Shamika Maharishi continued, “You could not understand the dictates of our scriptures which state that a king is none other than Vishnu. You have equated the king to an ordinary person. What you have done is absolutely wrong. The King’s power is unbeatable. Being protected by his unsurpassed strength and power, citizens move about fearlessly. They attain auspiciousness and material prosperity.

Oh my son! Lord Vishnu who holds the discus, himself protects this world in the form of a king. In the absence of a king, citizens will be devoid of any protection. Scoundrels will thrive in the society and like a flock of sheep this entire world will be destroyed in no time. In a world that is devoid of kings, thieves will steal away all wealth. We will be tainted with these sins even though we are unconnected to them.

As the number of rogues increase in society, violence will become rampant. People will kill each other. Wealth, women and animals will be stolen. In a society without a ruler, dharma (adherence to righteousness) specified in the Vedas will get neglected. The rules pertaining to the caste (varna) and stage of life (ashrama) will die down as none will abide by them.

People will concentrate only on earning material wealth (artha) and on fulfilling their desires (kāma, sense gratification). There will be no thought about adherence to righteousness (dharma) or attaining liberation (moksha).  People will be fickle-minded like monkeys. Like dogs they will be inclined only towards materialistic comforts. At all times and in all circumstances they will be inclined only towards bodily comforts. Have you realized your blunder at least now?

The saintly king Parikshit, who zealously protects dharma and who has conducted many Ashwamedha yagnas is of great renown. He is a supreme devotee of the Lord. Fatigued and thirsty he came to our ashrama seeking water. Under such circumstances he does not deserve to be cursed.

Oh God! Due to unripened intellect and lack of maturity, this ignorant boy who lacks discrimination between sins and merits, has sinned gravely against the great king, who piously rules the world and safeguards the interests of everyone!

O Lord of the universe! Kindly forgive his sins. The devotees of that Supreme Lord are so merciful that they will never seek revenge on those who abuse, cheat, scold, beat, or insult them, even if they are supremely capable of it”.

Thus, Shamika Maharishi was deeply repenting the sin of his son and was grieving over it. He could not, even for a moment, find fault in the actions of the king. He did not consider the king’s act as insulting. He kept on re-iterating that his son was wrong.

Prāyaśaḥ sādhavo loke parair dvandveṣu yojitāḥ

Na vyathanti na hṛṣyanti yata ātmāguṇāśrayaḥ

 Although people of the world constantly push them into dualities such as pleasures and pains, saintly persons do not experience them. This is because they constantly enjoy the bliss of the Self which is over and above dualities and trigunas.

With this the eighteenth chapter of the first canto comes to an end.

First Canto Nineteenth Chapter

Parikshit going to the banks of Ganga and awaiting death by abstaining from food and water, the arrival of many great sages to that place, Parikshit putting forth his questions to Maharishi Śuka are covered in this chapter.

Parikshit began recollecting the events that had taken place in the forest. He felt agitated when he realized he had erred. “Oho, I have behaved in an uncultured manner towards a great saint who was faultless and who was glowing with divine illumination. My behavior is very disgusting. What have I done! I have insulted a person who is at par with God! Undoubtedly due to this, a great calamity is going to befall me shortly.

I hope that I pay for all my sins and that my children should not have the bear the brunt of it. With this punishment may I be absolved of my sin in totality and may I never ever be inclined to commit such a sin in future.  In the fire called ‘Maharishi’s wrath’ may all the riches, kingdom, armies, that are attached to me, a wretched being, be burnt completely. This is what I seek.

I am a sinner. I have committed a heinous sin. I have insulted a great saint who was immersed in absolute meditation. May my sin burn me up completely! Let it burn all my wealth and belongings! As long as my children do not have to suffer for it, I am happy. Never ever in future should I be negligent in my attitude towards saints, Vedic scholars, Gods and cows.”

When the king was repenting his misdeed in this manner, he received the news that, due to the curse of the saint’s son, he was to die within 7 days, from the bite of the poisonous snake called Takshaka. Shamika Mahamuni had sent a disciple with this news to the king.

