The great sage Maitreya continued: Vi jitāśva, the eldest son of Mahārāja Pṛthu, who had a reputation like his father’s, became em peror and gave his younger brothers different directions of the world to govern, for he was very affectionate toward his brothers (1).Mahārāja Vijitāśva offered the eastern part of the world to his brother Haryakṣa, the south ern part to Dhūmrakeśa, the western part to Vṛka and the northern part to Draviṇa (2).For merly, Mahārāja Vijitāśva pleased the King of heaven, Indra, and from him received the title Antardhāna. His wife’s name was Śikhaṇḍinī, and by her he begot three good sons (3).

The three sons of Mahārāja Antardhāna were named Pāvaka, Pavamāna and Śuci. Formerly these three personalities were the demigods of fire, but due to the curse of the great sage Vasiṣṭha, they became the sons of Mahārāja Antardhāna. As such, they were as powerful as the fire-gods, and they attained the destination of mystic yoga power, being again situated as the demigods of fire (4). Mahārāja Antardhāna had another wife, named Nabhasvatī, and by her he was happy to beget another son, named Havirdhāna. Since Mahārāja Antardhāna was very liberal, he did not kill Indra while the demigod was stealing his father’s horse at the sacrifice (5).Whenever Antardhāna, the supreme royal power, had to exact taxes, punish his citizens or fine them se verely, he was not willing to do so. Conse quently he retired from the execution of such duties and engaged himself in the performance of different sacrifices (6).

Although Mahārāja Antardhāna was engaged in performing sacri fices, because he was a self-realizedsoul he very intelligently rendered devotional service to the Lord, who eradicates all the fears of His devotees. By thus worshiping the Supreme Lord, Mahārāja Antardhāna, rapt in ecstasy, at tained His planet very easily (7). Havirdhāna, the son of Mahārāja Antardhāna, had a wife named Havirdhānī, who gave birth to six sons, named Barhiṣat, Gaya, Śukla, Kṛṣṇa, Satya and Jitavrata (8).The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, Havirdhāna’s very powerful son named Barhiṣat was very expert in performing various kinds of fruitive sacrifices, and he was also expert in the practice of mystic yoga. By his great qualifications, he became known as Prajāpati (9). Mahārāja Barhiṣat executed many sacrifices all over the world. He scattered kuśa grasses and kept the tops of the grasses pointed eastward (10).

Mahārāja Barhiṣat henceforward known as Prācīnabarhi was ordered by the supreme dem igod Brahmā to marry the daughter of the ocean named Śatadruti. Her bodily features were completely beautiful, and she was very young. She was decorated with the proper garments, and when she came into the marriage arena and began circumambulating it, the fire-god Agni became so attracted to her that he desired her company, exactly as he had formerly desired to enjoy Śukī (11).While Śatadruti was thus being married, the demons, the denizens of Gandhar valoka, the great sages, and the denizens of Sid dhaloka, the earthly planets and Nāgaloka, alt hough highly exalted, were all captivated by the tinkling of her ankle bells (12).King Prācīnabarhi begot ten children in the womb of Śatadruti. All of them were equally endowed with religiosity, and all of them were known as the Pracetās (13).

When all these Pracetās were ordered by their father to marry and beget chil dren, they all entered the ocean and practiced austerities and penances for ten thousand years. Thus they worshiped the master of all austerity, the Supreme Personality of Godhead (14).When all the sons of Prācīnabarhi left home to execute austerities, they met Lord Śiva, who, out of great mercy, instructed them about the Absolute Truth. All the sons of Prācīnabarhi meditated upon the instructions, chanting and worshiping them with great care and attention (15). Vidura asked Maitreya: My dear brāhmaṇa, why did the Pracetās meet Lord Śiva on the way? Please tell me how the meeting happened, how Lord Śiva became very pleased with them and how he instructed them. Cer tainly such talks are important, and I wish that you please be merciful upon me and describe them (16).

The great sage Vidura continued: O best of the brāhmaṇas, it is very difficult for liv ing entities encaged within this material body to have personal contact with Lord Śiva. Even great sages who have no material attachments do not contact him, despite their always being absorbed in meditation to attain his personal contact (17).Lord Śiva, the most powerful dem igod, second only to Lord Viṣṇu, is self-suffi cient. Although he has nothing to aspire for in the material world, for the benefit of those in the material world he is always busily engaged everywhere and is accompanied by his danger ous energies like the goddess Kālī and the god dess Durgā (18). The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, because of their pious nature, all the sons of Prācīnabarhi very seriously ac cepted the words of their father with heart and soul, and with these words on their heads, they went toward the west to execute their father’s order (19).

While traveling, the Pracetās hap pened to see a great reservoir of water which seemed almost as big as the ocean. The water of this lake was so calm and quiet that it seemed like the mind of a great soul, and its inhabitants, the aquatics, appeared very peaceful and happy to be under the protection of such a watery res ervoir (20).In that great lake there were differ ent types of lotus flowers. Some of them were bluish, and some of them were red. Some of them grew at night, some in the day and some, like the indīvara lotus flower, in the evening. Combined together, the lotus flowers filled the lake so full that the lake appeared to be a great mine of such flowers. Consequently, on the shores there were swans and cranes, cakravākas, kāraṇḍavas and other beautiful wa ter birds standing about (21).

There were vari ous trees and creepers on all sides of the lake, and there were mad bumblebees humming all about them. The trees appeared to be very jolly due to the sweet humming of the bumblebees, and the saffron, which was contained in the lo tus flowers, was being thrown into the air. These all created such an atmosphere that it ap peared as though a festival were taking place there (22).The sons of the King became very much amazed when they heard vibrations from various drums and kettledrums along with other orderly musical sounds pleasing to the ear (23). The Pracetās were fortunate to see Lord Śiva, the chief of the demigods, emerging from the water with his associates. His bodily luster was just like molten gold, his throat was bluish, and he had three eyes, which looked very mer cifully upon his devotees. He was accompanied by many musicians, who were glorifying him. As soon as the Pracetās saw Lord Śiva, they im mediately offered their obeisances in great amazement and fell down at the lotus feet of the lord (24-25).

Lord Śiva became very pleased with the Pracetās because generally Lord Śiva is the protector of pious persons and persons of gentle behavior. Being very much pleased with the princes, he began to speak as follows (26). Lord Śiva said: You are all the sons of King Prācīnabarhi, and I wish all good fortune to you. I also know what you are going to do, and therefore I am visible to you just to show my mercy upon you (27).Lord Śiva continued: Any person who is surrendered to the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the controller of everything material nature as well as the living entity is actually very dear to me (28). A per son who executes his occupational duty properly for one hundred births becomes qual ified to occupy the post of Brahmā, and if he becomes more qualified, he can approach Lord Śiva. A person who is directly surrendered to Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu, in unalloyed devotional service is immediately promoted to the spiritual planets. Lord Śiva and other demigods attain these planets after the destruction of this mate rial world (29).

You are all devotees of the Lord, and as such I appreciate that you are as respect able as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. I know in this way that the devotees also respect me and that I am dear to them. Thus no one can be as dear to the devotees as I am (30).Now I shall chant one mantra which is not only transcendental, pure and auspicious, but is the best prayer for anyone who is aspiring to attain the ultimate goal of life. When I chant this mantra, please hear it carefully and atten tively (31). The great sage Maitreya continued: Out of his causeless mercy, the exalted personality Lord Śiva, a great devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa, continued to speak to the King’s sons, who were standing with folded hands (32). Lord Śiva addressed the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead with the following prayer: O Supreme Personality of Godhead, all glories unto You. You are the most exalted of all self-realized souls. Since You are always auspicious for the self-realized, I wish that You be auspicious for me. You are worshipable by virtue of the all-perfect instructions You give. You are the Supersoul; therefore I offer my obeisances unto You as the supreme living be ing (33).

My Lord, You are the origin of the cre ation by virtue of the lotus flower which sprouts from Your navel. You are the supreme control ler of the senses and the sense objects, and You are also the all-pervading Vāsudeva. You are most peaceful, and because of Your self-illumi nated existence, You are not disturbed by the six kinds of transformations (34). My dear Lord, You are the origin of the subtle material ingredients, the master of all integration as well as the master of all disintegration, the predom inating Deity named Saṅkarṣaṇa, and the mas ter of all intelligence, known as the predomi nating Deity Pradyumna. Therefore, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You (35).My Lord, as the supreme directing Deity known as Aniruddha, You are the master of the senses and the mind. I therefore offer my obeisances unto You again and again. You are known as Ananta as well as Saṅkarṣaṇa because of Your ability to destroy the whole creation by the blazing fire from Your mouth (36).

My Lord, O Aniruddha, You are the authority by which the doors of the higher planetary systems and lib eration are opened. You are always within the pure heart of the living entity. Therefore I offer my obeisances unto You. You are the possessor of semen which is like gold, and thus, in the form of fire, You help the Vedic sacrifices, be ginning with cātur-hotra. Therefore I offer my obeisances unto You (37). My Lord, You are the provider of the Pitṛlokas as well as all the demigods. You are the predominating deity of the moon and the master of all three Vedas. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You be cause You are the original source of satisfac tion for all living entities (38).My dear Lord, You are the gigantic universal form which con tains all the individual bodies of the living en tities. You are the maintainer of the three worlds, and as such You maintain the mind, senses, body, and air of life within them. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You (39).

My dear Lord, by expanding Your transcendental vibrations, You reveal the actual meaning of everything. You are the all-pervad ing sky within and without, and You are the ul timate goal of pious activities executed both within this material world and beyond it. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances again and again unto You (40).My dear Lord, You are the viewer of the results of pious activities. You are inclination, disinclination and their result ant activities. You are the cause of the misera ble conditions of life caused by irreligion, and therefore You are death. I offer You my re spectful obeisances (41).My dear Lord, You are the topmost of all bestowers of all benediction, the oldest and supreme enjoyer amongst all en joyers. You are the master of all the worlds’ metaphysical philosophy, for You are the su preme cause of all causes, Lord Kṛṣṇa. You are the greatest of all religious principles, the su preme mind, and You have a brain which is never checked by any condition. Therefore I re peatedly offer my obeisances unto You (42).

My dear Lord, You are the supreme controller of the worker, sense activities and results of sense activities [karma]. Therefore You are the controller of the body, mind and senses. You are also the supreme controller of egotism, known as Rudra. You are the source of knowledge and the activities of the Vedic in junctions (43). My dear Lord, I wish to see You exactly in the form that Your very dear devotees worship. You have many other forms, but I wish to see Your form that is especially liked by the devo tees. Please be merciful upon me and show me that form, for only that form worshiped by the devotees can perfectly satisfy all the demands of the senses (44).The Lord’s beauty resembles a dark cloud during the rainy season. As the rainfall glistens, His bodily features also glis ten. Indeed, He is the sum total of all beauty. The Lord has four arms and an exquisitely beautiful face with eyes like lotus petals, a beautiful highly raised nose, a mind-attracting smile, a beautiful forehead and equally beauti ful and fully decorated ears (45-46).

The Lord is superexcellently beautiful on account of His open and merciful smile and His sidelong glance upon His devotees. His black hair is curly, and His garments, waving in the wind, appear like flying saffron pollen from lotus flowers. His glittering earrings, shining helmet, bangles, garland, ankle bells, waist belt and various other bodily ornaments combine with conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower to in crease the natural beauty of the Kaustubha pearl on His chest (47-48). The Lord has shoul ders just like a lion’s. Upon these shoulders are garlands, necklaces and epaulets, and all of these are always glittering. Besides these, there is the beauty of the Kaustubha-maṇi pearl, and on the dark chest of the Lord there are streaks named Śrīvatsa, which are signs of the goddess of fortune. The glittering of these streaks excels the beauty of the golden streaks on a gold-test ing stone. Indeed, such beauty defeats a gold testing stone (49).

