35 verses
The Supreme Lord said: Having achieved this human form of life, which affords one the opportunity to realize me, and being situated in my devotional service, one can achieve me, a form of complete bliss, residing within the heart.
Freed from the material coverings composed of the guṇas and imposed on the jīva, by being fixed in knowledge, existing amidst material sense objects but seeing them as insubstantial, a person is not entangled by these insubstantial objects.
Liberated from the upādhis or coverings on the jīva composed of guṇas, a person is not entangled by objects which are insubstantial, though he continues to exist amidst sense objects (guṇeṣu) which are material (māyā-mātreṣu), which have no relationship with the Supreme Lord. He is not attached like a conditioned jīva. Why? He sees those objects to be unreal. He sees only me, Paramātmā.
One should never associate with materialists, who are dedicated to gratifying their genitals and bellies. By following even one of them, one falls into the deepest pit of darkness, just like a blind man who follows another blind man.
Being in this condition, he should not associate with materialists. Nothing is as dangerous as that. The qualities of the materialist are described. He takes pleasure in sex and eating. What to speak of associating with many such people, even association with one of them causes fall down.
The following song was sung by the famous emperor Purūravā. When deprived of his wife, Urvaśī, he was at first bewildered, but by controlling his lamentation he began to feel detachment.
A history is now related. Aila means Purūravā. First he was bewildered and then at Kurukṣetra he met Urvaśī. Worshipping the devatās by fire given by the Gandharvas, he attained her association again on Gandharva-loka. When his lamentation dissipated after enjoyment there, bhakti, jñāna and vairāgya, which had been covered by obstacles previously, appeared in him. Then he sang this song. The Ninth Canto can be consulted for the story.
When she was leaving him, even though he was naked, he ran after her just like a madman and called out in great distress, O my wife! O terrible lady! Please stop!
His previous state of bewilderment is described. O wife! You are cruel, because you are taking away my life. Please stay! Lamenting, he followed her.
Although for many years Purūravā had enjoyed sex pleasure in the evening hours, still he was not satisfied by such insignificant enjoyment. His mind was so attracted to Urvaśī that he did not notice how the nights were coming and going.
The cause of his disturbance is described.
King Aila said: Alas, just see the extent of my delusion! She held my neck in her grip and my heart became polluted by lust. Thus I had no idea how my life was passing.
My heart griped by lust, my life has been spent up.
That lady cheated me so much that I was not aware of the suns existence, since I slept while the sun rose and set. Alas, for so many years I passed my days in vain!
His loss of memory is described. When the sun set I was sleeping, and when the sun rose, I was sleeping. I was not aware whether the sun existed or not. Sūryaḥ should actually be in the accusative case. The third person of the verb veda is poetic license. Amara-koṣa says:
supte yasminn astam eti supte yasminn udeti ca |
aṁśumān abhinirmuktābhyuditau ca yathā-kramam ||
Ahinirmukta means a person who sleeps while the sun sets, and abhyudita means a person who sleeps while the sun rises.
Why was he unaware? He was cheated by Urvaśi. His discrimination had been stolen by her. Bata indicates lamentation. I did not know the days of many years had passed.
Alas! Although I am supposed to be a mighty emperor, the crown jewel of all kings on this earth, I have become bewildered by my body so much that I have become a pet animal in the hands of women!
I have become bewildered by my body (ātmā-sammohaḥ), by which I have become a pet animal of women.
Although I was a powerful lord with great opulence, that woman rejected me as if I were no more than an insignificant blade of grass and departed. And still, naked and without shame, I followed her, crying out to her like a madman.
I am just a pet animal because I followed this woman who left after rejecting me like a blade of grass, even though I was a king.
Where are the great influence, power and sovereignty of a person who runs after that woman who has rejected him like an ass being kicked in the face by his she-ass?
But you have great influence and power? Why are you so miserable? Where is that power for the person who pursues a woman who has rejected him?
What is the use of education or the practice of austerities, and what is the use of studying religious scriptures, of living in solitude and silence, if, after all that, ones mind is stolen by a woman?
For a person like me, education and other acts are all useless.
To hell with me! I am such a fool that I didnt even know what was good for me, although I arrogantly thought I was highly intelligent. Although I achieved the exalted position of a ruler, I allowed myself to be conquered by women as if I were a bullock or a donkey.
Even after I had relished the nectar of the lips of Urvaśī for many years, the desires arising in my mind were never satisfied, just as a fire can never be satisfied by the oblations of ghee poured into its flames.
Desires arising in my mind (ātmā-bhūḥ) were not satisfied though I enjoyed the sweet lips of Urvaśī for many years.
Who but the Supreme Lord, from whom arises sense knowledge and who is the master of self-satisfied sages, can possibly save my consciousness, which has been stolen by a prostitute?
How will I be freed from the taste of her lips and develop distaste? No one, even an ātmārāma, can free the mind of a person delighting in the body. But the master of the ātmārāmas, the Supreme Lord, can do this, because he has the greatest powers (bhagavān) to free me. From the Lord alone comes sense knowledge (akṣaja) which is condemned (adhaḥ).
Because I allowed my intelligence to become dull and because I failed to control my senses, the great confusion in my mind did not go away, even though Urvaśī herself gave me wise counsel with well-spoken words.
But you illusion could be dissipated by a sense of detachment as taught plentifully by Urvaśī. That had no effect. My bewilderment still did not go away.
How can I blame her for my trouble? Since I did not control my senses, I have fallen in illusion, like a person who mistakenly sees a harmless rope as a snake.
I previously said that my discrimination had been stolen by a prostitute. But now I do not blame her. What wicked act has she done to me? None. What harm can a rope do to a person, though he thinks it is a snake? It can do no harm at all. An ignorant person will find fault in the rope. He fears it out of ignorance. Since I have uncontrolled senses, I have lived in this type of illusion.
What is her polluted body, unclean and full of bad odors? What are those attractive features in her, like those of a flower? They are simply a false covering created by illusion.
But the cause of your bewilderment was the woman with excellent qualities, fragrance and sweetness. Her qualities were produced by my lack of discrimination. When one considers factually, what is the use of a body so contaminated? What are those excellent qualities, like those of a flower, such as youth and fragrance? I have projected these qualities on her by my illusion.
One can never decide to whom the body belongs. Does it belong to ones parents, to ones wife, or to ones employer, to the funeral fire, to the dogs and jackals, to the soul, or to friends?
Even ones own body is subject to projected qualities arising from lack of discrimination. Does the body belong to ones parents because they produced it? The word nu indicates conjecture. Does it belong to the wife, because she gives it pleasure? Does it belong to the employer because it gives him pleasure? Does it belong to the cremation fire, because it is offered into the fire as an oblation at death? Does it belong to dogs and jackals because they devour it? Does it belong to the soul, since the soul experiences happiness and distress that the body creates? Does it belong to friends who assist it? This cannot be determined.
Although a man never definitely ascertains the proprietor of the body, he becomes most attached to that impure body headed toward a lowly destination, yet he thinks, What an attractive woman! What a charming nose and smiling face!
One becomes attached to ones body which is ends in a condemned state or is headed for insignificant planets. Attachment is illustrated.
What difference is there between ordinary worms and persons who try to enjoy this material body composed of skin, flesh, blood, muscle, fat, marrow, bone, stool, urine and pus?
What is the difference from worms enjoying like me in a body made of stool, urine and puss? There is no difference.
Yet even a person who understands the actual nature of the body should never associate with women or with men attached to women since the contact of the senses with their objects inevitably agitates the mind.
Though women are disgusting, men associate with them. Therefore association is forbidden. One who discriminates should also not associate with them. He should remain distant even from seeing them, since the mind becomes agitated by contact with sense objects.
Because the mind is not disturbed by that which is neither seen nor heard, the mind of a person who restricts the material senses will automatically be checked in its material activities and become pacified.
But we see that even a sage who lives alone develops a disturbed mind. That is true. It arises from previous impressions of seeing a woman. The correct method is described. When a person does not direct his senses (prāṇān) to women, the unmoving mind becomes calm.
Therefore one should never let his senses associate freely with women or with men attached to women. Even those who are highly learned cannot trust the six senses; what to speak, then, of foolish persons like me.
Avisrabdhaḥ means untrustworthy. One cannot trust the five senses and the mind.
The Supreme Lord said: Having thus chanted this song, Mahārāja Purūravā, enjoyer among the devatās and human beings, gave up the planet of Urvaśī. His illusion destroyed by knowledge, he realized me by bhakti in his mind, and gave up his body.
The King enjoyed among humans and devatās (nṛpa-deva-devaḥ). Realizing me, the abode of prema, in his mind, by means of bhakti, he gave up is body.
An intelligent person should therefore reject all bad association and instead take up the association of devotees. Only they can destroy the dangerous attachments in the mind by their words.
Vyāsaḍgam means dangerous attachment. Only the devotees can cut this attachment. Pious acts, visiting holy places, worship of devatās, and knowledge of scripture cannot do this to the same extent.
My devotees fix their minds on me and do not depend upon anything material. They are always peaceful, endowed with equal vision, and free from possessiveness, false ego, duality and attachment.
Who are these devotees? What are their words which give auspiciousness? Two verses answer. They are not dependent on karma or jñāna, or on devatās or humans for personal gain. Do they depend on you, the Lord? Their minds are fixed on me alone. But Kaṁsa and others also concentrated their minds on you. The devotees are peaceful, without anger. If someone hates them, how can they remain without anger? They see friends, enemies and neutral parties in the same way. This is because they have conquered ahaḍkāra and have no possessiveness. Thus they are calm when praised or disrespected (nirdvandvāḥ). But can they see even sons and wife in the same equal way? They have given up all attachment. Such persons are my devotees.
O greatly fortunate Uddhava! In the association of such saintly devotees there arises constant discussion of me, and those topics destroy the sins of the speaker and listener.
They speak about me only.
Whoever attentively hears, chants and relishes these topics about me becomes faithfully dedicated to me and achieves bhakti to me.
What more remains to be accomplished for the perfect devotee after achieving devotional service unto me, with unlimited qualities in prema, accompanied by the bliss of liberation in Brahman?
What other result remains to be accomplished? Nothing else remains, since bhakti is all results. I have unlimited qualities---ego and possessiveness composed of eternity, knowledge and bliss, manifested in prema, and I am also liberation in Brahman. The bliss of Brahman (ānandānubhava) is a secondary result of prema.
Just as cold, fear and darkness are eradicated for one who has approached a fire, so apathy, fear and ignorance are destroyed for one engaged in serving the devotees of the Lord.
When one uses fire for cooking, cold, fear and darkness are also destroyed as a secondary result. When one serves devotees for perfecting worship, the stupefying influence of karma, fear of saṁsāra, obstacles to worship are destroyed.
The devotees of the Lord, peacefully fixed in absolute knowledge, are the ultimate shelter for those who are repeatedly rising and falling within the fearful ocean of material life. Such devotees are just like a strong boat for drowning persons.
The devotees are the supreme shelter for persons traveling from low to high bodies in the ocean of material life.
Just as food is the life of all creatures, devotees are the bhakti for those desiring bhakti. Just as I am the ultimate shelter for the distressed, devotees are the shelter of those desiring bhakti. Just as religion is the shelter for those desiring help after dying, so my devotees are the only refuge for persons fearful of falling into saṁsāra after having attained bhakti.
Without food the prāṇa cannot function. Food is therefore the prāṇa of living beings. For those who desire bhakti, they seek the devotees, since without the devotees, bhakti cannot be accomplished. I am the shelter and protector of those suffering, who are without shelter. Similarly, the devotees are the protectors of those desiring bhakti. Dharma is the shelter of persons fearing the ropes of time after dying. Similarly devotees, protectors of the path of bhakti, are the shelter for persons fearing the ropes of lust and anger, who are thieves on the road, after they have accepted the path of bhakti.
My devotees bestow eyes to others so they can see me, and are also give illumination to the eye, like the sun when it has risen in the sky. My devotees are the deities, the real friends, and the object of love. They are nondifferent from me.
Moreover, for those who have dedicated themselves to the path of the devotees, the devotees bestow all things necessary. The devotees give eyes to see me directly. This means that they give the nine types of worship. The eyes cannot fulfill their functions without the sun. However, the devotees, situated externally, are the sun which has risen in the sky and illuminate the worship, which is the eye. The devotees alone, and not Indra and others, are worthy of worship for those treading the path of bhakti. The devotees alone, and not parents or relatives, are friends. The devotees alone, and not the body or ones own ātmā, are the object of affection (ātmā). The devotees alone are me, the supreme deity. One should not give them up and worship only me.
Thus losing his desire to see Urvaśī, Mahārāja Purūravā began to wander the earth, free of all material association and completely satisfied within the self.
This verse concludes the story. The name Vaitasena means Purūravā, the son of Vītasena. Vītasena means he whose troops became women by entering Śivas forest. The story of Sudyumna or Vītasena is told in the Ninth Canto. After this, he wandered the earth because he was detached from Urvaśīss place, or was detached from seeing her (urvaśyā loka-niḥspṛhaḥ).
Thus ends the commentary on the Twenty-sixth Chapter of the Eleventh Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
In the Twenty-sixth Chapter, Kṛṣṇa informs Uddhava that association with women causes bewilderment and association with devotees causes enlightenment, by telling the story of Aila. In the last chapter, the Lord said niḥsaḍgo māṁ bhajed vidvān apramatto jitendriyaḥ: without bad association, being attentive, with controlled senses, the wise man should worship me. (SB 11.25.34) It is said that the wise man contemplating his means of success, also contemplates the obstacles to success. Thus, associaton with women is a great obstacle. In order to say that even the person liberated in this body should fear association with women, he describes in two verses the condition of the liberated soul which was already mentioned. Having attained a human body in which my svarūpa can be realized (mat lakṣaṇam), fixing oneself in bhakti (mat dharma), one attains realization of me, the form of supreme bliss, situated within as the regulator.