Devanagari
श्रीसूत उवाच
य इदमनुशृणोति श्रावयेद् वा मुरारे-
श्चरितममृतकीर्तेर्वर्णितं व्यासपुत्रै: ।
जगदघभिदलं तद्भक्तसत्कर्णपूरं
भगवति कृतचित्तो याति तत्क्षेमधाम ॥ ५९ ॥
Verse text
śrī-sūta uvāca
ya idam anuśṛṇoti śrāvayed vā murāreś
caritam amṛta-kīrter varṇitaṁ vyāsa-putraiḥ
jagad-agha-bhid alaṁ tad-bhakta-sat-karṇa-pūraṁ
bhagavati kṛta-citto yāti tat-kṣema-dhāma
Synonyms
śrī
—
sūtaḥ uvāca — Śrī Sūta said (to the sages assembled at Naimiṣāraṇya, to whom he was repeating the conversation between Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Parīkṣit Mahārāja)
;
yaḥ
—
whoever
;
idam
—
this
;
anuśṛṇoti
—
properly hears
;
śrāvayet
—
causes others to hear
;
vā
—
or
;
murāreḥ
—
of Lord Kṛṣṇa, killer of the demon Mura
;
caritam
—
pastime
;
amṛta
—
deathless
;
kīrteḥ
—
whose glories
;
varṇitam
—
described
;
vyāsa
—
putraiḥ — by the respected son of Vyāsadeva
;
jagat
—
of the universe
;
agha
—
the sins
;
bhit
—
which (pastime) destroys
;
alam
—
totally
;
tat
—
His
;
bhakta
—
for the devotees
;
sat
—
transcendental
;
karṇa
—
pūram — ornament for the ears
;
bhagavati
—
on the Supreme Lord
;
kṛta
—
fixing
;
cittaḥ
—
his mind
;
yāti
—
he goes
;
tat
—
His
;
kṣema
—
auspicious
;
dhāma
—
to the personal abode .
Translation
Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: This pastime enacted by Lord Murāri, whose fame is eternal, totally destroys the sins of the universe and serves as the transcendental ornament for His devotees’ ears. Anyone who carefully hears or narrates this pastime, as recounted by the venerable son of Vyāsa, will be able to fix his mind in meditation on the Supreme Lord and attain to the all-auspicious kingdom of God.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: This pastime enacted by Lord Murāri, whose fame is eternal, totally destroys the sins of the universe and serves as the transcendental ornament for His devotees' ears. Anyone who carefully hears or narrates this pastime, as recounted by the venerable son of Vyāsa, will be able to fix his mind in meditation on the Supreme Lord and attain to the all-auspicious kingdom of God.
KB 10.85.59
Sūta Gosvāmī, speaking Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam before the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya, headed by Śaunaka Ṛṣi, gave his verdict in this connection as follows.
“Great sages, please understand that the transcendental pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are all eternal. They are not ordinary narrations of historical incidents. Such narrations are identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Anyone, therefore, who hears such narrations of the Lord’s pastimes is immediately freed from the contamination of material existence. And those who are pure devotees enjoy these narrations as nectar entering into their ears.” Such narrations were spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the exalted son of Vyāsadeva, and anyone who hears them, as well as anyone who repeats them for the hearing of others, becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious. And only the Kṛṣṇa conscious persons are eligible to go back home, back to Godhead.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighty-fifth Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, “Spiritual Instruction for Vasudeva, and the Return of the Six Dead Sons of Devakī by Lord Kṛṣṇa.”
Purport
According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, hearing the wonderful events of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s life destroys sins in a manner that is perfect (
alam
) because it is easy. Anyone can easily participate in this hearing, and those who become devoted to Kṛṣṇa always enjoy wearing on their ears the ornaments of topics concerning Him. Not only those who were present at the time of their occurrence, but also Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Sūta Gosvāmī, all who have heard since and everyone in the universe who will hear in the future — all are blessed by the continuous recital of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental glories.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Eighty-fifth Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Vasudeva and Retrieves Devakī’s Sons.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
This verse speaks of the nectarean nature of Krsna, whose fame is nectar (amrta kirteh). Stories of Krsna destroy the sickness of repeated birth and death (jagad agha bhit). But for the devotees who have transcended birth and death, it is ornament in their ear.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Joyful at the collection of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes as described by his most worshipable guru Śukadeva, Suta, satisfying the listeners with a summary by repeating the glories of the pastime, while giving prominent blessings, he makes it understood that the attainments that the associates of his pastimes attain is not astonishing, since it can be attained even by the listeners. Anyone (yaḥ) who constantly hears this pastime of Kṛṣṇa (idam)—what was previously described, even a little-- can fix his mind on Kṛṣṇa and attain him. Qualification is rejected. The person constantly (anu) hears the topic, because its nature is to produce taste by listening even once. The word vā is used along with anu to indicate that one should not commit offenses in order that one can attain the future result quickly. Or, if one has the ability, one should hear constantly for one’s own and others success. Its strength is described. Because this is the pastime of Kṛṣṇa whose fame is filled with blissful rasa (amṛta), Śukadeva has described them. When he did so, there was a special excellence. Pibantaṁ tvan-mukhāmbhoja-cyutaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam: I am drinking the nectar of topics about Kṛṣṇa, which is flowing from your lotus mouth. (SB 10.1.13) Therefore the topic destroys all sins of the universe and even all obstacles to bhakti. Thus the person’s heart becomes absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, the subject of the story. The person attains great happiness in this life. He also attains happiness in the next life. Kṛṣṇa’s eternal abode Dvārakā is most auspicious (kṣemam). Smṛtyāśeṣāśubha-haraṁ sarva-maṅgala-maṅgalam: it is the most auspicious of all auspicious places, and merely remembering it destroys all contamination. (SB 11.31.24) By hearing the story, the sādhakas gradually attain the result. The siddhas however immediately possess that result: the story is an eternal ear ornament for those devotees.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Seeing the brāhmaṇas astonished on hearing that the sons attained Vaikuṇṭha immediately, being merciful, Sūta states, “What to speak of the Lord’s brothers attaining that goal, others, by hearing about it, can attain the same goal.” Pleased with these words of Śukadeva, Sūta glorifies the activities of the Lord, while also glorifying Śukadeva.
