Srimad Bhagavatam, Volume 3

Maharaj Yudhisthir also turned His attention on the instructions of the
Bhagwat Geeta after hearing about Lord's departure from the vision of the
earthly people. He began to deliberate on the matter of the Lord's way of
appearance and departure. The mission of the Lord's appearance and
disappearance in the mortal universe is completely dependant on His Supreme
will. He does not appear or disappear forced by any other superior energy as
the living beings do appear and disappear being forced by the laws of nature.
Whenever the Lord likes, He can appear Himself from anywhere and
everywhere with-out disturbing His appearance and disappearance is any
other place. He is like the sun. The sun appears and disappears by its own
accord at any place without disturbing its presence in other place. The sun
appears in the morning of India without disappearing itself in the western
hemisphere. The sun is present everywhere and anywhere all over the
universe but it so appears in a particular place that the sun appeared in the
morning at some fixed time and also disappeared at some fixed time. The time
limitation even of the sun has no concern with it and then what so speak about
the Supreme Lord Who is the creator ane controller of the sun. Therefore, in
the Bhagwat Geeta it is stated as follows about the appearance and
disappearance of the Lord by the Lord Himself. He says there that any one
who understands factually about the transcendental appearance and
disappearance of the Lord by His inconcievable energy, becomes liberated
from the laws of birth and death and is placed in the eternal spiritual sky
wherein the Vaikuntha planets are there and such liberaed persons can
eternally live there without the pangs of birth, death, old age and diseases. In
the spiritual sky the Lord and those who are eternally engaged in the
transcendental loving service of the Lord, all are eternally young because
there is no old age and diseases and therefore there is no death also. Because
there is no death there is no birth also. It is concluded there-fore that simply
by understanding about the Lord's appearance and disappearance in truth one
can attain such perfectional stage of eternal life and therefore, Maharaj
Yudhisthir also began to consider about his going back to Godhead. The Lord
appears on the earth or any other mortal planet along with His associates who
live with Him eternally and the members of the Yadu family who were
engaged in supplimenting the pastimes of the Lord are no other than His
eternal associates and so also Maharaj Yudhisthir and his brothers and mother
etc. As appearance and disappearance of the Lord and His eternal associates
are all transcendental, so one may not be bewildered by the external features
of such appearance and disappearance.
Pritha api anusrutya dhanahjaya uditam
Nasham yadunam bhagabat gatim chatam.
Ekanta bhaktya bhagavati abhoksoje
Niveshitatma upararame samsriteh.
Pritha—Kunti, Api—also, Anusrutya—overhearing, Dhananjaya—Arjuna,
Uditah—uttered by, Nasham—end, Yadunam—of the Yadudynasty,
Bhagwat—of the personality of Godhead, Gatim—disappearance, Cha—also,
Tam—all those, Ekanta—unalloyed, Bhaktya—devotion, Bhagwati—unto the
Supreme, Lord Sri Krishna Adhokshaje—transcendence, Niveshitatma—with
full attention, Upararama—became released from, Samsriteh—material
existence.
Kunti also after overhearing from Arjuna all about the end of the Yadu
dynasty and disappearance of Lord Krishna, engaged herself with full
attention in the devotional service of the transcendence Personality of
Godhead and thus became released from the course of material existence.
Setting of the Sun does not mean end of the sun. It means that the sun is out of
our sight. Similarly the end of the mission of the Lord in a particular planet or
universe does not mean the end of it but it is out of our sight. The end of the
Yadu dynasty also does not mean its annihilation but its disappearace along
with the Lord's being away from our sight. As Maharaj Yudhisthir decided to
prepare for going back to Godhead so also Kunti decided and thus she fully
engaged herself in the transcendental devotional service of the Lord which
guarantees passport for going back to Godhead after quitting this present
material body. The beginning of devotional service of the Lord is the
beginning of spiritualising the present body and thus an unalloyed devotee of
the Lord loses all material significance of the present body. The abode of the
Lord is not a myth as it is said by the unbelievers or ignorant people but one
cannot reach there by any material means like sputnik or others. But one can
certainly reach there after leaving this present body and one must prepare
himself for going back to Godhead by practising the devotional service. That
guarantees a passport of going back to Godhead and Kunti adopted it.
Yaya harad bhuvo bharam tam tanum vijahavajah
Kantakam kantakena eva dwayam cha api isituh samam.
Yaya—that by which, Harad—took away, Bhuvo—of the world, Bharam—
burden, Tam—that, Tanum—body, Vijahou—relinquished, Ajah—the
unborn, Kantakam—thorn, Kantakena—by the thorn, Eva—like that,
Dwayam—both, Cha—also, Api—although, Isituh—controling, Samam—
equal.
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Fifteenth Chapter - The Pandavas Retire Timely
The Supreme unborn Lord Sri Krishna caused the members of the Yadu
dynasty relinquishing the body by which He took away the burden of the
world. The action was like picking out the thorn by a thorn although both
of them are equal to the controller.
Srila Viswanath Chakrabarty Thakur suggests that the Rishis like Sounaka
and others who were hearing Srimad Bhagwatam from Suta Goswami at
Naimisaranya, were not happy to hear about the Yadus dying in madness of
intoxication. To give them relief from this mental agony, Suta Goswami
assured them that the Lord caused the members of the Yadu dynasty to
relinquish the body by which they had to take away the burden of the world.
The Lord and His eternal associates appeared on earth to help the
administrative demigods in eradicating the burden of the world all disturbing
elements. He, therefore, called for some of the confidential demigods to
appear in the Yadu family and serve Him in His great mission. After the
mission was fulfilled such demigods by the will of the Lord relinquished their
corporal body by a show of fighting amongst themselves in madness of
intoxication. The demigods are accustomed to drink Somerasa beverage and
therefore drinking of wine and intoxication thereof, are not unknown to such
demigods. Sometimes theywere put into trouble for indulging in such
intoxicating habit. Sometimes the sons of Kuvera fell in the wrath of Narada
for being intoxicated; but afterwards they regained their original forms by the
Grace of the Lord Sri Krishna. We shall find this story in the 10th canto. For
the Supreme Lord both the Ashuras and the demigods are equal but yet the
demigods are obedient to the Lord whereas the Ashuras are not so. Therefore,
the example of picking out a thorn by another thorn is quite befitting. One
thorn which causes pinpricks on the leg of the Lord is certainly disturbing to
the Lord and the other thorn which takes out the disturbing elements certainly
gives service to the Lord. So although every living being is a part and parcel
of the Lord still one, who is a pinprick of the Lord, is called the Ashura and
one who is voluntary servitor of the Lord is called the Devata or the demigod.
In the material World the Devatas and Ashuras are always at loggerhead and
the Devatas are saved from the hands of the Ashuras always by the Lord. Both
of them are under the control of the Lord. The world is full with such two
kinds of living beings and the Lord's mission is always to protect the Devatas
and destroy the Ashuras, whenever there is such need in the world, to do good
to both of them.
Yatha matsyadi rupani dhatte jahyat yatha natah
Bhubhara kshayito yena jahou tatcha kalevaram.
Yatha—as much as, Matsyadi—incarnation of Fish ete, Rupani—forms,
Dhatte—eternally accepts, Jahyat—apparently relequishes, Yatha—exactly
like, Nata—magician, Bhubharo—burden of the world, Kshayito—relieved,
Yena-by which, Jahou—let go, tat—that, cha—also, Kalevaram—body.
The Supreme Lord let go that body which was manifested by Him in the
matter of diminishing the burden of the earth as much as He relinquishes
His body like the magician in the matter of accepting different bodies like
incarnation of Fish etc.
The Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead in neither impersonal nor
Formless but His body is non different from Him and therefore He is known
as the embodiment of eternity, knowledge and bliss. In the
BrihadvaishnavaTantra it is clearly mentioned that any one who considers the
Form of Lord Krishna as made of material energy must be ostracised by all
means of Vedas and the Puranas and if by chance the face of such infidel is
seen one must clean himself deeping in the river with clothings. The Lord is
described as Amrita or the deathless because He has no material body. Under
the circurnstances the so called manifestation of the Lord as dying or quiting
the body is nothing but jugglery of the magician. The magician shows by his
tricks that he is cut into pieces, he is burnt into ashes or he becomes
unconscious by hypnotic influence etc are all false shows only but factually
the magician himself is neither burnt into ashes nor he is cut into pieces nor he
becomes dead unconscious at any stage of his magical demonstration.
Simlarly the Lord has His eternal forms of unlimited varieties of which the
incarnation Fish as was exhibited within this universe is also one. Because
there are innumerable universes, somewhere or other such incarnation of Fish
must be manifesting His pastimes without any cessation of the Form. In this
verse the particular word Dhatte (eternally accepted and not the word Dhatwa
accepted for the occasion) is used. The idea is that the Lord does not create
such incarnation of Fish but He has eternally such form and the appearance
and disappearance of such causal Forms or incarnation, is to serve particular
purpose of the Lord, as the magician displays varieties of such conditions to
serve some purpose. In the Bhagwat Geeta the Lord says (Bg. 7.24-35), "The
impersonalists think that I have no form and that I was formless but at present
I have accepted one form to serve some purpose and now I am manifested.
But such speculators are factually without any sharp intelligence. However
they may be good scholars in the vedic literatures, they are practically
ignorant about My inconcievble energies and about my eternal Forms of
Personality. The reason is that I reserve the power of not being exposed to the
nondevotees on account of My mystic curtain. The less intelligent fools are
therefore unware of My eternal Form never to be vanquished and I am