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).

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, thus the brāhmaṇas and the great sages again churned the two arms of King Vena’s dead body. As a result a male and fe male couple came out of his arms (1).The great sages were highly learned in Vedic knowledge. When they saw the male and female born of the arms of Vena’s body, they were very pleased, for they could understand that the couple was an expansion of a plenary portion of Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead (2). The great sages said: The male is a plenary expansion of the power of Lord Viṣṇu, who maintains the entire universe, and the female is a plenary expansion of the goddess of fortune, who is never separated from the Lord (3).Of the two, the male will be able to expand his reputa tion throughout the world. His name will be Pṛthu. Indeed, he will be the first among kings (4).The female has such beautiful teeth and beautiful qualities that she will actually beau tify the ornaments she wears. Her name will be Arci. In the future she will accept King Pṛthu as her husband (5).

In the form of King Pṛthu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has appeared through a part of His potency to protect the peo ple of the world. The goddess of fortune is the constant companion of the Lord, and therefore she has incarnated partially as Arci to become King Pṛthu’s queen (6). The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidurajī, at that time all the brāhmaṇas highly praised and glorified King Pṛthu, and the best singers of Gandharvaloka chanted his glo ries. The inhabitants of Siddhaloka showered flowers, and the beautiful women in the heav enly planets danced in ecstasy (7).Conchshells, bugles, drums and kettledrums vibrated in outer space. Great sages, forefathers and personali ties from the heavenly planets all came to earth from various planetary systems (8).

Lord Brahmā, the master of the entire universe, ar rived there accompanied by all the demigods and their chiefs. Seeing the lines of Lord Viṣṇu’s palm on King Pṛthu’s right hand and impressions of lotus flowers on the soles of his feet, Lord Brahmā could understand that King Pṛthu was a partial representation of the Su preme Personality of Godhead. One whose palm bears the sign of a disc, as well as other such lines, should be considered a partial rep resentation or incarnation of the Supreme Lord (9-10). The learned brāhmaṇas, who were very at tached to the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, then arranged for the King’s coronation. People from all directions collected all the different paraphernalia for the ceremony. Thus every thing was complete (11).All the rivers, seas, hills, mountains, serpents, cows, birds, animals, heavenly planets, the earthly planet and all other living entities collected various presenta tions, according to their ability, to offer the King (12).Thus the great King Pṛthu, exquis itely dressed with garments and ornaments, was coronated and placed on the throne. The King and his wife, Arci, who was also exquisitely or namented, appeared exactly like fire (13).

The great sage continued: My dear Vidura, Kuvera presented the great King Pṛthu with a golden throne. The demigod Varuṇa presented him with an umbrella that constantly sprayed fine particles of water and was as brilliant as the moon (14).The demigod of air, Vāyu, presented King Pṛthu with two whisks [cāmaras] of hair; the King of religion, Dharma, presented him with a flower garland which would expand his fame; the King of heaven, Indra, presented him with a valuable helmet; and the superintendent of death, Yamarāja, presented him with a scep ter with which to rule the world (15).Lord Brahmā presented King Pṛthu with a protective garment made of spiritual knowledge. Bhāratī [Sarasvatī], the wife of Brahmā, gave him a transcendental necklace. Lord Viṣṇu presented him with a Sudarśana disc, and Lord Viṣṇu’s wife, the goddess of fortune, gave him imper ishable opulences (16). Lord Śiva presented him with a sword within a sheath marked with ten moons, and his wife, the goddess Durgā, presented him with a shield marked with one hundred moons. The moon-demigod presented him with horses made of nectar, and the demi god Viśvakarmā presented him with a very beautiful chariot (17).

The demigod of fire, Agni, presented him with a bow made of the horns of goats and cows. The sun-god pre sented him with arrows as brilliant as sunshine. The predominating deity of Bhūrloka presented him with slippers full of mystic power. The demigods from outer space brought him presentations of flowers again and again (18).The demigods who always travel in outer space gave King Pṛthu the arts to perform dra mas, sing songs, play musical instruments and disappear at his will. The great sages also of fered him infallible blessings. The ocean of fered him a conchshell produced from the ocean (19). The seas, mountains and rivers gave him room to drive his chariot without im pediments, and a sūta, a māgadha and a vandī offered prayers and praises. They all presented themselves before him to perform their respec tive duties (20).Thus when the greatly powerful King Pṛthu, the son of Vena, saw the profes sionals before him, to congratulate them he smiled, and with the gravity of the vibrating sounds of clouds he spoke as follows (21).

King Pṛthu said: O gentle sūta, māgadha and other devotee offering prayers, the qualities of which you have spoken are not distinct in me. Why then should you praise me for all these qualities when I do not shelter these fea tures? I do not wish for these words meant for me to go in vain, but it is better that they be of fered to someone else (22).O gentle reciters, of fer such prayers in due course of time, when the qualities of which you have spoken actually manifest themselves in me. The gentle who of fer prayers to the Supreme Personality of God head do not attribute such qualities to a human being, who does not actually have them (23).

