Bhagavatam study 88 1.16.31-36 The earth and dharma’s devotion for Krishna

Thank you Srimad Bhagavatam 116 31 Atmanam Chanushochami Bhavantam Chamarottamam Devan Pittam Rishisadhan Sarvan Varnam Sathashraman so here we are continuing the discussion between the earth manifesting as cow and Dharma manifesting as bull Dharma has asked various questions about why the earth is in grief and the bull and the cow is answering those questions and answering those questions is actually taking things forward so at this particular point what is he saying essentially he is saying that Atmanam Chanushochami the cow is saying I am thinking about myself as well as about you Bhavantam Chamarottamam Amarottamam Uttama is the best among the gods so he is asking her why are you lamenting and the reply is being given is that I am thinking about my condition and your condition and because of that I am lamenting so in that sense situation is quite clear situation is that actually speaking he is he is responding that actually there is no such thing in life as distress that is causeless actually it is distress that is not causeless that is the real problem in this world you all need to recognize that everyone of us have to work for moving forward in our life in this situation for us here this is Srimad Bhagavatam 1.16.31 Devan Pitran Rishin Sadun Sarvan Varnanath Ashraman so it is a situation of lamentation not just for herself for Bhoomi Devi but for everyone in the world he is practically misting everyone the Lord’s departure and the prevalence of Adharma it causes problem not to one or two people but to everyone now their distresses are particularly manifest they can be directly seen because it is quite visible that they are going through so much problems but others are also suffering and there is no knowledge about why they are suffering or what is to be done about it. People often are blind because they look at the immediate causes of suffering okay this is quarrel with this person or this person robbed me this person did that but this is a doctor sees beyond the immediate symptoms to the actual infection that is causing the disease so Bhoomi Devi is similarly seeing the actual cause of suffering here that with being separated from the Lord with being subjected to Adharma in so many ways I am lamenting for myself I am lamenting for you I am lamenting for everyone all pious people includes practically everyone all Varanasi or Ashramas and there is this harmony in society then everybody suffers except for the Adharmic actually Adharmic are going to suffer in the long run but temporarily it may appear Adharmic are not suffering temporarily it may appear as if they are enjoying but it is a matter of lamentation for everyone so text 32 and 33 she is describing how that Lord is worshipped even by Brahma even by Brahma and other Devatas they also worship this person this Supreme Lord is so glorious that he is worshipped by everyone and Lakshmi Devi is also his servant and that Lord has now departed from the world and thus she is saying that Brahma Dayo Bahuditam De Dapang Moksha Kama Stapah Samacharan Bhagwat Prapannaha so Brahma and other Gods they desire just a Dapang Moksha they just desire a glance of Lakshmi Devi that Lakshmi Devi she has left her abode and she has left her abode and she has gone to the forest and she is performing austerity she is worshipping his lotus feet with great attachment so Vishnachak Thakur explains that why do Brahmaji and other Devatas worship Lakshmi so the point we made over here is how glorious is the Lord Devatas are worshipped by people in the world but the Devatas worship Lakshmi Devi and Lakshmi Devi is worshipping the Supreme Lord so in this way there is a triple level hierarchy where the Lord is way way above us above are the Devatas among those Brahmaji are the top most Devatas and they they want the mercy of Lakshmi and Lakshmi wants the mercy of the Lord so how great is the Lord and generally if say we are sad because we are separated from someone we love and respect and adore someone and that person has gone away and then some other person asks us why are you looking so sad say I am missing this person then he may ask tell me a little bit more about that person and then to the extent we have affection or respect for them we will spontaneously tell the glory and the speciality of that person by which the other person can appreciate oh this person is so special that’s how you are missing him so Bhoomi Devi is telling about the speciality of the Supreme Lord how great is he that even the greatest beings they seek his grace with a great attachment normally in this world we have attachment to worldly things and the attachment to worldly things causes bondage but the attachment to the Supreme Lord actually brings liberation so attachment is not the problem it is the direction of the attachment that is the problem and in this sense Bhoomi Devi’s lamentation on feeling the separation from the Lord is not like material lamentation in fact in the Bhagavatam itself in the fifth chapter the first canto, this very canto when Narada Muni sees the Lord, Narada as a boy he is not yet a Muni, Narada as a boy sees Vishnu for some time and then the Supreme Lord disappears and then it is said that by remembering you cannot see me because you are incomplete in service and impure at heart but by getting a glimpse of me you will get a desire for me and this desire for me will burn in your heart and it will burn away all the impurities from your heart so material desires burn our heart whereas spiritual desires burn away the impurities in our heart that means material desires they just simply