The Ten Subjects of Srimad Bhagavatam

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"The Ten Subjects of Srimad Bhagavatam"

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[Originally from the newsletter "Tattva Prakasha - Illuminations of Truth",

issue 1.6]

 

The Bhagavata Purana, commonly referred to as the Srimad Bhagavatam, is

considered the ripened fruit of all Vedic knowledge. Sri Vyasa Muni, the

compiler of the Vedic texts, advises us as follows:

 

nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam

shuka-mukhad amrita-drava-samyutam

nigama bhagavatam rasam alayam

muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah

 

"O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of

the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Shuka

Muni. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its

nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls."

 

Srimad Bhagavatam is the galitam phalam, or ripened fruit, of all Vedic

knowledge. It is exactly like amrita, for by hearing its recitation we can

cross beyond birth and death.

 

The Srimad Bhagavatam describes the various incarnations of Lord Hari, and

in the process of these descriptions ten important subject matters are

explained, namely sarga (the elemental craetion), visarga (the secondary

creation), sthanam (the planetary systems), poshanam (protection by the

Lord), utayah (the creative impetus), manvantara (the periods of Manu),

isha-anukatha (the science of God), nirodha (dissolution), mukti

(liberation), and ashraya (the supreme shelter).

 

The reciters of Srimad Bhagavatam have utilized three methods to explain

these ten subjects, namely by vedic reference (shrutena), by direct

explanation (arthena), and by summary explanations given by the great sages

(anjasa).

 

The following is a brief explanation of each of these ten subjects.

 

1) Sarga - the elemental creation.

 

Sarga is defined as follows:

 

bhuta-matrendriya-dhiyam

janma sarga udahritah

 

"The elemental creation of sixteen principles of matter - namely the five

gross elements (pancha-bhutas), the five objects of sense perception

(tan-matras), the five knowledge acquiring senses (jnanendriyas) and the

mind - is known as sarga."

 

The five gross elements (pancha-bhutas) are earth, water, fire, air and

ether; the five objects of sensual perception (tan-matras) are sound, form,

taste, smell, and touch; and the five knowledge acquiring senses

(jnanendriyas) are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Together with the

mind, these sixteen principles are created by the first purusha incarnation,

Maha-Vishnu. Within these sixteen principles eight other principles exist

subtly, making there a total of twenty-four principles of material

existence.

 

2) Visarga - the secondary creation.

 

Visarga is defined as follows:

 

brahmano guna-vaishamyad

visargah paurushah smritah

 

"The secondary creation by Brahma carried out through the interaction of the

three modes of nature is known as visarga."

 

By manipulating the sixteen original principles of material existence and by

the interaction of the three modes of material nature (sattva, rajas and

tamas), Lord Brahma carries out a subsequent creation, more properly

described as an assembling of universal ingredients.

 

3) Sthanam - the planetary systems.

 

Sthanam is defined as follows:

 

sthitir vaikuntha-vijayah

 

"The true situation (sthanam) is the realm of Vaikuntha."

 

The entire creation by the Lord is to enable the conditioned souls to

satisfy their material desire to lord over the material energy. As such,

according to their desires, the Lord creates a suitable situation (sthanam)

for them to dwell in. Within the universe, these situations can be divided

into fourteen main categories, known technically as bhuvanas, or planetary

systems, and 8,400,000 sub-categories, commonly known as species of life.

>From the topmost sthanam of Brahma-loka (the abode of Lord Brahma) down to

the lowest sthanam of Patala-loka, all situations are destructible. In every

situation the conditioned living entity is conquered by birth and death.

Only by attaining to our eternal constitutional situation in the spiritual

realm of Vaikuntha can we conquer the birth and death of this material

world. Thus the true sthanam of the living entity is the realm of Vaikuntha.

All other temporary situations within this material world cause one to

become a victim of material suffering, simply shifting from one situation to

the next.

 

4) Poshanam - protection by the Lord.

 

Poshanam is defined as follows:

 

poshanam tad anugrahah

 

"Protection (poshanam) is the causless mercy of the Lord."

 

Poshanam can be defined in two ways according to the mentality of the living

entity. For the conditioned souls, poshanam refers to material maintenance.

It is the Lord who fulfills the desires of all living entities:

 

nityo nityanam chetanash chetananam

eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman

 

"The supreme eternal among all eternals, the supremely conscious among all

the conscious living entities - it is that supreme one among the many who

fufills the desires of all."

 

For the devotees of the Lord, poshanam refers to the Lord's causeless mercy

and protection. Protection from hunger is the lowest form of protection,

which the Lord offers to the conditioned living entities. For the devotees,

the Lord's protection is protection from the illusion of maya. The Lord

gives the devotee the strength to always remember Him and engage in His

devotional service.

 

5) Utayah - the creative impetus.

 

Utayah is defined as follows:

 

utayah karma-vasanah

 

"The impetus for activity (utayah) is the desire for fruitive work."

 

The conditioned soul forgets that the Lord is his eternal protector and

maintainer, and thus an impetus for fruitive activity is manifested for

one's self maintenance. This desire for fruitive activity is the driving

force behind all work within this material world. The karma-vasanas are the

accumulated residue of one's previous activities. Every material activity we

perform creates a residual impresion within our consciousness, which is

carried with us life after life. The sum total of these impressions form our

creative impetus to work.

 

The true impetus of the living entity should be to go back to Godhead, to

the supreme abode of Vaikuntha, and activities performed in that direction

form the right path of work.

 

6) Manvantara - the change of Manus.

 

Manvantara is defined as follows:

 

manvantarani sad-dharma

 

"The reign of the Manus (manvantaras) are for establishing the eternal

religious principles."

 

Manu is the father of mankind, the progenitor, empowered to guide the human

race towards self-realization. Manu provides revealed scriptures to mankind

which regulate their activities in a manner that will be for their eternal

welfare. When the living entities accept such a regulated path, the Lord

provides them with all protection by which they may attain their

constitutional situation in Vaikuntha. Thus the desire to go back to Godhead

and regulated activities performed to achieve that goal form the proper path

of action.

 

7) Isha-anukatha - the science of God.

 

Isha-anukatha is defined as follows:

 

avataranucharitam

haresh chasyanuvartinam

pumsam isha-kathah prokta

nanakhyanopabrimhitah

 

"The science of God (isha-anukatha) describes the incarnations of the

Personality of Godhead and His different activities together with the

activities of His great devotees."

 

The entire material creation is for the ultimate purpose of the living

entities' salvation. When the conditioned living entities utilize the

creation for secondary purposes, such as material fruitive activity, the

Lord incarnates to reclaim these forgetful souls. The Lord directly delivers

living entities by His divine appearance as well as by its recorded history.

The Supreme Lord is so potent that simpy by hearing about His transcendental

activities in His various incarnations one becomes free from material

bondage. Thus the topics of the Lord and His devotees, which constitute the

science of God, should be given respectful aural reception.

 

8) Nirodha - the disolution.

 

Nirodha is defined as follows:

 

nirodho 'syanushayanam

atmanah saha shaktibhih

 

"The merging of the living entity, along with his conditioned living

tendency, with the mystic lying down of the Maha-Vishnu is called the

winding up of the cosmic manifestation, or nirodha."

 

As we have briefly mentioned before, the entire material creation offers two

facilities to the conditioned living entities. The living entities may

either utilize it to fulfill their desire to lord it over material nature,

or they may utilize it to go back to Godhead, the spiritual abode of

Vaikuntha. For the living entities who take advantage of the science of God

as propagated by the Manus, and who develop a desire to act in such a

regulated manner, the Lord provides them full protection from the material

energy and resituates them in their proper situation in Vaikuntha. For the

other living entities, who choose to disregard the science of God, the Lord

gives them an interim period of relief at the time of dissolution. This

temporary period of relief is technically called nirodha, or the winding up

of the cosmic manifestation. All the living entities along with their

conditional tendencies (vasanas) merge into the body of Maha-Vishnu to await

another creation and another opportunity to take up the science of God.

Though the physical bodies are given up at this time, the subtle bodies

(sukshma-sariras) remain with the living entities along with their latent

desires. This is indicated by the words atmanah saha shaktibhih.

 

9) Mukti - liberation.

 

Mukti is defined as follows:

 

muktir hitvanyatha rupam

sva-rupena vyavasthitih

 

"Liberation (mukti) is the permanent situation of the form of the living

entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies."