How could an intelligent man competent enough to possess such exalted qualities allow his followers to praise him if he did not actually have them? Praising a man by saying that if he were educated he might have become a great scholar or great personality is nothing but a pro cess of cheating. A foolish person who agrees to accept such praise does not know that such words simply insult him (24).As a person with a sense of honor and magnanimity does not like to hear about his abominable actions, a person who is very famous and powerful does not like to hear himself praised (25).King Pṛthu contin ued: My dear devotees, headed by the sūta, just now I am not very famous for my personal ac tivities because I have not done anything praiseworthy you could glorify. Therefore how could I engage you in praising my activities ex actly like children?(26)

The great sage Maitreya continued: O great hero Vidura, the great sages, headed by Bhṛgu, were always thinking of the welfare of the people in general. When they saw that in the absence of King Aṅga there was no one to pro tect the interests of the people, they understood that without a ruler the people would become independent and nonregulated (1).The great sages then called for the Queen Mother, Sunīthā, and with her permission they installed Vena on the throne as master of the world. All the ministers, however, disagreed with this (2). It was already known that Vena was very se vere and cruel; therefore, as soon as all the thieves and rogues in the state heard of his as cendance to the royal throne, they became very much afraid of him. Indeed, they hid them selves here and there as rats hide themselves from snakes (3).When the King ascended to the throne, he became all-powerful with eight kinds of opulences. Consequently he became too proud. By virtue of his false prestige, he considered himself to be greater than anyone. Thus he began to insult great personalities (4).

When he became overly blind due to his opu lences, King Vena mounted a chariot and, like an uncontrolled elephant, began to travel through the kingdom, causing the sky and earth to tremble wherever he went (5).All the twice born [brāhmaṇas] were forbidden hencefor ward to perform any sacrifice, and they were also forbidden to give charity or offer clarified butter. Thus King Vena sounded kettledrums throughout the countryside. In other words, he stopped all kinds of religious rituals (6). Therefore all the great sages assembled to gether and, after observing cruel Vena’s atroc ities, concluded that a great danger and catas trophe was approaching the people of the world. Thus out of compassion they began to talk amongst themselves, for they themselves were the performers of the sacrifices (7).

When the great sages consulted one another, they saw that the people were in a dangerous position from both directions. When a fire blazes on both ends of a log, the ants in the middle are in a very dangerous situation. Similarly, at that time the people in general were in a dangerous position due to an irresponsible king on one side and thieves and rogues on the other (8). Thinking to save the state from irregularity, the sages began to consider that it was due to a po litical crisis that they made Vena king although he was not qualified. But alas, now the people were being disturbed by the king himself. Un der such circumstances, how could the people be happy? (9)The sages began to think within themselves: Because he was born from the womb of Sunīthā, King Vena is by nature very mischievous. Supporting this mischievous king is exactly like maintaining a snake with milk. Now he has become a source of all difficulties (10).

We appointed this Vena king of the state in order to give protection to the citizens, but now he has become the enemy of the citizens. Despite all these discrepancies, we should at once try to pacify him. By doing so, we may not be touched by the sinful results caused by him (11).The saintly sages continued thinking: Of course, we were completely aware of his mis chievous nature, yet we nevertheless enthroned Vena. If we cannot persuade King Vena to ac cept our advice, he will be condemned by the public, and we will join them. Thus by our prowess we shall burn him to ashes (12).The great sages, having thus decided, approached King Vena. Concealing their real anger, they pacified him with sweet words and then spoke as follows (13).

The great sages said: Dear King, we have come to give you good advice. Kindly hear us with great attention. By doing so, your duration of life and your opulence, strength and reputa tion will increase (14).Those who live accord ing to religious principles and who follow them by words, mind, body and intelligence are ele vated to the heavenly kingdom, which is devoid of all miseries. Being thus rid of the material influence, they achieve unlimited happiness in life (15). The sages continued: O great hero, for this reason you should not be the cause of spoil ing the spiritual life of the general populace. If their spiritual life is spoiled because of your ac tivities, you will certainly fall down from your opulent and royal position (16).The saintly per sons continued: When the king protects the cit izens from the disturbances of mischievous ministers as well as from thieves and rogues, he can, by virtue of such pious activities, accept taxes given by his subjects. Thus a pious king can certainly enjoy himself in this world as well as in the life after death (17).

The king is sup posed to be pious in whose state and cities the general populace strictly observes the system of eight social orders of varṇa and āśrama, and where all citizens engage in worshiping the Su preme Personality of Godhead by their particu lar occupations (18).O noble one, if the king sees that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original cause of the cosmic manifestation and the Supersoul within everyone, is wor shiped, the Lord will be satisfied (19).The Su preme Personality of Godhead is worshiped by the great demigods who are controllers of uni versal affairs. When He is satisfied, nothing is impossible to achieve. For this reason all the demigods, presiding deities of different planets, as well as the inhabitants of their planets, take great pleasure in offering all kinds of parapher nalia for His worship (20).

Dear King, the Su preme Personality of Godhead, along with the predominating deities, is the enjoyer of the re sults of all sacrifices in all planets. The Su preme Lord is the sum total of the three Vedas, the owner of everything, and the ultimate goal of all austerity. Therefore your countrymen should engage in performing various sacrifices for your elevation. Indeed, you should always direct them towards the offering of sacrifices (21).When all the brāhmaṇas engage in per forming sacrifices in your kingdom, all the demigods, who are plenary expansions of the Lord, will be very much satisfied by their activ ities and will give you your desired result. Therefore, O hero, do not stop the sacrificial performances. If you stop them, you will disre spect the demigods (22). King Vena replied: You are not at all expe rienced. It is very much regrettable that you are maintaining something which is not religious and are accepting it as religious. Indeed, I think you are giving up your real husband, who main tains you, and are searching after some para mour to worship (23).

Those who, out of gross ignorance, do not worship the king, who is ac tually the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ex perience happiness neither in this world nor in the world after death (24).You are so much de voted to the demigods, but who are they? In deed, your affection for these demigods is ex actly like the affection of an unchaste woman who neglects her married life and gives all at tention to her paramour (25).Lord Viṣṇu; Lord Brahmā; Lord Śiva; Lord Indra; Vāyu, the mas ter of air; Yama, the superintendent of death; the sun-god; the director of rainfall; Kuvera, the treasurer; the moon-god; the predominating de ity of the earth; Agni, the fire-god; Varuṇa, the lord of waters; and all others who are great and competent to bestow benedictions or to curse all abide in the body of the king. For this reason the king is known as the reservoir of all demi gods, who are simply parts and parcels of the king’s body (26-27).

King Vena continued: For this reason, O brāhmaṇas, you should abandon your envy of me, and by your ritualistic activi ties you should worship me and offer me all paraphernalia. If you are intelligent, you should know that there is no personality superior to me who can accept the first oblations of all sacri fices (28). The great sage Maitreya continued: Thus the King, who became unintelligent due to his sinful life and deviation from the right path, be came actually bereft of all good fortune. He could not accept the requests of the great sages, which the sages put before him with great re spect, and therefore he was condemned (29).My dear Vidura, all good fortune unto you. The foolish King, who thought himself very learned, thus insulted the great sages, and the sages, being brokenhearted by the King’s words, became very angry at him (30)All the great saintly sages immediately cried: Kill him! Kill him! He is the most dreadful, sinful person. If he lives, he will certainly turn the whole world into ashes in no time (31).

The saintly sages continued: This impious, impudent man does not deserve to sit on the throne at all. He is so shameless that he even dared insult the Su preme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu (32).But for King Vena, who is simply inauspi cious, who would blaspheme the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead, by whose mercy one is awarded all kinds of fortune and opulence? (33) The great sages, thus manifesting their cov ert anger, immediately decided to kill the King. King Vena was already as good as dead due to his blasphemy against the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus without using any weapons, the sages killed King Vena simply by high sounding words (34).After all the sages re turned to their respective hermitages, the mother of King Vena, Sunīthā, became very much aggrieved because of her son’s death. She decided to preserve the dead body of her son by the application of certain ingredients and by chanting mantras [mantra-yogena] (35).

Once upon a time, the same saintly persons, after taking their bath in the river Sarasvatī, be gan to perform their daily duties by offering ob lations into the sacrificial fires. After this, sit ting on the bank of the river, they began to talk about the transcendental person and His pas times (36). In those days there were various dis turbances in the country that were creating a panic in society. Therefore all the sages began to talk amongst themselves: Since the King is dead and there is no protector in the world, mis fortune may befall the people in general on ac count of rogues and thieves (37). When the great sages were carrying on their discussion in this way, they saw a dust storm arising from all directions. This storm was caused by the run ning of thieves and rogues, who were engaged in plundering the citizens (38).

Upon seeing the dust storm, the saintly persons could under stand that there were a great deal of irregulari ties due to the death of King Vena. Without government, the state was devoid of law and or der, and consequently there was a great uprising of murderous thieves and rogues, who were plundering the riches of the people in general. Although the great sages could subdue the dis turbance by their powers just as they could kill the King they considered it improper on their part to do so. Thus they did not attempt to stop the disturbance (39-40).The great sages began to think that although a brāhmaṇa is peaceful and impartial because he is equal to everyone, it is still not his duty to neglect poor humans. By such neglect, a brāhmaṇa’s spiritual power diminishes, just as water kept in a cracked pot leaks out (41).The sages decided that the de scendants of the family of the saintly King Aṅga should not be stopped, for in this family the semen was very powerful and the children were prone to become devotees of the Lord (42).

After making a decision, the saintly per sons and sages churned the thighs of the dead body of King Vena with great force and accord ing to a specific method. As a result of this churning, a dwarflike person was born from King Vena’s body (43). This person born from King Vena’s thighs was named Bāhuka, and his complexion was as black as a crow’s. All the limbs of his body were very short, his arms and legs were short, and his jaws were large. His nose was flat, his eyes were reddish, and his hair copper-colored (44).He was very submis sive and meek, and immediately after his birth he bowed down and inquired, “Sirs, what shall I do?” The great sages replied, “Please sit down [niṣīda].” Thus Niṣāda, the father of the Naiṣāda race, was born (45).After his [Niṣāda’s] birth, he immediately took charge of all the resultant actions of King Vena’s sinful activities. As such, this Naiṣāda class are al ways engaged in sinful activities like stealing, plundering and hunting. Consequently they are only allowed to live in the hills and forests (46).

Sūta Gosvāmī, continuing to speak to all the ṛṣis, headed by Śaunaka, said: After hearing Maitreya Ṛṣi describe Dhruva Mahārāja’s as cent to Lord Viṣṇu’s abode, Vidura became very much enlightened in devotional emotion, and he inquired from Maitreya as follows (1). Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O greatly advanced devotee, who were the Pracetās? To which family did they belong? Whose sons were they, and where did they perform the great sacrifices? (2) Vidura continued: I know that the great sage Nārada is the greatest of all dev otees. He has compiled the pāñcarātrika proce dure of devotional service and has directly met the Supreme Personality of Godhead (3).

While all the Pracetās were executing religious rituals and sacrificial ceremonies and thus worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead for His satisfaction, the great sage Nārada described the transcendental qualities of Dhruva Mahārāja (4).My dear brāhmaṇa, how did Nārada Muni glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and what pastimes were described in that meeting? I am very eager to hear of them. Kindly explain fully about that glorifica tion of the Lord (5). The great sage Maitreya replied: My dear Vidura, when Mahārāja Dhruva departed for the forest, his son, Utkala, did not desire to ac cept the opulent throne of his father, which was meant for the ruler of all the lands of this planet (6).From his very birth, Utkala was fully satis fied and unattached to the world. He was equi poised, for he could see everything resting in the Supersoul and the Supersoul present in eve ryone’s heart (7).

