SB 1.9.41 (1964)

SB (1964) Ninth Chapter - Bhisma's Passing away in the Presence of Lord Krishna

SB 1.9.40 (1964) - SB 1.9.42 (1964)

Compare Versions: SB 1964 with SB 1972-77

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

TEXT No. 41

Munigana nripavarya samkule' antah Sadasi yudhisthrira rajsuya esam Arhanam upapeda ikshaniyo Mama drig gochara esa abir atma.

ENGLISH SYNONYMS

Munigana—the great learned sages, Nripati varga—the great ruling kings, Samkule—in the great assembly of, Sadasi—conference, Yudhisthira—the Emperor Yudhisthir, Rajsuya—a royal performance of sacrifice, Esham—of all the great elites, Arhanam—respectful worshipping, Upapeda—received, Ikshaniyo—the object of attraction, Mama—mine, Drig—sight, Gochara—within the view of, esa Abir—personally present, Atma—the soul.

TRANSLATION

There was the greatest assembly of all elites of the world namely the royal and the learned orders of the society, in the conference of Rajsuya Yajna performed by Maharaj Yudhisthira. And in that great assembly of great men Lord Sri Krishna was the object of worship by one and all as the most exhalted Personality of Godhead. This happened during the presence of Bhismadeva himself and he remembered the incident to keep his mind upon the Lord.

PURPORT

After gaining a victory over the battle of Kurkshetra, Maharaj Yudhisthir the Emperor of the world performed the Rajsuya-sacrificial ceremony. The Emperor in those days on his ascendance on the throne, would send a challenge Horse all over the world to declare the Emperor's supremacy and any ruling prince or king was at liberty to accept the challenge and express his tacit willingness either to obey or to disobey the supremacy of the particular Emperor. One who will accept the challenge will have to fight with the Emperor and establish one's own supremacy by victory in the fight. The defeated challenger would have to sacrifice his life making place for another king or ruler. So Maharaj Yudhisthir also despatched such challenging horse all over the world and every ruling prince and king all over the world accepted Maharaj Yudhisthir's leadership as the Emperor of the world. After this all such rulers of the world under regime of Maharaj Yudhisthir were invited to participate in the great sacrificial ceremony of Rajsuya. Such performances would require hundreds of crores of rupees and it was not an easy job for a petty king. Such sacrificial ceremony being too much expensive and also difficult to perform at the present circumstances it is now impossible to be done in this age of Kali. Neither anybody or any rich man can secure the required expert priesthood to take charge of the ceremony.

So after being invited, all the kings and great learned sages of the world assembled in the capital of Maharaj Yudhisthir. The learned society meant the great philosophers, religionists, physicians, scientists were all great sages and they were all invited. That is to say the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas were the topmost leading men of the whole society and they were all invited to participate in the assembly. The Vaishyas and Sudras were nonimportant elements of the society and they are not mentioned herein. Due to change of social activities in the modern age the importance of men has also changed in terms of so called important occupational positions.

So in that great assembly Lord Sri Krishna was synocere of the neighbouring eyes. Everyone wanted to see Lord Krishna and everyone wanted to pay his humble respects to the Lord. Bhismadeva remembered all these and was glad in his mind that his worshipful Lord the Personality of Godhead was present before him by His actual formal presence. So to meditate on the Supreme Lord is to meditate on the activities, form, pastime, Name and Fame of the Lord. That is easier than what is imagined as meditation on the impersonal feature of the Supreme. In the Bhagwat Geeta it is clearly stated (B.G. 12/5) that to meditate upon the impersonal feature of the Supreme is very difficult problem. It is practically no meditation or simply waste of time in the name of meditation because very hardly the desired result is obtained. The devotees however meditate upon the Lord's factual Form and Pastimes and therefore the Lord is easily approachable by the devotees than the mental speculators. This is also stated in the Bhagwat Geeta (B.G. 12/9) The Lord is non-different from His transcendental activities, means remembering Him directly and thus achieve the desired result without any difficulty. It is indicated also in this sloka that Lord Sri Krishna while He was actually present before the human society specially in connection with the battle of Kurukshetra, was accepted as the greatest Personality of the time although He might not have been recognised by them as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The propaganda that a very great man is worshipped as the God after his death is a mistaken ideology because a man after his death cannot be made into God, neither the Personality of Godhead can be a human being even when He is Personally present. Both ideas are misconceptions. The idea of anthropomorphism cannot be applicable in the case of Lord Krishna.

(Compare SB 1.9.41 Current Edition)

SB 1.9.40 (1964) - SB 1.9.42 (1964)