Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4 Chapter 28 Verse 33

Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order | Chapter 28: Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.28.33

vibhajya tanayebhyaḥ kṣmāḿ

rājarṣir malayadhvajaḥ

ārirādhayiṣuḥ kṛṣṇaḿ

sa jagāma kulācalam

SYNONYMS

vibhajya — having divided; tanayebhyaḥ — among his sons; kṣmām — the whole world; rāja-ṛṣiḥ — the great saintly king; malayadhvajaḥ — named Malayadhvaja; ārirādhayiṣuḥ — desiring to worship; kṛṣṇam — Lord Kṛṣṇa; saḥ — he; jagāma — went; kulācalam — unto Kulācala.

TRANSLATION

After this, the great saintly King Malayadhvaja divided his entire kingdom among his sons. Then, in order to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa with full attention, he went to a solitary place known as Kulācala.

PURPORT

Malayadhvaja, the great king, was certainly a mahā-bhāgavata, topmost devotee. By executing devotional service, he begot many sons and disciples for propagating the bhakti cult (śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]). Actually, the entire world should be divided among such disciples. Everyone should be engaged in preaching the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In other words, when disciples are grown up and are able to preach, the spiritual master should retire and sit down in a solitary place to write and execute nirjana-bhajana. This means sitting silently in a solitary place and executing devotional service. This nirjana-bhajana, which is the silent worship of the Supreme Lord, is not possible for a neophyte devotee. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura never advised a neophyte devotee to go to a solitary place to engage in devotional service. Indeed, he has written a song in this connection:

duṣṭa mana! tumi kisera vaiṣṇava?

pratiṣṭhāra tare, nirjanera ghare,

tava hari-nāma kevala kaitava

"My dear mind, what kind of devotee are you? Simply for cheap adoration you sit in a solitary place and pretend to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, but this is all cheating." Thus Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura advocated that every devotee, under the guidance of an expert spiritual master, preach the bhakti cult, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all over the world. Only when one is mature can he sit in a solitary place and retire from preaching all over the world. Following this example, the devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness now render service as preachers in various parts of the world. Now they can allow the spiritual master to retire from active preaching work. In the last stage of the spiritual master's life, the devotees of the spiritual master should take preaching activities into their own hands. In this way the spiritual master can sit down in a solitary place and render nirjana-bhajana.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness