Krsna Book Audio Dictation - Chapter 86
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Next, Chapter Eighty-six. Subject: "Kidnapping of Subhadrā."
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After hearing this incidence, King Parīkṣit was more inquisitive to hear about Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes, and thus he inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī how his grandmother Subhadrā was kidnapped by his grandfather Arjuna under the instigation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He was very much eager to learn about the marriage of his grandfather and grandmother thus being kidnapped.
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Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī began to narrate the story as follows: (in quotation) "Once upon a time, your grandfather Arjuna, the great hero, was visiting several holy places and pilgrimages, and while he was thus traveling all over he happened to come to the Prabhāsa-kṣetra. In that Prabhāsa-kṣetra he heard the news that Lord Balarāma was negotiating the marriage of Subhadrā, the daughter of Arjuna's maternal uncle Vasudeva. While Balarāma was in favor of marrying Subhadrā with Duryodhana, her father Vasudeva and brother Kṛṣṇa was not in agreement with Him. Arjuna, taking this opportunity, desired to gain the hands of Subhadrā. Arjuna, while he thought of Subhadrā and her beauty, he became more and more captivated with the idea of marrying her, and thus he dressed himself like a Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī, taking in his hand tridaṇḍa.”
The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they take one daṇḍa, or one rod, whereas the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs take three daṇḍa, or three rods. These three rods, or tridaṇḍa, means that a Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī is pledged to render service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his body, mind and words. So this tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa is current since a very, very long time, and as such the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs are called tridaṇḍīs, or sometimes tridaṇḍi-svāmī or tridaṇḍi-gosvāmī.
Sannyāsīs are generally meant to travel all over the country for preaching work, but during the four months beginning from September through December, on account of rainy season in India, they do not travel but take shelter of one place and remain there without moving, and this non-movement of the sannyāsī is called Cāturmāsya-vrata. While a sannyāsī stays in a place for four months, local inhabitants of that place takes advantage of his presence to become spiritually advanced.
So Arjuna, in the dress of a tridaṇḍi-sannyāsī, remained in the city of Dvārakā for four months, devising plan how he could get Subhadrā as his wife. The inhabitants of Dvārakā City, as well as Lord Balarāma, could not recognize the sannyāsī that he was Arjuna himself. Therefore all of them offered their respectful obeisances to the sannyāsī without knowing the actual fact.
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One day Lord Balarāma invited this particular sannyāsī to lunch at His home. Balarāmajī offered the sannyāsī very respectfully all kinds of palatable dishes, and the so-called sannyāsī was eating very sumptuously whatever was offered by Balarāma. While eating at the home of Balarāmajī, Arjuna was simply looking over beautiful Subhadrā, who was very, very enchanting even to the great heroes and kings. Out of love for her, Arjuna's eyes become brightened, and he began to see upon Subhadrā with glaring eyes. In this way, Arjuna decided to achieve Subhadrā somehow or other as his wife, and his mind became too much agitated on account of this strong desire.
On the other hand, Arjuna, the grandfather of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, was also extraordinarily beautiful, and his structure of the body was very much attractive, so that Subhadrā also became attracted by him. So Subhadrā also decided within her mind that she would accept Arjuna only as her husband. Subhadrā, as a simple girl, was smiling with great pleasure by looking on Arjuna. Thus, Arjuna also became more and more attracted by her. In this way, Subhadrā dedicated herself to Arjuna, and Arjuna decided to marry her by any means, and he was twenty-four hours absorbed in the thoughts how he could execute the plan of getting Subhadrā as his wife. Since Arjuna was very much afflicted with the thought of getting Subhadrā, he was not in peace of mind even for a moment.
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Once upon a time, Subhadrā came out of the palace fort, and being seated on a chariot was going to see the gods in the temple. Arjuna took this opportunity, and with the permission of Vasudeva and Devakī he kidnapped her. After getting on the chariot of Subhadrā, Arjuna prepared himself for the fight. While Arjuna was taking away Subhadrā on the chariot, the soldiers were ordered to check him. But Arjuna, taking up his bow, drove away all the soldiers by beating them with his arrows. While Subhadrā was taken away by Arjuna in that way, her relatives and family members began to cry. But still Arjuna took away his share, as the lion takes his share and goes away. When the whole thing was disclosed to Lord Balarāma—the so-called sannyāsī was Arjuna himself, he planned to take away Subhadrā by such device, actually he has had taken away SubhadrāHe became very much angry. He became so much agitated in His mind exactly like the waves of the ocean become agitated on the full-moon day.
Lord Kṛṣṇa was in favor of Arjuna; therefore He, along with other members of the family, tried to pacify Balarāma by falling down on His feet and begging Him for pardoning Arjuna. Lord Balarāma was convinced about the fact that Subhadrā was attached to Arjuna, thus He became pleased to know that Subhadrā was wanting Arjuna as her husband. The matter was settled up, then Lord Balarāma arranged for sending various kinds of dowry for blessing the newly married couple: all kinds of riches, articles, elephants, chariots, horses, servants and maidservants, etc.
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As Mahārāja Parīkṣit was very much anxious to hear about Kṛṣṇa, so Śukadeva Gosvāmī, after finishing the incidence of Subhadrā's being kidnapped by Arjuna, he began to narrate another story, as follows.
There was a householder brāhmaṇa in the capital city of Mithilā, the kingdom of Videha. This brāhmaṇa's name was Śrutadeva. He was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He was completely detached from material attraction, peaceful in mind on account of his being fully Kṛṣṇa conscious and always being engaged in the service of the Lord. He was very learned and full of knowledge, and he had no other desire than being fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Although he was situated in the order of householder’s life, still, he never attempted to earn something for his livelihood. Whatever he could achieve without much endeavor for it, he was satisfied, and somehow or other he used to live in that way. He was, however, getting every day the necessities of his life exactly in the same quantity as he required, and not more than that. That was his destiny. The brāhmaṇa was also not eager to get more than that, and thus very peacefully he used to execute the regulative principle of a brāhmaṇa's duty as they are enjoined in the revealed scriptures.
Fortunately, the king of that place was as good a devotee like the brāhmaṇa. The name of this famous king was Bahulāśva. He was very much well established in his reputation as a good king, and he was not at all ambitious to acquire more kingdom for his sense gratification. As such, both the brāhmaṇa and King Bahulāśva remained a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa in that place.
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Once upon a time Lord Kṛṣṇa, being very merciful upon these two devotees, the king Bahulāśva and the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva, He asked His driver Dāruka to take His chariot in the capital city of Mithilā. Thus He went there. Lord Kṛṣṇa was accompanied by the great sage Nārada, Vāmadeva, Atri, Vedavyāsa, Paraśurāma, Asita, Aruṇi, myself, Bṛhaspati, Kaṇva, Maitreya, Cyavana and others. Lord Kṛṣṇa, along with the sages, were passing through many villages and towns. Everywhere the citizens would receive them with great respect and offer them worshipable articles, and thus all of them would come to see the Lord. When all of them assembled together in one place, it seemed that the sun planet is present there with his various satellites parts and planets.
In that journey, they passed through the kingdom of Ānarta, Dhanva, Kuru-jāṅgala, Kaṅka, Matsya, Pāṣcāla, Kuntī, Madhu, Kekaya, Kośala, Arṇa, and thus all the citizens of these places, both men and women, could see Lord Kṛṣṇa eye to eye. Thus they enjoyed the celestial happiness, in open hearts full of love and affection for the Lord, and when they saw the face of the Lord, it appeared that they were drinking the nectarean through their eyes. As a result of their seeing Kṛṣṇa eye to eye, all their misconception of life and ignorance became dissipated.
When the Lord was passing through those countries, when people used to visit Him, simply by glancing over them the Lord bestowing with all auspicity upon them and was making them liberated from all kinds of ignorance. In some of the places, the demigods also would join with the human being. Both together they would glorify the Lord, and thus all directions became cleansed of all inauspicious atmosphere. In this way, gradually and slowly Lord Kṛṣṇa reached the kingdom of Videha.
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When the news of Lord's arrival was received by the citizens, all of them felt unlimited happiness, and every one of them came to welcome the Lord, taking some gifts in the hands to offer to the Supreme Lord. As soon as they saw Lord Kṛṣṇa, immediately their heart became fructified with transcendental bliss, exactly like the lotus flower blooms on the rising of the sun. All of them took the opportunity of seeing all the great sages whose name they simply heard but never saw. Now, by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they could see both the Lord along with the great sages together.
Now the king Bahulāśva, as well as the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva, knowing it well that the Lord had come there just to grace them with favor, therefore immediately they fell down on the lotus feet of the Lord and offered their respects. Both the king Bahulāśva as well as the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva simultaneously invited all the sages and Lord Kṛṣṇa with folded hands. Lord Kṛṣṇa, in order to please both of them, expanded Himself into two, and He went to the house of each one of them. But both of them could not understand that the Lord has gone to the house of the other. Both the king and the brāhmaṇa thought it that the Lord has gone to his house only.
This is another opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that without the knowledge of the other He was present along with his companions in the house of each one of them. This opulence is described in the revealed scriptures as vaibhava-prakāśa (Cc Madhya 20.171).
Similarly, when Lord Kṛṣṇa married sixteen thousand wives, He also expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms, each one of them as powerful as Himself. Similarly, He also expanded in Vṛndāvana in so many cowherds boys, cows, calfs when Brahmā stolen away His real cows, calfs and cowherds boy.
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The king of Videha, Bahulāśva, was very intelligent and perfectly gentleman. He was feeling very much astonishment because so many great sages, along with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, were present personally in his home. He knew it perfectly well that conditioned soul especially, when they are engaged in worldly affairs, they cannot be cent percent pure, whereas the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees are always transcendental to this worldly contamination. Still, when he found that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa and all the great sages were at his home, he simply felt astonishment and began to thank within himself Lord Kṛṣṇa for His causeless mercy.
So, feeling very much obliged, he wanted to receive them to the best of his capacity, and thus he called for very nice chairs and cushions for their sitting. And all the sages, along with Lord Kṛṣṇa, took their seats and sat down very comfortably. At that time, King Bahulāśva's mind was too much restless, not on account of some problems, but on account of a great ecstasy out of love and devotion. His heart was filled up with love and affection for the Lord along with the associates, and in great ecstasy his eyes were filled up with tears. So immediately he arranged for washing the feet of his divine guests, and after washing them he took the water, along with his family members, on the head.
After this, he offered to the guests nice flower garlands, sandalwood pulp, incense, new garments, ornaments, lamps, nice offerings, cows, bulls. In this way, he worshiped each one of them just fitting to his royal position. When every one of them was fed sumptuously and all of them were sitting very comfortably, at that time Bahulāśva came before Lord Kṛṣṇa and caught His lotus feet. He placed them on his lap, and while massaging the feet with his hands, he began to speak about the glories of the Lord in sweet voice.
"My dear Lord, You are the Supersoul of all living entities and cognizant of everyone's activities as witness within the heart. As such, in duty-bound we always think of Your lotus feet so that we can remain in secure position, without deviating from Your eternal service. As a result of this continuous remembrances about Your lotus feet by us, You have so kindly visited my place personally to favor me with Your causeless mercy. We have heard, my dear Lord, that You confirm it by Your various statements that Your pure devotees are dearer to You more than Lord Balarāma or Your constant servitor the goddess of fortune.
"Your devotees are dearer to You than Your first son, Lord Brahmā, and I am sure in order to prove Your divine statement true to the point, You have so kindly visited my place. I cannot imagine how people can be so much godless and demoniac even after knowing about Your causeless mercy and affection for Your devotees, who are constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. How they can forget Your lotus feet?
"My dear Lord, it is known to us that You are so kind and liberal that a person who has left everything just to be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, sometimes You give up Yourself also in exchange of that unalloyed service. Your appearance in the Yadu dynasty is to fulfill Your mission to reclaim all conditioned souls rotting in the sinful activities of material existence. This fame is already broadcast all over the world. My dear Lord, You are the ocean of unlimited mercy, love and affection. Your transcendental form is full of bliss, knowledge and eternity. As such, You can attract everyone's heart by Your beautiful form as Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa.
