46 verses
Sūta said: After hearing about the ascent of Dhruva to the Lords abode from Maitreya, Vidura, his devotion to the Lord increasing, began to inquire from Maitreya again.
Vidura said: Who were the Pracetas? Whose sons were they? In whose family did they become famous? Where was the sacrifice performed?
In the previous chapter, it was mentioned that Nārada recited some verses about Dhruva at the sacrifice of the Pracetas (SB 4.12.40). Anvavāye means in the family.
I know Nārada is the great devotee who saw the Lord. He spoke the Pañcarātra scripture concerning service to the Lord.
Kriyāyogaḥ paricaryā-vidhih refers to Pañcarātra scripture.
The Lord enjoyer of sacrifice, worshipped by the Pracetas, who performed their duty, was praised by devoted Nārada.
The Lord, having been worshipped by the Pracetas, who practiced their duties (sva-dharma-śīlaiḥ), was then praised by Nārada.
O brāhmaṇa! You should describe fully to me, eager to hear, the topics of the Lord which Nārada spoke.
Maitreya said: When Dhruva departed to the forest, his son Utkala did not want the throne of his father or the wealth of the whole earth.
Since the Pracetas were born in Dhruvas dynasty, the story of the Pracetas will appear in narration of Dhruvas descendents. The description is for that purpose.
From his birth Utkala was peaceful, without attachments, and saw all beings as his self. He saw the Lord pervading everything in the world and the whole world within the Lord.
From his birth, he was a jñānī (upaśāntātmā).
avyavacchinna-yogāgni- dagdha-karma-malāśayaḥ svarūpam avarundhāno nātmano 'nyaṁ tadaikṣata
Realizing the jīva as Brahman, which was peaceful, devoid of argument, pure knowledge, bliss, and all-pervading, and having burned up all contamination of karma in his heart by the continuous fire of yoga, Utkala saw nothing except the pure jīva.
He knew the svarūpa of the jīva as Brahman, tranquillity (nirvāṇam), devoid of argument. What was that ātmā? It was completely one with the essence of knowledge; it was pure knowledge (avabodha-rasaikatmyam). Utkalas heart had burned all contamination of karma by the continuous fire of yoga. He saw nothing except the pure jīva (ātmanaḥ).
He appeared on the road to unintelligent people to be retarded, blind, deaf, mad, and dumb though he was not. He was like a fire with extinguished flames.
On the path, he appeared to be retarded to the foolish people, but he did not have the intellect of a fool (atan-matiḥ).
Thinking that Utkala was retarded or mad, the elders of the dynasty along with the ministers enthroned Vatsara, his younger brother, the son of Bhrami, as the King.
Svarvīthi, Vatsaras dear wife, gave birth to six sons, named Puṣpārṇa, Tigmaketu, Iṣa, Ūrja, Vasu and Jaya.
Puṣpārṇa had two wives, named Prabhā and Doṣā. Prabhās three sons were Prātar, Madhyandina and Sāya.
Doṣa had three sons, Pradoṣa, Niśitha, and Vyuṣṭa. Vyuṣṭa begot a son named Sarvatejā in his wife Puṣkariṇī.
puruṁ kutsaṁ tritaṁ dyumnaṁ satyavantam ṛtaṁ vratam agniṣṭomam atīrātraṁ pradyumnaṁ śibim ulmukam
Sarvatejā, also called Cakṣu, begot a son named Cākṣuṣa Manu in his wife Ākūti. Naòvalā, the queen of Cākṣuṣa Manu, gave birth to sons without passion: Puru, Kutsa, Trita, Dyumna, Satyavān, Ṛta, Vrata, Agniṣṭoma, Atīrātra, Pradyumna, Śibi and Ulmuka.
Sarvatejā, called Cakṣu, begot a son named Cākuṣa Manu. It is said:
ṣaṣṭhaś ca cakṣuṣaḥ putraś cākṣuṣo nāma vai manuḥ
pūru-pūruṣa-sudyumna-pramukhāś cākṣuṣātmajāḥ
The son of Cakṣu known as Cākṣuṣa was the sixth Manu. He had many sons, headed by Pūru, Pūruṣa and Sudyumna. SB 8.5.8
Ulmuka begot six good sons in his wife Puṣkariṇī: Aḍga, Sumanā, Khyāti, Kratu, Aḍgirā and Gaya.
The wife of Aḍga, Sunīthā, gave birth to a fearful son named Vena. The saintly King Aḍga, disgusted with Vena's bad character, left home.
arājake tadā loke dasyubhiḥ pīòitāḥ prajāḥ jāto nārāyaṇāṁśena pṛthur ādyaḥ kṣitīśvaraḥ
The sages, whose words are thunderbolts, angry at Vena, cursed him. Because the people were without a king, the population was tormented by thieves. Thus they churned the right hand of the dead Vena. Pṛthu, first king of the earth, was born as a portion of Nārāyaṇa.
The cause of churning Venas hand was the lack of a king. From the churning Pṛthu appeared. He is called the first king because he established towns and cities.
Vidura said: How could King Aḍga, an ocean of good qualities, saintly, respectful to brāhmaṇas, a great devotee, have a bad son which caused him to leave home in disgrace?
Because of the bad son (yat), he became disgraced and left home.
Why did the sages, conversant with dharma, understanding their act would be sinful, punish and curse Vena, the King who is responsible for punishing others?
Aṁhaḥ means offense. The King has the right to punish, and the sages have no right to punish the King.
The King, even if sinful, should not be disregarded by the citizens because he maintains the effectiveness of the devatās by his power.
O brāhmaṇa, knowledgeable of past and future! Please tell the activities of Vena, son of Sunīthā, to me, a faithful devotee.
Maitreya said: Saintly King Aḍga performed a great horse sacrifice, but the devatās called by the brāhmaṇas did not come there.
Surprised, the priests said to the King, the sponsor of the sacrifice, The devatās do not accept the oblations we have offered.
O King! The offerings are not contaminated and were collected with faith. The mantras are not weak and were chanted by dedicated brāhmaṇas.
We do not know what insult we have committed to the devatās, witnesses of the sacrifice, by which they refuse their share.
Maitreya said: Hearing the words of the brāhmaṇas, Aḍga, the sponsor, became depressed. Taking their permission, he spoke to the assembled persons to inquire about this.
He was supposed to be silent during the sacrifice, but took permission to speak.
The devatās, though called, do not come and do not accept their share of soma in the sacrifice. Leaders of the assembly! Tell me if I have committed some offense.
Grahān means vessels of soma.
The leaders of the assembly said: O King! In this life you do not have the slightest sin. There is one sin from previous lives by which you, though sinless now, are without a son in this life.
Therefore, produce a good son for yourself. All fortune will be yours! The enjoyer of sacrifice, the Supreme Lord, worshipped by you, will bestow a son to you, desirous of a son.
Then the devatās will accept their share of the sacrifice, since the Lord of sacrifice will be present for giving a son.
Bhāga-dheyāni means the offerings held (dheyāni) in vessels, which are their share.
Being worshipped, the Lord will award whatever one desires. As much as one worships the Lord, one will receive results.
Deciding in this way, the brāhmaṇas offered puroòāśam to Viṣṇu, so that the King could get a son.
They offered the sacrificial material called puroòāśam. Śipi-viṣṭāya means unto the Lord who has entered the sacrificial animals in the form of sacrifice. Yajño vai viṣṇuḥ paśavaḥ śipir yajña eva paśuṣu pratitiṣṭhati; Viṣṇu is the sacrifice, the animals are the sacrifice, and he is situated in the animals. (Taittiriya-saṁhitā, Black Yajur Veda 2.5.5.2.7)
A man, wearing a golden garland and white cloth, carrying cooked milk rice in a golden pot, came out of the fire.
The wise King, taking the permission of the brāhmaṇas, took the rice in his hands, smelled it with delight, and offered it to his wife.
The queen ate this food for producing a male child from the King and a foetus developed. In due time, a son was born.
The male child took after his maternal grandfather, Death, who appeared as a portion of Adharma.1 Because of this he was irreligious.
Because faults on the mothers side he was irreligious, but because of arising from sacrifice to Viṣṇu, caused by the fathers material detachment, he became beneficial to the father since he gave rise to Pṛthu and thereby increased the fame of the family.
Taking up his bow and going to the forest, the evil hunter would kill the unfortunate deer. People would shout, Here comes Vena!
Seeing him from far off, the people would shout, Here comes Vena! Maybe he is coming to kill us too!
Being very cruel and merciless, he would violently kill his friends playing in the playground, who were like animal meant for slaughter.
Paśumāram means killing like animals.
When the King, observing his cruel son, could not correct him by various punishments, he became greatly depressed.
Generally, the Lord must have been worshipped by persons without sons, since they do not have to suffer the intolerable grief caused by a bad son.
The Lord was worshipped by those with no sons, since they do not have to suffer the intolerable burden completely manifested in a bad son.
Because of a bad son, sinful reputation and great irreligion arise. From a bad son arises quarrel among everyone. From a bad son arises endless anxiety.
What intelligent person would value a son in name only, who is the cause of ones bondage and illusion, and because of whom the house is full of suffering?
Such a person is a son in name only, actually being an ocean of suffering. The King decided that, out of public shame, he would leave the house full of mental pain, worship the Lord day and night in an unknown place, while taking only roots and fruits, and in that way would make the rest of his life worthwhile.
I consider a bad son better than a good son because the house becomes a source of suffering and one becomes disinterested in the source of suffering.
He understood that this son would be a cause of developing a taste for renunciation. The Lord, being merciful, wanting to bring me to his lotus feet, though I am blind with material enjoyment, has given me this son. This was his understanding.
In the night, filled with disgust, the sleepless King got up, unseen by others, and giving up his sleeping wife, left the house full of great wealth.
Mahodayodayāt gṛhāt means from the house manifesting great wealth. Vena-suvam means the mother of Vena, Sunīthā. When she was deeply sleeping, he changed his clothes and left.
When the citizens, priests, friends and ministers understood that he had left in disgust, in great grief, they searched the earth for him, just as inexpert yogīs search for the hidden Paramātmā.
The example of the yogīs searching for the hidden Paramātmā indicates that on that day, the King remained secretly somewhere in his own city.
O Vidura! Not finding the path of the King, they returned to the city in disappointment. With tears in their eyes, greeting the assembled sages, they informed the sages of the disappearance of the King.
O Vidura (paurava)! Bhartṛ-viplavam means the disappearance of the King.
Thus ends the commentary on the Thirteenth Chapter of the Fourth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
In the Thirteenth Chapter, King Aḍga gives birth to a son called Vena by sacrifice. Because of the evil nature of his son, the King becomes disgusted and leaves the kingdom.