By expansion of his knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, he had al ready attained liberation from the bondage of the body. This liberation is known as nirvāṇa. He was situated in transcendental bliss, and he continued always in that blissful existence, which expanded more and more. This was pos sible for him by continual practice of bhakti yoga, which is compared to fire because it burns away all dirty, material things. He was always situated in his constitutional position of self-realization, and he could not see anything else but the Supreme Lord and himself engaged in discharging devotional service (8-9).Utkala appeared to the less intelligent persons on the road to be foolish, blind, dumb, deaf and mad, although actually he was not so. He remained like fire covered with ashes, without blazing flames (10).

For this reason the ministers and all the elderly members of the family thought Ut kala to be without intelligence and, in fact, mad. Thus his younger brother, named Vatsara, the son of Bhrami, was elevated to the royal throne, and he became king of the world (11). King Vatsara had a very dear wife whose name was Svarvīthi, and she gave birth to six sons, named Puṣpārṇa, Tigmaketu, Iṣa, Ūrja, Vasu and Jaya (12).Puṣpārṇa had two wives, named Prabhā and Doṣā. Prabhā had three sons, named Prātar, Madhyandinam and Sāyam (13).Doṣā had three sons Pradoṣa, Niśitha and Vyuṣṭa. Vyuṣṭa’s wife was named Puṣkariṇī, and she gave birth to a very powerful son named Sarvatejā (14).Sarvatejā’s wife, Ākūti, gave birth to a son named Cākṣuṣa, who be came the sixth Manu at the end of the Manu millennium. Naḍvalā, the wife of Cākṣuṣa Manu, gave birth to the following faultless sons: Puru, Kutsa, Trita, Dyumna, Satyavān, Ṛta, Vrata, Agniṣṭoma, Atīrātra, Pradyumna, Śibi and Ulmuka (15-16).

Of the twelve sons, Ulmuka begot six sons in his wife Puṣkariṇī. They were all very good sons, and their names were Aṅga, Sumanā, Khyāti, Kratu, Aṅgirā and Gaya (17).The wife of Aṅga, Sunīthā, gave birth to a son named Vena, who was very crooked. The saintly King Aṅga was very dis appointed with Vena’s bad character, and he left home and kingdom and went out to the for est (18).My dear Vidura, when great sages curse, their words are as invincible as a thun derbolt. Thus when they cursed King Vena out of anger, he died. After his death, since there was no king, all the rogues and thieves flour ished, the kingdom became unregulated, and all the citizens suffered greatly. On seeing this, the great sages took the right hand of Vena as a churning rod, and as a result of their churning, Lord Viṣṇu in His partial representation made His advent as King Pṛthu, the original emperor of the world (19-20).

Vidura inquired from the sage Maitreya: My dear brāhmaṇa, King Aṅga was very gen tle. He had high character and was a saintly per sonality and lover of brahminical culture. How is it that such a great soul got a bad son like Vena, because of whom he became indifferent to his kingdom and left it? (21) Vidura also in quired: How is it that the great sages, who were completely conversant with religious princi ples, desired to curse King Vena, who himself carried the rod of punishment, and thus awarded him the greatest punishment [brahma śāpa]? (22)It is the duty of all citizens in a state never to insult the king, even though he some times appears to have done something very sin ful. Because of his prowess, the king is always more influential than all other ruling chiefs (23).

Vidura requested Maitreya: My dear brāhmaṇa, you are well conversant with all sub jects, both past and future. Therefore I wish to hear from you all the activities of King Vena. I am your faithful devotee, so please explain this (24). Śrī Maitreya replied: My dear Vidura, once the great King Aṅga arranged to perform the great sacrifice known as aśvamedha. All the expert brāhmaṇas present knew how to invite the demigods, but in spite of their efforts, no demigods participated or appeared in that sac rifice (25).The priests engaged in the sacrifice then informed King Aṅga: O King, we are properly offering the clarified butter in the sac rifice, but despite all our efforts the demigods do not accept it (26). O King, we know that the paraphernalia to perform the sacrifice is well collected by you with great faith and care and is not polluted. Our chanting of the Vedic hymns is also not deficient in any way, for all the brāhmaṇas and priests present here are ex pert and are executing the performances properly (27).

Dear King, we do not find any reason that the demigods should feel insulted or neglected in any way, but still the demigods who are witnesses for the sacrifice do not ac cept their shares. We do not know why this is so (28). Maitreya explained that King Aṅga, after hearing the statements of the priests, was greatly aggrieved. At that time he took permis sion from the priests to break his silence and inquired from all the priests who were present in the sacrificial arena (29).King Aṅga ad dressed the priestly order: My dear priests, kindly tell me what offense I have committed. Although invited, the demigods are neither tak ing part in the sacrifice nor accepting their shares (30). The head priests said: O King, in this life we do not find any sinful activity, even within your mind, so you are not in the least offensive. But we can see that in your previous life you performed sinful activities due to which, in spite of your having all qualifications, you have no son (31).O King, we wish all good fortune for you. You have no son, but if you pray at once to the Supreme Lord and ask for a son, and if you execute the sacrifice for that purpose, the enjoyer of the sacrifice, the Supreme Personal ity of Godhead, will fulfill your desire (32).

When Hari, the supreme enjoyer of all sac rifices, is invited to fulfill your desire for a son, all the demigods will come with Him and take their shares in the sacrifice (33).The performer of the sacrifices [under karma-kāṇḍa activities] achieves the fulfillment of the desire for which he worships the Lord (34). Thus for the sake of a son for King Aṅga, they decided to offer oblations to Lord Viṣṇu, who is situated in the hearts of all living entities (35).As soon as the oblation was offered in the fire, a person appeared from the fire altar wear ing a golden garland and a white dress. He was carrying a golden pot filled with rice boiled in milk (36).The King was very liberal, and after taking permission from the priests, he took the preparation in his joined palms, and after smell ing it he offered a portion to his wife (37).Alt hough the Queen had no son, after eating that food, which had the power to produce a male child, she became pregnant by her husband, and in due course of time she gave birth to a son (38).That boy was born partially in the dynasty of irreligion. His grandfather was death person ified, and the boy grew up as his follower; he became a greatly irreligious person (39).

After fixing his bow and arrow, the cruel boy used to go to the forest and unnecessarily kill innocent deer, and as soon as he came all the people would cry, “Here comes cruel Vena! Here comes cruel Vena!” (40)The boy was so cruel that while playing with young boys of his age he would kill them very mercilessly, as if they were animals meant for slaughter (41).Af ter seeing the cruel and merciless behavior of his son, Vena, King Aṅga punished him in dif ferent ways to reform him, but was unable to bring him to the path of gentleness. He thus be came greatly aggrieved (42).The King thought to himself: Persons who have no son are cer tainly fortunate. They must have worshiped the Lord in their previous lives so that they would not have to suffer the unbearable unhappiness caused by a bad son (43).

A sinful son causes a person’s reputation to vanish. His irreligious activities at home cause irreligion and quarrel among everyone, and this creates only endless anxiety (44). Who, if he is considerate and in telligent, would desire such a worthless son? Such a son is nothing but a bond of illusion for the living entity, and he makes one’s home mis erable (45).Then the King thought: A bad son is better than a good son because a good son creates an attachment for home, whereas a bad son does not. A bad son creates a hellish home from which an intelligent man naturally be comes very easily detached (46). Thinking like that, King Aṅga could not sleep at night. He became completely indiffer ent to household life. Once, therefore, in the dead of night, he got up from bed and left Vena’s mother [his wife], who was sleeping deeply. He gave up all attraction for his greatly opulent kingdom, and, unseen by anyone, he very silently gave up his home and opulence and proceeded towards the forest (47).

When it was understood that the King had indifferently left home, all the citizens, priests, ministers, friends, and people in general were greatly ag grieved. They began to search for him all over the world, just as a less experienced mystic searches out the Supersoul within himself (48).When the citizens could not find any trace of the King after searching for him everywhere, they were very disappointed, and they returned to the city, where all the great sages of the coun try assembled because of the King’s absence. With tears in their eyes the citizens offered re spectful obeisances and informed the sages in full detail that they were unable to find the King anywhere (49).

The great sage Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, Dhruva Mahārāja’s anger subsided, and he completely ceased killing Yakṣas. When Kuvera, the most blessed master of the treas ury, learned this news, he appeared before Dhruva. While being worshiped by Yakṣas, Kinnaras and Cāraṇas, he spoke to Dhruva Mahārāja, who stood before him with folded hands(1). The master of the treasury, Kuvera, said: O sinless son of a kṣatriya, I am very glad to know that under the instruction of your grand father you have given up your enmity, although it is very difficult to avoid. I am very pleased with you (2).Actually, you have not killed the Yakṣas, nor have they killed your brother, for the ultimate cause of generation and annihila tion is the eternal time feature of the Supreme Lord (3).

Misidentification of oneself and oth ers as “I” and “you” on the basis of the bodily concept of life is a product of ignorance. This bodily concept is the cause of repeated birth and death, and it makes us go on continuously in material existence (4).My dear Dhruva, come forward. May the Lord always grace you with good fortune. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond our sensory percep tion, is the Supersoul of all living entities, and thus all entities are one, without distinction. Therefore begin rendering service unto the transcendental form of the Lord, who is the ul timate shelter of all living entities (5).Engage yourself fully, therefore, in the devotional ser vice of the Lord, for only He can deliver us from this entanglement of materialistic exist ence. Although the Lord is attached to His ma terial potency, He is aloof from her activities. Everything in this material world is happening by the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (6).

My dear Dhruva Mahārāja, son of Mahārāja Uttānapāda, we have heard that you are constantly engaged in transcendental loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known for His lotus navel. You are therefore worthy to take all benedictions from us. Please, therefore, ask without hesitation whatever benediction you want from me (7). The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, when thus asked to accept a bene diction from Kuvera the Yakṣarāja [King of the Yakṣas], Dhruva Mahārāja, that most elevated pure devotee, who was an intelligent and thoughtful king, begged that he might have un flinching faith in and remembrance of the Su preme Personality of Godhead, for thus a per son can cross over the ocean of nescience very easily, although it is very difficult for others to cross (8).The son of Iḍaviḍā, Lord Kuvera, was very pleased, and happily he gave Dhruva Mahārāja the benediction he wanted. Thereaf ter he disappeared from Dhruva’s presence, and Dhruva Mahārāja returned to his capital city (9).

As long as he remained at home, Dhruva Mahārāja performed many great ceremonial sacrifices in order to please the enjoyer of all sacrifices, the Supreme Personality of God head. Prescribed ceremonial sacrifices are es pecially meant to please Lord Viṣṇu, who is the resultant objective of all such sacrifices and who awards the benedictions (10).Dhruva Mahārāja rendered devotional service unto the Supreme, the reservoir of everything, with un relenting force. While carrying out his devo tional service to the Lord, he could see that eve rything is situated in Him only and that He is situated in all living entities. The Lord is called Acyuta because He never fails in His prime duty, to give protection to His devotees (11).

Dhruva Mahārāja was endowed with all godly qualities; he was very respectful to the devotees of the Supreme Lord and very kind to the poor and innocent, and he protected reli gious principles. With all these qualifications, he was considered to be the direct father of all the citizens (12).Dhruva Mahārāja ruled over this planet for thirty-six thousand years; he di minished the reactions of pious activities by en joyment, and by practicing austerities he dimin ished inauspicious reactions (13).The self-con trolled great soul Dhruva Mahārāja thus passed many, many years favorably executing three kinds of worldly activities, namely religiosity, economic development and satisfaction of all material desires. Thereafter he handed over the charge of the royal throne to his son (14).

Śrīla Dhruva Mahārāja realized that this cosmic manifestation bewilders living entities like a dream or phantasmagoria because it is a crea tion of the illusory, external energy of the Su preme Lord (15).Thus Dhruva Mahārāja, at the end, left his kingdom, which extended all over the earth and was bounded by the great oceans. He considered his body, his wives, his children, his friends, his army, his rich treasury, his very comfortable palaces and his many enjoyable pleasure-grounds to be creations of the illusory energy. Thus in due course of time he retired to the forest in the Himālayas known as Bada rikāśrama (16). In Badarikāśrama Dhruva Mahārāja’s senses became completely purified because he bathed regularly in the crystal-clear, purified water. He fixed his sitting position and by yogic practice controlled the breathing process and the air of life; in this way his senses were com pletely withdrawn. Then he concentrated his mind on the arcā-vigraha form of the Lord, which is the exact replica of the Lord and, thus meditating upon Him, entered into complete trance (17).

Because of his transcendental bliss, incessant tears flowed from his eyes, his heart melted, and there was shivering and standing of the hairs all over his body. Thus transformed, in a trance of devotional service, Dhruva Mahārāja completely forgot his bodily existence, and thus he immediately became lib erated from material bondage (18). As soon as the symptoms of his liberation were manifest, he saw a very beautiful airplane coming down from the sky, as if the brilliant full moon were coming down, illuminating all the ten directions (19).Dhruva Mahārāja saw two very beautiful associates of Lord Viṣṇu in the plane. They had four hands and a blackish bodily luster, they were very youthful, and their eyes were just like reddish lotus flowers. They held clubs in their hands, and they were dressed in very attractive garments with helmets and were decorated with necklaces, bracelets and earrings (20).

Dhruva Mahārāja, seeing that these uncommon personalities were direct serv ants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, immediately stood up. But, being puzzled, in hastiness he forgot how to receive them in the proper way. Therefore he simply offered obei sances with folded hands and chanted and glo rified the holy names of the Lord (21). Dhruva Mahārāja was always absorbed in thinking of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. His heart was full with Kṛṣṇa. When the two confidential servants of the Supreme Lord, who were named Nanda and Sunanda, approached him, smiling happily, Dhruva stood with folded hands, bowing hum bly. They then addressed him as follows (22). Nanda and Sunanda, the two confidential associates of Lord Viṣṇu, said: Dear King, let there be all good fortune unto you. Please atten tively hear what we shall say. When you were only five years old, you underwent severe aus terities, and you thereby greatly satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead (23).

We are representatives of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the creator of the whole universe, who carries in His hand the bow named Śārṅga. We have been specifically deputed to take you to the spiritual world (24).To achieve Viṣṇuloka is very difficult, but by your auster ity you have conquered. Even the great ṛṣis and demigods cannot achieve this position. Simply to see the supreme abode [the Viṣṇu planet], the sun and moon and all the other planets, stars, lunar mansions and solar systems are circum ambulating it. Now please come; you are wel come to go there (25). Dear King Dhruva, nei ther your forefathers nor anyone else before you ever achieved such a transcendental planet. The planet known as Viṣṇuloka, where Lord Viṣṇu personally resides, is the highest of all. It is worshipable by the inhabitants of all other planets within the universe. Please come with us and live there eternally (26).

O immortal one, this unique airplane has been sent by the Su preme Personality of Godhead, who is wor shiped by selected prayers and who is the chief of all living entities. You are quite worthy to board such a plane (27). The great sage Maitreya continued: Mahārāja Dhruva was very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When he heard the sweet speeches of the Lord’s chief associates in the Vaikuṇṭha planet, he immediately took his sacred bath, dressed himself with suitable orna ments, and performed his daily spiritual duties. Thereafter he offered his respectful obeisances to the great sages present there and accepted their blessings (28). Before getting aboard, Dhruva Mahārāja worshiped the airplane, cir cumambulated it, and also offered obeisances to the associates of Viṣṇu. In the meantime he became as brilliant and illuminating as molten gold. He was thus completely prepared to board the transcendental plane (29).

When Dhruva Mahārāja was attempting to get on the tran scendental plane, he saw death personified ap proach him. Not caring for death, however, he took advantage of the opportunity to put his feet on the head of death, and thus he got up on the airplane, which was as big as a house (30). At that time drums and kettledrums re sounded from the sky, the chief Gandharvas be gan to sing, and other demigods showered flowers like torrents of rain upon Dhruva Mahārāja (31). Dhruva was seated in the transcendental air plane, which was just about to start, when he remembered his poor mother, Sunīti. He thought to himself, “How shall I go alone to the Vaikuṇṭha planet and leave behind my poor mother?” (32) The great associates of Vaikuṇṭhaloka, Nanda and Sunanda, could un derstand the mind of Dhruva Mahārāja, and thus they showed him that his mother, Sunīti, was going forward in another plane(33).

While Dhruva Mahārāja was passing through space, he gradually saw all the planets of the solar sys tem, and on the path he saw all the demigods in their airplanes showering flowers upon him like rain (34). Dhruva Mahārāja thus surpassed the seven planetary systems of the great sages who are known as saptarṣi. Beyond that region, he achieved the transcendental situation of per manent life in the planet where Lord Viṣṇu lives (35).The self-effulgent Vaikuṇṭha planets, by whose illumination alone all the illuminat ing planets within this material world give off reflected light, cannot be reached by those who are not merciful to other living entities. Only persons who constantly engage in welfare ac tivities for other living entities can reach the Vaikuṇṭha planets (36).Persons who are peace ful, equipoised, cleansed and purified, and who know the art of pleasing all other living entities, keep friendship only with devotees of the Lord; they alone can very easily achieve the perfec tion of going back home, back to Godhead (37).

In this way, the fully Kṛṣṇa conscious Dhruva Mahārāja, the exalted son of Mahārāja Uttānapāda, attained the summit of the three statuses of planetary systems (38). Saint Mait reya continued: My dear Vidura, descendant of Kuru, as a herd of bulls circumambulates a cen tral pole on their right side, all the luminaries within the universal sky unceasingly circum ambulate the abode of Dhruva Mahārāja with great force and speed (39).After observing the glories of Dhruva Mahārāja, the great sage Nārada, playing his vīṇā, went to the sacrificial arena of the Pracetās and very happily chanted the following three verses (40).

The great sage Nārada said: Simply by the influence of his spiritual advancement and powerful austerity, Dhruva Mahārāja, the son of Sunīti, who was devoted to her husband, ac quired an exalted position not possible to attain even for the so-called Vedāntists or strict fol lowers of the Vedic principles, not to speak of ordinary human beings (41).The great sage Nārada continued: Just see how Dhruva Mahārāja, aggrieved at the harsh words of his stepmother, went to the forest at the age of only five years and under my direction underwent austerity. Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unconquerable, Dhruva Mahārāja defeated Him with the specific qualifications possessed by the Lord’s devotees (42). Dhruva Mahārāja attained an exalted position at the age of only five or six years, after undergoing aus terity for six months. Alas, a great kṣatriya can not achieve such a position even after undergo ing austerities for many, many years (43).

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, whatever you have asked from me about the great reputation and character of Dhruva Mahārāja I have explained to you in all detail. Great saintly persons and devotees very much like to hear about Dhruva Mahārāja (44).By hearing the narration of Dhruva Mahārāja one can fulfill desires for wealth, rep utation and increased duration of life. It is so auspicious that one can even go to a heavenly planet or attain Dhruvaloka, which was achieved by Dhruva Mahārāja, just by hearing about him. The demigods also become pleased because this narration is so glorious, and it is so powerful that it can counteract all the results of one’s sinful actions (45).Anyone who hears the narration of Dhruva Mahārāja, and who repeat edly tries with faith and devotion to understand his pure character, attains the pure devotional platform and executes pure devotional service. By such activities one can diminish the three fold miserable conditions of material life (46).

Anyone who hears this narration of Dhruva Mahārāja acquires exalted qualities like him. For anyone who desires greatness, prowess or influence, here is the process by which to acquire them, and for thoughtful men who want adoration, here is the proper means (47).The great sage Maitreya recommended: One should chant of the character and activities of Dhruva Mahārāja both in the morning and in the evening, with great attention and care, in a society of brāhmaṇas or other twice-born per sons (48).Persons who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord should recite this narration of Dhruva Mahārāja without tak ing remuneration. Specifically, recitation is recommended on the full-moon or dark-moon day, on the day after Ekādaśī, on the appear ance of the Śravaṇa star, at the end of a partic ular tithi, or the occasion of Vyatīpāta, at the end of the month, or on Sunday. Such recitation should of course be performed before a favora ble audience. When recitation is performed this way, without professional motive, the reciter and audience become perfect (49-50).

The narration of Dhruva Mahārāja is sublime knowledge for the attainment of immortality. Persons unaware of the Absolute Truth can be led to the path of truth. Those who out of tran scendental kindness take on the responsibility of becoming master-protectors of the poor liv ing entities automatically gain the interest and blessings of the demigods (51).The transcen dental activities of Dhruva Mahārāja are well known all over the world, and they are very pure. In childhood Dhruva Mahārāja rejected all kinds of toys and playthings, left the protec tion of his mother and seriously took shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. My dear Vidura, I therefore conclude this nar ration, for I have described to you all its details (52).

Śrī Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, when Dhruva Mahārāja heard the encouraging words of the great sages, he performed the ācamana by touching water and then took up his arrow made by Lord Nārāyaṇa and fixed it upon his bow (1).As soon as Dhruva Mahārāja joined the nārāyaṇāstra arrow to his bow, the illusion cre ated by the Yakṣas was immediately van quished, just as all material pains and pleasures are vanquished when one becomes fully cogni zant of the self (2).Even as Dhruva Mahārāja fixed the weapon made by Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi onto his bow, arrows with golden shafts and feathers like the wings of a swan flew out from it. They entered the enemy soldiers with a great hissing sound, just as peacocks enter a forest with tu multuous crowing (3).

Those sharp arrows dis mayed the enemy soldiers, who became almost unconscious, but various Yakṣas on the battle field, in a rage against Dhruva Mahārāja, some how or other collected their weapons and at tacked. Just as serpents agitated by Garuḍa rush towards Garuḍa with upraised hoods, all the Yakṣa soldiers prepared to overcome Dhruva Mahārāja with their upraised weapons (4). When Dhruva Mahārāja saw the Yakṣas com ing forward, he immediately took his arrows and cut the enemies to pieces. Separating their arms, legs, heads and bellies from their bodies, he delivered the Yakṣas to the planetary system which is situated above the sun globe and which is attainable only by first-class brah macārīs, who have never discharged their se men (5).

When Svāyambhuva Manu saw that his grandson Dhruva Mahārāja was killing so many of the Yakṣas who were not actually of fenders, out of his great compassion he ap proached Dhruva with great sages to give him good instruction (6). Lord Manu said: My dear son, please stop. It is not good to become unnecessarily angry it is the path to hellish life. Now you are going beyond the limit by killing Yakṣas who are ac tually not offenders (7).My dear son, the killing of the sinless Yakṣas which you have under taken is not at all approved by authorities, and it does not befit our family, which is supposed to know the laws of religion and irreligion (8).My dear son, it has been proved that you are very much affectionate towards your brother and are greatly aggrieved at his being killed by the Yakṣas, but just consider: for one Yakṣa’s offense, you have killed many others, who are innocent (9).

One should not accept the body as the self and thus, like the animals, kill the bod ies of others. This is especially forbidden by saintly persons, who follow the path of devo tional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead (10).It is very difficult to achieve the spiritual abode of Hari, in the Vaikuṇṭha plan ets, but you are so fortunate that you are already destined to go to that abode by worshiping Him as the supreme abode of all living entities (11). Because you are a pure devotee of the Lord, the Lord is always thinking of you, and you are also recognized by all His confidential devotees. Your life is meant for exemplary behavior. I am therefore surprised why have you undertaken such an abominable task? (12) The Lord is very satisfied with His devotee when the devotee greets other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship and equality (13).

One who actually satisfies the Supreme Personality of Godhead during one’s lifetime becomes liberated from the gross and subtle material conditions. Thus being freed from all material modes of nature, he achieves unlimited spiritual bliss (14).The creation of the material world begins with the five elements, and thus everything, including the body of a man or a woman, is created of these elements. By the sexual life of man and woman, the number of men and women in this material world is further increased (15). Manu continued: My dear King Dhruva, it is simply by the illusory material energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and by the in teraction of the three modes of material nature that creation, maintenance and annihilation take place (16).

My dear Dhruva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. He is the remote cause of the creation of this material cosmic manifestation. When He gives the impetus, many other causes and effects are produced, and thus the whole universe moves, just as iron moves by the integrated force of a magnet (17).The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His inconceivable supreme energy, time, causes the interaction of the three modes of ma terial nature, and thus varieties of energy be come manifest. It appears that He is acting, but He is not the actor. He is killing, but He is not the killer. Thus it is understood that only by His inconceivable power is everything happening (18).My dear Dhruva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is ever existing, but in the form of time He is the killer of everything. He has no beginning, although He is the beginning of eve rything, nor is He ever exhaustible, although everything is exhausted in due course of time. The living entities are created through the agency of the father and killed through the agency of death, but He is perpetually free of birth and death (19).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His feature of eternal time, is present in the material world and is neutral to wards everyone. No one is His ally, and no one is His enemy. Within the jurisdiction of the time element, everyone enjoys or suffers the re sult of his own karma, or fruitive activities. As, when the wind blows, small particles of dust fly in the air, so, according to one’s particular karma, one suffers or enjoys material life (20).The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is all-powerful, and He awards the re sults of one’s fruitive activities. Thus, although one living entity’s duration of life is very small whereas that of another is very great, He is al ways in His transcendental position, and there is no question of lessening or increasing His du ration of life (21).The differentiation among varieties of life and their suffering and enjoy ment is explained by some to be the result of karma. Others say it is due to nature, others due to time, others due to fate, and still others say that it is due to desire (22).

The Absolute Truth, Transcendence, is never subject to the under standing of imperfect sensory endeavor, nor is He subject to direct experience. He is the mas ter of varieties of energies, like the full material energy, and no one can understand His plans or actions; therefore it should be concluded that although He is the original cause of all causes, no one can know Him by mental speculation (23). My dear son, those Yakṣas, who are de scendants of Kuvera, are not actually the killers of your brother; the birth and death of every liv ing entity are caused by the Supreme, who is certainly the cause of all causes (24).The Su preme Personality of Godhead creates this ma terial world, maintains it, and annihilates it in due course of time, but because He is transcen dental to such activities, He is never affected by ego in such action or by the modes of material nature (25).

The Supreme Personality of God head is the Supersoul of all living entities. He is the controller and maintainer of everyone; through the agency of His external energy, He creates, maintains and annihilates everyone (26).My dear boy Dhruva, please surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the ultimate goal of the progress of the world. Everyone, including the demigods headed by Lord Brahmā, is working under His control, just as a bull, prompted by a rope in its nose, is controlled by its owner (27).My dear Dhruva, at the age of only five years you were very grievously afflicted by the words of your mother’s co-wife, and you very boldly gave up the protection of your mother and went to the forest to engage in the yogic process for reali zation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As a result of this you have already achieved the topmost position in all the three worlds (28).

Therefore, my dear Dhruva, please turn your attention to the Supreme Person, who is the infallible Brahman. Face the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead in your original position, and thus, by self-realization, you will find this material differentiation to be merely flickering (29).Thus regaining your natural position and rendering service unto the Supreme Lord, who is the all-powerful reservoir of all pleasure and who lives in all living entities as the Supersoul, you will very soon forget the illusory under standing of “I” and “my.” (30) My dear King, just consider what I have said to you, which will act as medicinal treatment upon disease. Control your anger, for anger is the foremost enemy on the path of spiritual re alization. I wish all good fortune for you. Please follow my instructions (31).

A person who de sires liberation from this material world should not fall under the control of anger because when bewildered by anger one becomes a source of dread for all others (32).My dear Dhruva, you thought that the Yakṣas killed your brother, and therefore you have killed great numbers of them. But by this action you have agitated the mind of Lord Śiva’s brother Kuvera, who is the treasurer of the demigods. Please note that your actions have been very disrespectful to Kuvera and Lord Śiva (33).For this reason, my son, you should immediately pacify Kuvera with gentle words and prayers, and thus his wrath may not affect our family (34). Thus Svāyambhuva Manu, after giving in struction to Dhruva Mahārāja, his grandson, re ceived respectful obeisances from him. Then Lord Manu and the great sages went back to their respective homes (35).