44 verses
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Lord Brahmā then set off for Dvārakā, accompanied by his own sons as well as by the devatās and the great Prajāpatis. Lord Śiva, the bestower of auspiciousness to all living beings, also went, surrounded by many ghostly creatures.
gandharvāpsaraso nāgāḥ siddha-cāraṇa-guhyakāḥ ṛṣayaḥ pitaraś caiva sa-vidyādhara-kinnarāḥ
dvārakām upasañjagmuḥ
sarve kṛṣṇa-didṛkṣavaḥ
vapuṣā yena bhagavān
nara-loka-manoramaḥ
yaśo vitene lokeṣu
sarva-loka-malāpaham
The powerful Indra, along with the Maruts, Ādityas, Vasus, Aśvinīs, Ṛbhus, Aḍgirās, Rudras, Viśvedevas, Sādhyas, Gandharvas, Apsarās, Nāgas, Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Guhyakas, the great sages and forefathers and the Vidyādharas and Kinnaras, arrived at the city of Dvārakā, hoping to see Lord Kṛṣṇa. By his form, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, enchanted all human beings, spread his own fame throughout the worlds, and destroyed all contamination within the universe.
They desired to see Kṛṣṇa by whose body he attracted all men. This indicates that his body is non-different from himself, unlike the jīva. It is said deha-dehi-vibhāgaś ca neśvare vidyate kvacit: there is no difference in the Lord between his body and himself. (Kūrma Purānā)1
In that resplendent city of Dvārakā, rich with all superior wealth, the devatās beheld with unsatiated eyes the wonderful form of Kṛṣṇa.
In Dvārakā (tasyām) they saw Kṛṣṇa.
The devatās covered the Supreme Lord of the universe with flower garlands brought from the gardens of heaven. Then they praised him, the best of the Yadu dynasty, with statements containing charming words and ideas.
The garlands were obtained (upagaiḥ) from the gardens of Svarga. They praised Kṛṣṇa with meaningful words in attractive verses.
The devatās said: O Lord! Persons striving for liberation from the severe bondage of karma meditate with great devotion upon your lotus feet within their hearts. Dedicating our intelligence, senses, vital air, mind and power of speech to you, we bow down at your lotus feet.
We offer respects to your lotus feet with our hearts, the seat of intelligence, with our senses such as the eyes, feet and arms, with the body possessing prāṇa. One offers respects using the different limbs:
dorbhyāṁ padābhyāṁ jānubhyām urasā śirasā dṛśā |
manasā vacasā ceti praṇāmoṣṭāḍga īritaḥ ||
Offering respects with eight limbs means using the arms, feet, knees, chest, head, eyes, mind and words. Quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 8.162
Persons desiring liberation meditate upon those lotus feet, but do not see them. We however have seen those feet and thus offer respects. What great fortune we have!
O unconquerable Lord! You create, maintain and destroy the inconceivable universe by māyā made of the three guṇas, all within your own self. You are situated in the guṇas of māyā but are not contaminated by your actions since you, who cannot be criticized, are engaged in unobstructed bliss.
We, who are also controllers, praise you because you are the supreme, inconceivable controller. You create, maintain and destroy the universe (vyaktam). You are situated within the guṇas of the universe as the controller of māyā. Though you carry out creation and destruction you are not contaminated by those actions because you are engaged in your unobstructed happiness. Since the jīva is covered by ignorance in his happiness, he suffers because of no bliss. Thus he is contaminated by his actions. You cannot be criticized (anavadyaḥ) but the jīva can.
O worshipable Lord! Those whose consciousness is polluted by pride cannot purify themselves by knowledge, study of the Vedas, charity, austerity or ritual activities. O best among the avatāra with pure bodies! Pure souls who have developed a profuse, excellent faith in your glories, nourished by hearing scripture, become completely purified.
Just as everyone should worship your lotus feet, they should also hear and remember your glories. O worshippable Lord! Purification does not take place by knowledge and other processes because their hearts are generally contaminated by pride in those processes. O best among the avatāras with śuddha-sattva bodies! Purification will take place by abundant, superior faith in hearing remembering and glorifying your fame, which is nourished by hearing scripture.
