View source for Maharaj Bali once told his priest, Sukracarya, "My dear sage, you are fully expert in knowledge of the Vedas, and as such you worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, by Vedic rituals"

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[[Category:Bali]]
[[Category:Once]]
[[Category:Told]]
[[Category:Priest]]
[[Category:Sukracarya]]
[[Category:My Dear]]
[[Category:You Are]]
[[Category:Fully]]
[[Category:Expert]]
[[Category:Vedic Knowledge]]
[[Category:As Such]]
[[Category:Worship of Lord Visnu]]
[[Category:Supreme Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:Vedic Rituals]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 46 - Astonishment and Chivalry]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapters 01 to 51]]
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<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<h3>Nectar of Devotion</h3>
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Mahārāj Bali once told his priest, Śukrācārya: "My dear sage, you are fully expert in knowledge of the Vedas, and as such you worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, by Vedic rituals. As far as this brāhmaṇa dwarf (the incarnation Vāmanadeva) is concerned, if He is Lord Viṣṇu, a simple brāhmaṇa, or even my enemy, I have decided to give to Him in charity all the land He has asked for.".
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[[Vanisource:NOD 46 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 46]]
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Once Śrīdāmā challenged Bhadrasena and said to him, "My dear friend, you needn't be afraid of me yet. I shall first of all defeat our brother Balarāma, then I shall beat Kṛṣṇa, and then I shall come to you." Bhadrasena therefore left the party of Balarāma and joined Kṛṣṇa, and he agitated his friends as much as the Mandara Hill had agitated the whole ocean. By his roaring sounds he deafened all his friends, and he enthused Kṛṣṇa with his chivalrous activities.

Once Kṛṣṇa challenged all His friends and said, "My dear friends, just see—I am jumping with great chivalrous prowess. Please do not flee away." Upon hearing these challenging words, another friend named Varūthapa counter-challenged the Lord and struggled against Him.

One of the friends once remarked, "Sudāmā is trying his best to see Dāmodara defeated, and I think that if our powerful Subala joins him, they will be a very beautiful combination, like a valuable jewel bedecked with gold."

In these chivalrous activities, only Kṛṣṇa's friends can be the opponents. Kṛṣṇa's enemies can never actually be His opponents. Therefore, this challenging by Kṛṣṇa's friends is called devotional service in chivalrous activities.

Dāna-vīra, or chivalry in the giving in charity, can be divided into two parts: munificence and renunciation. A person who can sacrifice everything for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa is called munificent. When a person desires to make a sacrifice because of his seeing Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is called the impetus of the munificent activity. When Kṛṣṇa appeared as the son of Nanda Mahārāj, in clear consciousness Nanda Mahārāj desired all auspiciousness for his son and thus began to give in charity valuable cows to all the brāhmaṇas. The brāhmaṇas were so satisfied by this charitable action that they were obliged to say that the charity of Nanda Mahārāj had excelled the charity of such past kings as Mahārāj Pṛthu and Nṛga.

When a person knows the glories of the Lord completely and is prepared to sacrifice everything for the Lord, he is called sampradānaka, or one who gives everything in charity for the sake of Kṛṣṇa.

When Mahārāj Yudhiṣṭhira went with Kṛṣṇa in the arena of the rāja-sūya sacrifice, in his imagination he began to anoint the body of Kṛṣṇa with pulp of sandalwood, he decorated Him with a garland hanging down to His knees, he began to give Him garments all embroidered with gold, he gave Him ornaments all bedecked with valuable jewels, and he gave Him many fully decorated elephants, chariots and horses. He further wished to give Kṛṣṇa in charity his kingdom, his family and his personal self also. After so desiring, when there was nothing to actually give in charity, Mahārāj Yudhiṣṭhira became very perturbed and anxious.

Similarly, Mahārāj Bali once told his priest, Śukrācārya: "My dear sage, you are fully expert in knowledge of the Vedas, and as such you worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, by Vedic rituals. As far as this brāhmaṇa dwarf (the incarnation Vāmanadeva) is concerned, if He is Lord Viṣṇu, a simple brāhmaṇa, or even my enemy, I have decided to give to Him in charity all the land He has asked for." Mahārāj Bali was so fortunate that the Lord extended before Him His hand, which was reddish from touching the breast of the goddess of fortune, who is always smeared with red kuṅkum powder. In other words, although the Personality of Godhead is so great that the goddess of fortune is always under His command for enjoyment, He still extended His hands to take charity from Mahārāj Bali.

A person who wants to give everything in charity to Kṛṣṇa but does not want anything in return is considered the real renouncer. Thus, a devotee will refuse to accept any kind of liberation, even if it is offered by the Lord. Real love of Kṛṣṇa becomes manifested when Kṛṣṇa becomes the recipient of charity and the devotee becomes the giver.
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