At the end of thousand yuga cycles, Brahmā awoke and Marīci, other sages and I appeared from the senses of Brahmā, who desired to create the universe again.

TRANSLATION

Giving up shyness, I began to chant the names of the unlimited Lord, and to remember his most excellent, hidden pastimes. I wandered the earth with satisfied mind, without material desires, without pride or selfishness, waiting for that time.

 

COMMENTARY

Kṛtāni refers to the Lord’s pastimes. Kālam pratīkṣan (expecting the time) means “When will that time come when I will become an associate of the Lord?” I had no pride or selfishness since I always thought “Who is more fallen than I?”

 

|| 1.6.27 ||

evaṁ kṛṣṇa-mater brahman nāsaktasyāmalātmanaḥ |

kālaḥ prādurabhūt kāle taḍit saudāmanī yathā ||

TRANSLATION

O brāhmaṇa Vyāsa! Concentrating only on Kṛsṇa, not attached to material enjoyment and pure in mind, the time of receiving my spiritual body occurred simultaneously with that of giving up my material body, like lightning flashing simultaneously with lightning.

 

COMMENTARY

At the time of dissolving my subtle and gross bodies (kāle), the time (kālaḥ) that I was waiting for expectantly for a long time made its appearance. That is the meaning. It is like saying “The time when the king went was the time he arrived.” It is said that the intelligence, even when identified with the Lord completely, being non-different, still has the ability to make distinctions. But this case was different. Intelligence could not make a distinction. Suddenly the two times (disappearance of the material body and attainment of the spiritual body) simultaneously made their appearance, connected closely like subject and predicate. An example is given. It is like the simultaneity of lightning with another flash of lightning. Just as sometimes lightning appears at the same time as another flash of lightning, similarly at the exact time of giving up my material body, the time of receiving my spiritual body as an associate also occurred. 

 

|| 1.6.28 ||

prayujyamāne mayi tāṁ śuddhāṁ bhāgavatīṁ tanum |

ārabdha-karma-nirvāṇo nyapatat pāñca-bhautikaḥ ||

TRANSLATION

Having been awarded a transcendental body befitting an associate of the Personality of Godhead the body made of five material elements, with karmas relating to the present body fell away.

COMMENTARY

The Lord previously promised hitvāvadyam imaṁ lokaṁ gantā maj-janatām asi: giving up this low body you will become my associate. (SB 1.6.23) At the time of being made to accept a body which was śuddha-sattva (śuddhām) because it was not a material body and because it belonged to the Lord (bhāgavatīṁ), my material body (pāñca-bhautikaḥ) fell away. Giving up my material body and attaining a spiritual body were simultaneous, like the expression “I am walking while the cows are being milked. The lord’s own words were hitvāvadyam imaṁ lokam. The use of the verb form hitvā (giving up the material body) in this case indicates simultaneously giving up the material body while receiving the spiritual body. It is said: 

 

kvacit tulya-kāle ’pi upaviśya bhuṅkte ṛṇat-kṛtya patati cakṣuḥ saṁmīlya hasati mukhaṁ vyādāya svapitīty ādikam upasaṅkhyeyam

There are examples in which the participles indicate simultaneous actions as in sitting down and eating, assuming debts and falling from esteem, closing his eyes and laughing, lowering his head and falling asleep. Bhāṣā-vṛtti

 

Śrīdhara Svāmī says anena pārṣada-tanūnām akarmārabdhatvaṁ śuddhatvaṁ nityatvam ity ādi sūcitaṁ bhavati: what is said in this verse is that the bodies of the associates of the Lord are pure, without prārabdha-karmas, and eternal. The bahuvrīhi compoundārabdha-karma-nirvāṇaḥ means that he had destroyed the karmas like fire burning wood. But this means that the prārabdha-karmas were not destroyed just now, but previously for that is accomplished by sādhana. Prārabdha-karmas do not remain with the devotees who have developed prema-bhakti. For those practicing pure bhakti, destruction of prārabhda-karmas takes place during sādhana-bhakti. It will be said in the story of Priyavrata:

naivaṁ-vidhaḥ puruṣa-kāra urukramasya puṁsāṁ tad-aṅghri-rajasā jita-ṣaḍ-guṇānām

citraṁ vidūra-vigataḥ sakṛd ādadīta yan-nāmadheyam adhunā sa jahāti tanvam

 

My dear King, a devotee who has taken shelter of the dust from the lotus feet of the Lord can transcend the influence of the six material whips—namely hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, old age and death—and he can conquer the mind and five senses. However, this is not very wonderful for a pure devotee of the Lord because even a person beyond the jurisdiction of the four castes—in other words, an untouchable—is immediately relieved of bondage to material existence if he utters the holy name of the Lord even once.  SB 5.1.35

 

Here is the meaning of the verse. This is not so amazing for such a type of person. What should be amazing? Even an outcaste (vidūra-vigataḥ) who chants the name of the Lord once, now, at the time of accepting the name, gives up his body (tanvam). Since we do not see anyone giving up their body simultaneously with chanting, “body” here means his prārabdha-karmas which are being experienced in the present body. This is the opinion of some. Others say by the association of bhakti, like a touchstone, the body made of the three guṇas becomes free of the guṇas, as seen in the case of Dhruva. Thus, giving up the body means giving the body made of three guṇas. This will be explained later at the beginning of the rāsa dance with jahur guṇa-mayaṁ dehaṁ sadyaḥ prakṣīṇa-bandhanāḥ: free of bondage, those gopīs abandoned their gross material bodies made of guṇas. (SB 10.29.11)

 

But others say that sometimes the Lord shows devotees, literally, giving up their bodies in order that the opinion of others not be negated. Thus Nārada, who had developed prema already, gave up his body. However it should be understood that he had already destroyed his prārabdha-karmas during his practice of bhakti. Śrī-Rūpa Gosvāmī explains this:

 

yad brahma-sākṣāt-kṛti-niṣṭhayāpi vināśam āyāti vinā na bhogaiḥ |

apaiti nāma sphuraṇena tat te prārabdha-karmeti virauti vedaḥ ||

 

The Vedas declare that although meditation on impersonal Brahman cannot bring freedom from past karma, O Holy Name, your appearance at once makes all prārabdha-karma disappear. Nāmāṣṭaka 4

 

If the intended meaning was “when Nārada’s prārabdha-karmas, were destroyed, his body fell away” the phrase would expressed as prārabdha-karma-nirvāṇe nyapatat pāñcabhautika. But this grammatical structure has not been used and instead a bahuvrīhi compound has been used. Thus the meaning is a general statement “for the devotees, the body which has had its prārabhda-karmas destroyed will fall away.”

 

|| 1.6.29 ||

kalpānta idam ādāya śayāne ’mbhasy udanvataḥ |

śiśayiṣor anuprāṇaṁ viviśe ’ntar ahaṁ vibhoḥ ||

 

TRANSLATION

At the end of the kalpa when Brahmā withdrew the universe with his breathing, I entered into Brahmā who desired to sleep in Nārāyaṇa, who was lying in the water of the only ocean.

 

COMMENTARY

“If you have an eternal body, then why are you known to be born from Brahmā in this Svāyambhuva-manvantara? It is said utsaṅgān nārado jajñe: Nārada was born from the deliberation of Brahmā, which is the best part of the body. (SB 3.12.23)”

 

That is true. Just as the Lord for his particular pastimes enters the womb of Devakī, from the pastimes of being the son of Brahmā, at the end of the previous kalpa (Brahmā’s previous day), I entered the body of Brahmā. When Brahmā withdrew the three worlds (idam ādāya), I entered along with his breathing into Brahmā who desired to go to sleep in Nārāyaṇa (śayāṇe), who was sleeping in the water of the only ocean (udantavaḥ).

 

tato ’vatīrya viśvātmā deham āviśya cakriṇaḥ |

avāpa vaiṣṇavīṁ nidrām ekībhūyātha viṣṇunā ||

Having appeared, Brahmā, entering the body of Viṣṇu, becoming one with Viṣṇu, then went into Viṣṇu’s spiritual sleep.  Kūrma Purāṇa

 

Another version has svāyane instead of śayāne. This means “in his controller, who is the water.” The expression equates Nārāyaṇa with the water, because he is non-different from it.

 

|| 1.6.30 ||

sahasra-yuga-paryante utthāyedaṁ sisṛkṣataḥ |

marīci-miśrā ṛṣayaḥ prāṇebhyo ’haṁ ca jajñire ||

TRANSLATION