46 verses
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Seeing the kings of this earth busy trying to conquer her, the earth laughed. She said: These kings, who are playthings in the hands of death, desire to conquer me.
The lust of even intelligent kings, by which they put trust in the body which is as transient as bubbles in water, ends in failure.
By this lust (yena) kings put trust in this body (piṇòe).
evaṁ krameṇa jeṣyāmaḥ pṛthvīṁ sāgara-mekhalām ity āśā-baddha-hṛdayā na paśyanty antike 'ntakam
'First I will conquer my senses and mind; then I will subdue my chief ministers and rid myself of my advisors, citizens, friends and relatives, as well as the keepers of my elephants and my enemies. In this way I will gradually conquer the entire earth girdled by the ocean. With their hearts bound by great expectations, they fail to see death waiting nearby.
Lust is shown in two verses. Since no one can be a king while having lust for sense objects, first he must control his senses and mind. Asya kaṇṭakān means enemy kings.
After conquering all the land on my surface, they forcibly enter the ocean. What is the use of a kingdom for a person with control of the mind? Liberation is the gaol for a person with control of the mind.
After conquering the earth, they enter the ocean to steal the jewels. Those who want to attain a kingdom by sense control are fools.
O best of the Kurus! The Manus and their sons, according to their understanding, gave up ruling the earth, and went to the forest, but fools will conquer me.
According to their knowledge (yathāgatam), the Manus became detached, gave up the earth and went to the forest (gatāḥ). Those who are foolish will conquer me.
For the sake of conquering me, materialistic persons fight with fathers, sons and brothers, because their hearts are bound to possessiveness for an impermanent kingdom.
"All this land is mine! It's not yours, you fool!' the kings say and, fighting, kill or get killed for the sake of possessing the earth.
tṛṇabindur yayātiś ca śaryātiḥ śantanur gayaḥ bhagīrathaḥ kuvalayāśvaḥ kakutstho naiṣadho nṛgaḥ
hiraṇyakaśipur vṛtro
rāvaṇo loka-rāvaṇaḥ
namuciḥ śambaro bhaumo
hiraṇyākṣo 'tha tārakaḥ
anye ca bahavo daityā
rājāno ye maheśvarāḥ
sarve sarva-vidaḥ śūrāḥ
sarve sarva-jito 'jitāḥ
mamatāṁ mayy avartanta
kṛtvoccair martya-dharmiṇaḥ
kathāvaśeṣāḥ kale na
hy akṛtārthāḥ kṛtā vibho
Such kings as Pṛthu, Purūravā, Gādhi, Nahuṣa, Bharata, Kārtavīrya Arjuna, Māndhātā, Sagara, Rāma, Khaṭvāḍga, Dhundhuhā, Raghu, Tṛṇabindu, Yayāti, Śaryāti, Śantanu, Gaya, Bhagīratha, Kuvalayāśva, Kakutstha, Naiṣadha, Nṛga, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Vṛtra, Rāvaṇa, who made the whole world lament, Namuci, Śambara, Bhauma, Hiraṇyākṣa and Tāraka, as well as many other demons and kings who were powerful controllers, were full of knowledge, heroic, all-conquering and unconquerable. Nevertheless, O almighty Lord, they lived their lives intensely trying to possess me. They were not unsuccessful, even though they attained their goals fully, for these kings in time have become only historical accounts.
Śrīdhara Svāmī says that Rāma mentioned here is not the son of Daśaratha. It is another king. Though these kings had strong possessive instincts, they were not unsuccessful, but they were also successful since they attained their desires (kṛtāḥ). They were full in form, qualities, and other features, but even then, they ultimately are only stories in history. What then to speak of modern persons, who are imperfect in attaining wealth and other things? Krta means Satya-yuga and paryāpti according to Amara-koṣa, and paryāpti means fullness.
O mighty Parīkṣit! I have related to you the narrations of all these great devotees who attained the Lord, who spread their fame throughout the world, with a desire to speak about their renunciation and their realization of the Lord. I have not spoken to show the power of words, but to give you the highest spiritual knowledge.
The purpose of telling about the dynasties of kings is here explained. What was the purpose of telling about great devotees like Priyavrata who attained (īyusām) the Lord (para)? The listener should learn about the activities of these devotees, since I had a desire to speak about their realization of the Lord and their renunciation. O great one (vibho)! You will also be like them. I have spoken, not to show the power of words, but for you to gain the highest spiritual knowledge.
The person who desires pure bhakti to Kṛṣṇa should hear the narrations of the Lords glorious qualities, the constant chanting of which destroys everything inauspicious.
Therefore one should continuously hear stories about these great devotees. But, in talks about the stories of the Lord, one should hear the remarkable excellence in the stories of Kṛṣṇas eternal associates, which are superior even to the stories of these great devotees. One who desires pure bhakti should constantly hear the stories revealing the qualities of the Lord, which are found here and there in the other cantos, but are everywhere in the Tenth Canto. Thus four points should be understood: hear about devotees, hearing about Kṛṣṇas devotees, hearing in the Bhāgavatam and hearing the Tenth Canto.
King Parīkṣit said: My lord! How will persons living in the age of Kali destroy the heaps of faults of this age? O great sage! Please explain this to me exactly.
Vidhamiṣanti means they will destroy. Yathā means as it is.
Please explain the yugas, their specific qualities, the duration of maintenance and destruction of the universe, and the movement of time, which is the direct representation of the Supreme Lord, the soul of all, Viṣṇu.
Tell me about the yugas, and the duration of maintenance and destruction (pralaya-kalpayoḥ). This is not a material question, since time is a representative of the Lord.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King! In the beginning, during Satya-yuga, the age of truth, religion is maintained by the people with all four of its legs of truthfulness, mercy, austerity and cleanliness intact.
First the characteristics of the yugas are described. Dharma is maintained by the people of Satya-yuga. Dānam means śaucam, since the root dai means to clean and òāna also means cleaning. That is mentioned in the First Canto.
The people of Satya-yuga are for the most part self-satisfied, merciful, friendly to all, peaceful, sober, tolerant, and ātmārāma. They see all things equally and endeavor to understand ātmā.
Śramanāḥ means the people are engaged in trying to realize ātmā.
In Tretā-yuga each leg of religion is gradually reduced by one quarter by the influence of the four pillars of irreligionlying, violence, dissatisfaction and quarrel.
Truth is reduced by lying. Mercy is reduced by violence. Austerity is reduced by dissatisfaction. Cleanliness is reduced by quarrel.
In the Tretā age people are devoted to ritual performances and austerities. They are not excessively violent or very lusty after sensual pleasure. Their interest lies primarily in religiosity, economic development and regulated sense gratification, and they achieve prosperity by following the prescriptions of the three Vedas. Although in this age society evolves into four separate classes, O King, brāhmaṇas are more numerous.
Brahmottarāḥ means the brāhmaṇas are more numerous.
In Dvāpara-yuga, the religious qualities of austerity, truth, mercy and cleanliness are reduced to one half by their irreligious counterpartsdissatisfaction, untruth, violence and enmity.
The list of adharmas starting with violence is not in the same order as the qualities of religion mentioned in the first line.
In the Dvāpara age, people are famous and have great qualities. They devote themselves to the study of the Vedas, possess great wealth, support large families and are joyful. Of the four classes, the kṣatriyas and brāhmaṇas are most numerous.
In the age of Kali, only one fourth of the four legs of religious principles remains. That last remnant will continuously be decreased by the ever-increasing principles of irreligion and will finally be destroyed.
One quarter of the legs which cause dharma remain, and these are destroyed by violence, lying, dissatisfaction and quarrel.
In the Kali age people tend to be greedy, ill-behaved and merciless, and they fight one another without good reason. Unfortunate and obsessed with many material desires, the people of Kali-yuga are almost all śūdras and barbarians.
Śūdra-dāsottrāḥ means the śūdras and fishermen are most numerous.
All the material modesgoodness, passion and ignoranceare observed within a single person, though he may be prominently of one mode. They are set into motion in the antaḥkaraṇa by the power of time.
Just as planets like the sun have major periods (dāśa) and within that period there are minor periods (antar-dāśa) of the other planets, so in any particular yuga, the qualities of all four yugas periodically manifest. Thus, even in Kali-yuga, from time to time there is not a decrease in dharma. This is seen in a single person as well. In the antaḥkaraṇa (ātmani) of a single person all the modes come and go periodically.
When the mind, intelligence and senses are solidly fixed in dharma without material desires, that time should be understood as Satya-yuga. People then take pleasure in knowledge and austerity.
Now this point is explained. Sattve means in dharma without material desires.
O most intelligent Parīkṣit! When the conditioned souls are devoted to dharma with material motives and seek personal prestige, you should understand such a situation to be the age of Tretā, in which the functions of passion are prominent.
The people of Tretā-yuga have inclination for dharma with material desires.
When there is fondness for dharma with material motives, and also for adharma, such a time is the age of Dvāpara, dominated by the mixed modes of passion and ignorance. At that time greed, dissatisfaction, false pride, cheating and envy become prominent.
Karmaṇāṁ kāmyānāṁ means in dharma with material motives. The word ca indicates they also have fondness for adharma. When there is fondness for dharma with material motives and also for adharma, then know that to be Dvāpara-yuga, with a prominence of rajas and tamas. In that age greed and other qualities appear.
When people favor only acts of adharma, then it is known as Kali, with a predominance of ignorance. At that time there are cheating, lying, laziness, sleepiness, violence, depression, lamentation, bewilderment, fear and poverty.
When people are fond of only adharma, then Kali with prominence of tamas appears, and deceit, lying, etc. appear. Viṣādanam means depression.
Because of the bad qualities of the age of Kali, human beings will become shortsighted, unfortunate, gluttonous, lustful and poverty-stricken. The women, becoming unchaste, will freely wander from one man to the next.
Now the faults of Kali are described. Tasmāt means because of Kali.
Cities will be dominated by thieves, the Vedas will be contaminated by speculative interpretations of atheists, political leaders will consume the citizens, and the brāhmaṇas will be interested in eating and sex life.
The brahmacārīs will fail to execute their vows and become unclean, the householders will become beggars, the vanaprasthas will live in the villages, and the sannyāsīs will become greedy for wealth.
The brahmacārīs will not perform their vows and will be unclean. The householders will beg and not give in charity. The vanapraṣṭhas will give up the forest and live in the village and will show off their austerities to the householders. The sannyāsīs will attempt to hoard money.
Women will become much smaller in size, will eat too much, have many children, and will be devoid of shyness. They will always speak harshly and will exhibit qualities of thievery, deceit and unrestrained audacity.
The qualities of women in Kali-yuga are described.
Petty merchants will earn their money by cheating. Even when there is no emergency, all varṇas will consider any degraded occupation as good.
Merchants (kirāṭāḥ), after cheating by use of adharma (kūta-kāriṇaḥ), will carry out transactions. All varṇas will consider a despised occupation as good, even when there is no emergency.
Servants will abandon a master of the best qualities who has lost his wealth. Masters will abandon an incapacitated servant, even if that servant has been in the family for generations. Cows will be abandoned when they stop giving milk.
Servants and wives will give up masters and husband of good quality who have lost wealth. Masters will give a servant whose forefathers have served the family, because he is sick. They will give up cows which do not give milk because they are old.
In Kali-yuga, men will be wretched and controlled by women, with relationships based of sex life. They will reject their fathers, brothers, other relatives and friends and will instead associate with the sisters and brothers of their wives.
Nanāndṛ means sister of ones wife.
Śūdras will accept charity and will earn their livelihood by making a show of austerity and wearing a mendicant's dress. Those who know nothing about religion will mount a high seat and presume to speak on religious principles.
vāso-'nna-pāna-śayana- vyavāya-snāna-bhūṣaṇaiḥ hīnāḥ piśāca-sandarśā bhaviṣyanti kalau prajāḥ
In the age of Kali, people's minds will always be agitated. They will become emaciated by famine and taxation, my dear King, and will always be disturbed by fear of drought. They will lack adequate clothing, food and drink, will be unable to properly rest, have sex or bathe themselves, and will have no ornaments to decorate their bodies. The people of Kali-yuga will gradually appear like ghostly, haunted creatures.
In Kali-yuga, men will develop hatred for each other even over a few coins. Giving up all friendly relations, they will be ready to lose their own lives and kill even their own relatives.
They will quarrel over twenty cowries.
Only interested in food and sex, degraded men will no longer protect their elderly parents, their children or their respectable wives.
O King! In the age of Kali, people whose intelligence will be diverted by atheism, will almost never offer sacrifice to the Supreme Lord, supreme guru of the universe, at whose lotus feet the devatās bow.
After the first sandhyā of Kali has passed, the bad habits become very great. This is explained in two verses.
Terrified, about to die, collapsing, with faltering voice, if a person utters the holy name of the Supreme Lord, he can be freed from the chains of karma and achieve the supreme destination. But still people in the age of Kali will not worship the Supreme Lord.
The Supreme Lord, situated in the heart, takes away all the faults created by Kali-yuga, by impurity of objects, places and mind.
It was asked how the faults of Kali can be removed. This verse answers. The faults are created by lack of purity of objects, place and mind.
If a person hears about, glorifies, meditates upon, worships or simply offers great respect to the Supreme Lord, who is remembered within the heart, the Lord will remove from his mind the contamination accumulated during many thousands of lifetimes.
Hṛt-sthaḥ means the Lord who is remembered in ones heart. Not only the faults of Kali are removed but all reactions sins committed far in the past and recently are all destroyed.
Just as fire within gold removes any impurities caused by traces of other metals, Lord Viṣṇu within the heart purifies the minds of the yogīs.
Remembrance of the Lord is the only method for purifying the antaḥkaraṇa. Just as fire situated in gold removes the impurities such as copper mixed with it, whereas water or other substances do not, Viṣṇu, situated in their hearts, removes all sins in the yogīs. This does not take place by yama, niyama or other processes.
By one's engaging in the processes of devatā worship, austerities, breath control, compassion, bathing in holy places, strict vows, charity and chanting of various mantras, one's mind cannot attain the same absolute purification as that achieved when one remembers the unlimited Lord in ones heart.
This is further described.
Therefore, O King, endeavor with all your might to fix the Supreme Lord Keśava within your heart. You will certainly attain the supreme destination from remembering the Lord with attention.
Since persons like Ajāmila remembered the Lord without being attentive, you will certainly attain the Lord from remembering him (tataḥ) with attention
O King! The Supreme Lord, the ultimate controller, the soul of all beings and the supreme shelter of all beings, when meditated upon by dying persons, gives them prema for the Lord.
If dying people can meditate on the Lord, he will make them attain prema for the Lord (ātmā-bhāvam). How does the Lord know that they are meditating on the Lord? The Lord is the soul of all. Others may not know, but the Lord knows that they are meditating on him. Why does the Lord give prema just from meditating on him once? He is the shelter of all beings. Thus from him arises all sādhanas and all results of sādhanas. What is so remarkable about this for the Lord who is so magnanimous?
O King! Although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. Simply by chanting about Kṛṣṇa, one can become free from material bondage and attains prema.
Now it is said that Kali is the best of all yugas in two verses. Though Kali is an ocean of faults, one good quality prevails like a king. As one king alone kills many thieves, this one good quality destroys all the bad faults of Kali just mentioned. What is that quality? From chanting alone, which is not dependent on meditation or other processes, one attains the highest human goal, prema. Or chanting alone produce results, what to speak of combining meditation with chanting.
Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by deity worship, can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting about the Lord.
Thus ends the commentary on the Third Chapter of the Twelfth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
The Third Chapter describes the laugher of the earth, the legs of dharma, the faults of Kali and remembrance of the Lord which destroys the influence of Kali. The end of the last chapter mentioned how foolish people try to control the whole earth. This topic is enlarged through the descriptions made by the earth. Mā means me.