cause torment when will I get it, when will I get it even if we get it, there is only little satisfaction, if we don’t get it there is a lot of agitation and frustration but spiritual desires, they actually the more we desire something that the thought of that fills our heart and other things are driven away from the heart so any emotion relationship with Krishna is auspicious so Anuradha Bhoomidevi is saying that Lakshmi is attached to Vishnu, Lakshmi is attached to Supreme Lord and she is telling now if even Lakshmi wants her association then what to speak of me, that is the point that she is going to make rhetorically and now go to text 116.34 tasyaham abhyakulishankushaketu ketai srimad padair bhagavata samalankrutanghe trinatyarocha upallabhyato ibhutim lokansamam nishrujyat utsmayitim tadante so now tasyaham abhyakulishankushaketu ketai, this is beautiful verse where there is an alliteration the ka sound comes four times in the first line abhyakulishankushaketu ketai this is as an adze this is in Sanskrit called as alankar, alankar is ornament, so there are two kinds of alankars in Sanskrit there is shabdalankar and there is arthalankar shabdalankar means the words are used in such a way that they create a mellifluous sound and there is a play of words that is shabdalankar and when there is play with meaning that is called as arthalankar artha alankar decoration with words so tasyaham abhyakulishankushaketu ketai so he is saying that that lotus, that lord whose lotus feet are decorated with abhyakulishankushaketu ketai, kulish so with a lotus, thunderbolt, golden flag, that lord shreemadpataire bhagavata samalankrutangi when that lord was on the earth then my form I was decorated with his footprints and then I surpassed the three worlds in beauty samalankrutangi my beauty became unparalleled in the three worlds trinatyaroj upalabhitato vibhutim, that was the opulence that I had got thus, this was the opulence I got but but then I became proud and thus he left me so here again Bhumidevi is talking about how she is speaking how she is explaining to her situation in a way that is very sweet she is talking about how she feels I became proud and that’s why the lord left me and that’s why I am no longer here I no longer have his association that’s why I am missing him now so she takes in a sense, responsibility for what is happening, rather than blaming the lord oh the lord is not present in Vaikuntha the lord is present with me how fortunate I am thinking like this when I became proud, the lord left me but actually the lord comes by his plan and the lord leaves by his plan and by his plan he helps us evolve in our spiritual life according to time, place, circumstance whatever is best for us the lord’s lotus feet this is the footprint that I made for my lotus feet consider them to be like the ornament of the earth this way I was decorated in such a beautiful way by his beautiful lotus feet I was decorated but then that lord left me and went away so now here, the point is now he has departed and thus I am afflicted by grief what can I do in such a situation oh lord now he is telling how that lord had personally favoured all of us that there are all these demoniac dynasties were there and he freed us he freed me from the burden of all those demoniac dynasties and he made me decorated he made me he made me opulent, he made me safe he made me dharmic and then when he removed the adharmic influences then you also were flourishing Bhumi is telling Dharma that you also were protected you also were uplifted in this way what happened was so he appeared he appeared in beautiful form in the Yadu dynasty such is the glory of that lord so this theme now in many western literature there is the idea of a damsel in distress and a prince charming coming to rescue that damsel so here we see that Bhumi Devi is like the damsel in distress but is not so much of a damsel she is taken in the form of a cow Dharma is often represented, dharmic imagery often comes in terms of a cow and bull in the Vedic context and he is telling how the lord was my rescuer the lord was my deliverer all these people were troubling me so much these demoniac there were dynasties not just one or two there were so many Akshahunis there were hundreds and thousands of these demoniac people were there and they were all elevated they were all there tormenting me but the lord delivered me from all of them the lord comes to establish Dharma and when he comes to establish Dharma he does so by empowering those who are dharmic and disempowering and neutralizing those who are adharmic such is his greatness and yo mamatabhiram mamatibharam asurvamshiragya mamatibharam it’s a huge burden for me the earth feels the demoniac people to be a burden on her because they misuse her resources for their own purposes now here if we consider if we consider the situation when the lord was there what exactly is Bhoomi Devi what exactly is Dharma the earth in the Vedic context is not just an inanimate object the earth is the manifestation of a goddess and the goddess has her own personal identity by which she can manifest in different forms but she manifests as the earth she is the earth so in the Varaha avatar when the lord lifted up Bhoomi Devi at that time he became their contact led to a child that child’s name was Bhauma he was a powerful warrior but unfortunately by bad association that Bhauma became Bhaumasura and that’s how there was distortion and degradation which happened but the point is that Bhoomi Devi is also a consort of the lord in much imagery especially in south India for example when there is when there are temples of Vishnu or Balaji sometimes