Prsadhra

Expressions researched:
"Prsadhra" |"prsadhra's"

SB Canto 1

SB 1.12.19, Purport:

Manu: The Manu mentioned in this verse as the father of Ikṣvāku is the seventh Manu, of the name Vaivasvata Manu, the son of sun-god Vivasvān, to whom Lord Kṛṣṇa instructed the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā prior to His teaching them to Arjuna. Mankind is the descendant of Manu. This Vaivasvata Manu had ten sons, named Ikṣvāku, Nabhaga, Dhṛṣṭa, Śaryāti, Nariṣyanta, Nābhāga, Diṣṭa, Karūṣa, Pṛṣadhra and Vasumān. The Lord's incarnation Matsya (the gigantic fish) was advented during the beginning of Vaivasvata Manu's reign. He learned the principles of Bhagavad-gītā from his father, Vivasvān, the sun-god, and he reinstructed the same to his son Mahārāja Ikṣvāku. In the beginning of the Tretā-yuga the sun-god instructed devotional service to Manu, and Manu in his turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku for the welfare of the whole human society.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.13 Summary:

The seventh Manu, who is the son of Vivasvān, is known as Śrāddhadeva. He has ten sons, named Ikṣvāku, Nabhaga, Dhṛṣṭa, Śaryāti, Nariṣyanta, Nābhāga, Diṣṭa, Tarūṣa, Pṛṣadhra and Vasumān. In this manvantara, or reign of Manu, among the demigods are the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Viśvedevas, Maruts, Aśvinī-kumāras and Ṛbhus. The king of heaven, Indra, is known as Purandara, and the seven sages are known as Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvāja. During this period of Manu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu appears from the womb of Aditi in His incarnation as the son of Kaśyapa.

SB 8.13.2-3, Translation:

O King Parīkṣit, among the ten sons of Manu are Ikṣvāku, Nabhaga, Dhṛṣṭa, Śaryāti, Nariṣyanta and Nābhāga. The seventh son is known as Diṣṭa. Then come Tarūṣa and Pṛṣadhra, and the tenth son is known as Vasumān.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.1.11-12, Translation:

O King, best of the Bhārata dynasty, from Vivasvān, by the womb of Saṁjñā, Śrāddhadeva Manu was born. Śrāddhadeva Manu, having conquered his senses, begot ten sons in the womb of his wife, Śraddhā. The names of these sons were Ikṣvāku, Nṛga, Śaryāti, Diṣṭa, Dhṛṣṭa, Karūṣaka, Nariṣyanta, Pṛṣadhra, Nabhaga and Kavi.

SB 9.2 Summary:

This Second Chapter describes the dynasties of the sons of Manu, headed by Karūṣa.

After Sudyumna accepted the order of vānaprastha and departed for the forest, Vaivasvata Manu, being desirous of sons, worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead and consequently begot ten sons like Mahārāja Ikṣvāku, all of whom were like their father. One of these sons, Pṛṣadhra, was engaged in the duty of protecting cows at night with a sword in his hand. Following the order of his spiritual master, he would stand in this way for the entire night. Once, in the darkness of night, a tiger seized a cow from the cowshed, and when Pṛṣadhra came to know this, he took a sword in his hand and followed the tiger. Unfortunately, when he finally approached the tiger, he could not distinguish between the cow and the tiger in the dark, and thus he killed the cow. Because of this, his spiritual master cursed him to take birth in a śūdra family, but Pṛṣadhra practiced mystic yoga, and in bhakti-yoga he worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then he voluntarily entered a blazing forest fire, thus relinquishing his material body and going back home, back to Godhead.

SB 9.2.3, Translation:

Among these sons, Pṛṣadhra, following the order of his spiritual master, was engaged as a protector of cows. He would stand all night with a sword to give the cows protection.

SB 9.2.3, Purport:

One who becomes vīrāsana takes the vow to stand all night with a sword to give protection to the cows. Because Pṛṣadhra was engaged in this way, it is to be understood that he had no dynasty. We can further understand from this vow accepted by Pṛṣadhra how essential it is to protect the cows. Some son of a kṣatriya would take this vow to protect the cows from ferocious animals, even at night. What then is to be said of sending cows to slaughterhouses? This is the most sinful activity in human society.

SB 9.2.5-6, Translation:

When the very strong tiger seized the cow, the cow screamed in distress and fear, and Pṛṣadhra, hearing the screaming, immediately followed the sound. He took up his sword, but because the stars were covered by clouds, he mistook the cow for the tiger and mistakenly cut off the cows' head with great force.

SB 9.2.8, Translation:

In the morning, when Pṛṣadhra, who was quite able to subdue his enemy, saw that he had killed the cow although at night he thought he had killed the tiger, he was very unhappy.

SB 9.2.9, Translation:

Although Pṛṣadhra had committed the sin unknowingly, his family priest, Vasiṣṭha, cursed him, saying, "In your next life you shall not be able to become a kṣatriya. Instead, you shall take birth as a śūdra because of killing the cow."

SB 9.2.9, Purport:

It appears that Vasiṣṭha was not free from tamo-guṇa, the mode of ignorance. As the family priest or spiritual master of Pṛṣadhra, Vasiṣṭha should have taken Pṛṣadhra's offense very lightly, but instead Vasiṣṭha cursed him to become a śūdra. It is the duty of a family priest not to curse a disciple but to give him relief through the performance of some sort of atonement. Vasiṣṭha, however, did just the opposite. Therefore Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that he was durmati; in other words, his intelligence was not very good.

SB 9.2.10, Translation:

When the hero Pṛṣadhra was thus cursed by his spiritual master, he accepted the curse with folded hands. Then, having controlled his senses, he took the vow of brahmacarya, which is approved by all great sages.

SB 9.2.11-13, Translation:

Thereafter, Pṛṣadhra gained relief from all responsibilities, became peaceful in mind, and established control over all his senses. Being unaffected by material conditions, being pleased with whatever was available by the grace of the Lord to maintain body and soul together, and being equal toward everyone, he gave full attention to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, who is the transcendental Supersoul, free from material contamination. Thus Pṛṣadhra, fully satisfied in pure knowledge, always keeping his mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, achieved pure devotional service to the Lord and began traveling all over the world, without affection for material activities, as if he were deaf, dumb and blind.

SB 9.2.14, Translation:

With this attitude, Pṛṣadhra became a great saint, and when he entered the forest and saw a blazing forest fire, he took this opportunity to burn his body in the fire. Thus he achieved the transcendental, spiritual world.

SB 9.2.14, Purport:

The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):

janma karma ca me divyam

evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ

tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma

naiti mām eti so 'rjuna

"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna." Pṛṣadhra, because of his karma, was cursed to take his next birth as a śūdra, but because he took to saintly life, specifically concentrating his mind always upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he became a pure devotee. Immediately after giving up his body in the fire, he reached the spiritual world, as mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (mām eti), as a result of his devotional situation. Devotional service performed by thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so powerful that although Pṛṣadhra was cursed he avoided the terrible consequence of becoming a śūdra and instead returned home, back to Godhead.