Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life

The Twenty-eighth Chapter describes how, leaving the worn-out city with his wife, Purañjana attained bhakti by the influence of devotees.

Now the method of giving up the gross body is described until the twenty-fourth verse. The soldiers are various diseases. Diṣṭa-kāriṇaḥ means those who bestow the bad reactions of one’s deeds.

The city was protected by a worn-out life air.

Abhimānī means that he completely identified with the city.

Embraced by old age, bereft of beauty, miserable, thinking of enjoyment, his wisdom and wealth destroyed, he saw his city being violently smashed by the Gandharvas and Yavanas, and saw that his sons, grandsons, followers, ministers and wife had become indifferent, disrespectful and were acting adversely.

Viśīrṇām should be viśīryamānām (being destroyed.) Pratikūlān means they acted adversely, against their natures—they were subject to lamentation and other distresses. They did not respect him (anādṛtān). The sons are discernment and other such qualities. The grandsons are patience and other qualities. The followers are the senses and the ministers are the controlling deities of mind and senses. The word ca indicates that they could not at all perform their functions (gata-sauhṛdān) and as well, the wife, intelligence had no power of apprehension.

He was attacked by old age (kanyayā) and the five sense objects were spoiled by diseases. He could find no cures by mantras or medicines.

He desires sweets but they were useless, since he could not digest them. He lost the goal of a better next life, and lost the goal of this life, affection from sons and family. Another version has snehāt. He was miserable because of losing life’s goal and the affection of his sons.

Anikāmataḥ means “though not desiring to do so.”

Pravāraḥ is Viṣṇuvjāra.

The citizens are the seven dhātus. The retinue or servants are the senses. Kauṭumbikaḥ means one who enjoys with the wife. He suffered along with his intelligence. The descendents are the sons and grandsons. The lack of sandhi is poetic license.

The protector of the city was the snake, the life air.

He could not protect the city. He desired to leave just as a snake desire to leave a tree hole which is on fire.

As death approached, he made a rattling sound in his throat.

Since he was a foolish householder, accepting me and mine concerning his household, he became miserable at impending separation from his wife. He began to think of his daughters, sons, grandsons, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, followers, remaining property, house, treasury and furniture.

Yāmi means daughter-in-law. pramadayā viprayote upasthitaḥ means “when separated from a woman.” This does not refer to his intelligence since, when the gross body of the jīva is destroyed, there is no separation of the jīva from the intelligence. This refers to a conditioned jīva’s normal material wife, object of attachment, enjoyed by all the senses. The daughters and others mentioned in this verse also refer to conventional daughters and relatives, not the symbols in the spiritual metaphor. Some say that, at the time of death, the jīva thinks of his wife and sons, not of intelligence, discernment and other elements. Others say that dharmic intelligence was previously represented by his wife Purañjanī, but at the time of death, there is separation from dharmic intelligence, and joining with another intelligence. There are statements such as na mayy anāśite bhuḍkte: his wife would not take her dinner until he had finished his. (SB 4.28.19) This refers to a time before the separation from his dharmic intelligence. This will be explained later. The description in this verse presents the idea “I am not satisfied with my actions of dharma. What should I do? Death is now approaching.”

When I did not eat (anāśite), she did not eat. When I scolded her (bhartsite) she remained silent.

She would enlighten me, a fool. When I was away (vyuṣite), she became thin. How will she undertake the tasks? Though she has sons to take care of, she will die, unable to bear separation from me.

Dārakīḥ means dārikāḥ (daughters). They were dedicated to serving me with affection in my old age (parāyanāḥ). How will they remain? They will die from continual crying. Bhinna means cracked.

He should not have lamented since his he was actually a spiritual particle (atad-arhaṇam). Atad-arhaṇam can also mean “he did not deserve to be taken by fear, since he practiced dharma.”

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He was lead away like an animal by the Yamadūtas (yavanaiḥ). His life air and followers (anupathāḥ) ran after him. Śruti says tam anukrāmantaṁ prāṇo ’nukrāmati prāṇam anukrāmantaṁ sarve prāṇā anukrāmanti: the life air follows the jīva when it leaves the body and the other life airs follow the main life air.

The snake was captured by the Yavanas. The city returned to the elements (prakṛtim gatā).

By ignorance he did not know the Supreme Lord who was his friend previously.

The animals cut by his knife during material sacrifices began to cut him with axes. Amīvam means offense.

