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KB 1970-2-9 / The Story of King Nrga
9 / The Story of King Nrga
Once the family members of Lord Krsna, such as Samba, Pradyumna,
Carubhanu and Gada, all princes of the Yadu dynasty,
went for a long picnic in the forest near Dvaraka. In the
course of their excursion, all of them became thirsty, and so
they began to try to find out where water was available in the
forest. When they approached a well, they found that there was
no water in it, but on the contrary, within the well was a
wonderful living entity. It was a large lizard, and all of them
became astonished to see such a wonderful animal. They could
understand that the animal was trapped and could not escape by
its own effort, so out of compassion they tried to take the
large lizard out of the well. Unfortunately, they could not get
the lizard out, even though they tried to do so in many ways.
When the princes returned home, their story was narrated before
Lord Krsna. Lord Krsna is the friend of all living entities.
Therefore, after hearing the appeal from His sons, He
personally went to the well and easily got the great lizard out
simply by extending His left hand. Immediately upon being
touched by the hand of Lord Krsna, that great lizard gave up
its former shape and appeared as a beautiful demigod, an
inhabitant of the heavenly planets. His bodily complexion
glittered like molten gold. He was decorated with fine garments,
and he wore costly ornaments around his neck.
How the demigod had been obliged to accept the body of a lizard
was not a secret to Lord Krsna, but still, for others'
information, the Lord inquired, "My dear fortunate demigod, now
I see that your body is so beautiful and lustrous. Who are you?
We can guess that you are one of the best demigods in the
heavenly planets. All good fortune to you. I think that you are
not meant to be in this situation. It must be due to the
results of your past activities that you have been put into the
species of lizard life. Still, I want to hear from you how you
were put in this position. If you think that you can disclose
this secret, then please tell us your identity."
Actually this large lizard was King Nrga, and when he was
questioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead he immediately
bowed down before the Lord, touching to the ground the helmet
on his head, which was as dazzling as the sunshine. In this way,
he first of all offered his respectful obeisances unto the
Supreme Lord. He then said, "My dear Lord, I am the
son of King Iksvaku, and am King Nrga. If you have ever taken
account of all charitably disposed men, I am sure You must have
heard my name. My Lord, You are the witness. You are
aware of every bit of work done by the living entities -- past,
present and future. Nothing can be hidden from Your eternal
cognizance. Still, You have ordered me to explain my history,
and I shall therefore narrate the full story."
King Nrga proceeded to narrate the history of his degradation,
caused by his karma-kanda activities. He was
very charitably disposed and had given away so many cows that
he said the number was equal to the amount of dust
on the earth, the stars in the sky and the
rainfall. According to the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, a man
who is charitably disposed is commanded to give cows to the
brahmanas. From King Nrga's statement, it appears that he
followed this principle earnestly; however, as a result of a
slight discrepancy in his action, he was forced to take birth
as a lizard. Therefore it is recommended by the Lord in the
Bhagavad-gita that one who is charitably disposed and desires
to derive the benefit of his charity should offer his gifts to
please Krsna. To give in charity means to perform pious
activities. As a result of pious activities one may be elevated
to the higher planetary systems; but promotion to the heavenly
planets is no guarantee that one will never fall down. Rather,
from the example of King Nrga, it is definitely proved that
fruitive activities, even if they are very pious, cannot give
us eternal blissful life. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, the
result of work, either pious or impious, is sure to bind a man
unless it is discharged as yajna on behalf of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
King Nrga continued to say that the cows given in
charity were not ordinary cows. Each one was very young and had
given birth to only one calf. They were full of milk, very
peaceful and healthy. All the cows were purchased with money
that had been earned legally. Furthermore, their horns were
gold-plated, their hooves were bedecked with silver plates,
and they were covered with silken wrappers which were
embroidered with pearls and necklaces. He stated that
these valuably decorated cows were not given to any
worthless person, but were distributed to the first-class
brahmanas, whom he had also decorated with nice garments and
gold ornaments. The brahmanas were well qualified,
none of them were rich, and their family members were always in
want for the necessities of life. A real brahmana never hoards
money for a luxurious life, like the ksatriyas or the vaisyas,
but always keeps himself in a poverty-stricken condition,
knowing that money diverts the mind to materialistic ways of
life. To live in this way is the vow of a qualified brahmana,
and all of these brahmanas were well situated in that exalted
vow. They were well learned in Vedic knowledge. They executed
the required austerities and penances in their lives, and were
liberal, meeting the standard of qualified brahmanas. They were
equally friendly to everyone; above all, they were young and
quite fit to act as qualified brahmanas. Besides the cows, they
were also given land, gold, houses, horses and elephants. Those
who were not married were given wives, maidservants, grains,
silver, utensils, garments, jewels, household furniture,
chariots, etc. This charity was nicely performed as a sacrifice
according to the Vedic rituals. The King also stated that not
only had he bestowed gifts on the brahmanas, but he had
performed other pious activities, such as digging a well,
planting trees on the roadside and installing ponds on the
highways.
The King continued, "In spite of all this, unfortunately one of
the brahmana's cows chanced to
enter amongst my other cows. Not knowing this, I again gave it
in charity to another brahmana. As the cow was being taken
away by the brahmana, its former master claimed it as his own,
stating, 'This cow was formerly given to me, so how is it that
you are taking it away?' Thus there was arguing and fighting
between the two brahmanas, and they came before me and charged
that I had taken back a cow that I had previously given in
charity." To give something to someone and then to take it away
is considered a great sin, especially in dealing with a
brahmana. When both the brahmanas charged the King with the
same complaint, he was simply puzzled as to how it had happened.
Thereafter, with great humility, the King offered each of them
one hundred thousand cows in exchange for the one cow that was
causing the fight between them. He prayed to them that he was
their servant and that there had been some mistake. Thus, in
order to rectify it, he prayed that they would be very kind
upon him and accept his offer in exchange for the cow. The King
fervently appealed to the brahmanas not to cause his downfall
into hell because of this mistake. A brahmana's property is
called brahma-sva, and according to Manu's law, it cannot be
acquired even by the government. Both brahmanas
insisted that the cow was theirs and could not be taken back
under any condition; neither of them agreed to exchange it for
the one hundred thousand cows. Thus disagreeing with the King's
proposal, both brahmanas left the place in anger, thinking
that their lawful position had been usurped.
After this incident, when the time came for the King to give up
his body, he was taken before Yamaraja, the superintendent of
death. Yamaraja asked him whether he wanted to first
enjoy the results of his pious activities or first suffer the
results of his impious activities. Yamaraja also hinted that
since the King had executed so many pious activities and
charities, the limit
of Nrga's enjoyment would be unknown to him.
There was practically no end to the King's material happiness,
but in spite of this hint, he was bewildered. He decided to
first suffer the results of his impious activities and then
to accept the results of his pious activities; therefore
Yamaraja immediately turned him into a lizard.
King Nrga had remained in the well as a big lizard for a very
long time. He told Lord Krsna: "In spite of being put into that
degraded condition of life, I simply thought of You, my dear
Lord, and my memory was never vanquished." It appears from
these statements of King Nrga that persons who follow the
principles of fruitive activities and derive some material
benefits are not very intelligent. Being given the choice by
the superintendent of death, Yamaraja, King Nrga could have
first accepted the results of his pious activities. Instead he
thought it would be better to first receive the effects of
his impious activities and then enjoy the effects of his pious
activities without disturbance. On the whole, he had not
developed Krsna consciousness. The Krsna conscious person
develops love of God, Krsna, not love for pious or impious
activities; therefore he is not subjected to the results of
such action. As stated in the Brahma-samhita, a devotee, by the
grace of the Lord, does not become subjected to the resultant
reactions of fruitive activities.
Somehow or other, as a result of his pious activities, King
Nrga had aspired to see the Lord. He continued to say: "My dear
Lord, I had a great desire that someday I might be able to see
You personally. I think that my tendency to perform
ritualistic and charitable activities, combined with this great
desire to see You personally
, has enabled me to retain the memory of who I was in
my former life, even though I became a lizard." (Such a person,
who remembers his past life, is called jati-smara.) "
My dear Lord, You are the
Supersoul seated in everyone's heart. There are many great
mystic yogis who have eyes to see You through the Vedas and
Upanisads. In order to achieve the elevated position of
being equal in quality with You, they always
meditate on You within their hearts. Although such
exalted saintly persons may see You constantly within their
hearts, they still cannot see You eye to eye; therefore I am
very much surprised that I am able to see You personally. I
know that I was engaged in so many activities, especially as a
king. Although I was in the midst of luxury and opulence and
was subjected to so much of the happiness and misery of
material existence, I am so fortunate to be seeing You
personally. As far as I know, when one becomes liberated from
material existence, he can see You in this way."
