Devanagari
श्रीशुक उवाच
उक्तं पुरस्तादेतत्ते चैद्य: सिद्धिं यथा गत: । द्विषन्नपि हृषीकेशं किमुताधोक्षजप्रिया: ॥ १३ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śuka uvāca
uktaṁ purastād etat te
caidyaḥ siddhiṁ yathā gataḥ
dviṣann api hṛṣīkeśaṁ
kim utādhokṣaja-priyāḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
;
uktam
—
spoken
;
purastāt
—
previously
;
etat
—
this
;
te
—
to you
;
caidyaḥ
—
the King of Cedi, Śiśupāla
;
siddhim
—
perfection
;
yathā
—
as
;
gataḥ
—
he attained
;
dviṣan
—
hating
;
api
—
even
;
hṛṣīkeśam
—
the Supreme Lord Hṛṣīkeśa
;
kim uta
—
what to speak then
;
adhokṣaja
—
to the transcendental Lord, who lies beyond the purview of ordinary senses
;
priyāḥ
—
of those devotees who are very dear .
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: This point was explained to you previously. Since even Śiśupāla, who hated Kṛṣṇa, achieved perfection, then what to speak of the Lord’s dear devotees.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: This point was explained to you previously. Since even Śiśupāla, who hated Kṛṣṇa, achieved perfection, then what to speak of the Lord's dear devotees.
KB 10.29.13
On hearing this question from Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied, “My dear King, your question is already answered, even before this incident.” Because Parīkṣit Mahārāja wanted to clear up the situation, his spiritual master answered him very intelligently: “Why are you again asking about the same subject matter which has already been explained to you? Why are you so forgetful?” A spiritual master is always in the superior position, so he has the right to chastise his disciple in this way. Śukadeva Gosvāmī knew that Mahārāja Parīkṣit asked the question not for his own understanding but as a warning to the future innocent people who might think others to be equal to Kṛṣṇa.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī then reminded Parīkṣit Mahārāja about the salvation of Śiśupāla. Śiśupāla was always envious of Kṛṣṇa, and because of his envy Kṛṣṇa killed him. But since Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śiśupāla gained salvation simply by seeing Him. If an envious person can get salvation simply by concentrating his mind on Kṛṣṇa, then what to speak of the gopīs, who are so dear to Kṛṣṇa and always think of Him in love? There must be some difference between the enemies and the friends. If Kṛṣṇa’s enemies could get freed from material contamination and become one with the Supreme, then certainly His dear friends like the gopīs can achieve such freedom and much more.
Besides that, in the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa is called Hṛṣīkeśa. Śukadeva Gosvāmī also said that Kṛṣṇa is Hṛṣīkeśa, the Supersoul. Whereas an ordinary man is a conditioned soul covered by the material body, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s body are the same because He is Hṛṣīkeśa. Any person making a distinction between Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s body is fool number one. Kṛṣṇa is Hṛṣīkeśa and Adhokṣaja. These two particular words have been used by Śukadeva Gosvāmī in this instance. Hṛṣīkeśa is the Supersoul, and Adhokṣaja is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, transcendental to the material nature. Just to show favor to the ordinary living entities, out of His causeless mercy He appears as He is. Unfortunately, foolish persons mistake Him to be an ordinary person, and so they become eligible to go to hell.
Purport
Although the spiritual nature of conditioned souls may be covered by illusion, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual nature is omnipotent and is never covered by any other power. In fact, all other powers are His energy and thus function according to His will. The
Brahma-saṁhitā
(5.44)
states,
sṛṣṭi sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā/
chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā
/
icchānurūpam api yasya ca ceṣṭate sā
: “The mighty Durgā, who creates, maintains and annihilates the material worlds, is the potency of the Supreme Lord, and she moves like His shadow, according to His desire.” Thus because the Lord’s spiritual influence does not depend on whether someone understands Him or not, the
gopīs’
spontaneous love for Kṛṣṇa guaranteed their spiritual perfection.