 

Those living entities who develop a desire to act for their ultimate welfare

regulate their life according to the instructions of the Manus. Such living

entities receive the mercy and protection of the Lord in the form of His

divine activities and incarnations, either personally or in its literary

form as the science of God. By hearing the narrations of the Lord's

activities these living entities are able to give up all external

identification with the principles of material existence and its

interaction. Such purified living entities develop their original spiritual

bodies and are resituated in their constitutional position in Vaikuntha, the

spiritual abode of the Lord. This is technically known as mukti or

liberation. The words hitvanyatha rupam indicate that these living entities

have become completely free from all material coverings including the

sukshma-sarira and related vasanas. The word vyavasthitih indicates the real

and eternal sthanam of the living entity - sthitir vaikuntha vijayah.

 

10) Ashraya - the supreme shelter.

 

Ashraya is defined in the following three verses:

 

abhasash ca nirodhash ca

yato 'sty adhyavasiyate

sa ashrayah param brahma

paramatmeti shabdyate

 

"The supreme one who is celebrated as the Supreme Being or the Supreme Soul

is the supreme source of the cosmic manifestation as well as its reservoir

and winding up. Thus He is the supreme shelter, the Absolute Truth."

 

yo 'dhyatmiko 'yam purushah

so 'sav evadhidaivikah

yas tatrobhaya-vicchedah

purusho hy adhibhautikah

ekam ekatarabhave

yada nopalabhamahe

tritayam tatra yo veda

sa atma svashrayashrayah

 

"The individual person possessing different instruments of senses is called

the adhyatmic person, and the individual controlling deity of the senses is

called adhidaivic. The embodiment seen on the eyeballs is called the

adhibhautic person. All three of the above mentioned stages of different

living entities are interdependent. In the absence of one, another is not

understood. But the Supreme Being who sees every one of them as the shelter

of the shelter is independent of all, and therefore He is the supreme

shelter."

 

The Srimad Bhagavata Purana begins with the Vedanta statement "janmady asya

yathah" to bring to our attention the supreme source and shelter of all

existence - the ashraya-tattva. In order to explain the transcendence of the

ashraya the other nine subjects have been explained.

 

In all of existence there are factually only two divisions, namely the

dependent (para-tantra) and the independent (sva-tantra). The independent

(svarat) refers only to that Supreme Lord invoked in the beginning of Srimad

Bhagavatam by the words "om namo bhagavate vasudevaya". Sri Vyasa Muni

begins by first offering his obeisances to Bhagavan Sri Krishna (Vasudeva),

and then identifies Him as the absolute and independent shelter of

everything - janmadyasya yathah svarat satyam param dhimahi. The

transcendental Sri Krishna is that tenth subject of Srimad Bhagavatam, and

in order to properly describe Him, Sri Vyasa Muni has explained the other

nine subject matters.

 

Studied together, these ten subject matters fully establish the Supreme

personality of Godhead, Bhagavan Sri Krishna, as the transcendental Absolute

Truth. The Vedanta Sutras begin by instructing us to inquire into the nature

of the Absolute Truth - atatho brahma jijnasa. This Srimad Bhagavatam is the

perfect companion to that inquiry, as it is the natural commentary to the

Vedanta Sutras.

 

Both the Vedanta Sutras and the Srimad Bhagavatam begin from the point of

understanding the ultimate source of everything. Sri Vyasa Muni, the author

of these two texts, begins both with the same verse: janmady asya yathah,

"From whom everything emanates." But in the Srimad Bhagavatam he expands and

elaborates on this very important philosophical subject in great detail:

 

janmady asya yatah anvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat

tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah

tejo-vari-mrdam yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ’mrsa

dhamna svena sada nirasta-kuhakam satyam param dhimahi

 

"I meditate upon Lord Sri Krishna because He is the Absolute Truth and the

primeval cause of all causes of creation, sustenance and destruction on the

manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all

manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond

Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of

brahmaji, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and

demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory

representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because

of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactionsof

the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I

therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Sri Krishna, who is eternally existent in

the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory

representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the

Absolute Truth."

 

Thus Srimad Bhagavatam is the key to unlock the secrets of the Vedanta

Sutras. There is no literature in the world as great as this Srimad

Bhagavata Purana. The transcendental narations within it give us light in

this dark age of Kali yuga:

 

krishne sva-dhamopagate

dharma-jnanadibhih saha

kalau nashta-drisham esha

puranarko 'dhunoditah

 

"This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just

after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by

religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the

dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this

Purana."

 

[Note: Those wishing to read Srimad Bhagavatam online can visit

http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org]