When King Nrga elected to receive the results of his impious
activities, he was given the body of a lizard because of the
mistake in his pious activities; thus he could not be directly
converted to a higher status of life like a great demigod.
However, along with his pious activities, he thought of Krsna,
so he was quickly released from the body of a lizard and given
the body of a demigod. By worshiping the Supreme Lord, those
who desire material opulences are given the bodies of powerful
demigods. Sometimes these demigods can see the Supreme
Personality of Godhead eye to eye, but they are still not yet
eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom, the Vaikuntha
planets. However, if the demigods continue to become devotees
of the Lord, the next chance they get they will enter into the
Vaikuntha planets.
Having attained the body of a demigod, King Nrga, continuing to
remember everything, said, "My dear Lord, You are the Supreme
Lord and are worshiped by all the demigods. You are not one of
the living entities, but You are the Supreme Person,
Purusottama. You are the source of all happiness to all living
entities; therefore You are known as Govinda. You are the Lord
of those living entities who have accepted a material body
and those who have not yet accepted a material body." (Among
the living entities who have not accepted a material body are
those who are hovering in the material world as evil spirits
or living in the ghostly atmosphere. However, those who live in
the spiritual kingdom, the Vaikunthalokas, have bodies that are
not made of material elements.) "You are, my Lord,
infallible. You are the Supreme, the purest of all living
entities. You are living in everyone's heart. You are the
shelter of all living entities, Narayana. Being seated in the
heart of all living entities, You are the supreme director of
everyone's sensual activities; therefore, You are called
Hrsikesa.
"My dear Supreme Lord Krsna, because You have given me this
body of a demigod, I will have to go to some heavenly planet;
so I am taking this opportunity to beg for Your mercy,
that I may have the benediction of never forgetting Your lotus
feet, no matter to which form of life or planet I may be
transferred. You are all-pervading, present everywhere as cause
and effect. You are the cause of all causes, and Your potency
and power are unlimited. You are the Absolute Truth, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supreme Brahman. I
therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and
again. My dear Lord, Your body is full of transcendental bliss
and knowledge, and You are eternal. You are the master of all
mystic powers; therefore You are known as Yogesvara. Kindly
accept me as insignificant dust at Your lotus
feet."
Before entering the heavenly planets, King Nrga circumambulated
the Lord. He touched his helmet to the lotus feet of the
Lord and bowed before Him. Seeing the airplane from the
heavenly planets present before him, he was given permission by
the Lord to board it. After the departure of King Nrga, Lord
Krsna expressed His appreciation for the King's devotion to the
brahmanas as well as his charitable disposition and his
performance of Vedic rituals. Therefore, it is recommended that
if one cannot directly become a devotee of the Lord, one should
follow the Vedic principles of life. This will enable him, one
day, to see the Lord by being promoted either directly to the
spiritual kingdom or indirectly to the heavenly kingdom,
where he has hope of being transferred to the spiritual planets.
At this time, Lord Krsna was present among His relatives who
were members of the ksatriya class. To teach them through the
exemplary character of King Nrga, He said: "Even though a
ksatriya king may be as powerful as fire, it is not possible
for him to usurp the property of a brahmana and utilize it for
his own purpose. If this is so, how can ordinary kings, who
falsely think of themselves the most powerful beings within the
material world, usurp a brahmana's property? I do not think
that taking poison is as dangerous as taking a brahmana's
property. For ordinary poison there is treatment -- one can be
relieved from its effects; but if one drinks the poison of
taking a brahmana's property, there is no remedy for the
mistake. The perfect example was King Nrga. He was very
powerful and very pious, but due to the small mistake of
unknowingly usurping a brahmana's cow, he was condemned to the
abominable life of a lizard. Ordinary poison affects only those
who drink it, and ordinary fire can be extinguished simply by
pouring water on it; but the arani fire ignited by the
spiritual potency of a brahmana can burn to
ashes the whole family of a person who provokes such a brahmana.
" (Formerly, the brahmanas used to ignite the fire of sacrifice
not with matches or any other external fire but with their
powerful mantras, called arani.) "If someone even touches a
brahmana's property, he is ruined for three generations.
However, if a brahmana's property is forcibly taken away, the
taker's family for ten generations before him and for ten
generations after him will be subject to ruination. On the
other hand, if someone becomes a Vaisnava or devotee of
the Lord, ten generations of his family before his birth and
ten generations after will become liberated."
Lord Krsna continued: "If some foolish king who is puffed up by
his wealth, prestige and power wants to usurp a brahmana's
property, it should be understood that such a king is clearing
his path to hell; he does not know how much he has to suffer
for such unwise action. If someone takes away the property
of a very liberal brahmana who is encumbered by a large
dependent family, then such a usurper is put into the hell
known as Kumbhipaka; not only is he put into this hell, but his
family members also have to accept such a miserable condition
of life. A person who takes away property which has
either been awarded to a brahmana or given away
by him is condemned to live for at least 60,
000 years as miserably as an insect in stool.
Therefore I instruct you, all My boys and relatives present
here, do not, even by mistake, take the possession of a
brahmana and thereby pollute your whole family. If someone even
wishes to possess such property, let alone attempts to take it
away by force, the duration of his life will be reduced. He
will be defeated by his enemies, and after being bereft of his
royal position, when he gives up his body he will become a
serpent. A serpant gives trouble to all other living entities.
My dear boys and relatives, I therefore advise you that even if
a brahmana becomes angry with you and calls you by ill names or
cuts you, still you should not retaliate. On the contrary,
you should smile, tolerate him and offer your respects to the
brahmana. You know very well that even I Myself offer My
obeisances to the brahmanas with great respect three times
daily. You should therefore follow My instruction and example.
I shall not forgive anyone who does not follow them, and I
shall punish him. You should learn from the example of King
Nrga that even if someone unknowingly usurps the property of a
brahmana, he is put into a miserable condition of life."
Thus Lord Krsna, who is always engaged in purifying the
conditioned living entities, gave instruction not only to His
family members and the inhabitants of Dvaraka, but to all the
members of human society. After this the Lord entered His
palace.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Volume,
Ninth Chapter, of Krsna, "The Story of King Nrga."
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KB 64: The Story of King Nrga
CHAPTER SIXTY–FOUR
The Story of King Nrga
Once the family members of Lord Krsna, such as Samba, Pradyumna,
Caru, Bhanu and Gada, all princes of the Yadu dynasty,
went for a long picnic in the forest near Dvaraka. In the
course of their excursion, all of them became thirsty, and so
they tried to find out where water was available in the
forest. When they approached a well, they found
no water in it, but, on the contrary, within the well was a
wonderful living entity. It was a large lizard, and all of them
were astonished to see such a wonderful animal. They could
understand that the animal was trapped and could not escape by
its own effort, so out of compassion they tried to take the
large lizard out of the well. Unfortunately, they could not get
the lizard out, even though they tried to do so in many ways.
When the princes returned home, their story was narrated before
Lord Krsna. Lord Krsna is the friend of all living entities.
Therefore, after hearing the appeal from His sons, He
personally went to the well and easily got the great lizard out
simply by extending His left hand. Immediately upon being
touched by the hand of Lord Krsna, that great lizard gave up
its lizard shape and appeared as a beautiful demigod, an
inhabitant of the heavenly planets. His complexion
glittered like molten gold, he was decorated with fine garments,
and he wore costly ornaments around his neck.
How the demigod had been obliged to accept the body of a lizard
was not a secret to Lord Krsna, but still, for others'
information, the Lord inquired, "My dear fortunate demigod, now
I see that your body is so beautiful and lustrous. Who are you?
We can guess that you are one of the best demigods in the
heavenly planets. All good fortune to you. I think that you are
not meant to be in this situation. It must be due to the
results of your past activities that you were put into the
species of lizard life. Still, I want to hear from you how you
were put into this position. If you think that you can disclose
this secret, then please tell us your identity."
Actually, this large lizard was King Nrga, and when
questioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead he immediately
bowed down before the Lord, touching to the ground the helmet
on his head, which was as dazzling as the sunshine. In this way,
he first offered his respectful obeisances unto the
Supreme Lord. He then said, "My dear Lord, I am King Nrga, the
son of King Iksvaku. If you have ever taken
account of all charitably disposed men, I am sure You must have
heard my name. My Lord, You are the supreme witness. You are
aware of every bit of work done by the living entities -- past,
present and future. Nothing can be hidden from Your eternal
cognizance. Still, You have ordered me to explain my history,
and I shall therefore narrate the full story."
