Category:Krsna Book Chapter 86 - The Kidnapping of Subhadra, and Lord Krsna's Visiting Srutadeva and Bahulasva
Pages in category "Krsna Book Chapter 86 - The Kidnapping of Subhadra, and Lord Krsna's Visiting Srutadeva and Bahulasva"
The following 115 pages are in this category, out of 115 total.
A
- A brahmana Vaisnava, or a devotee already on the brahminical platform, can realize Me within his heart, and therefore he definitely concludes that the whole cosmic manifestation and its different features are effects of different energies of the Lord
- A pilgrimage site becomes a holy place because of the presence of the saintly persons
- After getting on Subhadra’s chariot, he prepared himself for a fight. Taking up his bow and holding off with his arrows the soldiers ordered to check him, Arjuna took Subhadra away
- Although her (Subhadra) father, Vasudeva, and her brother Krsna were not in agreement with Him, Balarama was in favor of marrying Subhadra to Duryodhana
- Although in the order of householder life, he (Srutadeva) never took great pains to earn anything for his livelihood; he was satisfied with whatever he could achieve without much endeavor, and somehow or other he lived in that way
- Arjuna, however, desired to gain Subhadra's hand himself
- Arjuna, in the dress of a tridandi-sannyasi, remained in the city of Dvaraka for the four months of the rainy season, devising a plan whereby he could get Subhadra as his wife
- As he thought of Subhadra and her beauty, Arjuna became more and more captivated with the idea of marrying her, and with a plan in mind he dressed himself like a Vaisnava sannyasi, carrying a tridanda in his hand
- As soon as they saw Lord Krsna, their hearts immediately blossomed in transcendental bliss, just like lotus flowers upon the rising of the sun
- At that time, the brahmana Srutadeva and his wife, children and other relatives appeared there to render service to the distinguished guests. While touching the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, the brahmana began to speak
B
- Bahulasva said, "My dear Lord (Krsna), I beg to request You and Your companions, the great sages and brahmanas, to remain at my place at least for a few days so that this family of the famous King Nimi may be sanctified by the dust of Your lotus feet"
- Bahulasva said, "My dear Lord (Krsna), it is known to us that You are so kind and liberal that when a person leaves everything just to engage in Krsna consciousness, You sometimes give Yourself in exchange for that unalloyed service"
- Bahulasva said, "You (Krsna) have sent Your incarnation Nara-Narayana, who is engaged in severe austerities and penances at Badarinarayana"
- Bahulasva said, "Your (Krsna) knowledge is unlimited, and to teach all people how to execute devotional service"
- Bahulasva said, "Your transcendental form is full of bliss, knowledge and eternity. You can attract everyone’s heart by Your beautiful form as Syamasundara, Krsna"
- Bahulasva, the King of Videha, was very intelligent and was a perfect gentleman. He was astonished that so many great sages (Narada and others), along with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, were personally present in his home
- Because he (Srutadeva) was fully Krsna conscious and always engaged in the service of the Lord, he was completely peaceful in mind and detached from all material attraction
- Both brahmana (Srutadeva) and King (Bahulasva) ultimately achieved the supreme goal of being transferred to the spiritual world
- Both the brahmana Srutadeva and the King of Mithila, under the direction of the Lord, worshiped both Krsna and His followers, the great sages and saintly brahmanas, on an equal level of spiritual importance
E
F
- Feeling very much obliged and wanting to receive his (King Bahulasva's) guests to the best of his ability, he called for nice chairs and cushions, and Lord Krsna, along with all the sages (Narada and others), sat down very comfortably
- Fortunately, the King of Mithila was as good a devotee as the brahmana (Srutadeva). The name of this famous king was Bahulasva
H
- He (Arjuna) was afflicted with the thought of getting Subhadra and had not a moment’s peace of mind
- He (Srutadeva) spoke very highly of the Lord and the sages (Narada and others), and he and his wife washed the feet of each one of them. After this, he took the water and sprinkled it over all the members of his family
- He (Srutadeva) was very learned and had no desire other than to be fully situated in Krsna consciousness
I
- If one is not purified by the process of the seed-giving ceremony, or garbhadhana-samskara, he is immediately classified amongst the sudras because only the sudras do not undergo this purificatory process
- In a very friendly attitude the Lord (Krsna) sits along with the conditioned soul in the body
- In order to please both of them (Srutadeva and King Bahulasva), Lord Krsna expanded Himself into two and went to the houses of each one of them; yet neither the King nor the brahmana could understand that the Lord had gone to the house of the other
- In Prabhasa-ksetra he (Arjuna) heard the news that Lord Balarama was negotiating the marriage of Subhadra, the daughter of Arjuna’s maternal uncle, Vasudeva
- It has become the fashion of this age to be falsely proud of having taken birth in the family of a ksatriya or a brahmana, we see persons without any qualification other than birth claiming to be a brahmana or ksatriya or vaisya
- It is a fact that the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, in His Paramatma feature, enters the creation of this material world as Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu
K
- King Bahulasva and the brahmana Srutadeva, knowing well that the Lord (Krsna) had come there just to grace them with favor, immediately fell at the Lord's lotus feet and offered their respects
- Krsna convinced Lord Balarama that Subhadra was attached to Arjuna, and thus Balarama became pleased to know that she wanted Arjuna as her husband
- Krsna said, "By worshiping them (sages and brahmanas) faithfully, you will be worshiping Me more diligently. I consider worship of My devotees to be better than direct worship of Me"
- Krsna said, "He (Brahmana) has a clear conception of the whole material nature and the total material energy, and in every action such a devotee sees Me only, and nothing else"
- Krsna said, "If someone attempts to worship Me directly without worshiping My devotees, I do not accept such worship, even though it may be presented with great opulence"
- Krsna said, "My dear Srutadeva, all these great sages, brahmanas and saintly persons have been very kind to you by personally coming here to see you"
- Krsna said, "My dear Srutadeva, when a person is born as a brahmana, he immediately becomes the best of all human beings"
- Krsna said, "My dear Srutadeva, you may therefore accept all these great saintly persons, brahmanas and sages as My bona fide representatives"
- Krsna said, "My feature of four-handed Narayana is not so pleasing or dear to Me as is a brahmana Vaisnava. Brahmana means one well conversant with Vedic knowledge"
- Krsna said, "They (the sages & brahmanas) are so kind that they are traveling with Me, and wherever they go they immediately make the whole atmosphere as pure as transcendence simply by the touch of the dust of their feet"
L
- Lord Krsna could not refuse the request of His devotee, and thus He remained there for a few days with the sages to sanctify the city of Mithila and all its citizens
- Lord Krsna remained in Mithila both at the house of the brahmana Srutadeva and at the palace of King Bahulasva. And after favoring them lavishly by His transcendental instructions, He went back to His capital city, Dvaraka
- Lord Krsna was in favor of Arjuna; therefore, along with other members of the family, He tried to pacify Balarama by falling at His feet and begging Him to pardon Arjuna
M
- Maharaja Pariksit was very eager to hear more about Krsna, and so, after finishing the narration of Arjuna's kidnapping Subhadra, Sukadeva Gosvami began to narrate another story, as follows
- Meanwhile, the brahmana Srutadeva, simultaneously receiving Lord Krsna and His associates at his home, was transcendentally overwhelmed with joy
- My dear Lord, he (Srutadeva) said, "You are the Supreme Person, Purusottama, transcendentally situated beyond the manifested and unmanifested material creation"
N
- No one can be classified as a member of a particular caste, especially of a higher caste - brahmana, ksatriya or vaisya - simply by birthright
- None of the inhabitants of Dvaraka, including Lord Balarama, could recognize the sannyasi to be Arjuna; therefore all of them offered their respects and obeisances to the sannyasi without knowing the actual situation
O
- Once upon a time, King Pariksit’s grandfather Arjuna, the great hero, was visiting several holy places of pilgrimage, and while thus traveling all over he happened to come to Prabhasa-ksetra
- Once upon a time, Subhadra, seated on a chariot, came out of the palace fort to see the gods in the temple. Arjuna took this opportunity, and with the permission of Vasudeva and Devaki he kidnapped her
- One cannot be on the brahminical platform without having these preliminary qualifications, and without becoming a qualified brahmana, one cannot become a pure devotee
- One day Lord Balarama invited this particular sannyasi (Arjuna) to lunch at His home. Balaramaji very respectfully offered him all kinds of palatable dishes, and the so-called sannyasi was eating sumptuously
- Others, who are bewildered by fruitive activities, either by Vedic injunction or by customary dealings, and who do not take to devotional service, are captivated by the external happiness of the bodily concept of life
- Out of love for her, Arjuna’s eyes brightened, and he looked at her with glittering eyes. Arjuna decided that somehow or other he would achieve Subhadra as his wife, and his mind became agitated on account of this strong desire
P
- People are accustomed to go to the temples of God. They also visit holy places of pilgrimage, and after prolonged association with such activities for many days by touch and by worship, they gradually become purified