May the lotus feet of your lordship whom sages contemplate with hearts melted by prema to attain the highest bliss, and whom devotees, accepting you as their master, worship in four forms three times a day for attaining prema and for giving up desire for Svarga, burn up our desire for enjoyment!
We have seen those lotus feet which should be contemplated and worshipped. We aspire for those lotus feet. May those feet burn up our desires for material enjoyment! You are contemplated by the sages in their hearts melted with prema. Your devotees, for whom you exist as the Lord (ātmā), worship you for liberation such as sārṣṭi (sama-vibhūtaye) or for prema (vibhūtaye) possessed by the devotees who see equally (sama) heaven, liberation and hell. We worship you for giving up desire for Svarga. Prahlāda has said:
yadi dāsyasi me kāmān varāṁs tvaṁ varadarṣabha
kāmānāṁ hṛdy asaṁrohaṁ bhavatas tu vṛṇe varam
O my Lord, best of the givers of benediction, if you at all want to bestow a desirable benediction upon me, then I pray from you that within the core of my heart there be no material desires. SB 7.10.7
Sacrificers, taking oblations in their cupped hands, mediate upon you in the sacrificial fires using rules defined in the three Vedas. Similarly, the yogīs, absorbed in ātmā, meditate upon you, desiring knowledge of how to cross māyā. The most elevated devotees worship you with no material desires.
You are worshipped not only by devotees but by performers of karma and jñāna. Taking oblations with cupped hands, the sacrificers contemplate you in the sacrificial fires. They meditate that Indra and others are your vibhūtis, representing your arms and other limbs. And the yogīs who are inquisitive about crossing māyā, meditate on you. The highest devotees however worship you without any desires (parīṣṭaḥ). May your lotus feet burn up all of our material desires!
O almighty Lord! You accept worship with the withered flower garland that we have prepared with devotion, with which Lakṣmī must compete like a jealous co-wife. May your lotus feet always act as a blazing fire to consume the inauspicious desires within our hearts!
You consider the withered garlands offered by your dedicated devotees to be superior to most attractive Lakṣmī. This is your affection for your devotee. Lakṣmī competes like a co-wife with the withered garland. She thinks, The withered garland resides on the Lords chest where I reside. Not interested in Lakṣmī, you think, I cannot give up the withered garland since it has been offered by my unalloyed devotee. You accept the offering attentively prepared with devotion. That the garland competes with Lakṣmī is an appearance only, since no one can actually compete with Lakṣmī.
O powerful Lord! May that foot which is like a victory flag, endowed with great power during your appearance as Vāmana, with banners falling upon the three worlds like the Gaḍgā River, bestowing fear in the demon troops to drive them to hell, and bestowing fearlessness to the devatā armies for taking them to Svarga, purify us of our sins!
You lotus feet have been realized by all people. May your foot, like a raised victory flag, purify us. Endowed with great powers when you appeared as Vāmana avatāra (trivikrama-yutaḥ), the flag is endowed with three banners, or with its banner falls like the Gaḍgā over the three worlds. It creates fear in the demon army for sending them to hell and fearlessness in the devatā army for sending them to Svarga. May this foot purify us worshippers of sin! Another version has aghāt. The possessive case in bhajatām is poetic license. Śruti says caraṇaṁ pavitraṁ vitataṁ purāṇaṁ yena pūtas tarati duṣkṛtāni: we become pufified and can cross saṁsāra by that pure, ancient foot which extended itself. (Mahā-nārāyaṇa upaniṣad)
Like oxen bound through the nose, embodied beings like Brahmā who are suffering in competition with each other, are controlled by you, the controller, superior to prakṛti and the jīva. May the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord bestow fortune upon us!
You are worshipped by the people. Why do you devatās worship me? Brahmā and others are under the control of the Lord, like oxen bound up by their noses. They mutually suffer through competition by qualities like envy. This shows that they are powerless since their controller (kālasya) is not like that. You have no controller. You are superior to prakṛti and the jīva.
You are the cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of this universe. They say that you are the controller of prakṛti, jīva and the elements such as mahat-tattva. You are the year made of three parts, moving imperceptibly, causing destruction of all things. You are the Supreme Lord.
This verse explains the Supreme Lord mentioned in the previous verse. You are the cause of creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe. They say that you are the controller (kālam) of the cause called prakṛti (avyakta), which is the covering; the cause of the jīva who is covered by prakṛti; the cause of the elements such as mahat-tattva, which are coverings made of the products of prakṛti. You are also the year having three naves of four months, with imperceptible movement (rayaḥ). You are supreme because you are superior to the effects, the cause and the jīva. Gītā says:
yasmāt kṣaram atīto ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ |
ato smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||
Because I am superior to the jīvas, to the Brahman and to the puruṣa known as Paramātmā, and even to the other forms of Bhagavān, I am celebrated in the Vedas and the smṛtis, as the Supreme Person. BG 15.18
The original puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu, obtains his powers from you and establishes mahat-tattva, the womb of the universe, through māyā. Then the mahat-tattva, obedient to māyā, produces from itself the golden shell of the universe with its coverings.
The Lord is superior to the jīva. He is also superior to Mahāviṣṇu who glances over prakṛti. Mahāviṣṇu obtains his power from you. By māyā he supports mahaṭ-tattva (vīryam), which is like the womb of the universe. Mahat-tattva, obedient to māyā, creates the universe from itself.
O Lord of the senses! You are the ultimate controller of all moving and nonmoving living entities since you are unaffected even though you contact the sense objects through the action of the senses, which are transformations of the guṇas arising from māyā. On the other hand, other living entities, even yogīs, are frightened of the sense objects that they have renounced by their choice.
Thus you alone are the Supreme Lord. Therefore, you are the controller of the non-moving and moving beings. O controller of the senses! You, the creator, control the universe, since you contact sense objects attained by actions of the senses arising from māyā, by means of the jīva, and are not contaminated. Others, such as yogīs, however, are afraid of contacting the senses objects, which they have given up by their own decision. They become bound just by desires.
Sixteen thousand wives are unable to disturb your mind and senses by their lust, which is like the arrows of Cupid, by their bold messages of love sent by their eyebrows made attractive with their intentions, shown by their smiling glances.
You are also not disturbed by spiritual objects. Your sixteen thousand wives could not agitate you with portions of lust, similar to arrows of Cupid, bold messages of love sent by their eyebrows, attractive with their intentions shown by their smiling glances. Because they are functions of the Lords spiritual energy, his wives are not material representatives of lust, but are representatives of spiritual love. The Lord was not agitated by them since he wanted to show that he is not under the control of his energies. However, Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi states that among the queens, some are filled with prema. This is shown when Kṛṣṇa falls under the control of his queen and steals the pārijātā tree from Svarga. Thus you are controlled by prema but not by lust, whether vulgar or extraordinary. Or the verse can mean that Kṛṣṇa is not disturbed by the queens to the extent that he is disturbed by the gopīs. The meaning in any case is that Kṛṣṇa is controlled by the queens to the extent that they have prema.
The nectar-bearing rivers of discussions about you, and also the holy rivers generated from the bathing of your lotus feet, are able to destroy all contamination within the three worlds. Those who are striving for purification associate with the holy narrations of your glories by hearing them with their ears and they associate with the holy rivers flowing from your lotus feet by physically bathing in them.
Since you are not contaminated, the nectar of your topics and your foot water liberate persons bound by saṁsāra. Topics about you which are nectar and pure rivers arising as your foot water such as the Gaḍgā can destroy the contamination of ignorance. How? They hear Purāṇas uttered by guru (ānuśravam), which contain nectar of your pastimes, by the ears and bathe in the holy waters with their limbs. Persons striving for purity (śuci-ṣadaḥ) serve these two tīrthas.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After Brahmā, along with Lord Śiva and the other devatās, thus offered prayers to Govinda, Brahmā situated himself in the sky and addressed the Lord as follows.
