Bhagavat gita adetailed study-chapter 9 -Brahmavidya the royal secret

May 25, 2009

20. thrividhyaa maam somapaaH poothapaapaaH

yajniH ishtvaa svargathim praarThayanthe

the puNyam aasaadhya surendhralokam

aSnanthi dhivyaan dhivi dhevabhogaan

Those who have learnt the karmakanda of the Vedas pray for attainment of heaven by performing yajnas, drinking soma juice offered therein. They, purified from their sins and earning merit, go to heaven and enjoy the divine pleasures there.

The Lord has already said that until one reaches the brahmaloka all the other worlds cause return to earth. Here in these two slokas He describes the plight of those who follow the ritualistic part of the Vedas poorvamimamsa, without resorting to the Vedanta, which forms the uttaramimamsa., the later part of the Vedas, which deals with the Brahman and salvation.

thrividhyaaH means those who have learnt the three Vedas. aTharvaveda is normally not included in the reference of vedic learning because it contains thaanthric sections which are used for evil purposes like abhichara homa etc. which are supposed to lead one towards hell. The later part of aTharva also contains vedantic truths and some sthothras from aTharvaveda have found their way in the ritualistic worship but the veda as such is not learnt as the regular curriculam of vedic studies.

somapaaH - those who perform sacrifices. The term denotes the dronking of soma juice as a ritual in the yagas. There is some misconception about drinking soma as consuming liquor by some ignorant persons. Soma juice is squeezed out of the soma creeper and only few drops are taken as the prasada.

poothapaapaaH- only when the sins are destroyed and merit is acquired one can go to heaven. This is the necessary qualification for the performer of yajna for the sake of attaining heaven, in order to reap the benefit of the yajna So it requires the austerities performed for inner and outer purification as a prerequisite for performance of a yajna.

chevaabhogaan- divine pleasures which mean pure sensual pleasures without suffering as a consequence as on earth.

21. the tham bhukthvaa svargalokam viSaalam

ksheeNa puNye marthyalokam visanthi

evam thrayeeDharmam aanuprapannaaH

gathaagatham kaamakaamaa labhanthe

After enjoying the pleasures in the svargaloka which is wide, they enter the earth again when their merits are exhausted. Thus those who follow the path of Vedas obtain the state of going and coming as they are desire-motivated.

devalokam viSaalam – The heaven is called viSaala, expansive in terms of the enjoyment and the duration which lasts for many human lives. There is a story that the king Raivatha of Ikshvaku race, father of Ravati, went to Brahmaloka to pray to Brahma for a suitable bridegroom for his daughter and was waiting there for one moment. In the meanwhile 27 chathuryugas have passed on earth and Brahma said the Lord has taken birth as Balarama on earth and he will be the suitable bride for his daughter. The story goes that since she was born in a much earlier times she was very tall and Balarama reduced her height by placing his plough on her head.

ksheeNe puNye marthyalokam visanthi- They return to earth when their merit is exhausted. The heaven can be enjoyed according to the merit acquired by austerities and a result of yajna performed to that effect. But the fruits of any karma , be it yajna or thapas is limited as long as it is done for the purpose other than attaining moksha. The merit earned is like a visa to heaven and as when the period of visa is over they have to come back to their own country and should try again to get a visa , those who go to heaven have to come back and do more thapas or yajna again. This is what Krishna means as thryee dharmam anuparapannaaH gathaagatham labhanthe, those who follow the karmamarga of the Vedas, which are prescribed for the kaamakaamaH , those who have desires to be fukfilled by the vedic rituals, get in to a state of going and returning.