Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12 Chapter 3 Verses 9-13

Canto 12: The Age of Deterioration | Chapter 3: The Bhūmi-gītā

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.3.9-13

pṛthuḥ purūravā gādhir

nahuṣo bharato 'rjunaḥ

māndhātā sagaro rāmaḥ

khaṭvāńgo dhundhuhā raghuḥ

tṛṇabindur yayātiś ca

śaryātiḥ śantanur gayaḥ

bhagīrathaḥ kuvalayāśvaḥ

kakutstho naiṣadho nṛgaḥ

hiraṇyakaśipur vṛtro

rāvaṇo loka-rāvaṇaḥ

namuciḥ śambaro bhaumo

hiraṇyākṣo 'tha tārakaḥ

anye ca bahavo daityā

rājāno ye maheśvarāḥ

sarve sarva-vidaḥ śūrāḥ

sarve sarva-jito 'jitāḥ

mamatāḿ mayy avartanta

kṛtvoccair martya-dharmiṇaḥ

kathāvaśeṣāḥ kālena

hy akṛtārthāḥ kṛtā vibho

SYNONYMS

pṛthuḥ purūravāḥ gādhiḥ — Mahārājas Pṛthu, Purūravā and Gādhi; nahuṣaḥ bharataḥ arjunaḥ — Nahuṣa, Bharata and Kārtavīrya Arjuna; māndhātā sagaraḥ rāmaḥ — Māndhātā, Sagara and Rāma; khaṭvāńgaḥ dhundhuhā raghuḥ — Khaṭvāńga, Dhundhuhā and Raghu; tṛṇabinduḥ yayātiḥ ca — Tṛṇabindu and Yayāti; śaryātiḥ śantanuḥ gayaḥ — Śaryāti, Śantanu and Gaya; bhagīrathaḥ kuvalayāśvaḥ — Bhagīratha and Kuvalayāśva; kakutsthaḥ naiṣadhaḥ nṛgaḥ — Kakutstha, Naiṣadha and Nṛga; hiraṇyakaśipuḥ vṛtraḥ — Hiraṇyakaśipu and Vṛtrāsura; rāvaṇaḥ — Rāvaṇa; loka-rāvaṇaḥ — who made the whole world cry; namuciḥ śambaraḥ bhaumaḥ — Namuci, Śambara and Bhauma; hiraṇyākṣaḥ — Hiraṇyākṣa; atha — and; tārakaḥ — Tāraka; anye — others; ca — as well; bahavaḥ — many; daityāḥ — demons; rājānaḥ — kings; ye — who; mahā-īśvarāḥ — great controllers; sarve — all of them; sarva-vidaḥ — all-knowing; śūrāḥ — heroes; sarve — all; sarva-jitaḥ — all-conquering; ajitāḥ — unconquerable; mamatām — possessiveness; mayi — for me; avartanta — they lived; kṛtvā — expressing; uccaiḥ — to a great degree; martya-dharmiṇaḥ — subject to the laws of birth and death; kathā-avaśeṣāḥ — remaining merely as historical narrations; kālena — by the force of time; hi — indeed; akṛta-arthāḥ — incomplete in perfecting their desires; kṛtāḥ — they have been made; vibho — O Lord.

TRANSLATION

"Such kings as Pṛthu, Purūravā, Gādhi, Nahuṣa, Bharata, Kārtavīrya Arjuna, Māndhātā, Sagara, Rāma, Khaṭvāńga, Dhundhuhā, Raghu, Tṛṇabindu, Yayāti, Śaryāti, Śantanu, Gaya, Bhagīratha, Kuvalayāśva, Kakutstha, Naiṣadha, Nṛga, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Vṛtra, Rāvaṇa, who made the whole world lament, Namuci, Śambara, Bhauma, Hiraṇyākṣa and Tāraka, as well as many other demons and kings who possessed great powers of control over others, were all full of knowledge, heroic, all-conquering and unconquerable. Nevertheless, O almighty Lord, although they lived their lives intensely trying to possess me, these kings were subject to the passage of time, which reduced them all to mere historical accounts. None of them could permanently establish their rule."

PURPORT

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, and as confirmed by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the King Rāma mentioned here is not the incarnation of Godhead Rāmacandra. Pṛthu Mahārāja is understood to be an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who completely exhibited the characteristics of an earthly king, claiming proprietorship over the entire earth. A saintly king like Pṛthu Mahārāja, however, controls the earth on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas a demon such as Hiraṇyakaśipu or Rāvaṇa tries to exploit the earth for his personal sense gratification. Nevertheless, both saintly kings and demons must leave the earth. In this way their political supremacy is ultimately neutralized by the force of time.

Modern political leaders cannot even temporarily control the entire earth, nor are their opulences and intelligence unlimited. Possessing hopelessly fragmented power, enjoying a miniscule life span, and lacking deep existential intelligence, modern leaders inevitably are symbols of frustration and misdirected ambition.

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