Main topics:

• The Passing Away of Bhīṣmadeva
• Description of Krsna’s glories
• Why did the Pandavas suffer if they are pure devotees?
• Bhismadeva’s last instructions
• Yudhisthira rules the kingdom and the departure of Krsna
• Kṛṣṇa’s entrance into Dvārakā
• Krsna is greeted by His queens

The Passing Away of Bhīṣmadeva

Bhismadeva was defeated by Arjuna and Srikandi during the 10th day of the battle of Kuruksetra. Dozens of arrows transpassed his body, but he landed in such a way that the arrows supported the weight of his body, and he didn’t touch the ground. It looked like he was lying on a bed of arrows. Later, at his request, Arjuna added three arrows under his head, that served as a pillow.

Any regular person would die instantly in this situation, but because Bhismadeva had the blessing he would not die until the time he had chosen, he remained alive and conscious, even in this situation. He was waiting for an auspicious moment to leave his body.

It’s mentioned in the Bhagavad-Gita that a yogi should leave his body during the months the sun travels in the northern hemisphere, so Bhismadeva was patiently waiting for the right period to come.

The news that the great Bhismadeva was preparing to leave his body quickly spread, and many great sages and other important personalities came to pay him their respects, including Vyasadeva and Sukadeva Goswami. It’s mentioned (1.9.5) that “all the great souls in the universe, namely the ṛṣis amongst the demigods, brāhmaṇas, and kings, all situated in the quality of goodness, were assembled there.”

Chronologically speaking, these events happened around the time of the birth of Pariksit Maharaja, many years before Sukadeva Goswami spoke the Srimad Bhagavatam to him.

At the end of the 8th chapter, Maharaja Yudhisthira was mortified by the results of the battle of Kuruksetra, shocked by the carnage and fearing the karmic repercussions of it. Krsna Himself tried to give him instructions in this regard, but the lamentation persisted. One could question how is it so since Krsna is the ultimate authority and Yudhisthira should have been able to accept His words. The answer was that there was a superior plan. Krsna wanted to pay a visit to Bhismadeva and be with him at the crucial moment he was leaving this world.

The Pandavas traveled from Hastinapura to Kuruksetra in a royal procession. Srila Prabhupada explains this detail in his purport to SB 1.9.3:

“Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa wanted the Pāṇḍavas to be present before Bhīṣmadeva in the most aristocratic order so that he might be pleased to see them happy at the time of his death. Kuvera is the richest of all the demigods, and herein King Yudhiṣṭhira appeared like him (Kuvera), for the procession along with Śrī Kṛṣṇa was quite appropriate to the royalty of King Yudhiṣṭhira.”

Seeing Bhismadeva, all the Pandavas offered him obeisances. A significative detail is that although Krsna is the Supreme Lord, He also offered obeisances to Bhismadeva, following the example of the king. Just as He explains in the Bhagavad-Gita, Krsna always follows religious principles as a way to give example to us. By this act, Krsna shows us that no matter how exalted a person is, he should not fail to offer respect to seniors.

With the appearance of Krsna in the scene, even more great personalities joined the assembly, like Kaśyapa, Āṅgirasa, and their many disciples. It’s described that Bhismadeva was shining in the middle of this assembly, just like a demigod who had fallen from the sky.

Due to his situation, Bhismadeva was not capable of offering them a proper reception, but he still satisfied them with sweet words, smiles, and so on. In this way, all the great personalities who had come to see him were fully satisfied with his welcome. Prabhupada mentions that “One can perform one’s duty by physical work, by mind, and by words. And he knew well how to utilize them in the proper place, and therefore there was no difficulty for him to receive them, although physically unfit.” Bhismadeva was also able to duly worship Krsna by the same process.

It’s difficult for us to conceive how emotional was the meetings of Bhismadeva, Krsna, and the Pandavas. It’s described that the Pandavas sat silently, overwhelmed by feelings of affection for their grandfather, while Bhismadeva shed tears of love in seeing that the Pandavas, after all tribulations, were finally well situated.

” Bhīṣmadeva said: Oh, what terrible sufferings and what terrible injustices you good souls suffer for being the sons of religion personified. You did not deserve to remain alive under those tribulations, yet you were protected by the brāhmaṇas, God and religion.” (SB 1.9.12)

With these words, Bhismadeva emphasized that the events of the battle of Kuruksetra were not the fault of the Pandavas, since they were just victims of injustice, and the battle was the result of a superior arrangement to correct such injustices.

As Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport: “Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was disturbed due to the great massacre in the Battle of Kurukṣetra. Bhīṣmadeva could understand this, and therefore he spoke first of the terrible sufferings of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. He was put into difficulty by injustice only, and the Battle of Kurukṣetra was fought just to counteract this injustice. Therefore, he should not regret the great massacre. He wanted to point out particularly that they were always protected by the brāhmaṇas, the Lord and religious principles. As long as they were protected by these three important items, there was no cause of disappointment. Thus Bhīṣmadeva encouraged Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira to dissipate his despondency. As long as a person is fully in cooperation with the wishes of the Lord, guided by the bona fide brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas and strictly following religious principles, one has no cause for despondency, however trying the circumstances of life. Bhīṣmadeva, as one of the authorities in the line, wanted to impress this point upon the Pāṇḍavas.”

A common question about the Pandavas is that being pure devotees of Krsna, how could they suffer so many difficulties? Was Krsna not supposed to protect his devotees? If even the Pandavas who were personal associates of the Lord passed through so many tribulations, what is the hope for us?

“Oh, how wonderful is the influence of inevitable time! It is irreversible — otherwise, how can there be reverses in the presence of King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of the demigod controlling religion; Bhīma, the great fighter with a club; the great bowman Arjuna with his mighty weapon Gāṇḍīva; and above all, the Lord, the direct well-wisher of the Pāṇḍavas?
O King, no one can know the plan of the Lord [Śrī Kṛṣṇa]. Even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered.” (SB 1.9.15-16)

Certainly, these difficulties were not caused by the results of past sinful actions because they didn’t have any results of previous Karma to suffer or enjoy due to the level of their devotional service. Bhismadeva explains that all happened due to the influence of the Lord, manifested through Kala, the inevitable time.

As Srila Prabhupada mentions: “The popular saying is that a housewife teaches the daughter-in-law by teaching the daughter. Similarly, the Lord teaches the world by teaching the devotee. The devotee does not have to learn anything new from the Lord because the Lord teaches the sincere devotee always from within. Whenever, therefore, a show is made to teach the devotee, as in the case of the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, it is for teaching the less intelligent men.” (1.9.17)

Krsna wanted to use the Pandavas as an example of how determined one must be on the path of virtue, not deviating from religious and devotional principles even when facing the greatest calamities, and how by following this path one eventually becomes victorious. No common person could survive the tests the Pandavas went through, therefore, just as only an advanced student can pass the hardest exams, the role had to be performed by the greatest devotees.

As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to 1.9.16: “The sufferings of the Pāṇḍavas were never due to their past deeds. The Lord had to execute the plan of establishing the kingdom of virtue, and therefore His own devotees suffered temporarily in order to establish the conquest of virtue. Bhīṣmadeva was certainly satisfied by seeing the triumph of virtue, and he was glad to see King Yudhiṣṭhira on the throne, although he himself fought against him.”

Another meaning is that anyone who is living in the material world —even devotees— has to go through difficulties, simply because this is the nature of this world. Just as we have to face difficulties and discomfort while traveling, it’s not possible to be entirely comfortable in this world, simply because that’s not our home. Even Devaki, the mother of Krsna, suffered so many difficulties. The point about Krsna consciousness is not to live a peaceful life free of difficulties, but to learn to gradually surrender to Krsna in the course of such difficulties. Although a devotee may face difficulties in the normal course of life, his ultimate success is guaranteed, as Krsna promises in the Bhagavad-Gita: na me bhaktah pranasyati, “My devotee never perishes.”

An even higher meaning, however, is that the Lord sometimes puts His pure devotees into difficulties to bring them even closer to Him. The difficulties are thus a tool to increase the reciprocation of transcendental feelings between the Lord and His devotees. As explained in the purport:

“Tribulations imposed upon the devotees by the Lord constitute another exchange of transcendental bhāva between the Lord and the devotees. The Lord says, “I put My devotee into difficulty, and thus the devotee becomes more purified in exchanging transcendental bhāva with Me.” Placing the devotee into material troubles means delivering him from the illusory material relations. The material relations are based on reciprocation of material enjoyment, which depends mainly on material resources. Therefore, when material resources are withdrawn by the Lord, the devotee is cent-percent attracted toward the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Thus the Lord snatches the fallen soul from the mire of material existence. Tribulations offered by the Lord to His devotee are different from the tribulations resulting from vicious action. ” (1.9.19)

It’s very easy for Krsna to give material facilities or even impersonal liberation to anyone who asks for it. When a neophyte devotee worships the Lord asking for material opulence, the Lord often satisfies his desire. However, when the Lord is truly merciful to a devotee, He gives experiences that will help the devotee come closer to Him. When a neophyte devotee experiences material difficulties, these are often due to the results of his past karma and often become obstacles to his spiritual practice. That’s why the spiritual master takes away the results of the past karma from the disciple at the time of initiation. In the case of a sincere devotee who gets the special mercy of the Lord, however, the so-called material difficulties are sent directly by the Lord, and the result is that they make the devotee the devotee fully surrender to the Lord and attain pure devotional service to Him.

Another question one could ask is how Bhismadeva could have fought on the side of Duryodhana, instead of supporting the Pandavas. Prabhupada explains that this was also the arrangement of the Lord:

“Even a great fighter like Bhīṣma could not win the Battle of Kurukṣetra because the Lord wanted to show that vice cannot conquer virtue, regardless of who tries to execute it. Bhīṣmadeva was a great devotee of the Lord, but he chose to fight against the Pāṇḍavas by the will of the Lord because the Lord wanted to show that a fighter like Bhīṣma cannot win on the wrong side.”

The next question is about what should Maharaja Yudhisthira do now that the battle is concluded. This whole passage started because Krsna wanted him to find a solution to this question. This was answered by Bhismadeva in the next verse:

“O best among the descendants of Bharata [Yudhiṣṭhira], I maintain, therefore, that all this is within the plan of the Lord. Accepting the inconceivable plan of the Lord, you must follow it. You are now the appointed administrative head, and, my lord, you should now take care of those subjects who are now rendered helpless.”

The purport mentions: “The Pāṇḍavas were advised by Bhīṣmadeva to accept the responsibility of administration without hesitation. The poor subjects were without protection due to the Battle of Kurukṣetra, and they were awaiting the assumption of power by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. A pure devotee of the Lord accepts tribulations as favors from the Lord. Since the Lord is absolute, there is no mundane difference between the two.”

Once, Srila Prabhupada commented that we may have different plans, but Krsna has His own plan, and we should dovetail our plans with Krsna’s transcendental plan. Material life means trying to act independently, while spiritual life means dovetailing our actions and desires with the desires of the Lord.

The Lord desires that all souls can eventually go back to Him, and for this end not only does He come personally, but sends His pure devotees to teach us the proper way to act, and the path back to Godhead. The Pandavas never left the path of virtue, even while going through so many tribulations, and now, after being reinstated to the throne, Yudhisthira Maharaja had the duty of properly taking care of the kingdom and protecting the people. Yudhisthira Maharaja didn’t have any desire to sit on the throne, and that’s precisely what made him the most qualified person for the job. Usually, materialistic people are attracted to positions of leadership, but when there they just exploit the situation for their purposes. Only a sincere devotee who rules not out of personal ambition but as a service to the Lord can be a proper ruler, following the footsteps of Maharaja Yudhisthira.

Description of Krsna’s glories

Having explained the point about the sufferings of the Pandavas and given instructions to Maharaja Yudhisthira on what to do next, Bhismadeva continues by describing some of Krsna’s glories:

“This Śrī Kṛṣṇa is no other than the inconceivable, original Personality of Godhead. He is the first Nārāyaṇa, the supreme enjoyer. But He is moving amongst the descendants of King Vṛṣṇi just like one of us, and He is bewildering us with His self-created energy.
O King, Lord Śiva, Nārada the sage amongst the demigods, and Kapila, the incarnation of Godhead, all know very confidentially about His glories through direct contact.
O King, that personality whom, out of ignorance only, you thought to be your maternal cousin, your very dear friend, well-wisher, counselor, messenger, benefactor, etc., is that very Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Being the Absolute Personality of Godhead, He is present in everyone’s heart. He is equally kind to everyone, and He is free from the false ego of differentiation. Therefore whatever He does is free from material inebriety. He is equibalanced.
Yet, despite His being equally kind to everyone, He has graciously come before me while I am ending my life, for I am His unflinching servitor.
The Personality of Godhead, who appears in the mind of the devotee by attentive devotion and meditation and by chanting of the holy name, releases the devotee from the bondage of fruitive activities at the time of his quitting the material body.
May my Lord, who is four-handed and whose beautifully decorated lotus face, with eyes as red as the rising sun, is smiling, kindly await me at that moment when I quit this material body.
(SB 1.9.18-24)

Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the first Narayana, the source of all incarnations. This is clearly shown in the pastime of Lord Brahma stealing the cowherd boys and calves that is described in the 10th canto. Krsna expanded Himself into innumerable Vishnu forms, taking the forms of all the boys and calves Brahma had stolen, and just continued playing His pastimes as if nothing had happened. When Brahma returned, after one year, Krsna revealed that each of these Vishnu forms had his own universe, complete with his own Brahma and Shiva. All these Vishnu forms and their respective universes were situated around Krsna!

