Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.18.24~25 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | Nov 29, 2025
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-krishna-chaitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 18 Verse 23.
ŚB 1.18.24-25
एकदा धनुरुद्यम्य विचरन् मृगयां वने ।
मृगाननुगत: श्रान्त: क्षुधितस्तृषितो भृशम् ॥ २४ ॥
जलाशयमचक्षाण: प्रविवेश तमाश्रमम् ।
ददर्श मुनिमासीनं शान्तं मीलितलोचनम् ॥ २५ ॥
ekadā dhanur udyamya
vicaran mṛgayāṁ vane
mṛgān anugataḥ śrāntaḥ
kṣudhitas tṛṣito bhṛśam
jalāśayam acakṣāṇaḥ
praviveśa tam āśramam
dadarśa munim āsīnaṁ
śāntaṁ mīlita-locanam
Synonyms
ekadā — once upon a time; dhanuḥ — arrows and bow; udyamya — taking firmly; vicaran — following; mṛgayām — hunting excursion; vane — in the forest; mṛgān — stags; anugataḥ — while following; śrāntaḥ — fatigued; kṣudhitaḥ — hungry; tṛṣitaḥ — being thirsty; bhṛśam — extremely; jala-āśayam — reservoir of water; acakṣāṇaḥ — while searching for; praviveśa — entered into; tam — that famous; āśramam — hermitage of Śamīka Ṛṣi; dadarśa — saw; munim — the sage; āsīnam — seated; śāntam — all silent; mīlita — closed; locanam — eyes.
Translation
Once upon a time Mahārāja Parīkṣit, while engaged in hunting in the forest with bow and arrows, became extremely fatigued, hungry and thirsty while following the stags. While searching for a reservoir of water, he entered the hermitage of the well-known Śamīka Ṛṣi and saw the sage sitting silently with closed eyes.
Purport
The Supreme Lord is so kind to His pure devotees that in proper time He calls such devotees up to Him and thus creates an auspicious circumstance for the devotee. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a pure devotee of the Lord, and there was no reason for him to become extremely fatigued, hungry and thirsty because a devotee of the Lord never becomes perturbed by such bodily demands. But by the desire of the Lord, even such a devotee can become apparently fatigued and thirsty just to create a situation favorable for his renunciation of worldly activities. One has to give up all attachment for worldly relations before one is able to go back to Godhead, and thus when a devotee is too much absorbed in worldly affairs, the Lord creates a situation to cause indifference. The Supreme Lord never forgets His pure devotee, even though he may be engaged in so-called worldly affairs. Sometimes He creates an awkward situation, and the devotee becomes obliged to renounce all worldly affairs. The devotee can understand by the signal of the Lord, but others take it to be unfavorable and frustrating. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was to become the medium for the revelation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as his grandfather Arjuna was the medium for the Bhagavad-gītā. Had Arjuna not been taken up with an illusion of family affection by the will of the Lord, the Bhagavad-gītā would not have been spoken by the Lord Himself for the good of all concerned. Similarly, had Mahārāja Parīkṣit not been fatigued, hungry and thirsty at this time, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam would not have been spoken by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the prime authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So this is a prelude to the circumstances under which Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was spoken for the benefit of all concerned. The prelude, therefore, begins with the words “once upon a time.”
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, this begins the story of how Pariksit began to hear the Srimad Bhagavatam. Of course, we can say that the whole first canto leads up to Sukadev speaking in the second canto. So, this story is the immediate cause. So, Maharaj Pariksit becomes thirsty and hungry, then he curses the sage and puts a snake around his neck. Then the son of the sage curses him to die, and so then he is about to die, and he gathers all the sages and he asks, What should I do when I am dying? And then Sukadev comes and begins reciting Bhagavatam. That’s the immediate cause.
But then, how did Sukadev get the Bhagavatam? So, this story is told how Vyasadev taught him Bhagavatam. And how did Vyasadev come to write the Bhagavatam? So, then the story of Vyasadev being frustrated after having written everything, and then he gets the instruction from Narada Muni. And then the story of Narada Muni is told as well. So, in this way, throughout the first canto, we have many stories ultimately leading up to the recitation of Sukadev to Pariksit Maharaj. And as well, we have the story of Pariksit. How did Pariksit become the king. And of course, previous to that, how did Pariksit get saved when he was in the womb [Laughs]. And so, we have a whole history of how Sukadev came to recite the Bhagavatam and how Pariksit heard the Bhagavatam.
