srimadbaghagavatham chapters17 to23

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Chapter17to21-Prthu as king.

 

The earth had withheld food and other treasures of all the species due to anger towards the adharmic rule of Vena and the land was in famine when Prthu took over the throne and the people oppressed by hunger, resorted to him to solve the problem. He threatened the earth goddess, wielding bow and arrow and the earth took the form of a cow and fled from him. Prthu chased her and finally finding him with bow and arrow wherever she went, the earth goddess tried to please him and praised him because she recognized him as a form of Lord Hari. He said that she hid all the treasure of the earth from men because the wicked people following Vena abused it. Then she told Prthu to find a calf in each class of beings and milk her for what they desired

 

Accordingly the different species of beings obtained what they wanted from the earth in the form of a cow designating a milkman and a calf among themselves. Then Prthu was pleased with the earth and adopted her as his daughter. Hence the earth came to be called prthvee.

 

Prthu was the first king who designed villages towns etc according to a patterns there was no formation of places into villages and towns before him. People were happily under him and lived peacefully and with comfort.

 

Prthu started to perform 100asvamedha sacrifices and Indra tried to steal the sacrificial horse several times as the one who has completed 100 asvamedha yajnas will be entitled to become Indra. But every time his attempt was foiled by the son of Prthu. Finally Brahma brought reconciliation between the two and persuaded Prthu to stop with 99 yajnas. The Lord Vishnu appeared before Prthu and told him to ask for boons but Prthu said that he wanted nothing else except the lotus feet of the Lord.

 

Then Prthu performed a sathra yaga which usually lasts from 13 to 100days, and addressed the gathering.

 

He said that a king who takes away the money from his subjects but does not ensure their welfare is committing a sin as a result of which he will lose his wealth. He advised hs subjects to do their duty as an offering to God. The service to the feet of the Lord washed off all impurities like the Ganges that sprang from His big toe. Hence all should propitiate Him with body, speech and mind. All he sages pthrs and devas assembled there for the yajna approved his words saying `saaDhu saaDhu,' well said,' and told him that he has saved his father Vena from hell. The Brahmins bowed down to him knowing that he was an amSa of Lord Vishnu

 

Chapters 22and 23

 

At that time the sanakaadhi sages came there and Prthu praised them saying that he was blessed to have seen them who could not easily be seen. He said that the service of such pure souls is the real wealth and the houses where the sadhus are not worshipped are like the trees inhabited with poisonous snakes. Then Prthu asked them to tell him the way in which the kshema,welfare could be obtained while in samsara.

 

Sanathkumara ,one of the four, said:

 

Asnaga in anaathmaa, detachment towards all except the self, rathiH dhrDaa brahmaNi, firm attachment to Brahman is the cause of kshema. This is achieved through faith, Sraddhaa, becoming a devotee, bhaagavatha dharmanushTaana, real knowledge, thathvajnana, meditation and contemplation on the Lord, yoganishTaa and yogeSvara upaasana and listening to the stories of the Lord everyday, nithyam puNyakaThaaSravanam.

 

Also one should dissociate himself from those who are after sensual pleasures and enjoy the nectar of the qualities of the Lord, hariguNa peeyoosha and resort to secluded spot away from the worldly.

 

The same idea is found in the Gita where Krishna says `vivikthadhesa sevithvm arathih jana samsadhi,' resorting to a secluded spot and detachment from society as one of the requisites for acquiring jnana.

 

There are five things that obstruct the rise of jnana. They are, avidhya, ignorance of what is real what is not, asmithaa, egotism, raga, desire, dhvesha, hatred and abhinivesa., attachment. These are removed by spiritual discipline.

 

The the sage departed after blessing all. Prthu reigned his kingdom without ahamkara and became a stThithaprjana. He had five sons to whom he left the kingdom and went to the forest with his wife and worshipped the Lord till his last days.