Attack by Caṇḍavega on the City of King Purañjana,
the Character of Kālakanyā.
The five-hooded serpent, the superintendent and protector of the city of King Purañjana, fought with the Gandharvas for one hundred years. He fought alone, with all of them, although they numbered 720. Because he had to fight alone with so many soldiers, all of whom were great warriors, the serpent with five hoods became very weak. Seeing that his most intimate friend was weakening, King Purañjana and his friends and citizens living within the city all became very anxious. (SB 4.27.12-30)
TEXT 12
yukteṣv evaṁ pramattasya | kuṭumbāsakta-cetasaḥ
āsasāda sa vai kālo | yo ’priyaḥ priya-yoṣitām
Thus King Purañjana, being attached to fruitive activities [karma-kāṇḍīya] as well as kith and kin, and being obsessed with polluted consciousness, eventually arrived at that point not very much liked by those who are overly attached to material things.
PURPORT
In this verse the words priya-yoṣitām and apriyaḥ are very significant. The word yoṣit means “woman,” and priya means “dear” or “pleasing.” Death is not very much welcome for those who are too much attached to material enjoyment, which culminates in sex. There is an instructive story in this connection. Once when a saintly person was passing on his way, he met a prince, the son of a king, and he blessed him, saying, “My dear prince, may you live forever.” The sage next met a saintly person and said to him, “You may either live or die.” Eventually the sage met a brahmacārī devotee, and he blessed him, saying, “My dear devotee, you may die immediately.” Finally the sage met a hunter, and he blessed him, saying, “Neither live nor die.” The point is that those who are very sensual and are engaged in sense gratification do not wish to die. Generally a prince has enough money to enjoy his senses; therefore the great sage said that he should live forever, for as long as he lived he could enjoy life, but after his death he would go to hell. Since the brahmacārī devotee was leading a life of severe austerities and penances in order to be promoted back to Godhead, the sage said that he should die immediately so that he need not continue to labor hard and could instead go back home, back to Godhead. A saintly person may either live or die, for during his life he is engaged in serving the Lord and after his death he also serves the Lord. Thus this life and the next are the same for a saintly devotee, for in both he serves the Lord. Since the hunter lives a very ghastly life due to killing animals, and since he will go to hell when he dies, he is advised to neither live nor die.
King Purañjana finally arrived at the point of old age. In old age the senses lose their strength, and although an old man desires to enjoy his senses, and especially sex life, he is very miserable because his instruments of enjoyment no longer function. Such sensualists are never prepared for death. They simply want to live on and on and extend their life by so-called scientific advancement. Some foolish Russian scientists also claim that they are going to make man immortal through scientific advancement. Under the leadership of such crazy fellows, civilization is going on. Cruel death, however, comes and takes all of them away despite their desire to live forever. This type of mentality was exhibited by Hiraṇyakaśipu, but when the time was ripe, the Lord personally killed him within a second.
TEXT 13
caṇḍavega iti khyāto | gandharvādhipatir nṛpa
gandharvās tasya balinaḥ | ṣaṣṭy-uttara-śata-trayam
O King! In Gandharvaloka there is a king named Caṇḍavega. Under him there are 360 very powerful Gandharva soldiers.
PURPORT
Time is figuratively described here as Caṇḍavega. Since time and tide wait for no man, time is herein called Caṇḍavega, which means “very swiftly passing away.” As time passes, it is calculated in terms of years. One year contains 360 days, and the soldiers of Caṇḍavega herein mentioned represent these days. Time passes swiftly; Caṇḍavega’s powerful soldiers of Gandharvaloka very swiftly carry away all the days of our life. As the sun rises and sets, it snatches away the balance of our life-span. Thus as each day passes, each one of us loses some of life’s duration. It is therefore said that the duration of one’s life cannot be saved. But if one is engaged in devotional service, his time cannot be taken away by the sun. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.17), āyur harati vai puṁsām udyann astaṁ ca yann asau. The conclusion is that if one wants to make himself immortal, he should give up sense gratification. By engaging oneself in devotional service, one can gradually enter into the eternal kingdom of God.
Mirages and other illusory things are sometimes called Gandharvas. Our losing our life-span is taken as advancement of age. This imperceptible passing away of the days of life is figuratively referred to in this verse as Gandharvas. As explained in later verses, such Gandharvas are both male and female. This indicates that both men and women lose their life-span imperceptibly by the force of time, which is herein described as Caṇḍavega.
TEXT 14
gandharvyas tādṛśīr asya | maithunyaś ca sitāsitāḥ
parivṛttyā vilumpanti | sarva-kāma-vinirmitām
Along with Caṇḍavega were as many female Gandharvīs as there were soldiers, and all of them repetitively plundered all the paraphernalia for sense enjoyment.
