Bhagavatam study 29 – 1.7.8-14 – Krishna attracts those who are not attracted to anything

Thank you srimad bhagavatam 178 chapter entitled the son of drona punished sasamhitam bhagavatim krtvanukramya chaatmajam shukam adhyapayam asa nivrtti niratam munhi sasamhitam bhagavatim here shukdev suta goswami is describing in response to shaunaka’s question about what vyasa did after narad muni departed so vyasa’s vision which led to his compilation of the bhagavatam is being described and in his vision he is saying that he saw how sasamhitam bhagavatim that samhita of the bhagavatam krtvanukramya chaatmajam krtva having done anukramya anukramya chaatmajam anukramya is correction and repetition so shukam adhyapayam asa nivrtti niratam munhi shukam adhyapayam asa so it taught him to shuka who was already engaged in the path of nivrtti niratam on the path of renunciation from the world so here there is a whole universe of meaning condensed in this one verse krtva anukramya anukramya the acharya explained that actually when vyasa composed the various vedic literature at that time he had composed the ethi puranas also so what exactly and yet he was not very satisfied so what does that mean that means that the bhagavad purana which was earlier composed was not distinctively exclusively focused on the glorification of the supreme so he after his pivotal discussion with narada thereafter decided thereafter edited it so that’s why correction and repetition that means editing means he made the focus much more steady much more intense much more simple minded and thus he was able to draw to bring the highlight on the supreme shukamadhyapayamas and that that bhagavatam which now became the amal purana that bhagavatam he taught to shukadeva goswami so who was niratam the story of shukadeva goswami is described in various puranas and is described shuka was so renounced that he did not want to even come out of his mother’s womb because he felt that although the mother’s womb is a place of suffering still at least there is no ambiguity that it is a place of suffering and thus one can seek single mindedly relief from suffering but in the outer world there is confusion about whether the world is a place of suffering or whether the world is a place of enjoyment because although suffering comes and comes frequently but along with that pleasure also allures in a very forceful and almost irresistible way and thus people never turn towards the ultimate remedy to suffering and so they look for happiness not beyond suffering but that is at the spiritual level they look for happiness amidst suffering at the same material level of reality and thus they stay trapped so here the Bhagavatam continues on and so so at that time when Shuka was not able to come out of his mother’s womb so he was actually instructed in the glory of the Supreme Lord and the Supreme Lord Himself came and assured him about his protection from bondage and yet even after that as soon as he came out of his mother’s womb he wanted to renounce the world but he was on the path of renunciation but on his way to the forest he heard a woodcutter singing something very captivatingly attractive and that was the Bhagavatam and he asked him where he had learned it the woodcutter said I learned it from your father and he went back to his father and learned from his father so what his father Yasir taught him was this Amalapurana the pure pure message of the Bhagavatam which was Anukrama Anukrama which was edited by him so both the editing of the Bhagavatam and the receiving of the pure Bhagavatam by Shuka from Vyasa are pointed to in this verse Shaunaka Vacha Savai Nivrtti Nirataha Sarvotro Pekshako Muni Kasyava Bruhatim Etam Atmarama Samabhyasat Savai Nivrtti Nirataha so the same words Shaunaka takes that if he was engaged in the path of renunciation completely absorbed in renunciation then Sarvatro Pekshako being indifferent to everything just means that one doesn’t it doesn’t mean neglect in the sense of irresponsibility it means indifference stimulated by transcendence so just as somebody may be whereas somebody is so absorbed in something that one doesn’t even notice money so they are two very different things so here he was he was absorbed in transcendence in the renunciation of the world and he was Sarvatro Pekshako he was contemplating higher truths and he was neglecting everything else therefore Kasyava Bruhatim Etam then in such a situation how Bruhatim Etam this he took up this vast task Samabhyasat understanding the Bhagavatam is a formidable task and why would one take up such a task Shaunaka is asking this question quite often the study of the purpose of Jnana is seen as Vairagya by studying scripture one becomes renounced from the world but if somebody is already absorbed in renunciation then why does such a person have to study at that time that is the question which is being asked by Shaunaka and this question as well as answer again point to the transcendental nature of the Bhagavatam that its Jnana is not the Jnana that leads to Vairagya its the post graduate revelation which goes beyond Jnana and Vairagya towards Parabhakti so the purpose of Bhakti Jnana is not just to increase our Jnana or to assist in Vairagya it is to increase our Vishwaksena Kathasuruchi the Ruchi to the Katha of Vishwaksena and that transcendental purpose will be explained gradually as the narrative of the Bhagavatam moves onwards Suta Vacha Atma Ramashchimonyo Nirgranthapya Urukrame Kurvantya Hetukim Bhaktim Ittham Bhuta Gunaharihi so here Atma Ramashchimonyo Suta Goswami answers this with a very famous verse from Bhagavatam this is 7.10 and he says in this verse Atma Ramashchimonyo the sage who was Atma Ram who was self satisfied Ram means satisfaction Atma is self so one who is satisfied in oneself Nirgrantha Granthi can refer to attachment or in the specific context of this discussion Grantha can also refer to book Nirgrantha one who had no attachment to this world and one whose renunciation did not depend on the study of books we when we try to renounce certain things in this world quite often we are caught captivated trapped by the delusions of the world and we need to study scripture repeatedly to boost our renunciation not even boost actually maintain our renunciation but he was at a stage Nirgrantha he had internalised renunciation so deeply that he did not rely on scripture for his renunciation Shabda Brahmanu Vartite Shabda Brahmati Vartate Krishna also talks about this in the Bhagavad Gita when he is talking about advanced yogi that Purva Abhyasenate Naivar Riyate Yavashopisa Jigyasurpa Yogasya Shabda Brahmati Vartate in the series of verses from 6.41 to 45 Krishna talks about how the yogi even if deviated not being successful in this life will continue on in the next life and there he says that by past practise when one starts off in spiritual practise one goes beyond Shabda Brahma one goes beyond the range of Vedic sound Nirgrantha of course Nirgrantha can also here refer to as it refers in the Bhagavad Gita to the point that the three Vedas primarily talk about Dharmarthakama and why such a person and serious yogi is far beyond seeking Dharmarthakama the three Purusharthas that person is focused on transcendence on seeking Moksha so Nirgrantha api so Nirgrantha api so you know in English there are even if constructions even though this this this still this happens so even though he was this this this even though he was Muni he was Atmaram he was Nirgrantha still Urukrame unto that Lord who performs wonderful activities Kurvantya hetu kim bhaktim he performed Ahaituki Bhakti unmotivated Bhakti Bhut Guno Hari and such are the qualities of Lord Hari Bhut such are the qualities now this word has been technically analysed by various Acharyas in various different ways and famously in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s past times in his scholarly discussions Chaitanya Mahaprabhu analysed this verse while talking with the scholars with whom he discussed Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had very scholarly discussions with Prakashana Saraswati in Varanasi and Sarovar Bhattacharya in Puri and then later on the Goswamis requested him to repeat the discussion and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did that and we will not go into that technical analysis at a scholarly level of this verse but we will focus on the flow of the Bhagavatam so here in the flow of the Bhagavatam this is actually a glorification of the Supreme Lord which are the qualities of Lord Hari how wonderful are his qualities that normally those who are not attracted to any qualities are attracted to his past times are attracted to reciting his past times that means that his indirectly this verse is stating that his past times, that his qualities are transcendental so those who are self-satisfied that means they are not attracted to anything material they are not attached that means again they are not attracted to anything material Atmarama Nirgantha and they are thinkers, they are deep thinkers, they are Munis and yet Kurvantya Hetukim Bhaktim they perform Bhakti and what kind of Bhakti? They are not looking for something self-centred by that practise of Bhakti so Kurvantya Hetukim Bhaktim Ittham Bhuta Gunao Hari such are the wonderful qualities of Lord Hari such are the qualities that enable us to move onwards in our journey towards Krishna and to attain Krishna Ittham Bhuta Gunao Now is 1.7.11 Harer Gunaakshit Tamatir Bhagavan Badarayani Adhagan Mahad Aakhyanam Nityam Vishnu Janapriya So Shaunak’s question was, why did Shuka study the Bhagavatam? The answer by inference is that the qualities of the Lord are transcendental, that’s why even those who are Nivritti Nirataha, those who are renounced from this world when they hear about the Supreme Lord they understand that He is actually beyond this world entirely and they wish to become devoted to Him So Harer Gunaakshit Tamatir by the qualities of Lord Hari Aakshit Tamatir, one whose consciousness was attracted, was captivated Bhagavan Badarayani So Badarayani is Vyasade Badarayani is the son of Vyasade, that is Shuka Bhagavan Badarayani Now here, we see how the Bhagavatam uses the word Bhagavan repeatedly before referring to various great people and that uses the word Bhagavan in a non-technical sense Bhagavan Badarayani Adhagan Mahad Aadhya Mahad Aakhyanam Adhagan He underwent studies Adhyayan Adhyayan is a common word Adhya, that is a common word used to refer to studies, so this is a variant of that Adhagan Mahad Aakhyanam that great narration he studied Nityam Vishnujana Priya, that which is always very much loved by Vishnujana So here, Vishnujana is the devotees, now this Vishnujana Priya can refer this describer can refer to various things, it can refer to how Shukdev himself was very dear to the devotees, how the Bhagavatam is dear to the devotees and how the study of the Bhagavatam is dear to the devotees Mahad Aakhyanam Nityam Vishnujana Priya Because the lord’s qualities are transcendental and because Shuka desired to become absorbed in the lord, knowing that he was transcendental to transcendence that is transcendence to eternal existence which is the Brahman level of reality and there is above that what is considered transcendence, which is largely centred on rejection of the material, negation of the material not positive realisation of the spiritual So that is what is talked about here that Krishna is transcendental to transcendence and it was about him that Shuka studied in this way His consciousness was absorbed in the supreme lord So now in this few verses it’s a very condensed narrative about how Shuka became enlightened in the Bhagavatam and became ready became capable of speaking on the Bhagavatam and now Suta will shift the focus and will start focussing on how Parikshit became ready to hear the Bhagavatam and that focus will go on from the 7th chapter till the end of this canto till the 19th chapter Parikshito Tharajarsher Janmakarma Vilapanam Samstham Chipanduputranam Vakshekrishna Kathodayam So Parikshito Tharajarsher Parikshit was a Rajarshi Janmakarma Vilapanam Janmakarma Vilapanam His activities his birth and activities were and especially amidst his birth and activities how he was especially delivered Samstham Chipanduputranam He was among the sons of Pandu that Panduputranam can refer to normally he was the descendant of the sons of Pandu and while describing his deliverance there are some preceding events to that description that is the Samstham departure or the renunciation of Panduputranam Vakshekrishna Kathodayam He will be speaking those things because in all those things Krishna Kathodayam there are pastimes of Krishna which will be narrated so Krishna’s activities were interspersed were interpenetrated they were tightly interwoven with the activities of his devotees He will be speaking Krishna Katha but he will be speaking what Krishna has performed so many pastimes in so many different places. Krishna Katha he will be speaking will be connected with how Parikshita appeared, what activities he did how he was delivered Vilapanam, this deliverance can refer to both the deliverance at the time of birth which will be described soon when he was attacked by the Brahma he was saved and the deliverance was also about how when he was attacked by the Brahma and that time he was saved his mortal coil, his material body fell away but he was saved through by Krishna through the Bhagavatam and both these things will be addressed in the subsequent narratives 17, 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 42 43 44 45 46 49 So the Veeras, the heroes they went to Veeragati the heroes went to the destination of the heroes what is the destination of the heroes? Veeragati is a poetic way of we could call it poetic, we could call it euphemistic way of describing the attainment of the of martyrdom of how somebody dies a hero’s death in a war field that is considered glorious. So Veeragati issue Vrukodara Veedagada so Vrukodara Vrukudara udara is belly, vruka is like a wolf, so wolf belly that means wolves are considered to be voracious eaters so by referring to Bhima as Vrukodara the point is so Vrukodara he had he had appetite like wolf, he had huge appetite and with the huge energy that he had he would also act ferociously Gadha Gadha Abhimarshyam so by being attacked Abida, being beaten, pounded Abhimarshyam he was lamenting Bhagnorudande Nitrashtaputte Bhagna broken Urudande so Urudande is translated by Prabhupada as final god so basically he was hit on the thigh and by being hit on the thigh it was not just the thigh that broke but the blow was so ferocious that his whole body broke down practically.
It was one blow but that one blow was enough to spell the end of the fight and the end of the life of the fighter of who was Dhritarashtaputra that is Duryodhana Dhritarashtaputra but he was the leader of his sons and he was the person whose whole body was broken by the blow of Bhima’s mace now after this so here the Bhagavatam takes off where the Bhagavatam takes off where the where the Mahabharata more or less ends its climactic battle so the battle of the Mahabharata is condensed very shortly here and the ending point of that battle was that Duryodhana was the last hero to fall and when he fell the war ended but after the war ended another tragedy happened and that tragedy and the atrocity the atrocious mentality that caused the tragedy that is going to be the focus in the subsequent narrative Bhartupriyam Draune Itismapashyan Bhartupriyam Bhartu is the master wanting to please his master Draune Itismapashyan Draune is Dronacharya, Draune is his son Itismapashyan so seeing this Krishna Sutanam Swapatam so what did he do? Krishna Sutanam Krishna is Draupadi her Sutanam, her children Swapatam Swapatam while they were sleeping Upaharad so Upahar is to give as a gift deliver the prize cut off their heads while they were sleeping Vipriyamevatasya he wanted to please him Jugupsitam karma vigarhayanti Jugupsitam karma he did a terrible karma and vigarhayanti however that was considered a reproachable reprehensible in fact even by Duryodhana so here Ashwathama he felt that Duryodhana had been felt unfairly and he felt that the Pandavas had even killed his father Drona unfairly and therefore they deserved an unfair retaliation and that unfair retaliation was in terms of killing the sleeping sons of Draupadi slaughtered them while they were sleeping now this is actually very similar to what we can call what we see in modern terrorism terrorism means that terrorism targets people who are the normal Kshatriya code is that one’s enemy should be equal, should be alert and should be equipped so elephant warrior is not meant to trample a foot soldier elephant warrior should confront an elephant warrior so they should be equal and they should be alert that means it is not that one should fight when one should attack an enemy when that enemy is not watching the enemy is engaged with someone else and then one attacks no and it may be alert but if the enemy has no weapons then what one should not attack at that time so if we say terrorist terrorists actually attack they violate all these conducts of Kshatriya warfare they are usually with weapons and the common people have the people whom they attack they have no weapons further terrorists have they people are not alert, people are going around on their normal course of activities and suddenly a machine gun attack, a bomb attack is there and they are equipped, people are not equipped at all so in this way actually what Ashwatthama did was actually also in one sense an act of terrorism that he he the enemy Sopatha they were sleeping, they were the sons of Pandu they were at a time not at all ready for war and to kill them is an act as it is such a terrible act a heinous act so he wanted to offer the heads of the five Pandavas but when Duryodhana realised that they were not the head of the five Pandavas, they were the head of their sons Duryodhana felt grief struck that our whole dynasty is destroyed now and he disapproved strongly what what Ashwatthama had done and he reproached him there for it and in this way this particular when one tries to so Ashwatthama not only did he abandon morality but he failed to even please the person whom he had set out to please, that is Duryodhana and thus his whole mission became a horrendous horrendous disaster tragedy, atrocity and the fallout of that, the consequence of that will be described in subsequent verses which we will discuss in our future classes