Sri Krishna Madbhagavatam
87. The Deliverance of Lord Śiva
Mahārāja Parīkṣit's question is very intelligent. The two classes of devotees, namely the devotees of Lord Śiva and the devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, are always in disagreement. Even today in India these two classes of devotees still criticize each other, and especially in South India, the followers of Rāmānujācārya and the followers of Śaṅkarācārya hold occasional meetings for understanding the Vedic conclusion. Generally, the followers of Rāmānujācārya come out victorious in such meetings. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja wanted to clarify the situation by asking this question of Śukadeva Gosvāmī. That Lord Śiva lives as a poor man although his devotees appear to be very opulent, whereas Lord Kṛṣṇa or Lord Viṣṇu is always opulent, and yet His devotees appear to be poverty-stricken, is a situation which appears contradictory and puzzling to a discriminating person.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī began to reply to
King Parīkṣit's
inquiry about the apparent contradictions regarding the worship of Lord Śiva and
that of Lord Viṣṇu.
Lord Śiva is the master of the material energy. The material energy is
represented by goddess Durgā, and Lord Śiva happens to be her husband. Since
goddess Durgā is completely under the subjugation of Lord Śiva, it is to be
understood that Lord Śiva is the master of this material energy. The material
energy is manifested in three qualities, namely goodness, passion and
ignorance, and therefore Lord Śiva is the master of these three qualities.
Although he is in association with these qualities for the benefit of the
conditioned soul, Lord Śiva is the director and is not affected. Although the
conditioned soul is affected by the three qualities, Lord Śiva, because he is
the master of these qualities, is not affected by them.
From the statements of Śukadeva
Gosvāmī we can understand that the effects of worshiping different demigods
are not, as some less intelligent persons suppose, the same as the effects of
worshiping Lord Viṣṇu.
He clearly states that by worshiping Lord Śiva one achieves one reward,
whereas by worshiping Lord Viṣṇu one achieves a different reward. This is also
confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: Those who worship the different demigods
achieve the desired results which the respective demigods can reward.
Similarly, those who worship the material energy receive the suitable reward
for such activities, and those who worship the pitās receive similar results.
But those who are engaged in devotional service or worship of the Supreme
Lord, Viṣṇu
or Kṛṣṇa,
go to the Vaikuṇṭha
planets or Kṛṣṇaloka.
One cannot approach the transcendental region or paravyoma, the spiritual
sky, by worshiping Lord Śiva or Brahmā or any other demigod.
Since this material world is a
product of the three qualities of material nature, all varieties of manifestations
come from those three qualities. With the aid of materialistic science,
modern civilization has created many machines and comforts of life, and yet
they are only varieties of the interactions of the three material qualities.
Although the devotees of Lord Śiva are able to obtain many material
acquisitions, we should know that they are simply collecting products
manufactured by the three qualities. The three qualities are again subdivided
into sixteen, namely the ten senses (five working senses and the five
knowledge-acquiring senses), the mind, and the five elements (earth, water,
air, fire and sky). These sixteen items are further extensions of the three
qualities. Material happiness or opulence means gratification of the senses,
specifically the genitals, the tongue and the mind. By exercising our minds
we create many pleasurable things just for enjoyment by the genitals and the
tongue. The opulence of a person within this material world is estimated in
terms of his exercise of the genitals and the tongue, or, in other words, how
well he is able to utilize his sexual capacities and how well he is able to
satisfy his fastidious taste by eating palatable dishes. Material advancement
of civilization necessitates creating objects of enjoyment by mental
concoction just to become happy on the basis of these two principles:
pleasures for the genitals and pleasures for the tongue. Herein lies the
answer to King Parīkṣit's
question to Śukadeva Gosvāmī as to why the worshipers of Lord Śiva are so
opulent.
The devotees of Lord Śiva are only
opulent in terms of the material qualities. Factually, such so-called
advancement of civilization is the cause of entanglement in material
existence. It is actually not advancement, but degradation. The conclusion is
that because Lord Śiva is the master of the three qualities, his devotees are
given things manufactured by the interactions of these qualities for
satisfaction of the senses. In the Bhagavad-gītā, however, we get instruction
from Lord Kṛṣṇa
that one has to transcend the qualitative existence. Nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna:
the mission of human life is to become transcendental to the three qualities.
Unless one is nistraiguṇya,
he cannot get free from material entanglement. In other words, favors
received from Lord Śiva are not actually beneficial to the conditioned souls,
although apparently such facilities seem to be opulent.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: "The
Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari is transcendental to the three qualities
of material nature." It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that anyone who
surrenders unto Him surpasses the control of the three qualities of material
nature. Therefore, since Hari's devotees are transcendental to the control of
the three material qualities, certainly He Himself is transcendental. It is
stated, therefore, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that Hari, or Kṛṣṇa, is the original Supreme Personality. There are
two kinds of prakṛtis, or potencies, namely the
internal potency and the external potency, and Kṛṣṇa is the overlord of both these prakṛtis or potencies. He is sarva-dṛk, or the overseer of all the actions of the
internal and external potencies, and He is also described as upadraṣṭa, the supreme advisor. Because He is the supreme
advisor, He is above all the demigods, who merely follow the directions of
the supreme advisor. As such, if one directly follows the instructions of the
Supreme Lord, as inculcated in the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
then gradually one becomes nirguṇa, or above the interaction of the material qualities.
To be nirguṇa means to be bereft of material
opulences because, as we have explained, material opulence means an increase
of the actions and reactions of the three material qualities. By worshiping
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, instead of being puffed up with material
opulence one becomes enriched with spiritual advancement of knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To become nirguṇa means to achieve eternal peace, fearlessness,
religiousness, knowledge and renunciation. All these are symptoms of becoming
free from the contamination of the material qualities.Śukadeva Gosvāmī, in answering Mahārāja Parīkṣit's question, went on to cite an historical instance regarding Parīkṣit Mahārāja's grandfather, King Yudhiṣṭhira. He said that after finishing the aśvamedha sacrifice in the great sacrificial arena, King Yudhiṣṭhira, in the presence of great authorities, enquired on that very same point: how is it that the devotees of Lord Śiva become materially opulent, whereas the devotees of Lord Viṣṇu do not? Śukadeva Gosvāmī specifically referred to King Yudhiṣṭhira as "your grandfather" so that Mahārāja Parīkṣit would be encouraged to think that he was related to Kṛṣṇa and that his grandfathers were intimately connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Although Kṛṣṇa
is always very satisfied by nature, when this question was asked by Mahārāja
Yudhiṣṭhira
He became even more satisfied because these questions and their answers would
bear a great meaning for the entire Kṛṣṇa conscious society. Whenever Lord Kṛṣṇa
speaks about something to a specific devotee, it is not only meant for that
devotee, but for the entire human society. Instructions by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead are important even to the demigods, headed by Lord
Brahmā, Lord Śiva and others, and anyone who does not take advantage of the
instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who descends within this
world for the benefit of all living entities, is certainly very unfortunate.
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It may be questioned why a devotee is put into such
tribulation by the Personality of Godhead. The answer is that this kind of
arrangement by the Lord is just like a father's sometimes becoming unkind to
his sons. Because the devotee is a surrendered soul and is taken charge of by
the Supreme Lord, whenever the Lord puts him into any condition of life--either
in distress or happiness--it is to be understood that behind this arrangement
there is a large plan designed by the Personality of Godhead. For example, Lord
Kṛṣṇa
put the Pāṇḍavas
into a distressed condition so acute that even grandfather Bhīṣma could not
comprehend how such distress could occur. He lamented that although the whole
Pāṇḍava
family was headed by King Yudhiṣṭhira, the most pious king, and protected by the two
great warriors Bhīma and Arjuna, and although, above all, the Pāṇḍavas were all
intimate friends and relatives of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they still had to undergo such tribulations.
Later on, however, it was proved that this was planned by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa as
part of His great mission to annihilate the miscreants and protect the
devotees.
Another question may be raised: Since a
devotee is put into different kinds of happy and distressful conditions by the
arrangement of the Personality of Godhead, and a common man is put into such
conditions as a result of his past deeds, then what is the difference? How is
the devotee any better than the ordinary karmī ? The answer is that the karmīs
and the devotees are not on the same level. In whatever condition of life the
karmī may be, he continues in the cycle of birth and death because the seed of
karma, or fruitive activity, is there, and it fructifies whenever there is an
opportunity. By the law of karma a common man is perpetually entangled in
repeated birth and death, whereas a devotee's distress and happiness, not being
under the laws of karma, are part of a temporary arrangement by the Supreme
Lord which does not entangle the devotee. Such an arrangement is made by the
Lord only to serve a temporary purpose. If a karmī performs auspicious acts, he
is elevated to the heavenly planets, and if he acts impiously, he is put into a
hellish condition of life. But whether a devotee acts in a so-called pious or
in an impious manner, he is neither elevated nor degraded, but is transferred
to the spiritual kingdom. Therefore a devotee's happiness and distress and a
karmī's happiness and distress are not on the same level. This fact is
corroborated by a speech by Yamarāja to his servants in connection with the
liberation of Ajāmila. Yamarāja advised his followers that persons who have
never uttered the holy name of the Lord nor remembered the form, quality and
pastimes of the Lord should be approached by his watchguards. Yamarāja also
advised his servants never to approach the devotees. On the contrary, he
instructed his messengers that if they meet a devotee they should offer their
respectful obeisances. So there is no question of a devotee's being promoted or
degraded within this material world. As there is a gulf of difference between
the punishment awarded by the mother and the punishment awarded by an enemy, so
a devotee's distressed condition is not the same as the distressed condition of
a common karmī.
Here another question may be raised. If
God is all-powerful, why should He try to reform His devotee by putting him in
distress? The answer is that when the Supreme Personality of Godhead puts His
devotee into a condition of distress, it is not without purpose. Sometimes the
purpose is that in distress a devotee's feelings of attachment to Kṛṣṇa are magnified.
For example, when Kṛṣṇa,
before leaving the capital of the Pāṇḍavas for His home, was asking for permission to
leave, Kuntīdevī said, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, in our distressed condition You were always
present with us. Now, because we have been elevated to a royal position, You
are leaving us. I would therefore prefer to live in distress than to lose
You." When a devotee is put into a situation of distress, his devotional
activities are accelerated. Therefore, to show special favor to a devotee, the
Lord sometimes puts him into distress. Besides that, it is stated that the
sweetness of happiness is sweeter to those who have tasted bitterness. The
Supreme Lord descends to this material world just to protect His devotees from
distress. In other words, if devotees were not in a distressed condition, the
Lord would not have come down. As for His killing the demons or the miscreants,
this can be easily done by His various energies, just as many asuras are killed
by His external energy, goddess Durgā. Therefore the Lord does not need to come
down personally to kill such demons, but when His devotee is in distress He
must come. Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared
not to kill Hiraṇyakaśipu
but to see Prahlāda and to give him blessings. In other words, because Prahlāda
Mahārāja was put into very great distress, the Lord appeared.
When, after the dense, dark night,
there is finally sunrise in the morning, it is very pleasant. When there is
scorching heat, cold water is very pleasant and when there is freezing winter,
hot water is very pleasant. Similarly, when a devotee, after experiencing the
condition of the material world, relishes the spiritual happiness awarded by
the Lord, his position becomes still more pleasant and enjoyable.
The Lord continued: "When My
devotee is bereft of all material riches and is deserted by his relatives,
friends and family members, because he has no one to look after him, he
completely takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord." Śrīla
Narottamadāsa Ṭhākur
has sung in this connection, "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, O son of Nanda Mahārāja, You are now standing
before me along with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu. I am now
surrendering unto You. Please accept me. Please do not kick me away. I have no
shelter other than You."
When a devotee is thus put into
so-called miserable conditions and is bereft of riches and family, he tries to
revive his original position of material opulence. But although he tries again
and again, Kṛṣṇa
again and again takes away all his resources. Thus he finally becomes
disappointed in material activities, and in that stage of frustration in all
endeavors, he can fully surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such
persons are advised by the Lord from within to associate with devotees. By
associating with devotees they naturally become inclined to render service to
the Personality of Godhead, and they immediately get all facilities from the
Lord to advance in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. The non-devotees, however, are very careful about preserving
their material condition of life. Generally, therefore, such non-devotees do
not come to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but worship Lord Śiva
or other demigods for immediate material profit. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is
said, therefore, kāṇkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ yajanta iha
devatāḥ:
the karmīs, in order to achieve success within this material world, worship the
various demigods. It is also stated by Lord Kṛṣṇa that those who worship the demigods are not
mature in their intelligence. The devotees of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, therefore, because of their strong attachment for Him, do not
foolishly go to the demigods.
Lord Kṛṣṇa said to King Yudhiṣṭhira: "My devotee is not deterred by any
adverse conditions of life; he always remains firm and steady. Therefore I give
Myself to him, and I favor him so he can achieve the highest success in
life." The mercy bestowed upon the tried devotee by the Supreme Personality
is described as Brahman, which indicates that the greatness of that mercy can
be compared only to the all-pervasive greatness. Brahman means unlimitedly
great and unlimitedly expanding. That mercy is also described as parama, for it
has no comparison within this material world, and it is also called sūkṣmam, very fine.
The Lord's mercy upon the tried devotee is not only great and unlimitedly
expansive, but it is of the finest quality of transcendental love between the
devotee and the Lord. Such mercy is further described as cinmātram, completely
spiritual. The use of the word mātram indicates absolute spirituality, with no
tinge of material qualities. That mercy is also called sat, eternal, and
anantakam, unlimited. Since the devotee of the Lord is awarded such unlimited
spiritual benefit, why should he worship the demigods? A devotee of Kṛṣṇa does not
worship Lord Śiva or Brahmā or any other subordinate demigod. He completely
devotes himself to the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead.Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: "The demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva and including Lord Indra, Candra, Varuṇa and others, are apt to become very quickly satisfied and very quickly angered by the good and ill behavior of their devotees. But this is not so with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu." This means that any living entity within this material world, including the demigods, is conducted by the three modes of material nature, and therefore the qualities of ignorance and passion are very prominent within the material world. Those devotees who take blessings from the demigods are also infected with the material qualities, especially passion and ignorance. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa has therefore stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that to take blessings from the demigods is less intelligent because when one takes benedictions from the demigods, the results of such benedictions are temporary. It is easy to get material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but the result is sometimes disastrous. As such, the benedictions derived from demigods are appreciated by the less intelligent class of men. Persons who derive benedictions from the demigods gradually become puffed up with material opulence and neglectful of their benefactors.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī addressed King Parīkṣit thus: "My dear King, Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu, and Lord Śiva, the principal trio of the material creation, are able to bless or curse anyone. Of this trio, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva become very easily satisfied, and at the same time they become very easily angered. When they are satisfied they give benedictions without any consideration, and when they are angry, they curse the devotee without any consideration. But Lord Viṣṇu is not like that. Lord Viṣṇu is very considerate. Whenever a devotee wants something from Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu first of all considers whether such a benediction will ultimately be good for the devotee. Lord Viṣṇu never bestows any benediction which will ultimately prove disastrous to the devotee, He is, by His transcendental nature, always merciful; therefore, before giving any benediction, He considers whether it will prove beneficial for the devotee. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always merciful, even when it appears that He has killed a demon, or even when He apparently becomes angry toward a devotee, His actions are always auspicious. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is therefore known as all-good. Whatever He does is good."
As for the benedictions given by demigods like Lord Śiva, there is the following historical incident cited by great sages. Once, Lord Śiva, after giving benediction to a demon named Vṛkāsura, the son of Śakuni, was himself entrapped in a very dangerous position. Vṛkāsura was searching after a benediction and was trying to decide which of the three presiding deities to worship in order to get it. In the meantime he happened to meet the great sage Nārada and consulted with him as to whom he should approach to achieve quick results from his austerity. He inquired, "Of the three deities, namely Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva, who is the most quickly satisfied?" Nārada could understand the plan of the demon, and he advised him, "You had better worship Lord Śiva; then you will quickly get the desired result. Lord Śiva is very quickly satisfied and very quickly dissatisfied also. So you try to satisfy Lord Śiva." Nārada also cited instances wherein demons like Rāvaṇa and Bāṇāsura were enriched with great opulences simply by satisfying Lord Śiva with prayers. Because the great sage Nārada was aware of the nature of the demon Vṛkāsura, he did not advise him to approach Viṣṇu or Lord Brahmā. Persons such as Vṛkāsura who are situated in the material mode of ignorance, cannot stick to the worship of Viṣṇu.
After receiving instruction from
Nārada, the demon Vṛkāsura
went to Kedāranātha. The pilgrimage site of Kedāranātha still exists near
Kashmere. It is almost always covered by snow, but for part of the year,
during the month of July, it is possible to see the deity, and devotees go
there to offer their respects. Kedāranātha is for the devotees of Lord Śiva.
According to the Vedic principle, when something is offered to the deities to
eat, it is offered in a fire. Therefore a fire sacrifice is necessary in all
sorts of ceremonies. It is specifically stated in the śāstras that gods are
to be offered something to eat through the fire. The demon Vṛkāsura
therefore went to Kedāranātha and ignited a sacrificial fire to please Lord
Śiva.
After igniting the fire in the name
of Śiva, he began to offer his own flesh, by cutting it from his body so as
to please Lord Śiva. Here is an instance of worship in the mode of ignorance.
In the Bhagavad-gītā, different types of sacrifice are mentioned. Some
sacrifices are in the mode of goodness, some are in the mode of passion, and
some are in the mode of ignorance. There are different kinds of tapasya and
worship because there are different kinds of people within this world. But
the ultimate tapasya, Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, is the topmost yoga and the topmost sacrifice. As confirmed in
the Bhagavad-gītā, the topmost yoga is to think always of Lord Kṛṣṇa
within the heart, and the topmost sacrifice is to perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated
that the worshipers of the demigods have lost their intelligence. As will be
revealed later in this chapter, Vṛkāsura wanted to satisfy Lord Śiva for a
third-class materialistic objective, which was temporary and without real
benefit. The asuras or persons within the mode of ignorance will accept such
benedictions from the demigods. In complete contrast to this sacrifice in the
modes of ignorance, the arcanā-vidhi process for worshiping Lord Viṣṇu
or Kṛṣṇa
is very simple. Lord Kṛṣṇa
says in the Bhagavad-gītā that He accepts from His devotee even a little
fruit, a flower or some water, which can be gathered by any person, poor or
rich. Of course, those who are rich are not expected to offer only a little
water, a little piece of fruit or a little leaf to the Lord. A rich man
should offer according to his position, but if the devotee happens to be a
very poor man the Lord will accept even the most meager offering. The worship
of Lord Viṣṇu
or Kṛṣṇa
is very simple, and it can be executed by anyone in this world. But worship
in the mode of ignorance, as exhibited by Vṛkāsura, is not only very difficult and painful,
but it is also a useless waste of time. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says that the
worshipers of the demigods are bereft of intelligence; their process of
worship is very difficult, and at the same time the result obtained is
flickering and temporary.
Although Vṛkāsura
continued his sacrifice for six days, he was nevertheless unable to
personally see Lord Śiva, which was his objective; he wanted to see him face
to face and ask him for a benediction. Here is another contrast between a
demon and a devotee. A devotee is confident that whatever he offers to the
Deity in full devotional service is accepted by the Lord, but a demon wants
to see his worshipable deity face to face so that he can directly take the
benediction. A devotee, however, does not worship Viṣṇu
or Lord Kṛṣṇa
for any benediction. Therefore a devotee is called akāma, free of desire, and
a nondevotee is called sarva-kāma, or desirous of everything. On the seventh
day, the demon Vṛkāsura
decided that he should cut off his head and offer it to satisfy Lord Śiva.
Thus he took a bath in a nearby lake, and without drying his body and hair,
he prepared to cut off his head. According to the Vedic system, an animal
which is to be offered as a sacrifice has to be bathed first, and while the
animal is wet he is sacrificed. When the demon was thus preparing to cut off
his head, Lord Śiva became very compassionate. This compassion, however, is a
symptom of the quality of goodness. Lord Śiva is called triliṅga. Therefore
his manifestation of the nature of compassion is a sign of the quality of
goodness. This compassion, however, is present in every living entity. The
compassion of Lord Śiva was aroused because the demon was offering his flesh
to the sacrificial fire. This is natural compassion. Even if a common man
sees someone preparing to commit suicide, it is his duty to try to save him.
He does so automatically. There is no need to appeal to him. Therefore when
Lord Śiva appeared from the fire to check the demon from suicide, it was not
as a very great favor to him.
The demon was saved from committing
suicide by the touch of Lord Śiva; his bodily injuries immediately healed,
and his body became as it was before. Then Lord Śiva told the demon, "My
dear Vṛkāsura,
you do not need to cut off your head. You can ask from me any benediction you
like, and I shall fulfill your desire. I do not know why you wanted to cut
off your head to satisfy me. I become satisfied even by an offering of a
little water." Actually, according to the Vedic process, the Śiva liṅga in the
temple or the form of Lord Śiva in the temple is worshiped simply by offering
Ganges water because it is said that Lord Śiva is greatly satisfied when
Ganges water is poured upon his head. Generally, devotees offer Ganges water
and the leaves of the bilva tree, which are especially meant for offering to
Lord Śiva and the goddess Durgā. The fruit of this tree also is offered to
Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva assured Vṛkāsura that he becomes satisfied by a very simple
process of worship. Why then was he so anxious to cut off his head, and why
was he taking so much pain by cutting his body to pieces and offering it in
the fire? There was no need of such severe penances. Anyway, out of
compassion and sympathy, Lord Śiva prepared to give him any benediction he
liked.
