Srimad Bhagavatham : 5.4.17 & 18.

Skandham-5.


Chapter-4.



Slokam-17.



Lord Rshabhadeva performed all kinds of sacrifices one hundred times according to the instructions of the Vedic literatures. Thus He satisfied Lord Vishnu in every respect. All the rituals were enriched by first-class ingredients. They were executed in holy places according to the proper time by priests who were all young and faithful. In this way Lord Vishnu was worshiped, and the prasadam was offered to all the demigods. Thus the functions and festivals were all successful.


 A ritual should be performed by young men, even boys, at a tender age in order for the ritual to be performed successfully. From childhood, people should be trained in Vedic culture, especially in devotional service. In this way, one can perfect one’s life. A Vaishṇava does not disrespect the demigods, but on the other hand he is not so foolish that he accepts each and every demigod as the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is master of all demigods; therefore the demigods are His servants. The Vaishnava accepts them as servants of the Supreme Lord, and he worships them directly. In the Brahma-samhita, the important demigods—Lord Siva, Lord Brahma and even the incarnations and expansions of Lord Krishna like Maha-Vishnu, Garbhodakasayī Vishnu and all the other vishnu-tattvas, as well as the sakti-tattvas like Durgadevi—are all worshiped by the process of worshiping Govinda with the words govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami **. A Vaishnava worships the demigods in relation to Govinda, not independently. Vaishnavas are not so foolish that they consider the demigods independent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in Caitanya-caritamrta. Ekale isvara krishna, ara saba bhrtya: the supreme master is Krishna, and all others are His servants.



Slokam-18.




No one likes to possess anything that is like a will-o-the-wisp or a flower in the sky, for everyone knows very well that such things do not exist. When Lord Rshabhadeva ruled this planet of Bharatavarsha, even common men did not want to ask for anything, at any time or by any means. No one ever asks for a will-o-the-wisp. In other words, everyone was completely satisfied, and therefore there was no chance of anyone’s asking for anything. The people were absorbed in great affection for the King. Since this affection was always expanding, they were not inclined to ask for anything.



In Bengal the word ghoda-dimba is used, which means “the egg of a horse.” Since a horse never lays an egg, the word ghoda-dimba actually has no meaning. In Sanskrit there is a word kha-pushpa, which means “the flower in the sky.” No flower grows in the sky; therefore no one is interested in asking for kha-pushpa or ghoda-dimba. During the reign of Maharaja Rshabhadeva, people were so well equipped that they did not want to ask for anything. They were immensely supplied with all necessities for life due to King Rshabhadeva’s good government. Consequently everyone felt full satisfaction and did not want anything. This is the perfection of government. If the citizens are unhappy due to bad government, the heads of government are condemned. During these democratic days, monarchy is disliked by the people, but here is an example of how an emperor of the whole world kept all the citizens fully satisfied by supplying the necessities of life and following the Vedic principles. Thus everyone was happy during the reign of Maharaja Rshabhadeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.


Continues..