All the great sages expressed their jubilation, and with Kaśyapa Muni before them they performed the birthday ceremony of Lord Vāmana. At the time of Lord Vāmanadeva's sacred thread ceremony, He was honored by the sun-god, Bṛhaspati, the goddess presiding over the planet earth, the deity of the heavenly planets, His mother, Lord Brahmā, Kuvera, the seven ṛṣis and others. Lord Vāmanadeva then visited the sacrificial arena on the northern side of the Narmadā River, at the field known as Bhṛgukaccha, where brāhmaṇas of the Bhṛgu dynasty were performing yajñas. Wearing a belt made of muñja straw, an upper garment of deerskin and a sacred thread and carrying in His hands a daṇḍa, an umbrella and a waterpot (kamaṇḍalu), Lord Vāmanadeva appeared in the sacrificial arena of Mahārāja Bali.
Narmada River
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 5
Many sages, including Śaṅkarācārya, have composed prayers in praise of the Ganges, and the land of India itself has become glorious because such rivers as the Ganges, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Kāverī, Kṛṣṇā and Narmadā flow there. Anyone living on the land adjacent to these rivers is naturally advanced in spiritual consciousness.
Two of the rivers—the Brahmaputra and the Śoṇa—are called nadas, or main rivers. These are other great rivers that are very prominent: Candravasā, Tāmraparṇī, Avaṭodā, Kṛtamālā, Vaihāyasī, Kāverī, Veṇī, Payasvinī, Śarkarāvartā, Tuṅgabhadrā, Kṛṣṇāveṇyā, Bhīmarathī, Godāvarī, Nirvindhyā, Payoṣṇī, Tāpī, Revā, Surasā, Narmadā, Carmaṇvatī, Mahānadī, Vedasmṛti, Ṛṣikulyā, Trisāmā, Kauśikī, Mandākinī, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, Dṛṣadvatī, Gomatī, Sarayū, Rodhasvatī, Saptavatī, Suṣomā, Śatadrū, Candrabhāgā, Marudvṛdhā, Vitastā, Asiknī and Viśvā. The inhabitants of Bhārata-varṣa are purified because they always remember these rivers. Sometimes they chant the names of these rivers as mantras, and sometimes they go directly to the rivers to touch them and bathe in them. Thus the inhabitants of Bhārata-varṣa become purified.
SB Canto 6
Thereafter, at the end of Satya-yuga and the beginning of Tretā-yuga, a fierce battle took place between the demigods and the demons on the bank of the Narmadā.
Herein the Narmadā does not mean the Narmadā River in India. The five sacred rivers in India—Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Narmadā, Kāverī and Kṛṣṇā—are all celestial. Like the Ganges River, the Narmadā River also flows in the higher planetary systems. The battle between the demigods and the demons took place in the higher planets.
The words prathame yuge mean "in the beginning of the first millennium," that is to say, in the beginning of the Vaivasvata manvantara. In one day of Brahmā there are fourteen Manus, who each live for seventy-one millenniums. The four yugas-Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali—constitute one millennium. We are presently in the manvantara of Vaivasvata Manu, who is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam/ vivasvān manave prāha (BG 4.1)). We are now in the twenty-eighth millennium of Vaivasvata Manu, but this fight took place in the beginning of Vaivasvata Manu's first millennium. One can historically calculate how long ago the battle took place. Since each millennium consists of 4,300,000 years and we are now in the twenty-eighth millennium, some 120,400,000 years have passed since the battle took place on the bank of the River Narmadā.
SB Canto 8
While engaged in performing the sacrifice in the field known as Bhṛgukaccha, on the northern bank of the Narmadā River, the brahminical priests, the descendants of Bhṛgu, saw Vāmanadeva to be like the sun rising nearby.
SB Canto 9
Once while enjoying in the water of the River Narmadā, the puffed-up Kārtavīryārjuna, surrounded by beautiful women and garlanded with a garland of victory, stopped the flow of the water with his arms.
Because Kārtavīryārjuna made the water flow in the opposite direction, the camp of Rāvaṇa, which was set up on the bank of the Narmadā near the city of Māhiṣmatī, was inundated. This was unbearable to the ten-headed Rāvaṇa, who considered himself a great hero and could not tolerate Kārtavīryārjuna's power.
Rāvaṇa was out touring to gain victory over all other countries (dig-vijaya), and he had camped on the bank of the Narmadā River near the city of Māhiṣmatī.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
At Pāṇḍarapura the Lord received news from Śrī Raṅga Purī that Śaṅkarāraṇya (Viśvarūpa) had disappeared there. He then went to the banks of the Kṛṣṇa-veṇvā River, where He collected from among the Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇas a book written by Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta. The Lord then visited Tāpī, Māhiṣmatī-pura, the Narmadā River and Ṛṣyamūka-parvata. He entered Daṇḍakāraṇya and liberated seven palm trees. From there He visited a place known as Pampā-sarovara and visited Pañcavaṭī, Nāsika, Brahmagiri and also the source of the Godāvarī River, Kuśāvarta.
When Śaṅkarācārya was only eight years old, he completed his study of all scriptures and took sannyāsa from Govinda, who was residing on the banks of the Narmadā. After accepting sannyāsa, Śaṅkarācārya stayed with his spiritual master for some days. He then took his permission to go to Vārāṇasī, and from there he went to Badarikāśrama, where he stayed until his twelfth year. While there, he wrote a commentary on the Brahma-sūtra, as well as on ten Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad-gītā.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu next arrived at the banks of the river Tāpī. After bathing there, He went to Māhiṣmatī-pura. While there, He saw many holy places on the banks of the river Narmadā.
CC Antya-lila
For a further explanation of the importance of Bhārata-bhūmi, one may refer to the Ādi-līlā 9.41 and also Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.19.19–27. The special feature of a birth in India is that a person born in India becomes automatically God conscious. In every part of India, and especially in the holy places of pilgrimage, even an ordinary uneducated man is inclined toward Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and as soon as he sees a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, he offers obeisances. India has many sacred rivers, such as the Ganges, Yamunā, Narmadā, Kāverī and Kṛṣṇā, and simply by bathing in these rivers people are liberated and become Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
When he had fixed the form of the Lord in his mind, he began to imagine in his meditations that he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing, with ornaments, helmets and other paraphernalia. Then he offered his respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lord. After finishing the dressing, he began to imagine that he was cleaning the temple very nicely. After cleansing the temple, he imagined that he had many water jugs made of gold and silver, and he took all those jugs to the river and filled them with the holy water. Not only did he collect water from the Godāvarī, but he collected from the Ganges, Yamunā, Narmadā and Kāverī. Generally a Vaiṣṇava, while worshiping the Lord, collects water from all these rivers by mantra chanting. This brāhmaṇa, instead of chanting some mantra, imagined that he was physically securing water from all these rivers in golden and silver waterpots. Then he collected all kinds of paraphernalia for worship—flowers, fruits, incense and sandalwood pulp. He collected everything to place before the Deity. All these waters, flowers and scented articles were then very nicely offered to the Deities to Their satisfaction. Then he offered ārati, and with the regulative principles he finished all these activities in the correct worshiping method.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Under the circumstances, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherd men "once upon a time desired." This means that they were not regularly observing the Śiva-rātri function but that once upon a time they wanted to go to Ambikāvana out of curiosity. Ambikāvana is somewhere in Gujarat Province, and it is said to be situated on the river Sarasvatī. Yet we do not find any Sarasvatī River in Gujarat Province, although there is a river named Savarmatī. In India, all the big places of pilgrimage are situated on nice rivers like the Ganges, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, Narmadā, Godāvarī and Kāverī. Ambikāvana was situated on the bank of the Sarasvatī, and Nanda Mahārāja and all the other cowherd men went there.
Balarāma then visited the temple of Āryādevī, which is completely surrounded by water. From that island He went on to a place known as Śūrpāraka. After this He bathed in the rivers known as Tāpī, Payoṣṇī and Nirvindhyā, and then He came to the forest known as Daṇḍakāraṇya. This is the same Daṇḍakāraṇya forest where Lord Rāmacandra lived while in exile. Lord Balarāma next came to the bank of the river Narmadā, the biggest river in central India. On the bank of this sacred Narmadā is a pilgrimage spot known as Māhiṣmatī-purī. After bathing there according to regulative principles, Lord Balarāma returned to Prabhāsa-tīrtha, where He had begun His journey.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Now in India there is a system of worshiping the Ganges water. Ganges water. Ganges water. There are five sacred rivers which the Hindus, they worship. They are Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Kāverī, Godāvarī, Narmadā. Just like you have got your Hudson River here, similarly there are many rivers, and one of them... These five rivers, they are accepted as the sacred river and people take their bath and offer their respect. Now, what is the process of respect? The process of respect is just like worshiping the Ganges water.
