Personal deity worship | Srila Gopal Krishna Goswami | 3rd Feb 2024

You ready, English? Yes. Sutakoswami said, being afraid for having killed so many subjects on the battlefield of— Hey, ashnaan to kare. Maharaja Dushyanta went to the scene of massacre. There, Bhishma Deva was lying on a bed of arrows but about to pass away. Purport. In this 9th chapter, as it is willed by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Viśma Deva will impart instructions to King Viṣṭhira on the subject of occupational devotions. Viśma Deva will also offer his last prayers to the Lord on the verge of passing away from this mortal world and thus become liberated from the bondage of further material engagements. Viśma Deva was endowed with the power of leaving his material body at will, and his lying down on the bed of arrows was his own choice. This passing away of the great warrior attracted the attention of all contemporary lights, and all of them assembled there to show their feelings of love, respect, and affection for the great soul. Text to translation. At that time, all his brothers followed him on beautiful chariot drawn by first-class horses decorated with golden ornaments. With them were Vyasa and rishis like Dharmavya, the learned priest of the Pandavas, and others. Text in translation: Those saints known as Brahmanas, Lord Sri Krishna, or the personality of Godhead, also followed seated on a chariot that is original. Thus, King Dhrishtara appeared very aristocratic. Like Kuvaira, surrounded by his companions. Further, Lord Sri Krishna wanted the Pandavas to be present before Bhishma Dev in the most aristocratic order so that he might be pleased to see them happy at the time of his death. Kuvaira is the richest of all the demigods, and herein King Yudhishthira appeared like him, Kuvaira. Further, procession around it Sri Krishna was quite appropriate to the royalty of King Yudhishthira. Text for translation: Seeing him lying on the ground like a demigod fallen from the sky, the Pandava King Yudhishthira along with his younger brothers and Lord Krishna bowed down before him. Lord Krishna was also a younger cousin of Maharaja Yudhishthira as well as the intimate friend of Arjuna. But all the family members of the Pandavas knew Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord, although conscious of His supreme position, always behaved in humanly custom, and so He also bowed down before the dying Bhishmadeva as He were one of the younger brothers of the king. Text 5. Translation: Just to see the chief of descendants of King Bharata, All the great souls in the universe, namely the rishis, amongst the demigods, brahmanas, and kings, all situated in the quality of goodness, were assembled there. Therefore, the rishis are those who have attained perfection by spiritual achievements. Such spiritual achievements can be earned by all, whether one is a king or a mendicant. Vishnu Deva himself was also one of the brahmanas. Brahmarshis and the chief descendants of King Bharata. All rishis are situated in the quality of goodness. All of them assembled there on hearing the news of the great warriors impending death. Text 7 and 6, 6 and 7 translation. All the sages like Parvata Muni, Narada, Samyama, Vyasa, the incarnation of God Brahmastra, Bharadvaj and the Parshurama and the disciples Vasishtha, Indrapramada, Tirthrita, Dhrusanda, Asita, Kakshivan, Gautama, Atri, Kaushika and Sudarshana were present. Therefore Parvata Muni is considered to be one of the oldest sages. He is almost always a constant companion of Narad Muni. They are also spacemen competent to travel in the air without the help of any material vehicles. Parvata Muni is also a deva rishi or a great sage among the demigods like Narada. He was present along with Narada at the sacrificial ceremony of Maharajit. Son of Maharaj Parikṣit. In this sacrifice, all the snakes of the world were to be killed. Parvātmuni and Nārada-muni are part of Garbhāt also because they can travel in the air singing the glories of the Lord. Since they can travel in air, they observed Draupadi's Swayamvara ceremony, selecting of her own husband from the air. Like Nārada-muni, like Parvata Muni also used to visit the royal assembly in the heaven of Kumbhakonda. As Gandharva, sometimes he visited the royal assembly of Kuvera, one of the important demigods. Both Narada and Parvata were once in trouble with the daughter of Maharaja Sri Raja. Maharaja Sri Raja got the benediction of a son by Parvata Muni. Narada Muni is inevitably associated with the narrations of the Puranas. He is described in the Bhagavatam. In his previous life, he was the