Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Radha Krishna

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Excerpt from:

Songs of the Vaishnava Acaryas

By

Acytananada Swami

Öhäkura Bhaktivinoda led a life of incessant labor and activity for Çré Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He effected such immense good in the world that his work is only to be compared with the
unbounded works of Çré Caitanya Himself and the Gosvämés. It was the spiritual attempts and divine writings of this individual that turned the
scale and led the intelligent and educated community to believe in the noble precepts and teachings of Lord Caitanya.

If we look back one century, we cannot but be astonished to find how degraded was the condition of the Vaiñëava faith which had its pure
origin in the deep and majestic spiritual philosophy of Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Even vastly learned paëòitas could not fathom the superexcellent precepts of Lord Caitanya’s philosophy, yet due to
incredulity born of the ignorance of uncultured men, the Vaisëava faith had been degraded and was considered a beggar’s excuse for living at the
expense of society. It was by sheer love for the Godhead that Öhäkura Bhaktivinoda expounded the deep philosophy which had remained concealed in the pages of the Vedas, the Upaniñads, the Puräëas, and the Bhägavatam. By his action toward divine service and also by his words, set in simple language to be easily understood by readers in general, he has
given this philosophy to the world. It is his writings and his divine, unparalleled character that have helped to produce a class of educated and enlightened men who are now proud of their Vaiñëava faith and of their acquisition of the spiritual knowledge of the pure and sublime philosophy of Kåñëa, on which the stern teachings of Çré Caitanya are based.

Though born in opulent circumstances (on September 2, 1838), Öhäkura Bhaktivinoda, who was given the name Kedäranätha Datta, had to meet
many difficulties in his early life. His childhood was spent at his maternal grandfather’s house at Bérnagar (Ulägräm), from where he came to Calcutta at the age of thirteen, after the death of his father. After he
completed his education, he was requested to be present at the time of his paternal grandfather’s death. His grandfather, Räjavallabha Datta, had
been a famous personality of Calcutta and had retired to a lonely place in Orissa to spend his last days as an ascetic. He could predict the future and
knew when he would die, since he could commune with supernatural beings. Öhäkura Bhaktivinoda was present at the eventful time when that great soul passed away, and after receiving his grandfather’s instructions, he visited all of the major temples and äçramas of the state of Orissa.

Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura then entered the educational service and introduced English education into the state of Orissa for the first time. He wrote a small book about all the äçramas of the state and mentioned an äçrama which was on his ancestors’ property. "I have a small village Choöimaìgalpur in the country of Orissa of which I am the proprietor,"
he wrote. "In that village is a religious house which was granted by my predecessors to the holy men as a holding of rent-free land. The head of the institution entirely gave up entertaining such men as chanced to seek shelter on a rainy night. This came to my notice, and I administered a severe threat that his lands would be cruelly resumed if in the future
complaints of inhospitality were brought to my knowledge." Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura later took to the government service and was transferred to Bengal. In one town he gave a historic speech on the Çrémad-Bhägavatam which attracted the attention of thousands. He made the world know what hidden treasures pervade every page of the Bhägavatam, which should be read by all persons having a philosophical turn of mind. He was transferred some years later to a town called Champäran. In this town
there was a brahma-daitya living in a great banyan tree, and he was being worshiped by many degraded people. (A brahma-daitya is a type of ghost.)

One day the father of a famous girl scholar came to Bhaktivinoda for alms,and Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura at once employed him in reading the Bhägavatam under the shade of the banyan tree which was the abode of the ghost. After one month, the Bhägavatam was completed, and then and there the tree crashed to the ground, and the ghost was gone for good.

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Nectar of Instruction

 

His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Text 1

In his book Prema-vivarta, Chapter Seven, Śrī Jagadānanda Paṇḍita says:

vairāgī bhāi grāmya-kathā nā śunibe kāne
grāmya-vārtā nā kahibe yabe milibe āne

svapane o nā kara bhāi strī-sambhāṣaṇa
gṛhe strī chāḍiyā bhāi āsiyācha vana

yadi cāha praṇaya rākhite gaurāṅgera sane
choṭa haridāsera kathā thāke yena mane

bhāla nā khāibe āra bhāla nā paribe
hṛdayete rādhā-kṛṣṇa sarvadā sevibe

“My dear brother, you are in the renounced order of life and should not listen to talk about ordinary worldly things, nor should you talk about worldly things when you meet with others. Do not think of women even in dreams. You have accepted the renounced order of life with a vow that forbids you to associate with women. If you wish to associate with Caitanya Mahāprabhu, you must always remember the incident of Choṭa Haridāsa and how he was rejected by the Lord. Do not eat luxurious dishes or dress in fine garments, but always remain humble and serve Their Lordships Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in your heart of hearts.”

The conclusion is that one who can control these six items—speech, mind, anger, tongue, belly and genitals—is to be called a svāmī or gosvāmī. Svāmī means master, and gosvāmī means master of the go, or senses. When one accepts the renounced order of life, he automatically assumes the title of svāmī. This does not mean that he is the master of his family, community or society; he must be master of his senses. Unless one is master of his senses, he should not be called gosvāmī, but go-dāsa, servant of the senses. Following in the footsteps of the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, all svāmīs and gosvāmīs should fully engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. As opposed to this, the go-dāsas engage in the service of the senses or in the service of the material world. They have no other engagement. Prahlāda Mahārāja has further described the go-dāsa as adānta-go, which refers to one whose senses are not controlled. An adānta-go cannot become a servant of Kṛṣṇa. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.30), Prahlāda Mahārāja has said:

matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām

“For those who have decided to continue their existence in this material world for the gratification of their senses, there is no chance of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, not by personal endeavor, by instruction from others or by joint conferences. They are dragged by the unbridled senses into the darkest region of ignorance, and thus they madly engage in what is called ‘chewing the chewed.’ ”

 

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CONSTITUTION OF ASSOCIATION

The following is the CONSTITUTION OF ASSOCIATION written by Srila Prabhupada in his first year at Second Avenue in New York City in July of 1966.

His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

1. The name of the society is The International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

2. The headquarters of the Society are located at Radhakrishna Temple, 26 Second Avenue, New York City, 10003, USA.

3. The objectives for which the Society is being established are:
(A) To educate the greater human society in the techniques of spiritual life as the basis for a balanced psychic and biological development, and thereby achieve for the first time in human society a real peace and unity among the contending forces in the world today.
(B) To propagate the Sense of Godhead, the all attractive Personality of primal and eternal Form, as He Himself revealed in His own words in the Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Scripture of the Lord Sri Krishna, the Godhead.
(C) To bring together individuals in a Society, regardless of nationality and irrespective of creed or caste, in order to develop a nearness to the Godhead and thereby the idea that within the members and humanity-at-large there is an infinitesimal soul-spirit that is part and parcel in quality with the Godhead, and that all life is meant for the satisfaction of said Godhead, the Supreme Soul.
(D) To encourage the teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who demonstrated practically the transcendental process of approaching the absolute Personality of Godhead by His acts of congregational chanting of the holy name of God, a process known as Samkirtan.
(E) To prove by active work and preaching that Lord Sri Krishna is the only enjoyer of all the outcomes of individual and collective sacrifice, penance, meditation, arts, culture, science, because He is the Supreme Proprietor of the whole universe, eternally apart of Him everyone knows Him as a friend. Real peace can be attained when this is realized, in fact.
(F) To assist whenever and wherever possible in the building of a social structure on the real foundation of spiritual progress and establishment of peace and unity between men throughout the world.
(G) To attempt to save men individually from the chain of victimization the ongoing trend in modern civilization operates by, in the name of ideologies of false sentiment, so that Man may again be a free soul, to act and live freely with spiritual vision. This is possible by individual spiritual initiation, Diksha, when a man can see everything in Godhead and Godhead in everything.
(H) To further toward realization this highest truth as revealed by Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the six Goswamins headed by Srila Rupa and Sanatana Goswamins.
(I) To have for its objectives amongst the others four principles which the Goswamins had in view. They are the following:
1. To erect a holy place of transcendental pastimes as well as a place where members of the Lord Sri Krishna can flourish.
2. To propagate all over the world in the form of missionaries the process of devotion, the transcendental service to the Godhead, and to make known that this devotional service is the main function of the human being.
3. In order to accomplish this, to adopt proselytizing methods of peaceful means and to establish a broader society of association for all members, including scholars and admirers, to engage in this service as put forth in the Srimad Bhagwatam.

