Bhagavatam study 97 1.18.4-10 Understanding Parikshit M’s treatment of Kali

Thank you. Maharaj Parikshit, cursed by a Brahmana boy. Text 4. We are discussing here, trying to understand Maharaj Parikshit’s treatment of Kali.
And then we will discuss his, how he dealt with others, how he was cursed and how he responded to that curse also. So here, text 4. नोत्तमश्लोको वार्तानाम् युशिताम् तत्कताम्रतम् स्यात्सम्रमोऽन्तकालेपि स्मर्ताम् तत्पदांभुजम् So here, Parikshit Maharaj is giving simply a summary here of the situation of the story of Kali. He is giving a simple summary and he is telling over here, नोत्तमश्लोको वार्तानाम् उठ्तमश्लोको वार्ता That is the story, the past time of Lord Hari.
What happened to that past time of Lord Hari? युशिताम् तत्कताम्रतम् That, it is one who is relishing those past times. One who is delighting in those past times. That person can never be overcome by illusion.
That person, स्यात्सम्रमोऽन्तकालेपि अन्तकालेपि, even at the time of death, for them, स्मर्ताम् तत्पदांभुजम् स्मर्ताम् तत्पदांभुजम् They will remember Krishna throughout their life and they will remember Krishna even at the time of death. That is their glory. So, here the भागवतम् is, this is a prelude to the point that Parikshit Maharaj actually remembered Krishna throughout his life and throughout, even in life and in death.
So, at one level, Parikshit Maharaj’s story might appear to be like a anticlimax or a failure to someone. That, oh, he was cursed and he died. To be cursed is not at all, normally, to be cursed will not be considered auspicious.
But, the previous verse stated that he became absorbed in remembrance of Krishna and by such remembrance of Krishna, he transcended material existence. So, it says over here that, नोत्तमश्लोकवार्तानाम् For them, those who live, those who hear Krishna Katha and those who live for hearing Krishna Katha, for them, there is no delusion at the time of death. So, what is, there is no delusion, the previous verse stated that how? When he was about to die, when he was cursed to die, at that time, he was not confused.
But instead, he immediately started taking shelter of the Lord by going to, by renouncing the world and going to Ayodhya. Going to, going to the, near the Ganga to the forest where he took shelter of Lord Hari. This is not astonishing.
That means, the point here is that this is to be expected for someone who is sheltered in the Lord. And he, here through this, Suta Goswami is also giving an assurance to Prahlad, to the audiences, to Suta Goswami and other audiences over there that, to Sona Kadhi Rishi’s over there that you will also get the shelter of the Lord. Have no fear.
If you remember, if you are hearing Krishna Katha now, if you keep hearing Krishna Katha like this, then you will also be able to hear at the time of death and thus, you will be able to attain life’s perfection. This is not at all, from the normal perspective, it is astonishing that normally people when they are about to die, they become fearful, they become overwhelmed by fear. But here, he has not become overwhelmed by fear and that is because he has understood the purpose of life.
He has understood how he can actually take shelter of the Lord and that’s why he took shelter of the Lord. Tamasloka Vartana. Now here, here is a similar theme which comes that in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that Antakale Chimamevan.
In 8.5, he says, remember me at the time of death. And for remembering him at the time of death, he says that, what should we do? We should try to remember him throughout our life. And that’s why 8.4 gives the principle, 8.5 he says, remember me at the time of death.
8.6 gives the general principle that remember me throughout my… that whatever we remember at the time of death, that’s what we will attain. And 8.7 is that, therefore remember Krishna throughout. Tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu māmanusmargadhecha.
So, remembrance of Krishna, taking shelter of Krishna, it’s a habit. If we develop this habit during the course of our life, that habit will stay with us in good stead throughout our life and it will enable us to remember him at the time of death also. So that is what happened to Parīkṣit Mahārāja over here and that is what is being indicated.
Tad kathā mṛtam, that it is a nectar. Nectar means that we get attracted to it, we get captivated by it, we develop a taste for it. And process of bhakti is not just about chanting Hare Krishna, it is not just about hearing Krishna Katha, it is about developing a taste for Krishna.