The great Madhvācārya quotes the following relevant passages from the
Skanda Purāṇa:
kṛṣṇa-kāmās tadā gopyas
tyaktvā dehaṁ divaṁ gatāḥ
samyak kṛṣṇaṁ para-brahma
jṣātvā kālāt paraṁ yayuḥ
“At that time the
gopīs,
who desired Kṛṣṇa, gave up their bodies and went to the spiritual world. Because they properly understood Kṛṣṇa to be the Supreme Absolute Truth, they transcended the influence of time.”
pūrvaṁ ca jṣāna-saṁyuktās
tatrāpi prāyaśas tathā
atas tāsāṁ paraṁ brahma
gatir āsīn na kāmataḥ
“In their previous lives most of the
gopīs
were already fully endowed with transcendental knowledge. It is because of this knowledge, not their lust, that they were able to attain the Supreme Brahman.”
na tu jṣānam ṛte mokṣo
nānyaḥ pantheti hi śrutiḥ
kāma-yuktā tadā bhaktir
jṣānaṁ cāto vimukti-gāḥ
“The
Vedas
declare that without spiritual knowledge there is no valid path to liberation. Because these apparently lusty
gopīs
possessed devotion and knowledge, they achieved liberation.”
ato mokṣe ’pi tāsāṁ ca
kāmo bhaktyānuvartate
mukti-śabdodito caidya-
prabhṛtau dveṣa-bhāginaḥ
“Thus even in their attainment of liberation, ‘lust’ followed as a manifestation of their pure devotion. After all, what we call liberation was experienced even by envious persons like Śiśupāla.”
bhakti-mārgī pṛthaṅ muktim
agād viṣṇu-prasādataḥ
kāmas tv aśubha-kṛc cāpi
bhaktyā viṣṇoḥ prasāda-kṛt
“By the mercy of Lord Viṣṇu, one who follows the path of devotional service gains liberation as a by-product, and such a person’s lusty desire, which would normally invoke misfortune, instead invokes the mercy of Viṣṇu when exhibited in pure devotion.”
dveṣi-jīva-yutaṁ cāpi
bhaktaṁ viṣṇur vimocayet
aho ’ti-karuṇā viṣṇoḥ
śiśupālasya mokṣaṇāt
“Lord Viṣṇu will save even a devotee possessed of an envious life. Just see the extreme mercy of the Lord, as shown by His granting liberation to Śiśupāla!”
Śiśupāla was Lord Kṛṣṇa’s cousin. He was mortified when the Lord stole the gorgeous young Rukmiṇī, whom Śiśupāla himself was hell-bent on marrying. For various other reasons also, Śiśupāla was consumed with envy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and finally he insanely offended Him in a great assembly called the Rājasūya sacrifice. At that time Kṛṣṇa nonchalantly cut off Śiśupāla’s head and gave him liberation. Everyone present saw the effulgent soul of Śiśupāla rise out of his dead body and merge into the existence of the Lord. The Seventh Canto explains that Śiśupāla was an incarnation of a gatekeeper in the spiritual world cursed to take birth on the earth as a demon. Since even Śiśupāla was liberated by the Lord, who took into consideration the whole situation, then what to speak of the
gopīs,
who loved Kṛṣṇa more than anything.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Though Sukadeva knew this was not Pariksit’s question, he made a pretense of scolding him, saying "Are you so foolish to ask such a question? Previously in the seventh canto I have told you that Sisupala attained liberation though he had hatred of the Lord. If he could attain sayujya mukti with that unfavorable attitude, what can we say the gopis attained if they approached Krsna with love?"
Hrsikesa (master of the senses) has special significance in this verse. Appearing spontaneously by his causeless mercy, though he is not visible to Brahma and others, making himself visible to the senses of the lowest people on the earth planet by his inconceivable power, in order to deliver them, he shows his remarkable mercy. If he has such mercy to the most fallen, what can we say about (kim uta) those who are objects of affection for that person who is beyond the senses (adhoksaja).
Why did Sukadeva reject the recent example of Aghasura in Vrndavana and instead raise an example from later pastimes in Mathura? There is a secret concerning this. Sukadeva was giving a hint to Pariksit by raising this story of Sisupala. Like the gopis who were kept in their houses, Sisupala, at the removal of his guna maya body, attained by the curse because of his extreme materialistic illusion, asuumed his eternal spiritual body as an associate of the Lord. "By the cakra of Visnu the sins of Dantavakra and Sisupala were removed." In other words, by the cakra, their sins were removed rather than being killed, and they attained their positions as attendants of the Lord (siddim gatah). "Jaya and Vijaya after many days as a result of meditating on Krsna s their enemy again attained positions as servants of Narayana." (sb 7.1.47)
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Śukadeva endowed with all qualities and powers (śrī) then spoke. Understanding Parīkṣit’s intention of raising doubts to cheat the materialists, Śukadeva takes the opportunity to scold the materialists with slight anger, using unclear words. Śukadeva had already explained the attainment of becoming an associate of the Lord again (siddhim gataḥ).