So, now we begin the story of Pariksit and how he got cursed. Previously, we have descriptions of Pariksit being an ideal devotee. So he acted as a king because that was his duty. But we should not think that Pariksit was in Rajo-gun. He was so pure that he got to see the Lord, when he was in the womb. And therefore, he is not affected by this material world. Even in the case of punishing personification of Kali, he was not overcome with anger. So therefore, Pariksit Maharaj was an ideal king. But in this verse, it describes how he was hunting, and he became tired, and he got hungry, and he got thirsty. And then he approached the sage. And because the sage was in Samadhi, he didn’t hear Pariksit. And so, Pariksit became angry.
So, how is this possible, for such an elevated devotee? How could he be afflicted by hunger and thirst, and then be afflicted with anger? And then he placed a snake on the sage. He was a king who had ideal conduct, and he revered the sages. How could he insult the sages in this way? So, in the material world, we say because of ignorance he did all of this. However, how can Pariksit be influenced by ignorance? He was a great devotee of the Lord. And he surpassed Jnanis and Yogis. And therefore, it was impossible that he could show anger or be afflicted by hunger or thirst.
So then, how did this happen? So, Srila Prabhupad explains in the purport, it is like Arjuna. Arjuna was the greatest warrior and he was very knowledgeable of Dharma. He is an eternal associate of Krishna. Yet, before the battle starts, he throws down his bow and say, ‘I am not going to fight’. And he says, ‘I am completely confused. Please tell me, Krishna, what to do?’ So, again, it appears he is overcome with ignorance. But, as in the case of Pariksit, it is contradictory. He was also great devotee of the Lord, an eternal associate of the Lord. How could he be affected by ignorance? So, the answer in both cases, it is not ignorance in the normal sense. It happens by the will of the Lord. So, of course, we can call it ignorance, because there is some sort of confusion. Suddenly, Arjuna and Pariksit do not act as they should act. At the same time, they are never affected by ignorance. So, then, the only answer is that it is the will of the Supreme Lord.
So, it is also explained that in the spiritual world, there is no material ignorance. But, there is ignorance. Everybody is not aware of everything. So, the individual Jiva has got some limitation on his knowledge of the spiritual world. So, the ignorance of the spiritual world is called Yogamaya. And the definition of Yogamaya is, sometimes it will cover the Jiva’s knowledge, and sometimes it uncover the Jiva’s knowledge. Another example is given in 10th canto of Bhagavatam. So Brahma sees all the calves and all the cows in the fields with Krishna. And he looks and suddenly he sees all Vishnu forms. And then he looks again, they all disappear [Laughs].
So, by the power of Yogamaya, things are revealed and they also disappear. So, of course, this Yogamaya is not like the ignorance of material Maya. Material Maya is a function of material world. This is the Lord’s external energy. Yogamaya is a function of the internal energy of the Lord. So, the covering and the bewilderment in the spiritual world caused by Yogamaya is only for pastimes. And it takes place for Jivas in the spiritual world who are not subject at all to material Maya. So, in this particular case, why did Pariksit act like this? Because of Yogamaya. So, because Pariksit apparently became thirsty and hungry, then he became angry, then he insulted the sage, then he got cursed, and then Srimad Bhagavatam was spoken [Laughs]. And in the same way, Arjuna fell into an illusion, Krishna spoke Bhagavad Gita. In other words, this Yogamaya is useful for pastimes and gives great benefit to the Jivas. In both cases, its purpose is to reveal scriptures.
Of course, in other cases, its not for revealing scriptures, just for pastimes. Similarly, we see, Brahma fell into ignorance and tried to fool Krishna. Of course, Brahma is a Jiva in the material world, so of course he could be subjected to Maya, regular Maya. But in the Bhagavatam, it is mentioned that the Lord promised Brahma, ‘in this lifetime you will not be bewildered.’ So how could he become bewildered? So therefore, his bewilderment is explained as the will of the Supreme Lord for that particular pastime. Through that pastime, Brahma understood the great position of Krishna.
So, the Yogamaya is part of the internal energy of Krishna. And that internal energy is under the control of Krishna. And he can use that to bewilder many different people in the spiritual world. So, when Brahma tried to steal the calves and cows, and Krishna expanded himself into all the calves and cowherd boys for one year. Nobody could detect that. Of course, that was the skill of Krishna in looking exactly like each calf and each cowherd boy, even the mothers and fathers, and the cows didn’t understand. But even Balaram didn’t understand. How was that possible? He was also affected by the Yogamaya of Krishna, so he couldn’t understand for one year [Laughs]. And of course, after one year, Balaram understood this. So, Balaram used logic. He said, this cannot be a trick of demons. This cannot be a trick of Devatas. This cannot be a trick of great sages even. So, nobody can bewilder the Supreme Lord. But then, how did he get bewildered? Then, he concluded that, ‘only Krishna can bewilder me’.