To the extent we develop a taste for Krishna, to that extent we are fortunate and to that extent our future is auspicious because that taste will always stay with us. Sometimes these two words pavitram and mangalam are used interchangeably or they have slightly different meanings. Pavitram means pure or purifying.
Mangalam means that which is auspicious, that which brings auspiciousness in future. So kathā mṛtam means, it is said that if we develop a taste for Krishna, it not only purifies our lower taste, so it is pavitram but it is also mangalam because it assures a bright future for us. Text 5 now.
tāvat kalir na prabhavet praviṣṭo apiha sarvatah yāvad īśo mahānūryam abhimanyavya ekarāt abhimanyavya ekarāt So the son of Abhimanyu is called Abhimanyavya, that is Parikshit Maharaj. Earlier he was referred to by the name of his mother, Uttarayam, son of Uttara. So like that Abhimanyu.
Ekarāt, so earlier the word was used samrāt, samrāt, digvij, samrāt means one ruler. The samyak rūpe nrāt, one who rules everywhere. Ekarāt means the one ruler.
So he was the, as long as he was the ruler of the, yāvad īśo mahānūryam, as long as he was the lord and he was extremely powerful, īśo, he was the controller, ūryam, ūryam means strength, power. One who had enormous power. So tāvat kalir na prabhavet.
Tāvat and yāvat, these two words often come as pairs in Sanskrit. They are something like, as long as this till that, till this time, till A, then B. As long as A was there, then B was there. So till that time Kali had no influence.
Till what time? Till Mahārāja Parīkṣit was ruling. praviṣṭo apiḥ sarvatah So, although he had entered, that means he had been allotted a place, he had entered, but he could not flourish. He could not spread.
Sometimes germs come in our body, but if our immune system is strong, then although the germs may enter into our body, they cannot influence us. So in fact, germs are always present in our body. It is only when the proportion of the germs becomes very high or if the immune system of the body becomes very low, then those germs start afflicting us and then they cause the spreading of the disease.
So Kali’s presence is like the presence of germs in the social body, in the society. But Mahārāja Parīkṣit’s strong rulership is like the immune system, strong immune system. So as long as he was ruling, although he had allotted a place to Kali, but Kali could not do anything malicious, could not do anything malevolent.
So here, it’s illustrated how Mahārāja Parīkṣit was powerful, not so powerful, not just to keep the gross disruptive forces like thieves and others under control, but he would settle disruptive forces, such as Kali. He could counter them also. That was his uryām, that was his great prowess.
Kali is much more powerful than earthlings, than mārtyānām, the people who live on earth. Kali is on the level of a celestial. He is in some ways evil, but he is much more powerful than humans.
But just as Arjuna, Parīkṣit Mahārāja’s grandfather, was able to defeat even the devatās in the Khandava forest and other places, similarly his grandson, and Arjuna was able to defeat the demons also, similarly his grandson Parīkṣit was so powerful that he could even hold Kali at day. Such was his great prowess. ई अभेवन्यव्य एकरात् That was his prowess.
Yes, text 6. यस्मिन अहनिय यर्य एव भगवान उत्स सर्जगाम् तइद्ध दैवेहानु वृतोसाव अधर्म प्रभव कली Now it’s interesting, the question comes up. The previous verse said that, प्रविष्टो अपिह सर्वता Although he was present, although he had entered, but he did not have influence. So now the next verse tells, when did he enter? यस्मिन अहनिय यर्य एव यस्मिन, on that very अहनि, अहनि अहनि भूतानि, every day, with every passing day.
It’s a well-known verse in the Mahabharata. Drishti Maharaj says that every day people are dying. But still, the remaining people think that we can live forever.
So अहनि means day. यस्मिन अहनिय यर्य एव So, on that day and on that very moment, भगवान उत्स सरजगाम, उत्स सरजगाम when he departed from गाम, from the earth, then what happens? तदई वेहा नुवृत्तो असाव तदा, तदा is at that time, एव, certainly, इहा अनुवृत्तो At that time, as soon as he departed, in this world, what happened? Following his departure, असाव, he अधर्म प्रभाव कलीद, he who is the personification of क्वारल, कलीद, अधर्म प्रभाव, he started accelerating अधर्म. So, in a sense, अधर्म had already entered into the earth in the form of कलीद, but it was Maharaj Pariksit’s powerful influence because of which he could counter, he could keep कलीद under check.