King Nrga proceeded to narrate the history of his degradation,
caused by his karma-kanda activities. He said that he had been
very charitably disposed and had given away so many cows that
the total was equal to the number of particles of dust
on the earth, stars in the sky or drops of water in a
rainfall. According to the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, a man
who is charitably disposed is recommended to give cows to the
brahmanas. From King Nrga's statement, it appears that he
followed this principle earnestly; however, as a result of a
slight discrepancy he was forced to take birth
as a lizard. Therefore it is recommended by the Lord in the
Bhagavad-gita that one who is charitably disposed and desires
to derive the benefit of his charity should offer his gifts to
please Krsna. To give charity means to perform pious
activities by which one may be elevated
to the higher planetary systems; but promotion to the heavenly
planets is no guarantee that one will never fall down. Rather,
the example of King Nrga definitely proves that
fruitive activities, even if very pious, cannot give
us eternal blissful life. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, the
result of work, either pious or impious, is sure to bind a man
unless the work is discharged as yajna on behalf of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
King Nrga said that the cows he had given in
charity were not ordinary cows. Each one was very young and had
given birth to only one calf. They were full of milk, very
peaceful, and healthy. All the cows were purchased with money
earned legally. Furthermore, their horns were
gold-plated, their hooves were bedecked with silver plating,
and they were covered with necklaces and with silken
wrappers embroidered with pearls. He stated that
these valuably decorated cows had not been given to any
worthless persons but had been distributed to first-class
brahmanas, whom he had also decorated with nice garments and
gold ornaments. The brahmanas were well qualified, and since
none of them were rich, their family members were always in
want for the necessities of life. A real brahmana never hords
money for a luxurious life, like the ksatriyas or the vaisyas,
but always keeps himself poverty-stricken,
knowing that money diverts the mind to materialistic ways of
life. To live in this way is the vow of a qualified brahmana,
and all of these brahmanas were well situated in that exalted
vow. They were well learned in Vedic knowledge. They executed
the required austerities and penances in their lives and were
liberal, meeting the standard of qualified brahmanas. They were
equally friendly to everyone; above all, they were young and
quite fit to act as qualified brahmanas. Besides the cows, they
were also given land, gold, houses, horses and elephants. Those
who were not married were given wives, maidservants, grain,
silver, utensils, garments, jewels, household furniture,
chariots, etc. This charity was nicely performed as a sacrifice
according to the Vedic rituals. The King also stated that not
only had he bestowed gifts upon the brahmanas, but he had
performed other pious activities, such as digging wells,
planting trees on the roadside and installing ponds along the
highways.
The King continued: "In spite of all this, unfortunately one of
the brahmanas' cows that I had given in charity chanced to
enter amongst my other cows. Not knowing this, I again gave it
in charity, to another brahmana. As the cow was being taken
away by this brahmana, its former master claimed it as his own,
stating, ‘This cow was formerly given to me, so how is it that
you are taking it away?' Thus there was arguing and fighting
between the two brahmanas, and they came before me and charged
that I had taken back a cow I had previously given in
charity." To give something to someone and then to take it back
is considered a great sin, especially in dealing with a
brahmana. When both brahmanas charged the King with the
same complaint, he was simply puzzled as to how it had happened.
Thereafter, with great humility, the King offered each of them
100,000 cows in exchange for the one cow that was
causing the fight between them. He prayed to them that he was
their servant and that there had been some mistake. Thus, in
order to rectify it, he prayed that they be very kind
upon him and accept his offer in exchange for the cow. The King
fervently appealed to the brahmanas not to cause his downfall
into hell because of this mistake. A brahmana's property is
called brahma-sva, and according to Manu's law it cannot be
acquired even by the government. Both brahmanas, however,
insisted that the cow was theirs and could not be taken back
under any condition; neither of them agreed to exchange it for
the 100,000 cows. Thus disagreeing with the King's
proposal, the two brahmanas left the place in anger, thinking
that their lawful possession had been usurped.
