Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.19.20 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | Jan 14, 2026
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 19 Verse 20.
ŚB 1.19.20
न वा इदं राजर्षिवर्य चित्रं
भवत्सु कृष्णं समनुव्रतेषु ।
येऽध्यासनं राजकिरीटजुष्टं
सद्यो जहुर्भगवत्पार्श्वकामा: ॥ २० ॥
na vā idaṁ rājarṣi-varya citraṁ
bhavatsu kṛṣṇaṁ samanuvrateṣu
ye ’dhyāsanaṁ rāja-kirīṭa-juṣṭaṁ
sadyo jahur bhagavat-pārśva-kāmāḥ
Synonyms
na — neither; vā — like this; idam — this; rājarṣi — saintly king; varya — the chief; citram — astonishing; bhavatsu — unto all of you; kṛṣṇam — Lord Kṛṣṇa; samanuvrateṣu — unto those who are strictly in the line of; ye — who; adhyāsanam — seated on the throne; rāja-kirīṭa — helmets of kings; juṣṭam — decorated; sadyaḥ — immediately; jahuḥ — gave up; bhagavat — the Personality of Godhead; pārśva-kāmāḥ — desiring to achieve association.
Translation
[The sages said:] O chief of all the saintly kings of the Pāṇḍu dynasty who are strictly in the line of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa! It is not at all astonishing that you give up your throne, which is decorated with the helmets of many kings, to achieve eternal association with the Personality of Godhead.
Purport
Foolish politicians who hold political administrative posts think that the temporary posts they occupy are the highest material gain of life, and therefore they stick to those posts even up to the last moment of life, without knowing that achievement of liberation as one of the associates of the Lord in His eternal abode is the highest gain of life. The human life is meant for achieving this end. The Lord has assured us in the Bhagavad-gītā many times that going back to Godhead, His eternal abode, is the highest achievement. Prahlāda Mahārāja, while praying to Lord Nṛsiṁha, said, “O my Lord, I am very much afraid of the materialistic way of life, and I am not the least afraid of Your present ghastly ferocious feature as Nṛsiṁha-deva. This materialistic way of life is something like a grinding stone, and we are being crushed by it. We have fallen into this horrible whirlpool of the tossing waves of life, and thus, my Lord, I pray at Your lotus feet to call me back to Your eternal abode as one of Your servitors. This is the summit liberation of this materialistic way of life. I have very bitter experience of the materialistic way of life. In whichever species of life I have taken birth, compelled by the force of my own activities, I have very painfully experienced two things, namely separation from my beloved and meeting with what is not wanted. And to counteract them, the remedies which I undertook were more dangerous than the disease itself. So I drift from one point to another, birth after birth, and I pray to You therefore to give me a shelter at Your lotus feet.”
The Pāṇḍava kings, who are more than many saints of the world, knew the bitter results of the materialistic way of life. They were never captivated by the glare of the imperial throne they occupied, and they sought always the opportunity of being called by the Lord to associate with Him eternally. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was the worthy grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira gave up the imperial throne to his grandson, and similarly Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, gave up the imperial throne to his son Janamejaya. That is the way of all the kings in the dynasty because they are all strictly in the line of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus the devotees of the Lord are never enchanted by the glare of materialistic life, and they live impartially, unattached to the objects of the false, illusory materialistic way of life.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
In this verse, the sages are describing the great detachment of Pariksit from his position and his wealth. And as Srila Prabhupad points out in the purport, for most people, such position and wealth are very difficult to give up. And we see throughout history, not only in India but all around the world, people fighting over kingdoms, fighting for position. So a major part of history itself of the world is all the battles that these kings have. And it’s got nothing to do with spiritual life at all. It has to do with enjoyment. So, very very difficult to give up that enjoyment even though the endeavour is so great.
