Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.2.2

sa ca kadācit pitriloka-kāmah sura-vara-vanitākrīdācala-dronyām bhagavantam viśva-srijām patim ābhrita-paricaryopakarana ātmaikāgryena tapasvy ārādhayām babhūva

SYNONYMS

sah — he (King Āgnīdhra); ca — also; kadācit — once upon a time; pitriloka — the Pitriloka planet; kāmah — desiring; sura-vara — of the great demigods; vanitā — the women; ākrīdā — the place of pastimes; acala-dronyām — in one valley of the Mandara Hill; bhagavantam — unto the most powerful (Lord Brahmā); viśva-srijām — of personalities who have created this universe; patim — the master; ābhrita — having collected; paricaryā-upakaranah — ingredients for worship; ātma — of the mind; eka-agryena — with full attention; tapasvī — one who executes austerity; ārādhayām babhūva — became engaged in worshiping.

TRANSLATION

Desiring to get a perfect son and become an inhabitant of Pitriloka, Mahārāja Āgnīdhra once worshiped Lord Brahmā, the master of those in charge of material creation. He went to a valley of Mandara Hill, where the damsels of the heavenly planets come down to stroll. There he collected garden flowers and other necessary paraphernalia and then engaged in severe austerities and worship.

PURPORT

The King became pitriloka-kāma, or desirous of being transferred to the planet named Pitriloka. Pitriloka is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (yānti deva-vratā devān pitrin yānti pitri-vratāh [Bg. 9.25]). To go to this planet, one needs very good sons who can make offerings to Lord Vishnu and then offer the remnants to their forefathers. The purpose of the śrāddha ceremony is to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, so that after pleasing Him one may offer prasāda to one's forefathers and in this way make them happy. The inhabitants of Pitriloka are generally men of the karma-kāndīya, or fruitive activities category, who have been transferred there because of their pious activities. They can stay there as long as their descendants offer them vishnu-prasāda. Everyone in heavenly planets such as Pitriloka, however, must return to earth after exhausting the effects of his pious acts. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.21), kshīne punye martya-lokam viśanti: persons who perform pious acts are transferred to higher planets, but when the effects of their pious acts are over, they are again transferred to earth.

Since Mahārāja Priyavrata was a great devotee, how could he have begotten a son who desired to be transferred to Pitriloka? Lord Krishna says, pitrin yānti pitri-vratāh: persons who desire to go to Pitriloka are transferred there. Similarly, yānti mad-yājino 'pi mām: persons who desire to be transferred to the spiritual planets, Vaikunthalokas, can also go there. Since Mahārāja Āgnīdhra was the son of a Vaishnava, he should have desired to be transferred to the spiritual world, Vaikunthaloka. Why, then, did he desire to be transferred to Pitriloka? In answer to this, Gosvāmī Giridhara, one of the Bhāgavatam commentators, remarks that Āgnīdhra was born when Mahārāja Priyavrata was infatuated by lusty desires. This may be accepted as a fact because sons are begotten with different mentalities according to the time of their conception. According to the Vedic system, therefore, before a child is conceived, the garbhādhāna-samskāra is performed. This ceremony molds the mentality of the father in such a way that when he plants his seed in the womb of his wife, he will beget a child whose mind will be completely saturated with a devotional attitude. At the present moment, however, there are no such garbhādhāna-samskāras, and therefore people generally have a lusty attitude when they beget children. Especially in this age of Kali, there are no garbhādhāna ceremonies; everyone enjoys sex with his wife like a cat or dog. Therefore according to śāstric injunctions, almost all the people of this age belong to the śūdra category. Of course, although Mahārāja Āgnīdhra had a desire to be transferred to Pitriloka, this does not mean that his mentality was that of a śūdra; he was a kshatriya.

Mahārāja Āgnīdhra desired to be transferred to Pitriloka, and therefore he needed a wife because anyone desiring to be transferred to Pitriloka must leave behind a good son to offer yearly pinda, or prasāda from Lord Vishnu. To have a good son, Mahārāja Āgnīdhra wanted a wife from a family of demigods. Therefore he went to Mandara Hill. where the women of the demigods generally come, to worship Lord Brahmā. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.12) it is said, kāńkshantah karmanām siddhim yajanta iha devatāh: materialists who want quick results in the material world worship demigods. This is also confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrī-aiśvarya-prajepsavah: those who desire beautiful wives, substantial wealth and many sons worship the demigods, but an intelligent devotee, instead of being entangled by the happiness of this material world in the form of a beautiful wife, material opulence and children, desires to be immediately transferred back home, back to Godhead. Thus he worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu.

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