PURPORT
The days have been compared to the soldiers of Caṇḍavega. Night is generally a time for sex enjoyment. Days are considered to be white, and nights are considered to be black, or, from another point of view, there are two kinds of nights—black nights and white nights. All these days and nights combine to pass away our span of life and everything we manufacture for sense gratification. Material activity means manufacturing things for sense gratification. Scientists are conducting research to find out how we can satisfy our senses more and more elaborately. In this Kali-yuga, the demoniac mentality is employed in manufacturing various machines to facilitate the process of sense gratification. There are so many machines for ordinary household activities. There are machines for washing dishes, cleansing the floor, shaving, clipping hair—today everything is done by machine. All these facilities for sense gratification are described in this verse as sarva-kāma-vinirmitām. The time factor, however, is so strong that not only is our span of life being expended, but all the machines and facilities for sense gratification are deteriorating. Therefore in this verse the word vilumpanti (“plundering”) is used. Everything is being plundered from the very beginning of our lives.
This plundering of our possessions and life-span begins with the day of our birth. One day will come when death will finish everything, and the living entity will have to enter another body to begin another chapter of life and again begin the cycle of material sense gratification. Prahlāda Mahārāja describes this process as punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (Bhāg. 7.5.30). Materialistic life means chewing the chewed again and again. The central point of material life is sense gratification. In different types of bodies, the living entity enjoys various senses, and through creating various types of facilities, he chews the chewed. Whether we squeeze sugar out of the sugarcane with our teeth or a machine, the result is the same—sugarcane juice. We may discover many ways to squeeze the juice out of the sugarcane, but the result is the same.
TEXT 15
te caṇḍavegānucarāḥ | purañjana-puraṁ yadā
hartum ārebhire tatra | pratyaṣedhat prajāgaraḥ
When King Gandharva-rāja [Caṇḍavega] and his followers began to plunder the city of Purañjana, a snake with five hoods began to defend the city.
PURPORT
When one is sleeping, the life air remains active in different dreams. The five hoods of the snake indicate that the life air is surrounded by five kinds of air, known as prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna and samāna. When the body is inactive, the prāṇa, or the life air, is active. Up to the age of fifty one can actively work for sense gratification, but after the fiftieth year one’s energy decreases, although one can with great strain work for two or three more years—perhaps up to the fifty-fifth year. Thus the fifty-fifth year is generally taken by government regulations as the final year for retirement. The energy, which is fatigued after fifty years, is figuratively described herein as a serpent with five hoods.
TEXT 16
sa saptabhiḥ śatair eko | viṁśatyā ca śataṁ samāḥ
purañjana-purādhyakṣo | gandharvair yuyudhe balī
The five-hooded serpent, the superintendent and protector of the city of King Purañjana, fought with the Gandharvas for one hundred years. He fought alone, with all of them, although they numbered 720.
PURPORT
The 360 days and 360 nights combine to become the 720 soldiers of Caṇḍavega (time). One has to fight these soldiers throughout one’s lifespan, beginning with birth and ending with death. This fight is called the struggle for existence. Despite this struggle, however, the living entity does not die. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (2.20), the living entity is eternal:
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” Actually the living entity does not take birth nor does he die, but he has to fight with the stringent laws of material nature throughout the entire span of his lifetime. He must also face different kinds of miserable conditions. Despite all this, the living entity, due to illusion, thinks that he is well situated in sense gratification.
TEXT 17
kṣīyamāṇe sva-sambandhe | ekasmin bahubhir yudhā
cintāṁ parāṁ jagāmārtaḥ | sa-rāṣṭra-pura-bāndhavaḥ
Because he had to fight alone with so many soldiers, all of whom were great warriors, the serpent with five hoods became very weak. Seeing that his most intimate friend was weakening, King Purañjana and his friends and citizens living within the city all became very anxious.
PURPORT
The living entity resides within the body and struggles for existence with the limbs of the body, which are referred to here as citizens and friends. One can struggle alone with many soldiers for some time, but not for all time. The living entity within the body can struggle up to the limit of a hundred years with good luck, but after that it is not possible to prolong the struggle. Thus the living entity submits and falls victim. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung: vṛddha kāla āola saba sukha bhāgala. When one becomes old, it becomes impossible to enjoy material happiness. Generally people think that religion and piety come at the end of life, and at this time one generally becomes meditative and takes to some so-called yogic process to relax in the name of meditation. Meditation, however, is simply a farce for those who have enjoyed life in sense gratification. As described in the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, meditation (dhyāna, dhāraṇā) is a difficult subject matter that one has to learn from his very youth. To meditate, one must restrain himself from all kinds of sense gratification. Unfortunately, meditation has now become a fashion for those who are overly addicted to sensual things. Such meditation is defeated by the struggle for existence. Sometimes such meditative processes pass for transcendental meditation. King Purañjana, the living entity, being thus victimized by the hard struggle for existence, took to transcendental meditation with his friends and relatives.
TEXT 18
sa eva puryāṁ madhu-bhuk | pañcāleṣu sva-pārṣadaiḥ
upanītaṁ baliṁ gṛhṇan | strī-jito nāvidad bhayam
King Purañjana collected taxes in the city known as Pañcāla and thus was able to engage in sexual indulgence. Being completely under the control of women, he could not understand that his life was passing away and that he was reaching the point of death.
PURPORT
Government men—including kings, presidents, secretaries and ministers—are in a position to utilize taxes collected from the citizens for sense gratification. It is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that in this Kali-yuga government men (rājanyas) and those connected with the government, as well as exalted government ministers, secretaries and presidents, will all simply collect taxes for sense gratification. The government is top-heavy, and without increasing taxes the government cannot maintain itself. When taxes are collected they are utilized for the sense gratification of the government officials. Such irresponsible politicians forget that there is a time when death will come to take away all their sense gratification. Some of them are convinced that after life everything is finished. This atheistic theory was conceived long ago by a philosopher called Cārvāka. Cārvāka recommended that man should live very opulently by either begging, borrowing or stealing. He also maintained that one should not be afraid of death, the next life, the past life or an impious life because after the body is burnt to ashes, everything is finished. This is the philosophy of those who are too much materially addicted. Such philosophizing will not save one from the danger of death, nor will it save one from an abominable afterlife.
TEXT 19
kālasya duhitā kācit | tri-lokīṁ varam icchatī
paryaṭantī na barhiṣman | pratyanandata kaścana
My dear King Prācīnabarhiṣat, at this time the daughter of formidable Time was seeking her husband throughout the three worlds. Although no one agreed to accept her, she came.
PURPORT
In due course of time, when the body becomes old and practically invalid, it is subject to jarā, the sufferings of old age. There are four basic kinds of suffering—birth, old age, disease and death. No scientist or philosopher has ever been able to make a solution to these four miserable conditions. The invalidity of old age known as jarā is figuratively explained here as the daughter of Time. No one likes her, but she is very much anxious to accept anyone as her husband. No one likes to become old and invalid, but this is inevitable for everyone.
TEXT 20
daurbhāgyenātmano loke | viśrutā durbhageti sā
yā tuṣṭā rājarṣaye tu | vṛtādāt pūrave varam
The daughter of Time [Jarā] was very unfortunate. Consequently she was known as Durbhagā [“ill-fated”]. However, she was once pleased with a great king, and because the king accepted her, she granted him a great benediction.
PURPORT
As Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings, saba sukha bhāgala: all kinds of happiness disappear in old age. Consequently, no one likes old age, or jarā. Thus Jarā, as the daughter of Time, is known as a most unfortunate daughter. She was, however, at one time accepted by a great king, Yayāti. Yayāti was cursed by his father-in-law, Śukrācārya, to accept her. When Śukrācārya’s daughter was married to King Yayāti, one of her friends named Śarmiṣṭhā went with her. Later King Yayāti became very much attached to Śarmiṣṭhā, and Śukrācārya’s daughter complained to her father. Consequently, Śukrācārya cursed King Yayāti to become prematurely old. King Yayāti had five youthful sons, and he begged all his sons to exchange their youth for his old age. No one agreed except the youngest son, whose name was Pūru. Upon accepting Yayāti’s old age, Pūru was given the kingdom. It is said that two of Yayāti’s other sons, being disobedient to their father, were given kingdoms outside of India, most probably Turkey and Greece. The purport is that one can accumulate wealth and all kinds of material opulences, but during old age one cannot enjoy them. Although Pūru attained his father’s kingdom, he could not enjoy all the opulence, for he had sacrificed his youth. One should not wait for old age in order to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Due to the invalidity of old age, one cannot make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however opulent he may be materially.
TEXT 21
kadācid aṭamānā sā | brahma-lokān mahīṁ gatam
vavre bṛhad-vrataṁ māṁ tu | jānatī kāma-mohitā
When I once came to this earth from Brahmaloka, the highest planetary system, the daughter of Time, wandering over the universe, met me. Knowing me to be an avowed brahmacārī, she became lusty and proposed that I accept her.
PURPORT
The great sage Nārada Muni was a naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī—that is, he never had sex life. He was consequently an ever-green youth. Old age, jarā, could not attack him. The invalidity of old age can overcome an ordinary man, but Nārada Muni was different. Taking Nārada Muni to be an ordinary man, the daughter of Time confronted him with her lusty desire. It requires great strength to resist a woman’s attraction. It is difficult for old men, and what to speak of young. Those who live as brahmacārīs must follow in the footsteps of the great sage Nārada Muni, who never accepted the proposals of Jarā. Those who are too much sexually addicted become victims of jarā, and very soon their life-span is shortened. Without utilizing the human form of life for Kṛṣṇa consciousness the victims of jarā die very soon in this world.