Merged in unending darkness, devoid of memory, experiencing pain for infinite years, and, contaminated by association with a woman, he remembered in his mind that woman, and finally was born in the house of a great king of Vidarbha as the best of women.

He was merged in darkness devoid of end, in suffering. Since he worshipped through many sacrifices, it should be understood that he also enjoyed happiness in Svarga for many years. This is not mentioned in order to create a sense of renunciation in Prācīnabarhi. Because of remembering a woman he became a woman. The spiritual perspective is this. It was said that, because one faints from the extreme pain at the time of death, the loss of dharmic intelligence is temporary. After enjoying in Svarga with the exhaustion of pious deed, he regains his dharmic intelligence and is born in the house of a person following dharma. That is the intention of the verse. However, attaining a body of a man or woman was not mentioned. The various options of birth however, such as man or woman, are not mentioned here. This is explained later:

kvacit pumān kvacic ca strī kvacin nobhayam andha-dhīḥ

devo manuṣyas tiryag vā yathā-karma-guṇaṁ bhavaḥ

This foolish jīva is sometimes a man and sometimes he is a woman. Sometimes he is eunuch. Sometimes he is a devatā, a human or an animal. His birth takes place according to the guṇas and his actions. SB 4.29.29

As long as the jīva does not have bhakti, he cannot get deliverance from saṁsāra. Bhakti is spontaneous. It arises from association with devotees, by spontaneous mercy of devotees. That is shown in Purañjana’s next life as Vaidarbhī, where he attained association with a devotee through marriage. Malayadhvaja means the best (dhvaja) among the devotees, who are equal to Malaya mountain range, since they are worthy of the same worship. Upayeme (married) can mean “accepting to be a student.” Vīrya-paṇām (prize for valor) can also mean no one else could be accepted as teacher because he had great mercy as his power (vīrya).

asmiû loke vartamānaḥ sva-dharma-stho 'naghaḥ śuciḥ

jñānaṁ viśuddham āpnoti mad-bhaktiṁ vā yadṛcchayā

One who is situated in his prescribed duty, free from sinful activities and cleansed of material contamination, in this very life obtains transcendental knowledge or, by fortune, devotional service unto me. SB 11.20.11

bhavāpavargo bhramato yadā bhavej

janasya tarhy acyuta sat-samāgamaḥ

sat-saḍgamo yarhi tadaiva sad-gatau

parāvareśe tvayi jāyate matiḥ

When the material life of a wandering soul has ceased, O Acyuta, he may attain the association of your devotees. And when he associates with them, there awakens in him devotion unto you, who are the goal of the devotees and the Lord of all causes and their effects. SB 10.51.53

These verses show that bhakti arises in the jīva in some birth, from sudden association with a devotee. He had defeated other kings. This means that he had uprooted all sins, offenses, time and karma. Pāṇòyaḥ means he was from Paṇòya province, or “he who could discriminate between matter and spirit.” Para-purañjayaḥ means “he who conquered the cities of enemies” or “he who cut the doubts arising from other philosophies.”

Asitekṣaṇā was the daughter’s name. It can also mean she who received the glance of Kṛṣṇa (asita). Thus it means one who has a taste for serving Kṛṣṇa. By the mercy of guru, the jīva develops a taste for serving Kṛṣṇa. The seven sons were born later. They are hearing, remembering, chanting, serving the lotus feet, deity worship, bowing down and servitude. Because friendship and full surrender are difficult in the beginning, and will appear spontaneously later, they are not mentioned. The sons were kings of the southern provinces. The southern provinces are renowned for prominence of bhakti, hearing and chanting. The seven processes ruled like kings, having subdued karma, jñāna and other processes.

The seven sons had many sons and grandsons. This also means that the processes like hearing can each be subdivided into hearing the name, the pastimes, or the qualities. Or they can be divided according to worship of different avatāras. Or they can be divided according to different rasas. Thus there are innumerable subdivisions of each process.

bhakti-yogo bahu-vidho mārgair bhāvini bhāvyate

svabhāva-guṇa-mārgeṇa puṁsāṁ bhāvo vibhidyate

Bhakti appears in many forms by particular actions in a person according to his intentions. The intentions of men are classed by the actions of the guṇas arising from one’s nature. SB 3.29.7

The descendants are the different sampradāyas. They ruled the whole earth. This means that the earth was protected from ignorance and materialistic karma-yoga.

Agastya married the first daughter. Agastya means “one who brings together (stya) all the senses which cannot act (aga) on their own.” This means the mind, which accepted a taste (ruci) for Kṛṣṇa (the first daughter). That taste produced firm vows of mercy, tolerance and other good qualities (dṛdha-vratām). This means that from taste (ruci), by great mercy, the mind of the jīva then developed āsakti for serving Kṛṣṇa. That āsakti was devoid of (cyutaḥ) attachment (dṛdha) to Satyaloka and other places. This means it had distaste for enjoyments of this world and higher worlds. Or there developed distaste for other practices like jñāna and for liberation. That means the mind was completely devoid of desire for other practices or goals because of the exclusive taste for serving Kṛṣṇa. How did all this arise? He had a son Idhmavāha (one who carries firewood for sacrifice). This is famous in the śruti passage tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham: with fuel in hand, one should approach a guru learned in the Vedas and fixed in the Lord for knowledge of the Lord. (Muṇòaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12) It means surrender to guru. According to the story line, Agastya had a son named Dṛdhacyuta who had a son named Idhmavāha. This is a description of the descendents of Malaydhvaja’s daughter.

Dividing the earth means after dividing up the types of bhakti. Kulācalam means a place for concentration, a place giving bhakti or Veḍkaṭa hill.

Just as the wife serves the husband by rejecting enjoyment, the disciple engages in service to guru by hearing and chanting, giving no regard even to solitary places (grhān) which could give rise to the bliss of prema (bhogān), in order to attain with ease the perfection of all goals by serving guru. This is the teaching in this verse. Mad means exciting. Irā means message or the Vedas. Her glance was always in the Veda, which gave joy, since the Vedas say that service to guru is the highest. Jīva Gosvāmī says that madira means the Lord who gives joy. She had a glance always in the form of the Lord who gives joy. The meaning according to the story is that she had ever-youthful glances in her eyes.

At Kulācala the King bathed daily internally and externally in the Candravaṣa, Tāmraparṇī and Vaṭodakā Rivers. Undergoing austerities, subsisting on roots, seeds, bulbs, fruits, flowers, leaves, grass and water, his body eventually became thin.

Internally and externally (ubhayatra) he washed away impurities. As in the case of Pṛthu, his intense austerity arose from his great eagerness for the Lord.

Brahmaṇi means Vāsudeva by the context of the following verses. Ātmanam is the mind.

By such remembrance in bhakti, continuous rati for the Lord appeared.

By that rati, the Lord appeared everywhere. He realized (vidvān) the Lord as a form suddenly appearing in all directions (vyāpakatayā) because of the appearance of rati, and he realized the Lord within himself separately (vyatiriktatayā). By the fire of eagerness for prema he fainted (virarāma). The separation was not fully relieved by this sudden appearance of the Lord arising from intense separation. An example is given. It was just like knowing something in a dream. The hunger of a person is not relieved by eating food in a dream. What is the proof for such appearances of the Lord? The function of the antaḥkaraṇa called reflection is the witness, not a person with an eye. Because the pain of separation does not disappear by the functioning of the antaḥkaraṇa with his internal vision, he also realized the Lord who had appeared in his vision directly with his eyes. .

O King! By direct vision of the Lord who takes away all suffering, shining brightly everywhere, by the lamp of pure knowledge taught by guru concerning the Lord’s sweetness, he saw himself possessing love for the Lord and saw the Lord possessing love for him, and after losing that vision because of fainting, he gave up all connection with the gross and subtle bodies.

Then, when prema arose, he saw the Lord directly. By the Supreme Lord who takes away all suffering (hariṇā), with bright effulgence spreading everywhere (viśvataḥmukham sphuratā), and by the lamp of knowledge, the means of realizing the Lord’s sweetness, what is taught by the guru, one sees himself as the possessor of rati for the supreme Brahman (ātmānam pare brahmaṇi), because it has already been said vāsudeve bhagavati nānyad vedodvahan ratim: he saw only that he had rati for Vāsudeva. The Lord also says ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁstathaiva bhajāmyaham: according to how they surrender to me, I reward them. (BG 4.11) Thus he saw the Lord to be full of attraction for him (ātmani parabrahman). At that moment, giving up that vision because of fainting in bliss, he lost interest in gross and subtle coverings completely.

But those who favor the regal aspect of the Lord explain the three verses in the following way. The King, knowing the Supreme Lord (ātmānam) as all-pervading and also situated within the jīva, gave up saṁsāra. Examples are given of each vision. All pervasiveness of the Lord is similar to the witness of reflection, the mind, which spreads through the body of the jīva. The Lord within is similar to realizing in deep sleep that there is only the ātmā, for one says “I slept soundly.” In the deep sleep state, there is realization of only the ātmā, separate from body. How does this knowledge arise? It arises from the Lord who is the witness. Dadāmi buddhiyogaṁ taṁ yena māmupayānti: I give intelligence by which one attains me. (BG10.10) By the lamp of that knowledge, one sees in the Supreme Lord, who is the āśraya-tattva, the pure jīva, who takes shelter of the Lord. And he sees in the pure jīva, you, the Supreme Lord, presiding over the jīva. After attaining prema, one gives up the process of reflection (vihāya īkṣām). Because the Bhāgavatam is like Mohinī avatāra, giving nectar to the devotees and cheating the demons, others interpret these verses differently. The devotees do not accept those interpretations.

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The disciple remains serving the guru until attaining perfection. That is shown in four verses.

Upa is a preposition governing a noun in the accusative. It means “near the husband slightly lower in position.” She was peaceful like the coals of a fire, just shining, but without smoke.

Serving him (arcatī), she could not feet warmth. The verb should be nopālabheta.

When the guru leaves his mortal body, the disciple becomes overcome with lamentation with pain of separation, like a wife for her departed husband. That is described here. She lamented her condition. Who will protect me from now on? Thus she became grief stricken.

O guru! Protect this earth in which you established bhakti, which is now frightened by those opposing bhakti.

Avartayat means released.

She placed the body on the pyre and lit ablaze with fire. Having performed the last rites for his guru, the disciple then decides in his mind, “Separated from the feet of my guru, I cannot maintain my life. My body is burning in the fire of lamentation on remembering his qualities. I cannot put my energy in the bhakti of hearing and chanting that he taught. Therefore I will die today.” That is shown here.

In a state similar to separation from guru, if one has pain in separation from the Lord, the Lord will appear. That is indicated here. The friend from previous time is the Lord with no beginning. The śruti says dvā suparṇā: the Lord is situated with the jīva in the body, like two birds in a tree. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.6) He had the dress of a brāhmaṇa: if a person does not have prema the Lord does not reveal himself directly to that person. Ātmavān means the Lord was situated in his svarūpa but that was covered over.

“Who is this lying here?” He is my guru. According to the story the answer is “He is my husband.” On answering that, the next question is “Do you know me?” You are a brāhmaṇa. “Who am I?” You are my friend. “How did I become your friend?” You wandered with me before the creation (agre). This means “Along with me you remained experienced happiness in my association.”

“I do not know anything.” Though you do not recognize me, do you remember yourself, who had a friend you did not recognize (avijyāta-sakham), someone who was your friend, but unrecognized by you?” The bahuvrīhi compound avijñāta-sakham is poetic license. Or it can mean the friend of someone unknown. The form sakhe is the masculine form of address, though at present she was a woman. This indicates that the Lord wants to make her remember her previous life as a man. “You please remember. I cannot.” Giving me up, you became attached to enjoying. This means that the jīva gave up the Lord at the beginning of creation of the universe, because of previous karmas. Padam means place.

We were two pure ātmās. Mānasa ayanam is the shelter of the heart. We were two pure ātmās, friends, whose dwelling place is the heart. In the story, the meaning is “We were born as two birds in Mānasa Lake.” We were without a house (okaḥ antarā). The word vā is for emphasis like eva. (Previously to dwelling together in the heart), during the great devastation or mahā-pralaya (sahasras-parivatsarān), 1we remained without a house.

Striyā means “by māyā.”

It had five gardens or sense objects, nine openings of the body for the prāṇa. One prāṇa was the guard. The three treasuries are earth, water and fire. The six mercantile communities are the five knowledge senses and mind. The five markets are t he five action senses. The five powers of state are the five gross elements, the material substance. The mistress is intelligence. The master is husband of the intelligence.

Two verses explain the previous verse. There are nine openings for prāṇa. The families or communities are merchants.

The five gross elements are the cause (prakṛtiḥ). Entering that place, a man becomes bewildered. What is the energy or śakti? It is intelligence. He is the controller of the intelligence. This is the explanation of the man and wife (strī-dhavakam). But the word also means he who is controlled by the wife. What can be said? Entering the body, the jīva, though master, becomes controlled by the intelligence. This is indicated by the masculine gender.

Aśruta-smṛtiḥ means “who had heard nothing by which to gain knowledge of the self.”