One who hears constantly (anu), without further qualification, or who constantly narrates this pastime of Kṛṣṇa, attains the supreme abode. The reason for constant hearing is given: the Lord has the sweetest fame, made of the highest blissful rasa (amṛta-kītrteḥ). Thus his pastimes are also the sweetest. Thus they cannot be given up. Or one hears methodically (anu). Murāri, the killer of Mura, is svayam bhagavān. Śukadeva described this story because Kṛṣṇa was famous for killing Mura, the commander of Naraka’s army. Or there is special rasa in relating this story. Hearing it from the mouth of devotees gives it special taste. Pibantaṁ tvan-mukhāmbhoja-cyutaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam: I am drinking the nectar of topics about Kṛṣṇa, which is flowing from your lotus mouth. (SB 10.1.13) The story destroys the suffering of saṁsāra, composed of unlimited prārabdha and aprāradha karmas without discrimination. The hearer or speaker can concentrate his mind on Kṛṣṇa, and thus attain great happiness in this world.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Eighty-fifth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Vasudeva and Retrieves Devakī's Sons."
10.86: Arjuna Kidnaps Subhadrā, and Kṛṣṇa Blesses His Devotees
verses: Summary, 1, 2-3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27-29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59
Chapter Summary
This chapter describes how Arjuna kidnapped Subhadrā and how Lord Kṛṣṇa went to Mithilā to bless His devotees Bahulāśva and Śrutadeva.
When King Parīkṣit desired to learn about the marriage of his grandmother, Subhadrā-devī, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, "While touring on pilgrimage, Arjuna heard that Lord Baladeva intended to give the hand of His sister Subhadrā to Duryodhana in marriage. Wanting to kidnap Subhadrā and marry her himself, Arjuna disguised himself as a renunciant and went to Dvārakā. So effective was the disguise that neither Balarāma nor any other resident of Dvārakā recognized him; rather, they all showed him the respect due a Vaiṣṇava mendicant. In this way the four months of the rainy season passed. One day Arjuna received an invitation to dine at Lord Balarāma's home. There he caught sight of Subhadrā and was immediately overwhelmed with desire for her. Subhadrā also desired to have Arjuna as her husband, and thus she glanced back at him shyly. A few days later, Subhadrā left the palace to participate in a chariot festival. Taking this opportunity, Arjuna abducted Subhadrā and defeated the Yādavas who tried to stop him. Lord Balarāma was at first greatly angered to hear of this, but when Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and other family members pacified Him, He became joyful and sent the bride and groom off with elaborate wedding gifts."
There was a brāhmaṇa devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's named Śrutadeva, who lived in the city of Mithila. By the will of Providence, he could earn only barely enough to keep himself and his family alive. Still, he was always satisfied and spent all his time executing his religious duties. King Bahulāśva was another great devotee of the Lord residing in Mithilā. A member of the dynasty in which King Janaka had appeared, Bahulāśva ruled over the whole province of Videha, yet he remained as detached from material wealth as Śrutadeva. Pleased with the devotional attitude of both these great souls, Lord Kṛṣṇa went on His chariot to Mithilā to visit them, taking along Nārada and several other learned sages. The people of Mithila greeted the Lord and His saintly entourage with great delight. Bearing various gifts for Kṛṣṇa, they bowed down and offered obeisances to both Him and the sages.
Bahulāśva and Śrutadeva both stepped forward and respectfully requested Śrī Kṛṣṇa to visit their homes. To satisfy both of them, the Lord expanded Himself and went to each of their homes simultaneously. They each worshiped Him suitably, offered prayers, washed His feet and then sprinkled themselves and all their family members with the wash water. Lord Kṛṣṇa then praised the sages who were with Him and glorified brāhmaṇas in general. He also imparted instructions to His hosts concerning devotional service. Understanding these instructions, both Śrutadeva and Bahulāśva honored the sages and Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa with single-minded devotion. Lord Kṛṣṇa then returned to Dvārakā.