Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 14 Purports - The Story of King Vena
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A
- A devotee is generally very humble and meek, and he is reluctant to pick a quarrel with anyone. Nor does he envy anyone. However, a pure devotee immediately becomes fiery with anger when he sees that Lord Visnu or His devotee is insulted
- A qualified brahmana is naturally very learned, but when his learning is advanced in understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he becomes a brahmana-vaisnava. Unless one becomes a Vaisnava, one's perfection of brahminical culture is incomplete
- A serpent who is maintained with milk and bananas simply stores poison in his teeth and awaits the day to bite his master
- According to Vedic civilization, in a monarchy the king is advised by saintly persons and sages. By taking their advice, he can become the greatest executive power, and everyone in his kingdom will be happy, peaceful and prosperous
- After the disappearance of King Anga, there was no one to follow the instructions of the great sages. Consequently all the citizens became unruly, so much so that they could be compared to animals
- All the great sages headed by Bhrgu were always thinking of how to elevate all the people of the universe to the spiritual platform. Indeed, they advised the kings of every planet to rule the people with that ultimate goal of life in mind
- All the saintly persons and sages considered this point (the catastrophe of having Vena born in the family of Dhruva Maharaja), and they decided to take action in this matter
- All the saintly sages decided to kill King Vena, who was so dreadful and dangerous to all human society. We can appreciate the extent to which the saintly sages actually controlled the king
- All Vedic civilization is summarized in this verse: all living entities, either on this planet or on other planets, have to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by their respective duties
- Almost all the sages go to the Himalayas for their personal benefit, but Prahlada Maharaja said that he did not want liberation alone. He decided to wait until he was able to deliver all the fallen souls of the world
- As described in Bhagavad-gita (BG 4.13), human society must be divided into four orders according to quality and work. In every society there must be an intelligent class, administrative class, productive class and worker class
- As it was the duty of the king to kill thieves and rogues, it was similarly his duty to immediately kill dishonest ministers in government service
- As soon as one disobeys authority, he immediately becomes very sinful and loses his good fortune
- As stated (kalau sudra-sambhavah), practically the whole population of the world will be sudra. A sudra is a fourth-class man who is only fit to work for the three higher social castes. Being fourth-class men, sudras are not very intelligent
- As stated by Krsna Himself throughout Bhagavad-gita, there is no truth superior to Him
- As stated herein (in SB 4.14.18), bhagavan yajna-purusah - the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the yajna-purusa. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (BG 5.29): bhoktaram yajna-tapasam. Krsna is the ultimate purpose of all sacrifice
- At such a time it is to be understood that the ruler, or the government, is dead. All of these misfortunes happened due to the death of King Vena. Thus the saintly persons became very anxious for the safety of the people in general
- At the present moment neither the king nor the governing body is interested in seeing that the people are engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are more interested in advancing the machinery of sense gratification
B
- Before taking any action against him (Vena), the sages tried to pacify and correct him so that he might turn from his mischief
- Both for spiritual and material prosperity, everyone should devotedly chant the Hare Krsna mantra
- Brahmanas, the topmost section of human society, are mostly devotees. They are generally unaware of the happenings within the material world because they are always busy in their activities for spiritual advancement
- By a certain process, when the thighs of the dead body were churned, another body came out. Although dead, the body of King Vena was preserved by drugs, and mantras chanted by King Vena's mother
- By electing Vena to the throne, the saintly sages certainly associated with him. Ultimately King Vena became so mischievous that the saintly sages actually became afraid of becoming contaminated by his activities
- By practicing mystic yoga, a rajarsi could become smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest, and could get whatever he desired. A rajarsi could also create a kingdom, bring everyone under his control and rule everyone
- By strict vigilance, the king could run the government very well, and the citizens would be happy to have such a king
- By the grace of Lord Caitanya, by simply chanting this Hare Krsna maha-mantra, the general populace can derive all benefits without political implications
E
- Engagement in the transcendental loving devotional service of the Lord can make anyone, however sinful he may be, fit to return home, back to Godhead
- Even though saintly persons are always aloof from society, out of mercy and compassion they consider how the citizens can peacefully execute their rituals and follow the rules and regulations of varnasrama-dharma
- Every citizen engaged in an occupation renders service by the resultant actions of his activities. That is the perfection of life
F
- Follow the rules and regulations of varnasrama-dharma. That was the concern of these sages. In this age of Kali, everything is disturbed. Saintly persons should take to the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, as recommended in the sastras