4. To install, wherever it is possible, the worship and temple of Radhakrishna and that of Sri Chaitanya, and to give facility to everyone to become trained in the modes of Archan or preparatory principles of devotional service.
(J) To introduce to the members of the Society and humanity-at-large a simpler and more natural purpose in life by means suitable to the particular place and time, and as enjoined in the Bhagavad Gita.
(K) To organize educational programs, such as classes and lecture tours, and to institute services, such as mailing, for the benefit of the members of the Society and humanity-at-large.
(L) To publish periodicals, books and/or pamphlets in all important languages in order to reach human society and give an opportunity to same to communicate with the Society.
(M) To invoke the quality of goodness particularly in every member of the Society, individually by the process of Diksha and by establishing one in the status of a Brahmin (good and intelligent man) on the basis of truthfulness, knowledge and faith in the transcendental service of the Lord.
(N) Among the secondary objectives of the Society, it shall undertake the following activities:
1. To revive the scientific system of social orders of classification based on intelligence, martial spirit, productivity and common assistance, generally known as the four castes with reference to quality and worth for the common cause of world society.
2. To discharge as a matter of course the vitiated system of supremacy of one man over another by false prestige of birthright or vested interests.
3. To popularize the vegetable-grain diet under approved methods in order that full value of protein, carbohydrate, fat and vitamin benefit may be derived therefrom.
4. To discourage intoxicating or addicting habits of all descriptions and dimensions and to expose such persons thus afflicted to approved methods of spiritual realization.

                    A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Acharya

                    Raymond Marais
                    Michael A. Grant
                    Robert Lefkowitz
                    James S. Greene

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3

AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prahupada

The following is from statements that appeared in the New York Times on August 21, 2012.

Assad has claimed he would not use Chemical Weapons on his own citizens.

It is clear that Obama has. In McCloud California this ongoing while wildfires have burned several homes. If the firefighters are using surface water from streams and lakes it would be contaminated.

“We cannot have a situation in which chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people,” Mr. Obama said in response to questions at an impromptu news conference at the White House. “We have been very clear to the Assad regime but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is, we start seeing a whole bunch of weapons moving around or being utilized.”

“That would change my calculus,” he added. “That would change my equation.”

TEXT 1

arjuna uvāca

jyāyasī cet karmaṇas te

matā buddhir janārdana

tat kiṁ karmaṇi ghore māṁ

niyojayasi keśava

SYNONYMS

arjunaḥ—Arjuna; uvāca—said; jyāyasī—speaking very highly; cet—although; karmaṇaḥ—than fruitive action; te—your; matā—opinion; buddhiḥ—intelligence; janārdana—O Kṛṣṇa; tat—therefore; kim—why; karmaṇi—in action; ghore—ghastly; mām—me; niyojayasi—engaging me; keśava—O Kṛṣṇa.

TRANSLATION

Arjuna said: O Janārdana, O Keśava, why do You urge me to engage in this ghastly warfare, if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work?

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa has very elaborately described the constitution of the soul in the previous chapter, with a view to deliver His intimate friend Arjuna from the ocean of material grief. And the path of realization has been recommended: buddhi-yoga, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa consciousness is misunderstood to be inertia, and one with such a misunderstanding often withdraws to a secluded place to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious by chanting the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But without being trained in the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is not advisable to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa in a secluded place where one may acquire only cheap adoration from the innocent public. Arjuna also thought of Kṛṣṇa consciousness or buddhi-yoga, or intelligence in spiritual advancement of knowledge, as something like retirement from active life and the practice of penance and austerity at a secluded place. In other words, he wanted to skillfully avoid the fighting by using Kṛṣṇa consciousness as an excuse. But as a sincere student, he placed the matter before his master and questioned Kṛṣṇa as to his best course of action. In answer, Lord Kṛṣṇa elaborately explained karma-yoga, or work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in this Third Chapter.