Srihari! Narayana! Narayana!

Parikshit, holding the bow in his hand, once went hunting into the deep forests. After chasing wild animals for a very long period of time, he was extremely exhausted and was tormented with severe hunger and thirst. As he was going through the forests in search of water, he came across an hermitage (ashrama).

There, Parikshit saw a great saint, who had controlled all his senses, peacefully seated in deep meditation with eyes closed. He had restrained his breath, his mind as well as his intellect and had withdrawn from this material world. Having gone over and above the three stages, he was now totally immersed in the Supreme Brahma. He was covered in deer skin and his hair was totally scattered.

Parikshit approached the great saint and begged for water. The saint was immersed in absolute meditation and was in the highest state of Yoga. As such, he was oblivious to the presence of the king in his hermitage. Being in the state of absolute meditation, he did not even welcome the king cordially nor did he offer him any seat or water.

Being a king, Parikshit expected that he should be offered a reverential welcome, be cordially seated and offered water per his request. When these customary respects were not offered, he felt he was being deliberately insulted. With this he was infuriated.

If Parikshit had restrained his anger at that moment, perhaps this entire story of Bhāgawatam would never have been available to us. Yet another aspect is that if he had restrained his anger at that moment, effortlessly he would have easily attained supreme liberation.

It was no doubt a momentary exasperation. Due to his unbearable hunger and thirst, this king developed feelings of aversion and anger towards that sage, which was unprecedented. He began walking out of the hermitage when he spotted a dead snake. He lifted it up using the end of his bow, threw it upon the great sage (Brahmarishi) and walked away.

During the return journey he began to debate within himself, “Was the sage truly in deep meditation after having conquered his senses? Or trying to avoid speaking to a worthless warrior (kshatriya), was he pretentiously closing his eyes?”

The time for Parikshit’s end had neared. As time for his destruction and difficulty was nearing, his thinking underwent a change. In arrogance he was mentally jeering at the sage considering him to be dubious.

This great sage had a very young son who was supremely powerful and radiant. This small boy was playing with his friends when he heard about this incident. He instantly said, “How wrongly this king has behaved towards my father! How unrighteous are these kings, who like crows eat the remnants of food that have been thrown by people. They survive purely because of the citizens. Had the citizens not paid their taxes, could these kings have survived? Had the peasants not given a share of their crop, could these kings have survived? Thus it can be said that they eat the remnants of others’ food. After eating the remnants of others’ food, this king has the audacity to behave so arrogantly!

These rulers who are unethical and deceitful towards people can be compared to the watchdog that dares to enter into the house of its master and eat out of his plate! Out of total faith, the people have selected him as the king and enthroned him. Instead of treating such citizens as his children and treating them at par with Gods, how dare these rulers treat citizens as if they are dogs?

This worthless Kshatriya has been assigned as a watchdog by the Brahmins. Is it right for a watchdog to enter the house of its master and eat the food from the vessel?

Lord Srikrishna, who would punish the wrong-doers, has ended his incarnation. But today I take it upon myself to punish this wrong-doer who has overstepped his limits. Now see my power!”

With reddened eyes and in total fury, the small boy in the presence of his friends performed acamana (purificatory ritual) with the waters of River Koushiki and uttered a curse, which was as powerful as a thunderbolt! “That king who by insulting my father has overstepped his limits and who has brought about the downfall of his lineage, will, on the seventh day from now, be destroyed by the bite of Takshaka, the powerful snake!”

Having uttered this curse, the boy returned to his hermitage. Seeing the dead snake hanging around his father’s neck, he began to wail loudly in deep sorrow.

The great sage, Maharishi Shamika, who belonged to the lineage of Maharishi Angirasa, opened his eyes gently, upon hearing his son’s wails. Throwing away the dead snake that was around his neck, he enquired, “My son, what is the matter? Why are you crying? Has anyone harmed you in any way?”

