The great
sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, being very much satisfied by the performance of
ninety-nine horse sacrifices, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu, appeared
on the scene.
Accompanying Him was King Indra.
Lord Visnu then began to speak.
Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, said: My dear King Prthu, Indra, the King
of heaven, has disturbed your execution of one hundred sacrifices.
Now he has come with Me to be forgiven by you.
Therefore excuse him.
O King, one who is advanced in intelligence and eager to perform welfare activities for
others is considered best amongst human beings.
An advanced human being is never malicious to others.
Those with advanced intelligence are always conscious that this material body is different
from the soul.
If a personality like you, who are so much advanced because of executing the instructions
of the previous acaryas, is carried away by the influence of My material energy, then
all your advancement may be considered simply a waste of time.
Those who are in full knowledge of the bodily conception of life, who know that this body
is composed of nescience, desires and activities resulting from illusion, do not become addicted
to the body.
How can a highly learned person who has absolutely no affinity for the bodily conception of life
be affected by the bodily conception in regard to house, children, wealth and similar other
bodily productions?
The individual soul is one, Pure, nonmaterial and self-effulgent.
He is the reservoir of all good qualities, and He is all-pervading.
He is without material covering, and He is the witness of all activities.
He is completely distinguished from other living entities, and He is transcendental
to all embodied souls.
Although within the material nature, one who is thus situated in full knowledge of the
Paramatma and atma is never affected by the modes of material nature, for he is always
situated in My transcendental loving service.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu, continued: My dear King Prthu, when one situated
in his occupational duty engages in My loving service without motive for material gain,
he gradually becomes very satisfied within.
When the heart is cleansed of all material contamination, the devotee’s mind becomes
broader and transparent, and he can see things equally.
At that stage of life there is peace, and one is situated equally with Me as sac-cid-ananda-vigraha
[Bs.
5.1].
Anyone who knows that this material body, made of the five gross elements, the sense
organs, the working senses and the mind, is simply supervised by the fixed soul is eligible
to be liberated from material bondage.
Lord Visnu told King Prthu: My dear King, the constant change of this material world
is due to the interaction of the three modes of material nature.
The five elements, the senses, the demigods who control the senses, as well as the mind,
which is agitated by the spirit soul—all these taken together comprise the body.
Since the spirit soul is completely different from this combination of gross and subtle
material elements, My devotee who is connected with Me in intense friendship and affection,
being completely in knowledge, is never agitated by material happiness and distress.
My dear heroic King, please keep yourself always equipoised and treat people equally,
whether they are greater than you, in the intermediate stage or lower than you.
Do not be disturbed by temporary distress or happiness.
Fully control your mind and senses.
In this transcendental position, try to execute your duty as king in whatever condition of
life you may be posted by My arrangement, for your only duty here is to give protection
to the citizens of your kingdom.
To give protection to the general mass of people who are citizens of the state is the
prescribed occupational duty for a king.
By acting in that way, the king in his next life shares one sixth of the result of the
pious activities of the citizens.
But a king or executive head of state who simply collects taxes from the citizens but
does not give them proper protection as human beings has the results of his own pious activities
taken away by the citizens, and in exchange for his not giving protection he becomes liable
to punishment for the impious activities of his subjects.
Lord Visnu continued: My dear King Prthu, if you continue to protect the citizens according
to the instructions of the learned brahmana authorities, as they are received by the disciplic
succession—by hearing—from master to disciple, and if you follow the religious principles
laid down by them, without attachment to ideas manufactured by mental concoction, then every
one of your citizens will be happy and will love you, and very soon you will be able to
see such already liberated personalities as the four Kumaras [Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana
and Sanat-kumara].
My dear King, I am very captivated by your elevated qualities and excellent behavior,
and thus I am very favorably inclined toward you.
You may therefore ask from Me any benediction you like.
One who does not possess elevated qualities and behavior cannot possibly achieve My favor
simply by performance of sacrifices, severe austerities or mystic yoga.
But I always remain equipoised in the heart of one who is also equipoised in all circumstances.
The great saint Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, in this way Maharaja Prthu, the conqueror
of the entire world, accepted the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead on his
head.
As King Indra was standing by, he became ashamed of his own activities and fell down before
King Prthu to touch his lotus feet.
But Prthu Maharaja immediately embraced him in great ecstasy and gave up all envy against
him for his having stolen the horse meant for the sacrifice.
King Prthu abundantly worshiped the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
who was so merciful to him.
While worshiping the lotus feet of the Lord, Prthu Maharaja gradually increased his ecstasy
in devotional service.
The Lord was just about to leave, but because He was so greatly inclined toward the behavior
of King Prthu, He did not depart.
Seeing the behavior of Maharaja Prthu with His lotus eyes, He was detained because He
is always the well-wisher of His devotees.
The original king, Maharaja Prthu, his eyes full of tears and his voice faltering and
choked up, could neither see the Lord very distinctly nor speak to address the Lord in
any way.
He simply embraced the Lord within his heart and remained standing in that way with folded
hands.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead stood with His lotus feet almost touching the ground
while He rested the front of His hand on the raised shoulder of Garuda, the enemy of the
snakes.
Maharaja Prthu, wiping the tears from his eyes, tried to look upon the Lord, but it
appeared that the King was not fully satisfied by looking at Him.
Thus the King offered the following prayers.
My dear Lord, You are the best of the demigods who can offer benedictions.
Why, therefore, should any learned person ask You for benedictions meant for living
entities bewildered by the modes of nature?
Such benedictions are available automatically, even in the lives of living entities suffering
in hellish conditions.
My dear Lord, You can certainly bestow merging into Your existence, but I do not wish to
have such a benediction.
My dear Lord, I therefore do not wish to have the benediction of merging into Your existence,
a benediction in which there is no existence of the nectarean beverage of Your lotus feet.
I want the benediction of at least one million ears, for thus I may be able to hear about
the glories of Your lotus feet from the mouths of Your pure devotees.
My dear Lord, You are glorified by the selected verses uttered by great personalities.
Such glorification of Your lotus feet is just like saffron particles.
When the transcendental vibration from the mouths of great devotees carries the aroma
of the saffron dust of Your lotus feet, the forgetful living entity gradually remembers
his eternal relationship with You.
Devotees thus gradually come to the right conclusion about the value of life.
My dear Lord, I therefore do not need any other benediction but the opportunity to hear
from the mouth of Your pure devotee.
My dear highly glorified Lord, if one, in the association of pure devotees, hears even
once the glories of Your activities, he does not, unless he is nothing but an animal, give
up the association of devotees, for no intelligent person would be so careless as to leave their
association.
The perfection of chanting and hearing about Your glories was accepted even by the goddess
of fortune, who desired to hear of Your unlimited activities and transcendental glories.
Now I wish to engage in the service of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
and to serve just like the goddess of fortune, who carries a lotus flower in her hand, because
His Lordship, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the reservoir of all transcendental qualities.
I am afraid that the goddess of fortune and I would quarrel because both of us would be
attentively engaged in the same service.
My dear Lord of the universe, the goddess of fortune, Laksmi, is the mother of the universe,
and yet I think that she may be angry with me because of my intruding upon her service
and acting on that very platform to which she is so much attached.
Yet I am hopeful that even though there is some misunderstanding, You will take my part,
for You are very much inclined to the poor and You always magnify even insignificant
service unto You.
Therefore even though she becomes angry, I think that there is no harm for You, because
You are so self-sufficient that You can do without her.
Great saintly persons who are always liberated take to Your devotional service because only
by devotional service can one be relieved from the illusions of material existence.
O my Lord, there is no reason for the liberated souls to take shelter at Your lotus feet except
that such souls are constantly thinking of Your feet.
My dear Lord, what You have said to Your unalloyed devotee is certainly very much bewildering.
The allurements You offer in the Vedas are certainly not suitable for pure devotees.
People in general, bound by the sweet words of the Vedas, engage themselves again and
again in fruitive activities, enamored by the results of their actions.
My Lord, due to Your illusory energy, all living beings in this material world have
forgotten their real constitutional position, and out of ignorance they are always desirous
of material happiness in the form of society, friendship and love.
Therefore, please do not ask me to take some material benefits from You, but as a father,
not waiting for the son’s demand, does everything for the benefit of the son, please bestow
upon me whatever You think best for me.
The great sage Maitreya continued by saying that the Lord, the seer of the universe, after
hearing Prthu Maharaja’s prayer, addressed the King: My dear King, may you always be
blessed by engaging in My devotional service.
Only by such purity of purpose, as you yourself very intelligently express, can one cross
over the insurmountable illusory energy of maya.
My dear King, O protector of the citizens, henceforward be very careful to execute My
orders and not be misled by anything.
Anyone who lives in that way, simply carrying out My orders faithfully, will always find
good fortune all over the world.
The great saint Maitreya told Vidura: The Supreme Personality of Godhead amply appreciated
the meaningful prayers of Maharaja Prthu.
Thus, after being properly worshiped by the King, the Lord blessed him and decided to
depart.
King Prthu worshiped the demigods, the great sages, the inhabitants of Pitrloka, the inhabitants
of Gandharvaloka and those of Siddhaloka, Caranaloka, Pannagaloka, Kinnaraloka, Apsaroloka,
the earthly planets and the planets of the birds.
He also worshiped many other living entities who presented themselves in the sacrificial
arena.
With folded hands he worshiped all these, as well as the Supreme Personality of Godhead
and the personal associates of the Lord, by offering sweet words and as much wealth as
possible.
After this function, they all went back to their respective abodes, following in the
footsteps of Lord Visnu.
The infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead, having captivated the minds of the King and
the priests who were present, returned to His abode in the spiritual sky.
King Prthu then offered his respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who
is the Supreme Lord of all demigods.
Although not an object of material vision, the Lord revealed Himself to the sight of
Maharaja Prthu.
After offering obeisances to the Lord, the King returned to his home.