Brahmā said: O Lord! Previously we requested you to remove the burden of the earth. O unlimited Lord! That request has certainly been fulfilled.
But you requested Kṣīrodakaśāryī Viṣṇu, not me. You are unlimited! You are the source of all the avatāras! That Viṣṇu form is also part of your svarūpa.
You have reestablished the principles of religion among pious men who are always firmly bound to the truth. Everywhere you have also distributed your glories which destroy the sins of all worlds.
Vikṣiptā means distributed.
Descending into the dynasty of King Yadu, you have manifested your unsurpassed form, and for the benefit of the entire universe you have executed magnanimous deeds.
O Lord! Those pious and saintly persons who in the age of Kali hear about and glorify your pastimes will easily cross over the darkness of the age.
O Supreme Lord! O master! Descending in the Yadu dynasty, you have passed one hundred and twenty-five years.
Śarac-chatam means one hundred years.
tataḥ sva-dhāma paramaṁ viśasva yadi manyase sa-lokāl loka-pālān naḥ pāhi vaikuṇṭha-kiḍkarān
Support of all things! There is nothing remaining at this time for you to do on behalf of the devatās. You have almost withdrawn your dynasty by the curse of the brāhmaṇas. If you so desire, kindly return now to your supreme abode. At the same time, we humbly beg that you always protect us and the inhabitants of the planets since we are your servants.
Now nothing remains to be done for the devatās. Your family has almost disappeared. Naṣṭa here means became invisible. Enter into Dvārakā, a form which is beyond material senses in your form as Kṛṣṇa, and enter into Vaikuṇṭha in your form as Nārāyaṇa, since you have made your appearance on earth along with all your aṁśas.
The Supreme Lord said: O lord of the devatās, Brahmā! I understand your prayers and request. Having removed the burden of the earth, I have executed everything that was required on your behalf.
The Yādava dynasty which has increased in power, courage, and wealth, threatening to spread over the whole world, has been confined to Dvārakā by me, just as ocean is confined by the shore.
The Yadus cannot be defeated (uddhatam) in wealth, strength and enthusiasm in fighting. They desire to spread over the world since they are unlimited in numbers, but I have confined them to Dvārakā by my inconceivable energy. Otherwise the whole of the earth planet is insufficient for them.
If I were to leave this world without withdrawing the overly proud members of the Yadu dynasty, the whole world would be destroyed by the deluge of their unlimited expansion.
The Yadus have strong pride as my servants (dṛptānām). They are compared to the ocean which overruns the shore (udvelena). Though the earth planet does not consider my associates the Yadus, who follow dharma, to be a burden on the earth, I, the master of the earth, should remove this weight from the earth, just as the husband removes the ornaments of his wife who is heavy with ornaments. Though a person can easily bear the weight of something strongly desired, he cannot easily bear the weight if it is too heavy. If a greedy merchant suddenly obtains a pile of gold, he will find it difficult to bear the weight. Earth could not even bear the weight of Kṛṣṇa:
sva-nigamam apahāya mat-pratijñām
ṛtam adhikartum avapluto rathasthaḥ |
dhṛta-ratha-caraṇo bhyayāc caladgur
harir iva hantum ibhaṁ gatottarīyaḥ ||
Giving up his own promise not to fight, and making my vow to make him fight come true, Kṛṣṇa, situated on the chariot, quickly got down and holding the wheel of a chariot, ran towards me, like a lion coming to kill an elephant, while the earth shook and his top cloth fell to the ground. SB 1.9.36
Now due to the brāhmaṇas curse, the disappearance of my family has already begun. O sinless Brahmā, when my family disappears. I will pay a visit to your abode.
Nāśaḥ means entering into invisible Dvārakā. After they enter Dvārakā, I will go to your abode in the form of the son of Vikuṇṭha. It actually means the planet called Vaikuṇṭha above Brahmaloka.2 This is the explanation of Jīva Gosvāmī.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus addressed by the Lord of the universe, the self-born Brahmā offered respects at the lotus feet of the Lord. Surrounded by all the devatās, Brahmā then returned to his abode.