son of a maidservant, but by good association with pure devotees, he became enlightened in devotional service, and in the next life he became a perfect man comparable with himself only. In the Mahabharata, his name is mentioned in many places. He is the principal deva rishi, or the chief sage among the demigods. He is the son and disciple of Brahmaji, And from him the disciplic succession in the line of Brahma has been spearheaded. He initiated Praśad RAVAL, Dhruva RAVAL, and many devoted devotees of the Lord. He initiated even Vyāsadeva, the author of the Vedic literatures, and from Vyāsadeva Madhvācārya was initiated. And thus the Madhvāsampradāya, in which the Gauḍīya Sampradāya is also included, has spread all over the universe. The universe. Chaitanya Mahāprabhu belongs to this Madhvā-sampradāya. Therefore, Brahmāñjī, Nārādhavyāsa, down to Madhvā, Chaitanya and the Gosvāmīs all belong to the same line of disciplic succession. Nārādhāñjī had instructed many kings from time immemorial. In the Bhāgavatam we can see that he instructed Prahlāda Mahārāja while he was in the womb of his mother, and he instructed Vāsudeva, father of Kṛṣṇa, as well as Maharaj Yudhishthira. Dombiya, a great sage who practiced severe penances at Utkochaka Tirtha and was appointed royal priest of the Pandava king. He acted as the priest in many religious functions of the Pandavas, and also each of the Pandavas was attended by him at the betrothal of Draupadi. He was present was present even during the exile of the Pandavas and used to advise them in circumstances when they were perplexed. He instructed them how to live incognito for 1 year, and his instructions were strictly followed by the Pandavas during that time. His name is mentioned also when the general funeral ceremony was performed after the Battle of Kurukshetra. In the Anushasanaparva of Mahabharata, 127.50 to 16. He gave very elaborate religious instructions to Maharaj Yudhishthira. He was actually the right type of priest of a householder, for he could guide the Pandavas on the right path of religion. A priest is meant for guiding the householder progressively in the right path of ashrama dharma or the occupational duty of a particular caste. There is practically no difference between the family priest and the spiritual master. The sages, saints, and brahmanas were especially meant for such function. He is known as Krishna. Krishna Dvaipayana. Dvaipayana. Satyavati Sutta. 8:15. Parāśaraḍma jāpa, ākarataḥ, veda-vyāsaḥ, etc. He was the son of Maharaja Prasāda RAVALA. Yes, yes. He was the son of Maharaja Prasāda RAVALA in the womb of Satyavatī prior to her betrothal with Maharaja Śantanu. Grandfather Vishnu Deva. He is a powerful incarnation of Narayana, and he broadcasts the Vedic wisdom to the world. As such, Vyāseva is offered respect before one chants the Vedic literature, especially the Puranas. Śukdeva Swami was his son and a rishi. They were Ishampāyana, that is, disciples from different branches of the Buddhas. He is the author of the great epic Mahabharata and the great transcendental literature Srimad Bhagavatam. The Brahma Sutras, the Vedanta Sutras, or Padrayana Sutras were compiled by him. Amongst sages, he is the most respected author, by dint of severe penances. When he wanted to record the great epic Mahabharata for the welfare of all people in the age of Kali, he was feeling the necessity of a powerful a scribe who could take up his dictation. By the order of Brahmaji, Shri Ganeshji took up the charge of noting down the dictation on the condition that Vyasa Deva would not stop dictation for a moment. The Mahabharata was thus compiled by the joint endeavor of Vyasa and Ganesha. By the order of his mother Saptavati, who was later married to Maharaj Shantanu, and by the request of Bhishma Deva, The eldest son of Maharaja Shantanu by his first wife, the Ganges, he begot three brilliant sons whose names are Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidura. The Mahabharata was compiled by Vyasa Deva after the Battle of Kurukshetra and after the death of all the heroes of Mahabharata. It was first opened in the royal assembly of Maharaja Janmejaya, the son of Maharaja Parikshit. Gurudasha, an ancient sage who used to meet Maharaja Yudhishthira now and then. First of all, he met Maharaja Yudhishthira at Karnavana. This sage narrated the history of Maharaja Dala. There is another Gurudasha who is son of the Shrapu dynasty. Mahabharata, 1 parva, chapter 2.209, 4.5. 