- Previously they (Citizens) had simply heard the names of the great sages but had never seen them. Now, by the mercy of Lord Krsna, they had the opportunity of seeing both the great sages and the Lord Himself
S
- Sex life without the purificatory process of Krsna consciousness is merely the seed-giving process of the sudras or the animals. Krsna consciousness is therefore the best process of purification
- Since Lord Krsna was very merciful toward these two devotees, King Bahulasva and the brahmana Srutadeva, He one day asked His driver, Daruka, to take His chariot into the capital city of Mithila
- Srutadeva said, "A devotee, however, can immediately see Your (Krsna) hand in every movement of material nature"
- Srutadeva said, "Although You (Krsna) are constantly with the conditioned soul, only when he becomes purified by devotional service do You become revealed to him"
- Srutadeva said, "As soon as You (Krsna) are visible by development of Krsna consciousness, all miseries of material existence are simultaneously vanquished"
- Srutadeva said, "For a nondevotee, You (Krsna) are appreciated only as ultimate death"
- Srutadeva said, "From the beginning of the conditioned soul’s entering into the material world, You (Krsna) are his constant companion"
- Srutadeva said, "His (Living entity) heart becomes cleansed of all material dust, You (Krsna) gradually become visible there"
- Srutadeva said, "It is said that Your (Krsna) Lordship, sitting in the heart of a devotee, gives him direction by which he can very quickly come back home, back to You"
- Srutadeva said, "My dear self-effulgent Lord (Krsna), I am Your eternal servitor. Therefore, kindly order me - what can I do for You"
- Srutadeva said, "Only a devotee can immediately appreciate Your (Krsna) existence within his heart, whereas for a person who has only a bodily concept of life and is engaged in sense gratification, You always remain covered by the curtain of yogamaya"
- Srutadeva said, "The activities of this material world and of the conditioned souls have nothing to do with Your (Krsna) position"
- Srutadeva said, "The conditioned soul feels the pangs of material contamination as the threefold miseries as long as You (Krsna) are not visible to him"
- Srutadeva said, "The curtain of yogamaya cannot cover the eyes of the devotee of Your Lordship (Krsna), but it can cover the eyes of the nondevotee"
- Srutadeva said, "The nondevotee is unable to see You (Krsna) face to face, just as a person whose eyes are blocked by the covering of a cloud cannot see the sun, although persons flying above the cloud can see the sunshine brilliantly, as it is"
- Srutadeva said, "We can appreciate that not only today have You (Krsna) given me Your audience, but You are associating with all the living entities as Paramatma since the beginning of creation"
- Srutadeva said, "You (Krsna) are present to everyone, but the nondevotee feels You as ultimate cruel death, whereas for a devotee You are the supreme instructor and philosopher"
- Srutadeva said, "You (Krsna) are the supreme controller and superintendent of the material nature’s activities. The atheistic class of men simply observe the activities of material nature but cannot find You as the original background"
- Srutadeva said, "You (Krsna) remain far, far away from them. But for one who engages in Your devotional service and purifies his heart by constant chanting of Your holy name, You are very easily understood as his eternal, constant companion"
- Srutadeva said, "Your (Krsna) Lordship, apparently also in a sleeping condition, enters this material world to create a temporary manifestation, not for Your personal necessities but for the conditioned soul who wants to imitate Your Lordship as enjoyer"
- Srutadeva said,"This direct dictation by You (Krsna) reveals Your existence within the heart of the devotee"
- Srutadeva thought, "How has it become possible that Lord Krsna, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His associates, the great sages, whose very presence makes a place as sanctified as a pilgrimage site, have agreed to come to my place"
- Srutadeva thought, "I have fallen into the deep, dark well of householder life and am the most unfortunate person"
- Srutadeva, being not at all rich, offered only mattresses, wooden planks, straw carpets and so on to his distinguished guests, Lord Krsna and the sages (Narada and others), but he welcomed them to the best of his ability
- Subhadra dedicated herself to Arjuna, and he resolved to marry her by any means. He then became absorbed twenty-four hours a day in thought of how he could get Subhadra as his wife
T
- That He (Krsna) and His companions (Narada and others) were present in both houses, although both the brahmana (Srutadeva) and the King (Bahulasva) thought He was present in one house only, is another opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The atheist, therefore, understands the presence of God as death, but the devotee understands the presence of God always within his heart, takes dictation from You and lives transcendentally, unaffected by the contamination of the material world