Thereafter, observing that tremendous disturbances were taking place in the city of Dvārakā, the Lord spoke to the assembled senior members of the Yadu dynasty.
Disturbances took place by the desire of the Lord. It is said:
ity aḍgopadiśanty eke vismṛtya prāg udāhṛtam
muni-vāsa-nivāse kiṁ ghaṭetāriṣṭa-darśanam
Some men proposed that the troubles were due to Akrūras absence, but they had forgotten the glories of the Supreme Lord, which they themselves had so often described. Indeed, how can calamities occur in a place where Lord, the residence of all the sages, resides? SB 1.57.31
The Supreme Lord said: Our dynasty has been cursed by the brāhmaṇas. Such a curse is impossible to counteract, and thus great disturbances are appearing everywhere.
My dear respected elders! We must not remain any longer in this place if we wish to keep our lives intact. Let us go today to the most pure place Prabhāsa. We should not delay.
Let Dvārakā remain with all my eternal associates! The devatās had previously entered the Yadus unseen by others. By my power of yoga I will extract them from the Yadus and take them to Prabhāsa. I will make them fight there by my māyā and send them to Svarga, and I, in my form as the son of Vikuṇṭha and as other forms as well (who were merged within me), will go to Vaikuṇṭha above Brahmaloka and other spiritual abodes. In my complete form, I, with my associates, will remain eternally in Dvārakā. This is what the Lord was thinking.
Once, the moon was afflicted with consumption because of the curse of Dakṣa, but just by taking bath at Prabhāsa, the moon was immediately freed from his suffering and again resumed the waxing of his phases.
Just by bathing at Prabhāsa, the moon, afflicted with consumption, became freed of suffering and was able to increase its phases.
teṣu dānāni pātreṣu śraddhayoptvā mahānti vai vṛjināni tariṣyāmo dānair naubhir ivārṇavam
By bathing at Prabhāsa, by offering tarpanas to the Pitṛs and devatās, by feeding the worshipable brāhmaṇas with various delicious foodstuffs and by bestowing gifts upon them as the most suitable candidates for charity, like sowing seeds, we will certainly cross over these terrible dangers through such acts of charity, just as one can cross over a great ocean in a suitable boat.
We will feed the attractive (uśijaḥ) brāhmaṇas with food (andhasā). Just as on sowing seeds in a fertile field one obtains many fruits, so by giving charity to qualified candidates, we will obtain great results.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O favorite son of the Kurus! Thus advised by the Lord, the Yādavas made up their minds to go to that holy place, Prabhāsa, and thus yoked their horses to their chariots.
vivikta upasaḍgamya jagatām īśvareśvaram praṇamya śirisā pādau prāñjalis tam abhāṣata
O King! Uddhava, the constant follower of Lord Kṛṣṇa, upon seeing the imminent departure of the Yādavas, hearing from them of the Lords instructions, and taking note of the fearful omens, approached the Lord in a private place. He bowed down with his head at the lotus feet of the supreme controller of the universe and with folded hands addressed him as follows.
Uddhava said: O Lord of the devatās! O Lord of yoga-māyā! You create purity simply by our hearing and chanting your glories! My Lord! It appears that you will now withdraw your dynasty, and you will give up this world. Although you are fully capable of counteracting the brāhmaṇas curse against, you do not do so.
