20260110 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.23.30-31

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.23.30

athādarśe svam ātmānaṁ
sragviṇaṁ virajāmbaram
virajaṁ kṛta-svastyayanaṁ
kanyābhir bahu-mānitam

Translation: Then in a mirror she beheld her own reflection. Her body was completely freed from all dirt, and she was adorned with a garland. Dressed in unsullied robes and decorated with auspicious marks of tilaka, she was served very respectfully by the maids.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.23.31

snātaṁ kṛta-śiraḥ-snānaṁ
sarvābharaṇa-bhūṣitam
niṣka-grīvaṁ valayinaṁ
kūjat-kāñcana-nūpuram

Translation: Her entire body, including her head, was completely bathed, and she was decorated all over with ornaments. She wore a special necklace with a locket. There were bangles on her wrists and tinkling anklets of gold about her ankles.

Purport: The word kṛta-śiraḥ-snānam appears here. According to the smṛti-śāstra’s directions for daily duties, ladies are allowed to bathe daily up to the neck. The hair on the head does not necessarily have to be washed daily because the mass of wet hair may cause a cold. For ladies, therefore, taking a bath up to the neck is ordinarily prescribed, and they take a full bath only on certain occasions. On this occasion Devahūti took a full bath and washed her hair very nicely. When a lady takes an ordinary bath it is called mālā-snāna, and when she takes a full bath, including the head, it is called śiraḥ-snāna. At this time she needs sufficient oil to smear on her head. That is the direction of the commentators of smṛti-śāstra.

* * *

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the intensive treatment has started and for that reason doctors say I should as far as possible, stay in kind of isolation. So, I am also taking temple darśana through Māyāpur TV! So I will be giving class in the evening also. If this system is okay, then I may also be able to give class in Bengali in the evening sometime as well.

Anyway, here we have reading about Kardama Muni and Devahūti. Devahūti is the daughter of Svāyambhuva Manu. And his reign or life is 71 catur-yugas. I don’t know he dies at the end or not but he was Manu for 71 catur-yugas. One catur-yuga is 4 million 320 thousand years. So, 71 catur-yugas times 4 million 320 thousand years was his reign. His daughter had the same lifespan. Anyway, she was under the care of her father. After that, she got her husband Kardama Muni and after that she had a son, who was Kapiladeva. Kardama Muni after giving her a son, he left and took sannyāsa. We will read about that later. But it is important that she served her husband so well, so humbly and her body was dirty, her hair was matted, different problems were there. So, these things were rectified by the maids in Bindu Sarovara. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that Devahūti could be an example of how a disciple has to serve the spiritual master. So, she showed great dedication and being a gṛhastha they have a certain facility to experience the material world. And they are doing kind of garbhādhāna-saṁskāra to have children. Like this, Kardama Muni wanted to take the renounced order but before that he thought it wise to experience gṛhasthas life. So, that is one thing we learn from this.

One thing is in the Bhagavad-gītā, 9.32 which states that women, vaiśyas, śūdras, if they surrender to Him, they can reach the supreme destination. But then I was trying to figure out how to do that! And then I found this in the 18^th chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. Lord Kṛṣṇa says that I am telling you the most confidential knowledge how you can get self-realization. So Kṛṣṇa explains that if one does one’s duty, whatever their nature, as an offering to Him, for instance Arjuna fought in the war. But he was having the nature of a kṣatriya but he was not fighting for a kṣatriya reason. He fought for Kṛṣṇa and he was a Vaiṣṇava. Duryodhana was a kṣatriya. It is said that a kṣatriya works in the mode of passion. So he was very attached, very enthusiastic for the fruit of his work. So, this way, if he was victorious he would be happy and if he were defeated he would be sad. And the mode of passion is that one will become very charitable. So, when the Kurukṣetra war was going on, Duryodhana went to Bhīṣmadeva and said, “You are not fighting with your full force!” And he said, “Alright!” He put down five arrows and said, “These will kill the five Pāṇḍavas!” So, he did pūjās, mantras that these five arrows were meant for the five Pāṇḍavas. And then Duryodhana thought, “I will keep these arrows and this way I will ensure that these will be used tomorrow by Bhīṣmadeva.” But, Lord Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna to go and go to Duryodhana, “He has five arrows, go and get them!” Then, when Duryodhana had a fight with the Gandharva, Citraratha, at that time Arjuna had come to his rescue and saved him. So Duryodhana said, “You can ask anything from me and I will give it to you.” So, Arjuna went and asked Duryodhana for the five arrows! Duryodhana asked him, “How do you know?” He said that Lord Kṛṣṇa had told him! So, Duryodhana, he gave the arrows to Arjuna! So, Duryodhana, he was a kṣatriya. But, Arjuna, he was a Vaiṣṇava.

Now this idea of daiva-varṇāśrama is kind of like a revolutionary idea! Someone may be working for a salary, so they are considered śūdra, some a farmer a businessman, a vaiśya. Someone may be a lady and cooking and serving her husband. But if they are doing all this as a service to guru and Kṛṣṇa, then they don’t have to change their job, Kṛṣṇa says they go back to Godhead! Now in the Kali-yuga some of the ladies, some are in the military, some are judges, some are lawyers, some are politicians. If they do that for Kṛṣṇa, then they are Vaiṣṇavas/Vaiṣṇavīs.

So we see this Devahūti, although she was a lady, she ultimately went back to Godhead. She was so fortunate that she had a son who was an incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. So, Devahūti was really something special! So you may think I have to be a sannyāsī or something but here we see that she was a gṛhastha, she had all kinds of palatial buildings, she had children. So it depends on our consciousness. If we are very attached to the fruits of our labor then we have to stay in this material world. If we are attached to the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, then we will go back to Kṛṣṇa’s abode. A gṛhastha, she cooks, but if that cooking, if she offers that food to Kṛṣṇa, she offers that and does ārati to Kṛṣṇa at home in Deity form, then she does not have to be a brāhmaṇa, she does not go out and preach, she can stay at home and go back to Godhead. Anyway, one person whatever one may be a businessman or someone, he should engage in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. So, for this Kali-yuga Lord Caitanya recommended and prescribed that we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

So, like this, we can preach to all our congregational members that they do not have to change their occupation, they don’t have to change their situation. Their consciousness has to be changed! They should perform devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Haribol! Gaurāṅga! So, that means we can make the whole world Kṛṣṇa conscious! Now, one disciple businessman told me that he wanted to be a pūjārī because he wanted to go back to Godhead. So, I told him you can do your business for Kṛṣṇa and you don’t have to be a pūjārī. So, he started making more money, millions and millions of dollars! But now he offers it to the ISKCON temples, to Māyāpur, he is also developing a Kṛṣṇa conscious project. Everyone can get the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and practice devotional service.

So daiva-varṇāśrama means that one is a Vaiṣṇavī or Vaiṣṇava. And ordinary varṇāśrama is in the three modes. Say, someone likes to work in a particular way, they are not vaiśyas, śūdras, they are Vaiṣṇavas. Now, Arjuna, he wanted to be a brāhmaṇa, a beggar, a mendicant and not fight, but Lord Kṛṣṇa said that better to do your own work than doing someone else’s work even if there is some defect in your own work and doing other’s work perfectly. In the 18^th chapter of Bhagavad-gītā He explained that the way to really do is it to do it as an offering to Him, to Kṛṣṇa! So, I think that in India it has also been that we normally follow the traditional varṇāśrama system. That is the caste system and people are against that. But daiva-varṇāśrama means, do your work according to your nature, but you serve Kṛṣṇa! If you do that, then Kṛṣṇa will be happy and your life will be perfect.

So why in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam so much detail is given about Kardama Muni, Devahūti, their gṛhastha life and austerities? So, we see that their life was millions of years long! And he was doing great austerities, he had great mystic yoga powers, everything. And he especially wanted to enter into gṛhastha or householder life. But, he finally, after enjoying, he took sannyāsa and dedicated his whole life to Kṛṣṇa! And this way, he was the father of an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa! So, it is not restricted that you do not do any kind of material activities, but you should do it in a Kṛṣṇa conscious way. And now we are seeing that Kardama Muni and Devahūti devī dāsī, they went back to Godhead!

Are there any questions?

Question: Devahūti achieved Vaikuṇṭha or Goloka Vṛndāvana. What is her eternal form?

Jayapatākā Swami: She went to the abode of Lord Kapila. I think as far as I know that is in Vaikuṇṭha. But whatever dhāma you go is according to what rasa you have. Some people’s rasa is śānta or dāsya-rasa, kind of respectful, or sakhya, they naturally go to Vaikuṇṭha. Every evening we are discussing the Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta and now we are discussing the sakhya-rasa. So, where do you want to go – Vaikuṇṭha or Goloka? Accordingly, you should fix your mind on Kṛṣṇa or His different avatāras. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Question: You said that we need not change our occupation and serve Kṛṣṇa. If somebody is selling fish, should he give up that profession, he is not eating it but can he still continue and work and still give the results to Kṛṣṇa?

Jayapatākā Swami: So, if he is a businessman, he can do business, but selling meat, fish, eggs etc. is not right.

Alright, end of class. Hare Kṛṣṇa!