When Krishna was present, कलीद couldn’t have any hold, but as soon as Krishna departed, कलीद came. But although कलीद entered, but कलीद could not control, कलीद could not contaminate. So, it’s interesting that as soon as Krishna departed, कलीद entered.
That means, in this world, there is always the opportunity for evil to catch hold. Chaitanya Chartambud says, कृष्ण बहिरमुख जीव भोगवान्चा करे, निकटस्त माया तरे जपटी अधरे. So, निकटस्त माया.
निकटस्त means very close by, माया is situated. जपटी अधरे. जपटी means pounce.
The word pounce, जपट, in Bengali, literally you can translate it as pounce. Pounce means that something which is very big, which suddenly jumps and comes upon something which is small. So, for example, a deer is grazing peacefully, contentedly, and suddenly, from nowhere, a tiger pounces on it.
So, like that, we souls are tiny. We are jivas, and we are actually माया धीश. We are माया धीन, and Krishna is माया धीश.
These are two words used in Chaitanya Charitamruta. माया धीन means, अधिन means to be subordinate. So, we are subordinate to माया, and Krishna is superordinate to माया.
Krishna is superior to माया. माया धीश. So, as long as Krishna is present, माया cannot come upon us.
But as soon as Krishna leaves our heart, actually, Krishna never leaves our heart, but as soon as we turn away from Krishna, that means Krishna is no longer present in our consciousness. So then, immediately, माया pounces. So, this happens at an individual level, in each person’s heart, and it also happens at a global level, as is explained in this verse, that when Krishna leaves this planet immediately, माया in the form of कली is there nearby, waiting.
And immediately, माया pounces in the form of कली. So, माया is like the overall illusory energy. And one of the agents of माया is कली.
So, माया deludes people in different ways, but in this particular age, माया’s primary deluding agent is कली. So, here it is said, Krishna is the protector from the influence of कली. And the same thing will be elaborated later, that same Krishna can manifest in our hearts when we hear Krishna Katha, and thus, we can stay protected from माया.
Text 7 नानुद्वेश्टी कलिं सम्राथ सारंग इवसार भुक कुषलान्याशु सिध्यन्ति नेतराणि कृतानियत् नानुद्वेश्टी कलिं सम्राथ It’s interesting. Now, the sages might also be having a question. Earlier also, actually, the start of this pastime, in chapter 16 itself, how Parikshit received the age of कली, at that time, he had shown, Suta Goswami had started by saying that there was this person impersonating as a king, and he was attacking a bull and a cow, and tormenting a cow, and Parikshit Maharaj punished him.
So there, the sages had asked the question that why did he only punish him, why did he not kill him? So that answer is being given through this narrative. So one reason he didn’t kill was that because कली surrendered to him, and it is the duty of a Kshatriya to protect a surrendered person. Another understanding you will get is that Maharaj Parikshit was not envious even of कली.
नानुद्वेश्टी कलिं सम्राथ He did not resent. नानुद्वेश्टी can mean envy, it can also mean resent. So, he did not resent, he was not envious of the power of कली.
सारंग इवसारभक That because he was सारंग So सारग, one who goes towards the सार, सार is essence. So one who seeks the essence, essence seeker, इवसारभक and सारंग it literally means one who seeks the essence and conventionally, words have conventional meanings and they have etymological meanings. So, etymological meaning means a meaning which comes simply by the if we just use the words, look at the words, split the word into its components, then that leads to etymological meaning.
So, for example, the word mobile, etymologically, it can refer to anything which is mobile. You can have a mobile van or anything that is moving that can be called as mobile. But nowadays, etymological meaning is anything that is movable, that is mobile.
Although that is the etymological meaning, there is a conventional meaning. Conventional means what is normally used. So, the conventional meaning of a mobile is that it refers to a phone.
A phone which is movable. So similarly, सारंग, etymologically it refers to essence seeker. Sometimes people also have the name सारंग.
Now, but conventionally it refers to a particular creature which is the seeker of the essence. That is a bee. When a bee is given a flower, goes to a flower, it doesn’t look at the thorns, it doesn’t look at the various other parts, it goes straight to the nectar and takes the nectar.
Similarly, सारंग इव सार भृक. So, just as सार भृक, one who eats or one who accepts the सार. So, Parishad Maharaj was like that, an essence seeker.
And being an essence seeker, what did he see? He saw that कली also has something good in it. Sometimes there might be a thorny plant, but it may have nectar in it. So, कली is like a very thorny plant, but there is some nectar in it, some good in it.
कुषलान्य आशु सिध्यन्ति कुषलान्य आशु सिध्यन्ति If somebody does good, then that quickly becomes successful. नेतरानि कृतानिच्यत् But on the other hand, if somebody does bad, then that doesn’t lead to any result. What this means is, that actually, in Kaliyuga, if at the level of our mind, we just desire to do something good, then we get the result of doing that.
On the other hand, if we think of doing something bad, that doesn’t give any result. So, mental karma does not provide any results. So, in that sense, कली is auspicious.
Basically, the principle of karma is determined by the extent of our kshetra. So, for example, if we have our house, and in our house, if we have a pet dog, and that pet dog goes out and bites someone, or that pet dog goes and soils the environment by excreting foul substance, then the owner will be responsible. But if in the neighbourhood, there happens to be a stray dog, and the stray dog stays somewhere in the neighbourhood, but if that stray dog does something similar, we won’t be held responsible.
Because that dog is not in our controllership. It’s not within our kshetra. So, whatever we have control over, if we don’t responsibly control it, then we are accountable by karma.
So, in Kali Yuga, we really don’t have much control over our mind. And the mind can go wild. And that is why, we are not held accountable for the thoughts in our mind.
Because the mind is wild, and in fact, one of the characteristics of Kali Yuga, it’s almost a defining characteristic, is the last characteristics, manda-sumanda-matayo, manda-bhagya-yopadrataha, here, certainly, last characteristics of that, certainly that assertive word comes, and then comes upadrutaha. In the first canto, first chapter itself, first and second chapters itself, upadrutaha means very disturbed. So, people in Kali Yuga are disturbed.
That means their mind is out of control. So, when the mind is out of control, then how can they be held responsible for what they think at the level of the mind? So, then, that’s why we are not considered accountable for any bad thoughts that we may have. Then why do we get credit for good thoughts that we have? Because, although the mind is difficult to control, that doesn’t mean we have no control over it.
If with whatever little control we can have, if we can somehow direct the mind in a good direction, then we are given credit for that. So, this shows that Krishna is so kind and merciful that in Kali Yuga also, he has not forsaken people. He desires the good of even people in Kali Yuga, and the way he desires their good, or he works towards their good, is by giving them this facility.
If we just think good, then they get good result by that. And, of course, to say that bad thoughts do not have an effect, that means we may not get a karmic reaction for having bad thoughts, but however, if we keep entertaining bad thoughts, they will propel us towards bad actions, and that definitely will have a reaction. So, we cannot just take an indiscriminate licence and say that bad thoughts don’t matter at all.
Bad thoughts do matter, and we have to be cautious, just that we don’t have to get paranoid about having bad thoughts. So, Parikshit Maharaj saw this good in Kali and decided that he could allow Kali, even a residence over there. Now, text 8. किम्नु बालेशु शूरेण कलिना धीरभीरुन अप्रमत्तः प्रमत्तेषु योग्रु कौन्दु शुवर्तते So, now, what was Parikshit Maharaj thinking? This whole section is how Parikshit Maharaj deals with Kali.
किम्नु बालेशु शूरेण That, sometimes, there may be less intelligent people and they might find Kali to be very powerful. कलिना धीरभीरुन So, धीर means those who are self-controlled. For them, there is nothing to fear from Kali.
अप्रमत्तः प्रमत्तेषु Those who are अप्रमत्तः, that means those who are not intoxicated, that means they are cautious. When we become intoxicated, we don’t see where we are going. We might be going into a ditch, but we don’t even notice it.
So, that means we become careless. प्रमत्तेषु means those who are अप्रमत्तः means those who are un-intoxicated. They will be careful.
But those who are intoxicated, they become careless. यो वृको नुरुषु वर्तते He was like a वृर्क. वृर्क means tiger.
नुरुषु वर्तते Among men, he resided. So here, Parishad Maharaj understood that Kali can influence people who are weak. Prabhupada was once asked in New Vrindavan that if our purpose is to serve Krishna, then why is Maya so strong? Prabhupada immediately answered, because your purpose is not strong.
So, the temptations allure those who do not have a strong purpose to do something higher. We can see ourselves also, if we are doing something important, then if some, say, some message falls, some update comes up on our Facebook, some news comes up here, something not so important comes up, we won’t pay much attention to it. But if you’re just sitting idly, relaxing, and don’t have much to do, and you’re thinking, I need something stimulating, and then if something just pops up on our social media, we might spend a lot of time on it.
So here, people who are weak, apramatta, as it’s said, that means the people who are weak in their spiritual purpose, they can be tempted by Kali. People who are apramatteshu, they have nothing to fear. So Parishad Maharaj recognised that the serious people have nothing to fear from Kali.
But what about those who are not serious, those who are casual? Parishad Maharaj himself was like a tiger. He protected them. So he did not let them get influenced.
He prevented the casual from becoming casualties by himself being vigilant. Similarly, if we have strong spiritual guides, then they can protect us from becoming casual and becoming casualties. Text 9 In this way, I have spoken to you the story of Parishad Maharaj.
Upavarnitam, I described to you. The auspicious, the pure story of Parishad Maharaj. It is very much connected with Vasudev, the story of Vasudev.
As you had asked me, I have told the story now. It’s interesting here that in the 16th chapter, when the story started, at that time, the sages asked Suta Goswami that tell us the story of Parishad Maharaj dealing with the cow-bull and this impersonating turkey, if it is connected with Krishna. Otherwise, what is the use of wasting our time discussing anything else? And Suta Goswami told the story and he is telling now, yes, it is all connected with Krishna because Parishad Maharaj is a great devotee of Krishna.
And the cow and bull, they are also devoted to Krishna because they are dharma, they are bhoomi and dharma. And then, he concludes his narrative of the story in 10th text. याया कथा भगवतः कथनियोरु कर्मणः गुण कर्माश्रया पूंभी सम्सेव्यास्ता बुभुषुभी याया कथा भगवतः So, whatever and whatsoever, Prabhupada says, that means, you know, whenever and wherever, we could say, put it another way, whenever and wherever, this कथा of Krishna, of the भगवतः, of this story about Krishna, कथनियोरु कर्मणः कथनियोरु, it is worthy of being spoken, wherever it is being spoken, उरु कर्मणः, who performs astonishing work.
So, in this case, what was the astonishing work that Krishna had performed? He had protected Parishad Maharaj in his womb, while he was still in the womb, and then he empowered Parishad Maharaj as his devotee to check even the influence of a as formidable a being as Kali. So, this is Krishna, उरु कर्मणः गुण कर्माश्रया पुंभी, so, he has astonishing qualities and he performs astonishing activities. गुण कर्माश्रया, so, गुण आश्रया, आश्रया means, that they are filled with the extraordinary qualities and activities are sheltered in him.
So, his stories of his wonderful activities, उरु कर्मणः, they are filled with, they reflect his qualities and his activities. सम्सेवयास् ता बुभू शुभी, सम्सेवयास्, सम्सेवयास् means, we should be served, and how are they served? The stories of Krishna are served by hearing. ता बुभू शुभी, बुभू शुभी, शुभी, auspicious, welfare, those who desire their welfare should hear such Krishna Katha.
So, that is the conclusion of this section and this instruction by Suta Goswami. He has described the story about Krishna and he tells that similarly the stories of Krishna should always be heard by those who are eager, those who desire their welfare. So, in the next verse, the sages will ask a question and that’s how as a result of their question, the story of Parishad Maharaj will be continued by Suta Goswami.
That we will discuss in our next session.