Kadacha n.1 PDF

Nº1 February- 2018 | Kadacha | 1
2 | Kadacha | January 2018

Kadacha Journal n.1
Contributors (in alphabetical order)
Acarya: Bhaktivedanta Swami
Welcome to
Prabhupada
Editor: Manonatha Dasa
Contribuiting authors:
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati,
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and: Kadacha is a journal for advanced research and studies
Guru Prasad Swami, Manonatha in Vedic, Vaisnava and Gaudiya traditions.
Dasa, Mahatma Dasa, Yadunandana
It is published every two months both in paper and in
Swami, Syamamayi Devi Dasi ,
Gauri Devi Dasi, Kisari Mohan electronic formats.
Ganguli, Mukunda Vaidya Dasa.
We thank Purnacandra Goswami Kadacha (literally, diary of annotation) deals with
and Kanik Prasad Goswami of researches and studies on the ancient texts called Vedas
the Radha Damodara Temple in and on texts of subsequent traditions belonging to the
Vrindavana, India, to have kindly same tradition.
accepted to be interviewed.
In Kadacha you will find sections dedicated to less
Proof editor:
experienced people.
Gopavadhu Devi Dasi
Illustrator:
Isvari Devi Dasi The task awaiting us is certainly demanding considering
Layout and design: Madhavendra that the Vedas and the proceeding traditions have an
Puri Dasa immense literature.
Sales and Advertising Manager:
Madhavendra Puri Dasa We will deal with the four original Vedas, the Puranas,
We have received help from the Upanisads, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the
various people and we want to literature spinning from the Vaisnava world and so on.
thank them:
Citra Gopi Devi Dasi, Harold
Molina, Jharikhanda Dasa, We will talk about philosophy, history, astronomy,
Mandakini Devi Dasi, Manuel astrology, religion, and a large number of other topics.
Morales, Mukunda Madhava Dasa,
Victor Hugo Diaz, Vyasa Tirtha We have the ambition to give you informations that
Dasa, Yogavid Dasa. you cannot easily find anywhere else and to explain
Submission: in a different, more in-depth and clear way the large
Articles and illustrations are amount of data you find on the net.
welcome.
Keep in the theme, which is the
For lovers of the ancient culture of India, which today
Vedas and Vaisnavas traditions.
Keep the tone of your writings has become a treasury of all, thanks to saints and
gentle and respectful. professors who have made it known, Kadacha is a must-
Send your contributions to: see magazine.
kadachaeditions@gmail.com
Enjoy the reading.
It will be reviewed by the editorial
board and receive a notice.
Kadacha website:
www.kadachaeditions.com
Mail: kadachaeditions@gmail.com
Manonatha Dasa

CONTENT
KNOWLEDGE BEGINNERS
4 On Knowledge and the Principle of 36. In a nutshell
Authority the ABC of Vaisnava philosophy, for
by Manonatha Dasa (ACBSP) beginners,
A disquistion on
the right sources BIOGRAPHY
of knowldedge 38. Akshobhya Tirtha
and trustworthy A short biography of an importan
authorities. spiritual master of the 13th century
BHAKTIVEDANTA VRAJA TEMPLES

SWAMI 42. The temple of
PRABHUPADA Radha Damodara
16. He gives by Gauri Devi Dasi
personally History of this
Don’t change what the Lord said. Vrindavana important
temple, with an
SRILA BHAKTISIDDHANTA interview to the main
SARASVATI THAKUR priests.
25. The messenger from Vaikuntha
How will I know about anything that is 45. Interview to Sri Purnachandra
transcendental? Goswami
by Gauri Devi Dasi
SRILA BHAKTIVINODE THAKURA
26. The Perfection of all Bhajana VRAJA PASTIMES
The glories of Sri Radha Kunda. 48. At the Yamuna - Boat Pastimes
51. Manasi Ganga - Boat Pastimes
PHILOSOPHY Krishna’s beautiful pastimes on Manasi
28. Ritvikism Hardens the Heart Ganga and Yamuna.
by Mahatma Dasa
A worong philosophy can be very
detrimental to spiritual life.
SCIENCE
30 . Divisions of time
The Puranas tell us how to calculate
time.
UPANISAD
34. Kali Santarana
The question is, how can I cross
beyond the Kali-yuga as I wander over
the earth?
FAQ
35. Frequent questions answered
4 | Kadacha | Nº1 February- 2018

CONTENT
HISTORY
52. Krishna’s family
Let’s know more closely some of
Krishna’s parents
VEDIC SCRIPTS
58 - Ten Subjects of Srimad-Bhagavatam
The main thems of this important
scripture
BOOK REVIEW
60. Hindu Encounter with Modernity
by Yadunandana Swami
DEVOTEES IN THE WORLD

65. VOCATION, DUTY AND SERVICE
by Mukunda Vaidya Das
NOTES
67. GAJENDRA
by Syamamayi Devy Dasi
MAHABHARATA
72. ADI PARVA
Scheme of the Maha-bharata
and division by sections and verses

KNOWLEDGE
On Knowledge
and the Principle of Authority
by Manonatha Dasa (ACBSP)
Knowledge outside world and of our interaction with it.
Knowledge (vidya) is one of the constituent The five senses are the eyes, ears, nose,
elements of the person, understood as a tongue and skin.
spiritual entity, more obvious to those who The five active senses are the voice, the legs,
are aware of it. the hands, the anus and the genitals.
The five objects of the senses are the smell,
In the morning we wake up, open our eyes the taste, the shape, the touch and the
and immediately start sound.
looking around. We It is thanks to these
go to the bathroom fifteen elements that we
and look at the organize our body of
mirror. Our mind, knowledge.
in a fraction of a
second, makes the But we need more.
point, sums up what To know what color
happened in the our shirt is our eyes
past and what it has are enough. To know
to do. The senses the smell a flower, our
reactivate. The nose is enough. But
sense of hearing, there are things for the
besides, never goes perception of which
out, not even during we need to have higher
sleep. If we hear a senses.
noise we wake up. For example, if we
want to know what the
In other words, we formula is for a better
have the natural tendency of wanting to life, we need intelligence, experience, and
know. other higher elements of knowledge. If I
In sanskrit our personality is called cit- go to another nation, it’s good to let me
maya (or cin-maya), namely “made of know what the laws governing it are because
natural knowledge”. I could commit a crime without even
knowing it. So if I want a happy life, it’s
We are souls made of spiritual elements good to know which are the laws governing
and certainly not of matter. the world I live in. I have to know if there is
Although the wrapping of material a God (because if He exists He created this
elements causes a limitation on the exercise world and has organized it), who I really
of the cognitive function, this spiritual am (because if I am eternal I do not have
characteristic is manifested even at all to waste my life for illusory and temporary
times of our lives. So we look, taste, listen, things), what products of this world can
touch and smell. Through the five senses we I use and what not, and so on. Failure
accumulate a great deal of knowledge of the to answer to these questions leads us to
KNOWLEDGE
commit crimes against God and against after death. Theories after theories, but no
nature and to suffer the consequences certainties.
(karma). And all this without even
knowing that we are committing crimes.
Man is imperfect.
In the end, knowledge (cit) is a
The limitation of reaching veritable and
fundamental function for both everyday
conclusive truths is caused by human
life (what we call material life) and for the
most profound questions (what we call imperfection.
“spiritual life”). On October 6, 1969, our Acarya (we use
this Sanskrit word in the sense of “best
source of explanation on Knowledge”) Srila
How to do?
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada gave
Some ways are better than others to
a speech to the Conway Hall in London,
have exact knowledge. In the preceding
England. This speech then became the
paragraphs we have divided knowledge
introduction of one of his books, Sri
in two fields: that of material science
Isopanisad.
and that of spiritual science. In various
circumstances these two intersect and the
difference fades until it disappears.
Let’s hear what Srila Prabhupada says about
human imperfection:
Let’s define both them.
“In the conditioned state, our knowledge
One of the many
plausible definitions is subjected to many deficiencies. The
is that material difference between a conditioned soul and
sciences are the a liberated soul is that the conditioned
ones dealing with soul has four kinds of defects. The first
the world we live in, defect is that he must commit mistakes.
while the spiritual
For example, in our country, Mahatma
ones of the people
who live there. Gandhi was considered to be a very great
The human being personality, but he committed many
has worked hard mistakes. Even at the last stage of his life,
for centuries and his assistant warned, “Mahatma Gandhi,
millenniums to don’t go to the New Delhi meeting. I
perfect his sciences
have some friends, and I have heard
but many of these are still imperfect.
Nobody really knows how our universe there is danger.” But he did not hear. He
is made, its chemical composition, persisted in going and was killed. Even
its physical dynamics. New things are great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi,
coming out substituing those that until President Kennedy-there are so many of
the previous day were given for sure. This them-make mistakes. To err is human. This
way of doing is not only pseudo-science
is one defect of the conditioned soul.
but even intellectually dishonest. Peddling
theories for proved things is called
dishonesty. Another defect: to be illusioned. Illusion
As far as knowledge of the living being is means to accept something which is not:
concerned, these are even more wrapped māyā. Māyā means “what is not.” Everyone
in darkness. Nobody has ever understood is accepting the body as the self. If I ask you
where life came from and what is there what you are, you will say, “I am Mr. John;
KNOWLEDGE
I am a rich man; I am this; I am that.” All would not cost me anything to try, apart
these are bodily identifications. But you are from having to pay the price of a small
not this body. This is illusion. wound to my big ego grumbling, “You
can create your own knowledge, no one is
The third defect is the cheating smarter than you, nobody can teach you.”
propensity. So I chose to seek not the knowledge but a
Everyone has the propensity to cheat source of knowledge. Rethinking about it
others. Although a person is fool number now I realize that is a common thing we all
one, he poses himself as very intelligent. do in our life. If we want to learn math we
Although it is already pointed out that he go looking for books and professors.
is in illusion and makes mistakes, he will After so much wandering I came to the
theorize: “I think this is this, this is this.” But Vedas and to the schools that come from
he does not even know his own position. them. I had the impression to be opening
He writes books of an antique chest and when I looked inside I
philosophy, although he saw an immense treasure of
is defective. That is his
Not to seek knowledge pearls and diamonds. I am
disease. That is cheating. but a source rich, I thought.
But let’s see what Srila
Lastly, our senses are of knowledge Prabhupada said about
imperfect. We are very
proud of our eyes. the Vedas in the same
Often, someone will challenge, “Can you conference I mentioned earlier.
show me God?” But do you have the eyes “... What are the Vedas? The Sanskrit
to see God? You will never see if you don’t verbal root of the word can be interpreted
have the eyes. If immediately the room differently, but at the end the meaning is
becomes dark, you cannot even see your the same. Veda means Knowledge. “
hands. So what power do you have to see?
We cannot, therefore, expect knowledge The Vedas Are Texts Of India?
(veda) with these imperfect senses. With all Let’s now look at the next question. Are the
these deficiencies, in conditioned life we Vedas a tradition of knowledge of India? If
cannot give perfect knowledge to anyone. it was, it would not belong to us born in the
Nor are we ourselves perfect. Therefore we West and it would be useless to us.
accept the Vedas as they are.” Prabhupada rejects the theory that the
Vedas are Indian texts and says:
There are people who feel that the search “You may call the Vedas Hindu, but ‘Hindu’
for truth is more fun that getting to the is a foreign name. We are not Hindus.”
goal. When they find it they say no, it can’t Here Prabhupada says that the Vedas are
be, and so they a source of knowledge that belong to the
continue wandering whole mankind and not just to India.
in the meanders of
their own mind. The Vedas are of divine origin
Personally, when We can not discard the possibility that
I was very young, there is a God and that he has left us
I chose another instructions on how to live in this world
approach, not and how to return to the spiritual world.
discarding the idea It would be a nonsense to assume it and
that it could exist we would condemn ourselves to close a
sources of perfect window opened to a horizon of immense
knowledge. Besides, knowledge. It is a common sense the idea
I was thinking, it to accept the possibility that the Vedas are
KNOWLEDGE
truly of divine origin. And at the end of the The first is divided into fifteen sections,
day nobody forbids us to test the perfection which are:
of Vedic information. 1) Veda 9) Darsana
2) Upaveda 10) Upanisad
Srila Prabhupada says: 3) Vedanga 11) Puranas
“Vedic principles are accepted as axiomatic 4) Brahmana 12) Itihasa
truth, for there cannot be any mistake. That 5) Aranyaka 13) Niti
is acceptance. For instance, in India cow 6) Sutra 14) The Vaisnava
dung is accepted as pure, and yet cow dung 7) Smriti Sampradayas
is the stool of an animal. 8) Upanga 15) The Parampara Gaudiya
In one place you’ll find the Vedic injunction
that if you touch stool, you have to take a We find a second classification in
bath immediately. But in another place it Chandogya Upanisad (7.1-3) where Narada
is said that the stool of a cow is pure. If you Muni asks Sanat Kumara to teach him.
smear cow dung in an impure place, that Sanat Kumara responds asking Narada to
place becomes pure. With our ordinary tell him what he knows and whatever he
sense we can argue, “This is contradictory.” misses he’ll tell him.
Actually, it is contradictory from the
ordinary point of view, but it is not false. Sri Narada Muni said:
It is fact. In Calcutta, a very prominent “Venerable Sir, I know (adhyemi)
scientist and doctor analyzed cow dung the Rig-Veda,
and found that it contains all antiseptic the Yajur-Veda,
properties.” the Sama-Vedas,
the Atharva-Veda which is the fourth,
We accept that Vedas are of divine origin, the epics (the Puranas) and the ancient
therefore perfect, and during our studies stories (Itihasa) that are the fifth,
and practices we tested and still testing the Veda of the Vedas, that is the grammar,
them. This is what a scientist does. He Pitra Vidya (or Sraddha), the rules of the
doesn’t discard any possibilities and put sacrifices to satisfy the ancestors, Rashi
them to the test. The students of the Veda Vidya, the science of numbers, that is,
are scientists in the noblest sense of the mathematics, Bhuta
word. Vidya, the science of
evil portents,
The Vedas Mahakala, the science
At this point, it is fair to ask of time,
which books can be accepted Vakyo-Vakya, logic
as Vedas. and philosophy,
A first division is that there Kshatra Vidya,
are these two types of texts, the science of
called: war, Nakshatra
Vidya, astronomy
- Sruti and astrology,
- Smriti. Sarpa Vidya, the
science of snakes
The Srutis are the four original Vedas and Ekayatana, ethics
the Smriti all the literature that comes from and
them. Various scholars have divided
them into various categories.
I’ll propose you two of those.
KNOWLEDGE
politics, Nirukta, etymology, Siksakalpa, The Sama Veda deals mainly with that
ceremonial and prosody, Fine arts, knowledge and activity with which the
dancing, vocal and instrumental music.” soul of the human being is lifted from
the cycle of life and death. It is dedicated
Sanat Kumara then taught him Atma- to the worship of the Supreme Lord, the
vidya, the science of self. manifestation of his powers and the way of
Narada Muni does not mention other disciplines for spiritual advancement.
sciences, but we find them in other texts:
Daiva Vidya, nature and environment Amongst the Vedas, Sama is the shortest in
Nidhi Vidya, the economy terms of numbers of the Mantras.
Deva Jana Vidya, sociology It contains two chapters, Purvacika and
Mantra Vidya, knowledge of books and Uttaracika and 1874 Mantra in total.
Atma Vidya, spiritual knowledge.
We’ll take the first classification and give The Atharva Veda deals with the knowledge
some explanation. For obvious reasons, we of a number of sciences.
will not go down to any of these in details. It has 20 Kandas,
Studying and conducting research on this 111 Anuvaka,
ocean of knowledge is the reason for the 731 Sukta e
existence of Kadacha magazine. 5977 Mantra.
The Four Vedas are: Upavedas

Rig Veda, which was revealed to Agni; The following sciences are considered
Yajur Veda, which was revealed to Vayu; Upaveda:
The Sama Veda, which was revealed to 1) Ayurveda, the science of medicine
Aditya; 2) Dhanurveda, the military science
Atharva Veda, which was revealed to 3) Gandharva Veda, the science of music
Angira. 4) Shilpa Veda, architecture and other 64
They are also called Sruti and Samhitas arts (there are those who say that they are
and deal with a large number of sciences. more than 64)
5) Artha Veda, sociology, economics and
politics.
The Rig Veda contains a vast knowledge
of physical, metaphysical and spiritual
nature. It is the greatest amongst the Vedas
Vedanga
in terms of content. It contains:10 mandala, The Vedanga are concerned with the
1028 Suktas, correct interpretation of the Vedas.
10581 Rik Mantra. Mundaka Upanisad mentions that there are
The Rig Veda has been translated by six Vedanga:
various schools in various languages. 1) Siksha, education,
2) Kalpa, the creation,
3) Vyakarana, grammar,
The Yajur Veda deals with a number of 4) Nirukta, etymology,
topics and in particular the conduct in 5) Chhanda, metric and
order to reach Moksha, the ultimate goal of 6) Jyotisha, mathematics and astronomy.
life.
It Contains Brahmana
40 Adhyaya, Brahmana are those books that describe
1975 Yaju Mantra the meanings of Vedic mantras and their
use.
KNOWLEDGE
Aranyakas Upanishads
The Aranyaka texts contain quotations The Upanishads deal with detailed
extracted from the Brahmana. explations of the spiritual energy, including
the Supreme entity (Paramatma) and the
non supreme entities, that is, individual
Sutra
souls (atma). Sometimes Upanisad, or at
These are texts that go into depth of some least some of them, are considered Sruti
of the topics dealt with in the Vedas. At the because they aresections of the original
present nine are well known. Vedas.
1. Grihya Sutra Determining how many of the thousands of
2. Dharma Sutra Upanisad known are authentic is difficult.
3. Srota Sutra Now here we will mention eleven of those
4. Asvalayana Sutra and specify to which Veda they are seccion
5. Gobhila Sutra of.
6. Paraskara Sutra
7. Koshitaki Sutra
1. Isa, found in the Yajur Veda.
8. Katyayana Sutra
9. Bodhayana Sutra 2. Kena, in the Sama Veda
3. Katha, in the Atharva Veda
Smriti 4. Prashna, in the Atharva Veda
The word smriti is interpreted in various 5. Mundaka, in the Atharva Veda
ways. Literally it means “what is 6. Mandukya, in the Atharva Veda
remembered by the tradition”. We know 7. Aitareya, in the Rig Veda
important Smritis like Manu Smriti 8. Taittareya, in the Yajur Veda
and Yajnavalkya Smriti. However,
9. Chandogya, in the Sama Veda
Smriti are all those writings that
have the Vedas (Sruti) as the 10. Brihadaranyaka, in Yajur
cultural basis. Compiling a list Veda
of all Smriti would be a titanic 11. Svetasvatara, in the Atharva
enterprise. Veda
Darsana Sastra In the next issues of Kadacha we will

There are six Darsana Sastra, give larger lists of Upanisad.
also called Upanga or Sat-
darsana. Purana
The Puranas are books of
1. Karma Mimamsa of Jaimini ancient history, where there is
(also known as Purva Mimamsa), also an infinity of information
2. Vaisesika of Kanada, about culture and civilization. They
3. Nyaya of Gautama, are generally divided into three
4. Yoga of Patanjali, types:
5. Sankhya of Kapila,
6. Vedanta, by Vyasadeva (also Sattvika Puranas (dealing with
known as Uttara Mimamsa). Visnu)
Rajasika Purana (dealing
We will dedicate a lot of space to with Brahma) and
the six Darsanas during the next Tamasika Purana
issues of Kadacha. (dealing with Siva).
KNOWLEDGE
Tmain Puranas are 18: The Maha-bharata written by Sri
Vyasadeva.
1) Brahma Purana, made up of 13,000
verses Niti
2) Padma Purana, made up of 55,000 verses The books called Niti deal with principles
3) Vishnu Purana, made up of 23,000 verses of social ethics. The most famous are
4) Vayu Purana, composed of 24,000 verses the Canakya Niti, the Bhartrihari Niti,
5) Bhagavata Purana, made up of 18,000 the Sikra Niti e the Vidura Niti.
verses
6) Naradiya Purana, made up of 25,000 The Sampradaya Vaisnava texts
verses The word sampradaya means tradition or
7) Markandeya Purana, made up of 9,000 school.
verses In Padma Purana it is said that there are
8) Agni Purana, made up of 16,000 verses four authentic sampradaya and are:
9) Bhavishya Purana, made up of 14,500 the Brahma-sampradaya,
verses the Rudra-sampradaya,
10) Brahmavaivarta Purana, made up of the Sri-sampradaya,
18,000 verses the Kumara-sampradaya.
11) Linga Purana, made up of 11,000 verses
12) Varaha Purana, made up of 24,000 In Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.8.42) it is
verses said that if one wants to advance in the
13) Skanda Purana, made up of 81,100 verses spiritual life he must receive mantras
14) Vamana Purana, made up of 10,000 from a representative of one of these four
verses schools. Otherwise he can never advance
15) Kurma Purana, made up of 18,000 in spiritual life.
verses
16) Matsya Purana, made up of 14,000 The Gaudiya Parampara
verses
The numerous branches of the main trunk
17) Garuda Purana, made up of 18,000
of the sampradaya are called parampara.
verses
Since we belong to the Brahma-Madhva-
18) Brahmanda Purana, made up of 12,200
Gaudiya Sampradaya we will dedicate
verses
A total of 403,800
Then there are others called Upa Purana

that we will mention in the future.
It must be said that different sages give a
different classifications of the Puranas.
Matsya Purana states that the total number
of verses in the Vedas and in the Itihasas is
525,000.
Itihasa
Among the various historical books written
in Sanskrit, there are two particularly
important:
The Ramayana, which is the story of Sri
Ramacandra, written by Valmiki Muni, and
KNOWLEDGE
much space to topics concerning their Different levels of authority
history and philosophy.
So far we have established that Vidya (or
Jnana, knowledge) is derived from two
The spiritual Masters and discipline sources:
succession
The first being created in this universe - from the Vedic scriptures
was Brahma. He received the knowledge - from the spiritual masters.
directly from Visnu and then taught Narada,
who revealed it to Vyasa and so on, from We will come back to these issues many
teacher to disciple, down to our days. more times in the future, and we will
Knowledge is thus transmitted by spiritual deepen them, but now I’d like to introduce
masters to disciples the concept of different
of upright characters, Knowledge is derived from levels of reliability.
leaving its wisdom the vedic scriptures and And that is: it matters
intact as it was at the or not who is he who
origin. If it were not, from the spiritual masters translate a Vedic
if there was no such text, who writes an
system and if the masters and the pupils explanation, who teaches him by voice?
were not authentic, in a short time the How much does it matter? Can he decrease
spiritual knowledge would be lost. the value of the scripture or could he even
Thanks to the parampara system today we add value to it?
have the Vedas and we can study them as
they were originally. It matters or not who is the spiritual master
or are all the same? Anyone who, in one
The Sastras (scriptures) are inflexible in way or another, has come to cover such a
declaring that the presence
of the Spiritual Master is
absolutely necessary for the
comprehension and the
realization of knowledge.
In Bhagavad-gita (4.34) is
Krishna himself to declare:
tad viddhi pranipatena

pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah
“Simply try to learn the

truth by approaching
a spiritual master. Ask
questions with a submissive
mentality and serve him.
The self-realized soul can
give you the knowledge
because it has seen the
truth.”

KNOWLEDGE
delicate assignment, is equal to all the to philosophical conclusions contrary to
others or is there different levels? Vedic conclusions.
It is obvious that the level of reliability Kadacha is a journal of studies and research, so
increases in proportion to the articles of different levels of reliability will be
qualifications of the person. Sanskrit (or published so that different points of view could
Bengali, or other languages with which be known and debated.
scriptures are considered Smriti have
been written) are not easy. Moreover the
topics discussed in these books are often
complicated and only people with high
expertise can deliver the authentic text.
Besides, could anyone who has never
played chess translate or explain a chess
book?
A given writing can be authentic,

however, if translated or explained
by “unauthorized” people (ie, without
qualifications), the risk is that what is
obtained is not only a partial value
but there is even the risk that we get
the wrong thing.
The most qualified people

are the spiritual masters of
the various sampradayas
(guru) and the saints
and scholars who are
part of these schools
(sadhu).
When the scriptures
(sastra) are translated
and explained by one
of these personalities,
the reliability level is the
highest.
This level drops

considerably when
the translators or
commentators have not
practiced the Vedic
disciplines, have not
been initiated in an
authentic spiritual
school, when they
do that for a material
return, when they come
He gives personally
by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita 9.20-22 class, given by His Divine Grace Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada, on December 6, 1966, New York.
Prabhupada: devotees, transcendentalists, they, doing

trai-vidya mam soma-pah puta-papa that, when they are little more advanced
yajnair istva svargatim prarthayante and if by chance they get association
te punyam asadya surendra-lokam of another pure devotee, then he can
asnanti divyan divi deva-bhogan understand that “I am not Supreme, but I
am the part and parcel of the Supreme.”
Now, Lord Krsna has described different
types of transcendentalists. First He has Then he makes further advance and the
described about the mahatma, mahatma, ultimate goal, as I have several times
the great soul. And their symptoms have explained before you, ultimate goal is to
been described, that satatam kirtayanto know Krsna, or the Supreme Lord. That is
mam [Bg. 9.14]. They are engaged the ultimate goal.
twenty-four hours, cent percent, in the So this is direct method. The Krsna
transcendental loving service of the Lord, consciousness, which we are trying to
yatantas ca drdha-vratah, and trying to popularize, this is direct method and just
serve the Lord very carefully with vow. So suitable for this age.
they are first-class transcendentalists or the As Lord Caitanya introduced:
great soul.
“ kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva
And then? Second-class? Those who are gatir anyatha “
trying to understand the Supreme, the
Absolute Truth, by identifying himself with Chanting the
the Supreme, that “I am, I am the Supreme.”
This I have already explained. This “I am Maha-mantra
Supreme” means “I am part and parcel is the direct method
of the Supreme, of the same quality.” So
these people, these devotees,
for self realization
not exactly
In this age of Kali, the age of quarrel and

hypocrisy -- this is called Kali -- in this
age this is the simplest method and direct,
direct action. Just like in military art there
is a word, “direct action,” this is the spiritual
direct action, this
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna

Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
SRILA PRABHUPADA
But because it is very simple, sometimes and it may be that your standard of living in
those who think themselves as very America or Europe may be, from material
intelligent and advanced, they think, point of view, very high and standard of
“Oh, what they are doing, Hare Krsna, living in other country may be lower...
Hare Krsna? We are meditating, we are Different standard of living there are. But
philosophizing, and we are doing penance in other planets also, there are different
and austerities and following the rituals, so standard of living.
many things.”
They are called deva-bhogan.
So practically, they are, according to
Bhagavad-gita they are not directly in touch That standard of living we cannot
with the Supreme Lord, but they have imagine here, in the moon planet and
taken different paths as ahangrahopasanam, other, surendra-lokam. Surendra-lokam
thinking himself as one with the Lord, means where the demigods live. They are
pantheism, thinking everything
the symbol of God, and thinking
the universal form as the
Supreme, in different ways.
So anyway, all of them, the

first-class mahatma and
all these people, they are
transcendentalists. They are
trying to realize the Absolute
Truth. May be in a different
grades, but they are trying.
And besides that, besides them,

there is another class who are,
more or less can be called,
not transcendentalists but
materialists. And who are they?
That is described here.
trai-vidya mam soma-pah puta-

papa
yajnair istva svargatim
prarthayante
te punyam asadya surendra-
lokam
asnanti divyan divi deva-
bhogan
Deva-bhogan means this is with

reference to the standard of
living. As in this world we have
got different standard of living
SRILA PRABHUPADA
also human beings, but they are highly karma-kanda.
intellectual, and their duration of life is very
long, and their standard of living is very And then upasana-kanda. Upasana-kanda
high, most costly. We cannot imagine even. means how to worship the Supreme Lord or
the demigod or different types of...There are
So they are soma-pah. Soma is a kind of demigods.
beverage. Just like in this material world we
have got different kinds of liquors. It is not The demigods are living beings like us, but
intoxicating, but there is mention. Here in they are very powerful. So that upasana-
the Bhagavad-gita is also mentioned, soma- kanda, worship of different demigods is also
pah, soma-rasa. mentioned there in the Vedas. That is called
And in Srimad-Bhagavatam we get upasana-kanda.
information that in the moon planet they
also drink this soma-rasa. But the soma-rasa And jnana-kanda. Jnana-kanda means
is not an intoxicant. It is a different thing. knowledge, a philosophical approach.
Here it is said, soma-pah puta-papah.
One who will drink the soma-rasa, he So therefore Veda is known as trai-
will be freed from sinful reaction. Just the vidya, trayi. Trayi means three kinds of
opposite. Here, just like when we become knowledge there are. So the persons who
intoxicated, we become addicted to so are more or less materialists -- they are not
many sinful actions, it is soma-pah. When transcendentalists -- they take shelter of this
we drink soma-rasa, it is just the opposite. Vedic trai-vidya, three kinds of knowledge.
We become freed from all sinful reaction. And to prepare themselves to be transferred
in other planets they become freed from all
That soma-pah is recommended
here also.
So either they try to go to other planets,

or they manufacture here soma-pah,
soma-rasa. Of course, at the present
moment we have no such facility. But
from Bhagavad-gita it is understood
that there was a method.
Anyway, the process is mentioned,

described in the Vedic literature, trai-
vidya.
Trai-vidya means Vedas. There are
three kinds of knowledge in the Vedas,
trai-vidya:
karma-kanda,
upasana-kanda, and
jnana-kanda.
Karma-kanda means this, how we

can adjust material happiness or
material living very nice. That is called
SRILA PRABHUPADA
sinful reaction. yourself. You have to qualify yourself. Just
like even there is machine, jet plane, still,
As I have several times mentioned that your you require the visa to enter into America
standard of living in America is very nice. So or any other country, similarly, even if you
others, people from other parts, they also try can manufacture some machine, although
to come here and settle here. But you have it is not possible, but you have to qualify
got restriction, visa department. There is yourself to be a resident in the better
restriction department. You do not allow. planets.
So similarly, if you want to go to the moon So those who are after going to the
planet, then you have to qualify yourself. You better planets, sun planet, moon planet,
have to obtain the visa. That is mentioned in and heavenly planet... There are many.
the Bhagavad-gita. Svargaloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, Maharloka.
They are in Sanskrit names.
yanti deva-vrata devan
pitrn yanti pitr-vratah So here it is mentioned, trai-vidya soma-
bhutani yanti bhutejya pah puta-papah. They, after preparing
yanti mad-yajino ‘pi mam themselves to be transferred in other
[Bg. 9.25] planets, they become free from all sinful
reaction. The higher planet, as you go, you
So any planet, wherever you want to go... Of have to become free from sinful action.
course, you may try to go there by sputnik The lower grade life and higher grade life
but we have no such mention in the sastras in this material world means those who
that you can manufacture some machine are proportionately less sinful, they are
and you can go there. You have to qualify promoted in higher planets.
You cannot be free from sinful reaction

in this material world. There will be
some portion, some percentage. So the
higher grade life and lower grade life
means those who are proportionately
greater sinful, they have got lower grade
life, and those who have got greater
pious life, they get higher grade life in
higher planets, in Brahmaloka, Janaloka,
Tapoloka.
Tapoloka means those who have

performed here severe penances, and
they are transferred there in Tapoloka.
In Tapoloka, when there is destruction,
annihilation of this material world, in
the Tapoloka there is no destruction.
They get information, “Now
annihilation has begun.” There is a great
fire, and they still feel that heat, and at
that time they transfer themselves to the
spiritual sky. That mention we have got.
So yajnair istva svargatim prarthayante.

SRILA PRABHUPADA
So these materialists... Anyone, even if The Lord says, yad gatva na nivartante tad
you go to the higher planets, still, you are dhama paramam mama: [Bg. 15.6]
materialist. Even you go to the highest “The planet where going you have no more
planet, Brahmaloka, where the duration of to come back.”
life you cannot calculate, still there is death.
The material pangs, birth, death, old age Now, these planets, these material planets,
and disease, there is. So in the Bhagavad- as it is mentioned here, surendra-loka...
gita we get all this information, where other Surendra means highly qualified demigods,
planets are, what is the condition. Simply their planets. Surendra-lokam asnanti.
we have to know it from this book. Asnanti means they enjoy. And what do
Similarly, we have got information of the they enjoy? Divyan divi deva-bhogan. They
supreme planet Krsnaloka, or the planet of enjoy godly comforts, deva-bhogan.
Krsna, where you can go.
Now, Lord Krsna says, then what is after?
The after result is, is said
here,
te tam bhuktva svarga-

lokam visalam
ksine punye martya-lokam
visanti
evam trayi-dharmam
anuprapanna
gatagatam kama-kama
labhante
[Bg. 9.21]
So those who are so

materially attached, their
business is that they
qualify themselves to be
promoted in higher planets,
undoubtedly. And there... Te
tam bhuktva svarga-lokam
visalam. And they enjoy
life for a very, very long
duration of life and godly
facilities. That’s all right. But
ksine punye martya-lokam
visanti [Bg. 9.21]. Then,
when their pious, I mean to
say, asset of pious activities
finished, then they are
again driven out from that
planet; they come to here,
this material, I mean say,
earthly planet. And again
they try here. Again they try
here by sacrifices, by other
SRILA PRABHUPADA
means, to go there. will be perfect. They do not know that.
Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum [SB
So Lord Krsna says these materialists, they, 7.5.31]. That perfection will never come, but
gatagatam kama-kama labhante, sometimes they are after that perfection, dismantling
up, sometimes down. This is going on, and building. And after fifty years they will
sometimes up, sometimes down. Just like... dismantle this building and prepare another
What is called, that wheel? Sometimes go kind of building. That will be... At that time
up, the boys enjoy in this way. What is the further material advancement will be there.
name of that wheel? So this is going on, gatagatam. Gatagatam
means, what is called, stereotyped.
Devotee: Ferris wheel. Everyone is going.
The exact Hindi word is variyagasan. They
Prabhupada: Oh. So it is something like call variyagasan. Variyagasan means that
that. Sometimes you go, sarva-ga, sarva-ga. the goats, the goats, the goat merchant,
Sarva... Jiva. Jiva means the living entities, they are taking to the slaughterhouse, and
they have got a propensity to go from they are going hither and thither. But if
here to there, there to here. That is their... one goat enters the door, all the variyas,
Because they are living force, they cannot they will enter. You see? So because one has
stay at one place. That is not their nature. entered... But nobody will consider that he
Even in this life also, you Americans, you has entered the slaughterhouse. No. “One
try to go to India; the Indians try to come has entered; therefore let us enter all.” This
here or some other country. This is nature. is advancement. “Oh, one has entered;
In the birds, beasts, everywhere, they want therefore I must enter also. I do not care
to transfer in some different... So it is going where I am entering. That I do not know.”
on. So this is going on, gatagatam.
So the materialists who want to go to the Gatagatam kama-kama labhante. Kama-

higher planets by pious activities, they can kamah means sense gratification. Sense
go there, but they will have to come back gratification. But transcendentalists,
again. But what is the idea of going there? they have understood that “This sense
The idea of going there is the materialists, gratification process will not help me.”
they are always seeking of better comforts
of life. There is no limit, where is better This is called Krsna consciousness.
comfort. In this earth also, people are
trying, advancement of material... Just like One must understand perfectly well
in your city I see very nice building. They that this process of sense gratification,
are being dismantled, very strong, nice variyagasan, that will not help me. He is
buildings. very intelligent. I will have to search out
something else, not this sense gratification.
When I go to the Chamber side. I see that So long I have got a pinch of desire for
one very nice building, very strong building. sense gratification, I will have to take this
But you think that : material body. And as soon as I have got
“After dismantling this building, we shall this material body, then all of the material
prepare another skyscraper covered by nice miseries are along with it.
glasses and we will be comfortable.”
That is the idea. You see? So those who are serious about, that “I do
not want any more...”
So materialists, they do not know where
their advancement of material civilization But we have become callous. We don’t think
SRILA PRABHUPADA
that “What is miseries of...?” But those who What is that?
are actually in knowledge, those who want
to live, those who want to have perfect ananyas cintayanto mam
knowledge, those who want to have blissful ye janah paryupasate
life, they understand that, This material tesam nityabhiyuktanam
existence, either this Svargaloka or the yoga-ksemam vahamy aham
heavenly planet or this planet or that, will [Bg. 9.22]
never give me happiness. I will have to...
Well, materialist, Mr. materialist, you have
As Krsna informs herein, that yad gatva na to work very hard. But here the assurance
nivartante tad dhama paramam mama is from the Lord that “Those who are
[Bg. 15.6], I will have to enter the kingdom unflinching and cent percent devoted
of God, spiritual planet, where going I will in the transcendental service of Me, for
have not to return back again to accept this them I take charge of the maintenance, all
material body.” comforts.” Nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam
vahamy aham [Bg. 9.22].
That seriousness, one who has taken that
serious attitude, they can actually perform Now, this sloka is very important for the
this Krsna consciousness very nicely. But devotees.
those who are still under the impression
that “Material advancement will make me There was a great devotee. His name was
happy,” they are still under the spell of Anandacarya.
illusion.
So when he was writing commentaries
Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya on this particular sloka, verse, he saw that
duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam
vahamy aham [Bg. 9.22], the Lord says
This planet, that planet, that planet, that “I myself take the burden and take the
that planet, that planet. But in no planet load on my head, and I deliver them to
nowhere you can have perfect peace of life. my devotees, what they require, what they
That is impossible. Therefore those who are require. He doesn’t require to go outside. I
intelligent, those who are by God’s grace, myself go and deliver the goods, whatever
Krsna’s grace, or by good association one he requires.”
who can understand that “This sort of life is
not desirable. I must perform drdha-vrata, This is written here. Tesam
with great determination and vow, in this nityabhiyuktanam. Those who are cent
life so that yad gatva na nivartante [Bg. 15.6], percent engaged in the loving service of
I may be transferred into the Krsnaloka the Lord, tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-
planet where going I shall not have to ksemam vahamy aham [Bg. 9.22].
return back...”
Yoga means what is required by him, and
Now, the materialist says, “All right, you do ksemam means what he has got, he requires
not know whether you are going or not. You to be protected. So these two things the
are giving up this material enjoyment. You Lord takes charge, that “I personally do
are simply living on capatis. Oh, we have it.” For whom? Ananyas cintayanto mam.
got so many palatable dishes, and you are Those who have no other thought than
not enjoying this. You are fool.” Krsna, Krsna conscious. Ananyas cintayanto
So to these poor devotees who are taking mam. Ye janah paryupasate, and engaged in
capatis, the Lord says a very nice thing. that way always. He has no other business,
SRILA PRABHUPADA
simply Krsna. For him these things the Lord “Oh, I was not taking, just see, he has beaten
does. It is specifically mentioned here. me. Here is cane mark. Oh, see.”
His wife became very much astonished, that
Therefore this is an encouragement. This is “Acarya is not so cruel. How he has become
an encouragement by the Lord that so cruel?”
“Do not think that because you are not So she was thinking in that way.
trying for going to the other planet you
will be unhappy. You will have happiness.” Then “All right, my dear boys. You come
What is happiness? Happiness is within on.” And gave him shelter. And,
your mind. If you are assured of your “No. I shall go because Arjunacarya again
peaceful existence and the next life you comes. He will chastise us.”
are transferred to the supreme planet, or “No, no. You sit down, take foodstuff.”
supreme place, then that is happiness, not
for trying life after life to adjust happiness. She prepared foodstuff, and then they went
Here is an assurance. away.
Now this Arjunacarya...that’s a very nice And when Arjunacarya came back, then he
story. When he was writing commentaries, saw that his wife is eating.
oh, he thought, “How is that Lord will come
Himself and deliver the goods? Oh, it is Because it is the system of Indian families
not possible. He might be sending through that after the husband has taken the
some agents.” food, the wife will take. So they don’t take
together. After the family members -- the
boys and the husband is sumptuously fed --
So he wanted to cut vahamy aham,
then the housewife takes.
“I bear the burden and deliver.”
So Arjunacarya, “Oh, you are taking
He wrote in a way that “I send some agent
food? What is that?” No. He did not. I am
who delivers.”
mistaken. Sorry. He said that “You are...”
So the wife said, “Acarya, you have become
So that Arjunacarya went to take bath, and so much cruel nowadays?”
in the meantime two boys, very beautiful
boys, they brought some very nice foodstuff “Oh, what is that?”
in large quantity. And in India there is a
process to taking two sides burden on the “Two boys, very nice boys, they have
bamboo. Just like a scale it is balanced. So brought so many foodstuff. You loaded on
these two boys brought some very highly their head, and they denied to take it, and
valuable foodstuff and grains and ghee, and you have beaten them, chastised?”
his wife was there.
He said, “No. I have never done this. Why
And the boys said, “My dear mother, shall I do it?”
Arjunacarya has sent these goods to you.
Please take delivery.” Then she described, “Oh, such a nice
beautiful boy.”
“Oh, you are so nice boy, you are so Then Arjunacarya understood that
beautiful boys, and he has given. And
Acarya is not so cruel. How is that? He has “Because I wanted that God does not
given so much burden to you, and he is not deliver, so He has delivered these goods,
kind...?” and because I cut these alphabets that He
SRILA PRABHUPADA
does not give personally, so He has shown So those who are in Krsna consciousness,
that beating mark.” those who are actually busy in the matter
of discharging their duties as a Krsna
There is an incident in southern India of conscious person, they may be assured that
Yamunacarya. so far their living condition is concerned
or their comforts of life is concerned, that
That story is there. is assured by the Lord. There will be no
hampering.
Of course, you may believe or not believe.
That’s a different thing. But here the Lord Thank you very much.
says that “I personally deliver.” Any question? [end]

The messenger from Vaikuntha
by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Question: world. Another
Everything I know is based on my
experience of this world. So how will I know is to understand that the experience of
about anything that is transcendental? this world is incomplete and insufficient.
Therefore, to gather the knowledge that
belongs to another world we have to
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati:
completely surrender ourselves to a saint
It is true that in our present state it is very
who has descended from that world and hear
difficult for us to perceive something from him.
transcendental. But it is also true that there
is a way of knowing these things. If we have
friends and relatives in a faraway place then — From page 93 of
a messenger will bring us their news. Prabhupada Saraswati
Thakur. Mandala
Question:
But the messenger does not come to
everyone, does he?