there are two consorts there is Shri Devi and Bhoomi Devi and even lord Chaitanya has two wives Lakshmi and Vishnu Lakshmi Devi and Vishnu Priya they are considered sometimes to be like Shri Devi and Bhoomi Devi and the temple that Bhaktanath Thakur built for lord Chaitanya in another temple that he officially supported there is a depiction of lord Chaitanya with Shri Devi and Bhoomi Devi normally lord Chaitanya is depicted as a devotee with his associates all glorifying Krishna but sometimes he is depicted this way also the important thing is that Bhoomi Devi is considered to be the consort of the lord in some ways and he is now experiencing immense separation from the lord and now he goes and now there is a beautiful verse which says that not only that she was herself reciprocating love with the lord but also she was seeing the reciprocation of love between him and his devotees 36th text 16th chapter how can I tolerate separation from lord Purushottam now she is not just talking about a principle that this lord came and did this she is talking about a very personal aspect of the lord he would glance with great affection his glance was laden with love his smiles were so sweet his words and his his speech and his words they were all so sweet filled with sweetness he is referring to his queens they were proud we have got the lord as our husband but then his qualities were so sweet that both their steadiness their self-control as well as their pride is just taken away and while that lord was there what happened I was in such ecstasy that my hair was standing up on end as long as his lotus feet were marking me I was jubilant so here refers to especially Satyabhama so now Satyabhama Gopal Champu explains that is actually the expansion of Radharani and Rukmini Devi is the expansion of Chandravali why like that? because Chandravali it is said she is submissive to Krishna in the Ujjwal Neelamani the imagery is given that sometimes there is a herd of elephants in which one she-elephant is going after a he-elephant and that he-elephant is going after another she-elephant so Chandravali is like the she-elephant who is going after the he-elephant of Krishna she is always eager to please Krishna to pacify Krishna to satisfy Krishna to serve him Krishna appreciates her service that is the mood in which she serves but it is Radharani who is like the she-elephant who is going away and Krishna is the he-elephant who is chasing her, who is trying to catch her to please her so we know there is Man Mandir in Vrindavan where Jaidev Goswami he saw the vision that actually Krishna put his head on the foot of Radharani to seek forgiveness from her so Madhumanini Naam that there are these queens they are not simply humble and submissive some of them like Radharani that mood of Radharani is manifested by the mood of Satyabhama in Dwaraka she demands from Krishna Chandravali is afraid that Krishna will go away from me and Rukmini is also similarly afraid oh if Krishna leaves me what will happen but Radharani and Satyabhama they just leave Krishna and they demand Krishna if you don’t do this we are not going to be with you but even such queens although they may act in this way that they feel as if Krishna depends on them that they feel that Krishna will go away we don’t care for Krishna they act like that but even when actually Krishna goes away from them they are overwhelmed in the Rastila when Krishna went away from Radharani eventually, first he went away from the Gopis and then went away from Radharani Radharani swooned in agony she couldn’t bear it so actually this is simply the flavor in which they are serving Krishna that they make it as if they are difficult to get and then Krishna is pleased to somehow pacify them and satisfy them and then woo them but their heart is also completely conquered with Krishna conquered by Krishna so sthairyam samanam their steadiness, their self-control their sense of pride, it’s all completely captivated by Krishna and this lord was so sweet that he could completely conquer the hearts of queens like Rukmini who anyway were sold out to him but even Satyabhama who seemed to be like difficult to please but that lord conquered even his heart so now here Vishwanath Jagadhakur makes a further point he says that sometimes Krishna would be in Dwaraka at that time the queens would be with him and when Krishna would go to Hastinapur or go elsewhere, the queens would not be with him but I was so fortunate that I was always with him because wherever he would go, his lotus feet would touch me and that’s why I was always with him and yet that lord has now left me also so he is saying that kaava sahet viraham purushottamas such a wonderful lord who loved everyone so much that lord has departed, how can we tolerate separation from him and then as this conversation is going on 116-37 tayorevam kathayato prithvidharmayo sthada parikshinnama rajrushi prapta prachimsa rasvatim so in this way Parikshit Maharaj overheard the conversation between the two of them tayorevam kathayato so the story is now coming back flash the bhagavatam is you could say a frame narrative, different narrations are happening, so Parikshit Maharaj it was described had earlier gone out on hearing the signs of Kali he had gone out to check what exactly was happening and to correct the any depravities that Kali might be doing and at that time he while he was travelling like this he chanced upon these two having a conversation and then he also saw how this Kali was tormenting the bull now he will take immediate strong action this is one so this is how the 16th chapter how Parikshit Maharaj received the age of Kali that ends