4 and 5. Maharaj Doja. He is one of the 7 great rishis and was present at the time of the birth ceremony of Arjuna. The powerful rishi sometimes undertook severe penances on the shore of the Ganges, and his ashrama is still celebrated at the Prayag Ram Ki Aarti. It is learned that this rishi, while taking bath in the Ganges, happened to meet Ghrutachi, one of the beautiful society girls of heaven, and thus he discharged semen which was kept and preserved in an earthen pot and from which Drona was born. So Dronacharya is the son of Bharadvaj Muni. Others say that Bharadvaj, the father of Drona, is different person from Maharshi Bharadvaj. He was a great a devotee of Brahma. Once he approached Dronacharya and requested him to stop the battle of Kurukshetra. Parashurama or Renukasuta. He is the son of Maharishi Jamadagni and Srimati Renuka. Thus he is also known as Renukasuta. He is one of the powerful incarnations of God and he killed the Kshatriya community as a whole 21 times. With the blood of the he pleased the soul of his forefathers. Later on, he underwent severe penances at the Mahendra Parva. After taking, after taking the whole earth from the Kshatriyas, he gave it in charity to the Kshapramana. Parashurama instructed the Dhanurveda, or the science of fighting, to Dronacharya, to Dronacharya, because he happened to be a Brahmana. He was present during the coronation of Maharaj Yudhishthira, and he celebrated the function along with the other great rishis. Parashurama is so old that he met both Rama and Krishna at different times. He fought with Rama, but he accepted Krishna as the supreme personality of Godhead. He also praised Arjuna when he saw him with Krishna. When Bhishma refused to marry Amba, who wanted him to become her husband, Amba met Parashurama, and by her request only, he asked Bhishma Deva to accept her as his wife. Bhishma refused to obey his order, although he was one of the spiritual masters of Bhishma Deva. Parashurama fought with Bhishma Deva, and Bhishma Deva gave him benediction of becoming the greatest fighter in the world. Vasishtha, the great celebrated sage among the Brahmanas, well known as Brahmarshi Vasishta Deva. He is the prominent figure in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata. He celebrated the coronation ceremony of the personality of Godhead Sri Rama. He was present also on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. He could approach all the higher and lower planets, and his name is also connected with the history of Hiranyakashyapu. There was great tension between him and Vishwamitra who owned his Kamdhenu, wish-fulfilling cow. Vashishta Muni refused to spare his Kamdhenu and for this Vishwamitra killed his 100 sons. As a perfect Brahmana, he tolerated all the taunts of Vishwamitra. Once he tried to commit suicide on account of Vishwamitra's torture, but all his attempts were unsuccessful. He jumped from a hill, but the stones on which he fell became a stack of cotton, and thus he was saved. He jumped into the ocean, but the waves washed him ashore. He jumped into the river, but the river also washed him ashore. Thus all his 7 attempts were unsuccessful. He is also one of the 7 rishis and hundreds of Arundhati, husband of Arundhati, the famous star. Indra Prasada. Another celebrated Rishi, Drita, one of the three sons of Prajapati Gautama. He was the third son and his other two brothers were known as Ekad and Dvita. All the brothers were great sages and strict followers of the principles of religion. By dint of severe penances, they were promoted to Brahmaloka, the planet where Brahmaji lives. Once Tripta Muni fell into a well. He was an organizing worker of many sacrifices, and as one of the great sages, he also came to show respect to Vishwaji at his residence. He was one of the 7 sages in the Varun Loka. He hailed from the western countries of the world. As such, most probably he belonged to the European countries. At that time, the the whole world was under one Vedic culture. Gṛtasmada, Gṛtsāmāda, one of the sages of the heavenly kingdom. He was a close friend of Indra, the king of heaven, and was as great as Brihaspati. He used to visit the royal assembly of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, and he also visited the place where Vishma Deva breathed his last. Sometimes he explained the glories of Lord Shiva before Maharaj Yashoda. He was the son of Vitahavya, and he resembled in feature the body of Indra. Sometimes the enemies of Indra mistook him to be Indra and arrested him. He was a great scholar of Rigveda, and thus he was highly respected. Accepted by the Brahman community. He lived a life of celibacy and was powerful in every respect. There was a king of the same name, but herein the Asita mentioned is the Asita Deva Rishi, a great powerful sage of the time. He explained to his father 15 lakh verses from the Mahabharata. He was one of the members in in the snake sacrifice of Maharaja Janamejaya. He was also present during the coronation ceremony of Maharaja Yudhishthira along with great— He also gave Maharaja Yudhishthira instructions while he was under Anjanahila. He was also one of the devotees of the Lord Shiva. One of the sons of Gautama Muni And the father of the great sage, Chandragupta Maurya. He was one of the members of Parliament of Maharaja Desh Desh. Atri. Atri Muni was a great Brahman sage and was one of the mental sons of Brahmanji. Brahmanji is so powerful that simply by thinking of a son, he can have it. The sons are known as Manas Putras. Out of the 7 Manasputras of Brahmaji and out of the 7 great Brahmana sages. In his family, the great Prajapatis were also born. Atrimuni had 2 sons who became kings, and King Arthama is one of them. He is one of the 21 Prajapatis. His wife's name was Anushya, and he held Maharajparikshit in his great sacrifice. Kausya, one of the permanent Rishi members in the Royal Assembly of Maharaja Yudhishthira. He sometimes met Lord Krishna. There are several other sages of the same name. Sudarshana, this wheel which is accepted by personality of Godhead Vishnu or Krishna as his personal weapon, is the most powerful weapon, greater than the Brahmastras or similar other disastrous weapons. In some of the Vedic literatures, it is said that Agni Dev, the fire god, presented this weapon to Lord Sri Krishna, but factually this weapon is eternally carried by the Lord. Agni Deva presented this weapon to Krishna in in the same way that Rudra Mani was given by Maharaja Dhrukhma to the Lord. The Lord accepts such presentations from his devotees even though such presentations are eternally his property. This is an elaborate description of this weapon in the Adi Parva of Mahabharata. Lord Sri Krishna used this weapon to kill Shishupal, rival of the Lord. He also killed Shalva by this weapon, and sometimes he wanted his friend Arjuna to use it to kill his enemies. Text translation: And many others like Śuddhdev Gosvāmī and other purified souls, Kaśyapa and Anghirasa and others, all accompanied by their respective disciples, arrived there. Parpoṣṣuddhdev Gosvāmī said: The famous son and disciple of Śrī Vyāsadeva, who taught him First the Mahabharata and then Srimad Bhagavatam. Subhadra Prasada recited 14 lakh verses of Mahabharata in the councils of Gandharvas, Yakshas, and Rakshasas, and he recited Srimad Bhagavatam for the first time in the presence of Maharaj Parikshit. He thoroughly studied all the Vedic literatures from his grandfather. Thus he was a completely purified soul by dint of his extensive extensive knowledge in the principles of religion. From Mahabharata, Sabha Parva 4.11, it is understood that he was also present in the royal assembly of Maharaja Yudhishthira and at the fasting of Maharaja Parikshita. As a bona fide disciple of Shri Vyas Dev, he inquired from his father very extensively about religious principles and spiritual values, and his great father also satisfied him by teaching him the yoga system by which one can attain the spiritual kingdom, the difference between the furtive and empiric knowledge, and the ways and means of attaining spiritual realizations, the four ashramas, namely the sannyasin life, the householder's life, the retired life, and the renounced life, the sublime position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the process of seeing Him eye to eye. The bona fide candidate for of receiving knowledge, the consideration of the five elements, the unique position of intelligence, the consciousness of the material nature and the living entity, the symptoms of the self, the soul, the working principles of the material body, the symptoms of the influential modes of nature, the tree of perpetual desire and the psychic activities. Sometimes he went to the sun planet with the permission of his father and Narayana. Descriptions of his travel in space are given in Shanti Parva of Mahabharata 3.32. And plus, he attended the ancestral riyaha. He is known by different names like Arunaya, Arunishtha, Arunishta, Uyasaki, and Prasadamaja. Kashyapa, one of the Prajapatis, the son of Manuchi. One of the sons-in-law of Prajapati Daksha. He is the father of the gigantic bird Garuda, who was given elephants and tortoises as eatables. He married 13 daughters of Prajapati Daksha, and their names are Aditi, Diti, Dhani, Kashta, Harishta, Surashta, Hila, Muni, Krodhavashta, Tamra, Sulbi, Sarama, and Timi. He begot many children, both demigods and demons, by those wives. From his first wife Aditi, all the 12 Adityas were born. One of them is Ravana, the international war god. This great sage Kashyapa was also present at the time of Kalguni Manavatara. He received a presentation of the whole world from from the Parashurama, and later on he asked Parashurama to go out of the world. His other name is Arishtanemi. He lived on the northern side of the universe. Angirasa. He is the son of Maharaj Angira. He is also known as the Brahmaspati, the priest of the demigod. It is said that Dronacharya was his partial incarnation. Shukracharya was the spiritual master of the demons and Brahmāpatī challenged him. He, his son is Kṛṣṇa and he delivered the fire weapon first to Bharadvāruṇī. He begot 6 sons like a fire god by his wife Kandramāṣī. One of them is Kṛṣṇa. He could travel in space and therefore he could present himself even in the planet of Brahmālokā and Kandramāṣī. He advised the king Mahimandira about conquering the demons. Once he cursed Indra, Rudra had to become a hog on the earth and was unwilling to return to heaven. Such is the power of attraction of the illusionary. Even a hog does not wish to part with its earthly possessions in exchange for heavenly kingdom. He was the religious preceptor of the natives and different planets. Text 9 translation: Vishma Deva, who was the best among the 8 Vasus, received and welcomed all great and powerful rishis who were assembled there, for he knew perfectly all the religious principles according to time and place. Purport: Expert religionists know perfectly well how to adjust religious principles in terms of time and place. All the great Ācāryas or religious preachers or reformers of the world executed their mission by adjustment of religious principles in terms of time and place. There are different climates and situations in different parts of the world, and if one has to discharge his duties to preach the message of Lord, he must be expert in adjusting things in the time of— in the terms of time and place. Viśvadeva was one of the 12 great authorities in preaching this cult of devotional service, and therefore he could receive and welcome all the powerful sages assembled there at his deathbed from all parts of the universe. He was certainly unable at that time to welcome and receive them physically, because he was neither at his home nor in normal healthy condition, but he was quite fit by the activities of his sound mind, and therefore he could utter sweet words with hearty expressions, and all of them were well received. One can perform one's duty by physical work, by mind, by voice, and he knew well how to utilize them in proper place, and therefore there was no difficulty for him to receive Although physically unfit. Text and translation. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, situated in everyone's heart, yet He manifests His transcendental form by His internal potency. This very Lord was sitting before Viṣṇudeva, and since Viṣṇudeva knew of His glories, he worshipped Him daily. The Lord's omnipotency is displayed by His simultaneous presence in every place. He is present always in His eternal abode, Goloka, Vrindavan, and still He is present in everyone's heart and even within every invisible atom. When He manifests His eternal transcendental form in the material world, He does so by his internal potency. The external potency or the material energy has nothing to do with his eternal nature. All these truths were known to Śrī Viśma Deva, who worshipped him accordingly. Text 11, translation. The sons of Mahārāja Pandu were sitting silently nearby, overtaken in affection for their dying grandfather. Saying this, Vishma Deva complimented them with feeling. There were tears of ecstasy in his eyes, for he was overwhelmed by love and affection. Parabrahma. When Maharaj Pandu died, his sons were all small children, and naturally they were brought up under the affection of elderly members of the royal family, specifically by Vishma Deva. Later on, when the Pandavas were grown up, they were cheated by Duryodhan and the company. And Bhishma Deva, although he knew that Pandavas were innocent and were unnecessarily put into trouble, could not take the side of Pandavas for political reason. At the last stage of his life, when Bhishma Deva saw his sons exalted, his most exalted grandsons headed by Maharaja Yudhishthira, PRASAD RAVAL. Sitting very gently at his side, the great warrior grandfather could not check his love tears which were automatically flowing from his eyes. He remembered the great tribulations suffered by his most pious grandsons.