The same Krsna played the role of a subordinate to the Pandavas, serving as a messenger to Maharaja Yudhisthira, as a chariot driver to Arjuna, and so on. Out of His causeless mercy and love for His pure devotees, Krsna can play any role and perform all kinds of service, but this doesn’t change His position as the Supreme.

In this material world, we see the distinction between superior and inferior due to the false ego. If an important person becomes a street sweeper, his reputation will be put into question. However, Krsna is free from false ego, and from any kind of material conception, and thus He is free to enact pastimes with His pure devotees in any way He wants. All His activities are completely transcendental and equally pure.

In his purport, Prabhupada makes the point that being dependent on the Supreme Lord is the natural position of the soul. Conversely, when we consider ourselves independent from the Lord, we fall down into material existence, the root of which is the false ego:

“Having unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord as one’s protector, friend and master is the natural condition of eternal life. A living entity is so made by the will of the Almighty that he is most happy when placing himself in a condition of absolute dependence. The opposite tendency is the cause of falldown. The living entity has this tendency of falling down by dint of misidentifying himself as fully independent to lord it over the material world. The root cause of all troubles is there in false egotism.”

Bhismadeva has a chivalrous relationship with Krsna. This was shown during the battle of Kuruksetra when he desired to make the Lord pick weapons and fight with Him. Now, in the final part of His life, Bhismadeva is preparing to leave his body in the most auspicious moment, in the presence of Krsna and His pure devotees. Although Bhismadeva could continue living if he wanted, he decided to abandon his body at this auspicious moment and go back to Godhead. This shows us that a long life is not very important, what is essential is to leave our bodies in a situation where we are surrounded by devotees and can remember Krsna.

As Srila Prabhupada mentions: “The only desire that a pure devotee entertains is that he may always be in rapt attention with thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord, regardless. Bhīṣmadeva wanted this much only: that his mind be absorbed in thinking of the Lord and that he pass away thus. That is the highest ambition of a pure devotee.”

Bhismadeva’s last instructions

Before passing away, Bhismadeva gave extensive instructions to Maharaja Yudhisthira about occupational duties and other topics. These discussions are described in the Bhisma Parva section of the Mahabharata, but are mentioned only briefly in the Bhagavatam:

“Sūta Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, after hearing Bhīṣmadeva speak in that appealing tone, asked him, in the presence of all the great ṛṣis, about the essential principles of various religious duties.
At Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry, Bhīṣmadeva first defined all the classifications of castes and orders of life in terms of the individual’s qualifications. Then he systematically, in twofold divisions, described counteraction by detachment and interaction by attachment.
He then explained, by divisions, acts of charity, the pragmatic activities of a king and activities for salvation. Then he described the duties of women and devotees, both briefly and extensively.
Then he described the occupational duties of different orders and statuses of life, citing instances from history, for he was himself well acquainted with the truth.
While Bhīṣmadeva was describing occupational duties, the sun’s course ran into the northern hemisphere. This period is desired by mystics who die at their will.” (SB 1.9.25-29)

Bhismadeva spoke on all these topics in the most difficult situation, on his deathbed, with his body pierced all over by arrows. This happened by the will of Krsna, who wanted to use the situation to increase the glory of His devotee. However, after concluding these topics, according to the desire of the Lord, Bhismadeva completely focused his attention on the Lord as Partha-Sarati, the driver of Arjuna’s chariot, with the reins and the whip in his hands. At this moment he felt more fortunate than Arjuna because being seated in the chariot Arjuna could see just the back of the Lord, while he could see the Lord from the front and thus appreciate his beauty fully.

This is also a lesson for us. During our lives, we may perform many different activities, but at the time of death, we should be capable of focusing our attention exclusively on Krsna. The best way to guarantee that is to practice during our lives. If we are able to always remember Krsna during our lives, we will be surely able to also remember Him at the time of death, and this thought will bring us back to the spiritual world. We should thus learn to connect the different activities we perform in our daily lives with Krsna, as He teaches in the Bhagavad-Gita.

Two especially beautiful verses are 1.9.30 and 31, which describe the glory of Bhismadeva while leaving his body:

“Thereupon that man who spoke on different subjects with thousands of meanings, and who fought on thousands of battlefields and protected thousands of men, stopped speaking and, being completely freed from all bondage, withdrew his mind from everything else and fixed his wide-open eyes upon the original Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who stood before him, four-handed, dressed in yellow garments that glittered and shined.
By pure meditation, looking at Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he at once was freed from all material inauspiciousness and was relieved of all bodily pains caused by the arrow wounds. Thus all the external activities of his senses at once stopped, and he prayed transcendentally to the controller of all living beings while quitting his material body.”

Verses 32 to 42 describe the beautiful prayers that Bhismadeva offered to the Lord while leaving his body. When Bhismadeva finally returned home, back to Godhead, all the great personalities present first became silent for some time, offering their last respects to the great soul, and then sounded drums in honor. Even the demigods participated by offering flowers that fell from the sky. After performing the funeral rites and glorifying Krsna, Who was personally present, all the great sages returned to their respective hermitages.

Bhismadeva can be a difficult personality to understand. He was one of the 12 Mahajanas, one of the greatest authorities in spiritual science. He knew perfectly all the moral principles, and could perfectly instruct anyone in spiritual science. Apart from all his knowledge, he was also a pure devotee of Krsna, and died at the most auspicious moment, in the presence of Krsna, the Pandavas, and many great personalities from all over the universe.

However, at the same time, when Draupadi was being stripped in the assembly of the Kauravas, and implored Bhisma for help, his mind went completely blank. Despite the obvious situation, when a chaste lady was being attacked, he could not master the strength to protest, even verbally. He became confused and could not distinguish right from wrong.

The reason for this apparent contradiction is that at the time he was associating with Duryodhana, being maintained by him. The Lord used the situation to show how such an association can be dangerous, by blocking the intelligence of Bhisma at the crucial moment.

The Lord also desired that Bhisma fought on the opposite side during the battle of Kuruksetra to increase the glories of the Pandavas and also to show that even the strongest warrior can’t win if he fights against the Lord’s devotees. Bhisma, Karna, Drona, and others were all powerful warriors who were defeated by the Pandavas despite all their qualifications.

The passing away of Bhismadeva is observed by Vaishnavas during the last five days of the month of Kartika, the Bhisma Panchaka, which symbolizes complete surrender to the Lord.

It’s described that Krsna became so pleased with the surrendering of Bhisma that He agreed to give pure devotional service to anyone who observes it during these five days by fasting and performing spiritual activities.

In the Hari Bhakti Vilasa, it is said that if one is capable, one should observe fasting on the Bhisma-panchaka for the pleasure of the Lord. The fast should begin by remembering Bhismadeva on Ekadasi day and should end on Purnima [the full moon]. The Padma Purana says that one pleases the Lord and makes spiritual advancement by such austerities. These five days are considered extremely auspicious to increase our devotion to Krsna.

Yudhisthira rules the kingdom and the departure of Krsna

After speaking to Bhismadeva, Yudhisthira Maharaja returned to Hastinapura, together with Krsna and the other Pandavas, and became focused on performing his duties, as instructed by Bhismadeva.

The 10th chapter starts with Saunaka Rishi inquiring about his rule. When a materialistic person becomes the king, it’s understood that he will try to enjoy and expand his dominions, being inspired by some idea of false proprietorship. Maharaja Yudhisthira however is a pure devotee, therefore is clear that he is in control of his senses. Saunaka is interested to hear about the reign of such a saintly king. In verses 4 to 6, Suta Goswami mentions a few symptoms of his rule:

“During the reign of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, the clouds showered all the water that people needed, and the earth produced all the necessities of man in profusion. Due to its fatty milk bag and cheerful attitude, the cow used to moisten the grazing ground with milk. The rivers, oceans, hills, mountains, forests, creepers, and active drugs, in every season, paid their tax quota to the King in profusion. Because of the King’s having no enemy, the living beings were not at any time disturbed by mental agonies, diseases, or excessive heat or cold.”

