Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.17 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | November 12, 2025 |
jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī
gopījana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana vraja-jana-rañjana
yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Jaya Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevaya
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10 Chapter 78 Verse 17.
ŚB 10.78.17
śrutvā yuddhodyamaṁ rāmaḥ
kurūṇāṁ saha pāṇḍavaiḥ
tīrthābhiṣeka-vyājena
madhya-sthaḥ prayayau kila
Synonyms
śrutvā — hearing; yuddha — for battle; udyamam — the preparations; rāmaḥ — Lord Balarāma; kurūṇām — of the Kurus; saha — with; pāṇḍavaiḥ — the Pāṇḍavas; tīrtha — in holy places; abhiṣeka — of bathing; vyājena — on the pretext; madhya-sthaḥ — neutral; prayayau — He departed; kila — indeed.
Translation
Lord Balarāma then heard that the Kurus were preparing for war with the Pāṇḍavas. Being neutral, He departed on the pretext of going to bathe in holy places.
Purport
Both Duryodhana and Yudhiṣṭhira were dear to Lord Balarāma, and so to avoid an awkward situation He departed. Furthermore, after killing the demon Vidūratha, Lord Kṛṣṇa put aside His weapons, but Lord Balarāma still had to kill Romaharṣaṇa and Balvala to finish relieving the earth of her burden of demons.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, as stated here in the purport, after killing Viduratha, Krishna did not kill any more demons. Of course, demons were killed, but not by Krishna directly. So after that, of course, Balaram killed these two persons, and then there was battle of Kurukshetra, and the rest of the demons got destroyed [Laughs]. But Krishna Himself did not kill the demons. So one of the direct reasons for Krishna appearing in the world was to kill Kamsa and other demons who were a burden on the earth. And from His very birth, Krishna was killing demons [Laughs]. So Putana and others were sent by Kamsa and Krishna killed them all and broke up. Then Krishna went to Mathura and He killed Kamsa. However, Kamsa had many friends, and those friends [Laughs] began to attack. So we see that Jarasandha attacked Mathura, Krishna went to Dwaraka, and then we see demons like Salva attacking Dwaraka. So, of course, with the killing of Dantavakra and Viduratha, then most of the demons, big demons have been killed. But then we have Duryodhana and all his supporters [Laughs], they were also demons. And, of course, Duryodhana was part of the same family as the Pandavas. But Krishna supported the Pandavas, and the Pandavas killed Duryodhana and his supporters. So, in this manner, the promise of the Lord is fulfilled, that He would relieve the earth of its burden.
Then we have a description of how the Pandavas, after the battle of Kurukshetra, they lived and they ruled very nicely. But then we see that when Parikshit was ruling, again [Laughs], demonic forces become strong. But Krishna had already disappeared. And Kali Yuga began. So, even though there were descendants of Manu, gradually force of Kali Yuga became stronger. And then, even the descendants of Manu disappeared. And then, of course, the demonic forces became stronger. So, this is inevitable, cannot be escaped in Kali Yuga [Laughs].
The time runs in cycles – Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali, and when Kali Yuga is there, we have tamo guna, very strong, demons very strong. We see at the end of Kali Yuga, it’s so hopeless that the Lord comes and kills all the demons again. At the end of Kali Yuga, then demons are very strong, Kalki comes and He kills them all. Kalki. And then, at the same time, Satya Yuga begins, everything is very nice [Laughs]. So, there’s always this struggle with demoniac forces in the material world. We see throughout the Bhagavatam how the devatas are continually fighting with the demons. So, in other words, the material world, by its nature is a very difficult place to live in. There’s always the possibility that tamo guna becomes strong, demons become strong.
So, to counter that, the Lord makes arrangements. So, the normal arrangement is that, the Lord establishes a Manu who rules for 71 Yuga cycles. Of course, the Manu himself doesn’t last that long, but his descendants continue to rule. So, these Manus and their descendants are not Avatars of the Lord, but they’re empowered by the Lord [Laughs]. So, these Jivas are called Vibhutis of the Lord. So, they are especially empowered by the Lord. So, the Manus and their descendants are empowered to keep the peace [Laughs], keep the demons under control, and establish Dharma. Similarly, the devatas are empowered by the Lord to rule over the material elements. So, they’re also called Vibhutis. And then we have the great sages. The great sages are also Vibhutis of the Lord, empowered to give knowledge. So, in this way, the Lord makes some arrangement to counteract this tendency of the material world to become demonic.
When Brahma starts creating the material world and the planets and the bodies, we see he creates demons also [Laughs]. So, why does he create demons? Because of karma, due to previous universe, they were demons, so they continue their demon life. So, the Lord makes some arrangement to keep the demonic element under control. However, sometimes the demons become too strong. Then the Lord appears as Avatar. So, we see that Varaha came and He killed Hiranyaksha. Narasimha Dev killed Hiranyakasipu. So, in exceptional cases, to bring the Dharma back, then the Lord comes as Avatar. And He usually kills the demons [Laughs]. Along with that, then we have others who don’t kill demons [Laughs], but then they come as Avatar and they give teachings. So, along with the Manus who preserve Dharma and the Avatars of the Lord who come to kill the demons, then we have other Avatars of the Lord who preserve knowledge. So, we have persons like Narada Muni, the Kumaras, Kapiladev, Vedavyasa. So, in many ways, then the Lord tries to create some peace in the material world. And the reason is, the material world always is full of disturbance.
Once the gunas becomes activated, then they keep, what to say, they create an unbalanced situation. When the material world is active and we have gunas, there is always some agitation. When there is pralaya, everything dissolves, everything enters into prakriti, then even the gunas seem to disappear. It’s a very peaceful situation. Then, when the Lord desires to create universes, He glances over prakriti. And his eye becomes the agitator. So, then, the gunas start to manifest. So, first, sattva guna appears. And this sattva guna prakriti is called mahat tattva. But, once that appears, more agitation takes place, and everything turns rajasic. This condition of the material world is called sutra. And then this again transforms and turns into tamo guna, and then we get ahankara. And then ahankara divides up again into sattva, rajas, tamas. And out of that, we get creation of mind, senses, and material elements in sattva, rajas, tamas. And so then, these all combine and we get living entity with the material bodies. And then, again, the gunas will keep changing. We get Satya Yuga and sattva, then rajo guna starts appearing in Treta Yuga, tamo guna appears in Kali Yuga. But, even if it’s Satya Yuga or Treta Yuga, sometimes demons, tamasic elements becomes very strong [Laughs]. So, no time in the material world is perfect.
We cannot predict what will happen, just like the ocean is there, sometimes we get big waves, sometimes small waves [Laughs]. So, this is the nature of the material world and this is what is described here in the Bhagavatam, sometimes the demons become strong, then the Lord has to come and kill them, and again the demons become strong, and the king has to suppress them. So as we go up from earth to Svargaloka, Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Brahma loka, of course it becomes more sattvic, more peaceful. And of course Brahma lives very long life. But even that is not peaceful. Sometimes a demon comes up and attacks Brahma loka even [Laughs]. So, therefore, no perfect place in the material world.
So therefore, Krishna teaches that we have to tolerate. Yeah, so, there are going to be problems in the material world wherever and whenever we are there. So, the solution to this is, do not stay in the material world [Laughs]. So therefore the scriptures, even Bhagavad Gita says, therefore you escape from the material world. And thus, there is encouragement in scriptures that we go for liberation. So that liberation is the immediate goal for people who don’t like the suffering in the material world. And thus we see many statements in Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam, that to escape from all the problems, you get out of the material world, you get liberation.
However, liberation is of two types. First type is, simply get out of the material world [Laughs]. So you stop karma, stop senses, stop desire. This is what we call liberation in Brahman. The other type of liberation is, to go further than that. Not only we destroy all of the karma and material body and material senses, but then we end up with spiritual body, spiritual senses. So this is, we can say, rarer knowledge. And therefore in 9th chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says this is the king of secrets. Even people who are practicing spiritual life, find it difficult to understand. But then Krishna also says, this is very easy to do.
So, looks a little bit contradictory, very difficult to understand, very easy to do [Laughs]. So, it looks contradictory, but it is not contradictory, because Bhakti is inconceivable. And if we have something which is inconceivable, it may look like it has contrary qualities in it. So Krishna is inconceivable, because He is bigger than the biggest, He is smaller than the smallest, contradictory [Laughs]. Krishna is inside everything, He is outside everything. So these are contradictions [Laughs]. Contradictions from our limited intelligence. So, the Lord can do anything. The Lord can make possible what is impossible [Laughs]. So therefore, in this way, Bhakti which belongs to the Lord is rarest, but also easiest. So therefore, it is the process of Bhakti, because it’s easiest, then Krishna recommends it. So, very easily we can get something which is very rare.
Of course, it is rare for people who practice other methods. But not rare if you practice Bhakti. So in Chapter 9, Krishna says this Bhakti is very easy to do. And it’s also easy to attain the goal. So normally, something very rare, like a diamond, of course, is not available to everybody. Usually, things which are very cheap are available to everybody. So to say the diamond is very rare, very expensive, but everybody can have one, that sounds contradictory. So Bhakti, though it is rare, is easily available, because of the nature of Krishna. If one practices Bhakti, Krishna becomes very merciful. And finally, He gives Himself to the devotee. So Bhakti is the best and easiest, because of the mercy of Krishna. And whether it is Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga or Kali Yuga, any time in the day of Brahma, then we can do Bhakti. So that is why, it is recommended as the main process.
Hare Krishna.
Q & A:
1.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, thank you for the wonderful class. We understand the process of creation, you wonderfully explained. I understand that from pradhana, there is Mahat tattva, and then there is sutra tattva, and then there is ahankara tattva. And then again, you mentioned that from ahankara tattva, there is again sattva, rajas and tamas. And you also mentioned about Brahma loka. So my confusion is, in Brahma loka, is it pure sattva guna or is it from ahankara tattva? Which sattva guna is prevailing in Satya loka?
So, all of the material elements, like ether, fire, water and earth, which make up our bodies and which make up the planets, come from ahankara and tamo guna. And mind comes from sattva, which comes from ahankara [Laughs]. And our senses come from ahankara and rajo guna. So, all material bodies in the material world with senses and mind and body, then there is a combination of sattva, rajas, and tamas coming out of ahankara. So, we cannot escape ignorance in the material world [Laughs] because everything is coming from ignorance [Laughs], coming from ahankara.
Of course, of the three gunas in the material world, sattva is preferable, because it is more peaceful. And it’s also somewhat favorable for spiritual life. But it’s still material. So, even if you go to Brahma loka, which is very sattvic, it’s still material. And when we say it’s very sattvic, it’s never pure. So, it is relatively sattvic, but still within there, there’s going to be some rajo guna, tamo guna also [Laughs]. So, again, nothing is perfect in the material world [Laughs]. Even sattva ultimately comes from ahakara as well [Laughs].
2.) Thank you Maharaj for a very, very clear answer. Maharaj in the second canto, we also see that after the creation of these 24 basic elements, the living entities are unmanifested and Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, He filled the universe, half of the universe by his perspiration. So, is that perspiration, is the formation of the current Pacific Ocean or Atlantic Ocean, we see that is also salty, or half of the ocean is filled with, from Garbhodakasayi Vishnu’s perspiration. So, what is that part, half of the universe is filled with His gharmah, we say in Sanskrit. So, where is the position of that Garbhodaka ocean? That is my question.
So the Garbhodaka ocean is at the bottom of the universe. Perspiration [Laughs]. So, Garbhodakasayi Vishnu is lying on that ocean on Sesha. Above that is the Bhū Maṇḍala, the disk with the earth on the top, with [Laughs] our planet earth on the top of it [Laughs]. And within that disk, there are the hellish planetary systems down to Patalaloka. And of course, all of that is above Garbhodaka ocean and Garbhodakasayi Vishnu. So, on the top of this Bhū Maṇḍala then we have, in the center Mount Meru. And around Mount Meru, there is an island called Jambudwipa. And Jambudwipa is like circular, marui, and around it, there is an ocean, saltwater ocean. That’s our ocean [Laughs]. Saltwater ocean [Laughs]. Around that whole ocean, saltwater ocean, there’s another circular island [Laughs]. And around that, there’s another ocean, but it’s not salt ocean [Laughs]. There’s a milk ocean, there’s a ghee ocean, there’s a yogurt ocean, there’s a liquor ocean [Laughs], sugarcane ocean [Laughs]. And then above all of that, above the Mount Meru, then we have ultimately, have Svargaloka and the other planets, all the way up to Brahma loka [Laughs].
Devotee: So, this Garbhodakasayi Vishnu that is at the bottom, this is the transcendental water?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, it comes from Vishnu, so it can’t be material. Spiritual water.
3.) Is that water from Garbhodakasayi Vishnu comes from His sweat? So, that’s why that ocean is salty?
Oh, but we don’t know if it’s salty [Laughs], doesn’t say [Laughs]. We have never tasted it [Laughs]. Go there [Laughs].
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, I have a question. Maharaj, like you mentioned that we have like sattva and sutra and ahankara and then there are another again sattva, rajas and tamas. So, Guna avataras, when they manifest, which modes do they control Maharaj?
So, Vishnu controls sattva guna, this is Kshirodakasayi Vishnu, He’s on the milk ocean, which is on this Bhu Mandala, one of the oceans after the salt water ocean, we have milk ocean etc, so He is lying there on the milk ocean. Brahma stays on Brahma loka, top of the universe. Sometimes he comes down to his residence on top of Mount Meru. Sometimes he also goes to Pushkar at the, one of those dwipa, power dwipas as well. Shiva of course, resides in several places. One of course is Mount Kailash in the Himalayas [Laughs]. Shiva also lives in the Ilavrta Varsha, which is immediately around Meru Mountain. He also lives in a hellish planet, I think Atala loka or something, one of those lower planets [Laughs].
5.) What is the function of the milk ocean and the salty ocean?
Okay, so, the salt ocean that we know is there for, so ships can float over it [Laughs]. And you can take a salt water bath [Laughs]. The other oceans, like the Garbhodaka ocean and the milk ocean, they’re simply abodes of the Lord. Just like Krishna is in Goloka [Laughs].
Devotee: Is he floating ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, He’s floating on Sesha. Sesha is floating on the ocean like a boat [Laughs]. Also, even in the milk ocean, He is on Sesha. This makes Him also inaccessible to normal Jivas [Laughs]. They can’t go there because it’s big water [Laughs]. And we even have Maha Vishnu outside the universe also on the Karana ocean, again another ocean.
Devotee: Long before, Ananta prabhu showed us in the class, the picture of the universe. Looking at that picture, it’s easy to understand, but we need to imagine what is up and down.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, yeah [Laughs].
Devotee: The Buddhists also similar ideas they have?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, Buddhists also have Mount Meru, they have the dwipas and the oceans. I don’t know if the Vishnu is there [Laughs].
Okay, Hare Krishna.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!!