vairānubandha-tīvreṇa dhyānenācyuta-sātmatām
nītau punar hareḥ pārśvaṁ jagmatur viṣṇu-pārṣadau
These two associates of Viṣṇu—Jaya and Vijaya—by meditation with intense, continuous hatred of the Lord, entered Kṛṣṇa, and then again went to the side of the Lord as his two associates in Vaikuṇṭha. SB 7.1.47
Śiśupāla attained the Lord again along with his spiritual qualities which had remained latent until his hatred for the Lord disappeared. Similarly the gopīs who made Kṛṣṇa their constant object of affection (adhokṣaja-priyāḥ) attained the Lord along with their spiritual qualities with the manifestation of their increasing prema. When I said that the gopīs gave up their bodies made of guṇas (verse 11), I meant that on attaining their spiritual bodies externally and internally by the potency of the svarūpa-śakti of the Lord, they gave up material bodies endowed with material qualities like beauty.
There is also an answer to the second meaning of Parīkṣit’s question. According to the principle that I respond according to the worship (BG 4.11), I reveal to those gopīs qualities that they aspire for and not other qualities, though I possess all qualities. Because of their absorption in bhakti, the Lord’s śaktis reveal these qualities at the appropriate time even though they are not deliberately sought. Otherwise the devotees fixed in the Lord’s sweet qualities would not be able to attain him from far away. Please hear an example using kaimutya (quoting an extreme). Even Śiśupāla who hated the Lord attained him by absorption, what to speak of the gopīs? If the Lord did not respond in this way, Śiśupāla could not attain liberation or powers in the spiritual world when he passed out of his body. The two names of the Lord mentioned in this verse Hṛśīkeśa (lord of the senses) and Adhokṣaja (beyond the senses) indicate that he is the cause of liberation and manifests powers in the spiritual world. The names indicate that, without the devotees depending on gaining knowledge of the Lord, his qualities are revealed for perfection of the devotees.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Śukadeva was like parrot endowed with wealth (śrī-śukaḥ), and spoke a little unclearly out of anger. This should also be considered concerning later verses. He knew that Parīkṣit understood his words very well but using his question as an oppoenrtunity, directing himself to sceptics, he answered as if in anger.
Śiśupāla hated Kṛṣna, the most beneficient, since he gives power to the senses to operate (hṛṣīkeśam), or how is most beautiful, having hair (keśa) shining like rays or like fine grass (hṛṣī).
Though he hated such a Kṛṣṇa, Śiśupāla attained a spiritual body of eternity, knowledge and bliss. Or he achieved liberation, attaining again a body of an associate, which he desired. Previously I related that to you in the Seventh Canto. What then can be said about attaining liberation for the gopīes dear to the son of Yaśoda, who was as if reborn under the axel of the cart (adhokṣaja)?
They accepted giving up their bodies out of fear of separation from their beloved, though this is not desired by the devotees.
There is another meaning. Śiśupāla achieved his desired perfection. But the gopīs dear to Kṛṣṇa attained eternal union with him because of fear of separation. What else can be said? Thus giving up their bodies out of fear of pain in separation is rejected.
Śiśupāla achieved perfection after three births according to the curse of the Kumāras. What then can be said of the gopīs achieving perfection by being dear to Kṛṣṇa? They attained spiritual bodies of eternity, knowledge and bliss, not merging in Brahman with no forms. The gopīs achieved that perfection. They accepted giving up their bodies out of fear of separation, caused by intense prema.
It was said that devotees find it unsuitable to accept a body beyond the guṇas. That is a particular bhāva, by thinking with humility. The great devotees, not considering this the highest, are not too pleased with it since it lacks special transformations of prema. But it is not a fault for the gopīs whose minds were highly elevated with affection.
There is a third meaning. Though he hated the Lord, Śiśupāla attained his goal of again being the Lord’s associate. He attained the Lord in his general form as bhagavān (hṛṣīkeśam). But the gopīs attained him in a special form (adhokṣaja). They, endowed with the the sweetest prema (priyāḥ) for Kṛṣṇa, the avatarī with great sweetness, attained the perfection of pastimes of prema in Vraja, like other gopīs. I said that they gave up their bodies, but you can understand the real meaning.