TEXT 22
mayi saṁrabhya vipula- | madāc chāpaṁ suduḥsaham
sthātum arhasi naikatra | mad-yācñā-vimukho mune
The great sage Nārada continued: When I refused to accept her request, she became very angry at me and cursed me severely. Because I refused her request, she said that I would not be able to stay in one place for a long time.
PURPORT
The great sage Nārada Muni has a spiritual body; therefore old age, disease, birth and death do not affect him. Nārada is the most kind devotee of the Supreme Lord, and his only business is to travel all over the universe and preach God consciousness. In other words, his business is to make everyone a Vaiṣṇava. Under the circumstances, there is ordinarily no need for him to stay in one place for more than the time he requires to preach. Since by his own free will he is already traveling all over the universe, the curse of Kālakanyā is described as fortunate. Like Nārada Muni, many other devotees of the Lord are engaged in preaching the glories of the Lord in different places and in different universes. Such personalities are beyond the jurisdiction of material laws.
TEXT 23
tato vihata-saṅkalpā | kanyakā yavaneśvaram
mayopadiṣṭam āsādya | vavre nāmnā bhayaṁ patim
After she was thus disappointed by me, with my permission she approached the King of the Yavanas, whose name was Bhaya, or Fear, and she accepted him as her husband.
PURPORT
Being the most perfect Vaiṣṇava, Śrī Nārada Muni is always willing to do good to others, even to one who curses him. Although Kālakanyā, the daughter of Time, was refused by Nārada Muni, she was given a shelter. Of course no one could give her shelter, but a Vaiṣṇava gives shelter somewhere to such an unfortunate girl. When jarā, or old age, attacks, everyone dwindles and deteriorates. In one stroke Nārada Muni gave shelter to Kālakanyā and counterattacked the ordinary karmīs. If one accepts the instructions of Nārada Muni, the ocean of fear (bhaya) can be very quickly removed by the grace of that great Vaiṣṇava.
TEXT 24
ṛṣabhaṁ yavanānāṁ tvāṁ | vṛṇe vīrepsitaṁ patim
saṅkalpas tvayi bhūtānāṁ | kṛtaḥ kila na riṣyati
Approaching the King of the Yavanas, Kālakanyā addressed him as a great hero, saying: My dear sir, you are the best of the untouchables. I am in love with you, and I want you as my husband. I know that no one is baffled if he makes friends with you.
PURPORT
The words yavanānām ṛṣabham refer to the King of the Yavanas. The Sanskrit words yavana and mleccha apply to those who do not follow the Vedic principles. According to the Vedic principles, one should rise early in the morning, take bath, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, offer maṅgala-ārati to the Deities, study Vedic literature, take prasāda and engage in dressing and decorating the Deities. One must also collect money for the temple expenditures, or if one is a householder he must go to work in accordance with the prescribed duties of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra. In this way one should live a life of spiritual understanding, and this is the Vedic way of civilization. One who does not follow all these rules and regulations is called a yavana or mleccha. One should not mistakenly think that these words refer to certain classes of men in other countries. There is no question of limitation according to nationalism. Whether one lives in India or outside of India, he is called a yavana or mleccha if he does not follow the Vedic principles. One who does not actually follow the hygienic principles prescribed in the Vedic rules and regulations will be subjected to many contagious diseases. Because the students in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are advised to follow the Vedic principles, they naturally become hygienic.
If a person is Kṛṣṇa conscious, he can work like a young man even if he is seventy-five or eighty years old. Thus the daughter of Kāla (Time) cannot overcome a Vaiṣṇava. Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī engaged in writing Caitanya-caritāmṛta when he was very old, yet he presented the most wonderful literature about the activities of Lord Caitanya. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī began their spiritual lives at a very old age, that is, after they retired from their occupations and family lives. Yet they presented many valuable literatures for the advancement of spiritual life. This is confirmed by Śrīla Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, who praised the Gosvāmīs in this way:
nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau
lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau tri-bhuvane mānyau śaraṇyākarau
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena mattālikau
vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvāmīs, namely Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who are very expert in scrutinizingly studying all the revealed scriptures with the aim of establishing eternal religious principles for the benefit of all human beings. Thus they are honored all over the three worlds, and they are worth taking shelter of because they are absorbed in the mood of the gopīs and are engaged in the transcendental loving service of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.”
Thus jarā, the effect of old age, does not harass a devotee. This is because a devotee follows the instructions and the determination of Nārada Muni. All devotees are in the disciplic succession stemming from Nārada Muni because they worship the Deity according to Nārada Muni’s direction, namely the Nārada-pañcarātra, or the pāñcarātrika-vidhi. A devotee follows the principles of pāñcarātrika-vidhi as well as bhāgavata-vidhi. Bhāgavata-vidhi includes preaching work—śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]—the hearing and chanting of the glories of Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The pāñcarātrika-vidhi includes arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam. Because a devotee rigidly follows the instructions of Nārada Muni, he has no fear of old age, disease or death. Apparently a devotee may grow old, but he is not subjected to the symptoms of defeat experienced by a common man in old age. Consequently, old age does not make a devotee fearful of death, as a common man is fearful of death. When jarā, or old age, takes shelter of a devotee, Kālakanyā diminishes the devotee’s fear. A devotee knows that after death he is going back home, back to Godhead; therefore he has no fear of death. Thus instead of depressing a devotee, advanced age helps him become fearless and thus happy.
TEXT 25
dvāv imāv anuśocanti | bālāv asad-avagrahau
yal loka-śāstropanataṁ | na rāti na tad icchati
One who does not give charity according to the customs or injunctions of the scriptures and one who does not accept charity in that way are considered to be in the mode of ignorance. Such persons follow the path of the foolish. Surely they must lament at the end.
PURPORT
It is herein stated that one should strictly follow the scriptures if one actually wants an auspicious life. The same is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (16.23):
yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya | vartate kāma-kārataḥ
na sa siddhim avāpnoti | na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim
“He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.” One who does not strictly follow the terms of the Vedic injunctions never attains success in life or happiness. And what to speak of going home, back to Godhead.
One śāstric injunction holds that a householder, a kṣatriya or an administrative head should not refuse to accept a woman if she voluntarily requests to become a wife. Since Kālakanyā, the daughter of Time, was deputed by Nārada Muni to offer herself to Yavana-rāja, the King of the Yavanas could not refuse her. All transactions must be performed in light of the śāstric injunctions. The śāstric injunctions are confirmed by great sages like Nārada Muni. As stated by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura: sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya. One should follow the principles of saintly persons, scriptures and the spiritual master. In this way one is sure to attain success in life. Kālakanyā, the daughter of Time, presented herself before the King of the Yavanas precisely in terms of sādhu, śāstra and guru. Thus there was no reason for not accepting her.
TEXT 26
atho bhajasva māṁ bhadra | bhajantīṁ me dayāṁ kuru
etāvān pauruṣo dharmo | yad ārtān anukampate
Kālakanyā continued: O gentle one, I am now present before you to serve you. Please accept me and thus show me mercy. It is a gentleman’s greatest duty to be compassionate upon a person who is distressed.
PURPORT
Yavana-rāja, the King of the Yavanas, could also refuse to accept Kālakanyā, daughter of Time, but he considered the request due to the order of Nārada Muni. Thus he accepted Kālakanyā in a different way. In other words, the injunctions of Nārada Muni, or the path of devotional service, can be accepted by anyone within the three worlds, and certainly by the King of the Yavanas. Lord Caitanya Himself requested everyone to preach the cult of bhakti-yoga all over the world, in every village and town. Preachers in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement have actually experienced that even the yavanas and mlecchas have taken to spiritual life on the strength of Nārada Muni’s pāñcarātrika-vidhi. When mankind follows the disciplic succession, as recommended by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, everyone throughout the world will benefit.
TEXT 27
kāla-kanyodita-vaco | niśamya yavaneśvaraḥ
cikīrṣur deva-guhyaṁ sa | sasmitaṁ tām abhāṣata
After hearing the statement of Kālakanyā, daughter of Time, the King of the Yavanas began to smile and devise a means for executing his confidential duty on behalf of providence. He then addressed Kālakanyā as follows.
PURPORT
In Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 5.142) it is said:
ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya
yāre yaiche nācāya, se taiche kare nṛtya
Actually the supreme controller is the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and everyone is His servant. Yavana-rāja, the King of the Yavanas, was also a servant of Kṛṣṇa. Consequently, he wanted to execute the purpose of Kṛṣṇa through the agency of Kālakanyā. Although Kālakanyā means invalidity or old age, Yavana-rāja wanted to serve Kṛṣṇa by introducing Kālakanyā everywhere. Thus a sane person, by attaining old age, will become fearful of death. Foolish people engage in material activities as if they will live forever and enjoy material advancement, but actually there is no material advancement. Under illusion people think that material opulence will save them, but although there has been much advancement in material science, the problems of human society—birth, death, old age and disease—are still unsolved. Nonetheless foolish scientists are thinking that they have advanced materially. When Kālakanyā, the invalidity of old age, attacks them, they become fearful of death, if they are sane. Those who are insane simply do not care for death, nor do they know what is going to happen after death. They are under the wrong impression that after death there is no life, and consequently they act very irresponsibly in this life and enjoy unrestricted sense gratification. For an intelligent person, the appearance of old age is an impetus to spiritual life. People naturally fear impending death. The King of the Yavanas tried to utilize Kālakanyā for this purpose.