- Formerly, ministers were appointed by the king and were not elected. Consequently, if the king was not very pious or strict, the ministers would become thieves and rogues and exploit the innocent citizens
- From the semen of one body, another body is produced, and the life symptoms are visible due to the soul's taking shelter of this body
- From the Vedas we understand that He (God) is supplying everyone's necessities, and we can actually see that the lower animals, the birds and the bees, have no business or profession, yet they are not dying for want of food
H
- Having no knowledge of the ultimate goal of life, such persons (sudras) whimsically enact laws without knowledge of life's purpose. The result is that no one is happy
- He (Krsna) is the enjoyer of all sacrifices; He is known as yajna-purusa. The word yajna-purusa indicates Lord Visnu or Lord Krsna, or any Personality of Godhead in the category of visnu-tattva
- Human society has artificially created a type of civilization which makes one forgetful of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead
I
- If a king cannot give protection to citizens from thieves and rogues both in the government service and in public affairs, he has no right to exact taxes from them
- If citizens want to be happy and prosperous in this democratic age, they should not elect rascals and fools who have no respect for saintly persons
- If he (the king) gives all protection to the citizens & levies taxes on them he can live happily and peacefully in this life and at the end of this life be elevated to the heavenly kingdom or even to the Vaikunthas, where he will be happy in all respects
- If the brahmanas do not worship the king but instead go to the demigods, they are as polluted as unchaste women
- If the king or government becomes demonic, it is the duty of a saintly person to upset the government and replace it with deserving persons who follow the orders and instructions of saintly persons
- If they (the brahmanas) do not do something to relieve the distressed condition of human society, it is said that due to such neglect their spiritual knowledge diminishes
- In Bhagavad-gita (BG 18.5) it is stated that even in the renounced order one should not give up sacrifice, charity and penance
- In Kali-yuga, saintly persons are not as powerful as they previously were. They used to be able to burn any sinful man to ashes by virtue of their spiritual prowess
- In modern democracy these scientific divisions are turned topsy-turvy, and by vote sudras, or workers, are chosen for administrative posts
- In order to rectify this world situation, all people should be trained in Krsna consciousness and act in accordance with the varnasrama system
- In other ages-in Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga and Dvapara-yuga-the general populace was not so degraded, and the head of government was never elected
- In perfect human society, people are situated in the orders of varna and asrama and are engaged in worshiping Lord Visnu by their respective activities
- In practically all parts of the world, there were monarchies, but gradually as monarchy declined from the ideal life of religion to the godless life of sense gratification, monarchies all over the world were abolished
- In the Twelfth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 12.1.40) there is a description of these thieves and rogues in government service
- In the Visnu Purana it is stated that unless people are educated or situated in the scientific social order comprised of four varnas (brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra) and four asramas (brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa
- In their elevated condition, the brahmanas are called Vaisnavas. There are two types of brahmanas - namely, brahmana-pandita and brahmana-vaisnava
- In this verse (SB 4.14.1) the significant word is ksema-darsinah, which refers to those who are always looking after the welfare of the people in general
- In this way he (Vena) could reject their advice and make accusations against them (the saintly sages), comparing them to a woman who does not care for her husband who maintains her but goes to satisfy a paramour who does not maintain her
- In this way the ingredients for the production of another body were there. When the body of the person named Bahuka came out of the dead body of King Vena, it was really not very astonishing. It was simply a question of knowing how to do it
- Instead of actively taking part in politics, saintly persons should engage in chanting the maha-mantra, Hare Krsna
- It is not the duty of brahmanas and saintly persons to kill, although they may sometimes do so in the case of an emergency
- It is said in the sastras that the head of the body represents the brahmanas, the arms represent the ksatriyas, the abdomen represents the vaisyas, and the legs, beginning with the thighs, represent the sudras
- It is the king's duty to see that there is no increase of thieves and rogues either in the government secretariat or in the departments of public affairs
- It should be understood that sages, saintly persons and devotees are not unconcerned with the people's welfare
K
- King Vena developed the demonic mentality and presented himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such demons are numerous in this age of Kali, and all of them are condemned by great sages and saintly persons
- King Vena was imitating the Supreme Personality of Godhead and was also speaking out of false pride, presenting himself as the Supreme Lord. These are all characteristics of a demonic person