“If I have never heard any knowledge about the self, then you should tell me what I should know.” This verse informs her. You are not the daughter of any common person. You are cit-śakti jīva belonging to me. This hero is not your friend, giving benefit, but I am the friend. In this form, I have become your guru and have taught you devotion to me. In this way I have acted as your friend. You were blockaded in the city with nine gates. You are not the husband of Purañjanī, but the conscious particle covered with ignorance. In this way two meanings have been explained in the story. The meaning of the story line is clear.

“If this is so, why am I aware of all this?” It is māyā, because of which (yat) you think your self a man, sometimes a woman, and sometimes a eunuch. This also implies that sometimes you are a human, sometimes a devatā and sometimes an animal. Therefore (yat), certainly, see the svarūpa (gatim) of us two as pure entities (haṁsau).

I am Paramātmā and you are jīva. You are not anything else. You are not different from me, being a conscious entity. “Why do you say such an intolerable thing?” Ah! My pure devotee! See with discretion, without anger (a-ham). Medinī says that ha means anger, Śiva, and a dog. “But I am your servant and you are the master. “Will not others criticize you when you say we are also non-difference?” The wise do never see such a fault (chidram) in our relationship. Only the foolish see contradiction.

“You have said that you and I are not different. That is intolerable.” Please do not become angry. Try to understand. The jīva (puruṣaḥ), though the same entity, in liberation or in bondage, sees himself as two different forms in a mirror and in the eye. In a polished mirror he sees a large image, bright, without change. In the eye, he sees a small image, dull, that flickers. Just as one form becomes two different forms by being uncontaminated or contaminated with the qualities of obstructing elements, so one should see difference (antaram) between the Paramātmā and jīva at all times. Amara-koṣa says antaram means opportunity, neighborhood, clothing interim, and difference. I exist in the body as Paramātmā, and you exist there as jīva. By nature I have no covering, and by my will, enter all bodies in the world as antaryāmī, with appropriate size, with full brightness, powerful, without change. Like the liberated jīva, I am never contaminated. You however, a jīva, are small in size, with small brightness, weak, and always influenced by coverings. In the liberated state, however, you are uncontaminated. You should understand that we are different at all times. It has just been said aham bhavān na cānyaḥ: I and you are not different. I am conscious, and you, my devotee are conscious. You are not dull matter. That is the meaning of the statement. The demons however can take another meaning of these two verses of Bhāgavatam, which shows different faces to the demons and devotees like Mohinī. This is wrong since the Lord himself rejects the philosophy of one ātmā. It is said in the Third Canto:

yatholmukād visphuliḍgād dhūmād vāpi sva-sambhavāt

apy ātmatvenābhimatād yathāgniḥ pṛthag ulmukāt

bhūtendriyāntaḥ-karaṇāt pradhānāj jīva-saṁjñitāt

ātmā tathā pṛthag draṣṭā bhagavān brahma-saṁjñitaḥ

Just as fire is actually different from a blazing coal, and similarly is different from the spark and the smoke, which arise from fire, though by imagination they appear to be fire, similarly, Paramātmā, possessor of inconceivable powers, who also appears as impersonal Brahman, is different from pradhāna, the conscious jīva, and the body, senses and antaḥkaraṇa, because he is the witness of the others. SB 3.28.40-41

Śruti says:

yathāgneḥ kṣudrā visphuliḍgā vyuccaranti evem evāsmād ātmānaḥ sarvāni bhūtāni vyuccaranti

Just as small sparks arise from fire, all living beings emanate from the Supreme Lord. Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.1.20

Smṛti says:

ekadeśe sthitasyāgner jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā

parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

Just as fire situated in one place spreads itself in the form of light, the energy of the Supreme Lord spreads through the whole universe. Viṣṇu Purāṇa

Thus, the Supreme Lord, a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss, is without coverings at all. However, according to demonic philosophers, he is said to have a covering material knowledge, vidyā.

This is a summary. Svasthaḥ means the jīva not covered by prakṛti. He again attained memory which was lost by aversion to the Lord, which previously he had attained by devotion to a guru. By the discussion of non-difference and by the greater strength of the śruti concerning two birds, one should understand that the highest goal, according to Nārada, is attaining the position of prema as an associate of the Lord.

Do not take this to be simply a story. On the pretext of telling a story about a king (pārokṣyeṇa) I have given spiritual instruction. The reason is given. The Lord is fond of indirect expression. I have told a story to you which is beyond the limits of time.

Thus ends the commentary on the Twenty-eighth Chapter of the Fourth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.