So therefore, this Yogamaya acts by the will of the Lord for producing pastimes. And those pastimes produces bliss for everybody. So, in this way, that Yogamaya produced bliss for all the mothers and the fathers and the cows for one year. And it also gave bliss to Brahma. Because of that, he got a higher realization and appreciation of Krishna. So, there is no defect in this Yogamaya. This ignorance in the spiritual world does not have the qualities and the effects that the ignorance in the material world does. So it acts under the will of the Supreme Lord to creare more bliss in the spiritual world. So here we see that Yogamaya is acting, so that Pariksit acts in a certain way, so that finally, Bhagavatam is revealed. By that revelation of Bhagavatam, Parikshit becomes fully satisfied. And all the sages gathered to witness the passing of Pariksit, also got bliss. And even the Vedavyas, Sukadev Goswami’s father, and the author of Bhagavatam and Narada Muni, also got bliss [Laughs].
So therefore, this so-called ignorance, it was the cause of great bliss [Laughs]. The ignorance in the material world produces suffering and karma. And of course, the Jiva can get out of that ignorance by surrender to the Lord. And in the spiritual world, no need of getting rid of the ignorance, because it simply happens by the will of the Lord, and he can withdraw it. Therefore, Mahamaya and Yogamaya are very different.
Hare Krsna !
Q & A:
1.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, in this verse it speaks about how pure devotees are not affected by hunger and thirst and things like that. So, in the first verse of the Nectar of Instruction, it speaks about tolerating the urges. Later on, in the glorification of the six Goswamis, Srinivasa Acharya writes about, nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau (Shad Goswami Astakam verse-6). So, my understanding has been that toleration should be done by everybody. But when one reaches the stage of conquering, then one doesn’t even get bothered by eating, sleeping, mating, defending. Is that correct Maharaj? One becomes very advanced in Krishna Consciousness, then one doesn’t even get affected by this. It’s not a question of toleration. They’ve already conquered. Is this correct?
Of course, for a person with full material consciousness, he also has to tolerate everything. If they couldn’t tolerate anything, they would go crazy [Laughs]. Because there are so much causes for suffering in this world. However, if one has a little bit higher intelligence, then he has good reason to tolerate. So, when we get jnana, we understand, I’m not the body, I’m the soul. So then, all the sufferings only got to do with the body. It has got nothing to do with the soul. That’s a good reason for tolerating. This is what Krishna tells Arjuna, beginning. Tolerate everything, because you are not the body.
So, this toleration is part of the practice of jnana yoga. We should tolerate, because we should practice non-identity with the material body. So, consequently, in jnana, we have sadhana of controlling the mind, controlling the senses. And when one’s mind and senses are completely controlled, then we tolerate anything in the material world. So, even in Chapter 2, Krishna describes the sthita prajna as one who does not rejoice when nice things happen, does not lament when bad things happen. And, in yoga, then they have deliberate problems they create for themselves to tolerate [Laughs]. So, in the winter time, they bathe in the cold water. And, in the summer time, they sit in the middle and they put fires around and put fire on their head [Laughs].
So, by these practices, then eventually they can completely detach from the material body and identify with atma. However, in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami says, this austerity and such is not part of bhakti. So, instead of cultivating detachment from the body and material problems, we develop attraction for the Lord. The more we identify ourselves as the servant of the Lord, the less we identify with the material body, consequently, we tolerate more. And, thus, the position of the Goswamis in Vrindavan is not a result of sadhana of tapasya and tolerance. It’s simply absorption in the Supreme Lord. So, the more one is absorbed in serving Krishna, then the less conscious one is of the material body.
Devotee: So Maharaj, they don’t feel the urges at all? Or it’s just insignificant? Do they even feel the urges?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: They still have a body and to some small degree, they are aware of the body. But, they are also very detached from the body [Laughs]. So, consequently, if something happens to the body or the body starts dying, it’s not, not their concern [Laughs].
2.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, the example of Arjuna and Parikshit, they are very exalted personalities, eternal associates of the Lord. And therefore, they are under the control of yogamaya. How does it happen for ordinary devotees? They go through sadhana bhakti, bhava bhakti, prema bhakti. So, is there a transition where they move from under the control of the mahamaya to yogamaya? Does it happen? When does the transition happen? When these changes in the stages happen? Or, when they come from the stage of impure to practicing pure bhakti?
So, yogamaya functions in the spiritual world for the devotees there. So, anyone with prema would be affected by yogamaya. So, consequently, if we are in the material world and we are still doing sadhana, then we would not get the effects of yogamaya. We get mahamaya affecting us [Laughs]. But, when that influence is completely gone, which you can say is, at the end of bhava stage, then we start getting the effect of yogamaya. So, we can say that yogamaya functions when prema functions.