TEXT 28
mayā nirūpitas tubhyaṁ | patir ātma-samādhinā
nābhinandati loko ’yaṁ | tvām abhadrām asammatām
The King of the Yavanas replied: After much consideration, I have arrived at a husband for you. Actually, as far as everyone is concerned, you are inauspicious and mischievous. Since no one likes you, how can anyone accept you as his wife?
PURPORT
After much consideration, the King of the Yavanas decided to make the best use of a bad bargain. Kālakanyā was a bad bargain, and no one liked her, but everything can be used for the service of the Lord. Thus the King of the Yavanas tried to utilize her for some purpose. The purpose has already been explained—that is, Kālakanyā as jarā, the invalidity of old age, can be used to arouse a sense of fear in people so that they will prepare for the next life by engaging in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
TEXT 29
tvam avyakta-gatir bhuṅkṣva | lokaṁ karma-vinirmitam
yā hi me pṛtanā-yuktā | prajā-nāśaṁ praṇeṣyasi
This world is a product of fruitive activities. Therefore you may imperceptibly attack people in general. Helped by my soldiers, you can kill them without opposition.
PURPORT
The word karma-vinirmitam means “manufactured by fruitive activities.” This entire material world, especially in these days, is the result of fruitive activities. Everyone is fully engaged in decorating the world with highways, motorcars, electricity, skyscrapers, industries, businesses, etc. All this appears very nice for those who are simply engaged in sense gratification and who are ignorant of spiritual identity. As described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.4):
nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma
yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti
na sādhu manye yata ātmano ’yam
asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ
Those without knowledge of the spirit soul are mad after materialistic activities, and they perform all kinds of sinful activities simply for sense gratification. According to Ṛṣabhadeva, such activities are inauspicious because they force one to accept an abominable body in the next life. Everyone can experience that although we try to keep the body in a comfortable position, it is always giving pain and is subjected to the threefold miseries. Otherwise, why are there so many hospitals, welfare boards and insurance establishments? Actually, in this world there is no happiness. People are simply engaged trying to counteract unhappiness. Foolish people accept unhappiness as happiness; therefore the King of the Yavanas decided to attack such foolish people imperceptibly by old age, disease, and ultimately death. Of course, after death there must be birth; therefore Yavana-rāja thought it wise to kill all the karmīs through the agency of Kālakanyā and thus try to make them aware that materialistic advancement is not actually advancement. Every living entity is a spiritual being, and consequently without spiritual advancement the human form of life is ruined.
TEXT 30
prajvāro ’yaṁ mama bhrātā | tvaṁ ca me bhaginī bhava
carāmy ubhābhyāṁ loke ’sminn | avyakto bhīma-sainikaḥ
The King of the Yavanas continued: Here is my brother Prajvāra. I now accept you as my sister. I shall employ both of you, as well as my dangerous soldiers, to act imperceptibly within this world.
PURPORT
Kālakanyā was sent by Nārada Muni to Yavana-rāja so that she might become his wife, but instead of accepting her as his wife, Yavana-rāja accepted her as his sister. Those who do not follow the Vedic principles are unrestricted as far as sex life is concerned. Consequently they sometimes do not hesitate to have sex with their sisters. In this age of Kali there are many instances of such incest. Although Yavana-rāja accepted the request of Nārada Muni to show respect to him, he was nonetheless thinking of illicit sex. This was due to his being the King of the yavanas and mlecchas.
The word prajvāraḥ is very significant, for it means “the fever sent by Lord Viṣṇu.” Such a fever is always set at 107 degrees, the temperature at which a man dies. Thus the King of the mlecchas and yavanas requested the daughter of Time, Kālakanyā, to become his sister. There was no need to ask her to become his wife, for the yavanas and mlecchas do not make distinctions as far as sex life is concerned. Thus one may outwardly be a sister, mother or daughter and still have sex. Yavana-rāja’s brother was Prajvāra, and Kālakanyā was invalidity itself. Combined and strengthened by the soldiers of Yavana-rāja—namely nonhygienic conditions, illicit sex and ultimately a high degree of temperature to bring on death—they would be able to smash the materialistic way of life. In this connection it is significant that Nārada was immune to the attack of jarā, or invalidity, and similarly jarā, or the destructive force, cannot attack any follower of Nārada Muni or a pure Vaiṣṇava.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Twenty-seventh Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Attack by Caṇḍavega on the City of King Purañjana; the Character of Kālakanyā.”
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EXPLANATION
The illustration on the top of this page depicts an allegory, the Story of King Purañjana, which was told ages ago by the great sage Nārada to explain some of the perplexities of life in this material world.
King Purañjana, the ruler of the country known as Pañcāla, lived in an opulent city, full of gardens, parks, and palaces of dazzling beauty, There King Purañjana reigned for one hundred years in great comfort, surrounded by his servants, family, friends, and other citizens.
King Purañjana had a very beautiful wife, who was the center of his enjoyment, and of his very existence, Captivated by his wife’s attractive features, the King became preoccupied with pleasing her and tasting the pleasures of sex, He became extremely attached to his children, his home, and his material possessions, Desires for enjoyment filled his mind, and pursuing their satisfaction became his main occupation.
Meanwhile, the King’s youth quickly expired, and soon his kingdom was attacked by a powerful king named Caṇḍavega. Here we may note that the Sanskrit word purañjana signifies the living entity within the body,” The Vedic teachings make a clear distinction between the body itself and the living force that dwells within the body, The body is a sort of mechanical vehicle formed of various inert, material elements, The structures of the body, although wondrously complex, have no life of their own. Rather, it is the conscious self, the living entity within the body, who gives the body life. And when that consciousness departs, the body becomes lifeless.
King Purañjana, therefore, represents the living entity, for each living entity may be said to be the king or master of his own material body, endowed with fife senses for sense enjoyment. The country of Pañcāla represents the atmosphere in which one can enjoy one’s senses, and the capital city represents the body itself, The city’s walls, parks, towers, gates, and so on represent the skin, hair, sensory organs, and other constituents of the body, The Sanskrit word caṇḍavega means “passing very swiftly,” So King Caṇḍavega represents Time, King Caṇḍavega attacked the city of King Purañjana with 360 male and female soldiers, who represent the days and nights of the year, As each day and night pass, one has lost another day of one’s life.
While King Caṇḍavega and his soldiers were attempting to plunder the city of King Purañjana, a five-headed serpent began to defend the city, This serpent represents the living entity’s vital force, According to Vedic scriptures dealing with yoga, the vital force maintains the workings of the body through five kinds of subtle air that move within the body, which are explained in Bhagavad-gītā. The activity of consciousness is performed through the air of life, which is of ten divisions. The airs of life are called prāṇa, apāna, udāna, vyāna and samāna and are also differently qualified as nāga, kūrma, kṛkara, devadatta and dhanañjaya. The consciousness of the soul becomes polluted by the material atmosphere, and thus various activities are exhibited in the false ego of bodily identification. Thus the serpent is represented as having five hoods, As time attacks, one’s vital force fights back to maintain the body, Gradually, however, the vital force weakens, Thus the five-hooded serpent began to lose his strength.
Because King Purañjana collected taxes within his kingdom, he was free to enjoy the pleasures of sex, By the nature of sexual affairs, he didn’t realize that he was coming increasingly under the control of women, that his life was passing away, and that he was quickly approaching death.
A living entity tries to be happy by sexual enjoyment, but the more he tries to enjoy, the more he becomes entangled in material existence, By sexual enjoyment, one becomes even more firmly rooted in the illusion that the body is the self, and one increasingly forgets one’s spiritual identity and the need for spiritual realization, As the influence of sexual attachment expands, one begins to cling not only to one’s wife but also to home, land, and possessions. One begets children and must see to their welfare, and one becomes obliged to maintain one’s prestige among relatives and friends, Consequently, for the sake of supposed enjoyment, one has to work very hard for money to support one’s family and home, One forgets that one’s body, family, and home are all temporary, and thus one’s spiritual consciousness becomes overwhelmed by illusion.
Attacked incessantly by the soldiers of Caṇḍavega for one hundred years, the five-hooded serpent began to lose his strength, and King Purañjana and his friends and citizens became extremely anxious. One may struggle against time for perhaps one hundred years, but eventually one’s vitality weakens, and one’s bodily limbs (Purañjana’s citizens and friends) become feeble.
It is also significant to note that according to Vedic medical science, sexual activity saps one’s physical energy, By abstaining from sex, yogis can increase their lifespans dramatically and develop extraordinary siddhis, or physical powers, On the other hand, by frequent sexual activity one weakens the body and hastens the arrival of old age and death. A young man seeks to enjoy sex as much as possible, not knowing that the more one has sex in youth, the more severely the body is attacked by weakness, pain, and disease in old age.
Old age is figuratively known as Kālakanyā, the daughter of time. So while time’s soldiers were attacking the city of King Purañjana, time’s daughter, old age, joined the attack. Old age begins her attack imperceptibly, so much so that one fails to realize that old age will eventually overcome him. One plans for the future, working hard to be comfortable and enjoy, but as one grows old one loses one’s vitality, and enjoyment slips away. Scientists conduct research to understand old age and overcome it, but are themselves overcome in the attempt.
Because a materialist lives for a dream of happiness and material comfort in this world, it is better for him not to think about old age, disease, and death. But one who is serious about spiritual enlightenment should always be conscious of the miseries inherent in birth, death, disease, and old age. Understanding these miseries, an intelligent person avoids getting entangled in useless attempts to enjoy what appears to be happiness for the bodily senses, and instead tries to understand his spiritual identity and revive his spiritual life.
In attacking the city of King Purañjana, Kālakanyā was guided by her brother, the King of the Yavanas, and accompanied by his brother Prajvāra. The King of the Yavanas also had many soldiers, who combined in the attack. The King of the Yavanas is fear, and Prajvāra is fever. The Yavana soldiers represent various diseases. These strong forces combined to attack the city.
Although the city of King Purañjana was full of paraphernalia for sense gratification, the serpent that protected the city was growing old and weak, and Kālakanyā, with the help of the powerful soldiers, gradually attacked the city’s inhabitants and rendered them useless. The Yavana soldiers entered the gates of the city and gave severe trouble to all citizens. The city of the body has nine gates—two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the genitals, and the rectum. In old age, diseases appear at these gates of the body, the limbs lose their power to act, and the entire body begins to deteriorate.
Kālakanyā embraced King Purañjana, and thus he gradually lost all his beauty. Having been too addicted to sex, he became very poor in intelligence and lost all his opulence. As the soldiers plundered his possessions, his ministers and family members and other citizens began opposing him, and his wife became cold and indifferent. Thus the King was full of anxiety, but he was helpless because he was overwhelmed by Kālakanyā. By Kālakanyā’s influence, the objects of King Purañjana’s enjoyment became stale. The King became confused and didn’t know what to do.
This is the situation of the living entity at the time of death, especially in modern civilization. As one grows older one’s body, mind, and intelligence grow weak, and one’s subordinates and family members turn against him. Even one’s own wife becomes unfaithful. Meanwhile, because one has had no training in spiritual understanding, one becomes bewildered. One has dedicated one’s entire life to the pursuit of material happiness, and then one’s very body, on which such happiness entirely depends, is overwhelmingly attacked, and one doesn’t know what to do. Not having any spiritual understanding, one becomes entirely miserable, overcome by the forces of time.
The soldiers overran the city, and although the King had no desire to leave, he was being circumstantially forced to. Prajvāra set the city on fire, terrorizing the citizens, and the King was overwhelmed by grief.
While the city was being devastated, King Purañjana began to think of his family, his home, his household paraphernalia, and whatever wealth he had. He remained affectionate toward his wife and children and worried about them. How would they live in his absence? Who would maintain them? He recalled his wife’s affectionate dealings and lamented her fate.
While King Purañjana was lamenting in this way, the King of the Yavanas drew near to arrest him. The Yavanas bound King Purañjana like an animal to take him away and forced the serpent and the King’s followers to go with him. When the King and the serpent left the city, it immediately turned to dust.
When nature forces the living entity to leave the body, that body, deprived of its living force, again turns to inert matter. While friends and relatives carry the body in procession to the crematorium or the grave, the living entity himself has already left the body, taking his desires for enjoyment with him to a next life. (It is these materialistic desires that have been figuratively described as the King’s followers.)
While enjoying his youth, King Purañjana had killed many animals, and now these animals appeared again (on the death bed) and began to pierce him with their horns. According to the laws of karma, one who kills animals for his own enjoyment (or who pays to have animals killed for the taste of meat) is subjected to consequent suffering after death.
King Purañjana had a powerful well-wisher and friend named Avijñāta (the Supersoul). Unfortunately, however, while the city was being devastated and King Purañjana was being dragged off, the King could not remember this intimate friend.
The Sanskrit word avijñāta means “the unknown one.” Every living being has an intimate friend in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, who resides within the heart as param-ātmā, the super soul. Unfortunately, however, a living being in materialistic life forgets his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa and tries to be happy independently in the material world. Absorbed in trying to gratify his senses, he lives in a world of illusion, pursuing material happiness that doesn’t exist, and not understanding that time is gradually taking away his life. If a living entity revives his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he can transcend the influence of illusion, escape the sufferings of materialistic life, and at the time of death return home to the kingdom of God in the spiritual world. Unfortunately, however, one who has spent his whole life for sense gratification cannot remember Kṛṣṇa, and at the time of death he is dragged off to the next body, to continue in an endless cycle of repeated birth and death called saṁsāra.
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