The boy then narrated the events in detail.

Hearing that his son had cursed Parikshit, who did not deserve to be cursed, the great sage was unhappy. He could not congratulate his son for this deed. Instead he said to his son, “My son, what a fool you have been! You have committed a sinful deed. In your ignorance, for a small trivial mistake you have awarded him a very high punishment. Your intellect has not yet matured. Who do you think is a king? He is none other than Vishnu. This is stated in all our scriptures. You have failed to understand this principle”.

Krishna! Srikrishna! Narayana!

In this Kali Yuga merely by wishing to participate in meritorious deeds, the person is blessed with punya (merit). On the other hand, only when a person actually indulges in sinful deeds he is tainted with sin. Merely planning sinful deeds does not taint a person with sin. Parikshit who was aware of this minute knowledge did not develop feelings of aversion towards Kali.

Just as a wolf enters a flock of sheep and gulps them up, Kali enters into persons who are not vigilant and overpowers them. Kali, who casts profound influence upon less intelligent persons who are not vigilant, is very intimidated of wise, intelligent beings and maintains distance from them. From this it is clear that the wise, who possess discriminatory capacities, need not fear Kali. He will not attack innocent harmless persons unnecessarily. Problems come as a result of past actions and not due to Kali. But where a person willingly becomes slack or treads the wrong path, Kali will enter and influence him.

Parikshit, who understood this principle thoroughly, believed that there was no necessity to fear a coward like Kali.

O great sages, based on your request, I have narrated to you the story of Parikshit which is deeply intertwined with the glories of Lord Vasudeva Srikrishna.

Yā yāḥ kathā bhagavataḥ kathanīyoru-karmaṇaḥ

Guṇa-karmāśrayāḥ pumbhiḥ saṁsevyās tā bubhūṣubhiḥ

Human beings who seek to attain perfection and well-being, must mandatorily listen to all the divine pastimes of that Supreme Lord which explain His transcendental activities and His qualities.

Upon hearing this, the assembled saints questioned, “O Maharishi Suta! You have narrated the glories of Lord Srikrishna, which is nectarous to our human ears. We are soaked in bliss when these nectarous stories fall upon our ears. We pray that you should live for a very long period of time! We do not have the confidence that this Satra Yaga, which we have begun, will take us to the other shore. Due to this long Yagna, our bodies are completely covered with ash but then you are making us drink the nectar called the divine lotus feet of the Lord.

Even supreme states such as attaining liberation or enjoying the luxuries of heaven fail to compete with a few moments that are spent in the company of ardent devotees of Lord Vishnu.  Where even such supreme luxuries fail, what more needs to be said about ordinary worldly luxuries enjoyed by human beings?

Lord Srikrishna is the most-supreme and ultimate shelter for noble saints. Those who are adept in enjoying this supreme taste (rasa) never feel satisfied even after listening to His glories many times.

Even Lords such as Brahma, Shiva as well as the supreme masters of Yoga (Yogeshwara) fail to understand in totality, all the attributes of that Supreme Paramātma who inherently is devoid of attributes (nirguna).

Therefore O great saint! Please explain to us in minute detail the divine stories of Lord. We deeply yearn to listen to His stories, which is the only thing sought by all noble saints. You are that supreme learned devotee of the Lord who has taken up service to the Lord as the main purpose of life. Please explain this story in greater detail.

Parikshit, the wise, intelligent, supreme devotee of the Lord, in the name of liberation reached the lotus feet of Lord Srihari, who holds the Garuda-dhwaja. He achieved this through the knowledge imbibed from the teaching imparted by Maharishi Śuka.

Such a supremely pure text called Bhāgawata Purana, while explaining the stories of that Supreme Lord, also imparts knowledge! This sacred Bhāgawatam, which was taught by Śuka Maharishi to Parikshit, is exceedingly precious to all devotees of that Lord. Please explicitly explain in minute detail, the meaning contained in it, in a way that we understand”.

