710315 - Lecture SB 07.06.29-07.07.09 - Bombay

Lectures by Date, 1971

710315SB-BOMBAY - March 15, 1971 - 25:21 Minutes

Prabhupada:

prahrāda tvaṁ vayaṁ cāpi

narte 'nyaṁ vidmahe gurum

etābhyāṁ guru-putrābhyāṁ

bālānām api hīśvarau

bālasyāntaḥpura-sthasya

mahat-saṅgo duranvayaḥ

chindhi naḥ saṁśayaṁ saumya

syāc ced visrambha-kāraṇam

(SB 7.6.29–30)

So after hearing from Prahlāda Mahārāja the sons of the demons, they said that, "You have stated that your knowledge was received from Nārada. It appears to be little astonishing because, so far we are concerned, we do not know any other teacher than Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka." Two teachers were appointed for instructing Prahlāda Mahārāja, their names were Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka and these two teachers were strictly prohibited by Hiraṇyakaśipu not to talk anything about Kṛṣṇa.

When Prahlāda Mahārāja was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa the two teachers were called for, "Why you have taught all this nonsense to my son?" The teachers replied, "My dear Sir, we do not teach this boy Hare Kṛṣṇa but naturally he chants Hare Kṛṣṇa. We do not know what is the cause." And after that Hiraṇyakaśipu decided that some of the men of Hare Kṛṣṇa party must be stealthily coming to Prahlāda and have had instructed him about this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So he tried to chastise him in different ways even by putting him on the fire or dropping him from the top of the hill, throwing him underneath the legs of an elephant, putting him amongst the snakes, in so many ways he wanted to stop him, but he was unsuccessful.

Then Prahlāda Mahārāja took the chance of preaching the Kṛṣṇa cult amongst the boy-class-friends. And the boys, they were astonished, "How is that, Prahlāda was preaching so nicely about spiritual matters? Wherefrom he learned it?" So Prahlāda Mahārāja replied that, "I have learned this from Śrī Nārada Mahārāja. Nārada Ṛṣi." Therefore they're inquiring astonishingly, "How is that you have learned this knowledge from Nārada?"

"First thing is that your father has appointed only these two teachers and he is very strict not to allow you to meet any other one, neither it was possible for you to go from the palace anywhere to learn these transcendental subjects. So how can we believe that you have learned this transcendental Kṛṣṇa consciousness from Nārada Muni?" This was their question.

evaṁ daitya-sutaiḥ pṛṣṭo

mahā-bhāgavato 'suraḥ

uvāca tān smayamānaḥ

smaran mad-anubhāṣitam

(SB 7.7.1)

This story of Prahlāda Mahārāja was being narrated by Nārada himself to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. So after hearing. So Nārada is a spiritual master of Prahlāda Mahārāja. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja, after hearing his class friends, the demoniac sons that, "How it is possible that you have learned it from Nārada?" To answer this question he first of all remembered the lotus feet of his spiritual master Nārada and smilingly began to reply as follows: prahrāda uvāca—Prahlāda Mahārāja said:

pitari prasthite 'smākaṁ

tapase mandarācalam

yuddhodyamaṁ paraṁ cakrur

vibudhā dānavān prati

(SB 7.7.2)

pitari prasthite 'smākaṁ

tapase mandarācalam

yuddhodyamaṁ paraṁ cakrur

vibudhā dānavān prati

(SB 7.7.2)

saptame mātṛ-garbha-sthe

svasmin nārada-bhāṣitam

prahrādo varṇayām āsa

śiṣya-pratyaya-siddhaye

(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, 7.7, intro)

aśrāvi nāradād etan

mayā garbha itīritum

tat prastāva-kathām āha

padyaiḥṣoḍaśabhiḥ sudhīḥ

(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, 7.7.1)

In this chapter Prahlāda Mahārāja will describe how he learned from Nārada Ṛṣi spiritual instruction even from within the womb of his mother.

asmākaṁ pitari hiraṇyakaśipau. sva-kṛtenaiva pāpena pāpo ’sāva-bhakṣi bhakṣita iti harṣeṇa vadanto yuddhodyamaṁ cakruḥ.