The Lord’s abdomen is beau tiful due to three ripples in the flesh. Being so round, His abdomen resembles the leaf of a banyan tree, and when He exhales and inhales, the movement of the ripples appears very, very beautiful. The coils within the navel of the Lord are so deep that it appears that the entire uni verse sprouted out of it and yet again wishes to go back (50).The lower part of the Lord’s waist is dark and covered with yellow garments and a belt bedecked with golden embroidery work. His symmetrical lotus feet and the calves, thighs and joints of His legs are extraordinarily beautiful. Indeed, the Lord’s entire body ap pears to be well built (51).

My dear Lord, Your two lotus feet are so beautiful that they appear like two blossoming petals of the lotus flower which grows during the autumn season. Indeed, the nails of Your lotus feet emanate such a great effulgence that they immediately dissipate all the darkness in the heart of a conditioned soul. My dear Lord, kindly show me that form of Yours which always dissipates all kinds of darkness in the heart of a devotee. My dear Lord, You are the supreme spiritual master of everyone; therefore all conditioned souls cov ered with the darkness of ignorance can be en lightened by You as the spiritual master (52). My dear Lord, those who desire to purify their existence must always engage in medita tion upon Your lotus feet, as described above. Those who are serious about executing their oc cupational duties and who want freedom from fear must take to this process of bhakti-yoga (53).

My dear Lord, the king in charge of the heavenly kingdom is also desirous of obtaining the ultimate goal of life devotional service. Similarly, You are the ultimate destination of those who identify themselves with You [ahaṁ brahmāsmi]. However, it is very difficult for them to attain You, whereas a devotee can very easily attain Your Lordship (54).My dear Lord, pure devotional service is even difficult for lib erated persons to discharge, but devotional ser vice alone can satisfy You. Who will take to other processes of self-realization if he is actu ally serious about the perfection of life? (55) Simply by expansion of His eyebrows, invinci ble time personified can immediately vanquish the entire universe. However, formidable time does not approach the devotee who has taken complete shelter at Your lotus feet (56).

If one by chance associates with a devotee, even for a fraction of a moment, he no longer is subject to attraction by the results of karma or Jnana. What interest then can he have in the benedic tions of the demigods, who are subject to the laws of birth and death?(57) My dear Lord, Your lotus feet are the cause of all auspicious things and the destroyer of all the contamina tion of sin. I therefore beg Your Lordship to bless me by the association of Your devotees, who are completely purified by worshiping Your lotus feet and who are so merciful upon the conditioned souls. I think that Your real benediction will be to allow me to associate with such devotees (58).The devotee whose heart has been completely cleansed by the pro cess of devotional service and who is favored by Bhaktidevī does not become bewildered by the external energy, which is just like a dark well. Being completely cleansed of all material contamination in this way, a devotee is able to understand very happily Your name, fame, form, activities, etc (59).

My dear Lord, the im personal Brahman spreads everywhere, like the sunshine or the sky. And that impersonal Brah man, which spreads throughout the universe and in which the entire universe is manifested, is You (60). My dear Lord, You have manifold energies, and these energies are manifested in manifold forms. With such energies You have also cre ated this cosmic manifestation, and although You maintain it as if it were permanent, You ultimately annihilate it. Although You are never disturbed by such changes and altera tions, the living entities are disturbed by them, and therefore they find the cosmic manifesta tion to be different or separated from You. My Lord, You are always independent, and I can clearly see this fact (61).My dear Lord, Your universal form consists of all five elements, the senses, mind, intelligence, false ego (which is material) and the Paramātmā, Your partial ex pansion, who is the director of everything. Yogīs other than the devotees namely the karma-yogī and Jnana-yogī worship You by their respective actions in their respective posi tions. It is stated both in the Vedas and in the śāstras that are corollaries of the Vedas, and in deed everywhere, that it is only You who are to be worshiped. That is the expert version of all the Vedas (62).

My dear Lord, You are the only Supreme Person, the cause of all causes. Before the creation of this material world, Your mate rial energy remains in a dormant condition. When Your material energy is agitated, the three qualities namely goodness, passion and ignorance act, and as a result the total material energy egotism, ether, air, fire, water, earth and all the various demigods and saintly persons becomes manifest. Thus the material world is created (63).My dear Lord, after creating by Your own potencies, You enter within the cre ation in four kinds of forms. Being within the hearts of the living entities, You know them and know how they are enjoying their senses. The so-called happiness of this material crea tion is exactly like the bees’ enjoyment of honey after it has been collected in the honey comb (64).

My dear Lord, Your absolute authority can not be directly experienced, but one can guess by seeing the activities of the world that every thing is being destroyed in due course of time. The force of time is very strong, and everything is being destroyed by something else just as one animal is being eaten by another animal. Time scatters everything, exactly as the wind scatters clouds in the sky (65).My dear Lord, all living entities within this material world are mad after planning for things, and they are al ways busy with a desire to do this or that. This is due to uncontrollable greed. The greed for material enjoyment is always existing in the living entity, but Your Lordship is always alert, and in due course of time You strike him, just as a snake seizes a mouse and very easily swal lows him (66).My dear Lord, any learned per son knows that unless he worships You, his en tire life is spoiled. Knowing this, how could he give up worshiping Your lotus feet? Even our father and spiritual master, Lord Brahmā, un hesitatingly worshiped You, and the fourteen Manus followed in his footsteps (67).

My dear Lord, all actually learned persons know You as the Supreme Brahman and the Supersoul. Alt hough the entire universe is afraid of Lord Ru dra, who ultimately annihilates everything, for the learned devotees You are the fearless desti nation of all (68). My dear sons of the King, just execute your occupational duty as kings with a pure heart. Just chant this prayer fixing your mind on the lotus feet of the Lord. That will bring you all good fortune, for the Lord will be very much pleased with you (69).Therefore, O sons of the King, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is situated in everyone’s heart. He is also within your hearts. Therefore chant the glories of the Lord and always meditate upon Him con tinuously (70). My dear princes, in the form of a prayer I have delineated the yoga system of chanting the holy name. All of you should take this important stotra within your minds and promise to keep it in order to become great sages. By acting silently like a great sage and by giving attention and reverence, you should practice this method (71).

This prayer was first spoken to us by Lord Brahmā, the master of all creators. The creators, headed by Bhṛgu, were instructed in these prayers because they wanted to create (72).When all the Prajāpatis were or dered to create by Lord Brahmā, we chanted these prayers in praise of the Supreme Person ality of Godhead and became completely free from all ignorance. Thus we were able to create different types of living entities (73).A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa whose mind is always absorbed in Him, who with great attention and reverence chants this stotra [prayer], will achieve the greatest perfection of life without delay (74).In this material world there are different types of achievement, but of all of them the achieve ment of knowledge is considered to be the high est because one can cross the ocean of nesci ence only on the boat of knowledge. Otherwise the ocean is impassable (75).

Although render ing devotional service to the Supreme Person ality of Godhead and worshiping Him are very difficult, if one vibrates or simply reads this stotra [prayer] composed and sung by me, he will very easily be able to invoke the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (76).The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the dear most objective of all auspicious benedictions. A human being who sings this song sung by me can please the Supreme Personality of God head. Such a devotee, being fixed in the Lord’s devotional service, can acquire whatever he wants from the Supreme Lord (77).A devotee who rises early in the morning and with folded hands chants these prayers sung by Lord Śiva, and gives facility to others to hear them, cer tainly becomes free from all bondage to fruitive activities (78).My dear sons of the King, the prayers I have recited to you are meant for pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul. I advise you to recite these pray ers, which are as effective as great austerities. In this way, when you are mature, your life will be successful, and you will certainly achieve all your desired objectives without fail (79).

At the last stage of his life, when Mahārāja Pṛthu saw himself getting old, that great soul, who was king of the world, divided whatever opulence he had accumulated amongst all kinds of living entities, moving and nonmoving. He arranged pensions for everyone according to re ligious principles, and after executing the or ders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in complete coordination with Him, he dedicated his sons unto the earth, which was considered to be his daughter. Then Mahārāja Pṛthu left the presence of his citizens, who were almost la menting and crying from feeling separation from the King, and went to the forest alone with his wife to perform austerities (1-3).After retir ing from family life, Mahārāja Pṛthu strictly followed the regulations of retired life and un derwent severe austerities in the forest. He en gaged in these activities as seriously as he had formerly engaged in leading the government and conquering everyone (4).

In the tapo-vana, Mahārāja Pṛthu sometimes ate the trunks and roots of trees, sometimes he ate fruit and dried leaves, and for some weeks he drank only wa ter. Finally he lived simply by breathing air (5).Following the principles of forest living and the footsteps of the great sages and munis, Pṛthu Mahārāja accepted five kinds of heating processes during the summer season, exposed himself to torrents of rain in the rainy season and, in the winter, stood in water up to his neck. He also used to simply lie down on the floor to sleep (6).Mahārāja Pṛthu underwent all these severe austerities in order to control his words and his senses, to refrain from discharging his semen and to control the life air within his body. All this he did for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. He had no other purpose (7).

By thus practicing severe austerities, Mahārāja Pṛthu gradually became steadfast in spiritual life and completely free of all desires for fruitive activ ities. He also practiced breathing exercises to control his mind and senses, and by such con trol he became completely free from all desires for fruitive activity (8).Thus the best amongst human beings, Mahārāja Pṛthu, followed that path of spiritual advancement which was ad vised by Sanat-kumāra. That is to say, he wor shiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa (9). Mahārāja Pṛthu thus engaged com pletely in devotional service, executing the rules and regulations strictly according to prin ciples, twenty-four hours daily. Thus his love and devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, developed and became un flinching and fixed (10). By regularly discharging devotional service, Pṛthu Mahārāja became transcendental in mind and could therefore constantly think of the lotus feet of the Lord. Because of this, he became completely detached and attained perfect knowledge by which he could transcend all doubt. Thus he was freed from the clutches of false ego and the material conception of life (11).

When he became completely free from the conception of bodily life, Mahārāja Pṛthu real ized Lord Kṛṣṇa sitting in everyone’s heart as the Paramātmā. Being thus able to get all in structions from Him, he gave up all other prac tices of yoga and Jnana. He was not even inter ested in the perfection of the yoga and Jnana systems, for he thoroughly realized that devo tional service to Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal of life and that unless the yogīs and jñānīs become attracted to kṛṣṇa-kathā [narrations about Kṛṣṇa], their illusions concerning existence can never be dispelled (12).In due course of time, when Pṛthu Mahārāja was to give up his body, he fixed his mind firmly upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and thus, completely situated on the brahma-bhūta platform, he gave up the material body (13). When Mahārāja Pṛthu practiced a particular yogic sitting posture, he blocked the door of his anus with his ankles, pressed his right and left calves and gradually raised his life air upward, passing it on to the circle of his na vel, up to his heart and throat, and finally pushed it upward to the central position be tween his two eyebrows (14).

In this way, Pṛthu Mahārāja gradually raised his air of life up to the hole in his skull, whereupon he lost all de sire for material existence. Gradually he merged his air of life with the totality of air, his body with the totality of earth, and the fire within his body with the totality of fire (15).In this way, according to the different positions of the various parts of the body, Pṛthu Mahārāja merged the holes of his senses with the sky; his bodily liquids, such as blood and various secre tions, with the totality of water; and he merged earth with water, then water with fire, fire with air, air with sky, and so on (16).He amalga mated the mind with the senses and the senses with the sense objects, according to their re spective positions, and he also amalgamated the material ego with the total material energy, mahat-tattva (17).

Pṛthu Mahārāja then offered the total designation of the living entity unto the supreme controller of illusory energy. Being re leased from all the designations by which the living entity became entrapped, he became free by knowledge and renunciation and by the spir itual force of his devotional service. In this way, being situated in his original constitu tional position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gave up this body as a prabhu, or controller of the senses (18). The Queen, the wife of Pṛthu Mahārāja, whose name was Arci, followed her husband into the forest. Since she was a queen, her body was very delicate. Although she did not deserve to live in the forest, she voluntarily touched her lotus feet to the ground (19).Although she was not accustomed to such difficulties, Queen Arci followed her husband in the regulative princi ples of living in the forest like great sages. She lay down on the ground and ate only fruits, flowers and leaves, and because she was not fit for these activities, she became frail and thin. Yet because of the pleasure she derived in serv ing her husband, she did not feel any difficul ties (20).When Queen Arci saw that her hus band, who had been so merciful to her and the earth, no longer showed symptoms of life, she lamented for a little while and then built a fiery pyre on top of a hill and placed the body of her husband on it (21).

After this, the Queen exe cuted the necessary funerary functions and of fered oblations of water. After bathing in the river, she offered obeisances to various demi gods situated in the sky in the different plane tary systems. She then circumambulated the fire and, while thinking of the lotus feet of her husband, entered its flames(22).After observ ing this brave act performed by the chaste wife Arci, the wife of the great King Pṛthu, many thousands of the wives of the demigods, along with their husbands, offered prayers to the Queen, for they were very much satisfied (23).At that time the demigods were situated on the top of Mandara Hill, and all their wives be gan to shower flowers on the funeral pyre and began to talk amongst themselves as follows (24). The wives of the demigods said: All glo ries to Queen Arci! We can see that this queen of the great King Pṛthu, the emperor of all the kings of the world, has served her husband with mind, speech and body exactly as the goddess of fortune serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yajñeśa, or Viṣṇu (25).

The wives of the demigods continued: Just see how this chaste lady, Arci, by dint of her inconceivable pious activities, is still following her husband upward, as far as we can see (26).In this mate rial world, every human being has a short span of life, but those who are engaged in devotional service go back home, back to Godhead, for they are actually on the path of liberation. For such persons, there is nothing which is not available (27). Any person who engages him self within this material world in performing activities that necessitate great struggle, and who, after obtaining a human form of life which is a chance to attain liberation from mis eries undertakes the difficult tasks of fruitive activities, must be considered to be cheated and envious of his own self (28). The great sage Maitreya continued speaking: My dear Vidura, when the wives of the denizens of heaven were thus talking amongst themselves, Queen Arci reached the planet which her husband, Mahārāja Pṛthu, the topmost self-realized soul, had attained (29).

Maitreya continued: The greatest of all devotees, Mahārāja Pṛthu, was very powerful, and his character was liberal, magnificent and magnanimous. Thus I have described him to you as far as possible (30).Any person who de scribes the great characteristics of King Pṛthu with faith and determination whether he reads or hears of them himself or helps others to hear of them is certain to attain the very planet which Mahārāja Pṛthu attained. In other words, such a person also returns home to the Vaikuṇṭha planets, back to Godhead (31).If one hears of the characteristics of Pṛthu Mahārāja and is a brāhmaṇa, he becomes perfectly quali fied with brahminical powers; if he is a kṣat riya, he becomes a king of the world; if he is a vaiśya, he becomes a master of other vaiśyas and many animals; and if he is a śūdra, he be comes the topmost devotee (32).

It does not matter whether one is a man or woman. Anyone who, with great respect, hears this narration of Mahārāja Pṛthu will become the parent of many children if without children, and will become the richest if without money(33).Also, one who hears this narration three times will become very reputable if he is not recognized in society, and he will become a great scholar if he is illit erate. In other words, hearing of the narrations of Pṛthu Mahārāja is so auspicious that it drives away all bad luck (34).By hearing the narration of Pṛthu Mahārāja, one can become great, in crease his duration of life, gain promotion to the heavenly planets and counteract the con taminations of this Age of Kali. In addition, one can promote the causes of religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. Therefore from all sides it is advisable for a ma terialistic person who is interested in such things to read and hear the narrations of the life and character of Pṛthu Mahārāja (35).

If a king, who is desirous of attaining victory and ruling power, chants the narration of Pṛthu Mahārāja three times before going forth on his chariot, all subordinate kings will automatically render all kinds of taxes unto him as they rendered them unto Mahārāja Pṛthu simply upon his order (36).A pure devotee who is executing the dif ferent processes of devotional service may be situated in the transcendental position, being completely absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but even he, while discharging devotional ser vice, must hear, read and induce others to hear about the character and life of Pṛthu Mahārāja (37).The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, I have as far as possible spoken the narrations about Pṛthu Mahārāja, which en rich one’s devotional attitude. Whoever takes advantage of these benefits also goes back home, back to Godhead, like Mahārāja Pṛthu (38).Whoever, with great reverence and adora tion, regularly reads, chants and describes the history of Mahārāja Pṛthu’s activities will cer tainly increase unflinching faith and attraction for the lotus feet of the Lord. The Lord’s lotus feet are the boat by which one can cross the ocean of nescience (39).

The great sage Maitreya said: While the citizens were thus praying to the most powerful King Pṛthu, the four Kumāras, who were as bright as the sun, arrived on the spot (1). Seeing the glowing effulgence of the four Kumāras, the masters of all mystic power, the King and his associates could recognize them as they de scended from the sky (2). Seeing the four Kumāras, Pṛthu Mahārāja was greatly anxious to receive them. Therefore the King, with all his officers, very hastily got up, as anxiously as a conditioned soul whose senses are immediately attracted by the modes of material nature (3).When the great sages accepted their recep tion, according to the instructions of the śāstras, and finally took their seats offered by the King, the King, influenced by the glories of the sages, immediately bowed down. Thus he worshiped the four Kumāras (4).

After this, the King took the water which had washed the lotus feet of the Kumāras and sprinkled it over his hair. By such respectful actions, the King, as an exemplary personality, showed how to receive a spiritually advanced personality (5).The four great sages were elder to Lord Śiva, and when they were seated on the golden throne, they appeared just like fire blazing on an altar. Mahārāja Pṛthu, out of his great gentleness and respect for them, be gan to speak with great restraint as follows (6). King Pṛthu spoke: My dear great sages, auspiciousness personified, it is very difficult for even the mystic yogīs to see you. Indeed, you are very rarely seen. I do not know what kind of pious activity I performed for you to grace me by appearing before me without diffi culty (7). Any person upon whom the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas are pleased can achieve anything which is very rare to obtain in this world as well as after death. Not only that, but one also receives the favor of the auspicious Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu, who accompany the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas (8).

Pṛthu Mahārāja continued: Although you are traveling in all planetary systems, people cannot know you, just as they cannot know the Supersoul, alt hough He is within everyone’s heart as the wit ness of everything. Even Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva cannot understand the Supersoul (9). A person who is not very rich and is attached to family life becomes highly glorified when saintly persons are present in his home. The master and servants who are engaged in offer ing the exalted visitors water, a sitting place and paraphernalia for reception are glorified, and the home itself is also glorified (10).On the contrary, even though full of all opulence and material prosperity, any householder’s house where the devotees of the Lord are never al lowed to come in, and where there is no water for washing their feet, is to be considered a tree in which all venomous serpents live (11).

Mahārāja Pṛthu offered his welcome to the four Kumāras, addressing them as the best of the brāhmaṇas. He welcomed them, saying: From the beginning of your birth you strictly observed the vows of celibacy, and although you are experienced in the path of liberation, you are keeping yourselves just like small chil dren (12).Pṛthu Mahārāja inquired from the sages about persons entangled in this danger ous material existence because of their previous actions. Could such persons, whose only aim is sense gratification, be blessed with any good fortune? (13) Pṛthu Mahārāja continued: My dear sirs, there is no need to ask about your good and bad fortune because you are always absorbed in spiritual bliss. The mental concoc tion of the auspicious and inauspicious does not exist in you (14).I am completely assured that personalities like you are the only friends for persons who are blazing in the fire of material existence. I therefore ask you how in this mate rial world we can very soon achieve the ulti mate goal of life (15).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always anxious to elevate the liv ing entities, who are His parts and parcels, and for their special benefit the Lord travels all over the world in the form of self-realized persons like you (16). The great sage Maitreya continued: Thus Sanat-kumāra, the best of the celibates, after hearing the speech of Pṛthu Mahārāja, which was meaningful, appropriate, full of precise words and very sweet to hear, smiled with full satisfaction and began to speak as follows (17). Sanat-kumāra said: My dear King Pṛthu, I am very nicely questioned by you. Such ques tions are beneficial for all living entities, espe cially because they are raised by you, who are always thinking of the good of others. Although you know everything, you ask such questions because that is the behavior of saintly persons. Such intelligence is befitting your position (18).When there is a congregation of devotees, their discussions, questions and answers be come conclusive to both the speaker and the au dience. Thus such a meeting is beneficial for everyone’s real happiness (19).

Sanat-kumāra continued: My dear King, you already have an inclination to glorify the lotus feet of the Su preme Personality of Godhead. Such attach ment is very difficult to achieve, but when one has attained such unflinching faith in the Lord, it automatically cleanses lusty desires from the core of the heart (20).It has been conclusively decided in the scriptures, after due considera tion, that the ultimate goal for the welfare of human society is detachment from the bodily concept of life and increased and steadfast at tachment for the Supreme Lord, who is tran scendental, beyond the modes of material na ture (21).Attachment for the Supreme can be increased by practicing devotional service, in quiring about the Supreme Personality of God head, applying bhakti-yoga in life, worshiping the Yogeśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and by hearing and chanting about the glories of the Supreme Personality of God head. These actions are pious in themselves (22).

One has to make progress in spiritual life by not associating with persons who are simply interested in sense gratification and making money. Not only such persons, but one who as sociates with such persons should be avoided. One should mold his life in such a way that he cannot live in peace without drinking the nectar of the glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari. One can be thus elevated by being disgusted with the taste for sense enjoy ment (23).A candidate for spiritual advance ment must be nonviolent, must follow in the footsteps of great ācāryas, must always remem ber the nectar of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, must follow the regu lative principles without material desire and, while following the regulative principles, should not blaspheme others. A devotee should lead a very simple life and not be disturbed by the duality of opposing elements. He should learn to tolerate them (24).

The devotee should gradually increase the culture of devotional ser vice by constant hearing of the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of God head. These pastimes are like ornamental dec orations on the ears of devotees. By rendering devotional service and transcending the mate rial qualities, one can easily be fixed in tran scendence in the Supreme Personality of God head (25).Upon becoming fixed in his attach ment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the grace of the spiritual master and by awakening knowledge and detachment, the liv ing entity, situated within the heart of the body and covered by the five elements, burns up his material surroundings exactly as fire, arising from wood, burns the wood itself (26).When a person becomes devoid of all material desires and liberated from all material qualities, he transcends distinctions between actions exe cuted externally and internally. At that time the difference between the soul and the Supersoul, which was existing before self-realization, is annihilated. When a dream is over, there is no longer a distinction between the dream and the dreamer (27).

When the soul exists for sense gratification, he creates different desires, and for that reason he becomes subjected to designations. But when one is in the transcendental position, he is no longer interested in anything except ful filling the desires of the Lord (28).Only be cause of different causes does a person see a difference between himself and others, just as one sees the reflection of a body appearing dif ferently manifested on water, on oil or in a mir ror (29).When one’s mind and senses are at tracted to sense objects for enjoyment, the mind becomes agitated. As a result of continually thinking of sense objects, one’s real conscious ness almost becomes lost, like the water in a lake that is gradually sucked up by the big grass straws on its bank (30).When one deviates from his original consciousness, he loses the capac ity to remember his previous position or recog nize his present one. When remembrance is lost, all knowledge acquired is based on a false foundation. When this occurs, learned scholars consider that the soul is lost (31).

There is no stronger obstruction to one’s self-interest than thinking other subject matters to be more pleas ing than one’s self-realization (32). For human society, constantly thinking of how to earn money and apply it for sense grat ification brings about the destruction of every one’s interests. When one becomes devoid of knowledge and devotional service, he enters into species of life like those of trees and stones (33).Those who strongly desire to cross the ocean of nescience must not associate with the modes of ignorance, for hedonistic activities are the greatest obstructions to realization of re ligious principles, economic development, reg ulated sense gratification and, at last, liberation (34).Out of the four principles namely religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation liberation has to be taken very seri ously. The other three are subject to destruction by the stringent law of nature death (35).

We accept as blessings different states of higher life, distinguishing them from lower states of life, but we should know that such distinctions exist only in relation to the interchange of the modes of material nature. Actually these states of life have no permanent existence, for all of them will be destroyed by the supreme control ler (36). Sanat-kumāra advised the King: Therefore, my dear King Pṛthu, try to understand the Su preme Personality of Godhead, who is living within everyone’s heart along with the individ ual soul, in each and every body, either moving or not moving. The individual souls are fully covered by the gross material body and subtle body made of the life air and intelligence (37).The Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself as one with the cause and ef fect within this body, but one who has trans cended the illusory energy by deliberate con sideration, which clears the misconception of a snake for a rope, can understand that the Paramātmā is eternally transcendental to the material creation and situated in pure internal energy. Thus the Lord is transcendental to all material contamination. Unto Him only must one surrender (38).

The devotees, who are al ways engaged in the service of the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord, can very easily overcome hard-knotted desires for fruitive activities. Be cause this is very difficult, the nondevotees the jñānīs and yogīs although trying to stop the waves of sense gratification, cannot do so. Therefore you are advised to engage in the de votional service of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva (39).The ocean of nescience is very difficult to cross because it is infested with many danger ous sharks. Although those who are nondevo tees undergo severe austerities and penances to cross that ocean, we recommend that you simply take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, which are like boats for crossing the ocean. Alt hough the ocean is difficult to cross, by taking shelter of His lotus feet you will overcome all dangers (40). The great sage Maitreya continued: Being thus enlightened in complete spiritual knowledge by the son of Brahmā one of the Kumāras, who was complete in spiritual knowledge the King worshiped them in the fol lowing words (41).

The King said: O brāhmaṇa, O powerful one, formerly Lord Viṣṇu showed me His causeless mercy, indicating that you would come to my house, and to confirm that blessing, you have all come (42).My dear brāhmaṇa, you have carried out the order thoroughly because you are also as compassionate as the Lord. It is my duty, therefore, to offer you something, but all I possess are but remnants of food taken by great saintly persons. What shall I give? (43) The King continued: Therefore, my dear brāhmaṇas, my life, wife, children, home, fur niture and household paraphernalia, my king dom, strength, land and especially my treasury are all offered unto you (44).Since only a per son who is completely educated according to the principles of Vedic knowledge deserves to be commander-in-chief, ruler of the state, the first to chastise or the proprietor of the whole planet, Pṛthu Mahārāja offered everything to the Kumāras (45).

The kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras eat their food by virtue of the brāhmaṇas’ mercy. It is the brāhmaṇas who en joy their own property, clothe themselves with their own property and give charity with their own property (46).Pṛthu Mahārāja continued: How can such persons, who have rendered un limited service by explaining the path of self realization in relation to the Supreme Personal ity of Godhead, and whose explanations are given for our enlightenment with complete conviction and Vedic evidence, be repaid ex cept by folded palms containing water for their satisfaction? Such great personalities can be satisfied only by their own activities, which are distributed amongst human society out of their unlimited mercy (47). The great sage Maitreya continued: Being thus worshiped by Mahārāja Pṛthu, the four Kumāras, who were masters of devotional ser vice, became very pleased. Indeed, they ap peared in the sky and praised the character of the King, and everyone observed them (48).

Amongst great personalities, Mahārāja Pṛthu was the chief by virtue of his fixed posi tion in relation to spiritual enlightenment. He remained satisfied as one who has achieved all success in spiritual understanding (49).Being self-satisfied, Mahārāja Pṛthu executed his du ties as perfectly as possible according to the time and his situation, strength and financial position. His only aim in all his activities was to satisfy the Absolute Truth. In this way, he duly acted (50).Mahārāja Pṛthu completely dedicated himself to be an eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, transcenden tal to material nature. Consequently all the fruits of his activities were dedicated to the Lord, and he always thought of himself as the servant of the Supreme Personality of God head, who is the proprietor of everything (51).Mahārāja Pṛthu, who was very opulent due to the prosperity of his entire empire, remained at home as a householder. Since he was never inclined to utilize his opulences for the gratifi cation of his senses, he remained unattached, exactly like the sun, which is unaffected in all circumstances (52).

Being situated in the liberated position of devotional service, Pṛthu Mahārāja not only performed all fruitive activities but also begot five sons by his wife, Arci. Indeed, all his sons were begotten according to his own desire (53). After begetting five sons, named Vijitāśva, Dhūmrakeśa, Haryakṣa, Draviṇa and Vṛka, Pṛthu Mahārāja continued to rule the planet. He accepted all the qualities of the deities who governed all other planets (54).Since Mahārāja Pṛthu was a perfect devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he wanted to protect the Lord’s creation by pleasing the various cit izens according to their various desires. There fore Pṛthu Mahārāja used to please them in all respects by his words, mentality, works and gentle behavior (55).

Mahārāja Pṛthu became as celebrated a king as Soma-rāja, the king of the moon. He was also powerful and exacting, just like the sun-god, who distributes heat and light and at the same time exacts all the planetary waters (56). Mahārāja Pṛthu was so strong and powerful that no one could disobey his orders, any more than one could conquer fire itself. He was so strong that he was compared to Indra, the King of heaven, whose power is insupera ble. On the other hand, Mahārāja Pṛthu was also as tolerant as the earth, and in fulfilling various desires of human society, he was like heaven itself (57).Just as rainfall satisfies everyone’s desires, Mahārāja Pṛthu used to satisfy every one. He was like the sea in that no one could understand his depths, and he was like Meru, the king of hills, in the fixity of his purpose (58). Mahārāja Pṛthu’s intelligence and education were exactly like that of Yamarāja, the super intendent of death. His opulence was compara ble to the Himālaya Mountains, where all valu able jewels and metals are stocked. He pos sessed great riches like Kuvera, the treasurer of the heavenly planets, and no one could reveal his secrets, for they were like the demigod Var uṇa’s (59).

In his bodily strength and in the strength of his senses, Mahārāja Pṛthu was as strong as the wind, which can go anywhere and everywhere. As far as his intolerance was con cerned, he was just like the all-powerful Rudra expansion of Lord Śiva, or Sadāśiva (60).In his bodily beauty he was just like Cupid, and in his thoughtfulness he was like a lion. In his affec tion he was just like Svāyambhuva Manu, and in his ability to control he was like Lord Brahmā (61).In his personal behavior, Pṛthu Mahārāja exhibited all good qualities, and in spiritual knowledge he was exactly like Bṛhaspati. In self-control he was like the Su preme Personality of Godhead Himself. As far as his devotional service was concerned, he was a great follower of devotees who were attached to cow protection and the rendering of all ser vice to the spiritual master and the brāhmaṇas. He was perfect in his shyness and in his gentle behavior, and when he engaged in some phil anthropic activity, he worked as if he were working for his own personal self (62).Throughout the whole universe in the higher, lower and middle planetary systems Pṛthu Mahārāja’s reputation was loudly de clared, and all ladies and saintly persons heard his glories, which were as sweet as the glories of Lord Rāmacandra (63).

The great sage Maitreya told Vidura: When the King entered his city, it was very beautifully decorated to receive him with pearls, flower garlands, beautiful cloth and golden gates, and the entire city was perfumed with highly fragrant incense (1).Fragrant water distilled from sandalwood and aguru herb was sprinkled everywhere on the lanes, roads and small parks throughout the city, and every where were decorations of unbroken fruits, flowers, wetted grains, varied minerals, and lamps, all presented as auspicious parapherna lia (2).At the street crossings there were bunches of fruits and flowers, as well as pillars of banana trees and betel nut branches. All these combined decorations everywhere looked very attractive (3).

As the King entered the gate of the city, all the citizens received him with many auspicious articles like lamps, flowers and yogurt. The King was also received by many beautiful unmarried girls whose bodies were bedecked with various ornaments, espe cially with earrings which collided with one an other (4).When the King entered the palace, conchshells and kettledrums were sounded, priests chanted Vedic mantras, and profes sional reciters offered different prayers. But in spite of all this ceremony to welcome him, the King was not the least bit affected (5).Both the important citizens and the common citizens welcomed the King very heartily, and he also bestowed upon them their desired blessings (6). King Pṛthu was greater than the greatest soul and was therefore worshipable by everyone. He performed many glorious activities in ruling over the surface of the world and was always magnanimous. After achieving such great suc cess and a reputation which spread throughout the universe, he at last obtained the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (7).

Sūta Gosvāmī continued: O Śaunaka, leader of the great sages, after hearing Maitreya speak about the various activities of King Pṛthu, the original king, who was fully quali fied, glorified and widely praised all over the world, Vidura, the great devotee, very submis sively worshiped Maitreya Ṛṣi and asked him the following question (8). Vidura said: My dear brāhmaṇa Maitreya, it is very enlightening to understand that King Pṛthu was enthroned by the great sages and brāhmaṇas. All the demigods presented him with innumerable gifts, and he also expanded his influence upon personally receiving strength from Lord Viṣṇu. Thus he greatly de veloped the earth (9).Pṛthu Mahārāja was so great in his activities and magnanimous in his method of ruling that all the kings and demi gods on the various planets still follow in his footsteps. Who is there who will not try to hear about his glorious activities? I wish to hear more and more about Pṛthu Mahārāja because his activities are so pious and auspicious (10).

The great saintly sage Maitreya told Vidura: My dear Vidura, King Pṛthu lived in the tract of land between the two great rivers Ganges and Yamunā. Because he was very op ulent, it appeared that he was enjoying his des tined fortune in order to diminish the results of his past pious activities (11).Mahārāja Pṛthu was an unrivaled king and possessed the scep ter for ruling all the seven islands on the surface of the globe. No one could disobey his irrevo cable orders but the saintly persons, the brāhmaṇas and the descendants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead [the Vaiṣṇavas] (12).Once upon a time King Pṛthu initiated the performance of a very great sacrifice in which great saintly sages, brāhmaṇas, demigods from higher planetary systems and great saintly kings known as rājarṣis all assembled together (13).In that great assembly, Mahārāja Pṛthu first of all worshiped all the respectable visitors according to their respective positions. After this, he stood up in the midst of the assembly, and it appeared that the full moon had arisen amongst the stars (14).

King Pṛthu’s body was tall and sturdy, and his complexion was fair. His arms were full and broad and his eyes as bright as the rising sun. His nose was straight, his face very beautiful, and his personality grave. His teeth were set beautifully in his smil ing face (15).The chest of Mahārāja Pṛthu was very broad, his waist was very thick, and his abdomen, wrinkled by lines of skin, resembled in construction a leaf of a banyan tree. His na vel was coiled and deep, his thighs were of a golden hue, and his instep was arched (16).The black, slick hair on his head was very fine and curly, and his neck, like a conchshell, was dec orated with auspicious lines. He wore a very valuable dhotī, and there was a nice wrapper on the upper part of his body (17).

As Mahārāja Pṛthu was being initiated to perform the sacri fice, he had to leave aside his valuable dress, and therefore his natural bodily beauty was vis ible. It was very pleasing to see him put on a black deerskin and wear a ring of kuśa grass on his finger, for this increased the natural beauty of his body. It appears that Mahārāja Pṛthu ob served all the regulative principles before he performed the sacrifice (18).Just to encourage the members of the assembly and to enhance their pleasure, King Pṛthu glanced over them with eyes that seemed like stars in a sky wet with dew. He then spoke to them in a great voice (19). Mahārāja Pṛthu’s speech was very beautiful, full of metaphorical language, clearly understandable and very pleasing to hear. His words were all grave and certain. It appears that when he spoke, he expressed his personal real ization of the Absolute Truth in order to benefit all who were present (20).