So he, when he got this point, that one can worship Kṛṣṇa within the mind, so after taking bath in the Godāvarī River, he was sitting underneath a tree and within his mind he was constructing very gorgeous siṁhāsana, throne, bedecked with jewels and keeping the Deity on the throne, he was bathing the Deity with water of Ganges, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Narmadā, Kāverī. Then he was dressing the Deity very nicely, then offering worship with flower, garland.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
There are so many jute mills and factories on the riverside. All the night soil, they are thrown into the Ganges. So still the Ganges is so powerful that it keeps clear. Hundreds and thousands people, still they take bath in the Ganges, and they keep very good health, those who are taking bath regularly in the Ganges. And cities and towns, there must be a river. In India, you'll find, all the important cities in India, they are on the bank of the Ganges, on the bank of the Yamunā, on the bank of the Narmadā, Kṛṣṇā, Kāverī, like that, all the important cities. And Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that "Don't go to a town and city where there is no river and where there is no friend and there is no temple. Don't go to that city. If there is no river, no friend and no temple, then that is... A great city is a great forest." So that is forbidden.
The saintly persons, they depended mostly on the riverside. Anywhere they will put a cottage on the river... Still that is going on. A saintly person, if he wants to remain in a secluded place, so they select any place on the riverside, have a small cottage. Still you'll find in many places, especially on the bank of the Ganges, Narmadā, Godāvarī, Kāverī. There are many saintly persons, especially on the bank of Yamunā and Ganges. If you go to Allahabad, you'll find they are living very peacefully, a small cottage on the bank of the Ganges.
Now, how the bhūmi or the land, gives us sufficient supply? Therefore there is arrangement of the river, nadī, nadyaḥ. And the stock of water is there in the ocean. It is practical. Just like you keep some stock of water according to your measurement. The stock of water is the ocean, because we require so much water. In India it is said that "You are spending like water." India is tropical country. They use profusely water. There are many rivers also. They take bath in the river, especially Ganges River. There are five very sacred rivers: the Ganges, Yamunā, Narmadā, Godāvarī, Kṛṣṇā. Big, big rivers there are. So tropical country there is sufficient supply of water, and you use it for cleanliness. Natural antiseptic water. Any septic, you simply wash with water, it will be antiseptic, natural. In India even the poorest man who has no sufficient cloth, but he will daily wash the cloth twice. And it is tropical country, there is no difficulty. You wash and within five minutes it is dry.
So parīkṣin nāma rājarṣiḥ prāptaḥ prācīṁ sarasvatīm. In India, all the rivers, they're coming from the Himalaya, western side, and flowing toward the eastern side, going to the Bay of Bengal. So prācīm, flowing to the eastern side, Sarasvatī... This is also one of the famous rivers. There are many rivers in India. Especially there is sacred rivers-Ganges, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, Godāvarī, Kāverī, Kṛṣṇā, Narmadā, like that. Each river is considered very sacred. So it is understood that Parīkṣit Mahārāja met the Dharmarāja and the earthly planet, talking together on the bank of the river Sarasvatī.
Initiation Lectures
Prabhupāda: Yes. (laughing) Repeat again. Repeat. Yes, what are the rules, you repeat!
Devotee: No meat-eating, no gambling, no illicit sex...
Prabhupāda: No intoxication.
Devotee: Narmadā.
Prabhupāda: All right.
Devotee: Narmadā.
Prabhupāda: Narmadā. Narmadā is a sacred river in India, like Ganges. What you have got here? Come on, next. Narmadā, Godāverī, Kāverī, Gaṅgā, Yamunā. All sacred river.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1967 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: There is a very great Indian shipyard, Visakhapatnam. Formerly it was not Visakhapatnam. So near that, five miles away from that station there is that nice temple on the hill. So I think that the temple scenery may be there and Caitanya Mahāprabhu's visiting that temple. And after that temple He came to the bank of river Godavari. Just like the river Ganges is very sacred river, similarly there are others, four other rivers. Yamuna, Godavari, Kṛṣṇa, Narmada, Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Narmada, and Kṛṣṇa. These five rivers are considered very sacred. So He came to the bank of Godavari and He took His bath and was sitting in a nice place underneath a tree and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Well, it is all proportionate, that... You are paying rent for this room where I am staying, $175 per month?
Uttamaśloka: It has just been changed to 175 from 150.
Prabhupāda: So out of five hundred dollars if you have to pay 175, rent, then why it is not poverty? Almost one third money is finished by paying rent. (break) ...seen in India the Narmada Falls? Huh? Jabalpur? Ah, it is wonderful.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Sadāpūta: One of the members of the temple here, Prabhupāda, is a doctor, and he was doing some research into malaria, saying that many of the chemicals that they were using to kill these mosquitoes in India are becoming ineffectual. And now the mosquitoes are bigger and they aren't able to control it, so malaria is going to be a problem during the breeding season this year, much worse problem they've created for themselves.
Prabhupāda: There is a place in India, Jabalpura, there is a fall passing, Narmada, and these stones are all marble, first class. Very nice place. I went there.
| Page Title: | Narmada River |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 14 of Oct, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=10, CC=4, OB=3, Lec=7, Con=3, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 27 |