Those who are not visited by the messenger
are very unfortunate. But there is one
thing — you will see that the messenger will
definitely bring the news to those who are
really hankering for it.
Question:
How will we recognize the messenger
from Vaikuntha? How will we know which
message is true and which is not?

If my prayer is sincere, then by the mercy
of the omniscient God everything will be
revealed. One who wants to be educated
will only come to know an educated person
by the kindness of the latter. The Supreme
Lord, who is in my heart, will help me in
every way; all I have to do is depend on
him.
In this world there are two ways of

gatherinag knowledge. One is to know
things by experiencing them in this
The Perfection of all Bhajana
by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur
Bhaktivinode Thakur discusses the glories of Sri Radha Kund in his

piyusha-varshini commentary on the last verse of Srila Rupa Goswami’s
Upadesamrita.
Sri-radha-krishnera svabhavika mahatmya varna- na-dvara sadhakera citte dridhata

utpanna karibara abhipraye ekadasa slokera avatarana. sri radhika sri krishnera atisaya
pranaya-vasati evam anya- priyajana apeksha sarvatabhave preshtha. munigana sastre
ei-rupa utkarsha sri-radha-kunda sambandhe likhiyachena. kevala sadhaka-bhakta
digera ta kathai nai, ye prema naradadi preshtha-vargera paksha-u durlabha, taha
anayase bhaktipurvaka radha-kunde snana karile sei kunda pradana karena. sutaram
radha-kundai samasta bhajana- parayana-digera-vasa-yogya sthana. aprakrita vraje
aprakrita jiva aprakrita gopi-deha labha kariya sri-radha-kunde sviya guru-rupa sakhira
kunje palya-dasi-bhave avasthiti karatah bahye nirantara namasraya-purvaka krishnera
ashta-kaliya sevaya srimati radhikara paricarya karai sri-caitanya- caranasrita vyaktira
bhajana-caturi.
Through the description of the natural similar way in the revealed scriptures.
glories of Sri Sri Radha Krishna (in the
previous verse), this eleventh verse is The prema that is difficult to attain even for
composed with the intention of solidifying sages like Narada, what to speak of general
the devotional consciousness of the practitioners, is attained by devotionally
practitioner of devotional service. bathing in the waters of this kunda.
Srimati Radhika is the topmost abode of Therefore, its banks are the ideal residence
deep-rooted love of Krishna, and moreover for all those engaged in perfecting their
she is superior in all respects to all other devotional life.
dear cowherd girls.
The expertise of a living entity sheltered at
The glories of her the feet of Lord Chaitanya will be exhibited
kunda have also been in three ways — he will externally chant
described and remember the ashta-kaliya pastimes of
by the the divine couple, he will internally serve
great Srimati Radharani by acquiring a spiritually
sages in a perfected gopi body in the divine realm
of Vrindavan, and he will always keep a
mood of being the maintainer maid-servant
(palya-dasi) of the flowery bower (kunja)
created by the sakhi who is one’s guru.
— Translated from the Sri Upadesamrita with

various commentaries published by Sri Chaitanya
Math, Mayapur.
Ritvikism Hardens the Heart
by Mahatma Das
A devotee’s faith in an advanced devotee, is tattva in a way that suppress the essence of
the most important proof of the qualification bhakti, the natural deep affectionate relation-
of his prospective guru. Faith allows him to ship between guru and disciple.
know, understand, and measure the standard Ritviks don’t understand - or refuse to recog-
of a person’s qualification. This explains why nize - the subjective nature of guru/disciple
those who lack the faith that Prabhupada relationships. They despise the affection that
wanted his disciples to be gurus cannot un- disciples show to present day gurus. Thus,
derstand that advanced disciples of Prabh- they despise the essence of Krsna conscious-
upada are qualified to be guru (despite the ness, faith in guru, and disguise such feelings
fact that he said that one who says that guru in so called devotion to Prabhupada. This is
only means siksa guru is foolish, one should a travesty to our sampradaya. To preach in a
not perpetually remain a student, and what way that does not allow love to develop for a
will please me most is when all my disciples potential living diksa guru is a criminal act.
become guru). Because selecting a guru is subjective, no one
Srila Prabhupada once asked the devotees, can say that a strict and dedicated follower of
“How do you know Krsna is God?” They gave Srila Prabhupada is not your guru. The dis-
all the right sastric answers but he rejected all ciple makes his own informed decision. He
of them. Then a devotee said, “Because you studies sastra, he learns the qualities and qual-
can feel it,” meaning you can feel His pres- ifications of the guru, he studies a prospective
ence through bhakti. Prabhupada said, ‘This guru, and then he decides.
is the real answer.”
The person who inspires one devotee
This means, then, that the sastras are not the will not necessarily inspire another
ultimate proof. The sastras describe the quali- in the same way. That is the nature of
fications of a guru, but ultimately the devotee
must hear from his heart to know who is his
guru tattva, and this is why it is said
guru. Your heart will say, “When I hear from hat guru tattva is inconceivable.
this person, I feel closer to Krsna, inspired
to serve, and willing to sacrifice myself for It may be inconceivable for one devotee
service. I trust this person. I want to serve this that another devotee takes full shelter in
person. I have deep affection for this person. their guru because that guru’s effulgence
I trust this person can take me back to God- is not seen equally by all. Just look at how
head.” In the end, this is why you choose a par- many godbrothers did not see Prabhupada’s
ticular person as your guru. effulgence, yet his effulgence was obvious to
Of course, you are not just choosing anyone us. So when we say a guru is a pure devotee,
sentimentally. You know where to look for a it doesn’t mean he will be viewed as a pure
guru, you know the symptoms and qualifica- devotee to everyone. But certainly his
tions of a guru. But ultimately your heart will disciples will see him this way.
speak to you saying, “This person inspires Ritviks, have permanently blinded themselves,
me to such an extreme degree that I want to by their own philosophy, from seeing the
dedicate my life to him.” In other words, the effulgence of any guru other than Srila
disciple will understand from the inner core Prabhupada. And their mission, unfortunately,
of his heart who is his guru. is to blind others.
Ritviks suppress these natural emotions. They Krsna Himself reveals the guru to a
don’t want these sentiments to rise; if they do, prospective candidate. Ritviks harden
devotees will naturally want to find shelter in a devotee’s hearts to such a degree that they
living guru. They thus they preach about guru cannot see who is a guru. But worse, they have
PHILOSOPHY
hardened their hearts in a way that causes intentions in serving Prabhupada, both of
such devotees to criticize gurus. A philosophy which are characteristic attitudes of non-
that produces so much criticism of others vaisnavas.
must be viewed with suspicion, since criticism
has nothing to do with vaisnavism. If you have Ritvik philosophy reflects a complete
to base a philosophy upon criticizing devotees misunderstanding - and negligence
to win converts, obviously that philosophy is of - guru/disciple dynamics, dynamics
not Krsna conscious. which are at the heart of bhakti.
The Back to Prabhupada magazine, the main
preaching arm of the ritvik movement, is Ritvik is a heart hardening process. If ritviks
grounded in criticism. Vaisnava philosophy do not hardened hearts, then the devotees
is grounded in appreciation. The hypocrisy they are trying to influence will naturally get
is obvious. A doctrine which needs to gather much inspiration from Prabhupada’s disciples
its power and authenticity from criticism of and will want to take shelter and surrender to
Prabhupada’s disciples has nothing to do with them. Otherwise, why is it that all over Iskcon
the standards of Vaisnavism. devotees see the qualifications of gurus and
Krsna chooses who will be guru and for desire their shelter and guidance, whereas in
whom. It is not a matter of voting a man to the ritvik camp this never happens. It cannot
the post of guru, nor is the position of guru, happen because the devotee’s hearts have
as I mentioned, understandable by those who been so hardened by the ritvik philosophy
have no faith. The qualifications to understand that the natural love, inspiration and affection
the position of guru depends on sraddha, an that should develop for the senior disciples
individual’s faith. If one has faith then the of Prabhupada, devotees who are inspiring
truth is revealed in their heart. There is no and guiding thousands of devotees back to
greater proof than this. Godhead, does not develop. Not only does it
not develop, it often causes such devotees to
The ritviks therefore, to be successful, must make offences to those acting as guru. Is this
break faith. They teach that no devotee in not proof that ritvikism is is poisonous?
Iskcon has the qualifications and abilities Many do not see this poison because it
to be diksa guru. They also break faith in has been expertly packaged as love of
Prabhupada’s instruction that he wanted Prabhupada. It is insidious. Unfortunately,
his disciples to be diksa gurus. If they can those who drink ritvik philosophy don’t
break this faith, through gross manipulation realize how hard their hearts have become.
of Prabhupada’s words and intentions, and I suggest that anyone who has been exposed to
through criticism of devotees, then devotees ritvikism look at the condition of their heart
will buy into their ideas. In the name of to see if they have been affected in the ways I
faithfulness to Prabhupada, they destroy faith. describe above.
When this faith is lost, ritvikism appears
to makes sense, and it also appears to be
the real solution to Iskcon’s problems.
Yet it proposes to do so at the cost of
undermining the very core of bhakti,
faith. Thus, it is poison disguised as nectar.
It also attempts to separate faith in
Prabhupada from faith in his senior
disciples, something that Prabhupada
never did, and something that
Prabhupada continually preached against.
When one drinks this poison, the result
is obvious: lack of faith in Prabhupada’s
senior disciples and criticism of their
SCIENCE
DIVISION OF TIME
Devas years Human years
Satya-Yuga sandhya 400 144,000

yuga 4000 1,440,000
sandhyamsha 400 144,000
Total 4800 1,728,000
Treta-Yuga sandhya 300 108,000

yuga 3000 1,080,000
Total 3600 1,296,000
Dvapara-Yuga sandhya 200 72,000

yuga 2000 720,000
Total 2400 864,000
Kali-Yuga sandhya 100 36000

yuga 1000 360000
sandhyamsha 100 36000
Total 1200 432000
Maha-yuga Total 12000 4,320,000

SCIENCE
Deva years Human years
Day and night 24,000 8,640,000

Day of Brahma 24,000,000 8,640,000,000
Month of Brahma: 720,000 259,200,000,000
Year of Brahma: 8,640,000 3,110,400,000,000

Life of Brahma 864,000,000 311,040,000,000,000
Some codes for calculating time:
360 human years = 1 of the Devas

3030 human years = 1 of the Sapta Rishis
9090 human years = Inhabitants of Dhruva Loka
Vishnu Causal Ocean

INFORMATIONS ON THE MANU
Manu lives about 71 Maha-yuga, namely 306.720.000 human years
(three hundred six millions seven hundred twenty).
Other information in the following tables:
1. Manu: Svayambuva
Beginning of age: 1.960.853.000 years ago
Father: Brahma
Avatara: Yajna
Sapta Rishi: Marici, Angira, Atri, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, Vasishtha
Deva: Yama
Indra: Yajna
2. Manu: Svarocisha
Father: Agni
Avatara: Vibhu
Sapta Rishi: Urja, Stambha, Prana, Dattoli, Rishabha, Nishcara e Arvarivat
Deva: Paravata e Tusita
Indra: Vipascit (o Rocana)
3. Manu: Uttama
Father: Priyavrata
Avatara: Satyasena
Sapta Rishi: Kaukundihi, Kurundi, Dalaya, Sankha, Pravahita, Mita, Sammita
Deva: Satya, Vedasruta, Bhadra
Indra: Satyajit
4. Manu: Tamasa
Father: Priyavrata
Avatara: Hari
Sapta Rishi: Jyotirdhama, Prithu, Kavya, Caitra, Agni, Vanaka e Pivara.
Deva: Surupa, Hari, Satya, Shudhi, Vaidhriti
Indra: Trishikha
5.Manu: Raivata
Beginning of age: 733.973.000 years ago
Father: Priyavrata
Avatara: Vaikuntha
Sapta Rishi: Hiranyaroma, Vedashri, Urddhabahu, Vedabahu, Sudhama,
Parjanya e Mahamuni
Deva: Bhutaraya
Indra: Vibhu

SCIENCE
6. Manu: Cakshusha
Father: Cakshu (o Visvakarma) --- Avatara: Ajita
Sapta Rishi: Havishman, Viraka e altri
Deva: Apya
Indra: Mantradruma
7. Manu: Vaivasvata
Father: Vivasvan --- Avatara: Vamana
Sapta Rishi: Kasyapa, Atri, Vasistha, Visvamitra, Gautama,
Jamadagni, Bharadvaja
8. Manu: Savarni
Beginning of age: in about 181.867.000 years
Father: Vivasvan
Avatara: Sarvabhauma
9. Manu: Dakshasavarni
Father: Varuna
Avatara: Rishabha
10. Manu: Brahmasavarni

Father: Upashloka
Avatara: Visvaksena
11. Manu: Dharmasavarni

Beginning of age: in about 1.102.027.000 years
Father: Ruci
Avatara: Dharmasetu
12. Manu: Rudrasavarni

Father: Rudra
Avatara: Sudhama
13. Manu: Devasavarni

Father: Satyasaha
Avatara: Yogesvara
14. Manu: Indrasavarni

Father: Bhuti
Avatara: Brihadbhanu

Kali-santarana
1 - At the end of Dvapara-yuga Narada are especially meant for counteracting the
approached Brahma and asked, sins of the age of Kali.
“O glorious one, how can I cross beyond the To save oneself from the contamination of
Kali-yuga as I wander over the earth?’ this age there is no alternative but to chant
the Hare Krishna mantra.
Brahma replied, After searching through all the Vedic
‘The question you have asked me is literatures one cannot find a method of
excellent. Please listen to this answer, which religion for this age so sublime as the
is very confidential and contains the secret chanting of Hare Krishna.
of all the Vedas, an answer that enable you The sixteen words of the maha-mantra
to transcend the world of birth and death in destroy the illusions that cover the
the age of Kali. conditioned soul.
Simply by chanting aloud the mantra of the This mantra makes the Supreme
holy names of Lord Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself appear
Personality of Godhead, one shakes away as the brilliant sun appears when a host of
the age of Kali. clouds are dispersed.”
2 - Narada again asked, 3 Again Narada asked,

‘What is that holy name?’ Brahma replied, ‘O glorious one, what are the rules for
‘The sixteen words of the Hare Krishna chanting this mantra?’
mantra: Brahma replied,
‘There are no rules”. Even if he is impure,
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, a devotee who chants this mantra becomes
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare pure. He attains the kinds of liberation
known as salokya, samipya, sarupya and
Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, sayujya.
Hare Hare
One who chants these sixteen names forty
five million times becomes free of the sin of
killing a brahmana.
He becomes free from the sin of killing a
ksatriya.
He becomes purified of the sin of stealing
gold.
He becomes purified of the sin of
approaching a vrsali woman.
He becomes purified of the sin of insulting
pitas, demigods, or human beings.
He is at once purified of the sin of
abandoning all religious duties.
At once he becomes liberated.
At once he becomes liberated.
Thus the Upanisad.

Note: Kalisantarana Upanisad is a section of the
Yajur Veda.

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There are no strict limits. If it is really too

In a nutshell
by Manonatha
Questions: belongs to us. As a consequence of this

Today I visited the Krishna temple in illusion, we live in a wrong way causing
Caracas and I liked the atmosphere, the negative reactions to ourselves and to
singing and the vegetarian food. But I do others.
not understand what they say. Can you
please summarize in a few words the basis From this misconception, which we call
of your ideas? “maya”, illusion, or a thing that is not,
Víctor, Caracas, Venezuela atheism develops. They think, since I do not
see God then He does not exist. That’s what
Answers: atheists say. And if He exists, they insist
Firstly it is important to specify that what saying, He is elsewhere and does not do
we say are not our ideas, but rather it is anything good for us.
part of a culture studied and practiced In reality, God exists and is supremely
for thousands of years. This culture is merciful.
contained in books such as the Vedas, the One might ask: then if He is so kind, why
Upanishads, the Puranas, Maha-bharata and come many horrible things happen in this
many more. In the West this philosophy world? The answer is that the evil of the
has not been particularly known for the world is the result of the evil deeds of men,
last centuries, but in India there is not one it is not God’s responsibility. This principle
person who doesn’t know it. Everyone is called karma. Each action involves a
knows who Krishna is and what is the reaction. Since there can not be an action
Bhagavad-Gita. without reaction, in the same way there can
not be a reaction without a corresponding
Let’s say something simple and in a few previous action. If there is a bad reaction it
words. means that a bad previous action has been
There is matter and spirit. committed.
These are two different energies, in two
God exists and he is a person.
separate worlds.
Not a limited person like us, but possesses
perfect and infinite qualities.
Living beings are spirit while the objects of
the world, including our bodies, are made
Being a person and being unlimited are not
of matter. The main characteristic of the
contradictory concepts.
spirit is that it is living. On the contrary,
The perfection of life is to know Him,
matter is inert. For this reason we, being
whom we call Krishna, and return to the
obviously living, can not be matter but we
place from which we originally came, to our
are spirit.
spiritual abode. This will give us an eternal
life, full of knowledge and happiness.
For some reason the living spirit soul
comes into this world and thinks that he
The system that allows us this very desirable
is a material body. The main problem in
end is called bhakti-yoga, which is a system
the life of all of us is the ignorance of the
of life. It constitutes the life that we, the
basic fact of our spiritual identity and the
devotees of Krishna, follow.
contrary conviction that we are the body
and that everything that exists in this world
Written by Manonatha Dasa on Jan. 2, 2011
BIOGRAPHY
Akshobhya Tirtha
Birth Madhvacarya at Udupi, he could
Akshobhya Tirtha (Akshobhya means “the understand the superiority of the principles
undisturbed”) is part of an important group of Dvaita-vada, according to which there
of little known spiritual masters in the is a qualitative difference between the
vaisnava lineage. Supreme Soul and the individual soul.
The acaryas from Sripad Madhvacarya This understanding directly opposed
to Madhavendra Puri remain a mystery Sankaracarya’s monistic viewpoint. Govinda
for most of us. Fortunately, there are renounced materialistic life and was
documents that exist on the lives and initiated by one of Madhvacarya’s disciples,
teachings of these great souls, and we will Madhava Tirtha.
make a humble attempt to search them
out and publish as much detail as possible Who gave initiation to Aksobhya?
for the benefit of humanity at large. As Some documents claim that Aksobhya was
we research the existing documents we initiated directly by Madhavacarya. The
will publish our findings in the pages Vyasa-raja Matha claims that Padmanabha,
of upcoming Kadacha publications.. Sri Nrhari, Madhava and Aksobhya were all
Aksobhya Tirtha is a logical beginning direct disciples of Madhvacarya.
point because he is the Guru of one of the However, the three previous Acaryas
most important personalities of our line, of our line (Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami
Sri Jayatirtha. Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura) dispute
From Sankaracarya to Madhvacarya this claim and state that Aksobhya was
Aksobhya Tirtha was born in Karnataka, a disciple of Madhava Tirtha (not to be
South India on 1238 DC. The documents confused with Madhva).
in India are often given according to the Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura says:
Saka calendar, according to which the year
of birth was 1159. Sakabda begins in 78 DC, aksobhyas tasya sisyo ‘bhut tac-chisyo
so at the birthday of Aksobhya we jayatirthakah
must add 78 years. His birth name
was Govinda Sastri.
Govinda was an itelligent young
man and particularly attracted to
philosophy. He began to study the
popular monistic doctrine called
Advaita-vada. Propounded by the
great philosopher Sankaracarya,
this doctrine based on the
Upanishads concludes that there
is no individuality on the spiritual
platform and everything is one
homogeneous consciousness
which is the ultimate reality of
existence.
When Govinda met Sripada
BIOGRAPHY
Aja-Vitthala. This form is Krishna standing
“Sri Madhava Vipra was a disciple of Sri with his hands on his hips, accompanied
Narahari, and Sri Aksobhya became the by Shri Devi and Bhudevi. It is also stated
disciple of Madhava Vipra. Aksobhya’s elsewhere that this Krishna Deity is
disciple was Sri Jayatirtha. ( Jaiva Dharma, accompanied by Rukmini and Satyabhama.
first part: Pramana, Evidence, and Prameya, * footnote you should state where this
Truth, by Bhaktivinode Thakura)” opinion comes from*
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati says:
Aksobhya defeats Vidyaranya
nhara madhava-bamse, aksobhya Aksobhya Tirtha was a contemporary of
paramahamse, sisya boli ‘angikara the great advaitin philosopher Vidyaranya
kore aksobhyera sisya jaya-tirtha name and the great exponent of Visistha-advaita,
paricaya, tara dasye jnanasindhu tore Vedanta Desika. Desika was the respected
founder of the Vadakalai Movement. The
“The other two main disciples of Madhva name Desika means Master.
were Nrihari Tirtha and Madhava Tirtha. In 1336, Akshobhya Tirtha had a
Madhava Tirtha accepted the great heated debate with Vidyaranya on the
paramahamsa Aksobhya Tirtha as a disciple. interpretation of the Upanishad mantra
The principal student of Aksobhya Tirtha tattvam asi (“You’re the same” or “I am
was known as Jayatirtha, serving whom that”). This event took place in Mulbagal
was the main purpose of Jnanasindhu’s near Kolar, Karnataka.
life. (From Sri Guru-parampara, Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati) If this date is accurate it would mean that
Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Aksobhya Tirtha engaged in this debate
writes: at the age of 99.
“Padmanabha Acarya is the The referee of the discussion
disciple of Madhvacarya, and was Vedanta Desika himself.
Narahari (also pronounced Some say that he was
Nrhari) is the disciple of personally present at the
Padmanabha Acarya. debate, while others say
Madhava is the that Desika wanted
disciple of Narahari, all the arguments to
Aksobhya is the direct be transcribed and
disciple of Madhava, then sent to him for
and Jayatirtha consideration.
is the disciple What is certain
of Aksobhya. is that the verdict
Caitanya Caritamrita, was favorable to
Adi-lila 6.40, purport Akshobhya Tirtha.
The epigraphic
Pejavara Math evidence of this
Over the course historic victory
of time, Aksobhya is engraved on a
was appointed memorial pillar on
head of the Math a hill near
of Pejavara and Mulubagal,
received from which can still
Madhvacarya be seen today.
the Deity of This victory of
Nº1 February- 2018 | Kadacha
| 39
BIOGRAPHY
the personalistic philosophy against the drank the essence of those words as if they
impersonalistic was a turning point for were divine nectar.
the Madhvacarya Movement. Even today, Sripada Madhvacarya often glorified this
no advaitavadi could defeat the Dvaita ox by saying to the assembly that he was
(dualism) philosophy of the great master. listening better and more deeply than
his own sannyasis. Due to his attentive
Akshobhya initiates Jayatirtha hearing of hari katha from the mouth of a
After this event, Aksobhya Tirtha went to mahabhagavat the ox made rapid spiritual
Pandharapur, on the banks of the Bhima- advancement.
rathi River, where he met his future disciple The accolades by Madhavacarya caused
Jaya Tirtha. We’ll deal with his life and envy in the heart of some of his disciples. As
teachings in the next issue of Kadacha. a result they cursed the ox to die by the bite
Jayatirtha, whose name before initiation of a snake.
was Dhondo Pantraya Raghunatha, was
the son of Dhonduraya Raghunath, part of Madhvacarya learned of this curse and
Visvamitra’s gotra. Gotra means descent. countered the curse with the blessing of
Others say that he was part of Bharadvaja’s being immune to the serpent venom. To the
line. amazement of all present, when the serpent
bit the ox, it was the snake that died instead.
His father was a high-ranking military Due to the kindness and power of Madhva,
official and had two wives. Dhondho Pant which was recognized by all his disciples, he
(himself a valiant officer) was known to be felt obliged to repay the ox in this way for a
always in military dress. lifetime of devoted service
One evening he stopped his patrol near a
river desiring to drink some flowing water. After several years the ox died of natural
Seated atop his horse he entered the river causes and reincarnated as Dhondo Pant.
and drank in an unusual way, with the water In this new birth as Dhondo Pant, this jiva
coming into his mouth, just as the animals was blessed with the ability to remember
do. everything he heard from Madhvacarya,
so much so that in his mind he heard the
On the other side of the river there was Sri sound of Madhvacarya’s voice explaining
Akshobhya Tirtha who looked at the young the Vedic mantras.
man and said,
“kim pashuh purva-dehe”, Conversation Between Aksobhya and
“you drink just like an animal”. Jayatirtha
Recalling all this, Dhondho Pant realized
These few words were heard by the rider
that it was the potency of Aksobhya’s
and immediately put him in a state of
words which gave him the opportunity
mystical revelation. The transcendental
to remember who he was in his previous
power of the words of the saint opened a
birth, much like Yada Bharat. Dhondho Pant
window in the mind of Dhondo Pant. At
asked Aksobhya to accept him as a disciple
that point he remembered his previous life
and to guide him on the path of spiritual
as the ox of Madhvacarya.
fulfillment. Over time, he was initiated with
When traveling to teach philosophy, the
the name of Jayatirtha.
great Acarya used an ox to carry his books.
Aksobhya’s teachings to Jayatirtha
But this was not an ordinary animal because
Sri Akshobhya Tirtha carefully taught
every time Madhvacarya spoke, the ox
the complex dualistic philosophy to his
raised his ears to hear. He never missed a
new disciple. Jayatirtha was a brilliant and
word and although in the body of an animal
dynamic intellectual so the time spent
BIOGRAPHY
educating him was well invested. Krsna
Over time, Jayatirtha himself became a 2. Brahma
respected Acarya, so much so that he was 3. Narada
designated “the second moon of Madhva” 4. Vyasa
and “Tikacarya” for his numerous writings.
5. Madhva
Akshobhya Tirtha taught him how to find
the hidden meanings in Madhva’s words
6. Padmanabha
which evaded others grasp and how to write 7. Nrhari
these concepts in a way that would soundly 8. Madhava
defeat impersonalist philosophy 9. Aksobhya
Vyasa Tirtha, the 18th Acarya of the Guru’s 10. Jaya Tirtha
descent who started from Visnu, wrote Jaya 11. Jnanasindhu
Tirtha Vijaya, where Akshobhya Tirtha’s 12. Dayanidhi
victory over Vidyaranya was told. 13. Vidyanidhi
He was the Acarya of Sri Madhva’s 14. Rajendra
Movement for 15 years, from 1350 to 1365. 15. Jayadharma
16. Purusottama
The Writings
17. Brahmanya Tirtha
Some historians argue that Akshobhya
Tirtha wrote very little. It is said the only
18. Vyasa Tirtha
book he penned was called Madhva-tattva- 19. Laksmipati
sara-sangraha, which was lost over time. 20. Madhavendra Puri
Even if that was true, Aksobhya remains an 21. Isvara Puri, (Nityananda, Advaita)
important character in Vaisnava history. 22. Sri Caitanya
(BNK Sharma 1961. History of the Dvaita of 23. Rupa, (Svarupa, Sanatana)
Vedanta School, page 229.) 24. Raghunatha, Jiva
25. Krsnadasa
Samadhi 26. Narottama
Sripada Akshobhya Tirtha’s samadhi lies 27. Visvanatha
on the banks of the Kagini River in a place 28. (Baladeva) Jagannatha
called Malkeda in Karnataka. Malkheda is
29. Bhaktivinoda
situated 40 km from the Gulbarga district.
From Gulbarga, one can take a bus to
30. Gaurakisora
Malkhed. It is located between Gulbarga 31. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
and Sedam, 12 km from Sedam. 32. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Parampara:
1. 1.
1. 1
s1.
Akshobhya Tirtha Samadhi Akshobhya Tirtha deities Nº1 February- 2018 | Kadacha | 41
VRAJA TEMPLES
Radha Damodara Temple

by Gauri Devi Dasi
“May my head always very respectfully bow down to salute Vrindavana. May
my tongue be enthusiastic to glorify its transcendental qualities.May my hands
clean its newly blossoming groves. May my feet wander in Vrindavana. May my
ears hear its glories. May my eyes gaze upon Vrindavana. May my mind always
meditate upon Vrindavana” (Vrindavana mahimamrita).
On this earth, Sri Vrindavana dham is a Him face to face.”

replica of that supreme Goloka Vrindavana (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.1.24 purport).
located in the spiritual sky. When Lord Sri Vrindavana dham is situated ninety
Krishna descends to this material world, His miles southest of Delhi and comprises
transcendental abode also descends, along about eighty-four square miles in the
with His entourage and most confidential district of Mathura, India.
friends.
There are over 5000 temples in
For the benefit of us all, the Lord sported Vrindavana,
on that particular tract of land, performing
transcendental pastimes with His eternal “Of all the temples in Vrindavana, ninety
associates: percent belong to the Gaudiya Vaishnava
sect, the follower of the teachings of Lord
“This tract of land... is considered to be Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda
the topmost place of pilgrimage in India. and seven are very famous.
This land is sacred because Lord Krishna (Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 5.232 purport).
traveled through it many times. From the
very beginning of His appearance, He was Between the seven most important temples
at Mathura in the house of His maternal of Vrindavana, the Radha Damodara temple
uncle Kamsa and He was reared by His holds a very special position, for many
foster father Maharaja Nanda at Vrindavana. reasons.
There are still many devotees of the Lord
lingering there in ecstasy in search of In 1516 Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana Goswamis
Krishna and His childhood associates, the arrived in the sacred land of Vraja.
gopis. It is not that such devotees meet Lord Chaitanya had ordered the two
Krishna face to face in that tract of land, brothers to uncover the places of Sri
but the devotees eagerly searching after Krishna’s pastimes in the holy Vrindavana
Krishna is as good as seeing Him personally. that had disappeared over the centuries.
How this is so cannot be explained, but it
is factually realized by those who are pure Srila Prabhupada one time said:
devotees of the Lord. Philosofically, one
can understand that Lord Krishna and His “Vrindavana is the gift of Rupa and
remembrance are on the absolute plane and Sanatana Goswamis”.
that the very idea of searching for Him at
Vrindavana in pure God consciousness gives Although wandering through Vrindavana’s
more pleasure to the devotee than seeing many forest, living austerely and residing
VRAJA TEMPLES
each night under a different tree, the cooking, washing Rupa’s feet and preparing
Goswamis remainex for short periods at manuscripts.
selected places of Krishna’s lilas. At that time there were no temples, only
Sri Rupa Goswami performed bhajan in Ter dense forests and Jiva and Rupa used to live
Kadamba (near Nandagram), Varsan, Radha together in the middle of Seva Kunj that was
Kund and Seva Kunj. a large area.
Their bhajan kutirs were temporary
arrangements like the hollow of a tree, Many Vaishnavas used to gather at Seva
under a thorny bush or an unerground Kunj to hear Sri Rupa Gosvami explain the
cave. In these austere, natural settings, Rupa Gaudiya philosophy. Living together with
Goswami and Sanatana Goswami chantend the Goswamis were famous personalities
Hari Nama and wrote the most exalted and like Lokanath das Goswami, Subuddhi
sublime transcendental literature about the Raya, Raghava Pandit and others.
loving affairs of Sri Radha and Krishna.
Rupa Goswami was expert not only in
In the year 1535 Jiva Goswami arrived philosophy and scolarship but also in
in Vrindavana and took shelter of Rupa astrology, mathemathics and languages
Goswami, considered the leading Goswami. such as Sanskrit, Persian and Bengali.
He was welcomed by Santana Goswami, He was also expert in drawing and carving
Raghunath das Goswami, Raghunatha and able to prepare Deities.
Bhatta Goswami, Gopala Bhatta In 1542, during the month of Kartik,
Goswami, Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami, knowing Jiva Goswami’s desire for a Deity,
Prabhodananada Saraswati and Kasishvara personally carved, installed and offered a
Pandit. small Deity of Damodara (Krishna) to his
Jiva Goswami proved his humility by dead disciple.
rendering services like begging alms, Before the large temples were built, the
VRAJA TEMPLES
Goswamis worshiped their Deities simply, Radha Vrindavan Chandraworshiped by

keeping them in the tree under which they Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami,
slept. Radha Damodara worshiped by Jiva
Goswami,
After Sanatana Goswami’s disappearance in Radha Madhava worshiped by Jayadeva
1558, Jiva Goswami purchased the land of Goswami and
the area called Seva Kunj. He bought a plot Radha Chalachikana of Bhugarbha
for thirty rupies from Ali Kant Chaudari, Goswami.
Emperor Akbar’s local landlord.
The original deed kept at the Vrindavana There is also a Govardhan shila called Giri
Research Institute mentions that the area Raja Charan Shila, that was worshiped
was located between Seva Kunj, Dan Gali, by Sanatana Goswami and was given to
Imli Tala, Sringhar Sthali and Rasa Sthali. him by Krishna Himself. When Sanatana
Its boundaries were marked by four trees: Goswami was very old, it was difficult for
tamarind, banyan, pipal and kadamba. him to circumambulate Govardhana Hill,
so Krishna gave him this shila and told him
Jiva Goswami directed Mansingh Raja of if he circumambulate the shila that would
Ajmer in Rajasthan in constructing Radha be just as good as going around Govardhana
Damodara Temple. Hill.
The opening date remain uncertain since
only Radha Madan Mohan Temple (1580) The samadhis of Jiva Goswami, Rupa
and Radha Govindaji Temple (1590) have Goswami and Bhugarbha Goswami
inscription dates denoting the year of are also here and the bhajan kutirs of
completition. Rupa Goswami and Sri Abhay Caran
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
On the altar there are four couples of
Deities: In 1670 Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed
many temples of Vrindavan but Radha
Damodara Temple was spared because
Aurangzeb’s soldiers thought the simply
designed temple was a private residence.
Due to the terror of the muslim attacks, the

Deities were moved to Jaipur and replaced
by “pratibhu” murtis, considered as good as
the original ones.
Before Jiva Goswami disappeared in 1608,

he wrote his last will, leaving all the Deities,
temples, properties and libraries that he
had inheritated from Sanatana, Rupa and
Raghunath das Goswami, to Sri Vilas das
who was Jiva’s successors as the head priest
of the Radha Damodara temple.
Krishna das succeeded Sri Vilas das and the

present sevaite is directly coming from his
descendants.
VRAJA TEMPLES
Sri Purnachandra Goswami

by Gauri Devi Dasi
Sri Purnachandra Goswami is a member of the family that perform seva in Radha
Damodara Temple under the guidance of his elder brother, present sevaite Acharya Sri
Kanik Pradad Goswami.
Question: “Since when your family is P.G.: “There are many examples of
worshiping Radha Damodara”? devotees that came here with problems
and sufferings and after going in front of
Purnachandra Goswami: Radha Damodara and praying and craying
“We are coming in the line of successors they say they found their problem solved
of Jiva Goswami. Our family is doing and their requests fulfilled. They offer some
seva since fifteen generations. You can bhoga or maybe only prayers but after they
see all the names in the come to us and then they say
sevaite parampara, near the that the Deity has listen to
samadhi of Jiva Goswami”. them and helped them. We
have so many stories!
Question: “In some books it My father Nirmalachandra
is written that the original Goswami told us that when
Deities were moved to he was young there were
Jaipur but after almost many snakes that used to
seventy years they were come to take darshan and
brought back to Vrindavana. never bite anybody. They
Is it true? Are the present were even hanging on the
Deities here in Vrindavana altar but they never caused
the original ones”? any disturb. Just coming for
darshan and then go away.
P.G.: “Yes, it is right. The When my father was very
original Deities came back young, my grandfather (that
here. You can see that the invited Srila Prabhupada to
original Deities of Madana live here) was becoming blind
Mohan and Govindaji and was not able to do seva to
are always bigger of their Radha Damodara anymore.
pratibhu murtis. The Radha Damodara One day suddenly the pujari left, went away,
Deities of Jaipur are smaller of These in and my grandfather told to my father that
Vrindavana. Here we have the original the day after he would have to do sringar
murtis. and all the seva to the Deities. My father was
little bit more than a child and felt unable
Q.:“So, these four couple of murtis are all to do anything.
the original ones”? But that night Krishna came in his dreams
and explained exactly how to do seva the
P.G.: “Yes, in Vrindavan Research Institute next morning. So the next morning he
of Vrindavana you can find proof that the just went on the altar and did everything
original Deities are here”. so nicely that al Vrajabhasis that came for
darshan were astonished and wondering
Q: “Do you know some special story who could do such a beautiful sringar. And
related to Radha Damodara Deities”? my father was crying.
VRAJA TEMPLES
Parampara - RadhaDamodara Temple:
There are so many stories! Damodara is
very loving, very caring and very kind to Srila Jiva Goswami
the devotees. He always fullfill the desires Sri Vilash Dasa, Sri Krishna Das Goswami
of those who pray to Him... Sri Nandakumar Goswami
Sri Brij Kumar Goswami
Q: “Vancha Kalpa taru”. Sri Vrndavan Dev Goswami
Sri Gopiramana Goswami
P.G.: “ Yes, Vancha Kalpa taru....if you ask Sri Brijalal Goswami
for health He will help you, and if you ask Sri Naval Lal Goswami
for prema bhakti He will give you”. Sri Govinda Lal Goswami
Sri Kesavananda Goswami
Q: “Somebody told me that at the Sri Brijmohan Deva Goswami
beginnig the Seva Kunj property of the Sri Govinda Ballavi Goswami
Temple was a very big area, but during Sri Gaurachand Goswami
the years your forefathers reduced it Sri Nirmal Chandra Goswami
because they use to give pieces of land
away just for very small donations”. Five sons of Sri Nirmal Chandra Goswami:
Sri Kanik Goswami ( just arrived): Sri Kanika Prasad Goswami

“Yes! If somebody was coming and Sri Tarun Kumar Goswami (Sringar and
offering a small seva to Radha Damodara, Arati)
he could receive a piece of land when Sri Karuna Kumar Goswami
desired. For some sweet rice our Damodar (Samadhi-seva & Book-stall)
was reciprocating by giving land to Sri Krishna Balaram Goswami
whomever would ask for it”. (Public Relations, Donations and Book-
stall)
Sri Purnacandra Goswami (Sankirtana)
Rupa Goswami Samadhi
PUBLICIDAD

BOAT PASTIME
At the Yamuna....
The boat festival marks the event occurred between Radha and
Krishna before 5000 years at Rajghat in River Yamuna.
The Gopis often carried the milk products “You are troubling we young girls.
from Vrindavana and sold at Mathura to O Madhava, You reap the seed of all
earn their living. troubles and You alone can make us cross
this River.”
The event was artfully portrayed in the
Bhakti Ratnakara (sloka 1700-1712) when Krishna said, “All food you carry will be
Raghav Pandita was describing the pastimes drowned. Please throw away all you carry in
of the Lord to Srinivasa Acharya, Narottama water including your unwanted clothing.”
Das Thakura and Shyamananda Prabhu
during in Vraja-parikrama. Even at this dreadful moment, Krishna
was cutting jokes at the Gopis and clapped
Raghava Pandita says: hands showing no worries.
See this place with beautiful spots, where
Nanda Kumara (Krishna) always wanders. The Gopis said, “We desperately throw water
Let us discuss the glorious pastimes of from the sinking boat with our bare hands.
the expansions of Lord such as Krishna, Even if we escape from here, we will not
Balarama and Narasimhadeva. surrender to You.”
Reaching the banks of Yamuna, Srinivasa Some more details

Acharya says, Reaching the bank of Yamuna, the Gopis
“Krishna started the boat festival from this urged the boatman,
Raj Ghat with the beautiful Radha and Her “Please take us to the other side.”
associates to cross the River carrying pots of Krshna pretended to be on deep nap.
milk products.
See the amazingly beautiful face of Krishna. Sri Sanjaya Kavisekhara says:
On the riverside remained Krishna on a Krishna said to Radha, “My dear young girl,
worn out boat. please get in My tari (boat). Radha took it as
Radha and Her associates urged to Krishna, tarau (trees) and retorted,
“What strength have to climb on trees?”
“Please take us to the other side of River Krishna replied, “My charming girl, I didn’t
Yamuna.” mean tree, but tarani (boat).”
Krishna rowed them down to some In Sanskrit, tarani means sun as well and
distance with great pleasure. Let us describe therefore, Radha replied, “Why would I go
Krishna’s playful pastimes with them.” to sun?”
When the old boat floated in violent waters, Krishna said, “I always spoke of nau (boat).”
the Gopis said, In Sanskrit, nau means we as well and so
BOAT PASTIME
Radha replied, “These are aimed at to bring Sri Suryadasa:

Us together.” Radha says, “O Krishna, as You said, I have
I worship the immutable Lord Krishna, thrown the milk products, My necklace and
who smiled at Radha with pleasure in thus all My belongings in the river, but still the
playful duel of words. shore is still afar.”
Radha says, “The boat is heavily tossed up by
Srila Rupa Goswami: the wind. The gushing water is sinking the
Radha says, “You are right. No waves in boat in Yamuna. Destiny is My enemy, but
Yamuna now and this boat is new and even in this calamity, the lusty Krishna puts
strong. Nevertheless, I am afraid of You, the His hands on Me.”
reckless boatman, O Keshava.
Radha again says, “My hands are tired and I
This river is deep and the boat is old. We cannot push the water out anymore.
helpless girls are in dire danger. Now You Nevertheless, you still joke at Me. Hey
are the only boatman, who can sail us safely Krishna, if I surmount this, I no more step
on to the shore of Yamuna. into Your boat.”
Sri Jagadananda Raya: Sri Manohara:

Krshna stopped the boat at the middle of Radha says, “Dear Gopi friends, please pray
the river and demanded the fare, He smiled to your divinities that either the water of
as He looked at the frightened face of the Yamuna be knee deep or get a boatman
Gopis, who had no money to pay. other than Krishna.”
BOAT PASTIME
Sri Mukunda Bhattacharya: Krishna says, “O beautiful Radha, don’t be

Radha says, “The boat rocks either ways in harsh. We will escape by Your mercy. Please
this deep water in the captaincy of reckless offer Me a fare of promise to enjoy amorous
Krishna. The sun sets and I am helpless moments with You in Govardhana.”
now. O Gopi, Vraja is far away and what can
I do? Radha says, “You are a cheat, Krishna. Go
and hide under a pile of cow-shit. Why do
Krishna pays no heed to My begging even You come and beg so uselessly. Turn away.
with the throat chocked. He disregards My You have tricked the Gopis and frightened
obeisance. O Gopi, even in the midst of them in an old boat, but why Your tricks
waves, Krishna shakes the boat and water vanish with Me?”
seeps in and I am frightened, but Krishna is
free from fear.” Srila Rupa Goswami:
“When the old boat tossed in the stormy
Srila Rupa Goswami: waves of Yamuna, Krshna tricked Radha and
Radha says, “Ferocious waves lash at received amorous favours for His pastimes
Yamuna now. The boat is full of water, but from the terrified Gopis in pledge of their
Krishna seems unafraid.” rescue.”
BOAT PASTIME
at Manasi Ganga...
During the time of Krishna, Manasi Ganga But still there was too much weight, and the
was very big in size. boatman said,
Once Srimati Radharani and Her friends “It is not enough. The water is still entering.
came to the bank of Manasi Ganga to cross You will have to surrender more to the waters
by boat. of Manasi Ganga.”
So the gopis threw their heavy jewellery

They were carrying pots of yoghurt and
other milk preparations to sell in Mathura. overboard.
Then a storm came.
The boatman agreed to take them across
the water and they settled on a price of
some sweets and butter.
The boatman rowed the boat for some

time and then stopped.
Srimati Radharani and the gopis asked

him why he had stopped.
He told them that he was tired and

hungry and could not go any further if
they did not feed him, and so the gopis
offered the boatman their milk products.
He ate everything then told them that

he would take a nap and they should
massage his arms and legs.
The gopis told him that if he did not keep

rowing the boat they would throw him The wind began to blow and the
overboard, and so the boatman continued waves upset the boat.
rowing. At the same time, the boatman also started
rocking the boat.
After some time, however, he again stopped
the boat, and the gopis again asked him Radharani became frightened and put Her
why. arms around the boatman.
He told them, “My boat is old and the water At that time She realized that the boatman was
is coming in due to the weight it is carrying. Krishna.
You will have to throw some things
overboard, otherwise we will sink!” Radharani then pulled Krishna’s flute from
under His clothing and then all the gopis
So the gopis threw their yogurt pots could understand that the boatman was
overboard. Krishna Himself.
HISTORY
KRISHNA’S FAMILY
Let’s know Krishna and Krishna’s Associates
From Sri Sri Radha Krishna Ganoddesa Dipika
by Srila Rupa Gosvami
Message from Srila Rupa Gosvami
First of all, i offer homage to the lotus of Vrindavana, that is available in the
feet of my Holy Master, accompanied area of Mathura, in histories told by
by all the devotees, as well as to Sri general people from generation to
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who descended generation, in various scriptures such
into this world together with Sri as the Puranas and Agama-sastras,
Nityananda Prabhu. and in the knowledge gathered by the
devotees currently in the assemblies of
the sadhus. Based on this information,
i offer homage to the divine lotus feet i will systematically and concisely
of Sri Nanda-nandana and Srimati describe the different groups of the
Radhika. They are surrounded by the eternally perfected residents of Vraja, as
gopis and steal the hearts of all the is favourable for the path of raga. I am
residents of Vrindavana. doing this for the pleasure of my well-
wisher (Sri Sanatana Gosvami).
I (Sri Rupa Gosvami) have gathered
all the well-known information about May an attachment for Sri Radha, Sri
the associates of Sri Krishna and Krishna and Their associates awaken in
Srimati Radhika, the King and Queen everyone by this description.
Sri Krishna’s Family
The residents of Vraja are actually Sri Krishna’s family members. This family of His
consists of three groups:
1. The herdsmen (pasu-palas),
2. The priestly class (vipras) and 3. The artisans (bahishthas).
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HISTORY
1. The herdsmen (pasu-pala)
The herdsmen are further divided into three groups:
Vaisyas, Abhiras and Gurjaras.
They are descendants of the Yadu dynasty and are known by such appropriate names as
Gopa and Ballava.
a) Vaisyas (Vaisyah) of cows, buffaloes and other animals, and

The vaisyas generally maintain themselves are also known by the name Ghosha. The
by taking care of cows. They are considered abhiras are considered slightly inferior to
to be superior to the abhiras and gurjaras. the aforementioned vaisyas.
The vaisyas whose father belongs to a high-
er social class and mother to a lower are also
known as abhiras. c) Gurjaras (Gurjarah)
The gurjaras are herdsmen who live at the
b) Abhiras (Abhirah) outskirts of the pasturing grounds1 and who
The abhiras are similar to the vaisyas in take care of goats and other animals. They
customs and behaviour. They belong to the are somewhat inferior to the abhiras and are
sudras and maintain their life by taking care often strong and robust.
2. The priestly class (brahmanas) (viprah)
The brahmanas know all the Vedas and are engaged in the following six duties: performing
sacrifices, engaging others in performing sacrifices, studying, teaching, giving charity and
accepting charity.
3. Craftsmen (Bahishthah)
Craftsmen, They are:

who maintain their lives by various kinds of
trades and crafts, are known as bahishthas. Honourable elders,
(12) Brothers-and-sisters and so forth,
Messengers,
[The aforementioned groups are further
Servants,
divided into eight:]
These five groups within Sri Krishna’s Craftsmen,
family (vaisyas, abhiras, gurjaras, vipras and Maidservants,
bahishthas) are further divided into eight. Friends of the same age and beloveds.
Nº1 February-
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HISTORY
Personalities honoured by Sri Krishna (pujyah)
The brothers of Sri Krishna, the Crown Prince of Vraja; His contemporary friends; ser-
vants and so forth; and His beloved gopis are all respected by Him.
Sri Krishna’s paternal and maternal grandfathers, the brahmanas and other such elders are
worshipful to Him.
Krishna’s paternal grandfather Krishna’s paternal grandmother

The name of Sri Krishna’s paternal Sri Krishna’s paternal grandmother is
grandfather is Parjanya (cloud) because he Variyasi. She is most revered throughout
showers torrents of auspicious nectar. His Vraja-mandala. Her bodily complexion
bodily complexion resembles molten gold resembles the colour of the orange-red
and both his hair and clothing are of white kusumbha flower (safflower) and her
colour. Grandfather Sri Parjanya is the garments are green. She is short and her
object of veneration to all in Vraja. hair is completely white as milk.
In bygone times, Sri Parjanya lived in

the area of Nandisvara. He wished to
beget illustrious offspring, so following
the instructions of Devarshi Narada he Sri Krishna’s father is Sri Nanda
worshipped Sri Narayana, the husband of Maharaja.
Lakshmi-devi. After performing austerities
for a long time, Parjanya Maharaja heard He is worshipped throughout the world
a most pleasant divine voice from the and is the source of happiness to the
heights of the sky. residents of Vraja.
The voice said, : He has a big belly, his bodily complexion

“O Parjanya, five sons will be born to is like sandalwood paste (candana), and his
you as a result of your most excellent dress resembles the colour of the yellowish
austerities. The best of them will be the red bandhujiva flower.
middle one. He will be famous by the
name Nanda. The son of this Nanda will be He is tall and his beard resembles the
victorious in the entire world and bestow colour of sesame seeds mixed with rice,
joy in the land of Vraja. Both the demigods or in other words, a mixture of white and
and the demons will worship His lotus feet black.
with the jewels decorating their heads.”
Sri Nanda is the younger brother of
With a happy heart Sri Parjanya resided Upananda and a close friend of Vasudeva.
in the area of Sri Nandisvara for some
time, but when he heard about the Kesi Goparaja Nanda and Yasoda are Sri
demon’s arrival there, he became fearful Krishna’s father and mother, and they are
and moved to Mahavana (Gokula) with his also widely known as the King and Queen
entire family. of Vraja.
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HISTORY
Nanda Maharaja uncles and aunt

Sri Krishna’s father, Sri Nanda Maharaja, and therefore is famous by the name
has two paternal uncles named Irjanya and Nati (dancer), is the sister of Sri Krishna’s
Rajanya. paternal grandfather. She is, in other
They are both cowherd men by words, Sri Nanda Maharaja’s paternal aunt.
occupation. Suverjana’s husband is named Gunavira,
Suverjana, who is expert in the art of dance and they reside at Surya-kunda.
Vasudeva
Sri Nanda Maharaja’s friend is

called Vasudeva because he is
radiant with piety, jewels and
wealth, which are all denoted by
the word vasu. Visuddha sattva-
guna, or the transcendental
platform of pure existence, is also
called vasudeva, and according to
this meaning his name is Vasudeva
because he is endowed with this
visuddha sattva-guna. He is a
partial manifestation of a Vasu
called Drona and is also well known
by the name Anaka Dundubhi.
A description of these names is

found in the Mathura- mahatmya
of the Garuda Purana. The
renowned Sri Vrishabhanu
Maharaja of Vraja is Sri Vasudeva
Maharaja’s most dear friend.
Sri Nanda Maharaja Giving Charity

HISTORY
Yasoda Mayi
Because she gives (da) fame (yasa) to the

society of the cowherds, Sri Krishna’s
mother is called Yasoda. Her bodily
complexion is blackish blue (syamala). She
is the very personification of parental love
and her attire is colourful like the rainbow.
Sri Yasoda’s body is of medium size –

neither plump nor thin. Her hair is quite
long and black. Her best friends, who are as
dear to her as her own life, are Aindavi and
Kirttida.
She is well known as the wife of the ruler

of Gokula, Vraja- raja Sri Nanda Maharaja;
as Yasoda; as a friend of Sri Vasudeva’s wife
Sri Devaki; as Gopesvari (the Queen of the
cowherds); as Goshtharani (the Queen of
Vraja) and as the mother of Sri Krishna.
According to the Adi Purana

“Sri Nanda Maharaja’s wife has two names:
Yasoda and Devaki. Devaki, the wife of
Sauri Sri Vasudeva, has the same name as
Yasoda, and therefore they naturally have a
special friendship.”
Yasoda Mayi
Rohini
Sri Rohini-devi is known as the elder mother of Sri Krishna. She is an embodiment of
ever-increasing joy. She even feels millions of times greater affection for Sri Krishna than
for Sri Balarama.
The two sisters of Nanda Maharaja

Sri Krishna’s father, Vrajaraja Nanda, has They do not have many teeth and their
two sisters named Sananda and Nandini. bodily complexions are whitish like foam.
Sananda’s husband is Mahanila and
They wear many different types of Nandini’s is Sunila. Mahanila and Sunila are
colourful clothes. thus Sri Krishna’s uncles.

HISTORY
The four brothers of Nanda Maharaja

Sri Nanda Maharaja has two elder brothers Sananda is also called Sunanda. His bodily
– Upananda and Abhinanda – and two complexion is pale whitish yellow and his
younger – Sananda and Nandana. The four garments are black. Only a few of his hairs
of them are Sri Krishna’s paternal uncles. have turned white. He is extremely dear to
Kesava. His wife, whose name is Kuvalaya,
The eldest of the brothers, Sri Upananda, wears clothes of a mixed colour of blue and
has a pinkish bodily complexion like that of light red (kuvalaya), and her body also bears
the mixture of white and the reddish colour the same complexion.
of dawn. His beard is long and he wears
green clothes. His wife’s name is Tungi. The bodily complexion of Nandana is like
Both her complexion and the colour of her the colour of the throat of the peacock
sari are similar to that of the cataka bird. and his clothes resemble the colour of an
oleander flower (candata). Sri Nandana
The second eldest brother, Sri Abhinanda, lives together with his father, Sri Parjanya
has a fair complexion resembling the colour Maharaja, and has gentle love for Sri Hari.
of a conch shell and his beard is long. He His wife’s name is Atulya. Her complexion
wears black clothes. His wife, Pivari, has resembles lightning and her clothes are
blue clothing and a pinkish complexion. like the blackish blue colour of rain clouds.
continue in the next issue of Kadacha...
Radhanath Swami on Krishna convinces Nanda Maharaj

VEDIC SCRIPTS
Ten subject of
Srimad-Bhagavatam
“‘Here [in Srimad-Bhagavatam] substance. These ten subjects are listed as
ten subjects are described: follows:
(1) the creation of the ingredients of the (1) Sarga: the first creation by Visnu, the
cosmos, bringing forth of the five gross material
elements, the five objects of sense
(2) the creations of Brahma, perception, the ten senses, the mind, the
intelligence, the false ego and the total
(3) the maintenance of the creation, material energy, or universal form.
(4) special favor given to the faithful, (2) Visarga: the secondary creation, or the
work of Brahma in producing the moving
(5) impetuses for activity, and unmoving bodies in the universe
(brahmanda).
(6) prescribed duties for law-abiding men,
(3) Sthana: the maintenance of the universe
(7) a description of the incarnations of the by the Personality of Godhead, Visnu.
Lord, Visnu’s function is more important and
His glory greater than Brahma’s and Lord
(8) the winding up of the creation, Siva’s, for although Brahma is the creator
and Lord Siva the destroyer, Visnu is the
(9) liberation from gross and subtle material maintainer.
existence, and
(4) Posana: special care and protection for
(10) the ultimate shelter, the Supreme devotees by the Lord. As a king maintains
Personality of Godhead. his kingdom and subjects but nevertheless
gives special attention to the members of
The tenth item is the shelter of all the his family, so the Personality of Godhead
others. To distinguish this ultimate shelter gives special care to His devotees who are
from the other nine subjects, the mahajanas souls completely surrendered to Him.
have described these nine, directly or
indirectly, through prayers or direct (5) Uti: the urge for creation, or initiative
explanations.’ power, that is the cause of all inventions,
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Adi-lila 2:91-92). according to the necessities of time, space
and objects.
These verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam
(2.10.1–2) list the ten subject matters dealt (6) Manvantara: the periods controlled by
with in the text of the Bhagavatam. Of the Manus, who teach regulative principles
these, the tenth is the substance, and the for living beings who desire to achieve
other nine are categories derived from the perfection in human life. The rules of
58 | Kadacha | Nº1 February-
January 2018 2018
VEDIC SCRIPTS
Manu, as described in the Manu-samhita, as the shelter of all manifestations because
guide the way to such perfection. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, is the ultimate source of
(7) Isanukatha: scriptural information everything, the supreme goal of all.
regarding the Personality of Godhead, His
incarnations on earth and the activities of Two different principles are to be
His devotees. Scriptures dealing with these considered herein—namely asraya, the
subjects are essential for progressive human object providing shelter, and asrita, the
life. dependents requiring shelter.
The asrita exist under the original principle,
(8) Nirodha: the winding up of all energies the asraya. The first nine categories,
employed in creation. Such potencies described in the first nine cantos of
are emanations from the Personality of Srimad-Bhagavatam, from creation to
Godhead who eternally lies in the Karana liberation—including the purusa-avataras,
Ocean. The cosmic creations, manifested the incarnations, the marginal energy, or
with His breath, are again dissolved in due living entities, and the external energy, or
course. material world—are all asrita. The prayers
of Srimad-Bhagavatam, however, aim for
(9) Mukti: liberation of the conditioned the asraya-tattva, the Supreme Personality
souls encaged by the gross and subtle of Godhead, Śrī Krishna. The great souls
coverings of body and mind. When freed expert in describing Srimad-Bhagavatam
from all material affection, the soul, giving have very diligently delineated the other
up the gross and subtle material bodies, nine categories, sometimes by direct
can attain the spiritual sky in his original narrations and sometimes by indirect
spiritual body and engage in transcendental narrations such as stories.
loving service to the Lord in Vaikunthaloka The real purpose of doing this is to know
or Krishnaloka. When the soul is situated perfectly the Absolute Transcendence,
in his original constitutional position of Sri Krishna, for the
existence, he is said to be liberated. It is entire creation,
possible to engage in transcendental loving both material and
service to the Lord and become jivan- spiritual, rests on
mukta, a liberated soul, even while in the the body of Sri
material body. Krishna.
(10) Asraya: the Transcendence, the (Sri Caitanya

summum bonum, from whom everything Caritamrita Adi-lila
emanates, upon whom everything rests, 2:91-92, purport)
and in whom everything merges after
annihilation. He is the source and support
of all. The asraya is also called the Supreme
Brahman, as in the Vedanta-sutra (athato
brahma jijnasa, janmady asya yatah [SB
1.1.1]). Srimad-Bhagavatam especially
describes this Supreme Brahman as the
asraya. Sri Krishna is this asraya, and
therefore the greatest necessity of life is to
study the science of Krishna.
Srimad-Bhagavatam accepts Sri Krishna

BOOK REVIEW
Shukavak N. Dasa, Hindu Encounter with Modernity:

Kedarnath Datta Bhaktivinoda, Vaishnava Theologian
by Yadunandana Swami
With this work Shukavak N. Dasa intends to show how Kedarnath Datta
Bhaktivinoda (1838-1914), a renowned figure in the Hindu tradition, specifically
in the Caitanya Vaishnava line, was able to reconcile his firm faith in his spiritual
and religious practices with the critical and rational ideals of modernism, which
the Bengali society was acquiring in contact with western colonialism. Being
himself a member of the bhadraloka, the Bengali elite, Bhaktivinoda was able
to connect their British newly adopted scientific temperament with the wisdom
of their native tradition in a way his intellectual contemporaries could accept.
Shukavak divides the book into three parts: whose approach practitioners and scholars
a biographical account of Bhaktivinoda’s alike can apply in the study of other
life, an analysis of Bhaktivinoda’s modern religious traditions.
approach to religious practice (adhunika-
vada) and an explanation of Bhaktivinoda’s A part of this book is devoted to a purely
systematic theology, which includes the biographical account of Bhaktivinoda’s life.
perceptions of divine manifestations in Other works published previously about
this world and the practices how to achieve Bhaktivinoda’s life such as The Seventh
them. Goswami by Rupa Vilas Dasa and the works
of Sundarananda Vidyanoda of the Gaudiya
Shukavak portrays Bhaktivinoda as Math were notably hagiographical. In
role model modern practitioners of the spite of being a practitioner of the Vaisnava
Vaisnava faith can follow. In contrast with faith himself, Shukavak carefully avoids
the traditional role model of renunciate hagiography in his presentation and writes
monks, Bhaktivinoda was very active in with academic rigour. The biographical
family and social life, working for the account is very well written and with precise
British government as a judge and having a details not found in previous works. Some
big family with thirteen children. Shukavak interesting descriptions of his family and
also considers Bhaktivinoda’s work as the work are given and illustrated with charts
intellectual and theological foundation of presented in the appendixes section.
a tradition of critical scholarship among
the Caitanya Vaisnavas in the West, which, From the very beginning, the author
according to Shukavak, is very much candidly voices his own predicament: “Is it
needed for modern Vaisnavas in order possible for the religious insider to study
to be in tune with and relevant to the his own tradition in a critical way and still
present world. He sees Bhaktivinoda as a maintain religious faith in the tradition?”
theologian who not only contributed to (p.2). He finds a positive answer in what
the development of his own tradition, but Bhaktivinoda calls the adhunika-vada, the
BOOK REVIEW
modern approach, which Bhaktivinoda methods and tools for the sake of accuracy
explains in his work Krsna-samhita . in verifying data, for example. Practitioners
and academics alike will profit from
Shukavak explains the adhunika-vada as Shukavak’s views.
follows:
Shukavak depicts clearly the development
The adhunika-vada was Bhaktivinoda’s attempt of modern education in 19th century
to approach the study of Vedic history and Bengal and some of the social tensions that
geography from the perspective of the modern accrued between the Hindus who wanted
historian. He wanted to use the to stick to tradition and the
tools of modern comparative section of society who was
scholarship to show the in favour of modernization.
antiquity of Vedic thought and He gives a description of the
thereby draw attention to the role that the Hindu College
spiritual significance of Sri had in creating awareness
Krsna and Vaisnava culture. of Western thought in early
The adhunika-vada is based 19th century in Bengal.
on the premise that the existing The author also focuses on
religious traditions within the responses given by the
Bengal had neglected the needs bhadraloka who embraced
of the modern intellectual. the call for modernization
in what Shukavak calls “a
According to Shukavak, Bengali way” (p.31). He
Bhaktivinoda shows in explains that the Bengali
Krsna-samhita how to intellectuals did not simply
take a critical look into want to accept the British
one’s own tradition and or European culture; rather,
simultaneously remain they preferred to develop
faithful to it. Shukavak a distinct Bengali society
seems to get courage while simultaneously
and confidence from his following the modern
understanding of Bhaktivinoda’s ideas to tendencies brought by the British. Shukavak
work on his thesis. uses the British-Bengali phenomenon of
this period to illustrate how it is possible to
This concept of investigating one’s own reconcile modernity and tradition.
tradition critically will undoubtedly raise
objections among present scholars in the In a review of this book published in
Study of Religion. Shukavak’s perspectives ISKCON Communication Journal ,
on this matter offer interesting insights David Smith, author of Hinduism and
to the insider-outsider discourse. He Modernity points out that Shukavak relies
maintains that an insider may be able to mainly on three of the works written by
analyze critically his own tradition while Bhaktivinoda. These are Krsna-samhita,
keeping his faith intact. Shukavak claims his autobiography Svalikhita-jivani and
this possible when the practitioner focuses his journal Sajjana-tosani. Bhaktivinoda
on the essential teachings and principles wrote more than one hundred works.
taught in the sacred scriptures while Considering this, one wonders whether
simultaneously using modern scientific Bhaktivinoda’s theology has been portrayed
BOOK REVIEW
accurately and comprehensively enough ascertained, I will then explain, according to

or whether adhunika-vada has been modern opinion, the history of Vaisnava-dharma
unduly emphasized. This seems to be an that is explained in those scriptures. Although
important weakness in Shukavak’s book. we ourselves consider the dates of the scriptures
In his Introduction to Krsna-samhita according to ancient methods, I will now follow
Bhaktivinoda explains very clearly that the contemporary methods for the benefit of modern
only reason why he is using the modern people.
approach (adhunika-vada) in his work is to
communicate his traditional message in Furthermore, in his magnum opus, Jaiva
an appealing way to those who preferred Dharma Bhaktivinoda seems to suggest
modernistic views. He writes: that the growth of so-called modern
scientific knowledge, which might be
It is our duty to consider when and how equated with adhunika-vada, is not
Vaisnava-dharma has manifest in this country necessarily conducive to the development
(India). Before we consider this subject, however, of spiritual knowledge:
many other subjects need to be resolved.
Therefore we will first resolve the dates, I do not perceive anywhere that spiritual
according to modern considerations, of the main knowledge is expanding by the progress of
events in India. Later we will ascertain the dates material knowledge. Actually, I generally see
of the esteemed that spiritual knowledge is being perverted
scriptures. As and misinterpreted in concert with the focus
soon as the upon material knowledge…. With the escalation
dates of the of material knowledge, man’s attention has
scriptures been drawn towards the multifold varieties of
are external phenomena and distracted from the
origin of all knowledge, the transcendental
Absolute Truth.
It is worth noting that Bhaktivinoda

composed Jaiva Dharma in his mature
age whereas he wrote Krsna-samhita in
the early period of his literary career. In
both works, though, Bhaktivinoda clearly
states that he preferred traditional spiritual
methods rather than modern ones.
Therefore Shukavak’s assumption that

Bhaktivinoda was very much in favour
of the modern approach is, at the
very least, questionable. Rather, he
simply contested the colonialists
using a language and approach
that would attract them and
their Bengali followers. Jason
D. Fuller, in the conclusion
to his article entitled:
Re-membering the
Tradition. Bhaktivinoda’s
BOOK REVIEW
‘Sajjanatosani’ and the Construction of a religious tradition can use modern methods
Middle Class Vaisnava, writes: of study and research within his own
Bhaktivinoda eschewed the colonial pressures tradition while simultaneously following a
to disregard Vaisnavism and instead embraced contemporary lifestyle might be relevant
a religion that he felt rationally defensible… to a growing number of people in similar
Bhaktivinoda’s definition of Vaisnavism situations as Shukavak’s.
represented a creative indigenous response to the
pressures of the colonial period….Bhaktivinoda In conclusion, the reservations stated
was able to use the printing press to contest above regarding Shukavak’s understanding
the colonial project of ‘development’ and of Bhaktivinoda’s modern approach
‘modernization’ which explicitly disavowed any aside, Shukavak has offered a valuable
use of the press to further indigenous forms of contribution to be considered by those
religion. interested in the study of Hinduism and its
development within the modern context. It
Shukavak himself (p. 81-82) describes an provides well-researched material about an
example of how Bhaktivinoda considered important figure in the Caitanya Vaisnava
his own tradition superior as follows: tradition and reveals many of the tensions
faced by the Hindus in the colonial Bengal,
In his Sajjana-tosani Kedarnath (Bhaktivinoda) which are similar to those experienced
creates an interesting analogy to describe the by Hindus in modern societies, in both
relationship between the Indians and the British. India and the West. Hindu practitioners,
He compares the Indians and the English as two academic researchers and curious readers
Aryan brothers who have a mutual interest in may find this study useful.
each other’s welfare. The Indians are the older
brothers (jyestha bhrata) and the British are the Notes:
younger brothers (kanistha bhrata). The older
brothers have now retired and turned the affairs 1Rupavilasa Dasa. The Seventh Goswami.
of the world over to their younger brothers, the (Washington MS: New Jaipur Press, 1989).
British, who are giving protection to the older
brother. In the past the older brothers dominated, 2 Sundarananda Vidyavinoda, Sri Bhaktivinoda
Vani Vaibhava, trans. By Bhumipati Dasa.
but now that they have retired they should give
(Vrindavana: Touchstone Media, 2002).
their blessing to the younger brothers and take to 3 Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Sri Krsna-samhita,
the feet of Hari. (New Delhi: Vrajraj Press, 1998).
From these references and others found 4 David Smith. Book review in ISKCON
both in Krsna-samhita and in Shukavak’s Communications Journal, Vol. 7 No.2, December
present work, we can deduce that it is 1999, p. 97
more accurate to separate the author’s
interpretation of adhunika-vada to solve 5 Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Jaiva Dharma, trans. By
Sarvabhavana Dasa, (New Delhi: Brhad Mrdanga
his predicament from Bhaktivinoda’s
Press, 2004) Ch. 9 ‘Nitya Dharma and Material
real purpose in using it, which was to Science’, p. 137
reintroduce Vaisnavism among the
bhadraloka in a contemporary manner. For 6 Jason D. Fuller ‘Re-membering the
Bhaktivinoda, adhunika-vada was a tactic, Tradition. Bhaktivinoda’s ‘Sajjanatosani’ and
not transcendental truth. the Construction of a Middle Class Vaisnava’
in Antony Copley (ed.) Hinduism in Public
Nonetheless, Shukavak’s views regarding and Private: Reform, Hindutva, Gender and
how a faithful practitioner of a classical Sampraday (Oxford University Press, 2003) pp.

BOOK REVIEW
173-210. Smith, David. 1999. Book review in ISKCON
Bibliography: Communications Journal, Vol. 7 No.2, p. 97
Dasa, Rupa Vilasa. 1989. The Seventh Goswami.
Washington MS: New Jaipur Press Thakura, Bhaktivinoda. 1998. Sri Krsna-
samhita. New Delhi: Vrajraj Press.
Fuller, Jason D. 2003. ‘Re-membering the Thakura, Bhaktivinoda. 2004. Jaiva Dharma
Tradition. Bhaktivinoda’s ‘Sajjanatosani’ and (trans. by Sarvabhavana Dasa). New Delhi: Brhad
the Construction of a Middle Class Vaisnava’ Mrdanga Press.
in Antony Copley (ed.) Hinduism in Public Vidyanoda, Sundarananda. 2002. Sri
and Private: Reform, Hindutva, Gender and Bhaktivinoda Vani Vaibhava (trans. by Bhumipati
Sampraday. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dasa). Vrindavana: Touchstone Media.
173-210.
Yadunandana Swami 1999

Vocation, duty and service in

Krishna consciousness.
Mukunda Vaidya - Dominican Republic
Vocation, duty and service: these three words lead us to an internal reflection.
Which of these concepts was born first? As souls, we are eternal servants of
Krishna, that is our duty. In that relationship with the top supreme power
Krsna, the situation becomes quite natural and compatible for every living being.
Srila Prabhupada describes the effect that of Krishna or material creation subject at
produces the Maha Mantra Hare Krishna the time. These Kleshas disturb or cause
in the living entity. In the introduction to death. A living being sick, or that has been
Bhagavad Gita as it is Srila Prabhupada affected by some natural phenomenon, or
describes that the lower jivas experience other living entity can find a doctor to be
satisfaction to the loving cured. But this can only cure
contact with krishna. the quality of life within a
Nothing will be a sacrifice feasible limit.
after that moment.
Service is our duty and The true wisdom of a
dedication. Our vocation physician is to know the
should be directed limit of your wisdom.
towards Krsna Bhagavam You can spend all day
so that our actions can surrounded by bacteria,
be free from karma and watching people die or
improved every day. It is be in contact with all
the beginning of Krishna body fluids in a sensory
consciousness: our actions way. This job may seem
become conscious of disgusting. But the doctor,
Krishna. Understand, by their vocation, their
for satisfaction and duty can see pass beyond
service to Krishna. That these disturbances. The
everything we do is in sense of sacrifice provides
relation to it. Krishna vocation to the practice of
says: “leave all kinds of the duty, and vice versa.
religion and surrender The sense of sacrifice
to me”, referring to all the bonds. The brings us closer to do undesirable things to
etymology of the word religion in latin a subsequent good (for the improvement
comes from religare or meet. It is the clear of the patient), or fail to do pleasant things
instruction that Krishna gives to Arjuna on for itself (for the benefit of the patient).
the battlefield of Kruksetra. In this world Krishna consciousness leads us to develop
all living entities experience different types spiritual characteristics based on our
of Kleshas. These disturbances experienced daily practices of knowledge, austerity
by the embodied living entity are evidence and sacrifice. Not accepting intoxicating
of the incompatible situation in which substances to develop our consciousness in
our soul is in relation to the lower Prakriti a natural way. Gaining loyalty and purity
through a monogamous relationship which offers detailed information about

validated marriage for procreation the assistance that you can provide to a
purposes. Brahmana who is in the process of terminal
illness The Vedic concept of medical care
When a physician, known as Vaidya for terminally ill patients, is superior to
or kavirash, experiences Krishna any current support. Quintessential health
consciousness he is able to see his sacrifice care must include the spiritual treatment
as a duty, because it makes sense to his life to know what a man awaiting death should
based on the self. In an atmosphere of occupy the mind in. As it is the case of
pain, love and attachment. The Krishna Maharaj Pariksit described in the Srimad
counciouss doctor can feel pity for these Bhagavatam (canto 2.1, text 22), who asks
distressed people and give them spiritual Sukadeva Goswami to instruct him on
explanations that defuse the spiritual pain. what to occupy the dying mind , so dirty
Based on his spiritual authority and health things come out of his mind before death.
becomes a preacher once his role as doctor Be more attentive to the needs of spiritual
has ended. Precisely because he has seen realization, and detachment that the patient
the light of spiritual knowledge that your must be in those moments. Our concept
teacher has given you through the Disciplic of health care improves a hundred percent
succession. This turns him into a spiritual when the Krishna Conscious includes
and vocational academic. This physician is Krsna Bhagavam in its treatment. When
aware of that when the soul leaves, the body that doctor keeps his Sadhana of Krsna
becomes ill. So he knows that his Dharma service, and clean heart. The practice of
cure the curable. That the knowledge to Krishna consciousness is applied to all
prolong life has a limit, as also the wisdom. kinds of professions and human activities.
Doctors have seen patients be saved who, The Mission of the international society
against all logic, should die for the disease for Krishna consciousness is to restore
which haunted them, and patients who the Bharata Varsa, a conscious human
remain healthy died like lightning in the society of Krishna. Acting unceasingly in
sky clear, without doctors (still looking for human society, based on principles of
error even in themselves) have not found Duty, Service, Devotion, detachment and
the causes. Disease and death are symptoms Renunciation.. The origin of all knowledge
of this game, not the cause. The doctor is in the daily practice of the singing of
must include Krishna consciousness in the the Maha Mantra Hare Krishna, or the
treatment of a terminal patient who need great song of liberation. Both the doctor
guidance and solace. Of no other human and patient need to be released each day
being can be expected most the condition through song:
of Brahmana that the physician, because in
that goodness he transfers also the mercy of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna / Krishna
his service.
Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare
We can identify the causes and mechanisms Rama / Rama Rama Hare Hare.
of death with almost precise measure on
the corpse, but never define what final Jaya Goura Nitay!
loop broke 5 minutes after the patient Jay Srila Prabhupada!
say their last words. The answer is the Jay Gurumaharaj!
soul. Srila Prabhupada instructed a nurse
devotee to write the book The Final Journey Mukunda Vaidya das

NOTES
Gajendra
by Syamamayi Devi Dasi
Hare Krsna readers. I would first like to give a brief introduction to this wonderful holy
place from where I am so fortunate to be writing this article and also thank Manonatha
Maharaja for inspiring me.
Mayapur is the holy land of Lord Caitanya’s hard to leave. Spiritual benefit here is
birth place. It is the World headquarters of multifold, it is the place where kirtan is
ISKCON and home of over 5000 devotees going on 24/7 from all directions. The
from all over the world. whole area is steeped in a rich historical
culture of Gaudiya Vaisnavism with many
It is situated along the banks of the sacred ancient temples and pastime places of Lord
Ganges river and is the center of the nine Caitanya and His associates.
Islands called Navadwipa (Nava –nine and Mayapur is non different from Vrndavana,
dwipa –island). the abode of Lord Krsna and is therefore an
eternal spiritual realm not of this world.
ISKCON Mayapur temple is home of the Hope to see you here!
beautiful deity forms of the Lord: Their
Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madhava and the The following article is based on notes
Asta Sakhis (the eight principle gopis), I made while preparing for Srimad
Pancatattva and Nrsimhadeva. Presently Bhagavatam class here in Sridhama
the new Temple of the Vedic Planetarium is Mayapur India.
under construction, which was prophesized
by previous acharyas (spiritual masters) Srimad Bhagavatam canto 8 chapter 3
and is expected to be completed in “Gajendra’s Prayers of Surrender”
approximately 5 years. verse 26.
Visiting Mayapur is a wonderful experience “Now, fully desiring release from material
for anybody. The atmosphere is so spiritual life, I offer my respectful obeisances unto that
that one feels really at home, it is always Supreme Person who is the creator of the
universe, who is Himself
the form of the universe
and who is nonetheless
transcendental to this
cosmic manifestation. He
is the supreme knower
of everything in this
world, the Supersoul of
the universe. He is the
unborn, supremely situated
Lord. I offer my respectful
obeisances unto Him.”
This is just one verse

out of the 33 verses
Gajendra the elephant
NOTES
spoke in supplication to The Lord. Gajendra “In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution
was attacked by a crocodile while sporting and a little advancement can protect you from
in the waters of a beautiful lake in the the most dangerous type of fear.”
heavenly realm. It is interesting to note
that authoritative scriptures give detailed All of the pastimes in the Srimad
descriptions of life in realms of the higher Bhagavatam are full of pertinent insructions
and lower planets. In the higher planetary for all time and all places and all people.
systems there is a standard of enjoyment This material world is a place of danger.
greater than we experience on earth but Even if we seem to have a nice situation
the earthly region is said to have just the for now, at any moment that can change.
right balance of happiness and distress that Calamities are an inbuilt factor in this world
makes it conducive for practicing spiritual but they do serve a real purpose. They teach
life, ie.We can’t get too comfortable here. us to turn our attention to the lord. Human
Neither is it so distressful that we are not life is one of responsibility, as distinct
able to practice Krsna consciousness. from animal life, in which we have higher
consciousness to question our purpose here,
Gajendra was enjoying so much in that why we suffer? and who we really are? This
idyllic setting he was actually intoxicated. is the beginning of spiritual life.
There he was surrounded by his she In Bhagavad–gita 8.16 it is said from the
elephants and children plus the rest of the highest planet down to the lowest, all are
herd, when danger struck. Being an animal places of misery where repeated birth and
of the land he was not able to fight the death take place. But Krsna is so merciful
crocodile, an animal of the water, with full that He wants to bring us to our natural
strength. The other elephants tried as they constitutional position of serving Him in
might to pull him free from the clutches eternal life, full of bliss and knowledge.
of the crocodile but to no avail. Gajendra
struggled in that distressful condition Also it is stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam
fighting for a long long time. But in his 10.14.58
helpless state he suddenly remembered a
prayer he had recited in a previous life. “For those who have accepted the boat of the
lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the
Previously he had been a great king, cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri,
Indradyumna Maharaja, who had retired the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the
from ruling and gone to meditate in the material world is like the water contained in a
forest. Agastya rsi, a great sage, came by calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is param padam,
with his followers but the king did not Vaikunṭha, the place where there are no material
notice him and greet him as is the custom. miseries, not the place where there is danger at
Therefore the sage cursed the king to every step.”
take the dull body of an elephant. This
was actually a blessing in disguise for No matter what situation we find ourselves
Indradyumna Maharaja as he would come in we can take shelter of Krsna primarily
to pray to the Lord who would finally through the chanting of His names,
appear to deliver him.
The wonderful thing about any devotional Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
service that we offer to the Lord is to our Hare Rama Hare Rama
eternal benefit. We never lose out as Krsna Rama Rama Hare Hare
says in Bhagavad Gita 2.40-

NOTES
as this is the recommended process in this There is a beautiful verse in the Srimad
difficult age of Kali yuga the age of distress. Bhagavatam 10.14.8
We only have to look around us to see
so much strife in the world, wars disease “My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You
natural disturbances etc etc….. to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the
I was visiting Puerto Rico just three weeks while patiently suffering the reactions of his past
before the recent hurricane struck. While misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances
been there my husband brought me to the with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible
lush rain forest of El Yunque and to some for liberation, for it has become his rightful
of the most beautiful beaches in the world. claim.”
People seemed very friendly and happy and
the weather was a tropical paradise. But What we are talking about is a revolution
suddenly Hurricane Maria left the island of in consciousness that brings about a
enchantment almost devastated. change in the way we view the world. No
This must be a wake up call. The world longer just about I, me and mine but Krsna
needs to look for a positive alternative. centred. Which includes everyone else, as
There is a solution to the madness of we are all His parts and parcels. For this we
material life. That is to follow Gods laws, need to seek out the company of spiritual
otherwise we incur more and more karmic personalities who are wise in this science
reactions. ‘As we sow, so shall we reap’. I say and study the sacred literature such as
this out of compassion for those suffering Bhagavad-Gita And Srimad Bhagavatam
in this world. As a devotee feels pain to see regularly.
others in pain.
Finally Gajendra, in his hour of need, got
If one takes life unnecessarily such as killing the Lord’s attention through his prayer
animals to satisfy ones tongue especially while offering a lotus from the water. The
killing mother cow, natures laws will act. Supreme Lord riding on His bird carrier,
Therefore as Hare Krsna Devotees we Garuda, severed the crocodiles head with
follow the principles of no meat eating no His Sudarshan disc and lifted Gajendra free.
intoxication no, illicit sex and no gambling Gajendra attained a spiritual form like that
along with chanting of the Lord’s and returned to the spiritual
world.
Krsna Krsna Hare Hare NB/The crocodile had been the Gandharva
Hare Rama Hare Rama King, Huhu, in his previous life and
Rama Rama Hare Hare” while sporting in the water with women
had pulled the leg of Devala Rsi who was
We offer all our food first to the Lord which bathing there. The Rsi Became angry and
spiritualizes our existence. Such a simple cursed the King to become a crocodile. The
process! king was sorry and begged pardon from
We get intoxicated by chanting Hare Krsna the sage who, out of compassion, gave
and eating Krsna Prasadam(the Lord’s him the benediction to be delivered by the
mercy). And we gamble by giving our life to Lord when He came to save Gajendra the
Him and taking all risks for Krsna. We give elephant.
up Lust by falling in love with the Lord.
Such is the Lord’s mercy and that of His
Devotees see any difficulties they may under devotees.
go as just a token of their karma, to remind
them and impel them on . Hare Krsna!!!!!

THE MAHABHARATA
ADI PARVA
SECTION 1 - Anukramanika
Om! Having bowed down to Narayana and Nara, the most exalted male being, and
also to the goddess Saraswati, must the word Jaya be uttered.
Suta Gosvami arrives a Naimisha by Vaisampayana at the Snake-sacrifice of

the high-souled royal sage Janamejaya and
Ugrasrava, the son of Lomaharshana, in the presence also of that chief of Princes,
surnamed Sauti , well-versed in the the son of Parikshit, and having wandered
Puranas, bending with humility, one day about, visiting many sacred waters and
approached the great sages of rigid vows, holy shrines, I journeyed to the country
sitting at their ease, who had attended venerated by the Dwijas (twice-born) and
the twelve years’ sacrifice of Saunaka, called Samantapanchaka where formerly
surnamed Kulapati, in the forest of was fought the battle between the children
Naimisha. of Kuru and Pandu, and all the chiefs of the
Those ascetics, wishing to hear his land ranged on either side.
wonderful narrations, presently began to Thence, anxious to see you, I am come
address him who had thus arrived at that into your presence. Ye reverend sages, all
recluse abode of the inhabitants of the of whom are to me as Brahma; ye greatly
forest of Naimisha. blessed who shine in this place of sacrifice
Having been entertained with due respect with the splendour of the solar fire: ye who
by those holy men, he saluted those have concluded the silent meditations and
Munis with joined palms, even all of them, have fed the holy fire; and yet who are
and inquired about the progress of their sitting--without care, what,
asceticism. O ye Dwijas (twice-born), shall I repeat,
Then all the ascetics being again seated, the shall I recount the sacred stories collected
son of Lomaharshana humbly occupied the in the Puranas containing precepts of
seat that was assigned to him. religious duty and of worldly profit, or the
Seeing that he was comfortably seated, and acts of illustrious saints and sovereigns of
recovered from fatigue, one of the Rishis mankind?”
beginning the conversation, asked him,
‘Whence comest thou, O lotus-eyed Sauti, “The Rishi replied, ‘The Purana, first
and where hast thou spent the time? Tell promulgated by the great Rishi Dwaipayana,
me, who ask thee, in detail.’ and which after having been heard both by
Accomplished in speech, Sauti, thus the gods and the Brahmarshis was highly
questioned, gave in the midst of that big esteemed, being the most eminent narrative
assemblage of contemplative Munis a full that exists, diversified both in diction and
and proper answer in words consonant with division, possessing subtile meanings
their mode of life. logically combined, and gleaned from the
Vedas, is a sacred work.
Sauti begins speaking Composed in elegant language, it includeth
the subjects of other books. It is elucidated
“Sauti said, ‘Having heard the diverse by other Shastras, and comprehendeth the
sacred and wonderful stories which were sense of the four Vedas.
composed in his Mahabharata by Krishna- We are desirous of hearing that history also
Dwaipayana, and which were recited in full called Bharata, the holy composition of the
THE MAHABHARATA
wonderful Vyasa, which dispelleth the fear present alike in all places; the invisible and
of evil, just as it was cheerfully recited by subtile cause, whose nature partaketh of
the Rishi Vaisampayana, under the direction entity and non-entity.
of Dwaipayana himself, at the snake- From this egg came out the lord Pitamaha
sacrifice of Raja Janamejaya?’ Brahma, the one only Prajapati; with
Suraguru and Sthanu.
“Sauti then said, ‘Having bowed down to Then appeared the twenty-one Prajapatis,
the primordial being Isana, to whom viz., Manu, Vasishtha and Parameshthi; ten
multitudes make offerings, and who is Prachetas, Daksha, and the seven sons of
adored by the multitude; who is the true Daksha.
incorruptible one, Brahma, perceptible, Then appeared the man of inconceivable
imperceptible, eternal; who is both a non- nature whom all the Rishis know and so the
existing and an existing-non-existing being; Visvadevas, the Adityas, the Vasus, and the
who is the universe and also distinct from twin Aswins; the Yakshas, the Sadhyas, the
the existing and non-existing universe; Pisachas, the Guhyakas, and the Pitris.
who is the creator of high and low; the After these were produced the wise and
ancient, exalted, inexhaustible one; who most holy Brahmarshis, and the numerous
is Vishnu, beneficent and the beneficence Rajarshis distinguished by every noble
itself, worthy of all preference, pure and quality.
immaculate; who is Hari, the ruler of the So the water, the heavens, the earth, the air,
faculties, the guide of all things moveable the sky, the points of the heavens, the years,
and immoveable; I will declare the sacred the seasons, the months, the fortnights,
thoughts of the illustrious sage Vyasa, of called Pakshas, with day and night in due
marvellous deeds and worshipped here succession. And thus were produced all
by all. Some bards have already published things which are known to mankind.
this history, some are now teaching it, And what is seen in the universe, whether
and others, in like manner, will hereafter animate or inanimate, of created things,
promulgate it upon the earth. will at the end of the world, and after
It is a great source of knowledge, established the expiration of the Yuga, be again
throughout the three regions of the world. confounded.
It is possessed by the twice-born both in And, at the commencement of other Yugas,
detailed and compendious forms. It is the all things will be renovated, and, like the
delight of the learned for being embellished various fruits of the earth, succeed each
with elegant expressions, conversations other in the due order of their seasons.
human and divine, and a variety of poetical Thus continueth perpetually to revolve
measures. in the world, without beginning and
without end, this wheel which causeth the
Creation destruction of all things.
In this world, when it was destitute of The generation of Devas, in brief, was
brightness and light, and enveloped all thirty-three thousand, thirty-three hundred
around in total darkness, there came into and thirty-three. The sons of Div were
being, as the primal cause of creation, a Brihadbhanu, Chakshus, Atma Vibhavasu,
mighty egg, the one inexhaustible seed of Savita, Richika, Arka, Bhanu, Asavaha, and
all created beings. Ravi. Of these Vivasvan of old, Mahya was
It is called Mahadivya, and was formed at the youngest whose son was Devavrata. The
the beginning of the Yuga, in which we are latter had for his son, Suvrata who, we learn,
told, was the true light Brahma, the eternal had three sons,--Dasa-jyoti, Sata-jyoti, and
one, the wonderful and inconceivable being Sahasra-jyoti, each of them producing
THE MAHABHARATA
numerous offspring. in person to the place where the latter was,
The illustrious Dasa-jyoti had ten thousand, for gratifying the saint, and benefiting the
Sata-jyoti ten times that number, and people.
Sahasra-jyoti ten times the number of Sata- And when Vyasa, surrounded by all the
jyoti’s offspring. tribes of Munis, saw him, he was surprised;
From these are descended the family of and, standing with joined palms, he bowed
the Kurus, of the Yadus, and of Bharata; the and ordered a seat to be brought.
family of Yayati and of Iksvaku; also of all And Vyasa having gone round him who
the Rajarshis. is called Hiranyagarbha seated on that
Numerous also were the generations distinguished seat stood near it; and being
produced, and very abundant were the commanded by Brahma Parameshthi, he
creatures and their places of abode. sat down near the seat, full of affection and
The mystery which is threefold--the Vedas, smiling in joy.
Yoga, and Vijnana Dharma, Artha, and
Kama--also various books upon the subject Then the greatly glorious Vyasa, addressing
of Dharma, Artha, and Kama; also rules for Brahma Parameshthi, said,
the conduct of mankind; also histories and “O divine Brahma, by me a poem hath
discourses with various srutis; all of which been composed which is greatly respected.
having been seen by the Rishi Vyasa are The mystery of the Veda, and what other
here in due order mentioned as a specimen subjects have been explained by me; the
of the book. various rituals of the Upanishads with the
Angas; the compilation of the Puranas and
Vyasa composes Maha-bharata - Ganesa history formed by me and named after
the three divisions of time, past, present,
The Rishi Vyasa published this mass of and future; the determination of the
knowledge in both a detailed and an nature of decay, fear, disease, existence,
abridged form. and non-existence, a description of
It is the wish of the learned in the world to creeds and of the various modes of
possess the details and the abridgement. life; rule for the four castes, and the
Some read the Bharata beginning with the import of all the Puranas; an account
initial mantra (invocation), others with the of asceticism and of the duties of a
story of Astika, others with Uparichara, religious student; the dimensions
while some Brahmanas study the whole. of the sun and moon, the planets,
Men of learning display their various constellations, and stars, together
knowledge of the institutes in commenting with the duration of the four ages; the
on the composition. Some are skilful in Rik, Sama and Yajur Vedas; also the
explaining it, while others, in remembering Adhyatma; the sciences called Nyaya,
its contents. Orthoephy and Treatment of diseases;
The son of Satyavati having, by penance charity and Pasupatadharma; birth
and meditation, analysed the eternal celestial and human, for particular
Veda, afterwards composed this holy purposes; also a description of places
history, when that learned Brahmarshi of of pilgrimage and other holy places of
strict vows, the noble Dwaipayana Vyasa, rivers, mountains, forests, the ocean,
offspring of Parasara, had finished this of heavenly cities and the kalpas;
greatest of narrations, he began to consider the art of war; the different kinds of
how he might teach it to his disciples. nations and languages: the nature of
And the possessor of the six attributes, the manners of the people; and the all-
Brahma, the world’s preceptor, knowing of pervading spirit;--all these have been
the anxiety of the Rishi Dwaipayana, came represented. But, after all, no writer of
THE MAHABHARATA
this work is to be found on earth.’ sooner thought of, than he repaired to the
place where Vyasa was seated. And when
“Brahma said. ‘I esteem thee for thy he had been saluted, and was seated, Vyasa
knowledge of divine mysteries, before addressed him thus,
the whole body of celebrated Munis ‘O guide of the Ganas! be thou the writer
distinguished for the sanctity of their lives. of the Bharata which I have formed in
I know thou hast revealed the divine word, my imagination, and which I am about to
even from its first utterance, in the language repeat.”
of truth.
Thou hast called thy present work a poem, “Ganesa, upon hearing this address, thus
wherefore it shall be a poem. answered, ‘I will become the writer of
There shall be no poets whose works may thy work, provided my pen do not for a
equal the descriptions of this poem, even, moment cease writing.”
as the three other modes called Asrama And Vyasa said unto that divinity,
are ever unequal in merit to the domestic ‘Wherever there be anything thou dost not
Asrama. comprehend, cease to continue writing.’
Let Ganesa be thought of, O Muni, for the Ganesa having signified his assent, by
purpose of writing the poem.’ repeating the word Om! proceeded to write;
and Vyasa began; and by way of diversion,
“Sauti said, ‘Brahma having thus spoken to he knit the knots of composition exceeding
Vyasa, retired to his own abode. close; by doing which, he dictated this work
Then Vyasa began to call to mind Ganesa. according to his engagement.
And Ganesa, obviator of obstacles, ready
to fulfil the desires of his votaries, was no I am (continued Sauti) acquainted with
THE MAHABHARATA
eight thousand and eight hundred verses,
and so is Suka, and perhaps . From the “Sauti continued, ‘I will now speak of the
mysteriousness of their meaning, O Muni, undying flowery and fruitful productions
no one is able, to this day, to penetrate of this tree, possessed of pure and pleasant
those closely knit difficult slokas. taste, and not to be destroyed even by the
Even the omniscient Ganesa took a immortals.
moment to consider; while Vyasa, however, Formerly, the spirited and virtuous
continued to compose other verses in great Krishna-
abundance. Dwaipayana, by
the injunctions
The wisdom of this work, like unto an of Bhishma,
instrument of applying collyrium, hath the wise son of
opened the eyes of the inquisitive world Ganga and of
blinded by the darkness of ignorance. his own mother,
As the sun dispelleth the darkness, so doth became the
the Bharata by its discourses on religion, father of three
profit, pleasure and final release, dispel the boys who were
ignorance of men. like the three
As the full-moon by its mild light fires by the
expandeth the buds of the water-lily, so this two wives of
Purana, by exposing the light of the Sruti Vicitravirya;
hath expanded the human intellect. By and having
the lamp of history, which destroyeth the thus
darkness of ignorance, the whole mansion raised up
of nature is properly and completely Dhritarastra,
illuminated. Pandu and
Vidura, he
This work is a tree, of which the chapter returned to his
of contents is the seed; the divisions called recluse abode
Pauloma and Astika are the root; the part to prosecute
called Sambhava is the trunk; the books his religious
called Sabha and Aranya are the roosting exercise.
perches; the books called Arani is the
knitting knots; the books called Virata and Vyasa
Udyoga the pith; the book named Bhishma, published the
the main branch; the book called Drona, book after the
the leaves; the book called Karna, the departure of
fair flowers; the book named Salya, their his sons
sweet smell; the books entitled Stri and It was not till after these were born, grown
Aishika, the refreshing shade; the book up, and departed on the supreme journey,
called Santi, the mighty fruit; the book that the great Rishi Vyasa published
called Aswamedha, the immortal sap; the the Bharata in this region of mankind;
denominated Asramavasika, the spot where when being solicited by Janamejaya and
it groweth; and the book called Mausala, is thousands of Brahmanas, he instructed
an epitome of the Vedas and held in great his disciple Vaisampayana, who was seated
respect by the virtuous Brahmanas. The tree near him; and he, sitting together with the
of the Bharata, inexhaustible to mankind as Sadasyas, recited the Bharata, during the
the clouds, shall be as a source of livelihood intervals of the ceremonies of the sacrifice,
to all distinguished poets.” being repeatedly urged to proceed.

THE MAHABHARATA
Vyasa hath fully represented the greatness to the Pitris, and Suka published them to
of the house of Kuru, the virtuous the Gandharvas, Yakshas, and Rakshasas:
principles of Gandhari, the wisdom of and in this world they were recited by
Vidura, and the constancy of Kunti. The Vaisampayana, one of the disciples of Vyasa,
noble Rishi hath also described the divinity a man of just principles and the first among
of Vasudeva , the rectitude of the sons of all those acquainted with the Vedas.
Pandu, and the evil practices of the Know that I, Sauti, have also repeated one
sons and hundred thousand verses.
partisans of
Dhritarastra. Yudhishthira is a vast tree, formed of
religion and virtue; Arjuna is its trunk;
Continue... Bhimasena, its branches; the two sons of
Vyasa executed Madri are its full-grown fruit and flowers;
the compilation and its roots are Krishna, Brahma, and the
of the Bharata, Brahmanas.
exclusive of
the episodes Summary, from Pandu on
originally in Pandu, after having subdued many
twenty-four countries by his wisdom and prowess, took
thousand up his abode with the Munis in a certain
verses; and so forest as a sportsman, where he brought
much only is upon himself a very severe misfortune for
called by the having killed a stag coupling with its mate,
learned as the which served as a warning for the conduct
Bharata. of the princes of his house as long as they
Afterwards, he lived.
composed an Their mothers, in order that the ordinances
epitome in one of the law might be fulfilled, admitted
hundred and fifty as substitutes to their embraces the gods
verses, consisting Dharma, Vayu, Sakra, and the divinities the
of the introduction twin Aswins.
with the chapter And when their offspring grew up, under
of contents. the care of their two mothers, in the society
This he first of ascetics, in the midst of sacred groves and
taught to his holy recluse-abodes of religious men, they
son Suka; and were conducted by Rishis into the presence
afterwards of Dhritarashtra and his sons, following
he gave it to others of as students in the habit of Brahmacharis,
his disciples who were possessed of having their hair tied in knots on their
the same qualifications. heads.
After that he executed another compilation, ‘These our pupils’, said they, ‘are as your
consisting of six hundred thousand verses. sons, your brothers, and your friends;
Of those, thirty hundred thousand are they are Pandavas.’ Saying this, the Munis
known in the world of the Devas; fifteen disappeared.
hundred thousand in the world of the Pitris: When the Kauravas saw them introduced as
fourteen hundred thousand among the the sons of Pandu, the distinguished class
Gandharvas, and one hundred thousand in of citizens shouted exceedingly for joy.
the regions of mankind. Some, however, said, they were not the sons
Narada recited them to the Devas, Devala of Pandu; others said, they were; while a

THE MAHABHARATA
few asked how they could be his offspring, (the king of Magadha) and the proud
seeing he had been so long dead. Still on all Chaidya, acquired the right to perform the
sides voices were heard crying, grand sacrifice of Rajasuya abounding in
‘They are on all accounts welcome! Through provisions and offering and fraught with
divine Providence we behold the family of transcendent merits.
Pandu! Let their welcome be proclaimed!’ And Duryodhana came to this sacrifice;
As these acclamations ceased, the plaudits and when he beheld the vast wealth of the
of invisible spirits, causing every point of Pandavas scattered all around, the offerings,
the heavens to resound, were tremendous. the precious stones, gold and jewels; the
There were showers of sweet-scented wealth in cows, elephants, and horses; the
flowers, and the sound of shells and kettle- curious textures, garments, and mantles; the
drums. precious shawls and furs and carpets made
Such were the wonders that happened on of the skin of the Ranku; he was filled with
the arrival of the young princes. envy and became exceedingly displeased.
The joyful noise of all the citizens, in And when he beheld the hall of assembly
expression of their satisfaction on the elegantly constructed by Maya (the Asura
occasion, was so great that it reached the architect) after the fashion of a celestial
very heavens in magnifying plaudits. court, he was inflamed with rage.
And having started in confusion at certain
Having studied the whole of the Vedas architectural deceptions within this
and sundry other shastras, the Pandavas building, he was derided by Bhimasena in
resided there, respected by all and without the presence of Vasudeva, like one of mean
apprehension from any one. descent.
The principal men were pleased with the And it was represented to Dhritarashtra
purity of Yudhishthira, the courage of that his son, while partaking of various
Arjuna, the submissive attention of Kunti to objects of enjoyment and diverse precious
her superiors, and the humility of the twins, things, was becoming meagre, wan, and
Nakula and Sahadeva; and all the people pale. And Dhritarashtra, some time after,
rejoiced in their heroic virtues. out of affection for his son, gave his consent
to their playing (with the Pandavas) at dice.
After a while, Arjuna obtained the virgin And Vasudeva coming to know of this,
Krishna at the swayamvara, in the midst of became exceedingly wroth. And being
a concourse of Rajas, by performing a very dissatisfied, he did nothing to prevent
difficult feat of archery. the disputes, but overlooked the gaming
And from this time he became very much and sundry other horried unjustifiable
respected in this world among all bowmen; transactions arising therefrom: and in spite
and in fields of battle also, like the sun, he of Vidura, Bhishma, Drona, and Kripa, the
was hard to behold by foe-men. son of Saradwan, he made the Kshatriyas
And having vanquished all the kill each other in the terrific war that
neighbouring princes and every ensued.’
considerable tribe, he accomplished all
that was necessary for the Raja (his eldest “And Dhritarashtra hearing the ill news of
brother) to perform the great sacrifice called the success of the Pandavas and recollecting
Rajasuya. the resolutions of Duryodhana, Kama, and
Sakuni, pondered for a while and addressed
Yudhishthira, after having, through the wise to Sanjaya the following speech:--
counsels of Vasudeva and by the valour of ‘Attend, O Sanjaya, to all I am about to say,
Bhimasena and Arjuna, slain Jarasandha and it will not become thee to treat me
THE MAHABHARATA
with contempt. Thou art well-versed in then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
the shastras, intelligent and endowed with
wisdom. My inclination was never to war, When I heard that the five Pandavas with
not did I delight in the destruction of my their mother Kunti had escaped from the
race. I made no distinction between my house of lac, and that Vidura was engaged in
own children and the children of Pandu. the accomplishment of their designs, then,
My own sons were prone to wilfulness O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
and despised me because I am old. Blind
as I am, because of my miserable plight When I heard that Arjuna, after having
and through paternal affection, I bore pierced the mark in the arena had won
it all. I was foolish alter the thoughtless Draupadi, and that the brave Panchalas had
Duryodhana ever growing in folly. Having joined the Pandavas, then, O Sanjaya, I had
been a spectator of the riches of the mighty no hope of success.
sons of Pandu, my son was derided for
his awkwardness while ascending the hall. When I heard that Jarasandha, the foremost
Unable to bear it all and unable himself to of the royal line of Magadha, and blazing in
overcome the sons of Pandu in the field, the midst of the Kshatriyas, had been slain
and though a soldier, unwilling yet to obtain by Bhima with his bare arms alone, then, O
good fortune by his own exertion, with the Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
help of the king of Gandhara he concerted
an unfair game at dice. When I heard that in their general
campaign the sons of Pandu had conquered
‘Hear, O Sanjaya, all that happened the chiefs of the land and performed the
thereupon and came to my knowledge. grand sacrifice of the Rajasuya, then, O
And when thou hast heard all I say, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
recollecting everything as it fell out, thou
shall then know me for one with a prophetic When I heard that Draupadi, her voice
eye. choked with tears and heart full of agony, in
the season of impurity and with but one
When I heard that Arjuna, having bent the raiment on, had been dragged into court
bow, had pierced the curious mark and and though she had protectors, she had
brought it down to the ground, and bore been treated as if she had none, then, O
away in triumph the maiden Krishna, in the Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
sight of the assembled princes, then, O
Sanjaya I had no hope of success. When I heard that the wicked wretch
Duhsasana, was striving to strip her of that
When I heard that Subhadra of the race of single garment, had only drawn from her
Madhu had, after forcible seizure been person a large heap of cloth without being
married by Arjuna in the city of Dwaraka, able to arrive at its end, then, O Sanjaya, I
and that the two heroes of the race of had no hope of success.
Vrishni (Krishna and Balarama the brothers
of Subhadra) without resenting it had When I heard that Yudhishthira, beaten by
entered Indraprastha as friends, then, O Saubala at the game of dice and deprived of
Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. his kingdom as a consequence thereof, had
still been attended upon by his brothers of
When I heard that Arjuna, by his celestial incomparable prowess, then, O Sanjaya, I
arrow preventing the downpour by Indra had no hope of success.
the king of the gods, had gratified Agni by
making over to him the forest of Khandava, When I heard that the virtuous Pandavas
THE MAHABHARATA
regions, had there obtained celestial
weapons from Indra himself then, O
Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
When I heard that afterwards Arjuna had

vanquished the Kalakeyas and the Paulomas
proud with the boon they had obtained and
which had rendered them invulnerable
even to the celestials, then, O Sanjaya, I had
no hope of success.
When I heard that Arjuna, the chastiser of

enemies, having gone to the regions of
Indra for the destruction of the Asuras, had
returned thence successful, then, O Sanjaya,
I had no hope of success.
When I heard that Bhima and the other

sons of Pritha (Kunti) accompanied by
Vaisravana had arrived at that country
which is inaccessible to man then, O
When I heard that my sons, guided by the

counsels of Karna, while on their journey of
Ghoshayatra, had been taken prisoners by
the Gandharvas and were set free by Arjuna,
then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
weeping with affliction had followed their When I heard that Dharma (the god of
elder brother to the wilderness and exerted justice) having come under the form of a
themselves variously for the mitigation of Yaksha had proposed certain questions to
his discomforts, then, O Sanjaya, I had no Yudhishthira then, O Sanjaya, I had no
hope of success.‘ hope of success.
When I heard that Yudhishthira had been When I heard that my sons had failed to
followed into the wilderness by Snatakas discover the Pandavas under their disguise
and noble-minded Brahmanas who live while residing with Draupadi in the
upon alms, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope dominions of Virata, then, O Sanjaya, I had
of success. no hope of success.
When I heard that Arjuna, having, in When I heard that the principal men of my
combat, pleased the god of gods, side had all been vanquished by the noble
Tryambaka (the three-eyed) in the disguise Arjuna with a single chariot while residing
of a hunter, obtained the great weapon in the dominions of Virata, then, O Sanjaya,
Pasupata, then O Sanjaya, I had no hope of I had no hope of success.
success.
When I heard that Vasudeva of the race of
When I heard that the just and renowned Madhu, who covered this whole earth by
Arjuna after having been to the celestial one foot, was heartily interested in the

