Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.19.3 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | Dec 28, 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 19 Verse 3.
ŚB 1.19.3
अद्यैव राज्यं बलमृद्धकोशं
प्रकोपितब्रह्मकुलानलो मे ।
दहत्वभद्रस्य पुनर्न मेऽभूत्
पापीयसी धीर्द्विजदेवगोभ्य: ॥ ३ ॥
adyaiva rājyaṁ balam ṛddha-kośaṁ
prakopita-brahma-kulānalo me
dahatv abhadrasya punar na me ’bhūt
pāpīyasī dhīr dvija-deva-gobhyaḥ
Synonyms
adya — this day; eva — on the very; rājyam — kingdom; balam ṛddha — strength and riches; kośam — treasury; prakopita — ignited by; brahma-kula — by the brāhmaṇa community; analaḥ — fire; me dahatu — let it burn me; abhadrasya — inauspiciousness; punaḥ — again; na — not; me — unto me; abhūt — may occur; pāpīyasī — sinful; dhīḥ — intelligence; dvija — brāhmaṇas; deva — the Supreme Lord; gobhyaḥ — and the cows.
Translation
I am uncivilized and sinful due to my neglect of Brahminical culture, God consciousness and cow protection. Therefore I wish that my kingdom, strength and riches burn up immediately by the fire of the brāhmaṇa’s wrath so that in the future I may not be guided by such inauspicious attitudes.
Purport
Progressive human civilization is based on Brahminical culture, God consciousness and protection of cows. All economic development of the state by trade, commerce, agriculture and industries must be fully utilized in relation to the above principles, otherwise all so-called economic development becomes a source of degradation. Cow protection means feeding the Brahminical culture, which leads towards God consciousness, and thus perfection of human civilization is achieved. The Age of Kali aims at killing the higher principles of life, and although Mahārāja Parīkṣit strongly resisted the domination of the personality of Kali within the world, the influence of the Age of Kali came at an opportune moment, and even a strong king like Mahārāja Parīkṣit was induced to disregard the Brahminical culture due to a slight provocation of hunger and thirst. Mahārāja Parīkṣit lamented the accidental incident, and he desired that all his kingdom, strength and accumulation of wealth would be burned up for not being engaged in Brahminical culture, etc.
Where wealth and strength are not engaged in the advancement of Brahminical culture, God consciousness and cow protection, the state and home are surely doomed by providence. If we want peace and prosperity in the world, we should take lessons from this verse; every state and every home must endeavor to advance the cause of Brahminical culture for self-purification, God consciousness for self-realization, and cow protection for getting sufficient milk and the best food to continue a perfect civilization.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, in this verse, Pariksit Maharaj mentions in the last line – ‘dvija-deva-gobhyaḥ’ – he has been sinful towards the Brahmanas, Devas, or Supreme Lord, and cows. So from the point of view of the king, this is a very suitable analysis of his situation. But as Prabhupad also mentions in the purport, yes, the Brahmanas should be protected. But this is a step towards spiritual life. It’s not necessarily we’re going to the higher spiritual life, simply by protecting Brahmanas. So by protecting Brahminical culture, it leads towards God consciousness, not that it directly gives it. So, of course, from the point of view of the king, he has to protect the Brahmanas who give advice to the Kshatriyas, who implement dharma. So this is normal for a king to do.
But as we see from Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritamrta, etc., higher than the Brahmana is Vaishnava. So if we protect the Brahmanas, but we don’t protect the Vaishnavas, then everything is useless [Laughs]. And if we protect the Vaishnavas, then automatically everything else good follows. So I mentioned yesterday, by performing karmas we get one result, by jnana another result. If we do Bhakti, we get all results. So by protecting the devotees, then we increase Bhakti, all the problems are solved. So if we protect the Brahmanas, of course, that is part of karma yoga. So we can get a stable society and prosperity of a kingdom. But as is analyzed here in the Bhagavatam, the first canto, Kali Yuga is here and this whole system of Brahminical culture and Varanashram system has disintegrated. So of course, we can make one attempt and that is to revive that culture. Of course, it’s a big endeavor in itself. It’s not particularly devotional, it’s supporting karma yoga. So the actual advice of Bhagavatam is that, we do the yuga dharma. In the other yugas, yuga dharma was there and the Varanashram system was intact, so it supported that. In Kali Yuga, dharma is no longer there, but we still have the yuga dharma – Nama Sankirtan. And therefore, the intelligent man in Kali Yuga, what does he do to solve all the problems? He does Nama Sankirtan.
So therefore, the main effort of people in Kali Yuga is, if you can, if you’re struggling, then at least, you perform Bhakti in the form of Nama Sankirtan. And if you have ability and time, then you also do other angas of Bhakti. And third, if you have extra time, then you can do elements of varna and ashrama. So in other words, everything is all secondary to Bhakti and Nama Sankirtan. So in Kali Yuga, the best thing is to support devotees and they spread Bhakti. And this directly produces God consciousness. Other method is, we support Brahminical culture and indirectly it leads to Bhakti. But then the effort required to do that is so extensive that we ourselves lose our own Bhakti [Laughs]. So therefore, the emphasis is always on the process of Bhakti and Nama Sankirtan. If we can do other things fine, if it’s too much effort, we don’t do. So therefore, yes, it is good to do these elements of dharma etc, if we can. If somehow we cannot do, we should not lament too much. So therefore, we have verses like ‘tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ’ (SB_1.5.17), giving up your svadharma, because you prefer Bhakti, don’t lament. Because if you follow dharma perfectly, but you have no Bhakti, you get zero result. And if you do Bhakti, giving up your dharma, and you fail, still you get good results [Laughs]. So we have many statements like that in the Srimad Bhagavatam.
Of course, there is, even with Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, an idea that the devotee should strive for brahmanatha. But we should not think that the devotee should try to be a brahmana. So by the word brahmanatha, he means the essence and the final goal of being a brahmana. Of course, the direct meaning of brahmana is, one who knows Brahman. And of course, Brahman means impersonal Brahman. It also means Krishna. Obviously, if we’re trying to be a brahmana, we’re not trying to go into impersonal Brahman [Laughs]. So we’re trying to be the perfect brahmana by realizing Krishna, being a devotee [Laughs]. So our goal is not to be a brahmana. Our goal is to be a Vaishnava, which is the final goal of being a brahmana also.
So if we achieve being a brahmana without going the steps of being a Sudra, a Vaishya, a Kshatriya and then a brahmana and then a Vaishnava, but we’ve already become a Vaishnava, why do we have to endeavor to go through this whole process again? After becoming a Vaishnava, why would you go backward and try to be a brahmana [Laughs]? It’s like becoming a PhD and then going back to try to get an elementary degree or something [Laughs]. And of course, by becoming a Vaishnava, automatically all the good qualities of being brahmana etc. are already achieved.
So that is why we have a little bit of a misconception. We think we take Diksha, second initiation and we become a brahmana. So that’s the goal of life. But rather it’s the opposite. So by becoming a Vaishnava, automatically we achieve all good qualities of a brahmana. That’s what it means, the second initiation. So that is why when Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati introduced giving the Brahma Gayatri and Brahman thread etc. He did that after a person got his Diksha mantras and became a bona fide Pancharatrik Vaishnava. Because he is a Vaishnava, then he can do whatever a Brahmana does. But ultimately it is not really even necessary to get the Brahma Gayatri mantra or the Brahmana thread. We automatically got all the qualities. That Bhagavatam says, anyone who chants the holy name of the Lord, ones purely or remembers the lotus feet of the Lord, automatically you can do whatever a Brahmana can do.
So of course, if we take the Vaishnava mantras according to Pancharatra, second initiation, then of course, the power of the mantra is greater than the Brahma Gayatri even. Krishna is Svayam Bhagavan, so therefore the Krishna mantra is more powerful than the Brahma Gayatri mantra. And of course, we get the Kaam Gayatri, and it says the Brahma Gayatri of course is there, but the Kaam Gayatri personification is a Gopi in the Rasa leela. That’s much higher. So if we got the Kaam Gayatri, why do we need the Brahma Gayatri [Laughs]? Of course, we can also use the same logic and say, well, yes, the Kaam Gayatri and the Krishna 18 syllable mantra, Diksha mantra is there, it’s all Krishna, Swayam Bhagavan, but Harinama is even more powerful. That’s true. That’s just by chanting the holy name, then automatically we achieve the qualities of Brahmana. That’s exactly what the verse in the Bhagavatam says. So in other words, the process of Bhakti and the process of chanting the holy name, of course, even the process of getting the Diksha mantras is independent of every other process.
Therefore, the effort should always be made, first of all, to establish Bhakti and serve and protect the Vaishnavas. And automatically, whatever purity is achieved by Brahmanical status is achieved through Bhakti. And whatever cow protection we have to do automatically also is achieved through the process of Bhakti. Why? Because if one becomes a devotee, then he views all living entities as the servant of the Supreme Lord and we don’t commit violence against them. So in this way, the emphasis should always be upon the process of Bhakti, in particular the Nama Sankirtan. Of course, this is also supported by Bhagavad Gita. There he says the highest process is Bhakti. That process, surrendering to Krishna, relieves us of all sinful reactions. So it is the purest process. And by performing Bhakti, everything else is achieved in terms of purity, etc.
Q & A:
1.) Hare Krishna. Maharaj, we see in this particular line go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca, Krishna says he is a well-wisher of cows and Brahmanas. So obviously Krishna means Brahmanas here as the purest Brahmana. So when we say Vaishnavas are above Brahmanas, should we really attain all the qualities of Vaishnavas to call ourselves Vaishnavas?
So, of course, we have different types of Vaishnavas. In Bhagavatam, it classifies the Kanishta, the Madhyama, and the Uttama. So, of course, we have different types of Vaishnavas. And, of course, we should always strive for higher category. Nevertheless, in Nectar of Instruction, Rupa Goswami says, even for the Kanishta, you give mental respect.
And for the Madhyama and Uttama, then you give mental and physical respect, and you do service. The same would apply for a Brahmana. So, in talking to Ramananda Raya, Lord Caitanya says, okay, we have animals and plants, then we have animals, then we have human beings, then we have human beings practicing Varnashrama Dharma, then we have Brahmana. Some Brahmanas are Brahmanas in name, but they’re not really practicing. So, that’s one category. So, then higher than that are Brahmanas who are actually practicing the principles [Laughs]. So, Brahmanas can be divided also.
2.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, Dandavat pranam. When we are considering that temple point of view, deity worship, always Brahmanical initiation is a basic criteria. That is what always insisted on. That is what the basic requirement for doing any deity worship. But, how it can be, like as you said, this initiation point of view.
For worshiping the deity, we need the Vaishnava mantras. We don’t need the Brahmanical mantra. So, even if we don’t get the Brahmanical mantra, but we get the Vaishnava Diksha mantra, then we can worship the deity. So, if one has Pancharatrika Vaishnava Diksha and gets the mantras, doesn’t matter what varna he’s in, he can worship the deity. And thus, even women can worship the deity, because they’re not any of those varnas at all [Laughs]. But, if they have Vaishnava mantra, they can worship the deity. So, traditionally after Lord Caitanya, when people got Diksha, that was Brahma Gayatri and all that was not included.
Whatever you were, you were by your upbringing or whatever. So, if they give you Brahma Gayatri when you’re Upanayanam, when you’re a child, fine. If they didn’t, fine. But, if you got your Diksha, that was enough. But then some Brahmanas in Bengal criticized the Gaudiyas. Oh, these are low class people. They’re not Brahmanas, but they’re worshiping the deities. How is that possible? So, therefore, when Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave Diksha, he gave the Diksha mantras which qualifies them for deity worship. And he also gave them the Brahma Gayatri to say, whatever you think we are, yeah, we’re also Brahmanas, that’s all [Laughs]. But, not really required for the deity worship even. The actual Brahmana initiation would be your Upanayanam when you’re 5 years old. That would be your Brahminical initiation if you were coming from a Brahman family.
So, our second initiation is actually Vaishnava initiation, Pancharatrik Vaishnava initiation, because we get the Krishna mantras. And getting the Brahma Gayatri was just arranged by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur to silence the Smartha Brahmanas. So, the important part of that is to get the Vaishnava mantras, that qualifies you for initiation. If you only have the Brahma Gayatri, that doesn’t qualify you to worship our deities [Laughs].
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. In 10th Canto, we see King Nrga’s story. So, he got cursed and he became lizard by some issue between Brahmana’s property. He acquired Brahmana property kind of thing. So, you also mentioned those times, Varnashram Dharma exists. Should we consider them as Brahmana by birth or qualification?
So, we see in many of the stories told in Mahabharata and Bhagavatam, they use birth as the qualification because your father was a Brahmana, you’re a Brahmana. My father is a Kshatriya, you’re a Kshatriya. So, our Acharyas have pointed out, that is true, but in Kali Yuga, the birth part takes a lesser role. One reason, of course, is that the varnas become mixed. Second, proper training is not there. So, as well as birth, we have to consider education, environment, etc. And thus, in Kali Yuga, we can only look at a person when they’ve been educated and grown up, then we can say, oh, he’s this Varna or not. But before that, it’s useless [Laughs].
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, yesterday you told that practicing Bhakti nullifies all sinful activities. But after practicing so many years in the devotees, sometimes they will do some sinful activities, which is not expected in the practicing of Bhakti for so many years. So, how we can reconcile at that point, Bhakti is nullifying the sinful activities.
Usually, when we say in quote verses like ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi we’re talking about sinful reactions. After you’ve committed the sin, you have all these reactions coming up from past ones or present things. And Krishna says, okay, they’re all destroyed. What is the cause of the sins? Desires. And of course, in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami also says, yes, by Bhakti, the suffering or the results of your sins are gone and the desires which create the sins are also destroyed and ignorance which is the cause of your desire is also destroyed. But these other two factors, the ignorance and the desires do not necessarily all get destroyed instantaneously. It takes some time and therefore we go through Sadhana Bhakti.
5.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, in the Ritvik initiation, they’re all taking directly initiation from Prabhupad. So how do you understand it is Vaishnava initiation?
Well, of course, in Pancharatra, you take a Guru, but you take a living Guru. So they get the Vaishnava mantras from a tape recording of Prabhupad. Getting a name like Krishnadas also is part of Diksha, but Prabhupad cannot give that name to them. So they make up their own name.
Devotee : Maharaj, in this case, since they’re chanting the names, will they be called Vaishnavas? No.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : So anyone who chants the name and has belief in Krishna can be called a Vaishnava. And it doesn’t matter whether you get bona fide Pancharatra Diksha or Ritvik Diksha or whatever. If you have belief in Krishna and you chant the holy name and you’re following proper principles, you can be called a Vaishnava. However, one should not be committing aparadhas. Because if you commit Nama aparadhas, Vaishnava aparadhas, then of course your Bhakti itself is destroyed and then you can be called a Vaishnava.
6.) According to Gaudiya philosophy, it is mentioned that Kama Gayatri is the way to achieve Manjari Bhava. And many Gaudiya mutts give emphasis to this Diksha process. Please clarify Maharaj.
I don’t recall that any of our Acharyas have said that. Of course, one can get it from that. You can also get it from the 18 syllable mantra, which is not the Kama Gayatri. You can also get it from Hare Krishna. In fact, Hare Krishna is higher than any of the other mantras.
Devotees : Granthraj Srimad Bhagavatham ki Jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki Jai!!! Srila Prabhupad ki Jai!!!