kaccid räjähuko jévaty
asat-putro 'sya cänujaù
hådékaù sasuto 'krüro
jayanta-gada-säraëäù
äsate kuçalaà kaccid
ye ca çatrujid-ädayaù
kaccid äste sukhaà rämo
bhagavän sätvatäà prabhuù
SYNONYMS
kaccit—whether; räjä—the king; ähukaù—another name of
Ugrasena; jévati—still living; asat—mischievous; putraù—son;
asya—his; ca—also; anujaù—younger brother (Devaka);
hådékaù—Hådéka; sa-sutaù—along with his son (Kåtavarmä);
akrüraù—Akrüra; jayanta—Jayanta; gada—Gada; säraëäù—
Säraëa; äsate—are they all; kuçalam—in happiness; kaccit—
whether; ye—they; ca—also; çatrujit—Çatrujit; ädayaù—headed
by; kaccit—whether; äste—are they; sukham—all right; rämaù
—Balaräma; bhagavän—the Personality of
Godhead; sätvatäm—of the devotees; prabhuù—protector.
TRANSLATION
Are Ugrasena, whose son was the mischievous Kaàsa, and his
younger brother Devaka still living? Are Hådéka and his son
Kåtavarmä happy? Are Akrüra, Jayanta, Gada, Säraëa and
Çatrujit all happy? How is Balaräma, the Personality of Godhead
and the protector of the devotees?
PURPORT
Hastinäpura, the capital of the Päëòavas, was situated
somewhere near present New Delhi, and the kingdom of
Ugrasena was situated in Mathurä. While returning to
Hastinäpura from Dvärakä, Arjuna must have visited the city of
Mathurä, and therefore the inquiry about the King of Mathurä is
valid. Amongst various names of the relatives, the name of
Räma or Balaräma, the eldest brother of Lord Kåñëa, has the
words "the Personality of Godhead" added because Lord
Balaräma is the immediate expansion of viñëu-tattva as
prakäça-vigraha of Lord Kåñëa. The Supreme Lord, although
one without a second, expands Himself as many other living
beings. The viñëu-tattva living beings are plenary expansions of
the Supreme Lord, and thus all of Them are qualitatively and
quantitatively equal with the Lord. But expansions of the jéva-
çakti, the category of the ordinary living beings, are not at all
quantitatively equal with the Lord. One who considers the jéva-
çakti and the viñëu-tattva to be on an equal level is considered
a condemned soul of the world. Çré Räma, or Balaräma, is the
protector of the devotees of the Lord. Baladeva acts as the
spiritual master of all devotees, and only by His causeless
mercy are the fallen souls delivered. Çré Baladeva appeared as
Çré Nityänanda Prabhu during the advent of Lord Caitanya, and
the great Lord Nityänanda Prabhu exhibited His causeless
mercy by delivering a pair of extremely fallen souls, namely
Jagäi and Mädhäi. Therefore it is particularly mentioned herein
that Balaräma is the protector of the devotees of the Lord. Only
by His divine grace can one approach the Supreme Lord Çré
Kåñëa, and thus Çré Balaräma is the mercy incarnation of the
Lord, manifested as the spiritual master, the savior of the pure
devotees.
Then His incarnation. The incarnation, that is also innumerable.
Principally the incarnations are avatära haya kåñëa ñaò-vidha
prakära. Generally, the incarnations are divided into six
divisions. What are they? Puruñävatära eka, first puruñävatära;
second, lélävatära; third, guëävatära; and fourth,
manvantarävatära; and fifth, yugävatära; and sixth,
çaktyäveçävatära. This is very important. This is very
important. There are incarnations, six kinds of incarnations.
This may be noted.
First, puruñävatära. Purusävatära, these Viñëus, three Viñëu—
Mahä-Viñëu, Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu and Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu
—They are called puruñävatära. Then lélävatära. God
sometimes manifests Himself as incarnation of fish, incarnation
of hog, incarnation of lion, incarnation of Räma. Räma is also
puruñävatära, yes, I mean to say, lélävatära, Räma. So
lélävatära, then guëävatära. Gunävatära is according to the
modes of this material nature there are three guëävatäras. So
first, Himself, Viñëu; and the second, Brahmä. Brahmä is also
guëävatära, incarnation of the quality.
There are three qualities in the material world. Brahmä is the
incarnation of the passion, mode of passion, and Viñëu is the
incarnation of the mode of goodness, and Çiva, Lord Çiva, is the
incarnation of the mode of ignorance. So all these three
avatäras, although they are different manifestation of God, still,
in the scriptures this is recommended that if anyone wants to
get out of this material entanglement, then he has to worship
these incarnation in the modes of goodness, Viñëu-avatära.
That is... These things are described in the Çrémad-
Bhägavatam.
So one may say that "If three of them are incarnation of the
Supreme, why particularly to Viñëu? Why not Lord Çiva and why
not Brahmä?" That is described in the Bhägavata. Just like I
require fire. So fire, the fire, there is. Just like wood is produced
from the earth, and fire is produced from the wood, similarly,
although it, production, the source of production, is the same,
but still, I require fire. I cannot have fire from the earth or from
the, just tree. I have to take the wood, fuel. This example is
there. Although the source is one, still, unless I get fire, my
purpose will not be served.
Similarly, this Viñëu and Çiva and Brahmä... From, I mean to
say, gross earth the wood is produced like tree, and from tree
we take wood, and from wood there is fire. So when we get fire,
then we can serve our purpose. Similarly, although these three
avatäras are there in the material world, we have to take
shelter of the viñëu-avatära, goodness. So far spiritual
progress, one has to be situated on the modes of
goodness first. Therefore we require to be brähmaëas,
qualified brähmaëas, then Vaiñëava. Brahma jänäti iti
brähmaëaù. Brähmaëa does not mean caste. Brähmaëa means
one who knows the Supreme Brahman. He is brähmaëa. And
then, after being brähmaëa, then you have to transcend that
position and put yourself in the pure goodness.
This material goodness is contaminated. Sometimes goodness
is affected by ignorance and passion in the material... So when
you are transcendental to this material goodness, that stage is
called Väsudeva stage. And Väsudeva stage, that means God
realization.
So there are three incarnation of guëävatära, then
manvantarävatära. Manvantarävatära means... There is
seventy-one yugas. One yuga means about 4,300,000's of
years. Four million and 300,000's of years, that makes a
complete yuga. Such seventy-one yuga is the duration of a
Manu. That is called Man... And each Manu is also an
incarnation, manvantarävatära. And such Manu takes place,
fourteen Manus take place, during one day of Brahma. So
manvantarävatära.
Then yuga avatära. Yuga avatära... In each yuga, during that
4,300,000's of years, there are yuga avatära. They are the
incarnation. They come. They are called yugävatäras. And then
there is çaktyäveça-avatära. Çaktyäveça-avatära, they are
counted just like Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ. They are counted
amongst the çaktyäveçävatäras. They are also incarnation of
çaktyäveçävatära, powerful. In this way the Supreme Lord
manifests all over the universes. There are innumerable
universes, and some of His incarnation are working always.
(CC Madhya Lila 712-244)
Puruña-avatära: Mahä-Viñëu, Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu,
Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu
Lélä-avatäras: Matsya, Kürma, Raghunätha, Nåsiàha, Vämana and
Varäha
Guëa-avatäras: (or qualitative incarnations) Brahmä, Viñëu and
Çiva
Manvantara-avatäras: Yajïa, Vibhu, Satyasena, Hari, Vaikuëöha,
Ajita, Vämana, Särvabhauma, Åñabha, Viñvaksena, Dharmasetu,
Sudhämä, Yogeçvara and Båhadbhänu.
Yuga-avatäras: Caitanya Mahäprabhu
Çaktyäveça-avatäras: King Påthu, Lord Buddha, Paraçuräma
vrajendra-nandana yei, çacé-suta haila sei,
balaräma haila nitäi
So Balaräma... In the Vedic literature it is said, näyam ätmä bala-
hinena labhyaù, na bahunä çrutena. So bala means strength.
Sometimes some rascal philosophers, they take it that bala
means bodily strength. They propagate this philosophy that
"Unless you are bodily stout and strong, you cannot achieve
spiritual salvation. You must be very strong and stout and eat
meat and fight, and then you'll get next spiritual birth." No. This
bala, this strength, is different. This is spiritual strength.
The difficulty of the present situation is that actually we are
moving on account of spiritual strength, but they have no
information of the spiritual strength. They are thinking of material
strength. That is expressed here that,
ahaìkäre matta hoiyä, nitäi-pada päsariyä,
asatyere satya kori mäni
[Being maddened after false prestige and identification with the
body, one is thinking, "Oh, what is Nityänanda? What can He do
for me? I don't care." The result is that he is accepting something
false to be truth. If you actually want to approach the association
of Rädhä-Kåñëa, you must first achieve the mercy of Lord
Nityänanda. When He is merciful toward you, then you will be
able to approach Rädhä-Kåñëa. Therefore you should firmly grasp
the lotus feet of Lord Nityänanda.]
This is due to ahaìkära. Ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä kartäham iti
manyate [Bg 3.27]. Those who are vimüòha, especially rascal...
Müòha means rascal, and vi means viçeña, viçeñanam,
"particularly." Ahankara-vimudhätmä. The same thing which is
spoken in the Bhagavad-gétä, Narottama däsa Öhäkura says the
same thing in a plain Bengali language: ahaìkäre matta haiyä,
nitäi-pada... By the spell of mäyä, ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä kartäham
iti manyate [Bg 3.27], they are thinking that "We are
independent.
[The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three
modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of
activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.]
We can do whatever we like." This is called ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä.
Under false pretext, false prestige, everyone is thinking that "We
are independent. We can find out the solution of the problems of
life by material adjustment," so on, so on. So that is our material
disease. Ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä. Bewildered, they do not
understand that the real strength is spiritual strength. We see
daily, see daily that a very strong man, very powerful man, very
good brain, very good scientist... So where is the strength? The
strength is ätmä. As soon as the ätmä, or the soul, goes out of
this body, so intelligent, so strong and so many things, but he is
nothing. That is the difference between dead man and the living
man. A living man is very powerful, very good position,
everything. As soon as he lies down..., he is lying down on the
floor, and if you kick him on his face, he'll not protest. So where is
that strength? The strength is gone. That is spiritual strength. On
the spiritual strength, the body moves. Suppose you have got a
very good car, Mercedes car or Rolls Royce car. But when there is
no petrol, how the car will move? It is not possible. There is spirit,
petrol spirit. Similarly, real strength is spiritual strength. That
spiritual strength is Balaräma. Bala means strength. Therefore we
have to take shelter of the lotus feet of Balaräma, guru-tattva.
Balaräma means guru-tattva. Balaräma represents guru. Yasya
prasädäd bhagavat-prasädaù. If we want to understand Caitanya
Mahäprabhu, if we want to understand Kåñëa, then we must take
shelter of Balaräma. Näyam ätmä bala-hinena labhyaù. Bala-
hinena labhyaù, this Vedic injunction, means "Without the mercy
of Balaräma you cannot understand, you cannot realize your
spiritual identification." So that Balaräma comes as Nityänanda
Prabhu: balaräma hailä nitäi. Therefore we must take shelter of
Balaräma. That is... This song has been sung by Narottama däsa
Öhäkura. Nitäi-pada-kamala, koöi-candra-suçétala. If we take
shelter of Nityänanda Prabhu, then we get peace. Koöi-candra-
suçétala. Just like in daytime, especially in the summer season,
we become very much exasperated. But at night, in the evening,
as soon as there is moonshine, we become very much satisfied.
All day's labor and fatigue is immediately moved. So nitäi-pada-
kamala, the shade of Nityänanda Prabhu's lotus feet, is koöi-
candra-suçétala: as pleasing as one crore of moonshine. One
moonshine gives us so much pleasure. So if we want actually
peace of mind, if we actually want to be free from this material
fatiguement, then we must take the shelter of Nityänanda Prabhu.
Nityänanda Prabhu is the strength, spiritual strength. And without
spiritual strength you cannot approach Kåñëa. Näyam ätmä
pravaca... Simply by talking nonsense... Näyam ätmä
pravacanena labhyaù [Muëòaka Upaniñad 3.2.3].
[The Supreme Lord is not attained by expert explanations, by vast
intelligence, nor even by much hearing. He is attained only by one
who He Himself chooses. To such a person He manifests His own
form.]
. If you are a good speaker, that does not mean you'll understand,
yourself. Na medhayä: "Neither by good brain." Because you have
got very good brain you'll understand Kåñëa—no. Näyam ätmä
pravacanena labhyo na medhayä na bahunä çrutena. If you think
that you are a very good scholar, university degree-holder, then
you'll understand—no. This is not possible.
So we must have spiritual strength. That source of spiritual
strength is Balaräma, Kåñëa's next manifestation, prakäça-
vigraha. Kåñëa is manifesting Himself through Balaräma. So we
have to take shelter of Nityänanda Prabhu.
nitäi-pada-kamala, koöi-candra-suçétala,
je chäyäy jagata juräy
[The lotus feet of Lord Nityänanda are a shelter where one will get
the soothing moonlight not only of one but of millions of moons. If
the world wants to have real peace, it should take shelter of Lord
Nityänanda. Unless one takes shelter under the shade of the lotus
feet of Lord Nityänanda, it will be very difficult for him to
approach Rädhä-Kåñëa. If one actually wants to enter into the
dancing party of Rädhä-Kåñëa, he must firmly catch hold of the
lotus feet of Lord Nityänanda.]
The whole world is suffering, but if you want peace, then you take
the shelter of Nityänanda Prabhu.
heno nitäi bine bhäi, rädhä-kåñëa päite näi
dhådha kori' dharo nitäir päy
Our real aim of life—how to go back home, back to Godhead, and
associate with Rädhä Kåñëa. In another song the same author
says,
