sattvātmanas tad-anusaṁsmaraṇānupūrtyā

sattvātmanas tad-anusaṁsmaraṇānupūrtyā

jñānaṁ viraktimad abhūn niśitena yena

ciccheda saṁśaya-padaṁ nija-jīva-kośam

By bhakti filled with continual remembrance of the Lord, Pṛthu, his mind becoming śuddha-sattva by service, developed intense jñāna endowed with detachment, by which he destroyed the subtle body, which was a cause of doubt for Pṛthu.

 

Nārada-pañcarātra says:

hari-bhakti-mahā-devyāḥ sarvā mukty-ādi-siddhayaḥ |

bhuktyaś cādbhutās tasyāś ceṭikāvad anuvratāḥ ||

 

All the siddhis headed by liberation and all astonishing material pleasures follow after the great goddess Hari-bhakti like fearful maidservants.

 

Though the devotee practicing pure bhakti does not want them, on their own, brahmavidyā (impersonal jñāna) and the eight siddhis of yoga personified appear before the devotee and say, “We have been sent by the Lord for your service. Please accept us.” Two verses explain this. Pṛthu’s mind became śuddha-sattva by service to the Lord (parikarma). By bhakti, jñāna (brahma-vidyā) endowed with detachment appeared spontaneously. What was that bhakti? It was filled with remembrance of the Lord at every moment. Even though the person practicing śuddha-bhakti, like cātaka bird, tastes the sweetness of bhakti alone, and does not accept brahma-vidyā, though it comes to him on its own, the destruction of his subtle body, a result of brahma-vidyā, takes place by bhakti alone, without seeking it. It has been said:

jarayaty āśu yā kośaṁ nigīrṇam analo yathā

Bhakti quickly destroys the subtle body, just as the digestive fire consumes food. SB 3.25.33

 

Just as a person sometimes takes some medicine to help quickly digest food, even though the digestive fire will digest food, Pṛthu, being anxious to attain direct service to the Lord in his abode, and unable to tolerate the delay, performed brahma-jñāna to destroy his subtle body. By that very sharp jñāna he cut the subtle body or covering (jīva-koṣam), a source of doubt. Pṛthu’s doubt was “I have not seen the Lord directly by my bhakti. Do I have a subtle body or not?” Actually, Pṛthu did not have a subtle body. He was an avatāra of the Lord.

 

yac cānyad api kṛṣṇasya

bhavān bhagavataḥ prabhoḥ

śravaḥ suśravasaḥ puṇyaṁ

pūrva-deha-kathāśrayam

 

bhaktāya me 'nuraktāya

tava cādhokṣajasya ca

vaktum arhasi yo 'duhyad

vainya-rūpeṇa gām imām

 

You should speak to me, your devotee and a devotee of the Lord and you, attached to hearing, about he who milked the earth in the form of Pṛthu, and other pure, famous topics related to the previous birth of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. SB 4.19.6-7

 

naivātmane mahendrāya roṣam āhartum arhasi

ubhāv api hi bhadraṁ te uttamaśloka-vigrahau

 

You should not show anger to Indra, since he is non-different from you. Good fortune to both of you, who are forms of the Supreme Lord! SB 4.19.33

 

Pṛthu’s desire to give up his body by yoga is only showing the greatness of his devotion, in which he thinks of himself as an ordinary person. Mention of giving up his body is only for letting the materialists preserve their mentality. This appearance is handled by māyā in the case of both the avatāras and the devotees. Among the forms of the Lord, Rāma does not give up his body, and among the devotees, Dhruva does not up his body. These examples indicate the truth for all forms of the Lord and perfected devotees. This conclusion is given for the devotees.

 

|| 4.23.12 ||