"Your knowledge is unlimited, and to teach all people how to execute devotional service, You have Your incarnation Nara-Nārāyaṇa, engaged in severe austerities and penances at Badarīnārāyaṇa. Kindly, therefore, accept my humble obeisances at Your lotus feet. My dear Lord, I beg to request You to remain at my place, along with Your companion, the great sages and brāhmaṇas, so that this family of the famous King Nimi may be sanctified by the dust of Your lotus feet, at least for a few days."
Lord Kṛṣṇa could not refuse the request of His devotee, and thus He remained there for a few days along with the sages in order to sanctify the city of Mithilā and all the citizens thereof, both men and women.
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On the other hand, exactly like the king Bahulāśva, the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva, also having received Lord Kṛṣṇa along with associates at his home, became transcendentally overwhelmed with joy. After offering them nice sitting place, the brāhmaṇa began to dance, tying his wrapper on the body. Śrutadeva was not rich at all, therefore he offered to the distinguished guest some mattresses, wooden planks, straw carpets, etc. But to his best capacity he offered welcome to the distinguished guests, Lord Kṛṣṇa and the sages. He began to speak very highly of the Lord and the sages, and along with his wife he began to wash the feet of each one of them present there. After this, he took the washed water and sprinkled it over all the members of his family, and it appeared that the brāhmaṇa, although apparently very poor, was the most fortunate at that time.
While the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva was welcoming Lord Kṛṣṇa and His associates, he simply forgot himself in transcendental joy. After this, according to his capacity, he brought fruits, incense, scented water, scented clay, tulasī leaves, kuśa straw, lotus flower. Although they are not very costly and they could be secured very easily, but because they were offered with devotional love, Lord Kṛṣṇa and His associates accepted them very gladly. His wife cooked very simple foodstuff like rice and dāl, and Lord Kṛṣṇa and His followers were very much pleased to accept them because they were offered in devotional love.
When Lord Kṛṣṇa and His associates were fed in this way, the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva was thinking within himself like this: "I am fallen into the deep well of darkness of householder life. I am the most unfortunate person. How it has become possible that Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His associate the great sages, whose very presence makes the place as sanctified as pilgrimage, how all of them have agreed to come to my place?"
While the brāhmaṇa was thinking like that, the guests finished their lunch and sat very comfortably. At that time, the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva, along with his wife, children and other relatives, appeared there to render service to the distinguished guests. While touching the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the brāhmaṇa began to say as follows.
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(within quotation) "My dear Lord, You are the Supreme Person, Puruṣottama, transcendentally situated to the manifested and non-manifested material creation. The activities of this material world and that of the conditioned soul have nothing to do with Your position. I can appreciate that it is not that You have only this day have given me Your audience; You are associating with all the living entities as Paramātmā since the beginning of creation.” (quotation close)
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This statement of the brāhmaṇa is very much instructive. It is a fact that the Supreme Lord, Personality of Godhead, in His Paramātmā feature enters the creation of this material world as Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and in very friendly attitude the Lord is sitting along with the conditioned soul in the same body. Therefore, every living entity has the Lord with him from the very beginning. But still, due to his wrong consciousness of life, he cannot understand it. When his consciousness is, however, changed into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can immediately understand how Kṛṣṇa is trying to assist the conditioned soul to get out of this material entanglement.
Śrutadeva continued to say, "My dear Lord, You have entered this material world as if in sleeping condition, exactly like a conditioned soul who, in his sleeping condition, creates a false or temporary world out of his mind and becomes busy in so many illusory activities, and sometimes becoming the king or sometimes being murdered or sometimes going to some unknown city. And as all of them are simply temporary affairs, similarly, Your Lordship also enters this material world to create a temporary manifestation not for Your personal necessity but for the conditioned soul, who wanted to imitate Your Lordship as enjoyer.
"The conditioned soul's enjoyment in the material world is temporary and illusory. Still, the conditioned soul is unable to create such temporary situation for his illusory enjoyment. In order to fulfill their desire, although temporary and illusory, You also enter in this temporary manifestation to help him in the matter of his desired enjoyment. Therefore, from the beginning of the conditioned soul entering in the material world, You are constant companion.
"The conditioned soul, therefore, when he comes in contact with some pure devotee and takes to the devotional service, beginning from the hearing process of Your transcendental pastimes, glorifying Your transcendental activities, worshiping Your eternal form in the temple, offering prayers to Yourself, engage themselves in discussion for understanding Your transcendental position, the devotees in that way become gradually freed from the contamination of material existence. Their hearts become cleansed of all material dust, and thus gradually You become visible in the heart of the devotees. Although You are constantly with the conditioned soul, still, when he becomes purified by devotional service You become revealed to him.
"Others, who are bewildered by fruitive activities, either by Vedic injunction or customary dealings, thus become captivated by the external happiness of bodily concept of life. To such person You do not become revealed, and You remain far, far away from him. But one who has purified his heart by constant chanting of Your holy name, being engaged in Your devotional service, for such person You become very easily understood as his eternal constant companion.
"As it is said that Your Lordship, sitting on the heart of a devotee, give him direction by which he can come very quickly back to home, back to You. This direct talking and dictation by You to Your devotee reveals Your existence within the heart of a devotee, and as such, only the devotees can appreciate Your existence immediately within his heart, whereas a person who has only bodily concept of life and engaged in sense gratification, You always remain covered by the curtain of yogamāyā. Such person cannot realize that You are very near and sitting in his heart.
"For such nondevotee, You are appreciated only as the ultimate death, exactly in the same way when the cat carries its cubs in the mouth and the cat carries a rat in the mouth. In the mouth of the cat, the rat feels death knell, whereas the kiddies in the mouth of the cat feels motherly affection. Similarly, You are present to everyone, but one feels You as the ultimate cruel death, and to the devotees You are the supreme instructor and philosopher. The atheist class of men, therefore, should understand the presence of God as death, whereas the devotees understands the presence of God always within his heart, takes dictation from You and lives transcendentally, without being affected by the contamination of material world.
"You are the supreme controller and superintendent of the material nature's activities. The atheist class of men simply observe the activities of material nature but cannot find You as the original background, but a devotee can immediately see Your hand in every movement of the material nature. The curtain of yogamāyā cannot cover the eyes of the devotee or Your Lordship, but it can cover the eyes of the nondevotee. Thus they are unable to see You eye to eye, exactly like a person whose eyes are interrupted by the covering of the cloud cannot see the sun, but persons who are flying above the cloud can see the sunshine as brilliantly as it is.
"My dear Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. My dear self-effulgent Lord, I am Your eternal servitor. Kindly, therefore, order me—what can I do for You? The conditioned soul feels the pangs of material contamination as threefold miseries so long You are not visible to them. And as soon as You are visible by development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, simultaneously all miseries of material existence become vanquished." (quotation close)
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The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is naturally very much affectionate and inclined to His devotees. When He heard the prayers of Śrutadeva exactly like a pure devotee, He was very much pleased and immediately caught his hands and began to address him as follows: (within quotation) "My dear Śrutadeva, all these great sages and saintly persons, brāhmaṇas, are very kind upon you that they have personally come here to see you. You should consider this opportunity as a great fortune for you. They are so kind that they are traveling with Me, so that wherever they go, simply by the touch of the dust of their feet, immediately they make the whole atmosphere as pure as transcendence. People are accustomed to go to the temples of God. They visit holy places of pilgrimages, and after prolonged association with such activities by touch and worship, gradually, in many days one become purified. But the influence of great sages and saintly person is so great that immediately by seeing them one becomes completely purified. Not only that, the purifying potency of pilgrimages or different demigods is achieved also by the grace of saintly persons. A pilgrimage becomes holy place on account of presence of the saintly persons there.