- The brahmana Srutadeva, simultaneously (with King Bahulasva) receiving Lord Krsna and His associates (Narada, Vamadeva, Atri, Vyasadeva, Parasurama, Asita, Aruni, Sukadeva and others) at his home, was transcendentally overwhelmed with joy
- The brahmana's wife cooked simple foods like rice and dhal, and Lord Krsna and His followers were very much pleased to accept them because they were offered in devotional love
- The conditioned soul’s enjoyment in the material world is temporary and illusory
- The devotee does not know anyone except Lord Krsna, and Krsna is most affectionate to His devotee
- The difference is like the difference between a cat’s carrying its kittens in its mouth and carrying a rat in its mouth. In the mouth of the cat, the rat feels its death, whereas the kittens in the mouth of the cat feel motherly affection
- The influence of great sages and saintly persons is so great that by seeing them one immediately becomes completely purified
- The instruction we receive from this incident is that King Bahulasva and Srutadeva the brahmana were accepted by the Lord on the same level because both were pure devotees
- The matter was settled, and to please the newly married couple Lord Balarama arranged to send a dowry consisting of an abundance of riches, including elephants, chariots, horses, menservants and maidservants
- The Mayavadi sannyasis take one danda, or one rod, whereas the Vaisnava sannyasis take three dandas, or three rods
- The soul, while sleeping, creates false or temporary worlds in his mind; he becomes busy in many illusory activities - sometimes becoming a king, sometimes being murdered or sometimes going to an unknown city - and all these are simply temporary affairs
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is naturally very much affectionately inclined to His devotees. When He heard Srutadeva's prayers of pure devotion, He was very much pleased and immediately caught his hands and addressed him
- The system of tridanda-sannyasa has been in existence for a long time, and the Vaisnava sannyasis are called tridandis, or sometimes tridandi-svamis or tridandi-gosvamis
- The three rods, or tridanda, indicate that a Vaisnava sannyasi vows to render service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his body, mind and words
- The Vaisnavas are trained to become freed from the four kinds of sinful activities - illicit sex, indulgence in intoxicants, gambling and eating animal foods
- The very purifying potency of pilgrimages or worship of different demigods is also achieved by the grace of saintly persons
- There is no performance of the purificatory processes known as samskaras, which begin from the time of the mother’s pregnancy and continue up to the point of the individual’s death
- There was a householder brahmana in the city of Mithila, the capital of the kingdom of Videha. This brahmana, whose name was Srutadeva, was a great devotee of Lord Krsna
- This opulence is described in the revealed scriptures as vaibhava-prakasa. When Lord Krsna married sixteen thousand wives, He expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms, each one of them as powerful as He Himself
- To fulfill his (Living entity) desires, although they are temporary and illusory, You (Krsna) enter this temporary manifestation to help him
W
- When it was disclosed to Lord Balarama that the so-called sannyasi was Arjuna, who had planned such a device simply to take away Subhadra, and that he had actually taken her, He became very angry
- When Lord Krsna and His associates were fed in this way, the brahmana Srutadeva was thinking thus
- When the citizens received the news of the Lord's (Krsna) arrival, they all felt unlimited happiness and came to welcome Him, taking gifts in their hands to offer
- While eating at the home of Balaramaji, Arjuna was simply looking at beautiful Subhadra, who was very enchanting to great heroes and kings
- While Srutadeva was welcoming Lord Krsna and His associates (Narada , Vamadeva, Atri, Vyasadeva, Parasurama, Asita, Aruni, Sukadeva and others), he simply forgot himself in transcendental joy
- While Subhadra was thus being kidnapped by Arjuna, her relatives and family members began to cry, but still he took her, just as a lion takes his prey and departs
- While the brahmana (Srutadeva) was thinking in this way, the guests finished their lunch and sat back very comfortably
- With folded hands, the King (Bahulasva) and the brahmana (Srutadeva) each simultaneously invited Lord Krsna and all the sages (Narada, Vamadeva, Atri, Vyasadeva, Parasurama, Asita, Aruni, Sukadeva and others) to his home
Y
- Yet the conditioned soul is by himself unable to create such a temporary situation for his illusory enjoyment
- You (Krsna) have appeared in the Yadu dynasty to fulfill Your mission of reclaiming all conditioned souls rotting in the sinful activities of material existence, and this appearance is already famous all over the world