Maharishi Suta in response to this said in all humility, “Aha! How astonishing! How wonderful is your question! I was born to a high caste mother and a low caste father. Even then, today through this opportunity of serving great Mahatmas of your status, my life has been rendered fortunate.

When a person like me is blessed with the rare opportunity of conversing with supreme saints, his mental sufferings quickly get washed away”.

From this it is clear that Maharishi Suta was mentally agonizing that he was born in a low caste and that through conversing with these supreme saints he was now freed from that agony. When they expressed the desire to hear Bhagawatam from him, the pain in his heart was washed away. He believed that this was the result of the satsang that he had been having with these noble souls for the past many days. This is the proof that all defects get washed away when a person sings exclusively the glories of that Supreme Lord.

“The Supreme Lord is endowed with unlimited energy. His attributes are unending. For this reason He is addressed as Ananta (limitless). In terms of attributes (guṇās) there is none who can be superior to Him or at par with Him.

Lakshmi devi, Goddess of wealth and fortune, not paying attention to Brahma and others who ardently worship her, is engaged in offering services to Lord Srihari as this is most cherished by her. From this, the greatness of Srihari can easily be gauged.

It is not limited to this! The water that Lord Brahma offers at the lotus feet of Lord Srihari flows down and falls on Lord Shiva’s head. This holy water flows down to earth as Ganga and renders earth pure.

The title ‘Bhagawān’ is aptly suited only to Lord Srihari or Mukunda and to none else. Persons possessing excellent discriminatory capacities, through devotion to this Bhagawān, give up their deep inclination towards this physical body and this material world. They renounce the world by taking up Sanyasa ashrama, which is the most supreme amongst the ashramas (stages of life) and which is coupled with non-violence (ahimsa) and renunciation of action. They continue to remain in the natural state (swadharma) called Self-experience.

O great saints, you who possess the illumination akin to that of the Sun are asking me to explain about Srikrishna. The justice that I can do to this subject is limited to my knowledge and understanding of the same. Just as birds can fly only in accordance to the capacity of their wings, scholars can explain about Lord Vishnu only to the extent of their understanding.  After all, the glories of the Lord are as limitless and unending as the sky!

Krishna! Srihari!

Parikshit thus allotted to Kali places of gambling, drinking, prostitution and animals slaughtering houses as places to reside.

In which form does the Lord of Kali reside during gambling? In the form of untruthfulness he resides. Gambling is nothing but another form of cheating. To cheat means to be untruthful. There are many who due to intoxication sleep for hours at stretch. In addition intoxication increases lust in the person.  In the form of lust and in the form of cruelty towards animals, he resides.

Kali who heard all this requested for yet another place to reside. Then Parikshit allotted gold to him. In addition to the four places mentioned above, Kali could also reside in gold. Gold increases enmity between people.

Kali, who is the primary cause for unrighteousness, in accordance with the orders of the King, began to reside only in these 5 places. For this reason, wise righteous persons never accept gold in charity. They distance themselves from gold. They are scared of gold as Kali resides in it. It is said that just the golden colour is enough to attract problems.

Hence the truly wise person should never enjoy any of these 5 sinful activities. More importantly, kings, leaders and rulers who govern and seek the prosperity of their citizens as well as Gurus who guide them, should under no circumstances associate with these 5 activities in any way.

In this fashion, Parikshit restored Dharma’s other 3 legs viz., penance, compassion and cleanliness. In addition he nourished and strengthened them. Further he consoled Mother Earth and enhanced her glory. He could achieve this success as he had driven Kali out from there.

When Yudhisthira was leaving for the forests, he had coroneted his grandson Parikshit as the King and had entrusted his entire empire to him. Now Parikshit, who was ruling from Hastinapura, became the crown jewel of the entire Kuru race and was illumining thus. There is no limit to the glory of Parikshit, the son of Abhimanyu. It is only during his rule, you had taken on this holy vow and begun this holy Yagna” said Maharishi Suta addressing the saints who had assembled there.

With this the seventeenth chapter of the first canto comes to an end.

First Canto Eighteenth Chapter

In this chapter the story of how King Parikshit was cursed by the son of a saint is covered. This is the turning point to the story.

Maharishi Suta who had so far described the manner in which Parikshit had restrained Kali, now continued, “O Śounaka! Parikshit who was in his mother’s womb was to be destroyed due to the fiery Brahmāstra. Due to the supreme grace of Srikrishna, whose miraculous plays are limitless, he survived.

To this Parikshit, death appeared in the form of a snake, through the medium of a curse pronounced by the son of a saint. But as his heart was eternally placed at the lotus feet of that Supreme Lord, even death could not cause fear in him!

This was because he had seen the Lord even when he was in his mother’s womb. Right from the time he was born, he was always scrutinizing, with his deep gaze, everyone whom he met. In everyone and everything he was searching for that divine form whom he had seen while he was in his mother’s womb. As he was eternally examining (pariksha) everyone, he was known as Parikshit.

This supreme king did not fear when death approached him. He became a disciple of Maharishi Śuka, the son of Maharishi Vyasa. Attaining total dispassion, he understood the essence of the Supreme Lord Srihari and then gave up his body on the banks of River Ganga.

Nottamaśloka-vārtānāṁ juṣatāṁ tat-kathāmṛtam

Syāt sambhramo ‘nta-kāle ‘pi smaratāṁ tat-padāmbujam

Those aspirants (sadhakas) who spend their time eternally describing the pure glories of that Supreme Lord, who eternally drink the nectar called His divine stories and who place their mind fixedly at His lotus feet do not get even slightly disturbed by fear and confusions at the time of their death!

   This above verse is actually a great mantra! We should learn from it!

As long as Parikshit, the son of Abhimanyu, ruled over this entire earth as its unsurpassed ruler, Kali could not spread its influence on earth. The day and moment, Srikrishna, the Supreme Lord left earth to return to His abode, Kali, the Lord of unrighteousness (adharma) stepped into earth.

In this Kali Yuga merely by wishing to participate in meritorious deeds, the person is blessed with punya (merit). On the other hand, only when a person actually indulges in sinful deeds he is tainted with sin. Merely planning sinful deeds does not taint him with sin.

The Lord has made it so easy for us. Just by saying, “I want to go on a pilgrimage or I want to do this good deed” he is rewarded with merit (punya). But by merely saying “I want to cheat” he will not incur any sin. Only when the person actually cheats, he incurs sin. This is the rule for Kali Yuga. By merely wishing to go to Kashi, his good luck will start multiplying.

Parikshit understood this essence thoroughly. Like a honey bee he drank in this nectar completely. Therefore he never developed any aversion towards Kali.

Sri Narayana! Datta Narayana!

Addressing King Parikshit, who had offered it protection, Dharma, the Lord of righteousness said:

“Pandavas due to their devotion and supremely noble qualities became very dear to Lord Srikrishna so much so that they became capable of entrusting to Him tasks such as becoming their envoy and so on. Offering protection to a living being who is in dire need indeed truly befits you, who are born in the lineage of the Pandavas!

We, who are deluded on account of the philosophers who argue giving varied opinions on philosophical matters, are unable to trace the root for all our troubles and difficulties. This is due to our lack of complete knowledge about Paramatma.

Great saints opine that we are responsible for all the pleasure and pain that we experience. Some others declare that joys and sorrows experienced by us are the outcome of our past actions. There are others who believe that happiness and sorrows come on their own accord.  Some philosophers state that Paramātma, who is beyond the grasp of the mind and intellect, is responsible for all the pleasure and pain suffered by the beings. O Saintly King! Now you contemplate on this matter and using your intelligence, decide for yourself what is right.”

Hearing these words spoken by Dharma, Parikshit was totally absolved of all his grief. He was calm. With total concentration he looked at Dharma and said, “O master of dharma (dharmajna)! In accordance with the rule of righteousness the punishment in hell that awaits a criminal who has indulged in an unrighteous deed, also awaits the person who gossips about this criminal. As you are aware of these minute rules, you have spoken aptly. From this I conclude that You are the Lord of righteousness appearing here in the form of a bull!