- King Vena was not practiced in yoga, but he became very proud of his royal position nonetheless. Because he was not very considerate, he began to misuse his power and insult great personalities
- King Vena was so foolish that he accused the saintly sages of being inexperienced like small children. In other words, he was accusing them of not having perfect knowledge
- King Vena was supported by the saintly persons just to protect the citizens from the hands of rogues and thieves, but after his ascendance to the throne, he became a source of trouble to the sages
M
- Maharaja Anga was very pure because of the purification of semen in the family of Maharaja Dhruva. However, his semen became contaminated in association with his wife, Sunitha, who happened to be the daughter of death personified
- Maharaja Anga's semen became contaminated in association with his wife, Sunitha, who happened to be the daughter of death personified. Because of this polluted semen, King Vena was produced. This was a catastrophe in the family of Dhruva Maharaja
- Modern society even enables one to forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead's grace and mercy. Consequently modern civilized man is always unhappy and in need of things
N
- Not only will the king or government head rid himself of the contamination of the material modes of nature, but the general public will also, and they will all become gradually elevated to the kingdom of God and go back home, back to Godhead
- Now saintly persons have no such power due to the influence of the age of Kali. Indeed, the brahmanas do not even have the power to perform sacrifices in which animals are put into a fire to attain a new life
O
- Once the populace is situated in the varnasrama-dharma, there is every possibility of real life and prosperity both in this world and in the next
- One has only to become free from all contamination by the process of devotional service. In this way everyone can become fit to return home, back to Godhead. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita - BG 9.32
- One should not at any time tolerate blasphemy and insults against Lord Visnu or His devotees
- One should not simply make a show of religious life, but should perform devotional service perfectly with words, mind, body and good intelligence
- One should not think that it was impossible for another body to come out of the dead body of Maharaja Vena. This was performed by the skillful action of the sages
- Ordinary karmis are busy acquiring money for sense gratification, and ordinary jnanis are socially aloof when they speculate on liberation, but actual devotees and saintly persons are always anxious to see how the people can be made happy
P
- People do not know that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Lord Visnu and satisfy Him. They have taken this materialistic way of life as everything and have become captivated by materialistic activities
- People should be freed from the entanglement of the three modes of material nature, and the only process by which this is possible is surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is advised in Bhagavad-gita
- Practicing evil habits and behaving foolishly, the subjects will be like their rulers." The idea is that in the democratic days of Kali-yuga, the general population will fall down to the standard of sudras
S
- Saintly people are interested in performing sacrifices & austerities for the advancement of spiritual life, but Vena, instead of being obliged because of the saints' mercy, turned out to be their enemy because he prohibited their ordinary duties
- Saintly people preach God consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, because they are anxious to save the general populace from the dangers of animalistic life
- Saintly persons are generally aloof from social activities and the materialistic way of life
- Saintly persons are not interested in political matters, they are always thinking of the welfare of the people in general. Consequently they sometimes have to come down to the political field and take steps to correct the misguided government or royalty
- Saintly persons are very kind to all kinds of living entities, but they are not unhappy when a serpent or a scorpion is killed. It is not good for saintly persons to kill, but they are encouraged to kill demons, who are exactly like serpents and scorpions
- Sane people should execute Krsna consciousness very seriously, so that they can go back home, back to Godhead, without having to further suffer the miserable conditions predominant in this universe
- Simply abolishing monarchy and replacing it with democracy is not sufficient unless the government men are religious and follow in the footsteps of great religious personalities
- Since the population is fallen in these democratic days, they can only elect a person in their category, but a government cannot run very well when it is run by sudras
- Society can never be considered real human society, nor can it make any advancement towards the ultimate goal of human life. It is the duty of the government to see that things go on in terms of varna and asrama
- Such a civilization (that blasphemes God) invites all kinds of bad fortune due to not appreciating the mercy of the Lord
T
- That a person was born by the churning of the thighs of King Vena proves that the spirit soul is individual and separate from the body
- The activities of the government head, or king, as well as the activities of the citizens, should be so directed that ultimately everyone engages in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The brahmacaris must perform sacrifices, the grhasthas must give in charity, and those in the renounced order of life (the vanaprasthas & sannyasis) must practice penance and austerities. These are the procedures to be elevated to the spiritual platform
- The brahmanas, ksatriyas, sudras and vaisyas must execute their prescribed duties as these duties are stated in the sastras. In this way everyone can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu
- The conclusion is that even though saintly persons have no business in political affairs, they are always compassionate upon the people in general
- The conclusion is that unless the king is perfectly able to give protection to the citizens from rogues and thieves, he has no right to levy taxes from the citizens for his own sense gratification
- The demons certainly cannot have any faith in the words of authorities. In fact, they are always disrespectful to authorities
- The duty of a pious king is described very nicely in this verse (SB 4.14.17). His first and foremost duty is to give protection to the citizens from thieves and rogues as well as from ministers who are no better than thieves and rogues
- The government's duty is to see that the Supreme Personality of God is satisfied by the activities of the people as well as by the activities of the government
- The great kings were very responsible in taking the instructions given by great saintly personalities. The kings used to accept the instructions given by great sages like Parasara, Vyasadeva, Narada, Devala and Asita
- The great sages and saintly persons could beget another person from the body of the dead King Vena, but it was not possible for them to bring King Vena back to life. King Vena was gone, and certainly he had taken another body
- The great sages began to consult one another on how to get out of the dangerous atmosphere created by King Vena
- The great sages used to advise the head of the state, or the king, and he used to rule the populace in accordance with their instruction. After the disappearance of King Anga, there was no one to follow the instructions of the great sages
- The instructions given herein (in SB 4.14.15) serve as a summary of how the head of government should execute his ruling power and thus attain happiness not only in this life but also in the life after death
- The king or the government that taxes can levy taxes from the citizens only if the king or government is able to give protection to the citizens from thieves and rogues
- The King was so puffed up and impudent that he dared disrespect the great saintly personalities, and this brought him ruination
- The king was the supreme executive personality, and if he caught any ministers stealing like thieves and rogues, he would at once have them killed or dismissed from service
- The king, or government head has to see that the citizens are engaged. The state or the government must not deviate from its duty by declaring that the state is a secular one which has no interest in whether or not the people advance in varnasrama-dharma
- The king, or government head, is supposed to be the representative of the Supreme Personality and is supposed to see that things go on nicely and that the citizens are situated in the scientific social order comprised of four varnas and four asramas
- The Krsna consciousness movement was started to convince the general populace to adopt the best process by which to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus solve all problems
- The lower animals, the birds and the bees, have no business or profession, yet they are not dying for want of food. They are all living in nature's way, and they all have the necessities of life provided - namely eating, sleeping, mating and defending
- The Naisadas are not allowed to live in cities and towns because they are sinful by nature. As such, their bodies are very ugly, and their occupations are also sinful
- The people must follow the varnasrama-dharma, and the king must see that they are following it nicely
- The pious seminal succession in the twice-born families of the brahmanas and ksatriyas especially, as well as in the families of vaisyas also, must be kept very pure by the observation of the purificatory processes beginning with garbhadhana-samskara
- The purity of hereditary succession is called amogha-virya
- The purpose of this simile is apparent. It is the duty of the ksatriyas to engage the brahmanas in different types of religious activities, and the king is supposed to be the maintainer of the brahmanas
- The sages wanted to take some steps to relieve the situation. For want of a king, everything was being disturbed and turned topsy-turvy
- The saintly persons and great sages killed King Vena out of emergency, but they did not choose to take part in the government in order to subdue the uprising of thieves and rogues, which took place after the death of King Vena
- The saintly persons and sages were only concerned with the body of Vena because it was a result of the seminal succession in the family of Maharaja Dhruva. The ingredients by which another body could be produced were there in the body of King Vena
- The saintly persons considered very wisely that although King Vena was very sinful, he was born in a family descending from Dhruva Maharaja. The semen in the family must be protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kesava
- The saintly sages elected King Vena to become king, but he proved to be mischievous; therefore the sages were very much afraid of incurring sinful reaction. The law of karma prohibits a person even to associate with a mischievous individual
- The saintly sages herein (in SB 4.14.15) instruct that the king or head of government should set an example by living a religious life. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, religion means worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The second class of men, known as ksatriyas, are especially meant for governing a country under the direction of saintly persons (brahmanas) who are supposed to be very intelligent