King Pṛthu said: O gentle members of the assembly, may all good fortune be upon you! May all of you great souls who have come to attend this meeting kindly hear my prayer at tentively. A person who is actually inquisitive must present his decision before an assembly of noble souls (21).King Pṛthu continued: By the grace of the Supreme Lord I have been ap pointed the king of this planet, and I carry the scepter to rule the citizens, protect them from all danger, and give them employment accord ing to their respective positions in the social or der established by Vedic injunction (22).Mahārāja Pṛthu said: I think that upon the execution of my duties as king, I shall be able to achieve the desirable objectives described by experts in Vedic knowledge. This destination is certainly achieved by the pleasure of the Su preme Personality of Godhead, who is the seer of all destiny (23).

Any king who does not teach his citizens about their respective duties in terms of varṇa and āśrama but who simply ex acts tolls and taxes from them is liable to suffer for the impious activities which have been per formed by the citizens. In addition to such deg radation, the king also loses his own fortune (24).Pṛthu Mahārāja continued: Therefore, my dear citizens, for the welfare of your king after his death, you should execute your duties properly in terms of your positions of varṇa and āśrama and should always think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within your hearts. By doing so, you will protect your own interests, and you will bestow mercy upon your king for his welfare after death (25).I request all the purehearted demigods, forefathers and saintly persons to support my proposal, for after death the result of an action is equally shared by its doer, its director and its supporter (26).

My dear respectable ladies and gentlemen, according to the authoritative statements of śāstra, there must be a supreme authority who is able to award the respective benefits of our present ac tivities. Otherwise, why should there be per sons who are unusually beautiful and powerful both in this life and in the life after death? (27) This is confirmed not only by the evidence of the Vedas but also by the personal behavior of great personalities like Manu, Uttānapāda, Dhruva, Priyavrata and my grandfather Aṅga, as well as by many other great personalities and ordinary living entities, exemplified by Mahārāja Prahlāda and Bali, all of whom are theists, believing in the existence of the Su preme Personality of Godhead, who carries a club (28-29).

Although abominable persons like my father, Vena, the grandson of death per sonified, are bewildered on the path of religion, all the great personalities like those mentioned agree that in this world the only bestower of the benedictions of religion, economic develop ment, sense gratification, liberation or eleva tion to the heavenly planets is the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead (30). By the inclination to serve the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, suffering humanity can immediately cleanse the dirt which has accumulated in their minds during innumerable births. Like the Ganges water, which emanates from the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord, such a process immediately cleanses the mind, and thus spiritual or Kṛṣṇa consciousness gradually increases (31).

When a devotee takes shelter at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is com pletely cleansed of all misunderstanding or mental speculation, and he manifests renuncia tion. This is possible only when one is strength ened by practicing bhakti-yoga. Once having taken shelter at the root of the lotus feet of the Lord, a devotee never comes back to this mate rial existence, which is full of the threefold mis eries (32).Pṛthu Mahārāja advised his citizens: Engaging your minds, your words, your bodies and the results of your occupational duties, and being always open-minded, you should all ren der devotional service to the Lord. According to your abilities and the occupations in which you are situated, you should engage your ser vice at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full confidence and without reservation. Then you will surely be successful in achieving the final objective in your lives (33).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is transcendental and not contaminated by this material world. But although He is concen trated spirit soul without material variety, for the benefit of the conditioned soul He neverthe less accepts different types of sacrifice per formed with various material elements, rituals and mantras and offered to the demigods under different names according to the interests and purposes of the performers (34).The Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervading, but He is also manifested in different types of bodies which arise from a combination of material na ture, time, desires and occupational duties. Thus different types of consciousness develop, just as fire, which is always basically the same, blazes in different ways according to the shape and dimension of firewood (35).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the master and en joyer of the results of all sacrifices, and He is the supreme spiritual master as well. All of you citizens on the surface of the globe who have a relationship with me and are worshiping Him by dint of your occupational duties are bestow ing your mercy upon me. Therefore, O my cit izens, I thank you (36).The brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas are personally glorified by their characteristic powers of tolerance, penance, knowledge and education. By dint of all these spiritual assets, Vaiṣṇavas are more powerful than royalty. It is therefore advised that the princely order not exhibit its material prowess before these two communities and should avoid offending them (37).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ancient, eternal Godhead, who is foremost amongst all great personalities, ob tained the opulence of His staunch reputation, which purifies the entire universe, by worship ing the lotus feet of those brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas (38).The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is everlastingly independent and who exists in everyone’s heart, is very pleased with those who follow in His footsteps and en gage without reservation in the service of the descendants of brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, for He is always dear to brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas and they are always dear to Him (39).

By regu lar service to the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, one can clear the dirt from his heart and thus enjoy supreme peace and liberation from material at tachment and be satisfied. In this world there is no fruitive activity superior to serving the brāhmaṇa class, for this can bring pleasure to the demigods, for whom the many sacrifices are recommended (40). Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Ananta, eats through the fire sacrifices offered in the names of the different demigods, He does not take as much pleasure in eating through fire as He does in ac cepting offerings through the mouths of learned sages and devotees, for then He does not leave the association of devotees (41).In brahminical culture a brāhmaṇa’s transcendental position is eternally maintained because the injunctions of the Vedas are accepted with faith, austerity, scriptural conclusions, full sense and mind con trol, and meditation. In this way the real goal of life is illuminated, just as one’s face is fully re flected in a clear mirror (42).

O respectable per sonalities present here, I beg the blessings of all of you that I may perpetually carry on my crown the dust of the lotus feet of such brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas until the end of my life. He who can carry such dust on his head is very soon relieved of all the reactions which arise from sinful life, and eventually he devel ops all good and desirable qualities (43).Who ever acquires the brahminical qualifications whose only wealth is good behavior, who is grateful, and who takes shelter of experienced persons gets all the opulence of the world. I therefore wish that the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His associates be pleased with the brāhmaṇa class, with the cows and with me (44). The great sage Maitreya said: After hear ing King Pṛthu speak so nicely, all the demi gods, the denizens of Pitṛloka, the brāhmaṇas and the saintly persons present at the meeting congratulated him by expressing their good will (45).

They all declared that the Vedic con clusion that one can conquer the heavenly plan ets by the action of a putra, or son, was fulfilled, for the most sinful Vena, who had been killed by the curse of the brāhmaṇas, was now deliv ered from the darkest region of hellish life by his son, Mahārāja Pṛthu (46).Similarly, Hiraṇyakaśipu, who by dint of his sinful activ ities always defied the supremacy of the Su preme Personality of Godhead, entered into the darkest region of hellish life; but by the grace of his great son, Prahlāda Mahārāja, he also was delivered and went back home, back to God head (47).All the saintly brāhmaṇas thus ad dressed Pṛthu Mahārāja: O best of the warriors, O father of this globe, may you be blessed with a long life, for you have great devotion to the infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the master of all the universe (48).

The audience continued: Dear King Pṛthu, your rep utation is the purest of all, for you are preaching the glories of the most glorified of all, the Su preme Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the brāhmaṇas. Since, due to our great fortune, we have you as our master, we think that we are living directly under the agency of the Lord (49).Our dear lord, it is your occupational duty to rule over your citizens. That is not a very wonderful task for a personality like you, who are so affectionate in seeing to the interests of the citizens, because you are full of mercy. That is the greatness of your character (50).

The citi zens continued: Today you have opened our eyes and revealed how to cross to the other side of the ocean of darkness. By our past deeds and by the arrangement of superior authority, we are entangled in a network of fruitive activities and have lost sight of the destination of life; thus we have been wandering within the uni verse (51).Dear lord, you are situated in your pure existential position of goodness; therefore you are the perfect representative of the Su preme Lord. You are glorified by your own prowess, and thus you are maintaining the en tire world by introducing brahminical culture and protecting everyone in your line of duty as a kṣatriya (52).

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, being very much satisfied by the performance of ninety-nine horse sacrifices, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, appeared on the scene. Accompanying Him was King Indra. Lord Viṣṇu then began to speak (1). Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, said: My dear King Pṛthu, Indra, the King of heaven, has disturbed your execution of one hundred sacrifices. Now he has come with Me to be forgiven by you. Therefore ex cuse him (2).O King, one who is advanced in intelligence and eager to perform welfare activ ities for others is considered best amongst hu man beings. An advanced human being is never malicious to others. Those with advanced intel ligence are always conscious that this material body is different from the soul (3).

If a person ality like you, who are so much advanced be cause of executing the instructions of the previ ous ācāryas, is carried away by the influence of My material energy, then all your advancement may be considered simply a waste of time (4).Those who are in full knowledge of the bod ily conception of life, who know that this body is composed of nescience, desires and activities resulting from illusion, do not become addicted to the body (5).How can a highly learned per son who has absolutely no affinity for the bod ily conception of life be affected by the bodily conception in regard to house, children, wealth and similar other bodily productions? (6) The individual soul is one, pure, nonmaterial and self-effulgent. He is the reservoir of all good qualities, and He is all-pervading. He is without material covering, and He is the wit ness of all activities. He is completely distin guished from other living entities, and He is transcendental to all embodied souls (7).Alt hough within the material nature, one who is thus situated in full knowledge of the Paramātmā and ātmā is never affected by the modes of material nature, for he is always situ ated in My transcendental loving service (8).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, continued: My dear King Pṛthu, when one situated in his occupational duty engages in My loving service without motive for material gain, he gradually becomes very satisfied within (9).When the heart is cleansed of all ma terial contamination, the devotee’s mind be comes broader and transparent and he can see things equally. At that stage of life there is peace, and one is situated equally with Me as sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (10).

Anyone who knows that this material body, made of the five gross elements, the sense organs, the working senses and the mind, is simply supervised by the fixed soul is eligible to be liberated from material bondage (11). Lord Viṣṇu told King Pṛthu: My dear King, the constant change of this material world is due to the interaction of the three modes of ma terial nature. The five elements, the senses, the demigods who control the senses, as well as the mind, which is agitated by the spirit soul all these taken together comprise the body. Since the spirit soul is completely different from this combination of gross and subtle material ele ments, My devotee who is connected with Me in intense friendship and affection, being com pletely in knowledge, is never agitated by ma terial happiness and distress (12).

My dear he roic King, please keep yourself always equi poised and treat people equally, whether they are greater than you, in the intermediate stage or lower than you. Do not be disturbed by tem porary distress or happiness. Fully control your mind and senses. In this transcendental posi tion, try to execute your duty as king in what ever condition of life you may be posted by My arrangement, for your only duty here is to give protection to the citizens of your kingdom (13).To give protection to the general mass of people who are citizens of the state is the pre scribed occupational duty for a king. By acting in that way, the king in his next life shares one sixth of the result of the pious activities of the citizens. But a king or executive head of state who simply collects taxes from the citizens but does not give them proper protection as human beings has the results of his own pious activities taken away by the citizens, and in exchange for his not giving protection he becomes liable to punishment for the impious activities of his subjects (14).

Lord Viṣṇu continued: My dear King Pṛthu, if you continue to protect the citi zens according to the instructions of the learned brāhmaṇa authorities, as they are received by the disciplic succession by hearing from mas ter to disciple, and if you follow the religious principles laid down by them, without attach ment to ideas manufactured by mental concoc tion, then every one of your citizens will be happy and will love you, and very soon you will be able to see such already liberated personali ties as the four Kumāras [Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana and Sanat-kumāra] (15).My dear King, I am very captivated by your elevated qualities and excellent behavior, and thus I am very favorably inclined toward you. You may therefore ask from Me any benediction you like. One who does not possess elevated quali ties and behavior cannot possibly achieve My favor simply by performance of sacrifices, se vere austerities or mystic yoga. But I always re main equipoised in the heart of one who is also equipoised in all circumstances (16).

The great saint Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, in this way Mahārāja Pṛthu, the conqueror of the entire world, accepted the in structions of the Supreme Personality of God head on his head (17).As King Indra was stand ing by, he became ashamed of his own activi ties and fell down before King Pṛthu to touch his lotus feet. But Pṛthu Mahārāja immediately embraced him in great ecstasy and gave up all envy against him for his having stolen the horse meant for the sacrifice (18).King Pṛthu abun dantly worshiped the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was so merciful to him. While worshiping the lotus feet of the Lord, Pṛthu Mahārāja gradually increased his ecstasy in devotional service (19).