Your statement that the primary root for happiness and sufferings experienced cannot be traced does not surprise me in the least. This is because, it is impossible to know when the Supreme Lord’s grace would fall on a being and when it would trap him in illusion. The influence of His illusory power (maya shakti) cannot even be grasped using the mind. Neither can it be experienced in words.

Maharishis have declared that penance (tapas), cleanliness, compassion (daya) and truthfulness are the four legs of Dharma. The aspects of unrighteousness (adharma) such as infatuation, association with the wicked and arrogance have destroyed its first 3 legs i.e. penance, cleanliness and compassion. Hence you are standing only on one leg i.e. truthfulness (satya). It alone remains. Only through this fourth leg called truthfulness, a human being is able to obtain you.

But this Kali Puruṣa, who is a personification of unrighteousness, is trying his best to break even this leg called truthfulness. Lord Srikrishna reduced the burden of this Mother Earth, who is here in the form of a cow. She now shines resplendently as a form of auspiciousness, due to the imprints of the Lord’s feet upon her body.

Now that the Lord has left her and gone, this Mother Earth laments that in future she will be ruled by kings who despise Brahmins and sacred texts and who will discard the rules of dharma that applies to them (swadharma). She grieves that they will enjoy her. For this reason she is weeping”.

In this manner, Parikshit consoled Dharma and Mother Earth. With the intent of destroying unrighteousness, he raised his sword so as to kill Kali Puruṣa.

Kali who realized that Parikshit was about to kill him began to tremble in fear. Instantly he threw away the dress of a king that he was wearing and falling at the King’s feet, bowed down and offered obeisance to him.

Parikshit had the reputation for showing mercy and offering protection to those who had sought shelter in him. True to these qualities, Parikshit, out of compassion, did not kill Kali. Instead addressing him with a smile, he said, “As you have sought shelter from us, who has obtained the same renown as that of Arjuna, you definitely have no fear henceforth. Nevertheless, you, who are closely related to unrighteousness, should not reside in my kingdom under any circumstances.

When you enter the body of a king, traits of unrighteousness (adharma) such as miserliness, untruthfulness, stealing wealth belonging to others, wicked behavior, discarding the rules of dharma that apply to them, cheating, avarice, quarrel, pretending to adhere to dharma and other such traits take control over him. They make him tread the path of adharma.

O friend of unrighteousness! You have no permission to reside in this holy place of Brahmavarta, where righteousness and truthfulness prevail. In this place, exponents in the field of Yagnas, who possess in-depth knowledge about the science of yagnas (sacrificial rituals) reside. They worship the Supreme Lord Yagneshwara through the medium of yagnas.

The Supreme Lord, who is worshipped in this manner through the medium of Yagnas, fulfills their desires and ensures their well-being. Like the air, He who is the Self (atma) within every being, pervades inside and outside this entire creation consisting of living and non-living objects”.

Parikshit, who was speaking authoritatively in this manner, appeared like Lord Yama, the Lord of death! Seeing him in this manner, Kali began to tremble profusely.

Addressing Parikshit, Kali said, “O great emperor! Based on your command, no matter where I reside, I shall only always see you, equipped with your bows and arrows ready to fight me. Therefore please be compassionate to me and reveal to me the places where I should live henceforth.

I carry the load of untruthfulness. I am closely associated with all bad habits. Where then should I live? You are driving me out of this place. Wherever I go and try to increase my influence, I will find that you are already there, ready to tackle me. Equipped with your bow and arrows you will appear in front of my eyes, ready to kill me. It is better that you tell me where I should live henceforth. Abiding by your command, I will live permanently only in those places”.

Upon hearing this request put forth by Kali, Parikshit permitted him to reside in places where gambling, drinking, prostitution, animal slaughtering activities are conducted. These were the four places allotted to him.