Śrīmad Bhāgavata 1.17.43–44

Synonyms

[“Even this sacrifice undertaken by all of you is made possible by his continued influence” (yuṣmadīya satra pravṛttir api tat-prabhāvāt). This is expressed in the following three verses (ity āha tribhiḥ).²⁶³]; etarhi — at present [idānīm]; sa eṣaḥ — that very same [Parīkṣit]; adhyāste — occupies [in the sense of his sustained influence even up to the present day (prabhāva-rūpeṇeti jñeyam)²⁶⁴]; āsanam — the throne [siṁhāsanam²⁶⁵]; pārthiva-ucitam — fit for an emperor [sārvabhaumasyocitam²⁶⁶]; upanyastam — [which] was entrusted [to him (samarpitam)]; pitāmahena — by his granduncle; rājñā — King Yudhiṣṭhira; vivikṣatā — [who] chose to retire [praveṣṭum icchatā]; araṇyam — to the forest [vanam]; ullasan — shining [prakāśamānaḥ²⁶⁷]; śriyā — with the glory [with the universal regal glory (sārvabhauma-śriyā)]; kaurava-indra — [of] the Kuru kings [or of the foremost of the Kauravas (kaurava-śreṣṭaḥ)]; saḥ — that; rāja-ṛṣiḥ — royal sage [he who is both a king and a sage (rājā cāsau ṛṣiś ca rājarṣiḥ)²⁶⁸]; mahā-bhāgaḥ — the greatly fortunate; cakravartī — emperor [Parīkṣit, the protector of the entire world (cakraṁ bhū-maṇḍalaṁ vartayati pālayatīti tathā-bhūtaḥ)]; bṛhat-śravāḥ — of widespread renown [vipula-kīrtiḥ]; adhunā — now; āste — resides [or rules (pālayate)²⁶⁹]; gajāhvaye — in Hastināpura.

Translation

At present, that very same Parīkṣit occupies the royal throne, which was entrusted to him by his granduncle, King Yudhiṣṭhira, who chose to retire to the forest. Shining with the glory of the Kuru kings, that royal sage, the greatly fortunate Emperor Parīkṣit, of widespread renown, now resides in Hastināpura.

Notes

263Unless otherwise indicated, this and the following bracketed inserts in verse 43 are Śrīdhara Svāmī’s comments.↩

264Jīva Gosvāmī. His comment here addresses the question as to why the present tense is used in this and the next two verses when Parīkṣit had already passed away. All the principal Bhāgavata commentators have discussed this point. Vallabhācārya comments that although Parīkṣit had already attained final beatitude (tasya śāntasyāpi), he is spoken of in present terms due to the continued existence of his widespread renown and influence (kīrty anubhāvayor vidyamānatvāt vidyamānatvena nirūpayati). The use of the present, which eliminated the feeling of remoteness from Parīkṣit’s time, was to induce a heightened sense of faith in the audience toward Parīkṣit (śraddhātiśaya-jananārthaṁ dūra-kathā-vyāvṛttaye). Moreover, because Parīkṣit had attained liberation in Bhagavān, he was as if immediately disclosed to the vision of all who were present at the sacrifice (bhagavat-sāyujya-prāptasya sarvatra bhagavataḥ sphuraṇāt eṣa iti nirdeśaḥ). Vallabhācārya adds that while Parīkṣit’s son Janamejaya was actually ruling at the time (janamejayas tat-sthāne tad-adhyāsana upaviśati), everyone’s feeling was that Parīkṣit himself was directly present there in the form of his son (sa eva bhagavad-rūpo bhūtvā tatrāste hīti sarveṣāṁ pratītiḥ). Alternatively, the present tense is used in the sense of proximity to a past event on the strength of Pāṇini-sūtra 3.3.131, which states that the present tense is optionally employed when the action is denoted at a time proximate to the current (vartamāna-sāmīpye vartamānavad vā).↩

265Giridhara.↩

266Giridhara.↩

267Unless otherwise indicated, this and the following bracketed inserts in verse 44 are Vīrarāghava’s comments.↩

268Śukadeva.↩

269Śrīdhara Svāmī.↩

SB 1.17.43–44

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