(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, 7.7.2-5)

pipīlikair ahir iva

diṣṭyā lokopatāpanaḥ

pāpena pāpo 'bhakṣīti

vadanto vāsavādayaḥ

(SB 7.7.3)

teṣām atibalodyogaṁ

niśamyāsura-yūthapāḥ

vadhyamānāḥ surair bhītā

dudruvuḥ sarvato diśam

kalatra-putra-vittāptān

gṛhān paśu-paricchadān

nāvekṣyamāṇās tvaritāḥ

sarve prāṇa-parīpsavaḥ

(SB 7.7.4–5)

So Prahlāda Mahārāja describes that there was fight between the demons and the demigods. So his father was leading the demons' party, he was the leader of the demons but this side, the demons, were defeated very heavily. So much so that being afraid of being killed they left their homes, left their wealth and everything and they fled away, yudhā parām.

pipīlikair ahir iva diṣṭyā lokopatāpanaḥ

(SB 7.7.3)

This time the demigods defeated the demons exactly like a serpent eats the ants. The serpent eats the ants. Just like a small ant is very insignificant before a venomous serpent similarly the demons were just like ants and the demigods were just like serpents and they swallowed up.

pāpena pāpo 'bhakṣīti

vadanto vāsavādayaḥ

(SB 7.7.3)

teṣām atibalodyogaṁ

niśamyāsura-yūthapāḥ

vadhyamānāḥ surair bhītā

dudruvuḥ sarvato diśam

(SB 7.7.4)

In this way, although they are very powerful, still they were scattered by the fighting of the demigods. So much so that they gave up their wives, children and wealth, house. Paśu-paricchadān—their animals and dresses. These are, for a family man, these are the objects of attraction. Kalatra—first, first attraction is wife, the second attraction is children, the third attraction is wealth and the forth attraction is friends, the fifth attraction is house, the sixth attraction animals and seventh attraction is nice dresses.

Nāvekṣyamāṇās tvaritāḥ sarve prāṇa. All these paraphernalia are very attractive for a materialistic person but being afraid of their life they did not care for all these attractions, left home and fled away.

vyalumpan rāja-śibiram

amarā jaya-kāṅkṣiṇaḥ

indras tu rāja-mahiṣīṁ

mātaraṁ mama cāgrahīt

(SB 7.7.6)

Vyalumpan rāja-śibiram (pause)

sarvasvāpahāreṇa nāśitavantaḥ

(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, 7.7.6–7).

vyalumpan rāja-śibiram

amarā jaya-kāṅkṣiṇaḥ

(SB 7.7.6)

So the demon, kings, were practically lost of everything and the demigods, being too much encouraged by the defeat of the demons, they attacked all their camps and tents in the battlefield. That is the way after the battle, the victory is owed. The victorious party, they plunder the defeated party. I think this system is still going on in the modern age. This is called "booty".

Devotee: Plundering.

Prabhupada: Yes, plundering. So the soldiers are given freedom even to rape the women. The soldiers are very sexually that they do not get sex indulgence in the battlefield so after winning a country they are given freedom to rape the women. You know that?

Devotee: Yes.

Prabhupada: They do that. I have seen one picture during the war, of course that was a manipulated picture, the soldiers were raping. Not only that, I have seen, in my childhood that the British soldiers were let loose and they used to go to the village and they used to rape any village woman as soon as they got some opportunity. The officers are supplied with the nurses. The so-called nurse means to satisfy the sex desires of the officers.

They take so many nurses in the battlefield, not for the purpose of giving nursing needs, wounded soldiers, but for satisfying the sex desires of the officers, that's all. And the general, ordinary soldiers, wherever they will have their camp, they will be allowed to go in the town and villages and capture any women and rape it. They're given. They're given wine and they are given flesh and facility for raping women just to keep them alive. This is the way of modern fighting.

So anyway the, that system was not at all absent in those days. So this . . . he says, Prahlāda Mahārāja says here:

vyalumpan rāja-śibiram

amarā jaya-kāṅkṣiṇaḥ

indras tu rāja-mahiṣīṁ

mātaraṁ mama cāgrahīt

(SB 7.7.6)

Indra, Indra was the leader of the demigods. Prahlāda Mahārāja says that, "Indra, the king of heaven, personally attacked my mother. Personally:"

indras tu rāja-mahiṣīṁ

mātaraṁ mama cāgrahīt

(SB 7.7.6)

Caught hold. "Where you are going?"

nīyamānāṁ bhayodvignāṁ

rudatīṁ kurarīm iva

yadṛcchayāgatas tatra

devarṣir dadṛśe pathi

(SB 7.7.7)

