Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Canto 9: Liberation | Chapter 23: The Dynasties of the Sons of Yayati |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 9.23.20-21
yatravatirno bhagavan
paramatma narakritih
satajit prathamatmajah
mahahayo renuhayo
SYNONYMS
yatra -- wherein, in which dynasty; avatirnah -- descended; bhagavan -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna; paramatma -- who is the Supersoul of all living entities; nara-akritih -- a person, exactly resembling a human being; yadoh -- of Yadu; sahasrajit -- Sahasrajit; kroshta -- Kroshta; nalah -- Nala; ripuh -- Ripu; iti srutah -- thus they are celebrated; catvarah -- four; sunavah -- sons; tatra -- therein; satajit -- Satajit; prathama-atmajah -- of the first sons; mahahayah -- Mahahaya; renuhayah -- Renuhaya; haihayah -- Haihaya; ca -- and; iti -- thus; tat-sutah -- his sons (the sons of Satajit).
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, the Supersoul in the hearts of all living entities, descended in His original form as a human being in the dynasty or family of Yadu. Yadu had four sons, named Sahasrajit, Kroshta, Nala and Ripu. Of these four, the eldest, Sahasrajit, had a son named Satajit, who had three sons, named Mahahaya, Renuhaya and Haihaya.
PURPORT
As confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11):
brahmeti paramatmeti
"Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan." The majority of transcendentalists understand only the impersonal Brahman or localized Paramatma, for the Personality of Godhead is very difficult to understand. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (7.3):
"Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth." The yogis and jnanis -- that is, the mystic yogis and the impersonalists -- can understand the Absolute Truth as impersonal or localized, but although such realized souls are above ordinary human beings, they cannot understand how the Supreme Absolute Truth can be a person. Therefore it is said that out of many siddhas, the souls who have already realized the Absolute Truth, one may understand Krishna, who exactly resembles a human being (narakriti). This human form was explained by Krishna Himself after He manifested the virat-rupa. The virat-rupa is not the original form of the Lord; the Lord's original form is Dvibhuja-syamasundara, Muralidhara, the Lord with two hands, playing a flute (yam syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam). The Lord's forms are proof of His inconceivable qualities. Although the Lord maintains innumerable universes within the period of His breath, He is dressed with a form exactly like that of a human being. That does not mean, however, that He is a human being. This is His original form, but because He looks like a human being, those with a poor fund of knowledge consider Him an ordinary man. The Lord says:
"Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be." (Bg. 9.11) By the Lord's param bhavam, or transcendental nature, He is the all-pervading Paramatma living in the core of the hearts of all living entities, yet He looks like a human being. Mayavada philosophy says that the Lord is originally impersonal but assumes a human form and many other forms when He descends. Actually, however, He is originally like a human being, and the impersonal Brahman consists of the rays of His body (yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti [Bs. 5.40]).
Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness