Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.37-40 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | November 17, 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 37.
ŚB 10.78.37
kiṁ vaḥ kāmo muni-śreṣṭhā
brūtāhaṁ karavāṇy atha
ajānatas tv apacitiṁ
yathā me cintyatāṁ budhāḥ
Synonyms
kim — what; vaḥ — your; kāmaḥ — desire; muni — of sages; śreṣṭhāḥ — O best; brūta — please say; aham — I; karavāṇi — shall do it; atha — and then; ajānataḥ — one who does not know; tu — indeed; apacitim — the atonement; yathā — properly; me — for Me; cintyatām — please think of; budhāḥ — O intelligent ones.
Translation
Please tell Me your desire, O best of sages, and I shall certainly fulfill it. And, O wise souls, please carefully determine My proper atonement, since I do not know what it might be.
Purport
Lord Balarāma here sets a perfect example for people in general by humbly submitting Himself before the qualified brāhmaṇas.
Text 38
The sages said: A fearsome demon named Balvala, the son of Ilvala, comes here every new-moon day and contaminates our sacrifice.
Purport
First the sages tell Lord Balarāma the favor they would like Him to do for them.
Text 39
O descendant of Daśārha, please kill that sinful demon, who pours down pus, blood, feces, urine, wine and meat upon us. This is the best service You can do for us.
Text 40
Thereafter, for twelve months, You should circumambulate the land of Bhārata in a mood of serious meditation, executing austerities and bathing at various holy pilgrimage sites. In this way You will become purified.
Purport
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī points out that the word viśudhyasi means that Lord Balarāma would achieve spotless fame by setting such a perfect example for the people in general.
Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “The brāhmaṇas could understand the purpose of the Lord, and thus they suggested that He atone in a manner which would be beneficial to them.”
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Seventy-eighth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Killing of Dantavakra, Vidūratha and Romaharṣaṇa.”
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, Balarama still had to carry out some atonement for His killing the Romaharshana [Laughs]. In addition, Lord Balarama says, I will do whatever you want. So, then they say you should kill this big demon [Laughs]. So, there were actually two obstacles to the sacrifice, one was the demon, and one was that Balarama had killed Romaharshana. So, both problems are resolved now. But then the other thing is the atonement. Balarama has killed somebody, this Romaharshana, so therefore He should do some penance [Laughs]. Of course, the sages understand He’s Supreme Lord, so He doesn’t need any purification. However, this is, in order to set a good example for others. So, the way they ask for the atonement is He should do pilgrimage, He should visit various holy places and execute austerities. He should do that for one year. And in text 40 it says, by this, you become purified, ‘visudhyasi’.
But of course, this is a little contradiction, because Balarama doesn’t have to get purified [Laughs]. So, Jiva Goswami explains, He gets purified in the sense that His fame becomes pure. His fame becomes pure. That means nobody can criticize Balarama [Laughs]. And by doing so, then He sets a good example for others. So, then people will say, Balarama is also following proper rules, so He is very nice [Laughs], He is very good [Laughs]. So, this becomes beneficial for the common people. It’s also beneficial for the sages. Because they are satisfied that the Lord is perfect. He is not obliged to carry out this atonement, but He does so, because He agrees to follow the rules [Laughs]. So, the sages are pleased because Balarama won’t get criticized. Yeah, the sages are pleased, because this way Balarama doesn’t get any criticism [Laughs]. At the same time, they realized He doesn’t need any, to do all this atonement [Laughs].
So the Supreme Lord is in a position to do anything. He is independent. He makes all the rules and laws. If He wants, He can break the laws. And even He breaks the laws, it’s for the benefit of everyone. So that is, this a rule, this is the conduct of the Lord [Laughs]. This is how the Lord can act. He doesn’t have to do anything else. However, for people in this world, they have to carefully follow the rules. So, a king makes all the rules for the citizens to follow. And then the king breaks all the rules [Laughs]. Then he says, I don’t have to follow, I’m the king. So then the people are very discouraged, why should we follow the rules when you are not following [Laughs]? And if the king is actually unqualified, he will break the rules because he just wants to exploit everybody else [Laughs]. Ultimately, people will become very dissatisfied and they may overthrow the king [Laughs].
A qualified king may also sometimes break the rules. But he would not break the rules out of his own selfishness. However, still, people may criticize [Laughs]. So, therefore, as much as possible, people who are kings have to act in a proper way. So, the only problem will come when the Lord Himself acts as king [Laughs]. There will be a problem when the Lord Himself becomes the king. He’s obviously in a higher position than a king, a material king who is also perfect [Laughs]. So, He is even more free to do whatever He wants [Laughs]. Such a person can act more freely. But, even the Lord will follow the rules [Laughs]. So He doesn’t have to follow, but He will follow, because of this principle, we have to set a good example for people [Laughs].
So this is what is explained by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita. So He says, I don’t have to follow the rules, but I do so, to encourage people. So, rules are made in the material world because people have to control their senses. So, Supreme Lord is controlling His senses. He doesn’t need the rules [Laughs]. But in general, He naturally follows the rules because His senses are controlled. And similarly, the very advanced devotees also have complete control of the senses, so they’re beyond the rules. But because they’re on such a high level, they naturally follow all the rules [Laughs]. As I mentioned, the rule in the spiritual world is Prema. And that Prema cannot be confined by the rules of this world. And the prime example of that is the Gopis. So, of course, they’re not in the material world, they don’t have material consciousness, but by Yogamaya, they have an obligation to follow the rules of dharma.
[Discussion aside]
Yeah [Laughs]. But then their attraction for Krishna is stronger. So there’s a conflict. Should we please Krishna or should we please our husbands and our family members [Laughs]? And attraction to Krishna is stronger. And Krishna is pleased with that. Their love overcomes all obstacles. Even the obstacles of dharma [Laughs]. So this indicates their strong Prema [Laughs]. And Krishna is pleased with that. So, Krishna explains that to the Gopis. Your love for me is stronger than my love for you. In order to meet me, you have to break all the rules. I don’t have to break any rules. So, therefore, your sacrifice for me is greater, your love for me is greater than my love for you [Laughs].
So, in this way, in the spiritual world actually no one is obliged to follow all the rules of dharma, but there is a semblance of rules due to Yogamaya for creating pastimes. In the same way, Nanda Maharaj and the Cowherds had a rule, according to tradition we have to worship Indra. Instead of following those rules, they just followed Krishna [Laughs]. And even though they got the anger of Indra and all the rain, they never gave up following Krishna.
Okay, Hare Krishna.
Q & A:
1.) Maharaj about Gopis and Vrajavasis, okay, they gave up their duties. But we see the devotees also, sometimes we see they give up their job and they say we want to serve, or if the husbands or wives start doing like this, give up dharma for serving Krishna, then how it will work?
If one is very qualified, one could act like that. And we do have examples of that. Viswanatha Cakravarti got married, then he just left the house [Laughs]. Ramanujacharya left the house [Laughs]. Lord Caitanya left the house [Laughs]. So, there are cases like that. But even like sannyasa, there are rules for that.
And one has to make sure that the family is taken care of before one takes sannyasa. And one has to be sure that one has complete control of the senses and mind. So, we notice that Caitanya Mahaprabhu doesn’t really emphasize renunciation. Most of His devotees were grhasthas. Of course, we get examples like the Goswamis, or Swarupa Damodara or Gadadhara Pandit, but most were householders. And of course, He is preaching for everybody, not just for a selected few renounced people. And therefore He simply emphasized everybody should chant the Holy Name, serve Krishna and it doesn’t matter if you are a sannyasi or a householder or brahmachari or whatever. So, if one is on a very high level, completely detached from the material world, then that type of behavior is fine, but most people are not on that level.
Devotee: Maharaj, opposite case like, we see that devotees also get married two times, three times for some reason. How do we justify that?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: That would also depend on particular circumstances. At the same time, it does not set a good example. It doesn’t set a good example getting married many times [Laughs]. At the same time, it’s also artificial to look as if one is renounced [Laughs].
2.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, when Indra attacked Vrindavan, Indra used thunderbolt. Thunderbolt attacked Govardhana. Govardhana’s grass, they are not hurt but they feel the ecstasy by thunderbolt. Is that true?
Question [Laughs]? Well, not mentioned in Bhagavatam [Laughs].
Devotee: Not mentioned?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: No, doesn’t mention that in Bhagavatam. But, everyone in Vrindavan, including the animals, were protected by Krishna. So Krishna, Indra could throw his thunderbolt and he could put rain everywhere. But the cows and the animals and the trees and the people were all joyful [Laughs]. They could not be afflicted by Indra.
Devotee: They were happy not because of Indra attacking. They were happy because whole day, whole one week, they were with Krishna, right?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yes [Laughs].
Devotee: Krishna’s finger kept touching Govardhana. That’s why it kept Govardhana in ecstasy?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: That’s also there [Laughs]. It’s mentioned in the Upadesamrta that, it says that, Govardhana is even more exalted than Vrindavan in general, because it was touching Krishna’s hand [Laughs]. So, if anything gets Krishna’s contact, it’s most auspicious. So, because Krishna walks on the earth in Vrindavan, the earth feels most satisfied [Laughs]. When Krishna bathes in the Yamuna, then the Yamuna is very satisfied [Laughs]. When Krishna touches a tree and picks a fruit or picks a flower, then the tree is very, very ecstatic [Laughs]. So, we can also say, the whole mountain with everything on the mountain became ecstatic, because of the touch [Laughs] of Krishna. And then nothing like a thunderbolt or rain can actually affect the mountain [Laughs].
3.) Back to the point about the rule, you compared the material world for the rule and the rule of the spiritual world. I think it’s a very contradictory function by the rule. In the material world, by the rule, we can live peacefully by following the rule. But in the spiritual world, by breaking the rule, then we feel more happy.
[Laughs] Yeah, well, the rules are there for different reasons [Laughs].
Devotee: Like a coin, both sides, same coin, both sides, two sides are there. Same rule, different function.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The rules are to create obstacles in [Laughs] the spiritual world [Laughs] to test the Prema [Laughs]. The rules of material world are there, they restrict people because they will commit sinful activities [Laughs].
4.) Any example is there, in the spiritual world, only breaking, you mentioned about the Gopis and Nanda Maharaj, they break the rules and break the obligation. Any other example, like for Mother Yasoda or Cowherd boys?
Well, Krishna breaks the rules all the time [Laughs]. He breaks the, kicks the yogurt pot, steals the butter [Laughs], goes into the houses and harasses people [Laughs].
Devotee: What about Yasoda or Cowherd boys?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Do they break rules? Well, yeah, for instance, atleast they don’t follow the same rules, because, let’s say, the Cowherd boys and Krishna, when they’re eating in the forest, they just throw the food around, they eat it with the right hand, left hand, whatever [Laughs]. We see also when Krishna and Balarama is playing with the Cowherd boys, it’s gets late and so Mother Yasoda calls, He doesn’t listen. Then they send out Rohini to get Krishna and Balarama. Still they don’t listen [Laughs]. They still keep playing [Laughs].
Devotee: Mother Yasoda, she never breaks the rules?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, we can say, in one sense, when she tried to punish Krishna, Nanda Maharaj got very upset. Why you are trying to tie up Krishna [Laughs]? Of course, she was saying, well, we have to do that. This is the rule, we have to discipline our children [Laughs]. Well, then, Nanda Maharaj’s counter argument would be, yes, you’re trying to do this too much [Laughs].
Devotee: Yasoda at that time, she was worried that Krishna ran away outside and became more dangerous.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: She was worried about her son.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, from her point of view, it’s just, she’s following the rules [Laughs]. From Nanda Maharaj’s point of view, she’s overdoing the rules, she’s doing, going beyond the rules [Laughs].
5.) Maharaj, in case of Romaharshana, we see because of his misbehavior, he was punished and he was killed by Balarama. But, in case of, if we see Duryodhana, who was very proud and he had many faults, but Lord Balarama has neglected or seen, I’m not sure about that. But, how was his service to Balarama was genuine or like he was, because of his selfish motives, he was serving Lord Balarama. And, Romaharshana’s that offense, is it so serious compared to that?
Of course, we see in the case of Duryodhana, because of their relationship, Balarama had some obligation [Laughs] to Duryodhana. However, we do know that Duryodhana was a much more serious case of breaking dharma [Laughs]. So, why did Balarama have such a, what to say, soft corner for him [Laughs] and tolerate him so much [Laughs]? Ultimately, we have to understand all this is some arrangement of Krishna. So that, most of the demonic elements would be destroyed during the battle of Kurukshetra. So Balarama didn’t interfere with Krishna’s plan.
Devotee: Thank you, Maharaj.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Okay, Hare Krishna.
Devotee: In one sense, Krishna and Balarama are non-different, right?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Hmm.
Devotee: Then, different functions and different…
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: They have different personalities also [Laughs].
Devotee: Like Caitanya and Nityananda also.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: But Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the most merciful incarnation.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Hmm.
Devotee: But He tried to kill Jagai, Madhai. In that case, Caitanya Mahaprabhu give to Nityananda right? Different roles.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Hmm.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!!