- The state should also see that the people are engaged in satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the primary duty of the state
- The sudras are sometimes called black, or krsna. The brahmanas are called sukla, or white, and the ksatriyas and the vaisyas are a mixture of black and white
- The word asta-vibhutibhih, meaning "by eight opulences," is very important. The king is supposed to possess eight kinds of opulences. By dint of mystic yoga practice, kings generally acquired these eight opulences
- The word nija-sasane ("in his own governmental duty") indicates that both the government and the citizens are responsible for the execution of varnasrama-dharma
- The world situation is so tense that at any moment governments may issue declarations to stop religious rituals. Eventually the world situation will become so degraded that it will be impossible for pious men to live on the planet
- Their (people's) leaders are always encouraging them to follow this path, and the general populace, being ignorant of the laws of God, are following their blind leaders down the path of unhappiness
- Their (the citizens' and men of government's) duration of life is shortened, and almost everyone is wretched and bereft of bodily strength and spiritual power
- There are many demons who think of themselves as the Supreme and present themselves as the directors of the sun, moon and other planets. This is all due to false pride
- There is no possibility of happiness if the government or citizenry have no idea of Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the original cause of the cosmic manifestation, or if they have no knowledge of bhuta-bhavana, who is visvatma
- There must be a good government to see that the citizens are actually executing their religious rituals, and thieves and rogues must be curbed. When this is done the people can advance peacefully in spiritual consciousness and make their lives successful
- These kings were called rajarsis, kings who were also great sages
- These proud mlecchas (persons who are less than sudras), representing themselves as kings, will tyrannize their subjects, and their subjects, on the other hand, will cultivate the most vicious practices
- They (Brahmanas) are always busy in their activities for spiritual advancement. Nonetheless, when there is a calamity in human society, they cannot remain impartial
- They (demons) manufacture their own religious principles and disobey great personalities like Vyasa, Narada, and even the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna
- They (people) are becoming more and more implicated in the complex machinery of the stringent laws of nature
- They (the brahmanas) could kill all the thieves and rogues by the prowess of their mantras, but they thought it the duty of ksatriya kings to do so. Thus they reluctantly did not take part in the killing business
- They (the kings) would first accept the authority of saintly persons and then execute their monarchical power
- Thieves and rogues simply await some political upset in order to take the opportunity to plunder the people in general. To keep thieves and rogues inactive in their profession, a strong government is always required
- This is the duty of a devotee. Although a devotee maintains an attitude of meekness and gentleness, it is a great fault on his part if he remains silent when the Lord or His devotee is blasphemed
- Those who are extraordinarily white are said to have skin produced out of white leprosy. It may be concluded that white or a golden hue is the color of the higher caste, and black is the complexion of the sudras
- Today people engaged in government service and people who rule over the citizens have no respect for the varnasrama-dharma. They complacently feel that the state is secular. In such a government, no one can be happy
U
- Unfortunately neither the government nor the people in general have any idea of this (the only way is surrendering to God); they are simply interested in sense gratification and in being happy in this life
- Unfortunately, in the present age of Kali, the head of government does not follow the instructions given by the saintly persons; therefore neither the citizens nor the men of government are very happy
- Unless this purificatory process (garbhadhana-samskara) is strictly observed, especially by the brahmanas, the family descendants become impure, and gradually sinful activities become visible in the family
W
- We should know that even these sinful men (who are sometimes called Kiratas) can be delivered from their sinful condition to the topmost Vaisnava platform by the mercy of a pure devotee
- What was committed by King Vena many years ago is at present being carried out by atheistic governments all over the world
- When He (God) is satisfied, all necessities of life are automatically supplied
- When human society individually or collectively becomes godless and blasphemes the authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is certainly destined for ruination
- When the government is very strong, all the thieves and rogues disappear or hide themselves. Of course Vena was not a very good king, but he was known to be cruel and severe. Thus the state at least became freed from thieves and rogues
- When the government is very weak, rogues and thieves flourish
- When the sages and saintly persons saw that King Vena had stopped all these functions, they became concerned about the people's progress
- Whenever there is a disturbance in the state, or a panic situation, the property and lives of the citizens become unsafe. This is caused by the uprising of various thieves and rogues
- Without engaging in devotional service, neither the citizens nor the government can be happy in any way