"My dear Śrutadeva, when a person is born as a brāhmaṇa, immediately he becomes the best of all human beings. And if such a brāhmaṇa takes to his eligible activities as austerities, learning the Vedas, to remain self-satisfied and engaged in My devotional service, as it is the duty of the brāhmaṇa, or in other words, when a brāhmaṇa becomes a Vaiṣṇava—what to mention about his greatness! My feature of four-handed Nārāyaṇa is not so much pleasing to Me as much as a brāhmaṇa-Vaiṣṇava is dear to me. Brāhmaṇa means 'well conversant with Vedic knowledge,' or a brāhmaṇa is insignia of all perfect knowledge, and so far I am concerned, I am the full-fledged manifestation of all gods.
"Less intelligent class of men do not understand Me (within brackets) (Kṛṣṇa), neither do they understand the influence of brāhmaṇa-Vaiṣṇava. They become influenced by the three modes of material nature and thus dares to criticize Me and My pure devotees. A brāhmaṇa-Vaiṣṇava, or a devotee already on the brahminical qualification, can realize Me within his heart, and thus concludes definitely that the whole cosmic manifestation, along with its different features, are effects of different energies of the Lord, and thus they have clear conception of the whole material nature, total material energy, and in every action such devotee sees Me only and nothing else.
"My dear Śrutadeva, you can therefore accept all these saintly great persons, brāhmaṇas and sages as My bona fide representatives. By worshiping them faithfully, you will be worshiping Me more diligently. Worshipment of My devotees is considered by Me as more than My direct worshipment. And without worshiping My devotees, if someone attempts to worship Me directly I do not accept such worshipment, even it is presented with great opulence of paraphernalia."
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In this way, both the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva and the king of Mithilā, under the direction of the Lord, worshiped both Kṛṣṇa and His followers, the great sages, saintly brāhmaṇas, on the same level of spiritual importance. Thus both of them ultimately achieved the supreme goal of being transferred in the spiritual world. As the devotee does not know anybody else except Lord Kṛṣṇa, similarly, Kṛṣṇa is also very, very much affection to His devotee. As such, Lord Kṛṣṇa remained in Mithilā both at the house of the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva as well as in the palace of the king Bahulāśva. And after favoring them lavishly by His transcendental instructions, He went back to His capital city, Dvārakā.
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The instruction we receive in this connection that King Bahulāśva and the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva were accepted by Lord on the same level because both of them were pure devotees. Lord Kṛṣṇa's visit in the city of…
(break) The real qualification of being recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is to become His pure devotee. To take birth either in the family of a kṣatriya or in the brāhmaṇa but to become proud of such hereditary right, as it has become the fashion of this age that without any qualification, on account of birth only one is passing on as brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya or vaiśya. In this age it is said everyone is a śūdra. It is said in the scriptures, kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ (Skanda Purāṇa). Because there is no performance of the purificatory process, beginning from the pregnancy up to the point of death, which are known as saṁskāras, nobody can be classified simply by birthright, especially the higher castes, namely the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and this vaiśyas. If they do not have the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, or the purificative process of seed-giving ceremony, one is immediately classified amongst the śūdras, because the śūdras do not have such purificatory process, and without it, the seed-giving process or sexual life is accepted. The conclusion is sex life without purificatory process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the seed-giving process of the śūdras, or the animals.
Kṛṣṇa consciousness is therefore the highest qualification for everyone to come to the platform of Vaiṣṇava, which includes all the qualifications of a brāhmaṇa. The Vaiṣṇavas are therefore trained to become free from the four kinds of sinful activities, namely illicit sex, indulgence of intoxicants, gambling and eating animal foodstuff. Nobody can be on the brahminical platform without having these preliminary qualifications, and without becoming a qualified brāhmaṇa, nobody can become a pure devotee. Or, in the reverse order, one who has attained the stage of becoming a pure devotee or Vaiṣṇava has all the good qualities of a brāhmaṇa.
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Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighty-sixth Chapter Kṛṣṇa describing "Kidnapping of Subhadrā and Lord Kṛṣṇa's Visiting Śrutadeva and Bahulāśva."