On the other hand, Pariksit Maharaj instantly gave it up. There was no battle in which he was defeated and forced to give up. And if he had desired, he could also stay as the king, he could make some arrangement for atonement for insulting the Brahmana. So not only did he willingly give up the kingdom, he was eagerly giving up the kingdom. So, in other words, he took this as a good opportunity to associate with the Lord eternally. He had seen the Lord when he was in the womb and the Brahmastra was attacking him. But after that point, he didn’t see the Lord. So, this was a very good opportunity for him to meet the Lord. So, for most kings, yes, it is very surprising if they give up their kingdom. And especially, his kingdom was greater than any other kingdom. It says here that the crowns of all the other kings decorated the throne of Pariksit Maharaj. So he controlled the whole world. And we see that that has not been achieved by modern history or ancient history kings. So, to give up such a kingdom for others would be very astonishing but they say, no, this is not so astonishing for Pariksit.
So the reason is that if one is attracted to the Lord, one has no attraction for the material world. If we don’t have attraction for the Lord, then generally we are going to be very attached to the material world. The only people who are not attached to the world are the great sages. And the yogis and the Jnanis. But they are not kings, they are also very few. So it’s not astonishing, if a Jnani gives up the world or a yogi gives up the world, but for a great king who rules the whole world, it should be very astonishing. But for a devotee of the Lord, it is not astonishing at all. So even if he is a king, if he is a great devotee, he is not attached. And in the Bhagavatam, we see many examples of that. So Bharat Maharaj, who also ruled the earth, he just gave up his kingdom and went to the forest. We see even Yudhisthira was ruling the world then he gave everything up. And why? because they are devotees of the Lord.
So, in making this statement, it’s not to praise the king for detachment, it’s to praise the king because of his devotion. As we know, by devotion, all wonderful qualities develop. And therefore, nothing is surprising. Previously, in the Bhagavatam it is said that through bhakti automatically Jnana and vairagya develop. So through the process of bhakti, one develops knowledge, ‘I’m not the body, I’m the soul, I’m the servant of the Lord’ and one develops complete detachment. So the detachment is not the goal, the detachment is simply a side effect of the devotion. So one can develop detachment and knowledge independently of bhakti through yoga and Jnana. But to achieve that Jnana and vairagya, it takes a very great endeavour for many many years. And even after accomplishing that, then we see, they may fall from that position.
So, here we have not a sage or a yogi or a Jnani but a king but he gave up everything most easily. It was not because he was defeated, it was not because the job was too difficult. It’s because he had a higher goal. And one of the characteristics of surrender is that we do what is favourable for that surrender. So this is what is ‘anukulya’, what is ‘anukul’ we accept, what is ‘pratikul’ we reject. What is favourable and what is unfavourable may change according to one’s situation. So up to this time, Pariksit Maharaj ruled, because he was appointed by Yudhishthira and so he ruled the kingdom. Then, of course because he is following the order of Yudhishthira, that is favourable for his bhakti. Now he was cursed by the son of the brahmana and this he took as a favourable side for renouncing everything. So now the kingdom was unfavourable, ‘pratikul’, so he gave it up. And to sit on the bank of the Ganga and fast and listen to the devotees, that was favourable.
So the sages didn’t criticize, ‘oh why are you giving up your responsibility?’ We know that in the case of when the king Vena died, there was no king and then everything fell apart so possibility of disturbance, but Pariksit Maharaj had appointed his son to rule, so there was no problem. So as far as the kingdom was concerned, there was no rejection of responsibility, he put the kingdom in the proper hands. And then he was free to practice his spiritual life. So we see that this is actually permitted in the Varanashrama system.
The Grhastha is responsible for his family. And then when he is over 50 years old, the rule is, he should renounce the family and take Vanaprastha. But what’s his responsibility to his family? So before he renounces and becomes a Vanaprastha, he has to make arrangement for the wife and the children, once that’s done, his responsibility is finished, then he can renounce. And this was also the case of Bharat, he made sure the kingdom was in good hands then he renounced, the same with Yudhisthira. So when circumstances are favourable, all responsibilities have been done, then one could take this step of renunciation.
So the scriptures though they aim at renunciation in the form of Vanaprastha and then sannyasa in the Varanashrama system, it is not a whimsical or haphazard decision. It’s done gradually and it’s done carefully taking care of all responsibilities. And it’s also done according to qualification. So the general rule for Vanaprastha, at least he should be 50 years old, hopefully he’s a little unattached by then. Another condition is, his children should be grown up and be able to support themselves. And wife should be under protection of the children. And hopefully, he should have sufficient qualification of detachment. Then he’ll go for Vanaprastha or sannyasa. But in spite of being older, in spite of having grown children etc., he should not take renunciation, if he’s not detached. So the rules have to be followed properly and then the system works.
So, Pariksit was most qualified. Why? because he was completely attached to the Supreme Lord. So automatically he was detached from everything else. So, in the previous verse Prabhupad comments that the devotee, like the great sages, they are interested in the progress of another devotee. So, they praise him, because not only he renounces but he’s able to directly meet the Supreme Lord.
Hare Krsna!
Q & A:
1.) Maharaj when we speak about Varnashrama system, Brahmachari, Grhastha, Vanaprastha and Sannyasi. Only in Sri Vaishnava system, basically a vanaprastha becomes a Sannyasi not a Brahmachari directly becomes a Sannyasi. If we take Madhva and ISKCON, Brahmachari’s are trained up and [Not clear] they become a Sannyasi. Which is recommended in the Sastra, they have to follow Varnashrama system to become a Sannyasi or one can become Sannyasi directly?
So in Scripture, it says that one can take sannyasa from Brahmachari Ashram or Grhastha Ashram or Vanaprastha Ashram. So, in Sri Vaishnava culture, I don’t think they have Vanaprastha so much, but they are Grhasthas and then they take sannyasa. We see in Madhva Sampradaya and even Shankara Sampradaya, they are Brahmacharis and then they take sannyasa. So, in other words, there is a choice.
So, of course, along with that, the person should be qualified. The idea, of course, is that if one follows the system being a Brahmachari, then a Grhastha, then Vanaprastha, then Sannyasa, whatever, he gradually develops detachment. And if a Brahmachari goes directly to Sannyasa, it’s assumed that when he’s a Brahmachari, he has no desire for marriage anyway, so therefore he has some more natural detachment. And when his detachment is very strong, then he can take Sannyasa. So, there is, we can say, some advantage and some disadvantage in either way.
The rational for going from Brahmachari, Grhastha and then renouncing is that one should follow the natural cycle of human life and as we get older, we become more detached, but in the middle of life, we’re very attached, so let everybody get married [Laughs]. Negative point is, after the Grhastha life, they may never want to renounce [Laughs]. And we see that is true, because generally in society, even in ancient societies, most people over the last 5000 years, I think, didn’t take Vanaprastha and Sannyasa, even the Brahmanas, they didn’t.
A few took Vanaprastha, even that was not a very popular ashram, and then very few took Sannyasa, even among the Brahmanas. Most did not do that. So, the positive point, for the Brahmachari, he hasn’t got any experience of Grhastha life, so there is no attachment [Laughs].But the negative point is, because he has no experience, he may get a little curious [Laughs]. So, therefore, according to the Sampradaya, they make a different decision [Laughs].
Devotee : Even in the Srirangam Jiyar, recently, a Grhastha, with the permission of their family, they made him Sannyas. So, every Sampradaya has their own rule of following, or there is a general rule to be followed for one has to elevate to the Sannyasa order ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Of course, we know they’re following the rules of Sastra, because it gives different options. And within the Sampradaya, then it’s up to the Acharyas to establish what is the procedure they’re going to follow. Whereas in Madhva, they do it completely different. So, it’s up to the Acharyas, they want to establish there. We see in Gaudiya Sampradaya, after Lord Caitanya, there was no Sannyasa [Laughs]. And then Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati introduced it. We’ll see there was also in Sri Sampradaya, Ramanujacharya, before him no Sannyasa and then he took Sannyasa himself and then established the system.
2.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, you were mentioning how Parikshit Maharaj was qualified and he also finished all his responsibilities and then took to Vanaprastha, and that’s how the Varnashrama works, after finishing all the responsibilities you detach yourself. And
as a Brahmachari, we hear devotees saying that Brahmacharis have a responsibility to take care of their parents also. In that sense, we move to Ashram. We are not as qualified as Parikshit Maharaj. We move to the Ashram like that. How does a Brahmachari handle that situation? What is his responsibility?
How should Brahmacharis handle the situation? So, that decision is primarily we say individual. It will depend on the family situation and how dependent they are, independent they are. At the same time, even if the parents are independent, they don’t have any financial needs, they may be attached. Of course, Bhagavatam says, a father and a mother are not a real father and mother, if they are not interested in your spiritual development [Laughs]. So, using that, one could just ignore them and renounce [Laughs].
However, we also have to see the condition of the particular devotee. And is he qualified to give up all of his attachments to his family or not? And is it possible that they can willingly renounce their child after some time or not? Of course, the position of the Brahmachari is that, he can remain Brahmachari, but later on he could also get married. So, there is no problem for that also. So, in most cases, it is best if there is a mutual agreement. Otherwise, both parties end up disturbed [Laughs].
3.) In your class, you were mentioning that if any object is Anukulya, we accept it and Pratikulya, we reject in Bhakti. And we see, Maharaj, there are certain material objects which are favorable to Bhakti also and in many ways they are unfavorable also. Like, for example, a mobile phone as we take. It is also favorable, it is unfavorable also. In that kind of situation, it is better that we completely detach that object or we try to practice Yukta Vairagya ?
So things may be favorable now, but they may be unfavorable later. Or they may be unfavorable now and favorable later. It depends on your situation [Laughs]. So a Brahmachari life maybe favorable now but in 5 years, one may develop desire, so then its unfavorable. So, the nature of Bhakti is such that, it is quite flexible. And we can advance in all sorts of situations. So, Parikshit Maharaj can advance as a Grhastha and as a king, or he can advance by renouncing everything. Either way. But at this particular time, because of the curse, renunciation is more favorable.
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. If a person wants to become a Brahmachari, there should be some sort of renunciation at the beginning. So sometimes he may do it prematurely also. So what is the point, we can say it is not premature ? Or what is the prerequisite to become a Brahmachari?
So, in the Vedic system where the ashrams were divided up, it was somewhat different. And the Brahmachari life would start when you are 5 or 7 years old and go on till you are 25. Or it may end earlier, if you are not so inclined to study or whatever. Then one has a choice. Stay in the ashram and be a Brahmachari or return home and get married. So, that was the ancient system. But even, let’s say, 1000 years ago or maybe 500 years ago, they really didn’t follow that system so much. If you see Lord Caitanya’s time, they didn’t go to an ashram and study like that. They were in their house, they went off to study Sanskrit and whatever, but they didn’t really follow.
In fact, they have four types of Brahmachari. The first is one-day Brahmachari [Laughs]. Become a Brahmachari and then get married the next day. So, you have your samskaras one after the other [Laughs]. Which was probably followed by the Vaishyas and the Kshatriyas. They didn’t really want to go to the Gurukul [Laughs].
However, and of course, in Lord Caitanya’s movement, they didn’t have Sannyasis. They didn’t even have Brahmacharis as much. There was one or two Brahmacharis in Lord Caitanya’s movement after that you don’t hear about it. So, that, like the Sannyas, was also introduced by Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. So, who becomes a Brahmachari at what age is rather flexible. Generally, they are not going to be a Brahmachari, unless they are like 18 or 20 years old [Laughs], at least nowadays. So, then that’s almost the time to get married [Laughs]. The system was quite different from ancient times [Laughs]. So, therefore, the rules have to be very flexible according to the situation.
5.) Maharaj, in nowadays ISKCON context, if a Brahmachari is coming, I mean, minimum at 18 years, he is coming Maharaj. So, what should be the prerequisite for him in right now, in the present day context?
Well what we can say, the disqualification would be, if he wants to get married [Laughs]. If he can’t decide that he could stay as a Brahmachari for some time, that doesn’t mean eternal in that case [Laughs].
6.) In those days [Not clear] can prepare and go to the forest. But at the present situation, we see there is no concept of forest. Like if we go to Vrindavan, we see all luxurious buildings, which are more luxurious than here. So, if somebody wants to retire and go to the forest, what should he do? What should be his thought?
Of course, in ancient times, they took the forest literally. So, you go off into the forest [Laughs]. But later on, that simply was more or less symbolic. So, the minimum thing is, you may not go to the forest, but the husband and the wife separate from the rest of the family. And for people in Gaudiya Sampradaya, they may go to Vrindavan or Mayapur or something like that and live separately from the family and practice spiritual life.
7.) Maharaj, we see that Parikshit Maharaj set a great example that he renounced and common people followed that. But at the present situation, Prabhupad says here the politicians are not willing to give up that thing. At the age of 80 also, they are still in that position. So, if that is the situation, then how common people will take that from the politicians who are ruling the kingdom? Because they themselves are setting an example, till their last life, they are in that position. They are not willing to give up. Then how it will give an inspiration for people to practice detachment at the present situation?
Well, they can follow the example of Modi [Laughs]. Or his next in line, the Brahmachari [Laughs]. But of course [Laughs] In any case, where married or unmarried, if you practice bhakti, you can develop detachment. That’s the idea. So, it doesn’t really matter. Because even if you are a Brahmachari, but you are not a devotee, then that’s also a waste of time [Laughs].
8.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, something of this verse. We hear that from Vishnu’s navel, Brahma is born. And then he does tapasya for 100 celestial years, that is calculated based on Brahma. But we know that, Maharaj, that Brahma lives for only 100 years. And how is it possible that he does tapasya for 100 years? I just want to understand this, Maharaj.
So, the 100 years is not Brahma’s 100 years. It’s the Devata 100 years, which is different, shorter. So, I think one year of ours is one day of a Devata. So, then one year would be 360 years. And then 100 [Not clear] times that. So, that’s just a fraction of Brahma’s day.
9.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. We are hearing that Parikshit Maharaj is such an amazing devotee. But also we know that devotees are samadarshina. So, how could he go for hunting if he is a devotee? Like how the devotees would do hunting?
Of course, in the Varnasrama system, kings are permitted to hunt. And of course, we see even Arjuna and Krishna were out hunting [Laughs]. So, it’s a typical activity of a Kshatriya because this way he gets practice.
Devotee : Then Maharaj, how about Paradukha Dukhi? Like they would not feel the pain of those animals whom they are hunting?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Oh, well, there’s no, even though there is killing and whatever, there is no sin in those activities unless the king is addicted to hunting. Then it becomes a sin.
10.) Thank you, Maharaj. Maharaj, we were hearing in today’s class that how in Varnasrama system, the person who was taking renunciation, it was made sure that he has completed his duties. But like in current context, we see that when devotees join ISKCON, like we just see 18 years old and they can join ISKCON. So outwardly, would ISKCON not be seen as an opportunist movement who are just taking anyone and everyone who comes without seeing that if the person has completed his duties or not?
So in the early days of ISKCON, they accepted anyone without too much screening or whatever. But at the present day, generally, if a person is 18 years old and they want to join, then there has to be some screening and see his history, see everything else, see his condition, see where his parents are at or whatever. So before allowing them to enter in, then there is a lot of investigation first and based on that, then they may allow. And then we see in the last, let’s say, 30 years, 30 or 40 years in ISKCON, where college preaching is developed, they don’t really accept them into the ashram, unless they’ve got their degree, unless they’ve worked, etc. So they’ve done their responsibility and they got rid of the family debts, etc. Then they could join. But as students, it is our responsibility to study also.
11.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, in your class you mentioned that History has nothing to do with Bhakti, but when a student practices bhakti, it is our responsibility to study all those things. So how can we study that and also advance in bhakti, because if it is not favorable for bhakti, then we have to give up, but as students it is our responsibility to study also?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Study what?
Devotee : Histories.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : School studies?
Devotee : Yes, school studies.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : So as I said, early bhakti is very flexible. So according to one’s situation, one is not forced to do so many hours of bhakti a day or whatever. One can do a little bit a day and do one’s studies. Everyone’s situation is different. Everybody has different amounts of time, that they can dedicate to bhakti a day. So therefore, within that time, one does the bhakti. But the time that you spend may be less than another person because another person’s circumstances will be different. So the minimum is, chant the name of Krishna once a day.
Devotees : Granthraj Srimad Bhagavatham ki Jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki Jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!!!