TEXT 21

yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas

tat tad evetaro janaḥ

sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute

lokas tad anuvartate

SYNONYMS

yat—whatever; yat—and whichever; ācarati—does he act; śreṣṭhaḥ—respectable leader; tat—that; tat—and that alone; eva—certainly; itaraḥ—common; janaḥ—person; saḥ—he; yat—whichever; pramāṇam—evidence; kurute—does perform; lokaḥ—all the world; tat—that; anuvartate—follow in the footsteps.

TRANSLATION

Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.

PURPORT

People in general always require a leader who can teach the public by practical behavior. A leader cannot teach the public to stop smoking if he himself smokes. Lord Caitanya said that a teacher should behave properly even before he begins teaching. One who teaches in that way is called ācārya, or the ideal teacher. Therefore, a teacher must follow the principles of śāśtra (scripture) to reach the common man. The teacher cannot manufacture rules against the principles of revealed scriptures. The revealed scriptures, like Manu-saṁhitā and similar others, are considered the standard books to be followed by human society. Thus the leader's teaching should be based on the principles of the standard rules as they are practiced by the great teachers. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also affirms that one should follow in the footsteps of great devotees, and that is the way of progress on the path of spiritual realization. The king or the executive head of a state, the father and the school teacher are all considered to be natural leaders of the innocent people in general. All such natural leaders have a great responsibility to their dependents; therefore they must be conversant with standard books of moral and spiritual codes.

 

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Divine and Demonic Natures

Bhagavad Gita As It Is

Srila Prabhupada

Radha Kund

Chapter 16

TEXT 8

asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te

jagad āhur anīśvaram

aparaspara-sambhūtaṁ

kim anyat kāma-haitukam

SYNONYMS

asatyam—unreal; apratiṣṭham—without foundation; te—they; jagat—the cosmic manifestation; āhuḥ—is said; anīśvaram—with no controller; aparaspara—by mutual lust; sambhūtam—caused; kim anyat—there is no other cause; kāma-haitukam—it is due to lust only.

TRANSLATION

They say that this world is unreal, that there is no foundation and that there is no God in control. It is produced of sex desire, and has no cause other than lust.

PURPORT

The demoniac conclude that the world is phantasmagoria. There is no cause, no effect, no controller, no purpose: everything is unreal. They say that this cosmic manifestation arises due to chance material actions and reactions. They do not think that the world was created by God for a certain purpose. They have their own theory: that the world has come about in its own way and that there is no reason to believe that there is a God behind it. For them there is no difference between spirit and matter, and they do not accept the Supreme Spirit. Everything is matter only, and the whole cosmos is supposed to be a mass of ignorance. According to them, everything is void, and whatever manifestation exists is due to our ignorance in perception. They take it for granted that all manifestation of diversity is a display of ignorance. Just as in a dream we may create so many things, which actually have no existence, so when we are awake we shall see that everything is simply a dream. But factually, although the demons say that life is a dream, they are very expert in enjoying this dream. And so, instead of acquiring knowledge, they become more and more implicated in their dreamland. They conclude that as a child is simply the result of sexual intercourse between man and woman, this world is born without any soul. For them it is only a combination of matter that has produced the living entities, and there is no question of the existence of the soul. As many living creatures come out from perspiration and from a dead body without any cause, similarly, the whole living world has come out of the material combinations of the cosmic manifestation. Therefore material nature is the cause of this manifestation, and there is no other cause. They do not believe in the words of Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā: mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram. "Under My direction the whole material world is moving." In other words, amongst the demons there is no perfect knowledge of the creation of this world; every one of them has some particular theory of his own. According to them, one interpretation of the scriptures is as good as another, for they do not believe in a standard understanding of the scriptural injunctions.

TEXT 9

etāṁ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya

naṣṭātmāno 'lpa-buddhayaḥ

prabhavanty ugra-karmāṇaḥ

kṣayāya jagato 'hitāḥ

SYNONYMS

etām—thus; dṛṣṭim—vision; avaṣṭabhya—accepting; naṣṭa—lost; ātmānaḥ—self; alpa-buddhayaḥ—less intelligent; prabhavanti—flourish; ugra-karmāṇaḥ—in painful activities; kṣayāya—for destruction; jagataḥ—of the world; ahitāḥ—unbeneficial.

TRANSLATION

Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.

PURPORT

The demoniac are engaged in activities that will lead the world to destruction. The Lord states here that they are less intelligent. The materialists, who have no concept of God, think that they are advancing. But, according to Bhagavad-gītā, they are unintelligent and devoid of all sense. They try to enjoy this material world to the utmost limit and therefore always engage in inventing something for sense gratification. Such materialistic inventions are considered to be advancement of human civilization, but the result is that people grow more and more violent and more and more cruel, cruel to animals and cruel to other human beings. They have no idea how to behave toward one another. Animal killing is very prominent amongst demoniac people. Such people are considered the enemies of the world because ultimately they will invent or create something which will bring destruction to all. Indirectly, this verse anticipates the invention of nuclear weapons, of which the whole world is today very proud. At any moment war may take place, and these atomic weapons may create havoc. Such things are created solely for the destruction of the world, and this is indicated here. Due to godlessness, such weapons are invented in human society; they are not meant for the peace and prosperity of the world.

 

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Srimad Bhagavatam

Canto 7
TEXT 2

TRANSLATION

Lord Viñhëu Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the reservoir of all pleasure. Therefore, what benefit would He derive from siding with the demigods? What interest would He fulfill in this way? Since the Lord is transcendental, why should He fear the asuras, and how could He be envious of them?

PURPORT

We should always remember the distinction between spiritual and material. That which is material is infected by material qualities, but these qualities cannot touch that which is spiritual, or transcendental. Kåñëa is absolute, whether He is in the material world or spiritual world. When we see partiality in Kåñëa, this vision is due to His external energy. Otherwise how could His enemies attain salvation after being killed by Him? Everyone who deals with the Supreme Personality of Godhead gradually acquires the qualities of the Lord. The more one advances in spiritual consciousness, the less he is affected by the duality of material qualities. The Supreme Lord, therefore, must certainly be freed from these qualities. His enmity and friendship are external features presented by the material energy. He is always transcendental. He is absolute, whether He kills or bestows His favor.

Envy and friendship arise in one who is imperfect. We fear our enemies because in the material world we are always in need of help. The Lord, however, does not need anyone's help, for He is ätmäräma. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.26):

patraà puñpaà phalaà toyaà
yo me bhaktyä prayacchati
tad ahaà bhakty-upahåtam
açnämi prayatätmanaù

"If a devotee offers Me with devotion a little leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I shall accept it." Why does the Lord say this? Is He dependent on the offering of the devotee? He is not actually dependent, but He likes to be dependent upon His devotee. This is His mercy. Similarly, He does not fear the asuras. Thus there is no question of partiality in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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The Kidnapping of Subhadra and Lord Krishna’s Visiting Sukadeva and Balarama

Krishna Book

Chapter 31

The Kidnapping of Subhadrä and Lord Kåñëa's Visiting Çukadeva and Balarama

After hearing this incident, King Parékñit became more inquisitive to hear about Kåñëa and His pastimes, and thus he inquired from Çukadeva Gosvämé how his grandmother Subhadrä was kidnapped by his grandfather Arjuna at the instigation of Lord Kåñëa. King Parékñit was very much eager to learn about his grandfather's kidnapping and marriage of his grandmother.

Thus Çukadeva Gosvämé began to narrate the story as follows: "Once upon a time, your grandfather Arjuna, the great hero, was visiting several holy places of pilgrimage, and while he was thus traveling all over he happened to come to Prabhäsakñetra. In the Prabhäsakñetra he heard the news that Lord Balaräma was negotiating the marriage of Subhadrä, the daughter of Arjuna's maternal uncle, Vasudeva. Although her father, Vasudeva, and her brother, Kåñëa, were not in agreement with Him, Balaräma was in favor of marrying Subhadrä to Duryodhana. Arjuna, however, desired to gain the hand of Subhadrä."

As he thought of Subhadrä and her beauty, Arjuna became more and more captivated with the idea of marrying her, and with a plan in mind he dressed himself like a Vaiñëava sannyäsé, carrying a tridaëòa in his hand. The Mäyävädé sannyäsés take one daëòa, or one rod, whereas the Vaiñëava sannyäsés take three daëòa, or three rods. The three rods, or tridaëòa, indicate that a Vaiñëava sannyäsé vows to render service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his body, mind and words. The system of tridaëòa-sannyäsa has been in existence for a long time, and the Vaiñëava sannyäsés are called tridaëòés, or sometimes tridaëòi-svämés or tridaëòi-gosvämés.

Sannyäsés are generally meant to travel all over the country for preaching work, but during the four months of the rainy season in India, from September through December, they do not travel, but take shelter in one place and remain there without moving. This non-movement of the sannyäsé is called Cäturmäsya-vrata. When a sannyäsé stays in a place for four months, the local inhabitants of that place take advantage of his presence to become spiritually advanced.
Arjuna, in the dress of a tridaëòi-sannyäsé, remained in the city of Dvärakä four months, devising a plan whereby he could get Subhadrä as his wife. The inhabitants of Dvärakä as well as Lord Balaräma could not recognize the sannyäsé to be Arjuna; therefore all of them offered their respect and obeisances to the sannyäsé without knowing the actual situation.

One day Lord Balaräma invited this particular sannyäsé to lunch at His home. Balarämajé very respectfully offered him all kinds of palatable dishes, and the so-called sannyäsé was eating sumptuously. While eating at the home of Balarämajé, Arjuna was simply looking over beautiful Subhadrä, who was very enchanting even to the great heroes and kings. Out of love for her, Arjuna's eyes brightened, and he began to see her with glittering eyes. Arjuna decided that somehow or other he would achieve Subhadrä as his wife, and his mind became agitated on account of this strong desire.

Arjuna, the grandfather of Mahäräja Parékñit, was himself extraordinarily beautiful, and his bodily structure was very much attractive to Subhadrä. Subhadrä also decided within her mind that she would accept only Arjuna as her husband. As a simple girl, she was smiling with great pleasure, looking at Arjuna. Thus Arjuna also became more and more attracted by her. In this way, Subhadrä dedicated herself to Arjuna, and he resolved to marry her by any means. He then became absorbed twenty-four hours a day in the thought of how he could get Subhadrä as his wife. He was afflicted with the thought of getting Subhadrä, and he had not a moment's peace of mind.

Once upon a time, Subhadrä, seated on a chariot, came out of the palace fort to see the gods in the temple. Arjuna took this opportunity, and with the permission of Vasudeva and Devaké, he kidnapped her. After getting on Subhadrä's chariot, he prepared himself for a fight. Taking up his bow and holding off with his arrows the soldiers ordered to check him, Arjuna took Subhadrä away. While Subhadrä was being thus kidnapped by Arjuna, her relatives and family members began to cry, but still he took her, just as a lion takes his share and departs. When it was disclosed to Lord Balaräma that the so-called sannyäsé was Arjuna, and that he had planned such a device simply to take away Subhadrä and that he had actually taken her, He became very angry. Just as the waves of the ocean become agitated on a full moon day, Lord Balaräma became greatly disturbed.

Lord Kåñëa was in favor of Arjuna; therefore, along with other members of the family, He tried to pacify Balaräma by falling at His feet and begging Him to pardon Arjuna. Lord Balaräma was then convinced that Subhadrä was attached to Arjuna, and He became pleased to know that she wanted Arjuna as her husband. The matter was settled, and in order to please the newly married couple, Lord Balaräma arranged to send a dowry, consisting of an abundance of riches, elephants, chariots, horses, servants and maidservants…

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