The Lord was just about to leave, but because He was so greatly inclined toward the behavior of King Pṛthu, He did not depart. Seeing the behavior of Mahārāja Pṛthu with His lotus eyes, He was de tained because He is always the well-wisher of His devotees (20).The original king, Mahārāja Pṛthu, his eyes full of tears and his voice falter ing and choked up, could neither see the Lord very distinctly nor speak to address the Lord in any way. He simply embraced the Lord within his heart and remained standing in that way with folded hands (21).The Supreme Personal ity of Godhead stood with His lotus feet almost touching the ground while He rested the front of His hand on the raised shoulder of Garuḍa, the enemy of the snakes. Mahārāja Pṛthu, wip ing the tears from his eyes, tried to look upon the Lord, but it appeared that the King was not fully satisfied by looking at Him. Thus the King offered the following prayers (22).

My dear Lord, You are the best of the dem igods who can offer benedictions. Why, there fore, should any learned person ask You for benedictions meant for living entities bewil dered by the modes of nature? Such benedic tions are available automatically, even in the lives of living entities suffering in hellish con ditions. My dear Lord, You can certainly be stow merging into Your existence, but I do not wish to have such a benediction (23).My dear Lord, I therefore do not wish to have the bene diction of merging into Your existence, a ben ediction in which there is no existence of the nectarean beverage of Your lotus feet. I want the benediction of at least one million ears, for thus I may be able to hear about the glories of Your lotus feet from the mouths of Your pure devotees (24).My dear Lord, You are glorified by the selected verses uttered by great person alities. Such glorification of Your lotus feet is just like saffron particles. When the transcen dental vibration from the mouths of great dev otees carries the aroma of the saffron dust of Your lotus feet, the forgetful living entity grad ually remembers his eternal relationship with You. Devotees thus gradually come to the right conclusion about the value of life. My dear Lord, I therefore do not need any other bene diction but the opportunity to hear from the mouth of Your pure devotee (25).

My dear highly glorified Lord, if one, in the association of pure devotees, hears even once the glories of Your activities, he does not, unless he is noth ing but an animal, give up the association of devotees, for no intelligent person would be so careless as to leave their association. The per fection of chanting and hearing about Your glo ries was accepted even by the goddess of for tune, who desired to hear of Your unlimited ac tivities and transcendental glories (26).Now I wish to engage in the service of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and to serve just like the goddess of fortune, who car ries a lotus flower in her hand, because His Lordship, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the reservoir of all transcendental qualities. I am afraid that the goddess of fortune and I would quarrel because both of us would be at tentively engaged in the same service (27).

My dear Lord of the universe, the goddess of for tune, Lakṣmī, is the mother of the universe, and yet I think that she may be angry with me be cause of my intruding upon her service and act ing on that very platform to which she is so much attached. Yet I am hopeful that even though there is some misunderstanding, You will take my part, for You are very much in clined to the poor, and You always magnify even insignificant service unto You. Therefore even though she becomes angry, I think that there is no harm for You, because You are so self-sufficient that You can do without her (28).Great saintly persons who are always lib erated take to Your devotional service because only by devotional service can one be relieved from the illusions of material existence. O my Lord, there is no reason for the liberated souls to take shelter at Your lotus feet except that such souls are constantly thinking of Your feet (29).

My dear Lord, what You have said to Your unalloyed devotee is certainly very much bewildering. The allurements You offer in the Vedas are certainly not suitable for pure devo tees. People in general, bound by the sweet words of the Vedas, engage themselves again and again in fruitive activities, enamored by the results of their actions (30).My Lord, due to Your illusory energy, all living beings in this material world have forgotten their real consti tutional position, and out of ignorance they are always desirous of material happiness in the form of society, friendship and love. Therefore, please do not ask me to take some material ben efits from You, but as a father, not waiting for the son’s demand, does everything for the ben efit of the son, please bestow upon me whatever You think best for me (31). The great sage Maitreya continued by saying that the Lord, the seer of the universe, after hearing Pṛthu Mahārāja’s prayer, ad dressed the King: My dear King, may you al ways be blessed by engaging in My devotional service. Only by such purity of purpose, as you yourself very intelligently express, can one cross over the insurmountable illusory energy of māyā (32).

My dear King, O protector of the citizens, henceforward be very careful to exe cute My orders and not be misled by anything. Anyone who lives in that way, simply carrying out My orders faithfully, will always find good fortune all over the world (33). The great saint Maitreya told Vidura: The Supreme Personality of Godhead amply appre ciated the meaningful prayers of Mahārāja Pṛthu. Thus, after being properly worshiped by the King, the Lord blessed him and decided to depart (34).King Pṛthu worshiped the demi gods, the great sages, the inhabitants of Pitṛloka, the inhabitants of Gandharvaloka, and those of Siddhaloka, Cāraṇaloka, Pannagaloka, Kinnaraloka, Apsaroloka, the earthly planets and the planets of the birds. He also worshiped many other living entities who presented them selves in the sacrificial arena. With folded hands he worshiped all these, as well as the Su preme Personality of Godhead and the personal associates of the Lord, by offering sweet words and as much wealth as possible. After this func tion, they all went back to their respective abodes, following in the footsteps of Lord Viṣṇu (35-36).

The infallible Supreme Person ality of Godhead, having captivated the minds of the King and the priests who were present, returned to His abode in the spiritual sky (37).King Pṛthu then offered his respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supreme Lord of all dem igods. Although not an object of material vi sion, the Lord revealed Himself to the sight of Mahārāja Pṛthu. After offering obeisances to the Lord, the King returned to his home (38).

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, King Pṛthu initiated the perfor mance of one hundred horse sacrifices at the spot where the river Sarasvatī flows towards the east. This piece of land is known as Brahmāvarta, and it was controlled by Svāyambhuva Manu (1). When the most pow erful Indra, the King of heaven, saw this, he considered the fact that King Pṛthu was going to exceed him in fruitive activities. Thus Indra could not tolerate the great sacrificial ceremo nies performed by King Pṛthu (2). The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, is present in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, and He is the proprietor of all planets and the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. He was personally present at the sacrifices made by King Pṛthu (3).

When Lord Viṣṇu appeared in the sacrifi cial arena, Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and all the chief predominating personalities of every planet, as well as their followers, came with Him. When He appeared on the scene, the res idents of Gandharvaloka, the great sages, and the residents of Apsaroloka all praised Him (4).The Lord was accompanied by the residents of Siddhaloka and Vidyādhara-loka, all the de scendants of Diti, and the demons and the Yakṣas. He was also accompanied by His chief associates, headed by Sunanda and Nanda (5). Great devotees, who were always engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of God head, as well as the great sages named Kapila, Nārada and Dattātreya, and masters of mystic powers, headed by Sanaka Kumāra, all at tended the great sacrifice with Lord Viṣṇu (6).

My dear Vidura, in that great sacrifice the entire land came to be like the milk-producing kāma-dhenu, and thus, by the performance of yajña, all daily necessities for life were sup plied (7).The flowing rivers supplied all kinds of tastes sweet, pungent, sour, etc. and very big trees supplied fruit and honey in abundance. The cows, having eaten sufficient green grass, supplied profuse quantities of milk, curd, clari fied butter and similar other necessities (8). King Pṛthu was presented with various gifts from the general populace and predominating deities of all planets. The oceans and seas were full of valuable jewels and pearls, and the hills were full of chemicals and fertilizers. Four kinds of edibles were produced profusely (9).

King Pṛthu was dependent on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Adhokṣaja. Because King Pṛthu performed so many sacrifices, he was superhumanly en hanced by the mercy of the Supreme Lord. King Pṛthu’s opulence, however, could not be tolerated by the King of heaven, Indra, who tried to impede the progress of his opulence (10). When Pṛthu Mahārāja was performing the last horse sacrifice [aśvamedha-yajña], King Indra, invisible to everyone, stole the horse in tended for sacrifice. He did this because of his great envy of King Pṛthu (11). When King In dra was taking away the horse, he dressed him self to appear as a liberated person. Actually this dress was a form of cheating, for it falsely created an impression of religion. When Indra went into outer space in this way, the great sage Atri saw him and understood the whole situa tion (12).

When the son of King Pṛthu was in formed by Atri of King Indra’s trick, he imme diately became very angry and followed Indra to kill him, calling, “Wait! Wait!” (13) King In dra was fraudulently dressed as a sannyāsī, hav ing knotted his hair on his head and smeared ashes all over his body. Upon seeing such dress, the son of King Pṛthu considered Indra a reli gious man and pious sannyāsī. Therefore he did not release his arrows (14).When Atri Muni saw that the son of King Pṛthu did not kill Indra but returned deceived by him, Atri Muni again instructed him to kill the heavenly King be cause he thought that Indra had become the lowliest of all demigods due to his impeding the execution of King Pṛthu’s sacrifice (15). Being thus informed, the grandson of King Vena immediately began to follow Indra, who was fleeing through the sky in great haste. He was very angry with him, and he chased him just as the king of the vultures chased Rāvaṇa (16).

When Indra saw that the son of Pṛthu was chasing him, he immediately abandoned his false dress and left the horse. Indeed, he disap peared from that very spot, and the great hero, the son of Mahārāja Pṛthu, returned the horse to his father’s sacrificial arena (17).My dear Lord Vidura, when the great sages observed the won derful prowess of the son of King Pṛthu, they all agreed to give him the name Vijitāśva (18). My dear Vidura, Indra, being the King of heaven and very powerful, immediately brought a dense darkness upon the sacrificial arena. Covering the whole scene in this way, he again took away the horse, which was chained with golden shackles near the wooden instru ment where animals were sacrificed (19).

The great sage Atri again pointed out to the son of King Pṛthu that Indra was fleeing through the sky. The great hero, the son of Pṛthu, chased him again. But when he saw that Indra was car rying in his hand a staff with a skull at the top and was again wearing the dress of a sannyāsī, he still chose not to kill him (20).When the great sage Atri again gave directions, the son of King Pṛthu became very angry and placed an arrow on his bow. Upon seeing this, King Indra immediately abandoned the false dress of a sannyāsī and, giving up the horse, made him self invisible (21).Then the great hero, Vi jitāśva, the son of King Pṛthu, again took the horse and returned to his father’s sacrificial arena. Since that time, certain men with a poor fund of knowledge have adopted the dress of a false sannyāsī. It was King Indra who intro duced this (22).

Whatever different forms Indra assumed as a mendicant because of his desire to seize the horse were symbols of atheistic phi losophy (23).In this way King Indra, in order to steal the horse from King Pṛthu’s sacrifice, adopted several orders of sannyāsa. Some sannyāsīs go naked, and sometimes they wear red garments and pass under the name of kāpālika. These are simply symbolic represen tations of their sinful activities. These so-called sannyāsīs are very much appreciated by sinful men because they are all godless atheists and very expert in putting forward arguments and reasons to support their case. We must know, however, that they are only passing as adher ents of religion and are not so in fact. Unfortu nately, bewildered persons accept them as reli gious, and being attracted to them, they spoil their life (24-25). Mahārāja Pṛthu, who was celebrated as very powerful, immediately took up his bow and ar rows and prepared to kill Indra himself, be cause Indra had introduced such irregular sannyāsa orders (26).

When the priests and all the others saw Mahārāja Pṛthu very angry and prepared to kill Indra, they requested him: O great soul, do not kill him, for only sacrificial animals can be killed in a sacrifice. Such are the directions given by śāstra (27).Dear King, In dra’s powers are already reduced due to his at tempt to impede the execution of your sacrifice. We shall call him by Vedic mantras which were never before used, and certainly he will come. Thus by the power of our mantra, we shall cast him into the fire because he is your enemy (28). My dear Vidura, after giving the King this advice, the priests who had been engaged in performing the sacrifice called for Indra, the King of heaven, in a mood of great anger. When they were just ready to put the oblation in the fire, Lord Brahmā appeared on the scene and forbade them to start the sacrifice (29).

Lord Brahmā addressed them thus: My dear sacrifi cial performers, you cannot kill Indra, the King of heaven. It is not your duty. You should know that Indra is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Indeed, he is one of the most pow erful assistants of the Personality of Godhead. You are trying to satisfy all the demigods by the performance of this yajña, but you should know that all these demigods are but parts and parcels of Indra, the King of heaven. How, then, can you kill him in this great sacrifice? (30) In order to make trouble and impede the performance of King Pṛthu’s great sacrifice, King Indra has adopted some means that in the future will de stroy the clear path of religious life. I draw your attention to this fact. If you oppose him any fur ther, he will further misuse his power and intro duce many other irreligious systems (31).“Let there be only ninety-nine sacrificial perfor mances for Mahārāja Pṛthu,” Lord Brahmā concluded. Lord Brahmā then turned towards Mahārāja Pṛthu and informed him that since he was thoroughly aware of the path of liberation, what was the use in performing more sacri fices? (32)

Lord Brahmā continued: Let there be good fortune to both of you, for you and King Indra are both part and parcel of the Su preme Personality of Godhead. Therefore you should not be angry with King Indra, who is nondifferent from you (33).My dear King, do not be agitated and anxious because your sacri fices have not been properly executed due to providential impediments. Kindly take my words with great respect. We should always re member that if something happens by provi dential arrangement, we should not be very sorry. The more we try to rectify such reversals, the more we enter into the darkest region of ma terialistic thought (34).Lord Brahmā continued: Stop the performance of these sacrifices, for they have induced Indra to introduce so many irreligious aspects. You should know very well that even amongst the demigods there are many unwanted desires (35).

Just see how Indra, the King of heaven, was creating a disturbance in the midst of the sacrifice by stealing the sacri ficial horse. These attractive sinful activities he has introduced will be carried out by the people in general (36).O King Pṛthu, son of Vena, you are the part-and-parcel expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. Due to the mischievous activities of King Vena, religious principles were almost lost. At that opportune moment you descended as the incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. Indeed, for the protection of religious principles you have appeared from the body of King Vena (37). O protector of the people in general, please con sider the purpose of your being incarnated by Lord Viṣṇu. The irreligious principles created by Indra are but mothers of so many unwanted religions. Please therefore stop these imitations immediately (38). The great sage Maitreya continued: When King Pṛthu was thus advised by the supreme teacher, Lord Brahmā, he abandoned his eager ness to perform yajñas and with great affection concluded a peace with King Indra (39).

After this, Pṛthu Mahārāja took his bath, which is customarily taken after the performance of a yajña, and received the benedictions and due blessings of the demigods, who were very pleased by his glorious activities (40).With great respect, the original king, Pṛthu, offered all kinds of rewards to the brāhmaṇas present at the sacrifice. Since all these brāhmaṇas were very much satisfied, they gave their heartfelt blessings to the King (41).All the great sages and brāhmaṇas said: O mighty King, by your invitation all classes of living entities have at tended this assembly. They have come from Pitṛloka and the heavenly planets, and great sages as well as common men have attended this meeting. Now all of them are very much satisfied by your dealings and your charity to wards them (42).

The great saint Maitreya continued to ad dress Vidura: My dear Vidura, at that time, af ter the planet earth finished her prayers, King Pṛthu was still not pacified, and his lips trem bled in great anger. Although the planet earth was frightened, she made up her mind and be gan to speak as follows in order to convince the King (1).My dear Lord, please pacify your an ger completely and hear patiently whatever I submit before you. Please turn your kind atten tion to this. I may be very poor, but a learned man takes the essence of knowledge from all places, just as a bumblebee collects honey from each and every flower (2). To benefit all hu man society, not only in this life but in the next, the great seers and sages have prescribed vari ous methods conducive to the prosperity of the people in general (3).

One who follows the prin ciples and instructions enjoined by the great sages of the past can utilize these instructions for practical purposes. Such a person can very easily enjoy life and pleasures (4).A foolish person who manufactures his own ways and means through mental speculation and does not recognize the authority of the sages who lay down unimpeachable directions is simply un successful again and again in his attempts (5).My dear King, the seeds, roots, herbs and grains, which were created by Lord Brahmā in the past, are now being used by nondevotees, who are devoid of all spiritual understanding (6). My dear King, not only are grains and herbs being used by nondevotees, but, as far as I am concerned, I am not being properly main tained. Indeed, I am being neglected by kings who are not punishing these rascals who have turned into thieves by using grains for sense gratification. Consequently I have hidden all these seeds, which were meant for the perfor mance of sacrifice (7).

Due to being stocked for a very long time, all the grain seeds within me have certainly deteriorated. Therefore you should immediately arrange to take these seeds out by the standard process, which is recom mended by the ācāryas or śāstras (8).O great hero, protector of living entities, if you desire to relieve the living entities by supplying them sufficient grain, and if you desire to nourish them by taking milk from me, you should make arrangements to bring a calf suitable for this purpose and a pot in which the milk can be kept, as well as a milkman to do the work. Since I will be very much affectionate towards my calf, your desire to take milk from me will be fulfilled (9-10).My dear King, may I inform you that you have to make the entire surface of the globe level. This will help me, even when the rainy season has ceased. Rainfall comes by the mercy of King Indra. Rainfall will remain on the surface of the globe, always keeping the earth moistened, and thus it will be auspicious for all kinds of production (11).

After hearing the auspicious and pleasing words of the planet earth, the King accepted them. He then transformed Svāyambhuva Manu into a calf and milked all the herbs and grains from the earth in the form of a cow, keeping them in his cupped hands (12).Others, who were as intelligent as King Pṛthu, also took the essence out of the earthly planet. Indeed, everyone took this opportunity to follow in the footsteps of King Pṛthu and get whatever he de sired from the planet earth (13).All the great sages transformed Bṛhaspati into a calf, and making the senses into a pot, they milked all kinds of Vedic knowledge to purify words, mind and hearing (14). All the demigods made Indra, the King of heaven, into a calf, and from the earth they milked the beverage soma, which is nectar. Thus they became very powerful in mental speculation and bodily and sensual strength (15).The sons of Diti and the demons transformed Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was born in an asura family, into a calf, and they ex tracted various kinds of liquor and beer, which they put into a pot made of iron (16).

The inhab itants of Gandharvaloka and Apsaroloka made Viśvāvasu into a calf, and they drew the milk into a lotus-flower pot. The milk took the shape of sweet musical art and beauty (17).The fortu nate inhabitants of Pitṛloka, who preside over the funeral ceremonies, made Aryamā into a calf. With great faith they milked kavya, food offered to the ancestors, into an unbaked earthen pot (18).After this, the inhabitants of Siddhaloka, as well as the inhabitants of Vidyādhara-loka, transformed the great sage Kapila into a calf, and making the whole sky into a pot, they milked out specific yogic mys tic powers, beginning with aṇimā. Indeed, the inhabitants of Vidyādhara-loka acquired the art of flying in the sky (19).Others also, the inhab itants of planets known as Kimpuruṣa-loka, made the demon Maya into a calf, and they milked out mystic powers by which one can disappear immediately from another’s vision and appear again in a different form (20).

Then the Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, ghosts and witches, who are habituated to eating flesh, transformed Lord Śiva’s incarnation Rudra [Bhūtanātha] into a calf and milked out bever ages made of blood and put them in a pot made of skulls (21).Thereafter cobras and snakes without hoods, large snakes, scorpions and many other poisonous animals took poison out of the planet earth as their milk and kept this poison in snake holes. They made a calf out of Takṣaka (22).The four-legged animals like the cows made a calf out of the bull who carries Lord Śiva and made a milking pot out of the forest. Thus they got fresh green grasses to eat. Ferocious animals like tigers transformed a lion into a calf, and thus they were able to get flesh for milk. The birds made a calf out of Garuḍa and took milk from the planet earth in the form of moving insects and nonmoving plants and grasses (23-24).

The trees made a calf out of the banyan tree, and thus they derived milk in the form of many delicious juices. The mountains transformed the Himālayas into a calf, and they milked a variety of minerals into a pot made of the peaks of hills (25).The planet earth supplied everyone his respective food. During the time of King Pṛthu, the earth was fully under the control of the King. Thus all the inhabitants of the earth could get their food supply by creating various types of calves and putting their partic ular types of milk in various pots (26). My dear Vidura, chief of the Kurus, in this way King Pṛthu and all the others who subsist on food created different types of calves and milked out their respective eatables. Thus they received their various foodstuffs, which were symbolized as milk (27).Thereafter King Pṛthu was very satisfied with the planet earth, for she sufficiently supplied all food to various living entities. Thus he developed an affection for the planet earth, just as if she were his own daugh ter (28).

After this, the king of all kings, Mahārāja Pṛthu, leveled all rough places on the surface of the globe by breaking up the hills with the strength of his bow. By his grace the surface of the globe almost became flat (29).To all the citizens of the state, King Pṛthu was as good as a father. Thus he was visibly engaged in giving them proper subsistence and proper employment for subsistence. After leveling the surface of the globe, he earmarked different places for residential quarters, inasmuch as they were desirable (30).In this way the King founded many types of villages, settlements and towns and built forts, residences for cow herdsmen, stables for the animals, places for the royal camps, mining places, agricultural towns and mountain villages (31).Before the reign of King Pṛthu there was no planned ar rangement for different cities, villages, pastur ing grounds, etc. Everything was scattered, and everyone constructed his residential quarters according to his own convenience. However, from the time of King Pṛthu, plans were made for towns and villages (32).

The great sage Maitreya continued: In this way the reciters who were glorifying Mahārāja Pṛthu readily described his qualities and chiv alrous activities. At the end, Mahārāja Pṛthu of fered them various presentations with all due respect and worshiped them adequately (1).King Pṛthu thus satisfied and offered all re spect to all the leaders of the brāhmaṇas and other castes, to his servants, to his ministers and to the priests, citizens, general countrymen, people from other communities, admirers and others, and thus they all became happy (2). Vidura inquired from the great sage Mait reya: My dear brāhmaṇa, since mother earth can appear in different shapes, why did she take the shape of a cow? And when King Pṛthu milked her, who became the calf, and what was the milking pot? (3)

The surface of the earth is by nature low in some places and high in others. How did King Pṛthu level the surface of the earth, and why did the King of heaven, Indra, steal the horse meant for the sacrifice? (4) The great saintly King, Mahārāja Pṛthu, received knowledge from Sanat-kumāra, who was the greatest Vedic scholar. After receiving knowledge to be applied practically in his life, how did the saintly King attain his desired des tination? (5) Pṛthu Mahārāja was a powerful in carnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potencies; conse quently any narration concerning his activities is surely very pleasing to hear, and it produces all good fortune. As far as I am concerned, I am always your devotee as well as a devotee of the Lord, who is known as Adhokṣaja. Please therefore narrate all the stories of King Pṛthu, who, in the form of the son of King Vena, milked the cow-shaped earth (6-7).

Sūta Gosvāmī continued: When Vidura became inspired to hear of the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa in His various incarnations, Maitreya, also being inspired and being very pleased with Vidura, began to praise him. Then Maitreya spoke as follows (8). The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, at the time King Pṛthu was en throned by the great sages and brāhmaṇas and declared to be the protector of the citizens, there was a scarcity of food grains. The citizens actually became skinny due to starvation. Therefore they came before the King and in formed him of their real situation (9). Dear King, just as a tree with a fire burning in the hollow of the trunk gradually dries up, we are drying up due to the fire of hunger in our stom achs. You are the protector of surrendered souls, and you have been appointed to give em ployment to us. Therefore we have all come to you for protection. You are not only a king, but the incarnation of God as well. Indeed, you are the king of all kings. You can give us all kinds of occupational engagements, for you are the master of our livelihood. Therefore, O king of all kings, please arrange to satisfy our hunger by the proper distribution of food grains. Please take care of us, lest we soon die for want of food (10-11).

After hearing this lamentation and seeing the pitiable condition of the citizens, King Pṛthu contemplated this matter for a long time to see if he could find out the underlying causes (12).Having arrived at a conclusion, the King took up his bow and arrow and aimed them at the earth, exactly like Lord Śiva, who destroys the whole world out of anger (13).When the earth saw that King Pṛthu was taking his bow and arrow to kill her, she became very much afraid and began to tremble. She then began to flee, exactly like a deer, which runs very swiftly when followed by a hunter. Being afraid of King Pṛthu, she took the shape of a cow and be gan to run (14). Seeing this, Mahārāja Pṛthu became very angry, and his eyes became as red as the early morning sun. Placing an arrow on his bow, he chased the cow-shaped earth wherever she would run (15).The cow-shaped earth ran here and there in outer space between the heavenly planets and the earth, and wherever she ran, the King chased her with his bow and arrows (16).

Just as a man cannot escape the cruel hands of death, the cow-shaped earth could not escape the hands of the son of Vena. At length the earth, fearful, her heart aggrieved, turned back in helplessness (17).Addressing the great, opulent King Pṛthu as the knower of religious principles and shelter of the surrendered, she said: Please save me. You are the protector of all living entities. Now you are situated as the King of this planet (18). The cow-shaped earth continued to appeal to the King: I am very poor and have not committed any sinful activities. I do not know why you want to kill me. Since you are supposed to be the knower of all reli gious principles, why are you so envious of me, and why are you so anxious to kill a woman? (19)Even if a woman does commit some sinful activity, no one should place his hand upon her. And what to speak of you, dear King, who are so merciful. You are a protector, and you are affectionate to the poor (20).The cow-shaped earth continued: My dear King, I am just like a strong boat, and all the paraphernalia of the world is standing upon me. If you break me to pieces, how can you protect yourself and your subjects from drowning? (21)

King Pṛthu replied to the earthly planet: My dear earth, you have disobeyed my orders and rulings. In the form of a demigod you ac cepted your share of the yajñas we performed, but in return you have not produced sufficient food grains. For this reason I must kill you (22).Although you are eating green grass every day, you are not filling your milk bag so we can utilize your milk. Since you are willfully com mitting offenses, it cannot be said that you are not punishable due to your assuming the form of a cow (23).You have so lost your intelli gence that, despite my orders, you do not de liver the seeds of herbs and grains formerly cre ated by Brahmā and now hidden within your self (24). Now, with the help of my arrows, I shall cut you to pieces and with your flesh sat isfy the hunger-stricken citizens, who are now crying for want of grains. Thus I shall satisfy the crying citizens of my kingdom (25).

Any cruel person be he a man, woman or impotent eunuch who is only interested in his personal maintenance and has no compassion for other living entities may be killed by the king. Such killing can never be considered actual killing (26).You are very much puffed up with pride and have become almost insane. Presently you have assumed the form of a cow by your mystic powers. Nonetheless I shall cut you into small pieces like grain, and I will uphold the entire population by my personal mystic powers (27). At this time Pṛthu Mahārāja became exactly like Yamarāja, and his whole body appeared very angry. In other words, he was anger per sonified. After hearing him, the planet earth be gan to tremble. She surrendered, and with folded hands began to speak as follows (28). The planet earth spoke: My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are tran scendental in Your position, and by Your ma terial energy You have expanded Yourself in various forms and species of life through the in teraction of the three modes of material nature. Unlike some other masters, You always remain in Your transcendental position and are not af fected by the material creation, which is subject to different material interactions. Consequently You are not bewildered by material activities (29).

The planet earth continued: My dear Lord, You are the complete conductor of the material creation. You have created this cosmic mani festation and the three material qualities, and therefore You have created me, the planet earth, the resting place of all living entities. Yet You are always fully independent, my Lord. Now that You are present before me and ready to kill me with Your weapons, let me know where I should go to take shelter, and tell me who can give me protection (30).In the begin ning of creation You created all these moving and nonmoving living entities by Your incon ceivable energy. Through this very same en ergy You are now prepared to protect the living entities. Indeed, You are the supreme protector of religious principles. Why are You so anxious to kill me, even though I am in the form of a cow? (31) My dear Lord, although You are one, by Your inconceivable potencies You have ex panded Yourself in many forms. Through the agency of Brahmā, You have created this uni verse. You are therefore directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who are not suf ficiently experienced cannot understand Your transcendental activities because these persons are covered by Your illusory energy (32).

My dear Lord, by Your own potencies You are the original cause of the material elements, the per forming instruments (the senses), the workers of the senses (the controlling demigods), the in telligence and the ego, as well as everything else. By Your energy You manifest this entire cosmic creation, maintain it and dissolve it. Through Your energy alone everything is sometimes manifest and sometimes not mani fest. You are therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You (33). My dear Lord, You are always unborn. Once, in the form of the original boar, You rescued me from the waters in the bottom of the universe. Through Your own energy You created all the physical elements, the senses and the heart, for the maintenance of the world (34).

My dear Lord, in this way You once protected me by rescuing me from the water, and consequently Your name has been famous as Dharādhara He who holds the planet earth. Yet at the present moment, in the form of a great hero, You are about to kill me with sharpened arrows. I am, however, just like a boat on the water, keeping everything afloat (35).My dear Lord, I am also the creation of one of Your energies, composed of the three modes of material nature. Conse quently I am bewildered by Your activities. Even the activities of Your devotees cannot be understood, and what to speak of Your pas times. Thus everything appears to us to be con tradictory and wonderful (36).

The great sage Maitreya continued: While King Pṛthu thus spoke, the humility of his nectarean speeches pleased the reciters very much. Then again they continued to praise the King highly with exalted prayers, as they had been instructed by the great sages (1).The recit ers continued: Dear King, you are a direct in carnation of the Supreme Personality of God head, Lord Viṣṇu, and by His causeless mercy you have descended to this earth. Therefore it is not possible for us to actually glorify your exalted activities. Although you have appeared through the body of King Vena, even great or ators and speakers like Lord Brahmā and other demigods cannot exactly describe the glorious activities of Your Lordship (2).

Although we are unable to glorify you adequately, we none theless have a transcendental taste for glorify ing your activities. We shall try to glorify you according to the instructions received from au thoritative sages and scholars. Whatever we speak, however, is always inadequate and very insignificant. Dear King, because you are a di rect incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all your activities are liberal and ever laudable (3). This King, Mahārāja Pṛthu, is the best amongst those who are following religious principles. As such, he will engage everyone in the pursuit of religious principles and give those principles all protection. He will also be a great chastiser to the irreligious and atheistic (4).This King alone, in his own body, will be able in due course of time to maintain all living entities and keep them in a pleasant condition by manifesting himself as different demigods to perform various departmental activities. Thus he will maintain the upper planetary sys tem by inducing the populace to perform Vedic sacrifices. In due course of time he will also maintain this earthly planet by discharging proper rainfall (5).

This King Pṛthu will be as powerful as the sun-god, and just as the sun god equally distributes his sunshine to every one, King Pṛthu will distribute his mercy equally. Similarly, just as the sun-god evapo rates water for eight months and, during the rainy season, returns it profusely, this King will also exact taxes from the citizens and return these monies in times of need (6).This King Pṛthu will be very, very kind to all citizens. Even though a poor person may trample over the King’s head by violating the rules and reg ulations, the King, out of his causeless mercy, will be forgetful and forgiving. As a protector of the world, he will be as tolerant as the earth itself (7).When there is no rainfall and the citi zens are in great danger due to the scarcity of water, this royal Personality of Godhead will be able to supply rains exactly like the heavenly King Indra. Thus he will very easily be able to protect the citizens from drought (8).

This King, Pṛthu Mahārāja, by virtue of his affec tionate glances and beautiful moonlike face, which is always smiling with great affection for the citizens, will enhance everyone’s peaceful life (9).The reciters continued: No one will be able to understand the policies the King will follow. His activities will also be very confi dential, and it will not be possible for anyone to know how he will make every activity success ful. His treasury will always remain unknown to everyone. He will be the reservoir of unlim ited glories and good qualities, and his position will be maintained and covered just as Varuṇa, the deity of the seas, is covered all around by water (10). King Pṛthu was born of the dead body of King Vena as fire is produced from araṇi wood. Thus King Pṛthu will always remain just like fire, and his enemies will not be able to ap proach him. Indeed, he will be unbearable to his enemies, for although staying very near him, they will never be able to approach him but will have to remain as if far away. No one will be able to overcome the strength of King Pṛthu (11).

King Pṛthu will be able to see all the inter nal and external activities of every one of his citizens. Still, no one will be able to know his system of espionage, and he himself will re main neutral regarding all matters of glorifica tion or vilification paid to him. He will be ex actly like air, the life force within the body, which is exhibited internally and externally but is always neutral to all affairs (12).Since this King will always remain on the path of piety, he will be neutral to both his son and the son of his enemy. If the son of his enemy is not pun ishable, he will not punish him, but if his own son is punishable, he will immediately punish him (13).Just as the sun-god expands his shin ing rays up to the Arctic region without imped ance, the influence of King Pṛthu will cover all tracts of land up to the Arctic region and will remain undisturbed as long as he lives (14).This King will please everyone by his practical ac tivities, and all of his citizens will remain very satisfied. Because of this the citizens will take great satisfaction in accepting him as their rul ing king (15).

The King will be firmly deter mined and always situated in truth. He will be a lover of the brahminical culture and will ren der all service to old men and give shelter to all surrendered souls. Giving respect to all, he will always be merciful to the poor and innocent (16).The King will respect all women as if they were his own mother, and he will treat his own wife as the other half of his body. He will be just like an affectionate father to his citizens, and he will treat himself as the most obedient servant of the devotees, who always preach the glories of the Lord (17).The King will consider all embodied living entities as dear as his own self, and he will always be increasing the pleas ures of his friends. He will intimately associate with liberated persons, and he will be a chastis ing hand to all impious persons (18). This King is the master of the three worlds, and he is directly empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is without change, and he is an incarnation of the Supreme known as a śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Being a liberated soul and completely learned, he sees all material va rieties as meaningless because their basic prin ciple is nescience (19).

This King, being uniquely powerful and heroic, will have no competitor. He will travel around the globe on his victorious chariot, holding his invincible bow in his hand and appearing exactly like the sun, which rotates in its own orbit from the south (20).When the King travels all over the world, other kings, as well as the demigods, will offer him all kinds of presentations. Their queens will also consider him the original king, who carries in His hands the emblems of club and disc, and will sing of his fame, for he will be as reputable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead (21).This King, this protector of the citizens, is an extraordinary king and is equal to the Prajāpati demigods. For the living facility of all citizens, he will milk the earth, which is like a cow. Not only that, but he will level the surface of the earth with the pointed ends of his bow, breaking all the hills exactly as King In dra, the heavenly King, breaks mountains with his powerful thunderbolt (22).

When the lion travels in the forest with its tail turned upward, all menial animals hide themselves. Similarly, when King Pṛthu will travel over his kingdom and vibrate the string of his bow, which is made of the horns of goats and bulls and is irresistible in battle, all demoniac rogues and thieves will hide themselves in all directions (23).At the source of the river Sarasvatī, this King will per form one hundred sacrifices known as aśva medha. In the course of the last sacrifice, the heavenly King Indra will steal the sacrificial horse (24).

This King Pṛthu will meet Sanat kumāra, one of the four Kumāras, in the garden of his palace compound. The King will worship him with devotion and will be fortunate to re ceive instructions by which one can enjoy tran scendental bliss (25).In this way, when the chivalrous activities of King Pṛthu come to be known to the people in general, King Pṛthu will always hear about himself and his uniquely powerful activities (26).No one will be able to disobey the orders of Pṛthu Mahārāja. After conquering the world, he will completely erad icate the threefold miseries of the citizens. Then he will be recognized all over the world. At that time both the suras and the asuras will undoubt edly glorify his magnanimous activities (27).