O Lord of the devatās! You have accomplished what Brahmā and others requested. But you did not come only for that purpose. You also came to give joy to your devotees by revealing your inconceivable, variegated form, qualities, and pastimes filled with rasa. Thus he says O Lord of yoga-māyā! It is said:
yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ sva-yoga-
māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam
vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhagarddheḥ
paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāḍgam
Kṛṣṇa possesses that form suitable for human pastimes to show the full capacity of his yoga-māyā. That form astonishes even the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha. It is the pinnacle of auspicious qualities and enhances the beauty of his ornaments. SB 3.2.12
You also come to deliver the people of future generations: O Lord whose glories by being sung or heard purify everyone! Having accomplished everything you desired to do, you will now give up this world. This is what I guess. This is expressed by the word nunām, showing conjecture. But you have instructed us to bathe at Prabhāsa to nullify the curse of the brāhmaṇas. Is bathing there more powerful than seeing you? How can the curse of the brāhmaṇa have effect if you simply think The curse should not come to pass! This shows that you desire to disappear, because though you are capable of nullifying the curse, you do not do so.
O Keśava! O master! I cannot tolerate giving up your lotus feet even for a fraction of a moment. Take me along with you to your own abode.
But I am the Lord. I do as I please. What do you say? Uddhava replies.
O Kṛṣṇa! Having tasted your pastimes which are most auspicious for mankind and are an intoxicating beverage for the ears, people give up their desires for other things.
They give up desires for sons, wife, and finally liberation, but they cannot give up your pastimes. How can I give up you?
We are your devotees. How can we reject you, our dear self, since we serve you while you lie down, sit, walk, stand, bathe, enjoy recreation, or eat?
How can we, your devotees, who constantly serve you by massaging your feet and other actions while you lie down or sit, give you up?
Simply by decorating ourselves with the garlands, fragrant oils, clothes and ornaments that you have already enjoyed, and by eating the remnants of your meals, we, your servants, will indeed conquer your illusory energy.
I pray in this way since I cannot give you up. I do not pray because of fear of māyā. If māyā attacks us, we will conquer māyā by becoming strong with these weapons of your remnants, not by jñāna or other process.
Naked sages who seriously endeavor in spiritual practice, who have raised their semen upward, who are peaceful and sinless members of the renounced order, attain the spiritual abode called Brahman.
Naked sages attain your abode called Brahman by jñāna and vairāgya. Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna:
tat-paraṁ paramaṁ brahma sarvaṁ vibhajate jagat |
mamaiva tat ghanaṁ tejo jñātum arhasi bhārata ||
This supreme Brahman illuminats the whole universe. O Arjuna! Understand that it is my condensed light. Hari-vaṁśa
Such sages go to that light. Let them go there. But we do not want to go there. We remain intoxicated with drinking the nectar of the sweet smile on your moon-like face.
smarantaḥ kīrtayantas te kṛtāni gaditāni ca gaty-utsmitekṣaṇa-kṣveli yan nṛ-loka-viòambanam
O great yogī! We, on the other hand, though wandering in this world on the path of karma, will overcome insurmountable ignorance along with your devotees, by talking about you, while remembering and glorifying your deeds, words, movements, smiling glances and amorous joking which appear to be human.
Your great devotees do not seek to cross over māyā as a result of their bhakti. But we are not like those great devotees. How can we be so confident? Out of humility Uddhava shows that he also desires to cross over māyā. Tu indicates a different subject. Though we are servants in dāsya-rasa, taking assistance of sakhya-rasa, we do not desire to practice jñāna, even though you order us. We will cross māyā with your devotees, who have similar nature as us. We will not cross with the naked sages. What is the method? Crossing the darkness of māyā is easy by the light from your Sudarśana-cakra in the form of remembering and glorifying your pastimes. Kṣeli means joking with his gopī lovers.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King Parīkṣit! Thus addressed, the Supreme Lord, the son of Devakī, spoke to his dear, unalloyed servant Uddhava.
Kṛṣṇa spoke to Uddhava, because he could not hide his intentions from Uddhava.
Thus ends the commentary on Sixth Chapter of the Eleventh Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
In the Sixth Chapter the Lord is praised by Brahmā and others. Understanding that the Lord desired to disappear with his dynasty, Uddhava, dear to the Lord, made a request to Kṛṣṇa.
The sons of Brahmā were the Kumāras and others. Bhūta-bhavyeśaḥ means the bestower of auspiciousness to all beings. They went to Dvārakā. This is understood in verse 4.