Friday, March 5, 2021

Bhagvatam: EVEN BY A GLIMPSE OF THE CHANTING OF NÄRÄYANA'S NAME, ONE BECOMES FREE FROM ALL THE SINFUL REACTIONS,16th Aug

Bhagvatam: EVEN BY A GLIMPSE OF THE CHANTING OF NÄRÄYANA'S NAME, ONE BECOMES FREE FROM ALL THE SINFUL REACTIONS


TRANSLATION

O King Parikshit, subduer of enemies, the living spark then came forth from Vrträsura's body and returned home, back to Godhead. While all the demigods looked on, he entered the transcendental world to become an associate of Lord Sankarshana.


PURPORT

Srila Vishvanätha Chakravarti Thäkura explains that Indra, not Vrträsura, was actually killed.

He says that when Vrträsura swallowed King Indra and his carrier, the elephant, he thought, "Now I have killed Indra, and therefore there is no more need of fighting.

Now let me return home, back to Godhead.”

Thus he stopped all his bodily activities and became situated in trance.

Taking advantage of the silence of Vrträsura's body, Indra pierced the demon's abdomen, and because of Vrträsura's trance, Indra was able to come out.

Now, Vrträsura was in yoga-samadhi, and therefore although King Indra wanted to cut his throat, the demon's neck was so stiff that Indra's thunderbolt took 360 days to cut it to pieces.

Actually it was the body left by Vrträsura that was cut to pieces by Indra; Vrträsura himself was not killed.

In his original consciousness, Vrträsura returned home, back to Godhead, to become an associate of Lord Sankarshana.

Here the word alokam means the transcendental world, Vaikunthaloka, where Sankarshana eternally resides.



This chapter describes Indra's fear at having killed a brähmana (Vrträsura), and it also describes how he fled and was saved by the grace of Lord Vishnu.


When all the demigods requested Indra to kill Vrträsura, he refused because Vrträsura was a brähmana.

The demigods, however, encouraged Indra not to fear killing him because Indra was protected by the Näräyana-kavacha, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Lord Näräyana.

Even by a glimpse of the chanting of Näräyana's name, one becomes free from all the sinful reactions of killing a woman, a cow or a brähmana.

The demigods advised Indra to perform an ashvamedha sacrifice, by which Näräyana would be pleased, for the performer of such a sacrifice is not implicated in sinful reactions even if he kills the entire universe.

Following this instruction from the demigods, King Indra fought Vrträsura, but when Vrträsura was killed, everyone was satisfied but King Indra, who knew Vrträsura's position.

This is the nature of a great personality.

Even if a great personality acquires some opulence, he is always ashamed and regretful if he acquires it illegally.

Indra could understand that he was certainly entangled by sinful reactions for killing a brähmana.

Indeed, he could see sinful reaction personified following him, and thus he fled here and there in fear, thinking of how to rid himself of his sins.

He went to Mänasa-sarovara, and there, under the protection of the goddess of fortune, he meditated for one thousand years.

During this time, Nahusha reigned over the heavenly planets as the representative of Indra.

Unfortunately, however, he was attracted by the beauty of Indra's wife, Sacidevi, and because of his sinful desire he had to accept the body of a serpent in his next life.

Indra later performed a great sacrifice with the help of exalted brähmanas and saints.

In this way he was released from the reactions of his sinful killing of a brähmana.