Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 17 Verse 10

Canto 11: General History | Chapter 17: Lord Kṛṣṇa's Description of the Varṇāśrama System

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.17.10

ādau kṛta-yuge varṇo

nṛṇāḿ haḿsa iti smṛtaḥ

kṛta-kṛtyāḥ prajā jātyā

tasmāt kṛta-yugaḿ viduḥ

SYNONYMS

ādau — in the beginning (of the millennium); kṛta-yuge — in the Satya-yuga, or age of truth; varṇaḥ — the social class; nṛṇām — of human beings; haḿsaḥ — named haḿsa; iti — thus; smṛtaḥ — well known; kṛta-kṛtyāḥ — perfect in the execution of duties by complete surrender to the Supreme Lord; prajāḥ — the citizens; jātyā — automatically by birth; tasmāt — therefore; kṛta-yugam — Kṛta-yuga, or the age in which all duties are fulfilled; viduḥ — was thus known by the learned.

TRANSLATION

In the beginning, in Satya-yuga, there is only one social class, called haḿsa, to which all human beings belong. In that age all people are unalloyed devotees of the Lord from birth, and thus learned scholars call this first age Kṛta-yuga, or the age in which all religious duties are perfectly fulfilled.

PURPORT

It is understood from this verse that the supreme religious principle is unalloyed surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Satya-yuga there is no influence of the lower modes of nature, and therefore all human beings belong to the highest social order, called haḿsa, in which one comes under the direct supervision of the Personality of Godhead. In the modern age people are crying out for social equality, but unless all human beings are situated in the mode of goodness, which is the position of purity and unalloyed devotion, social equality is not possible. As the lower modes of nature become prominent, secondary religious principles arise, by which people may be gradually elevated to the pure stage of unalloyed surrender to God. In Satya-yuga there are no inferior human beings, and thus there is no need of secondary religious principles. Everyone directly takes to the unalloyed service of the Lord, fulfilling perfectly all religious obligations. In Sanskrit, one who perfectly executes all duties is called kṛta-kṛtya, as mentioned in this verse. Therefore Satya-yuga is called Kṛta-yuga, or the age of perfect religious action. According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the word ādau ("in the beginning") refers to the moment of universal creation. In other words, the varṇāśrama system is not a recent concoction but naturally arises at the time of creation and should therefore be accepted by all intelligent human beings.

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