After this incident, when the time came for the King to give up
his body, he was taken before Yamaraja, the superintendent of
death, who asked him whether he first wanted to
enjoy the results of his pious activities or suffer the
results of his impious activities. Seeing that
the King had executed so many pious activities and
charities, Yamaraja also hinted that he did not know the limit
of the King's future enjoyment. In other words, there
would be practically no end to the King's material happiness.
But in spite of this hint, the King, bewildered, decided
first to suffer the results of his impious activities and then
to accept the results of his pious activities; therefore
Yamaraja immediately turned him into a lizard.
King Nrga had remained in the well as a big lizard for a very
long time. He told Lord Krsna, "In spite of being put into that
degraded condition of life, I simply thought of You, my dear
Lord, and my memory was never vanquished." It appears from
these statements of King Nrga that persons who follow the
principles of fruitive activities and derive some material
benefits are not very intelligent. Being given the choice by
the superintendent of death, Yamaraja, King Nrga could have
first accepted the results of his pious activities. Instead, he
thought it better first to receive the effects of
his impious activities and then enjoy the effects of his pious
activities without disturbance. On the whole, he had not
developed Krsna consciousness. The Krsna conscious person
develops love of God, Krsna, not love for pious or impious
activities; therefore he is not subjected to the results of
such action. As stated in the Brahma-samhita, a devotee, by the
grace of the Lord, is not subjected to the
reactions of fruitive activities.
Somehow or other, as a result of his pious activities, King
Nrga had aspired to see the Lord. He continued: "My dear
Lord, I had a great desire that someday I might be able to see
You personally. I think that this great
desire to see You, combined with my
tendency to perform ritualistic and charitable
activities, has enabled me to retain the memory of who I was in
my former life, even though I became a lizard. [Such a person
who remembers his past life is called jati-smara. In modern
times also there are instances of small children recalling many
details of their past lives.] My dear Lord, You are the
Supersoul seated in everyone's heart. There are many great
mystic yogis who have the eyes to see You through the Vedas and
Upanisads. To achieve the elevated position of
realizing that they are equal in quality with You, they always
meditate on You within their hearts. But although such
exalted saintly persons may see You constantly within their
hearts, they still cannot see You face to face. Therefore I am
very much surprised that I am able to see You personally. I
know that I was engaged in so many activities, especially as a
king. Although I was in the midst of luxury and opulence and
was subject to so much of the happiness and misery of
material existence, I am so fortunate to be seeing You
personally. As far as I know, when one becomes liberated from
material existence, he can see You in this way."
When King Nrga elected to receive the results of his impious
activities, he was given the body of a lizard because of the
mistake in his pious activities; thus he could not be directly
converted to a higher status of life like a great demigod.
However, along with his pious activities, he thought of Krsna,
so he was quickly released from the body of a lizard and given
the body of a demigod. By worshiping the Supreme Lord, those
who desire material opulences are given the bodies of powerful
demigods. Sometimes these demigods can see the Supreme
Personality of Godhead face to face, but they are still not yet
eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom, the Vaikuntha
planets. However, if the demigods continue to be devotees
of the Lord, the next chance they get they will enter into the
Vaikuntha planets.
Having attained the body of a demigod, King Nrga, continuing to
remember everything, said, "My dear Lord, You are the Supreme
Lord and are worshiped by all the demigods. You are not one of
the ordinary living entities; You are the Supreme Person,
Purusottama. You are the source of all happiness for all living
entities; therefore You are known as Govinda. You are the Lord
of those living entities who have accepted material bodies
and those who have not yet accepted material bodies. [Among
the living entities who have not accepted material bodies are
those who hover in the material world as evil spirits
or live in the ghostly atmosphere. However, those who live in
the spiritual kingdom, the Vaikunthalokas, have bodies
not made of material elements.] You, my Lord, are
infallible. You are the Supreme, the purest of all living
entities. You live in everyone's heart. You are the
shelter of all living entities, Narayana. Being seated in the
heart of all living beings, You are the supreme director of
everyone's sensual activities; therefore, You are called
Hrsikesa.
"My dear Supreme Lord Krsna, because You have given me this
body of a demigod, I will have to go to some heavenly planet;
so I am taking this opportunity to beg for Your mercy. I pray
that I may have the benediction of never forgetting Your lotus
feet, no matter to which form of life or planet I may be
transferred. You are all-pervading, present everywhere as cause
and effect. You are the cause of all causes, and Your
power is unlimited. You are the Absolute Truth, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supreme Brahman. I
therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and
again. My dear Lord, Your body is full of transcendental bliss
and knowledge, and You are eternal. You are the master of all
mystic powers; therefore You are known as Yogesvara. Kindly
accept me as an insignificant particle of dust at Your lotus
feet."
