Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.30.44

atha niryāya salilāt

pracetasa udanvataḥ

vīkṣyākupyan drumaiś channāḿ

gāḿ gāḿ roddhum ivocchritaiḥ

SYNONYMS

atha — thereafter; niryāya — after coming out; salilāt — from the water; pracetasaḥ — all the Pracetās; udanvataḥ — of the sea; vīkṣya — having observed; akupyan — became very angry; drumaiḥ — by trees; channām — covered; gām — the world; gām — the heavenly planets; roddhum — to obstruct; iva — as if; ucchritaiḥ — very tall.

TRANSLATION

Thereafter all the Pracetās emerged from the waters of the sea. They then saw that all the trees on land had grown very tall, as if to obstruct the path to the heavenly planets. These trees had covered the entire surface of the world. At this time the Pracetās became very angry.

PURPORT

King Prācīnabarhiṣat left his kingdom before his sons arrived after their execution of penance and austerity. The sons, the Pracetās, were ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to come out of the water and go to the kingdom of their father in order to take care of that kingdom. However, when they came out, they saw that everything had been neglected due to the King's absence. They first observed that food grains were not being produced and that there were no agricultural activities. Indeed, the surface of the world was practically covered by very tall trees. It seemed as though the trees were determined to stop people from going into outer space to reach the heavenly kingdoms. The Pracetās became very angry when they saw the surface of the globe covered in this way. They desired that the land be cleared for crops.

It is not a fact that jungles and trees attract clouds and rain, because we find rainfall over the sea. Human beings can inhabit any place on the surface of the earth by clearing jungles and converting land for agricultural purposes. People can keep cows, and all economic problems can be solved in that way. One need only work to produce grains and take care of the cows. The wood found in the jungles may be used for constructing cottages. In this way the economic problem of humanity can be solved. At the present moment there are many vacant lands throughout the world, and if they are properly utilized, there will be no scarcity of food. As far as rain is concerned, it is the performance of yajña that attracts rain. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.14):

annād bhavanti bhūtāni

parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ

yajñād bhavati parjanyo

yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

"All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajña [sacrifice], and yajña is born of prescribed duties." By performing sacrifice, man will have sufficient rainfall and crops.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness