you taught to attain you. By that meditation I think of myself as the ātmā next to the body. But still, my body is an obstacle, because the body gradually makes me think of external objects, and throws me into the ocean of lamentation. Therefore I have decided that I will cultivate what is known as yoga previously practiced which is like the weapon of knowledge recommend in all scriptures to separate the soul from this body. Though I am a spiritual entity, not inquiring whether I am an eternal associate of Kṛṣṇa or a friend of Nārāyaṇa, I understand that I am a material human with uncontrolled prema. I have come to the perfection of yoga (yogārūòha) for a second only to cover that condition. That is explained in this verse.
By attainment of the wealth of brahman, lamentation vanishes. This is a statement of Sūta, according to his understanding. Actually, giving up the wealth of the material world, one becomes free of lamentation by attaining dear friendship with Kṛṣṇa in his manifested and unmanifested pastimes (brahma-sampattyā). One should completely cut the doubt of duality. One has the doubt Do I have a relationship with the body or not? Arjunas doubt is as follows. Actually, though there is a difference between Kṛṣṇa and me, the doubt is that previously because of mutual friendship, there was oneness between us, but now there is separation (dvaita). Will Kṛṣṇa again bring me to the oneness of happy friendship?
Or the meaning can be: he cuts the contemplative doubt He will drown me in the ocean of suffering by separation (dvaita)?
Nor should there be fear of further material existence for even the person born in the material world. Because of merging prakṛti into the substance without quality, he has no rebirth. The meaning is clear. However, actually, there is no rebirth because he does not have a subtle body (aliḍgatvāt) since he is beyond the guṇas (nairgunyāt), being Kṛṣṇas friend by his very nature (prakṛti) which is difficult to perceive (līna).
Or there is another meaning. Arjuna as an aṁśa of Indra was a jīvan-mukta (who had a material body but gave it up). Thus he was without lamentation. He was free of lamentation and illusion arising from investigating the material world (sañchinna- dvaita-saṁśayaḥ). This is because he was beyond the guṇas, having merged prakṛti into the guṇas. With the disappearance of the subtle body he would not take birth again.
Hearing the arrangements of the Lord and the proper situation of the Yadu family, without others knowing, Yudhiṣṭhira fixed his mind on attaining Kṛṣṇas abode.
Marga means the way, the skilful arrangement. According to the proper conclusions being presented, they had a proper (sam) situation (sthām) within the Lords manifested and unmanifested pastimes in a spiritual condition. There was however a destruction of the external conditions. Svaḥ refers to Kṛṣṇas spiritual abode. It is said:
na vā idaṁ rājarṣi-varya citraṁ
bhavatsu kṛṣṇaṁ samanuvrateṣu
ye dhyāsanaṁ rāja-kirīṭa-juṣṭaṁ
sadyo jahur bhagavat-pārśva-kāmāḥ
O best of kings! It is not surprising that those desiring to associate with the Lord, born in the Pāṇòava family and devoted solely to Kṛṣṇa, immediately gave up the royal throne served by kings' crowns. SB 1.19.20
sampadaḥ kratavo lokā mahiṣī bhrātaro mahī
jambūdvīpādhipatyaṁ ca yaśaś ca tri-divaṁ gatam
kiṁ te kāmāḥ sura-spārhā mukunda-manaso dvijāḥ
adhijahrur mudaṁ rājñaḥ kṣudhitasya yathetare
O brāhmaṇa! He had all wealth, sacrifices, planets, queens, brothers, the earth, lordship over Jambū-dvīpa, and fame in Svarga, desirable even for the devatās. Did these things give joy to the king, whose mind was only fixed on Mukunda without deviation and nothing else? SB 1.12.5-6
Though only Yudhiṣṭhira is mentioned, the same applies to all the Pāṇòavas. All five brothers made up their minds to attain Kṛṣṇas abode. Nibhṛtātmā means that their thinking was not revealed to others.
Hearing from Arjuna about the disappearance of the Yadus and the Lords attaining his abode, Kuntī became absorbed in the Lord with pure devotion, and disappeared from the pastimes in the world.
This describes her method of disappearing. Saṁsṛteḥ means from moving clearly, from her appearance for pastimes in this world. She suddenly disappeared (upararāma). Or the moment she heard the news, she showed a condition of an aged person (inactive) because of the separation from the Lord.
Regarding both burdens equally, the Lord separated himself from that portion of the Yadus by which he removed the burden of the earth, like removing a thorn with another thorn.
Here the esoteric conclusion is presented to pacify Śaunaka and the sages who were in grief on hearing about the final condition of the Yadus. By that body consisting of the Yadus in the form of the devatās, he removed the burden of the earth (bhuvaḥ) which arises from the Lord, like removing a thorn with the tip of another thorn, and then gave up that body. It is like saying Devadatta gave up his cloth. He let that body fall away from his presence. The verse does not say he gave up that body of the Yādavas by which he performs eternal pastimes. The meaning is this. The devatās, at the time of appearing with the Lord in their aṁśa forms, entered into the eternal forms belonging to the Yādavas. Separating from those eternal forms by the power of yoga when they went to Prabhāsa, they were made to attain Svarga with the forms of devatās after drinking the liquor by the Lord who showed to the world that they had given up bodies by the power of māyā. This is according to the explanation in the Eleventh Canto. The Yādavas who were eternal associates of the Lord disappeared from the sight of the world but remained in pastimes with Kṛṣṇa in the same Dvārakā as before. This is understood from Bhāgavatāmṛtas conclusions. The two burdens the burden to the earth in the form of the demons and the burden in the form of devatās who entered the forms of Yādavas were regarded as the same by the Lord (īśituḥ samam). However in the example though two thorns are equal, the tip of the thorn as the instrument, is the internal portion (under the Lords influence) acting as assistant to the Lords pastimes. The other thorn, the object of action, though also acting as an assistant to the Lords pastimes, is the external portion (under the influence of māyā). Amara-koṣa says sūcy-agre kṣudra-śatrau ca lomaharṣe ca kaṇṭakaḥ: kaṇṭaka means the tip of a needle, an insignificant enemy, hair standing on end.
Just as the Lord maintains forms such as Matsya and gives them up, and just as a magician makes a show of giving up his body, the Lord made a show of giving up his body by which he relieved the burden of the earth.
Like a magician, Kṛṣṇa displayed a false show of giving up of his own body. The Lord maintains (datte) various forms and gives them up. He does not assume forms and then give them up. Even when he gives up these forms, he still has these forms. That is the meaning. How can one understand this? Just as a magician (naṭaḥ) gives up his body by cutting it, burning it or losing consciousness, and shows this to all people and makes them believe it, and still maintains his body and does not die, the Lord maintains his forms such as Matsya, and while maintaining gives them up also. Just as the magician still has his body and the giving up of the body is illusion, so Lord has real forms such as Matsya and giving them up is illusory. And just as the Lord maintains various forms and produces the illusion of giving them up, in giving up that body by which he removed the burden of the earth, Kṛṣṇa did not give up his body. That is an illusion. The Lord does not take on a form of a human like an actor, though he is brahman in human form, since his body is not material. In Mahābhārata it is said na bhūta-saḍgha-saṁsthāno deho sya paramātmanaḥ: the body of the Lord is not associated with material elements. Viṣṇu Purāṇa says:
yo vetti bhautikaṁ dehaṁ kṛṣṇasya paramātmanaḥ |
sa sarvasmād bahiḥ kāryaḥ śrauta-smārta-vidhānataḥ |
mukhaṁ tasyāvalokyāpi sa-cailaḥ snānam ācared ||
He who thinks that Kṛṣṇas body is material should be excluded from all actions of śruti and smṛti. If one sees him one should bathe with ones clothes on.
In Vaiśampāyana-sahasra-nāma-stotra the Lord is called amṛtāṁśo mṛta-vapur: he has a body which is immortal; he has limbs which are immortal. In his commentary Śaḍkarācārya says amṛtaṁ maraṇa-rahitaṁ vapur: amṛta means that his body is without death. There is another meaning of jahyāt. Jahyāt means he gives up and but it also implies (by giving up) he gives or bestows. The Lord bestows forms like Nārāyaṇa who had entered his body when he appeared on earth to the devotees situated in Vaikuṇṭha and other spiritual abodes for nourishing them. This is explained at the end of the Eleventh Canto.