THE MAHABHARATA
welfare of the Pandavas, then, O Sanjaya, I these three of dreadful energy had come
had no hope of success. together, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of
success.
When I heard that the king of Matsya, had
offered his virtuous daughter Uttara to When I heard that upon Arjuna having
Arjuna and that Arjuna had accepted her for been seized with compunction on his
his son, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of chariot and ready to sink, Krishna showed
success. him all the worlds within his body, then, O
When I heard that Yudhishthira, beaten at When I heard that Bhishma, the desolator
dice, deprived of wealth, exiled and of foes, killing ten thousand charioteers
separated from his connections, had every day in the field of battle, had not slain
assembled yet an army of seven any amongst the Pandavas then, O Sanjaya,
Akshauhinis, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope I had no hope of success.
of success. When I heard Narada, declare
that Krishna and Arjuna were Nara and When I heard that Bhishma, the righteous
Narayana and he (Narada) had seen them son of Ganga, had himself indicated the
together in the regions of Brahma, then, O means of his defeat in the field of battle and
Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. that the same were accomplished by the
Pandavas with joyfulness, then, O Sanjaya, I
When I heard that Krishna, anxious to bring had no hope of success.
about peace, for the welfare of mankind had
repaired to the Kurus, and went away When I heard that Arjuna, having placed
without having been able to effect his Sikhandin before himself in his chariot, had
purpose, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of
success.
When I heard that Kama and Duryodhana

resolved upon imprisoning Krishna
displayed in himself the whole universe,
Then I heard that at the time of his
departure, Pritha (Kunti) standing, full of
sorrow, near his chariot received
consolation from Krishna, then, O Sanjaya,
I had no hope of success.
When I heard that Vasudeva and Bhishma

the son of Santanu were the counsellors of
the Pandavas and Drona the son of
Bharadwaja pronounced blessings on them,
When Kama said unto Bhishma--I will not
fight when thou art fighting--and, quitting
the army, went away, then, O Sanjaya, I had
no hope of success.
When I heard that Vasudeva and Arjuna and

the bow Gandiva of immeasurable prowess,
THE MAHABHARATA
wounded Bhishma of infinite courage and hope of success.
invincible in battle, then, O Sanjaya, I had
no hope of success. When I heard that Arjuna had vowed the
death of Saindhava and fulfilled his vow in
When I heard that the aged hero Bhishma, the presence of his enemies, then, O
having reduced the numbers of the race of Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
shomaka to a few, overcome with various
wounds was lying on a bed of arrows, then, When I heard that upon the horses of
O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. Arjuna being fatigued, Vasudeva releasing
them made them drink water and bringing
When I heard that upon Bhishma’s lying on them back and reharnessing them
the ground with thirst for water, Arjuna, continued to guide them as before, then, O
being requested, had pierced the ground Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
and allayed his thirst, then, O Sanjaya, I had
no hope of success. When Bayu together When I heard that while his horses were
with Indra and Suryya united as allies for fatigued, Arjuna staying in his chariot
the success of the sons of Kunti, and the checked all his assailants, then, O Sanjaya, I
beasts of prey (by their inauspicious had no hope of success.
presence) were putting us in fear, then, O
Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When the When I heard that Yuyudhana of the race of
wonderful warrior Drona, displaying Vrishni, after having thrown into confusion
various modes of fight in the field, did not the army of Drona rendered unbearable in
slay any of the superior Pandavas, then, O prowess owing to the presence of elephants,
Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. retired to where Krishna and Arjuna were,
When I heard that the Maharatha
Sansaptakas of our army appointed for the When I heard that Karna even though he
overthrow of Arjuna were all slain by Arjuna had got Bhima within his power allowed
himself, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of him to escape after only addressing him in
success. contemptuous terms and dragging him with
the end of his bow, then, O Sanjaya, I had
When I heard that our disposition of forces, no hope of success.
impenetrable by others, and defended by
Bharadwaja himself well-armed, had been When I heard that Drona, Kritavarma,
singly forced and entered by the brave son Kripa, Karna, the son of Drona, and the
of Subhadra, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope valiant king of Madra (Salya) suffered
of success. Saindhava to be slain, then, O Sanjaya, I had
no hope of success.
When I heard that our Maharathas, unable
to overcome Arjuna, with jubilant faces after When I heard that the celestial Sakti given
having jointly surrounded and slain the boy by Indra (to Karna) was by Madhava’s
Abhimanyu, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope machinations caused to be hurled upon
of success. Rakshasa Ghatotkacha of frightful
countenance, then, O Sanjaya, I had no
When I heard that the blind Kauravas were hope of success.
shouting for joy after having slain
Abhimanyu and that thereupon Arjuna in When I heard that in the encounter
anger made his celebrated speech referring between Karna and Ghatotkacha, that Sakti
to Saindhava, then, O Sanjaya, I had no was hurled against Ghatotkacha by Karna,
THE MAHABHARATA
the same which was certainly to have slain When I heard that Duryodhana, spent with
Arjuna in battle, then, O Sanjaya. I had no fatigue, having gone to a lake and made a
hope of success. refuge for himself within its waters, was
lying there alone, his strength gone and
When I heard that Dhristadyumna, without a chariot, then, O Sanjaya, I had no
transgressing the laws of battle, slew Drona hope of success.
while alone in his chariot and resolved on
death, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of When I heard that the Pandavas having
success. gone to that lake accompanied by Vasudeva
and standing on its beach began to address
When I heard that Nakula. the son of Madri, contemptuously my son who was incapable
having in the presence of the whole army of putting up with affronts, then, O Sanjaya,
engaged in single combat with the son of I had no hope of success.
Drona and showing himself equal to him
drove his chariot in circles around, then, O When I heard that while, displaying in
Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When circles a variety of curious modes (of attack
upon the death of Drona, his son misused and defence) in an encounter with clubs, he
the weapon called Narayana but failed to was unfairly slain according to the counsels
achieve the destruction of the Pandavas, of Krishna, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope
then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. of success. When I heard the son of Drona
and others by slaying the Panchalas and the
When I heard that Bhimasena drank the sons of Draupadi in their sleep, perpetrated
blood of his brother Duhsasana in the field a horrible and infamous deed, then, O
of battle without anybody being able to Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
prevent him, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope
of success. When I heard that Aswatthaman while
being pursued by Bhimasena had
When I heard that the infinitely brave discharged the first of weapons called
Karna, invincible in battle, was slain by Aishika, by which the embryo in the womb
Arjuna in that war of brothers mysterious (of Uttara) was wounded, then, O Sanjaya, I
even to the gods, then, O Sanjaya, I had no had no hope of success.
hope of success.
When I heard that the weapon Brahmashira
When I heard that Yudhishthira, the Just, (discharged by Aswatthaman) was repelled
overcame the heroic son of Drona, by Arjuna with another weapon over which
Duhsasana, and the fierce Kritavarman, he had pronounced the word “Sasti” and
then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. that Aswatthaman had to give up the jewel-
like excrescence on his head, then, O
When I heard that the brave king of Madra Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
who ever dared Krishna in battle was slain When I heard that upon the embryo in the
by Yudhishthira, then, O Sanjaya, I had no womb of Virata’s daughter being wounded
hope of success. by Aswatthaman with a mighty weapon,
Dwaipayana and Krishna pronounced
When I heard that the wicked Suvala of curses on him, then, O Sanjaya, I had no
magic power, the root of the gaming and hope of success.
the feud, was slain in battle by Sahadeva, the
son of Pandu, then, O Sanjaya, I had no ‘Alas! Gandhari, destitute of children,
hope of success. grand-children, parents, brothers, and
kindred, is to be pitied. Difficult is the task

THE MAHABHARATA
that hath been performed by the Pandavas: with fit offerings (to the Brahmanas),
by them hath a kingdom been recovered obtained renown in this world and at last
without a rival. succumbed to the sway of time.
Such were Saivya; the valiant Maharatha;
‘Alas! I have heard that the war hath left Srinjaya, great amongst conquerors.
only ten alive: three of our side, and the Suhotra; Rantideva, and Kakshivanta,
Pandavas, seven, in that dreadful conflict great in glory; Valhika, Damana, Saryati,
eighteen Akshauhinis of Kshatriyas have Ajita, and Nala; Viswamitra the destroyer
been slain!
All around me is utter
darkness, and a fit of
swoon assaileth me:
consciousness leaves
me, O Suta, and my
mind is distracted.”
“Sauti said,
‘Dhritarashtra,
bewailing his fate
in these words, was
overcome with extreme
anguish and for a time
deprived of sense;
but being revived, he
addressed Sanjaya in
the following words.
“After what hath come

to pass, O Sanjaya, I
wish to put an end to
my life without delay;
I do not find the least
advantage in cherishing
it any longer.”
of foes; Amvarisha, great in strength;
“Sauti said, ‘The wise son of Gavalgana Marutta, Manu, Ikshaku, Gaya, and Bharata;
(Sanjaya) then addressed the distressed lord Rama the son of Dasaratha; Sasavindu,
of Earth while thus talking and bewailing, and Bhagiratha; Kritavirya, the greatly
sighing like a serpent and repeatedly fortunate, and Janamejaya too; and Yayati of
tainting, in words of deep import. good deeds who performed sacrifices, being
assisted therein by the celestials themselves,
“Thou hast heard, O Raja, of the greatly and by whose sacrificial altars and stakes
powerful men of vast exertions, spoken of this earth with her habited and uninhabited
by Vyasa and the wise Narada; men born regions hath been marked all over.
of great royal families, resplendent with These twenty-four Rajas were formerly
worthy qualities, versed in the science of spoken of by the celestial Rishi Narada unto
celestial arms, and in glory emblems of Saivya when much afflicted for the loss of
Indra; men who having conquered the his children.
world by justice and performed sacrifices Besides these, other Rajas had gone before,

THE MAHABHARATA
still more powerful than they, mighty acquainted, O prince, with the lenity and
charioteers noble in mind, and resplendent severity of fate; this anxiety therefore for
with every worthy quality. the safety of thy children is unbecoming.
Moreover, it behoveth thee not to grieve for
These were Puru, Kuru, Yadu, Sura that which must happen: for who can avert,
and Viswasrawa of great glory; Anuha, by his wisdom, the decrees of fate? No one
Yuvanaswu, Kakutstha, Vikrami, and Raghu; can leave the way marked out for him by
Vijava, Virihorta, Anga, Bhava, Sweta, and Providence. Existence and non-existence,
Vripadguru; Usinara, Sata-ratha, Kanka, pleasure and pain all have Time for their
Duliduha, and Druma; Dambhodbhava, root. Time createth all things and Time
Para, Vena, Sagara, Sankriti, and Nimi; destroyeth all creatures.
Ajeya, Parasu, Pundra, Sambhu, and holy It is Time that burneth creatures and it is
Deva-Vridha; Devahuya, Supratika, and Time that extinguisheth the fire.
Vrihad-ratha; Mahatsaha, Vinitatma, All states, the good and the evil, in the three
Sukratu, and Nala, the king of the Nishadas; worlds, are caused by Time. Time cutteth
Satyavrata, Santabhaya, Sumitra, and the short all things and createth them anew.
chief Subala; Janujangha, Anaranya, Arka, Time alone is awake when all things are
Priyabhritya, Chuchi-vrata, Balabandhu, asleep: indeed, Time is incapable of being
Nirmardda, Ketusringa, and Brhidbala; overcome. Time passeth over all things
Dhrishtaketu, Brihatketu, Driptaketu, without being retarded. Knowing, as thou
and Niramaya; Abikshit, Chapala, dost, that all things past and future and all
Dhurta, Kritbandhu, and Dridhe-shudhi; that exist at the present moment, are the
Mahapurana-sambhavya, Pratyanga, Paraha offspring of Time, it behoveth thee not to
and Sruti. These, O chief, and other Rajas, throw away thy reason.’
we hear enumerated by hundreds and by
thousands, and still others by millions, “Sauti said, ‘The son of Gavalgana having
princes of great power and wisdom, quitting in this manner administered comfort
very abundant enjoyments met death as thy to the royal Dhritarashtra
sons have done! overwhelmed with grief
for his sons, then restored
Their heavenly deeds, valour, and his mind to peace.
generosity, their magnanimity, faith, truth, Taking these facts
purity, simplicity and mercy, are published for his subject,
to the world in the records of former Dwaipayana
times by sacred bards of great learning. mposed a holy
Though endued with every noble virtue, anishad that has
these have yielded up their lives. Thy sons been published
were malevolent, inflamed with passion, to the world by
avaricious, and of very evil-disposition. learned and
Thou art versed in the Sastras, O Bharata, sacred
and art intelligent and wise; bards
they never sink in the
under misfortunes Puranas
whose mposed
understandings by
are guided them.
by
the Sastras.
Thou art
THE MAHABHARATA
The glory of reading Maha-bharata and nectar among medicines; as the sea is
eminent among receptacles of water, and
“The study of the Bharata is an act of the cow among quadrupeds; as are these
piety. He that readeth even one foot, with (among the things mentioned) so is the
belief, hath his sins entirely purged away. Bharata said to be among histories.
Herein Devas, Devarshis, and immaculate
Brahmarshis of good deeds, have been “He that causeth it, even a single foot
spoken of; and likewise Yakshas and great thereof, to be recited to Brahmanas during
Uragas (Nagas). Herein also hath been a Sradha, his offerings of food and drink
described the eternal Vasudeva possessing to the manes of his ancestors become
the six attributes. He is the true and just, inexhaustible.
the pure and holy, the eternal Brahma, “By the aid of history and the Puranas, the
the supreme soul, the true constant light, Veda may be expounded; but the Veda is
whose divine deeds wise and learned afraid of one of little information lest he
recount; from whom hath proceeded the should it. The learned man who recites to
non-existent and existent-non-existent other this Veda of Vyasa reapeth advantage.
universe with principles of generation and It may without doubt destroy even the sin
progression, and birth, death and re-birth. of killing the embryo and the like. He that
That also hath been treated of which is readeth this holy chapter of the moon,
called Adhyatma (the superintending spirit readeth the whole of the Bharata, I ween.
of nature) that partaketh of the attributes The man who with reverence daily listeneth
of the five elements. That also hath been to this sacred work acquireth long life and
described who is purusha being above such renown and ascendeth to heaven.
epithets as ‘undisplayed’ and the like; also
that which the foremost yatis exempt from “In former days, having placed the four
the common destiny and endued with the Vedas on one side and the Bharata on the
power of meditation and Tapas behold other, these were weighed in the balance by
dwelling in their hearts as a reflected image the celestials assembled for that purpose.
in the mirror. And as the latter weighed heavier than the
four Vedas with their mysteries, from that
“The man of faith, devoted to piety, period it hath been called in the world
and constant in the exercise of Mahabharata (the great Bharata). Being
virtue, on reading this section is esteemed superior both in substance
freed from sin. The believer and gravity of import it is denominated
that constantly heareth recited Mahabharata on account of such substance
this section of the Bharata, and gravity of import. He that knoweth its
called the Introduction, meaning is saved from all his sins.
from the beginning, falleth
not into difficulties. The ‘Tapa is innocent, study is harmless, the
man repeating any part ordinance of the Vedas prescribed for all
of the introduction in the the tribes are harmless, the acquisition of
two twilights is during such wealth by exertion is harmless; but when
act freed from the sins they are abused in their practices it is then
contracted during the day that they become sources of evil.’”
or the night. This section, the
body of the Bharata, is truth
and nectar. As butter is in curd,
Brahmana among bipeds, the
Aranyaka among the Vedas,
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Nº1 February- 2018 | Kadacha | 1

2 | Kadacha | January 2018

Nº1 February- 2018 | Kadacha | 3

BHAKTIVEDANTA VRAJA TEMPLES

4 | Kadacha | Nº1 February- 2018

DEVOTEES IN THE WORLD

Nº1 February- 2018 | Kadacha | 5

The Four Vedas are: Upavedas

Darsana Sastra In the next issues of Kadacha we will

Then there are others called Upa Purana

tad viddhi pranipatena

“Simply try to learn the

Nº1 February- 2018 | Kadacha | 13

A given writing can be authentic,

The most qualified people

This level drops

Prabhupada: devotees, transcendentalists, they, doing

In this age of Kali, the age of quarrel and

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna

So anyway, all of them, the

And besides that, besides them,

trai-vidya mam soma-pah puta-

Deva-bhogan means this is with

So either they try to go to other planets,

Anyway, the process is mentioned,

Karma-kanda means this, how we

You cannot be free from sinful reaction

Tapoloka means those who have

Nº1 February- 2018 | Kadacha | 19

te tam bhuktva svarga-

So those who are so

So the materialists who want to go to the Gatagatam kama-kama labhante. Kama-

24 | Kadacha | Nº1 February- 2018

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati:

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati:

In this world there are two ways of

Bhaktivinode Thakur discusses the glories of Sri Radha Kund in his

Sri-radha-krishnera svabhavika mahatmya varna- na-dvara sadhakera citte dridhata

— Translated from the Sri Upadesamrita with

Devas years Human years

Satya-Yuga sandhya 400 144,000

Treta-Yuga sandhya 300 108,000

Dvapara-Yuga sandhya 200 72,000

Kali-Yuga sandhya 100 36000

Maha-yuga Total 12000 4,320,000

30 | Kadacha | Nº1 February- 2018

Deva years Human years

Day and night 24,000 8,640,000

Month of Brahma: 720,000 259,200,000,000

Year of Brahma: 8,640,000 3,110,400,000,000

Some codes for calculating time:

360 human years = 1 of the Devas

9090 human years = Inhabitants of Dhruva Loka

Vishnu Causal Ocean

Nº1 February- 2018 | Kadacha | 31

Other information in the following tables:

32 | Kadacha | Nº1 February- 2018

10. Manu: Brahmasavarni

11. Manu: Dharmasavarni

12. Manu: Rudrasavarni

13. Manu: Devasavarni

14. Manu: Indrasavarni