Before entering the heavenly planets, King Nrga circumambulated
the Lord, touched his helmet to the Lord's lotus feet
and bowed before Him. Seeing the airplane from the
heavenly planets present before him, he was given permission by
the Lord to board it. After the departure of King Nrga, Lord
Krsna expressed His appreciation for the King's devotion to the
brahmanas as well as his charitable disposition and his
performance of Vedic rituals. Therefore, it is recommended that
if one cannot directly become a devotee of the Lord, one should
follow the Vedic principles of life. This will enable him, one
day, to see the Lord by being promoted either directly to the
spiritual kingdom or, indirectly, to the heavenly kingdom,
where he has hope of being transferred to the spiritual planets.
At this time, Lord Krsna was present among His relatives who
were members of the ksatriya class. To teach them through the
exemplary character of King Nrga, He said, "Even though a
ksatriya king may be as powerful as fire, it is not possible
for him to usurp the property of a brahmana and utilize it for
his own purpose. If this is so, how can ordinary kings, who
falsely think themselves the most powerful beings within the
material world, usurp a brahmana's property? I do not think
that taking poison is as dangerous as taking a brahmana's
property. For ordinary poison there is treatment -- one can be
relieved from its effects -- but if one drinks the poison of
taking a brahmana's property, there is no remedy for the
mistake. The perfect example is King Nrga. He was very
powerful and very pious, but due to the small mistake of
unknowingly usurping a brahmana's cow, he was condemned to the
abominable life of a lizard. Ordinary poison affects only those
who drink it, and ordinary fire can be extinguished simply by
pouring water on it, but the arani fire ignited by the
spiritual potency of a brahmana who is dissatisfied can burn to
ashes the whole family of a person who provokes such a brahmana.
[Formerly, the brahmanas used to ignite the fire of sacrifice
not with matches or any other external fire but with their
powerful mantras, called arani.] If someone even touches a
brahmana's property, his family is ruined for three generations.
However, if a brahmana's property is forcibly taken away, the
taker's family for ten generations before him and ten
generations after will be subject to ruination. On the
other hand, if someone becomes a pure Vaisnava, or devotee of
the Lord, ten generations of his family before his birth and
ten generations after will be liberated."
Lord Krsna continued: "If some foolish king who is puffed up by
his wealth, prestige and power wants to usurp a brahmana's
property, he should be understood to be clearing
his path to hell; he does not know how much he has to suffer
for such an unwise act. If someone takes away the property
of a very liberal brahmana who is encumbered by a large
dependent family, then such a usurper is put into the hell
known as Kumbhipaka; not only is he put into this hell, but his
family members also have to accept such a miserable condition
of life. A person who takes away a brahmana's
property, whether it was originally given by him or
by someone else, is condemned to live for at least sixty
thousand years as a miserable insect in stool.
Therefore I instruct you, all My boys and relatives present
here, do not, even by mistake, take the possession of a
brahmana and thereby pollute your whole family. If someone even
wishes to possess such property, let alone attempts to take it
away by force, the duration of his life will be reduced. He
will be defeated by his enemies, and after being bereft of his
royal position, when he gives up his body he will become a
serpent, giving trouble to all other living entities.
My dear boys and relatives, I therefore advise you that even if
a brahmana becomes angry with you and calls you by ill names or
curses you, still you should not retaliate. On the contrary,
you should smile, tolerate him and offer your respects to the
brahmana. You know very well that even I Myself offer My
obeisances to the brahmanas with great respect three times
daily. You should therefore follow My instruction and example.
I shall not forgive anyone who does not follow them, and I
shall punish him. You should learn from the example of King
Nrga that even if someone unknowingly usurps the property of a
brahmana, he is put into a miserable condition of life."
Thus Lord Krsna, who is always engaged in purifying the
conditioned living entities, gave instruction not only to His
family members and the inhabitants of Dvaraka but to all the
members of human society. After this, the Lord entered His
palace.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Sixty-fourth
Chapter of Krsna, "The Story of King Nrga."
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