When Lord Mukunda, whose topics are worthy of hearing, left this earth by means of his spiritual body, from that day onwards Kali, the cause of inauspiciousness, entered those whose intelligence was sleeping.
This verse clarifies the condition of his giving up his body. When he left with his body (sva-tanvā) means according to Śrīdhara Svāmī leaving to Vaikuṇṭha with his body. He gave up the earth by means of his body. It does not mean He gave the earth along with his body. That is a wrong interpretation, because of the rule upapada-vibhakteḥ kāraka-vibhaktir balīyasī: instrumental meaning of inflection is stronger than the meaning accompanying.
pradarśyātapta-tapasām avitṛpta-dṛśāṁ nṛṇām
ādāyāntar adhād yas tu sva-bimbaṁ loka-locanam
The Lord, having shown his form, the center of attraction for all eyes, then took that form and disappeared from the men, who had not performed austerities but had attained the Lord's mercy, and were continually craving a vision of his form. SB 3.2.11
In this verse after showing his form (sva-bimbam) to the eyes of the world, he again withdrew it and disappeared. The verse does not say he gave up a body. The Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha makes this point. From that moment onwards (tadāhaḥ), Kali entered those with sleeping intelligence. Kali did not affect those who had discrimination. The thief steals wealth from a sleeping person, but is afraid to steal from someone awake.
Wise Yudhiṣṭhira, seeing the wheel of irreligion with greed, lying, dishonesty, and violence spreading everywhere in towns, road, houses and body, dressed himself suitably to leave.
Paryadhāt means he put on the appropriate clothing for traveling.
The King enthroned in Hastināpura his grandson Parīkṣit who had observed the rules suitable for kings and had qualities equal to his own as master of the lands surrounded by the ocean.
He enthroned as king Parīkṣit who had observed rules proper for a king (viniyatam), and was equal in qualities to himself. Toya-nīvyāḥ means of the land belted by the oceans.
He enthroned Vajra as the king of Śūrasena in Mathurā and then being capable, performing pṛajāpatya sacrifice, placed within himself the fires.
Vajra was the son of Aniruddha. Nirūpya means performing. Apibat means he fixed within himself. Īśvaraḥ means capable.
Giving up all clothing and bracelets, he was free of thoughts of I and mine and the unlimited bonds of attraction.
He offered the voice and other senses into the mind, the mind into the prāṇa, the prāṇa into apāna, apāna along with excretion into death, and death into the body.
Like Arjuna, Yudhiṣṭhira attempts to stop the senses from acting externally. Vācam (speaking) represents all the senses. He offered all the senses into the mind, because the senses are dependent on the mind. He offered the mind into the prāṇa because the mind is dependent on prāṇa. He gave the mind to the prāṇa. O mind! I have given the senses to you. They are yours. I have no use for them now. This is the contemplation. This is the method because it is actually impossible to offer them since the senses are independent. Thus the dative case is not used. All other steps in the procedure are similar. To whom do I belong? He offered the mind into prāṇa. He offered the prāṇa into the apāna (itare). This is understood from the context. Apāna is in charge of excretion. He offered the apāna and excretion into death, the presiding deity of excretion. In offering voice and other senses and mind and prāṇa, it should be understood that he also offered the actions, speaking, thinking etc. He offered death into the combination of the five gross elements, the body. His meditation was O death! You belong to the body.
He offered the body into the three guṇas and the three guṇas into prakṛti. He offered everything into the jīva and offered the jīva into indestructible Kṛṣṇa.
Where will the five elements be situated? He offered the body of five elements into the three guṇas (tritve). He offered the three into one aggregate, a portion of māyā. He offered all that into the jīva. Ajuhavīt is poetic license for ajohavīt. Jīva! This portion of māyā, with the three guṇas is yours. Remain separate from that and do not come under its control. He offered the jīva into the brahman. Offering the kingdom to Parīkṣit, Mathurā to Vraja, distancing himself from all those relationships, he became oblivious to the external world. Offering the senses and the rest to their respective controllers, he became oblivious to internal functions. The jīva belongs to Kṛṣṇa or brahman. The aggregate of māyā belongs to the jīva. The guṇas belong to the aggregate. The five elements belong to the guṇas. Death belongs to the five elements of the body. Apāna belongs to death. Prāṇa belongs to apāna. The mind belongs to prāṇa. The senses belong to the mind. The sense objects belong to the senses. The enjoyer of the sense objects is Parīkṣit, not me. It should be understood however that because Yudhiṣṭhira is an eternal associate of the Lord, this meditation where he considers his eternal form to be a temporary body is of no significance at all.
He wore torn cloth, did not eat, stopped speaking, shaved his head, and showed himself as a dumb or insane person or a ghost.
Two verses describe his total disregard for the external world. Baddha-vāk means not speaking.
Not waiting for his brothers, not hearing anything as if deaf, he left the house. Meditating on Kṛṣṇa in the heart, he went in the northern direction where great souls had previously gone, from which one does not return.
He did not wait for his brothers (anavekṣamāṇaḥ). He decided to carry out the method taught by the Lord in man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ to attain Kṛṣṇa in some solitary place, without disturbance, since he had now given up all responsibilities. This verse describes his action to achieve that. Param brahman means Kṛṣṇa.
Seeing that Kali, the friend of irreligion, had influenced the citizens on earth, all his brothers decided to follow him.
They decided, Let us also take up his mentality to attain Kṛṣṇa.
They who had performed all duties such as dharma and artha as it should be done, understanding the endless nature of those duties, meditated on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa with their minds.
They performed everything such as dharma and artha as it should be done (sādhu-kṛta-sarvārthā), and understanding that these duties were endless for them, they concentrated on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa with their minds. Śrīdhara Svāmī takes ātyantikam to modify Kṛṣṇas lotus feet. Having executed artha, dharma, kāma and mokṣa perfectly, understanding the infinite nature of Kṛṣṇas lotus feet, they meditated on those feet.
Having pure intelligence, with minds solely on the Lord, whose portion is Nārāyaṇa, by profuse bhakti with meditation on Kṛṣṇa, they attained the goal, unattainable by the materialists, the pure abode of the Lord, with their pure bodies.
They had intelligence unmixed with jñāna, yoga or other things. Thus they were fixed in intelligence (ekānta-matayaḥ). What was the goal? They attained the dwelling place free of all faults (vidhūta-kalmaṣāsthānam). Or this can refer to Kṛṣṇas abode where there was the Sudharmā hall. How did they attain it? They attained it in their same spotless bodies (virajenātmanā) devoid of their devatā expansions such as Yamarāja (for Yudhiṣṭhira). They did not give up their bodies.
Vidura also, by absorbing his mind in Kṛṣṇa, gave up his body at Prabhāsa and went to his abode escorted by Pitṛs.
Vidura was an incarnation of a devatā, not an eternal associate. Therefore he gave up his body. The Pitṛs had come to lead him to his abode. Svakṣayam means his place of jurisdiction.
Draupadī, understanding that her husbands had become indifferent to her, concentrated her mind on Vāsudeva and attained him.
Subhadrā and others did the same. Since it is not mentioned that she gave up her body, in that body she attained the Lord (since she was an eternal associate).
He who hears with faith about the departure of the Pāṇòavas, dear to the Lord, as described herein, after attaining pure blessings, will attain the perfect stage of devotion to the Lord.
Iti samprayāṇam means the departure as herein described and not otherwise. Siddhim means the state of perfection.
In the Fifteenth Chapter, hearing the lamentation of Arjuna, and seeing the entrance of Kali, the King enthrones his grandson, and giving up the kingdom, marches to death with his brothers.
Arjuna became the object of doubt (vikalpitaḥ) for the king: was it because of this or was it because of that? The cause was Arjunas worrisome condition. He had become thin because of separation from Kṛṣṇa.