When the demon was offered this
facility by Lord Śiva, he asked for a very fearful and abominable
benediction. The demon was very sinful, and sinful persons do not know what
sort of benediction should be asked from the deity. Therefore he asked Lord
Śiva to be benedicted with such power that as soon as he would touch anyone's
head, it would immediately crack, and the man would die. The demons are
described in the Bhagavad-gītā as duṣkṛtinas, or miscreants. Kṛtī means very
meritorious, but when duṣ, is added, it means abominable. Instead of
surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the duṣkṛtinas worship
different demigods in order to derive abominable material benefits. Sometimes
such demons as material scientists discover lethal weapons. They cannot show
their meritorious power by discovering something which can save man from
death, but instead they discover weapons which accelerate the process of
death. Because Lord Śiva is powerful enough to give any benediction, the
demon could have asked of him something beneficial for human society, but for
his personal interest he asked that anyone whose head would be touched by his
hand would at once die.
Lord Śiva could understand the motive
of the demon, and he was very sorry that he had assured him whatever
benediction he liked. He would not withdraw his promise, but he was very
sorry in his heart that he was to offer him a benediction so dangerous to
human society. The demons are described as duṣkṛtinas, miscreants, because although they have
brain power and merit, the merit and brain power are used for abominable
activities. Sometimes, for example, the materialistic demons discover a
lethal weapon. The scientific research for such a discovery certainly
requires a very good brain, but instead of discovering something beneficial
to human society, they discover something to accelerate the death which is
already assured to every man. Similarly, Vṛkāsura, instead of asking Lord Śiva for something
beneficial to human society, asked for something very dangerous to human
society. Therefore Lord Śiva felt sorry within himself. Devotees of the
Personality of Godhead, however, never ask any benediction from Lord Viṣṇu
or Kṛṣṇa,
and even if they ask something from the Lord, it is not at all dangerous for
human society. That is the difference between the demons and the devotees, or
the worshipers of Lord Śiva and the worshipers of Lord Viṣṇu.
While Śukadeva Gosvāmī was narrating
the history of Vṛkāsura,
he addressed Mahārāja Parīkṣit as Bhārata, referring to King Parīkṣit's birth in
a family of devotees. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was saved by Lord Kṛṣṇa
while he was in his mother's womb. Similarly, he could have asked Lord Kṛṣṇa
to save him from the curse of the brāhmaṇa, but he did not do so. The demon, however,
wanted to become immortal by killing everyone with the touch of his hand.
Lord Śiva could understand this, but because he had promised, he gave him the
benediction.
The demon, however, being very
sinful, immediately decided that he would use the benediction to kill Lord
Śiva and take away Gaurī (Pārvatī) for his personal enjoyment. He immediately
decided to place his hand on the head of Lord Śiva. Thus Lord Śiva was put
into an awkward position because he was endangered by his own benediction to
a demon. This is also another instance of a materialistic devotee's misusing
the power derived from the demigods.
Without further deliberation, the
demon Vṛkāsura
immediately approached Lord Śiva to place his hand on Lord Śiva's head. Lord
Śiva was so afraid of him that his body trembled, and he began to flee from
the land to the sky and from the sky to other planets until he reached the
limits of the universe, above the higher planetary systems. Lord Śiva fled
from one place to another, but the demon Vṛkāsura continued to chase him. The predominating
deities of other planets, such as Brahmā, Indra and Candra, could not find
any way to save Lord Śiva from the impending danger. Wherever Lord Śiva went,
they remained silent.
At last Lord Śiva approached Lord Viṣṇu,
who is situated within this universe on the planet known as Śvetadvīpa.
Śvetadvīpa is the local Vaikuṇṭha planet beyond the jurisdiction of the
influence of external energy. Lord Viṣṇu in His all-pervasive feature remains
everywhere, but wherever He remains personally is the Vaikuṇṭha
atmosphere. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that the Lord remains within
the heart of all living entities. As such, the Lord remains within the heart
of many low-born living entities, but that does not mean that He is low-born.
Wherever He remains is transformed into Vaikuṇṭha. So the planet within this universe known as
Śvetadvīpa is also Vaikuṇṭhaloka. It is said in the śāstras that
residential quarters within the forest are in the mode of goodness,
residential quarters in big cities, towns and villages are in the mode of
passion, and residential quarters in an atmosphere wherein indulgence in the
four sinful activities of illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling
predominate are in the mode of ignorance. But residential quarters in a
temple of Viṣṇu,
the Supreme Lord, are in Vaikuṇṭha. It doesn't matter where the temple is
situated, but the temple itself, wherever it may be, is Vaikuṇṭha.
Similarly, the Śvetadvīpa planet, although within the material jurisdiction,
is Vaikuṇṭha.
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Lord Nārāyaṇa offered his respects and obeisances unto Vṛkāsura, just to attract his sympathy and attention. Thus checking the demon, the Lord addressed him as follows: "My dear son of Śakuni, you appear to be very tired, as if coming from a very distant place. What is your purpose? Why have you come so far? I see that you are very tired and fatigued, so I request you to take a little rest. You should not unnecessarily tire your body. Everyone greatly values his body because with this body only can one fulfill all the desires of one's mind. We should not, therefore, unnecessarily give trouble to this body."
The brahmacārī addressed Vṛkāsura as the son of Śakuni just to convince him that He was known to his father, Śakuni. Vṛkāsura then took the brahmacārī to be someone known to his family, and therefore the brahmacārī's sympathetic words appealed to him. Before the demon could argue that he had no time to take rest, the Lord began to inform him about the importance of the body, and the demon was convinced. Any man, especially a demon, takes his body to be very important. Thus Vṛkāsura became convinced about the importance of his body.
Then, just to pacify the demon, the brahmacārī told him, "My dear lord, if you think that you can disclose the mission for which you have taken the trouble to come here, maybe I shall be able to help you so that your purpose will be easily served." Indirectly, the Lord informed him that because the Lord is the Supreme Brahman, certainly He would be able to adjust the awkward situation created by Lord Śiva.
The demon was greatly pacified by the sweet words of Lord Nārāyaṇa in the form of a brahmacārī, and at last he disclosed all that had happened in regard to the benediction offered by Lord Śiva. The Lord replied to the demon as follows: "I myself cannot believe that Lord Śiva has in truth given you such a benediction. As far as I know, Lord Śiva is not in a sane mental condition. He had a quarrel with his father-in-law Dakṣa, and he has been cursed to become a piśāca (ghost). Thus he has become the leader of the ghosts and hobgoblins. Therefore I cannot put any faith in his words. But if you have faith still in the words of Lord Śiva, my dear king of the demons, then why don't you make an experiment by putting your hand on your head? If the benediction proves false, then you can immediately kill this liar, Lord Śiva, so that in the future he will not dare to give out false benedictions."
In this way, by Lord Nārāyaṇa's sweet words and by the expansion of His superior illusion, the demon became bewildered, and he actually forgot the power of Lord Śiva and his benediction. He was thus very easily persuaded to put his hand on his own head. As soon as the demon did that, his head cracked, as if struck by thunder, and he immediately died. The demigods from heaven began to shower flowers on Lord Nārāyaṇa, praising Him with all glories and all thanksgiving, and they offered their obeisances to the Lord. On the death of Vṛkāsura, all the denizens in the higher planetary systems, namely, the demigods, the pitās, the Gandharvas and the inhabitants of Janoloka, began to shower flowers on the Personality of Godhead.
Thus Lord Viṣṇu in the form of a brahmacārī released Lord Śiva from the impending danger and saved the whole situation. Lord Nārāyaṇa then informed Lord Śiva that this demon, Vṛkāsura, was killed as the result of his sinful activities. He was especially sinful and offensive because he wanted to experiment on his own master, Lord Śiva. Lord Nārāyaṇa then told Lord Śiva, "My dear lord, a person who commits an offense to great souls cannot continue to exist. He becomes vanquished by his own sinful activities, and this is certainly true of this demon, who has committed such an offensive act against you."
Thus, by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa, who is transcendental to all material qualities, Lord Śiva was saved from being killed by a demon. Anyone who hears this history with faith and devotion certainly becomes liberated from material entanglement as well as from the clutches of his enemies.
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations H H Swami Sri Prabhupada ji, Sri Krishnalilas
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