SB 06.03.20 svayambhur naradah sambhuh... cited

Expressions researched:
"Grandfather Bhisma, Bali Maharaja" |"Lord Brahma, Bhagavan Narada" |"Lord Kapila [the son of Devahuti], Svayambhuva Manu" |"Lord Siva, the four Kumaras" |"Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja" |"Sukadeva Gosvami and I myself" |"balir vaiyasakir vayam" |"kumarah kapilo manuh" |"prahlado janako bhismo" |"svayambhur naradah sambhuh"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "6.3.20" or "Grandfather Bhisma, Bali Maharaja" or "Lord Brahma, Bhagavan Narada" or "Lord Kapila (the son of Devahut), Svayambhuva Manu" or "Lord Siva, the four Kumaras" or "Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja" or "Sukadeva Gosvami and I myself" or "balir vaiyasakir vayam" or "kumarah kapilo manuh" or "prahlado janako bhismo" or "svayambhur naradah sambhuh"

SB Canto 3

SB 3.9.10, Purport:

As we find in the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the initiator of religious principles is the Lord Himself. In Bhagavad-gītā also we find that the Lord condemns all forms of religion other than that which entails the process of surrendering unto the Supreme. Any system which leads one to the devotional service of the Lord, and nothing else, is actually religion or philosophy. In the Sixth Canto we find the following statements of Yamarāja, the controller of all unfaithful living entities:

dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītaṁ

na vai vidur ṛṣayo nāpi devāḥ

na siddha-mukhyā asurā manuṣyāḥ

kuto nu vidyādhara-cāraṇādayaḥ

(SB 6.3.19)

svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ

kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ

prahlādo janako bhīṣmo

balir vaiyāsakir vayam

dvādaśaite vijānīmo

dharmaṁ bhāgavataṁ bhaṭāḥ

guhyaṁ viśuddhaṁ durbodhaṁ

yaṁ jñātvāmṛtam aśnute

"The principles of religion are initiated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and no one else, including the sages and demigods, can manufacture any such principles. Since even great sages and demigods are unauthorized to inaugurate such principles of religion, what to speak of others—the so-called mystics, demons, human beings, Vidyādharas and Cāraṇas living in the lower planets? Twelve personalities—Brahmā, Nārada, Lord Śiva, Kumāra, Kapila, Manu, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Janaka Mahārāja, Bhīṣma, Bali, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Yamarāja—are agents of the Lord authorized to speak and propagate the principles of religion." (SB 6.3.19-21)

SB Canto 4

SB 4.24.18, Purport:

Lord Śiva is known as the greatest devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is known as the best of all types of Vaiṣṇavas (vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ). Consequently, Lord Śiva has a Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, the disciplic succession known as the Rudra-sampradāya. Just as there is a Brahma-sampradāya coming directly from Lord Brahmā, the Rudra-sampradāya comes directly from Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva is one of the twelve great personalities, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.20):

svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ

kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ

prahlādo janako bhīṣmo

balir vaiyāsakir vayam

These are twelve great authorities in preaching God consciousness. The name Śambhu means Lord Śiva. His disciplic succession is also known as the Viṣṇu Svāmī-sampradāya, and the current Viṣṇu Svāmī-sampradāya is also known as the Vallabha-sampradāya. The current Brahma-sampradāya is known as the Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya. Even though Lord Śiva appeared to preach Māyāvāda philosophy, at the end of his pastime in the form of Śaṅkarācārya, he preached the Vaiṣṇava philosophy: bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate. He stressed worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Govinda, three times in this verse and especially warned his followers that they could not possibly achieve deliverance, or mukti, simply by word jugglery and grammatical puzzles. If one is actually serious to attain mukti, he must worship Lord Kṛṣṇa. That is Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya's last instruction.

SB 4.24.51, Translation and Purport:

The lower part of the Lord's waist is dark and covered with yellow garments and a belt bedecked with golden embroidery work. His symmetrical lotus feet and the calves, thighs and joints of His legs are extraordinarily beautiful. Indeed, the Lord's entire body appears to be well built.

Lord Śiva is one of the twelve great authorities mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.20). These authorities are Svayambhū, Nārada, Śambhu, Kumāra, Kapila, Manu, Prahlāda, Janaka, Bhīṣma, Bali, Vaiyāsaki, or Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and Yamarāja. The impersonalists, who generally worship Lord Śiva, should learn of the transcendental sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1) of the Lord. Here Lord Śiva kindly describes the details of the Lord's bodily features. Thus the impersonalists' argument that the Lord has no form cannot be accepted under any circumstance.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.25.9, Purport:

The following quotations from Caitanya-bhāgavata (Ādi-khaṇḍa, 1.48-52 and 1.58-69) tell of the glories of Lord Ananta:

ki brahmā, ki śiva, ki sanakādi 'kumāra'

vyāsa, śuka, nāradādi, 'bhakta' nāma yāṅra

"Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras (Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana and Sanāt-kumāra), Vyāsadeva, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Nārada are all pure devotees, eternal servants of the Lord.

sabāra pūjita śrī-ananta-mahāśaya

sahasra-vadana prabhu—bhakti-rasamaya

"Lord Śrī Ananta is worshiped by all the uncontaminated devotees mentioned above. He has thousands of hoods and is the reservoir of all devotional service.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.3.20-21, Translation and Purport:

Lord Brahmā, Bhagavān Nārada, Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras, Lord Kapila (the son of Devahūti), Svāyambhuva Manu, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Janaka Mahārāja, Grandfather Bhīṣma, Bali Mahārāja, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and I myself know the real religious principle. My dear servants, this transcendental religious principle, which is known as bhāgavata-dharma, or surrender unto the Supreme Lord and love for Him, is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. It is very confidential and difficult for ordinary human beings to understand, but if by chance one fortunately understands it, he is immediately liberated, and thus he returns home, back to Godhead.

In Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa refers to bhāgavata-dharma as the most confidential religious principle (sarva-guhyatamam, guhyād guhyataram). Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, "Because you are My very dear friend, I am explaining to you the most confidential religion." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "Give up all other duties and surrender unto Me." One may ask, "If this principle is very rarely understood, what is the use of it?" In answer, Yamarāja states herein that this religious principle is understandable if one follows the paramparā system of Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras and the other standard authorities. There are four lines of disciplic succession: one from Lord Brahmā, one from Lord Śiva, one from Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, and one from the Kumāras. The disciplic succession from Lord Brahmā is called the Brahma-sampradāya, the succession from Lord Śiva (Śambhu) is called the Rudra-sampradāya, the one from the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmījī, is called the Śrī-sampradāya, and the one from the Kumāras is called the Kumāra-sampradāya. One must take shelter of one of these four sampradāyas in order to understand the most confidential religious system. In the Padma Purāṇa it is said, sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantrās te niṣphalā matāḥ: if one does not follow the four recognized disciplic successions, his mantra or initiation is useless. In the present day there are many apasampradāyas, or sampradāyas which are not bona fide, which have no link to authorities like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, the Kumāras or Lakṣmī. People are misguided by such sampradāyas. The śāstras say that being initiated in such a sampradāya is a useless waste of time, for it will never enable one to understand the real religious principles.