So when Indra was forcibly taking away Prahlāda's mother, dragging her, and she was crying. At that time, all of sudden Nārada Ṛṣi was passing that way and he appeared on the scene.

nīyamānāṁ bhayodvignāṁ

rudatīṁ kurarīm iva

yadṛcchayāgatas tatra

devarṣir dadṛśe pathi

(SB 7.7.7)

prāha naināṁ sura-pate

netum arhasy anāgasam

muñca muñca mahā-bhāga

satīṁ para-parigraham

(SB 7.7.8)

"Oh Indra, what you are doing? You are touching a woman who is already married?" Eh? The idea is that the kṣatriyas they can forcibly take away an unmarried girl, that is allowed. But they are forbidden to touch even, a married girl. So Nārada Ṛṣi, as soon as he saw that Indra was dragging Prahlāda's mother, so immediately he objected, "What is this?" Naināṁ sura-pate netum arhasy anāgasam. "Oh, this is not good for you because she is innocent, anāgasam. Arhasy anāgasam—without any fault. She is woman, married, without any fault and you are dragging. No, no, don't do this. Immediately release her, release her." Mahā-bhāga—"Oh you are so great, you should not do this." Satīṁ mahā-bhāga. Satīṁ—"And this woman is chaste, you can not touch."

(pause)

anāgasaṁ niraparādhām

enāṁ netuṁ mārhasīti

(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, 7.7.8)

Then śrī-indra uvāca. After Indra being checked by Nārada he replied:

āste 'syā jaṭhare vīryam

aviṣahyaṁ sura-dviṣaḥ

āsyatāṁ yāvat prasavaṁ

mokṣye 'rtha-padavīṁ gataḥ

(SB 7.7.9)

Indra says: "So for arresting this woman there is no other purpose, don't think that I shall misbehave with her. No, that's not the point. But she has. She is pregnant." Āste 'syā jaṭhare vīryam—"The semena of the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu is there within her womb. Vīryam aviṣahyaṁ sura-dviṣaḥ—"And therefore the child which is growing within her womb must be a great enemy of the demigods." Āsyatāṁ yāvat prasavaṁ—"Therefore I want to keep under my vigilance. I want to keep her under my vigilance until she gives birth to the child. There is no other purpose. So I want to arrest her."

āsyatāṁ yāvat prasavaṁ

mokṣye 'rtha-padavīṁ gataḥ

(SB 7.7.9)

aviṣahyaṁ duḥsaham

ato ’nayā prasava- paryantamatrāsyatām

tataś cārthasya padavīṁ

mārgaṁ gataḥ prāptaḥ san

jātaṁ putraṁ hatvā

mokṣyāmīty arthaḥ.

(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, 7.7.9)

So his father has gone to Mandarācala Hill for undergoing severe austerities and penances. Hiraṇyakaśipu being defeated, he was not disheartened, he left his wife, children, home, wealth, everything and went to the forest to undergo austerities so that he may get power to kill the demigods. So in this case after severe austerities he got perfection so much so that Lord Brahma himself came to him. "What is your purpose of undergoing such severe austerities?" Then he asked that, "Make me immortal." That was not possible. That is different story.

So, āste 'syā jaṭhare vīryam. So Indra's reply was that, "I am just taking away this woman under my custody to see that the child-demon which is already in the womb of this woman. She is pregnant, as soon as the child-demon comes out we will kill and then let her go away anywhere she likes.

So the purpose of the—Kaṁsa the demon was planning to kill Kṛṣṇa or the head of the demigods. Similarly Indra was also planning to kill the child of Hiraṇyakaśipu. That, "As soon as the child is born I shall kill. Then I'll let her go away." That's all.

(pause) . . . (indistinct) . . . (break)

And those who are opposite numbers, they are demons. And these two kinds of men in all the planets. All countries, all planets, everywhere.

Devotee: Even on upto Brahmaloka?

Prabhupada: Eh?

Devotee: Even on upto Brahmaloka?

Prabhupada: Yes. Why not? Maybe majority demigods. Just like India. Majority demigods, minority demons. In your country majority demons. So this is all everywhere you will find. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt, (SB 11.9.29)

Viṣayaḥ—eating, sleeping, mating, defending and demons and demigods—sarvataḥ. (end)