Devotee: Just as an extension of that question Maharaj, sometimes, even in case of ordinary devotees, things happen, amazing, wonderful, spiritual experiences happen. And devotees do realize that it’s an arrangement of the Lord. So, when we say that it’s an arrangement of the Lord, some wonderful service they are able to render, some beautiful contribution happens to the society. So, what do we understand this? Mercy of the Lord, yes, but yogamaya, how do we connect the two of them?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: But yogamaya is a particular function within you know, prema to hide things. So, when certain arrangements are made in the world, in the material world for the devotee, that’s not really hiding anything. It’s making some arrangement for a devotee, that’s all.
3.) Maharaj, in the case of Brahma ji, it was the plan of yogamaya to bewilder him. And how to understand this pastimes of this Govardhana? Because, there also Indra was bewildered. When, see, although this pastime happened, but Vrajavasis got so much bliss. So, getting the bliss for the Vrajavasis is also not part of yogamaya? Not part of yogamaya? Yogamaya because, bewildered Indra or he created pride in Indra because of this Govardhana pastime happened.
We can say that yogamaya acts on Indra, because Indra is also a devotee. How can he act in such a bad way? So, we can say it’s another yogamaya’s influence of the Lord. Through that arrangement, of course, He gave lessons to Indra and He also gave bliss to the people of Vrindavan.
4.) In the case of devotees, we say, when devotees suffer, we say that, it’s one cause is Bhagavat padartham and thus it is aparadham. But how to understand Bhagavat padartham? When Lord gives suffering to the devotees, how to understand this because he is a devotee.
Well, of course, this aparadhas in this lifetime can cause problems. Aparadhas from previous lifetime can slow the destruction of karmas. In the case there are no aparadhas in this life or past life and still the devotee is suffering, then there is another cause. And that is even there is no karma, there is an appearance of karma. As in the case of Ajamila, all of his karmas were gone, but he continued to live for some years and he continued even to do sinful activities [Laughs]. So, that can be there for the devotee and even for the devotee in prema.
So, of course, if the devotee is in prema, he has no karma. If he has no karma, his body would disappear. But Lord keeps him in the body for some time [Laughs]. And then that body has to get affected by the material world. There must rain, there is sun, there is heat, there is bull attacking, there is sickness and whatever and finally he gives up the body. So we have, looks like karmas are there [Laughs]. All these are arrangements of the Lord.
Devotee: This is applicable only to those who are in prema? And those who are doing sadhana means…
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: No, even, even for Ajamila [Not clear].
Devotee: That 10th canto, there is yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ (ŚB 10.88.8). That verse is applicable to all the devotees, those who are sadhaka and those who are in bhava and prema?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, that again, if He is taking away wealth, then that’s an arrangement of the Lord. And we see here, in the case of Pariksit, all wealth gone [Laughs]. Of course, he gave it up. But…
5.) Maharaj mentioned about Balarama being covered by yogamaya, Balarama. And can we understand, even Krishna allows the yogamaya to cover Himself?
Yeah. So, in the case of Krishna also, we have cases where He is unaware of something. When Krishna is being threatened by Mother Yasoda with a stick, and He is frightened. Is He really frightened? Or is He just pretending? So, if He is just pretending, then we say the whole thing is a pretense. He is just pretending for Mother Yasoda to run away, to be frightened, to cry. He is not crying, He doesn’t feel anything. Just a show He is putting on for Mother Yasoda.
So, that also would be a fault in Krishna. So, we can say, everything is a show, even affection for devotees is just pretending [Laughs]. How can that be [Laughs]? So, therefore, in all these different pastimes, Krishna is not planning how to do this and that just to pretend. He is actually experiencing all of this. So, in a sense, we can say this is like yogamaya acting on Him [Laughs].
6.) Hare Krishna. Can we say that when Krishna was trying to stop the sakhas from entering the cave of Aghasura, He was not able to do it, although He is Supreme Lord. Can you say this is because of the yogamaya?
So, He became astonished, we can say that’s a show of yogamaya. But that the boys ignored Him completely, is explained that was lila shakti acting. So, the lila shakti acted without Krishna’s knowledge, which means yogamaya [Laughs] acted on Him also [Laughs].
7.) Maharaj, kindly explain how lila shakti is different from yogamaya.
So, the lila shakti arranges pastimes. Yogamaya hides things. So, lilas do not always involve hiding things [Laughs].
8.) Can Krishna also be affected by yogamaya, even though it is his own energy?
Well, prema is also Krishna’s energy. He is affected by that also.
9.) Which maya affects human beings?
Normal human beings, we have this material maya coming from bahiranga shakti. And by this, the jiva identifies with material body.
Hare Krishna.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!!