As Krsna mentions in the Bhagavad-gita, whatever example a great person sets, common persons follow. Due to the example of the King, people became pious, and due to this collective piety, all the natural events became regulated, and thus society became prosperous. On the opposite, when people become excessively sinful, there are natural disturbances, wars, and so on, and the situation of the world becomes disturbed. From this, we can see how not only the administrative capacity, but the moral standards of a ruler are important. In the highest sense, only a pure devotee can be a good ruler, and Maharaja Yudhisthira set the example.

Krsna was planning to leave for Dvaraka after establishing the Pandavas as rulers after the battle of Kuruksetra, but he ended up staying for more time, first to deal with the crisis created by Aswattama, then to bring Yudisthira to Bhismadeva, and after that a few months more to pacify His relatives and please His sister Subhadrā, who was living in Hastinapura after she married Arjuna.

Finally, it came the time for the Lord to depart. Yudhisthira had asked the Lord to stay for more time and he agreed, but now it was time for the Lord to finally go. This created a very emotional situation, with all the devotees of Hastinapura extremely distressed by the imminent separation from the Lord.

All Krsna’s lilas are based on a dynamic of meeting and separation, which makes the reciprocation of love between Krsna and His devotees increase unlimitedly. The cowherd boys stay with Krsna during the day but miss Him during the night when he stays with the gopis, while the gopis miss the Lord during the day when He brings the cows to the pastures. Sometimes Krsna goes to Mathura to fight with Kamsa and so on. Similarly, Ravana kidnaps Sita, Lord Caitanya takes Sannyasa and goes to Jagannatha Puri, and so on. In the absolute sense, there is no difference between meeting and separation from the Lord, because during separation the Lord is also present in the form of His holy name and one’s remembrance of Him. In fact, the connection with the Lord becomes stronger during the phase of separation because one’s meditation on Him becomes even stronger than when He is personally present. Still, the perspective of losing the Lord’s personal association is unbearable for a pure devotee.

“The intelligent, who have understood the Supreme Lord in association with pure devotees and have become freed from bad materialistic association, can never avoid hearing the glories of the Lord, even though they have heard them only once. How then could the Pāṇḍavas tolerate His separation, for they had been intimately associated with His person, seeing Him face to face, touching Him, conversing with Him, and sleeping, sitting and dining with Him?
All their hearts were melting for Him on the pot of attraction. They looked at Him without blinking their eyes, and they moved hither and thither in perplexity.
The female relatives, whose eyes were flooded with tears out of anxiety for Kṛṣṇa, came out of the palace. They could stop their tears only with great difficulty. They feared that tears would cause misfortune at the time of departure.” (SB 1.10.11-14)

The rest of the chapter describes this emotional moment of the Lord’s departure. The Pandavas followed the Lord on the road, and He had to stop and convince them to go back to rule their kingdom. These descriptions give us a taste of the sweet dealings between Krsna and His devotees which will be explained in more detail in the 10th canto. By this sample, our mind can become attracted to the pastimes of the Lord, and if this attraction is properly nourished by the different descriptions offered during the Srimad Bhagavatam, we can come to properly relish the descriptions of the 10th canto. That’s how Srimad Bhagavatam gradually brings us closer to Krsna.

Kṛṣṇa’s entrance into Dvārakā

In contrast with the ecstasy of separation of the inhabitants of Hastinapura, the inhabitants of Dvaraka bloomed with the ecstasy of meeting again the Lord after a long period of separation. Krsna stayed for a very long time in Hastinapura taking care of the many duties there, and now finally the Lord has returned. As soon as they heard the sound of His conchshell, all the inhabitants ran fast towards the Lord, to satisfy their long cherished desire of being again with Him.

There is a lot of spiritual significance in these verses. When it’s described that the conch appeared to be reddened by the touch of the Lord’s transcendental lips, a reference is made to the fact that a devotee can exhibit all kinds of wonderful spiritual qualities due to his contact with Krsna. This is something we can see in practice: people change when they sincerely start practicing devotional service. Negative traits disappear, they gain new qualities and abilities, and even their physical appearance changes. This is all due to the contact with the Lord. In the same way, material objects used in the service of Krsna become spiritualized, just like prasadam offered to Him. As Prabhupada mentions:

“The Lord is all spirit, and matter is ignorance of this spiritual existence. Factually there is nothing like matter in spiritual enlightenment, and this spiritual enlightenment takes place at once by the contact of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The Lord is present in every particle of all existence, and He can manifest His presence in anyone. By ardent love and devotional service to the Lord, or in other words by spiritual contact with the Lord, everything becomes spiritually reddened like the conchshell in the grip of the Lord, and the paramahaṁsa, or the supremely intelligent person, plays the part of the ducking swan in the water of spiritual bliss, eternally decorated by the lotus flower of the Lord’s feet.”

As its customary in Vedic culture, the inhabitants of Dvaraka didn’t go to see the Lord with empty hands; they brought many valuable offerings to the Lord. These offerings are described as being like the offering of a lamp to the sun. The sun the is source of heat and light for the whole universe and thus has nothing to benefit from a small lamp offered by a worshiper. Similarly, the Lord is the source of everything, and the possessor of everything, and thus He doesn’t have anything to gain from any material offering. The offering serves however as a vessel for our devotion to the Lord. The offering itself is not very important, but the devotion and the love carried by it satisfy the Lord and increase our relationship with Him.

As Prabhupada mentions: “Therefore, any presentation, however valuable it may be, is not needed by Him. But still, because He is the well-wisher for one and all, He accepts from everyone everything that is offered to Him in pure devotional service. It is not that He is in want for such things, because the things are themselves generated from His energy.”

From verses 6 to 10, the citizens of Dvaraka offer prayers to the Lord. Here are a few points:

• The Lord is transcendental to the influence of material time. He is the predominator, while we are the predominated. The Lord is thus the shelter for all who aspire to attain the ultimate goal, worshiped by all demigods and important personalities.
• The Lord is the well-wisher of all. When we follow the instructions he gives through the scriptures, devotees, and the spiritual master, we become successful in all spheres of life.
• Our relationship with the Lord is eternal, it can neither be broken nor destroyed. This human form is a chance to revive it.
• Even the demigods rarely have the opportunity to see the Lord, but the inhabitants of Dvaraka can constantly see Him face to face due to their purity and love. This is the original state of the soul, which can be unveiled only by the practice of devotional service.
• The opposite of Kṛṣṇa is māyā or illusion. Without Him, all our knowledge is covered by illusion. We need thus to keep ourselves always in the presence of Krsna.
• We are molecular parts of the whole spirit and are separated from the Lord by the artificial covering of māyā, the illusory energy. When this curtain is removed, we can see the Lord face to face, and all miseries of life end.

The opulence of Dvaraka is an example of how a society can become prosperous by the practice of Krsna Consciousness and the use of the gifts of nature. Prabhupada mentions in the purport that when people have the choice, they prefer to live in beautiful areas with nature, but in modern societies, this is available only to the rich. Poor people are forced to live in congested areas in the cities, which are just hellish. In Dvaraka however, the whole city was beautiful.

“It is understood that the whole dhāma, or residential quarter, was surrounded by such gardens and parks with reservoirs of water where lotuses grew. It is understood that all the people depended on nature’s gifts of fruits and flowers without industrial enterprises promoting filthy huts and slums for residential quarters. Advancement of civilization is estimated not on the growth of mills and factories to deteriorate the finer instincts of the human being, but on developing the potent spiritual instincts of human beings and giving them a chance to go back to Godhead.”

Not only was the city extraordinarily beautiful, but the inhabitants decorated the whole city with natural ingredients, like plantain trees, mango leaves, pots with water and grains, fruits, flowers, and so on, instead of paper and plastic like nowadays.

Apart from the decoration, it’s described that Brahmanas came forth to receive the Lord, alongside elephants, men blowing conchshells and musical horns, and so on. Vedic hymns were chanted and all classes of people offered their respects.

Verse 19 mentions that many hundreds of well-known prostitutes began to proceed on various vehicles. One may question how prostitutes are present in Dvaraka, the city of the Lord. The first point is that these were not prostitutes in the modern term, but more like courtesans, unmarried girls who would make a career by chanting, dancing, and entertaining. They are described as prostitutes because, in the course of their activities, they would have affairs with different men, just like the apsaras in the celestial planets, who are also described as prostitutes in different passages. On the positive side, however, these ladies were all devotees and were very eager to meet the Lord. This shows how persons in all ways of life can be purified by the process of devotional service.

In the purport, Srila Prabhupada brings the topic closer to our reality by making the point that activities like drinking and prostitution are present in every society and are very difficult to eradicate. The real process of reformation is to enlighten people in Krsna Consciousness. As Krsna mentions in the Bhagavad-Gita (9.32), all classes of people can attain perfection if they take shelter in devotional service, including meat-eaters, drunkards, and prostitutes.

Similarly, the Lord was also greeted by dramatists, artists, dancers, singers, historians, genealogists, etc. This shows that all their professions were also present in Dvaraka, but they were all devotees, and their activities were centered around the activities of the Lord. In his purport, Prabhupada makes the point that the presence of such devotee artists is important for the spiritual enlightenment of the common man, by presenting knowledge from the Vedic literature in ways that are simple and capable of attracting the less enlightened classes of the population. Not everyone will come for a philosophical discussion, but everyone can come for a theatrical performance or a movie.

A little later, it’s mentioned that the Lord reciprocated the greetings of all, showing that he is attentive to all kinds of devotees and the Lord is equally affectionate to all. No one who approaches the Lord sincerely is ever rejected or barred from entering His kingdom. It’s just up to us to accept His association or not.

“Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, approached them and offered due honor and respect to each and every one of the friends, relatives, citizens and all others who came to receive and welcome Him. The almighty Lord greeted everyone present by bowing His head, exchanging greetings, embracing, shaking hands, looking and smiling, giving assurances, and awarding benedictions, even to the lowest in rank. (SB 1.11.21-22)

These descriptions give us a glimpse of life in the spiritual world. Due to the influence of the false ego, the soul becomes ready to accept any material identity, from a demigod to a dog or hog, or even a tree, any position except his eternal position as a servant of the Lord. These descriptions are included in the Srimad Bhagavatam to help us become attracted to the eternal reality of the spiritual world, which is centered around such sweet exchanges of love with Krsna. The more we become attracted to these descriptions, the more our attraction for the temporary and illusory world of matter will be slackened.

Krsna is greeted by His queens

In the last verses of the chapter, from 30 to 39, we have a glimpse of the dealings of the Lord with His queens. In material life, a man with many wives is not something very commendable, because a common man is not able to properly take care of or maintain more than one woman. If a man has many wives it means most of them will be neglected. This is however not the case of Krsna.

Autough He has 16108 wives, each one lives in an extremely opulent palace, with servants and all facilities. More than that, the Lord expands himself to be with each and every Queen simultaneously. Each of the Queens feels the most loved since the Lord is always with her. Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He is capable of giving shelter to an unlimited number of devotees, in many different types of relationships. Every man or woman in this material world tries to imitate, but we are not very good at it.

By hearing about these sweet pastimes of Krsna and His queens, we can become gradually attracted to the reality of the spiritual world and gradually forget about material romanticism, which is illusory in nature.

“Thereafter, the Lord entered His palaces, which were perfect to the fullest extent. His wives lived in them, and they numbered over sixteen thousand.
The queens of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa rejoiced within their minds to see their husband home after a long period abroad. The queens got up at once from their seats and meditations. As was socially customary, they covered their faces shyly and looked about coyly.
The insuperable ecstasy was so strong that the queens, who were shy, first embraced the Lord in the innermost recesses of their hearts. Then they embraced Him visually, and then they sent their sons to embrace Him [which is equal to personal embracing]. But, O chief amongst the Bhṛgus, though they tried to restrain their feelings, they inadvertently shed tears.
Although Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was constantly by their sides, as well as exclusively alone, His feet appeared to them to be newer and newer. The goddess of fortune, although by nature always restless and moving, could not quit the Lord’s feet. So what woman can be detached from those feet, having once taken shelter of them?” (1.11.30-33)

Although the loving pastimes of the Lord may seem to be similar to mundane loving affairs, they are completely different in nature. Mundane relationships are based on lust, on the idea of using another person as an instrument to satisfy our desires. The loving pastimes of the Lord on the other hand are based on pure love. The queens have the purest desire to satisfy the Lord, and He is able to reciprocate their love without becoming agitated. It’s mentioned that “Although the queens’ beautiful smiles and furtive glances were all spotless and exciting, and although they could conquer Cupid himself by making him give up his bow in frustration, and although even the tolerant Śiva could fall victim to them, still, despite all their magical feats and attractions, they could not agitate the senses of the Lord.”

In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krsna compares this material world with an inverted tree, like a tree reflected on a lake. Although the reflection appears to the identical to the original, it’s upside down. In the same way, everything that exists here is a reflection of things that exist in the spiritual world, but here everything is inverted. The pure love that exists in the loving relationships of the Lord, which is the highest expression of rasa in the spiritual world, when reflected in the material energy becomes lust, which is the prime cause of our conditioning.

The first nine cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam gradually elevate our understanding, teaching us to distinguish spiritual love from mundane lust. In this way, the Srimad Bhagavatam gradually gives us the qualification to later understand these intimate pastimes of the Lord.