War Against Iran Started

[Svarupa]

If world war three comes, 75,000,000 will die in the first 24 hours (the entire total deaths of world war 2). The only thing that can stop it is the sankirtan movement of Lord Caitanya Maha Prabhu.

1n 1985, something amazing was happening on the planet. ISKCON was at the beginning of a leadership crisis, a purging and inner purification had begun. Behind the scenes there was many dedicated and sincere devotees preaching and began the International effort to free the Soviet Hare Krishnas.

This was started in Europe and India and joined by devotees in America and Australia from 1985 to 89.

Without any doubt, this campaign had a major influence on the collapse of the Soviet Union and today there are so many devotees in Russia and other ex-Soviet states.

The same goes for Iran, there are so many devotees there, just as there is in Israel, all in waiting for Lord Caitanya's Movement of pure devotee 'messiahs' to fulfil the prophecies of their ancestors and deliver them from the material world.

Such deliverance they refer to as the rapture, where as the devotees of Lord Caitanya simple refer to it as 'Going Back Home, Back to Godhead'

Look at it this way; Lord Caitanya’s movement comes in one Kali-Yuga every day of Brahma. All others have no Lord Caitanya or Srila Prabhupada.

Can you imagine what kind of world it would be with the sound vibration of the Hare Krishna mantra?

Apparently, when Gorbachov heard the Hare Krishna Kids sing ‘Mr. Gorbachov, please let our Krishna friends go and practise their religion,' he was very moved hearing of their persecution and immediately requested that all those in prison be released

Never underestimate the power of the Hare Krishna mantra. The Third world war Prabhupada talked about in 1974, WILL NOT HAPPEN if there is only a hand full of genuin sincere dedicated ‘pure at heart’ Vaishnavas preaching the message of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya..

[AncientMariner]

Who knows for sure but it is starting to look like Kulapavana was right and this is all just saber rattling to drive up the price of oil. I read a Pat Buchanan article that said Iran is not as close to nukes as Israelis are saying and also read that the Iranian missile testing was phony or doctored in some way. Don't know who to believe as virtually everyone and all media has a bias on everything but Pat Buchanan has always seemed pretty credible to me.

[bhaktajan]

 

 

Dhruva Mahäräja's Fight With the Yakñas

 

From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.9.38.37 –to- 4.12.9

as translated by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

 

 

 

[Comment by Bhaktajan: I have selectively omitted many of the Purports as found in

the original text, for brevity.]

 

 

 

 

 

When King Uttänapäda heard that his son Dhruva was coming back home, as if coming back to life after death, he could not put his faith in this message, for he was doubtful of how it could happen. He considered himself the most wretched, and therefore he thought that it was not possible for him to attain such good fortune.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

Dhruva Mahäräja, a five-year-old boy, went to the forest for penance and austerity, and the King could not at all believe that a small boy of such a tender age could live in the forest. He was certain that Dhruva was dead. He therefore could not fix his faith in the message that Dhruva Mahäräja was coming back home again. For him this message said that a dead man was coming back home, and so he could not believe it. After Dhruva Mahäräja’s departure from home, King Uttänapäda thought that he was the cause of Dhruva’s leaving, and thus he considered himself the most wretched. Therefore, even though it was possible that his lost son was coming back from the kingdom of death, he thought that since he was most sinful it was not possible for him to be so fortunate as to get back his lost son.

Although he could not believe the words of the messenger, he had full faith in the word of the great sage Närada. Thus he was greatly overwhelmed by the news, and he immediately offered the messenger a highly valuable necklace in great satisfaction.

Then King Uttänapäda, being very eager to see the face of his lost son, mounted a chariot drawn by excellent horses and bedecked with golden filigree. Taking with him many learned brähmaëas, all the elderly personalities of his family, his officers, his ministers and his immediate friends, he immediately left the city. As he proceeded in this parade, there were auspicious sounds of conchshells, kettledrums, flutes, and the chanting of Vedic mantras to indicate all good fortune.

