Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.8.6
yājayitvāśvamedhais tam
śata-manyor ivātanot
SYNONYMS
yājayitvā — by performing; aśvamedhaih — yajña in which a horse is sacrificed; tam — him (King Yudhishthira); tribhih — three; uttama — best; kalpakaih — supplied with proper ingredients and performed by able priests; tat — that; yaśah — fame; pāvanam — virtuous; dikshu — all directions; śata-manyoh — Indra, who performed one hundred such sacrifices; iva — like; atanot — spread.
TRANSLATION
Lord Śrī Krishna caused three well-performed Aśvamedha-yajñas [horse sacrifices] to be conducted by Mahārāja Yudhishthira and thus caused his virtuous fame to be glorified in all directions, like that of Indra, who had performed one hundred such sacrifices.
PURPORT
This is something like the preface to the performances of Aśvamedha-yajña by Mahārāja Yudhishthira. The comparison of Mahārāja Yudhishthira to the King of heaven is significant. The King of heaven is thousands and thousands of times greater than Mahārāja Yudhishthira in opulence, yet the fame of Mahārāja Yudhishthira was not less. The reason is that Mahārāja Yudhishthira was a pure devotee of the Lord, and by His grace only was King Yudhishthira on the level of the King of heaven, even though he performed only three yajñas whereas the King of heaven performed hundreds. That is the prerogative of the devotee of the Lord. The Lord is equal to everyone, but a devotee of the Lord is more glorified because he is always in touch with the all-great. The sun rays are equally distributed, but still there are some places which are always dark. This is not due to the sun but to the receptive power. Similarly, those who are cent percent devotees of the Lord get the full-fledged mercy of the Lord, which is always equally distributed everywhere.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness