Srimad Bhagavatam, Volume 3

Nirahamkarah—unattached, Samcchinna—perfectly cut off,
Asesavandhanah—unlimited attachment.
Maharaj at once relinquished all his garment belt and ornaments of a
royal order and became completely uninterested unattached to all sorts of
attachment.
To become purified of material contamination is the necessary qualification
for becoming one of the associates of the Lord. No body can become an
associate of the Load or can go back to home back to Godhead without such
purification. Maharaj Yudhisthir, therefore, to become spiritually pure at once
gave up his royal opulence by dress and garments. The kashaya or saffron
loins of a Sanyasi means free from all attractive material garments and thus he
changed his dress accordingly. He became uninterested to his kingdom and
family attachment and thus became free from all material contamination or
material designation. People are generally attached to various kinds of
designations namely the designation of family, society, country, occupation,
wealth, position and so many others. So long one is attached to such
designations he is considered materially impure. The so called leaders of men
of the modern age are attached by natinal consciousness but they do not know
that such false consciousness is also another designation of the materially
conditioned soul; and one has to relinquish such designations before one can
become elligible for going back to home back to Godhead. Foolish people,
howover adore such men who die in national consciousness but here is an
example by a royal order like Maharaj Yudhisthir who prepared himself for
leaving this world with out such national consciousness. And yet he is
remembered by all men even up to date because he was a great pious king
almost on the same level of the Personality of Godhead Sri Rama. And
because people of the world were dominated by such pious kings, they were
happy in all respects and it was quite possible for such great emperors to rule
over the world.
Vacham juhava manasi tatprana itarecha tam
Mrityavapanam sotsargam tam panchatwe hi ajohobit.
Vacham—speeches, Juhava—relinquished, Manasi—unto the mind,
Tatprana—mind into breathing, Itarecha—other senses also, Tam—unto that,
Mrityau—unto death, Apanam—breathing, Sotsargam—with all dedication,
Tam—that, Panchatwa—unto the body made of five elements, Hi—certainly,
Ajohabit—made it amalgamated.
Thus he amalgamated all the organs of senses in to the mind, then mind
into life, life into breathing, the total existence into the embodiment of
five elements and body unto the death and as pure self, he was free from
material conception of life.
Maharaj Yudhisthira also exactly like his brother Arjuna began to concentrate
in himself gradually being freed from all matarial bondage as they are
performed by mystic performances. First of all he concentrated all actions of
the senses amalgamated in the mind or in other words he turned his mind
towards transcenden tal service of the Lord. He prayed to mind that all
material activities were performed by the mind the action and reactions of the
material senses and since he was going back to home and back to Godhead the
mind may wind up its material activities and be turned towards the
transcendental service of the Lord. There was no more necessity of material
activities. Actually the activities of the mind cannot be stopped because it is
the reflection of the eternal soul but the quality of the activities can be
changed from matter to transcendental service of the Lord. The material
colour of the mind is changed by washing it off from the contamination of
life-breathing and thereby getting it freed from the cantamination of repetition
of birth and death being situated in pure spiritual life. The whole thing is
manifested by the temporary embodiment of material body which is a
production of mind at the time of death and if the mind is purified by pracice
of transcendental loving service of the Lord, and the same is constantly
engaged in the service of the Lotus Feet of the Lord. there is no more any
chance of the mind's producing another material body after death, but being
freed from the absorption of material contamination the pure soul is able to
retun back to home back to Godhead.
Tritwe hutwa cha panchatwam tat cha ekatwe juhot munih
Sarvam atmani ajuhobit brahmani atmanam avyaye.
Tritwe—unto the trio qualities, hutwa—having offered, Cha—also,
Panchtwam—five elements, Tat—that, Cha—also, Ekatwe—in one nescience,
Juhot—amalgamated, Munih—the thoughtful, Sarvam—the Sumtotal,
Atmani—in the Soul, Ajuhobit—fixed up, Brahmani—unto the spirit,
Avyaye—unto the inexhaustible.
Thus conceiving annihlation of the gross body of five elements in the
three qualitative modes of material nature merged them in one nescience
and then again he absorbed nescience in self Brahman which is
inexhaustible at all circumstances.
All that we have manifested in the material world are different production of
the Mahat Tattwa Avydkta and things that are visible in our material vision
are nothing but combination and permutation of such variegated material
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Fifteenth Chapter - The Pandavas Retire Timely
products. But the living entity is different from such material products. It is
due to the forgetfulness of the living entity of his eternal nature as eternal
servitor of the Lord and on account of his false conception of becoming a so
called Lord of the material nature, that he is obliged to enter into existence of
false sense enjoyment and a concommitant generation of material energy are
two principal causes of the mind being materially affected and thus the gross
body of five elements produced. Maharaj Yudhisthir thus reverted the action
that he merged the five elements of the body in the three modes of material
nature. The qualitative distinction of the body as being good, bad or via media
thus extinguished and again such qualitative manifestations also became
merged in material energy which was produced from a false sense of the pure
living being. When one is thus inclined to become an associate of the
Supreme Lord the Personality of Godhead in one of the innumerable planets
of the spiritual sky specially in Goloka Vrindaban, one has to think always
that he is different from the material energy, he has nothing to do with them
and he has to pose himself as pure spirit or Brahman qualitatively equal with
the Supreme Brahman (Parameswara). Maharaj Yudhisthir after distributiug
his kingdom to Parikhit and Vajra thought himself not the emperor of the
world or the head of the Kurudynasty. This sense of freedom from material
relations as well as getting free from material encagement of the gross and
subtle encirclement makes one free to act as the servitor of the Lord even
though one is in the material world and this stage is called Jivanmukta stage
or the liberated stage while remaining even in the material world. That is the
process of ending material existence not only by thinking that he is Brahman,
but also by acting like Brahman. One who thinks only as Brahman is the
impersonalist. And one who acts like a Brahman is the pure devotee.
Cheeravasa niraharo baddhabang muktamurdhajah
Darshayan atmano rupam jada unmatta pisachavat
Anapekshamano niragad asrinwan badhirayatha.
Cheeravasa—accepted torn clothings, Niraharo—gave up all solid foodstuff,
Baddhavang—stopped talking, Muktamurdhajah—unlocked the bunch of
hairs, Darshayan—began to show, Atmano—of himself, Rupam—feature of
the body, Jada—inert, Unmatta—mad, Pisachaavat—just like an urchin,
Anabekshamana—without waiting for, Asrinwan—without hearing,
Badhira—just like a deaf, yatha—as if.
After that Maharaj Yudhisthir dressed himself by torn clothings gave up
eating of all solid foodstuff, voluntarily became dumb and unlocked his
bunch of hairs. All these combined he was seen just like an urchin mad
man without any activity. He did not any more depend for anything upon
his brothers neither did he hear anything just like a deafman.
Thus being freed from all external affairs he had nothing to do with imperial
or family prestige and for all practical purposes he posed himself exactly like
an inert mad urchin without any talkativeness in terms of material affairs.
Neither he had any kind of dependence upon his brothers who had all along
been helping hand to him. This stage of complete independence of everything
is also called the purified stage of fearlessness.
Udichim pravibesasam gatapurvam mahatamabhih
Hridi Brahman param dhyanna avarteta yato gatah.
Udichim—the northern side, Pravibesasam—those wh o wanted to enter
there, Gatapurvam—the path accepted by his forefathers, Mahatmabhi—by
the broad minded, Hridi—within the heart, Brahman—the Supreme, Param—
Godhead, Dhyayan—constantly thinking of, Barteta—passed days, Yato—
wherever, Gatah—went.
He then started towards the northern side the path which was accepted
by his forefathers and great man just to devote himself completely in the
thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And he lived in that way
wherever he went.
It is understood from this verse that Maharaj Yudhisthir followed the foot
prints of his forefathers and the great devotees of the Lord. We have discussed
many times before, the system of Varnashram Dharma, as it was strictly
followed by the inhabitants of the world, specifically by those who inhabited
the Aryavarta province of the world, emphasises on the very important point
of leaving all household connection at a certain stage of life. The training and
education was so imparted and as such a respectable person like Maharaj
Yudhisthir must would have left all family connection for self realisation and
going back to home going back to Godhead. No king or respactable
gentleman would continue family affected life till the end because that was
considered suicidal and against the interest of perfection of human life. In
order to be free from all family encumbrances and devote oneself cent per
cent in the devot ional service of the Lord Krishna this system is ever
recommended for every one because that is the path of authority. The Lord
instructs in the Bhagwat Geeta (Bg. 18.62) that one must become a devotee of
the Lord at least at the last stage of one's life and one sincere soul like that of
Maharaj Yudhisthir must abide this instruction of the Lord for his own
interest.
The specific words Brahman Param means Lord Sri Krishna. This is
corroborated in the Bhagwat Geeta (Bg. 10.12) by Arjuna with reference to