Both the queens of King Uttänapäda, namely Sunéti and Suruci, along with his other son, Uttama, appeared in the procession. The queens were seated on a palanquin.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

After the departure of Dhruva Mahäräja from the palace, the King was very afflicted, but by the kind words of Saint Närada he was partially satisfied. He could understand the great fortune of his wife Sunéti and the great misfortune of Queen Suruci, for these facts were certainly very open in the palace. But still when the news reached the palace that Dhruva Mahäräja was returning, his mother, Sunéti, out of her great compassion and due to being the mother of a great Vaiñëava, did not hesitate to take the other wife, Suruci, and her son, Uttama, on the same palanquin. That was the greatness of Queen Sunéti, the mother of the great Vaiñëava Dhruva Mahäräja.

Upon seeing Dhruva Mahäräja approaching the neighboring small forest, King Uttänapäda with great haste got down from his chariot. He had been very anxious for a long time to see his son Dhruva, and therefore with great love and affection he went forward to embrace his long-lost boy. Breathing very heavily, the King embraced him with both arms. But Dhruva Mahäräja was not the same as before; he was completely sanctified by spiritual advancement due to having been touched by the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

ffice:smarttags" /><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comReunion</st1:place> with Dhruva Mahäräja fulfilled King Uttänapäda’s long-cherished desire, and for this reason he smelled Dhruva’s head again and again and bathed him with torrents of very cold tears.

Then Dhruva Mahäräja, the foremost of all nobles, first of all offered his obeisances at the feet of his father and was honored by his father with various questions. He then bowed his head at the feet of his two mothers.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

It may be questioned why Dhruva Mahäräja offered his respect not only to his mother but also to his stepmother, due to whose insults he had to leave home. The answer is that after achieving perfection by self-realization and seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, Dhruva Mahäräja was completely freed from all contamination of material desire. Feelings of insult or honor in this material world are never perceived by a devotee. Lord Caitanya therefore says that one has to be humbler than the grass and, He recommends, more tolerant than the tree to execute devotional service. Dhruva Mahäräja, therefore, has in this verse been described as saj-janägraëéù, the foremost of noble men. The pure devotee is the noblest of all, and he has no feelings of animosity towards anyone. Duality due to animosity is a creation of this material world. There is no such thing in the spiritual world, which is the absolute reality.

Suruci, the younger mother of Dhruva Mahäräja, seeing that the innocent boy had fallen at her feet, immediately picked him up, embracing him with her hands, and with tears of feeling she blessed him with the words, “My dear boy, long may you live!”

Unto one who has transcendental qualities due to friendly behavior with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all living entities offer honor, just as water automatically flows down by nature.

The two brothers Uttama and Dhruva Mahäräja also exchanged their tears. They were overwhelmed by the ecstasy of love and affection, and when they embraced one another, the hair on their bodies stood up.

Sunéti, the real mother of Dhruva Mahäräja, embraced the tender body of her son, who was dearer to her than her own life, and thus forgot all material grief, for she was very pleased.

My dear Vidura, Sunéti was the mother of a great hero. Her tears, together with the milk flowing from her breasts, wet the whole body of Dhruva Mahäräja. This was a great, auspicious sign.

The residents of the palace praised the Queen: Dear Queen, your beloved son was lost a long time ago, and it is your great fortune that he now has come back. It appears, therefore, that your son will be able to protect you for a very long time and will put an end to all your material pangs.

Dear Queen, you must have worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who delivers His devotees from the greatest danger. Persons who constantly meditate upon Him surpass the course of birth and death. This perfection is very difficult to achieve.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

Dhruva Mahäräja was the lost child of Queen Sunéti, but during his absence she always meditated upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is able to rescue His devotee from all dangers. While Dhruva Mahäräja was absent from his home, not only did he undergo severe austerities in the forest of Madhuvana, but at home also his mother prayed to the Supreme Lord for his safety and good fortune. In other words, the Lord was worshiped by both the mother and the son, and both were able to achieve the supreme benediction from the Supreme Lord. The word sudurjayam, an adjective which indicates that no one can conquer death, is very significant. When Dhruva Mahäräja was away from his home, his father thought that he was dead. Ordinarily a king’s son only five years old and away from home in the forest would certainly be supposed dead, but by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not only was he saved, but he was blessed with the highest perfection.

The sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, when everyone was thus praising Dhruva Mahäräja, the King was very happy, and he had Dhruva and his brother seated on the back of a she-elephant. Thus he returned to his capital, where he was praised by all classes of men.

The whole city was decorated with columns of banana trees containing bunches of fruits and flowers, and betel nut trees with leaves and branches were seen here and there. There were also many gates set up which were structured to give the appearance of sharks.

At each and every gate there were burning lamps and big waterpots decorated with differently colored cloth, strings of pearls, flower garlands and hanging mango leaves.

In the capital city there were many palaces, city gates and surrounding walls, which were already very, very beautiful, and on this occasion all of them were decorated with golden ornaments. The domes of the city palaces glittered, as did the domes of the beautiful airplanes which hovered over the city.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

Regarding the mention of airplanes here, it is suggested by Çrémad Vijayadhvaja Tértha that on this occasion the demigods from higher planetary systems also came in their airplanes to bestow their blessings on Dhruva Mahäräja on his arrival at the capital of his father. It also appears that all the domes of the city palaces as well as the pinnacles of the airplanes were decorated with ornamental work in gold, and, being reflected by the sunshine, they were all glittering. We can observe a specific distinction between Dhruva Mahäräja’s time and modern days, for the airplanes in those days were made of gold, whereas at the present moment airplanes are made of base aluminium. This just gives a hint of the opulence of Dhruva Mahäräja’s days and the poverty of modern times.

All the quadrangles, lanes and streets in the city, and the raised sitting places at the crossings, were thoroughly cleansed and sprinkled with sandalwood water; and auspicious grains such as rice and barley, and flowers, fruits and many other auspicious presentations were scattered all over the city.

Thus as Dhruva Mahäräja passed on the road, from every place in the neighborhood all the gentle household ladies assembled to see him, and out of maternal affection they offered their blessings, showering him with white mustard seed, barley, curd, water, newly grown grass, fruits and flowers. In this way Dhruva Mahäräja, while hearing the pleasing songs sung by the ladies, entered the palace of his father.

Dhruva Mahäräja thereafter lived in his father’s palace, which had walls bedecked with highly valuable jewels. His affectionate father took particular care of him, and he dwelled in that house just as the demigods live in their palaces in the higher planetary systems.

The bedding in the palace was as white as the foam of milk and was very soft. The bedsteads were made of ivory with embellishments of gold, and the chairs, benches and other sitting places and furniture were made of gold.

The palace of the King was surrounded by walls made of marble with many engravings made of valuable jewels like sapphires, which depicted beautiful women with shining jewel lamps in their hands.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

The description of King Uttänapäda’s palace depicts the state of affairs many hundreds and thousands of years ago, long before Çrémad-Bhägavatam was compiled. Since it is described that Mahäräja Dhruva ruled for thirty-six thousand years, he must have lived in the Satya-yuga, when people lived for one hundred thousand years. The life durations in the four yugas are also mentioned in the Vedic literature. In the Satya-yuga people used to live for one hundred thousand years, in the Tretä-yuga people lived for ten thousand years, in Dväpara-yuga they lived for one thousand years, and in this age, Kali-yuga, people may live up to one hundred years. With the progressive advance of each new yuga, the duration of human life is reduced by ninety percent—from one hundred thousand to ten thousand, from ten thousand to one thousand, and from one thousand to one hundred.

It is said that Dhruva Mahäräja was the great-grandson of Lord Brahmä. This indicates that Dhruva Mahäräja’s time was in the Satya-yuga in the beginning of creation. During one day of Lord Brahmä, as stated in the Bhagavad-gétä, there are many Satya-yugas. According to the Vedic calculation, at the present moment the twenty-eighth millennium is current. It can be calculated that Dhruva Mahäräja lived many millions of years ago, but the description of the palace of Dhruva’s father is so glorious that we cannot accept that advanced human civilization did not exist even forty or fifty thousand years ago. There were walls like those in the <st1:place w:st="on"><ST1:Ppalace of <ST1:PMahäräja Uttänapäda</ST1:P</st1:place> even very recently, during the Mogul period. Anyone who has seen the Red Fort in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Delhi</st1:City></st1:place> must have marked that the walls are made of marble and were once decorated with jewels. During the British period all these jewels were taken away and dispatched to the <st1:place w:st="on"><ST1:PBritish </ST1:PMuseum</st1:place>.

The conception of worldly opulence was formerly based mainly on natural resources such as jewels, marble, silk, ivory, gold and silver. The advancement of economic development was not based on big motorcars. Advancement of human civilization depends not on industrial enterprises, but on possession of natural wealth and natural food, which is all supplied by the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that we may save time for self-realization and success in the human form of body.

Another aspect of this verse is that Dhruva Mahäräja’s father, Uttänapäda, would very soon give up attachment for his palaces and would go to the forest for self-realization. From the description of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, therefore, we can make a very thorough comparative study of modern civilization and the civilization of mankind in the other millenniums, Satya-yuga, Tretä-yuga and Dväpara-yuga.

[bhaktajan]

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Comment by Bhaktajan: below is a Partial example of the Family tree of personalities enumerated in the Bhagavatam. The Black border to the left represents Brahma's Sleeping. Brahma awoke 2.16 Billion (2,160,000,000) years ago. To the Right shows the descendants starting with Svayambhuva Manu & His wife Satarupa et al:

 

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The King’s residence was surrounded by gardens wherein there were varieties of trees brought from the heavenly planets. In those trees there were pairs of sweetly singing birds and almost-mad bumblebees, which made a very relishable buzzing sound.

There were emerald staircases which led to lakes full of variously colored lotus flowers and lilies, and swans, käraëòavas, cakraväkas, cranes and similar other valuable birds were visible in those lakes.

The saintly King Uttänapäda, hearing of the glorious deeds of Dhruva Mahäräja and personally seeing also how influential and great he was, felt very satisfied, for Dhruva’s activities were wonderful to the supreme degree.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

When Dhruva Mahäräja was in the forest executing his austerities, his father, Uttänapäda, heard everything about his very wonderful activities. Although Dhruva Mahäräja was the son of a king and was only five years old, he went to the forest and executed devotional service under strict austerity. Therefore his acts were all wonderful, and when he came back home, naturally, because of his spiritual qualifications, he became very popular amongst the citizens. He must have performed many wonderful activities by the grace of the Lord. No one is more satisfied than the father of a person who is credited with glorious activities. Mahäräja Uttänapäda was not an ordinary king; he was a räjarñi, a saintly king. Formerly this earth was ruled by one saintly king only. Kings were trained to become saintly; therefore they had no other concern than the welfare of the citizens. These saintly kings were properly trained, and as mentioned in Bhagavad-gétä also, the science of God, or the yoga system of devotional service known as Bhagavad-gétä, was spoken to the saintly king of the sun planet, and gradually it descended through the kñatriya kings who were generated from the sun and the moon. If the head of the government is saintly, certainly the citizens become saintly, and they are very happy because both their spiritual and physical needs and hankerings are satisfied.

When, after concentration, King Uttänapäda saw that Dhruva Mahäräja was suitably mature to take charge of the kingdom and that his ministers were agreeable and the citizens were also very fond of him, he enthroned Dhruva as emperor of this planet.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

Although it is misconceived that formerly the monarchial government was autocratic, from the description of this verse it appears that not only was King Uttänapäda a räjarñi, but before installing his beloved son Dhruva on the throne of the empire of the world, he consulted his ministerial officers, considered the opinion of the public, and also personally examined Dhruva’s character. Then the King installed him on the throne to take charge of the affairs of the world.

When a Vaiñëava king like Dhruva Mahäräja is the head of the government of the entire world, the world is so happy that it is not possible to imagine or describe. Even now, if people would all become Kåñëa conscious, the democratic government of the present day would be exactly like the kingdom of heaven. If all people became Kåñëa conscious they would vote for persons of the category of Dhruva Mahäräja. If the post of chief executive were occupied by such a Vaiñëava, all the problems of satanic government would be solved. The youthful generation of the present day is very enthusiastic in trying to overthrow the government in different parts of the world. But unless people are Kåñëa conscious like Dhruva Mahäräja, there will be no appreciable changes in government because people who hanker to attain political position by hook or by crook cannot think of the welfare of the people. They are only busy to keep their position of prestige and monetary gain. They have very little time to think of the welfare of the citizens.

After considering his advanced age and deliberating on the welfare of his spiritual self, King Uttänapäda detached himself from worldly affairs and entered the forest.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

This is the sign of a räjarñi. King Uttänapäda was very opulent and was emperor of the world, and these attachments were certainly very great. Modern politicians are not as great as kings like Mahäräja Uttänapäda, but because they get some political power for some days, they become so much attached to their positions that they never retire unless they are removed from their posts by cruel death or killed by some opposing political party. It is within our experience that the politicians in ffice:smarttags" />India do not quit their positions until death. This was not the practice in olden days, as it is evident from the behavior of King Uttänapäda. Immediately after installing his worthy son Dhruva Mahäräja on the throne, he left his home and palace. There are hundreds and thousands of instances like this in which kings, in their mature age, would give up their kingdoms and go to the forest to practice austerity. Practice of austerity is the main business of human life. As Mahäräja Dhruva practiced austerity in his early age, his father, Mahäräja Uttänapäda, in his old age also practiced austerity in the forest. In modern days however, it is not possible to give up one’s home and go to the forest to practice austerity, but if people of all ages would take shelter of the Kåñëa consciousness movement and practice the simple austerities of no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling and no meat-eating, and chant the Hare Kåñëa mantra regularly (sixteen rounds), by this practical method it would be a very easy task to get salvation from this material world.

The great sage Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, thereafter Dhruva Mahäräja married the daughter of Prajäpati Çiçumära, whose name was Bhrami, and two sons named Kalpa and Vatsara were born of her.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

It appears that Dhruva Mahäräja married after being installed on the throne of his father and after the departure of his father to the forest for self-realization. It is very important to note in this connection that since Mahäräja Uttänapäda was greatly affectionate towards his son, and since it is the duty of a father to get his sons and daughters married as quickly as possible, why did he not get his son married before he left home? The answer is that Mahäräja Uttänapäda was a räjarñi, saintly king. Although he was busy in his political affairs and duties of government management, he was very anxious for self-realization. Therefore as soon as his son Dhruva Mahäräja was quite worthy to take charge of the government, he took this opportunity to leave home, just like his son, who, without fear, left home for self-realization, even at the age of five years. These are rare instances from which we can see that the importance of spiritual realization is above all other important work. Mahäräja Uttänapäda knew very well that to get his son Dhruva Mahäräja married was not so important that it should take preference to his going away to the forest for self-realization.

The greatly powerful Dhruva Mahäräja had another wife, named Ilä, who was the daughter of the demigod Väyu. By her he begot a son named Utkala and a very beautiful daughter.

Dhruva Mahäräja’s younger brother Uttama, who was still unmarried, once went on a hunting excursion and was killed by a powerful Yakña in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<st1:place w:st=" /><st1:place w:st="on">Himalaya Mountains</st1:place>. Along with him, his mother, Suruci, also followed the path of her son [she died].

When Dhruva Mahäräja heard of the killing of his brother Uttama by the Yakñas in the <st1:place w:st="on">Himalaya Mountains</st1:place>, being overwhelmed with lamentation and anger, he got on his chariot and went out for victory over the city of the Yakñas, Alakäpuré.

Dhruva Mahäräja went to the northern direction of the Himalayan range. In a valley he saw a city full of ghostly persons who were followers of Lord Çiva.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

In this verse it is stated that the Yakñas are more or less devotees of Lord Çiva. By this indication the Yakñas may be taken to be the Himalayan tribes like the Tibetans.

Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, as soon as Dhruva Mahäräja reached Alakäpuré, he immediately blew his conchshell, and the sound reverberated throughout the entire sky and in every direction. The wives of the Yakñas became very much frightened. From their eyes it was apparent that they were full of anxiety.

O hero Vidura, the greatly powerful heroes of the Yakñas, unable to tolerate the resounding vibration of the conchshell of Dhruva Mahäräja, came forth from their city with weapons and attacked Dhruva.

Dhruva Mahäräja, who was a great charioteer and certainly a great bowman also, immediately began to kill them by simultaneously discharging arrows three at a time.

When the heroes of the Yakñas saw that all their heads were being thus threatened by Dhruva Mahäräja, they could very easily understand their awkward position, and they concluded that they would certainly be defeated. But, as heroes, they lauded the action of Dhruva.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

This spirit of fighting in a sporting attitude is very significant in this verse. The Yakñas were severely attacked. Dhruva Mahäräja was their enemy, but still, upon witnessing the wonderful, heroic acts of Mahäräja Dhruva, they were very pleased with him. This straightforward appreciation of an enemy’s prowess is a characteristic of real kñatriya spirit.

Just like serpents, who cannot tolerate being trampled upon by anyone’s feet, the Yakñas, being intolerant of the wonderful prowess of Dhruva Mahäräja, threw twice as many arrows—six from each of their soldiers—and thus they very valiantly exhibited their prowess.

The Yakña soldiers were 130,000 strong, all greatly angry and all desiring to defeat the wonderful activities of Dhruva Mahäräja. With full strength they showered upon Mahäräja Dhruva, along with his chariot and charioteer, various types of feathered arrows, parighas [iron bludgeons], nistriàças [swords], präsaçülas [tridents], paraçvadhas [lances], çaktis [pikes], åñöis [spears] and bhuçuëòé weapons.

Dhruva Mahäräja was completely covered by an incessant shower of weapons, just as a mountain is covered by incessant rainfall.

All the Siddhas from the higher planetary systems were observing the fight from the sky, and when they saw that Dhruva Mahäräja had been covered by the incessant arrows of the enemy, they roared tumultuously, “The grandson of Manu, Dhruva, is now lost!” They cried that Dhruva Mahäräja was just like the sun and that now he had set within the ocean of the Yakñas.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

In this verse the word mänava is very significant. Generally this word is used to mean “human being.” Dhruva Mahäräja is also described here as mänava. Not only is Dhruva Mahäräja a descendant of Manu, but all human society descends from Manu. According to Vedic civilization, Manu is the lawgiver. Even today Hindus in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> follow the laws given by Manu. Everyone, therefore, in human society is a mänava, or descendant from Manu, but Dhruva Mahäräja is a distinguished mänava because he is a great devotee.

The denizens of the planet Siddhaloka, where the residents can fly in the sky without airplanes, were anxious over Dhruva Mahäräja’s welfare in the battlefield. Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé says, therefore, that not only is a devotee well protected by the Supreme Lord, but all the demigods, and even ordinary men, are anxious for his security and safety. The comparison given here that Dhruva Mahäräja appeared to merge in the ocean of the Yakñas is also significant. When the sun sets on the horizon, it appears that the sun drowns in the ocean, but factually the sun has no difficulty. Similarly, although Dhruva appeared to drown in the ocean of the Yakñas, he had no difficulty. As the sun rises again in due course at the end of night, so Dhruva Mahäräja, although he might have been in difficulty (because, after all, it was a fight, and in any fighting activities there are reverses), that did not mean that he was defeated.

The Yakñas, being temporarily victorious, exclaimed that they had conquered Dhruva Mahäräja. But in the meantime Dhruva’s chariot suddenly appeared, just as the sun suddenly appears from within foggy mist.

Dhruva Mahäräja’s bow and arrows twanged and hissed, causing lamentation in the hearts of his enemies. He began to shoot incessant arrows, shattering all their different weapons, just as the blasting wind scatters the assembled clouds in the sky.

The sharp arrows released from the bow of Dhruva Mahäräja pierced the shields and bodies of the enemy, like the thunderbolts released by the King of heaven, which dismantle the bodies of the mountains.

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, the heads of those who were cut to pieces by the arrows of Dhruva Mahäräja were decorated very beautifully with earrings and turbans. The legs of their bodies were as beautiful as golden palm trees, their arms were decorated with golden bracelets and armlets, and on their heads there were very valuable helmets bedecked with gold. All these ornaments lying on that battlefield were very attractive and could bewilder the mind of a hero.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

It appears that in those days soldiers used to go to the battlefield highly decorated with golden ornaments and with helmets and turbans, and when they were dead the booty was taken by the enemy party. Their falling dead in battle with their many golden ornamental dresses was certainly a lucrative opportunity for the heroes on the battlefield.

The remaining Yakñas who somehow or other were not killed had their limbs cut to pieces by the arrows of the great warrior Dhruva Mahäräja. Thus they began to flee, just as elephants flee when defeated by a lion.

Dhruva Mahäräja, the best of human beings, observed that in that great battlefield not one of the opposing soldiers was left standing with proper weapons. He then desired to see the city of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alakäpuré</st1:place></st1:City>, but he thought to himself, “No one knows the plans of the mystic Yakñas.”

In the meantime, while Dhruva Mahäräja, doubtful of his mystic enemies, was talking with his charioteer, they heard a tremendous sound, as if the whole ocean were there, and they found that from the sky a great dust storm was coming over them from all directions.

Within a moment the whole sky was overcast with dense clouds, and severe thundering was heard. There was glittering electric lightning and severe rainfall.

My dear faultless Vidura, in that rainfall there was blood, mucus, pus, stool, urine and marrow falling heavily before Dhruva Mahäräja, and there were trunks of bodies falling from the sky.

Next, a great mountain was visible in the sky, and from all directions hailstones fell, along with lances, clubs, swords, iron bludgeons and great pieces of stone.

Dhruva Mahäräja also saw many big serpents with angry eyes, vomiting forth fire and coming to devour him, along with groups of mad elephants, lions and tigers.

Then, as if it were the time of the dissolution of the whole world, the fierce sea with foaming waves and great roaring sounds came forward before him.

The demon Yakñas are by nature very heinous, and by their demoniac power of illusion they can create many strange phenomena to frighten one who is less intelligent.

When the great sages heard that Dhruva Mahäräja was overpowered by the illusory mystic tricks of the demons, they immediately assembled to offer him auspicious encouragement.

All the sages said: Dear Dhruva, O son of King Uttänapäda, may the Supreme Personality of Godhead known as Çärìgadhanvä, who relieves the distresses of His devotees, kill all your threatening enemies. The holy name of the Lord is as powerful as the Lord Himself. Therefore, simply by chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord, many men can be fully protected from fierce death without difficulty. Thus a devotee is saved.