Çré Päçänkuça Ekädaçé Issue no: 221 25th Oct 2023

The Supreme Devotee

Nanda Maharaja Saved and Shankhacuda Slain The Supreme Devotee
Srila Sukadeva Goswami His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Observing Shiva-rätri Are The Words “Devotional service”

His Divine Grace Applicable Only To The Supreme Lord?
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Srila Bhaktisiddhnata Saraswati Thakura
 Issue no 221, Page — 2 nityaà bhägavata-sevayä

and cooked grains mixed with honey. Then the

Nanda Maharaja Saved and Shankhacuda cowherds prayed, “May the lord be pleased with
Slain us.” Nanda, Sunanda and the other greatly for-
Srila Sukadeva Goswami tunate cowherds spent that night on the bank of
the Sarasvati, strictly observing their vows. they
Sukadeva Gosvami said: One day the cowherd fasted, taking only water.
men, eager to take a trip to worship Lord Shiva, During the night a huge and extremely hungry
traveled by bullock carts to the Ambika forest. O snake appeared in that thicket. Slithering on his
King, after arriving there, they bathed in the Sar- belly up to the sleeping Nanda Maharaja, the
asvati and then devotedly worshiped with various snake began swallowing him. In the clutches of
paraphernalia the powerful Lord Pashupati and the snake, Nanda Maharaja cried out, “Krishna,
his consort, goddess Ambika. The cowherd men Krishna, my dear boy! this huge serpent is swal-
gave the brähmaëas gifts of cows, gold, clothing lowing me! Please save me, who am surrendered
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 nityaà bhägavata-sevayä Issue no 221, Page—3
to You!” When the cowherd men heard the cries Vraja were astonished to see the mighty power of
of Nanda, they immediately rose up and saw that Sri Krishna. Dear King, they then completed their
he was being swallowed. Distraught, they beat the worship of Lord Shiva and returned to Vraja, along
serpent with blazing torches. But even though the the way respectfully describing Krishna’s powerful
firebrands were burning him, the serpent would acts.
not release Nanda Maharaja. then the Supreme Once Lord Govinda and Lord Rama, the per-
Lord Krishna, master of His devotees, came to formers of wonderful feats, were playing in the for-
the spot and touched the snake with His foot. The est at night with the young girls of Vraja. Krishna
snake had all his sinful reactions destroyed by the and Balarama wore flower garlands and spotless
touch of the Supreme Lord’s divine foot, and thus garments, and Their limbs were beautifully deco-
he gave up his serpent body and appeared in the rated and anointed. The women sang Their glories
form of a worshipable Vidyadhara. The Supreme in a charming way, bound to Them by affection.
Lord Hrikesha then questioned this personality, The two Lords praised the nightfall, signaled by the
who was standing before Him with his head rising of the moon and the appearance of stars, a
bowed, his brilliantly effulgent body bedecked lotus-scented breeze and bees intoxicated by the
with golden necklaces. fragrance of jasmine flowers. Krishna and Balara-
[Lord Krishna said:] My dear sir, you appear so ma sang, producing the entire range of musical
wonderful, glowing with such great beauty. Who sounds simultaneously. Their singing brought
are you? And who forced you to assume this ter- happiness to the ears and minds of all living be-
rible body of a snake? ings. The gopis became stunned when they heard
[The serpent replied:] I am the well-known that song. Forgetting themselves, O King, they did
Vidyadhara named Sudarsana. I was very opulent not notice that their fine garments were becoming
and beautiful, and I used to wander freely in all
directions in my airplane. Once I saw some homely loose and their hair and garlands disheveled.
sages of the lineage of Angira Muni. Proud of my While Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama thus
beauty, I ridiculed them, and because of my sin played according to Their own sweet will and sang
they made me assume this lowly form. It was actu- to the point of apparent intoxication, a servant of
ally for my benefit that those merciful sages cursed Kuvera named Sankhacuda came upon the scene.
me, since now I have been touched by the foot of O King, even as the two Lords looked on, Sankha-
the supreme spiritual master of all the worlds and cuda brazenly began driving the women off toward
have thus been relieved of all inauspiciousness. My the north. The women, who had accepted Krishna
Lord, You destroy all fear for those who, fearing and Balarama as their Lords, began to cry out to
this material world, take shelter of You. By the Them. Hearing Their devotees crying out “Krish-
touch of Your feet I am now freed from the curse na! Rama!” and seeing that they were just like
of the sages. O destroyer of distress, please let me cows being stolen by a thief, Krishna and Balarama
return to my planet. O master of mystic power, O began to run after the demon. The Lords called out
great personality, O Lord of the devotees, I sur- in reply, “Do not fear!” Then They picked up logs
render to You. Please command me as You will, of the sala tree and quickly pursued that lowest of
O supreme God, Lord of all lords of the universe. Guhyakas, who swiftly ran away. When Sankha-
O infallible one, I was immediately freed from the cuda saw the two of them coming toward him like
brähmaëas’ punishment simply by seeing You. the personified forces of time and Death, he was
Anyone who chants Your name purifies all who filled with anxiety. Confused, he abandoned the
hear his chanting, as well as himself. How much women and fled for his life. Lord Govinda chased
more beneficial, then, is the touch of Your lotus the demon wherever he ran, eager to take his crest
feet? jewel. Meanwhile Lord Balarama stayed with the
Thus receiving the permission of Lord Krishna, women to protect them. The mighty Lord over-
the demigod Sudarshana circumambulated Him, took Sankhacuda from a great distance as if from
bowed down to offer Him homage and then re- nearby, my dear King, and then with His fist the
turned to his heavenly planet. Nanda Maharaja Lord removed the wicked demon’s head, together
was thus delivered from peril. The inhabitants of with his crest jewel. Having thus killed the demon
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Sankhacuda and taken away his shining jewel, is a river named Sabarmati. In India, all the big
Lord Krishna gave it to His elder brother with places of pilgrimage are situated on nice rivers
great satisfaction as the gopis watched. like the Ganges, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Narmada,
— Çrémad-Bhägavatam (Bhägavata Puräëa) » Canto 10: The Summum Godavari and Kaveri. Ambikavana was situated
Bonum » Chapter 34 » Verses 1–32 » Translations by Disciples of His Divine on the bank of the Sarasvati, and Nanda Maha-
Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. raja and all the other cowherd men went there.
They very devotedly began to worship the de-
Observing Shiva-rätri ity of Lord Shiva and Ambika. It is the general
His Divine Grace practice that wherever there is a temple of Lord
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Shiva, there must be another temple, of Ambika
(or Durga), because Ambika is the wife of Lord
Sometimes the Vaishnavas also observe this cer- Shiva and is the most exalted of chaste women.
emony because they accept Lord Shiva as the fore- She doesn’t live outside the association of her hus-
most Vaishnava. But the function of Shiva-rätri band. After reaching Ambikavana, the cowherd
is not observed very regularly by the bhaktas, or men of Vrindavan first bathed themselves in the
devotees of Krishna. Under the circumstances, river Sarasvati. If one goes to any place of pilgrim-
Çrémad-Bhägavatam states that Nanda Maharaja age, his first duty is to take a bath and sometimes
and the other cowherd men "once upon a time to shave his head. That is the first business.
desired." This means that they were not regularly After taking a bath, they worshiped the deities
observing the Shiva-rätri function but that once and then distributed charity in the holy places.
upon a time they wanted to go to Ambikavana — Excerpt from the book Kåñëa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead by His
out of curiosity. Ambikavana is somewhere in Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Gujarat Province, and it is said to be situated on
the river Sarasvati. Yet we do not find any Saras- The Supreme Devotee
vati River in Gujarat Province, although there His Divine Grace
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 nityaà bhägavata-sevayä Issue no 221, Page—5
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada "Those whose minds are distorted by material
desires surrender unto demigods and follow the
Without taking shelter of the lotus feet of the particular rules and regulations of worship accord-
Personality of Godhead, one cannot attain relief ing to their own natures." One enamored with
from the clutches of maya, the repetition of birth, material benefits is called håta jïäna ("one who
old age, disease and death. Just like the Pracetas has lost his intelligence"). In this connection it is
received the shelter of the Supreme Personality of to be noted that sometimes in revealed scriptures
Godhead by the grace of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is Lord Shiva is described as being nondifferent
the supreme devotee of Lord Vishnu, the Supreme from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The
Personality of Godhead. Vaiñëavänäà yathä çam- point is that Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are so
bhuù: the most exalted Vaishnava is Lord Shiva, intimately connected that there is no difference in
and those who are actually devotees of Lord Shiva opinion. The actual fact is, ekale éçvara kåñëa, ära
follow Lord Shiva's advice and take shelter at the saba bhåtya: "The only supreme master is Krishna,
lotus feet of Lord Vishnu. The so-called devotees of and all others are His devotees or servants." [Cc.
Lord Shiva, who are simply after material prosper- Ädi 5.142]
ity, are in a way deceived by Lord Shiva. He does This is the real fact, and there is no difference of
not actually deceive them, because Lord Shiva has opinion between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu in
no business deceiving people, but because the so- this connection. Nowhere in revealed scripture
called devotees of Lord Shiva want to be deceived, does Lord Shiva claim to be equal to Lord Vishnu.
Lord Shiva, who is very easily pleased, allows them This is simply the creation of the so-called devo-
all kinds of material benedictions. These benedic- tees of Lord Shiva, who claim that Lord Shiva and
tions might ironically result in the destruction of Lord Vishnu are one. This is strictly forbidden in
the so-called devotees. For instance, Ravaëa took the Vaisnava-tantra: yas tu näräyaëaà devam [Cc.
all material benediction from Lord Shiva, but the Madhya 18.116]. Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and
result was that he was ultimately destroyed with Lord Brahma are intimately connected as master
his family, kingdom and everything else because he and servants. Çiva-viriïci-nutam [SB 11.5.33].
misused Lord Shiva's benediction. Because of his Vishnu is honored and offered obeisances by Lord
material power, he became very proud and puffed Shiva and Lord Brahma. To consider that they are
up so that he dared kidnap the wife of Lord Rama- all equal is a great offense. They are all equal in the
candra. In this way he was ruined. To get material sense that Lord Vishnu is the Supreme Personality
benedictions from Lord Shiva is not difficult, but of Godhead and all others are His eternal servants.
actually these are not benedictions. The Pracetäs
received benediction from Lord Shiva, and as a — Çrémad-Bhägavatam (Bhägavata Puräëa) » Canto 4: The creation of the
result they attained the shelter of the lotus feet of fourth order » Chapter 30 » Verses 38 » His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Lord Vishnu. This is real benediction. The gopis Swami Prabhupada.
also worshiped Lord Shiva in Vrindavan, and the
lord is still staying there as Gopishvara. The gopis,
however, prayed that Lord Shiva bless them by Are The Words “Devotional service”
giving them Lord Krishna as their husband. There Applicable Only To The Supreme Lord?
is no harm in worshiping the demigods, provided Srila Bhaktisiddhnata Saraswati Thakura
that one's aim is to return home, back to Godhead.
Generally people go to the demigods for materi- Lord Vishnu is no one’s order supplier but
al benefit, as indicated in Bhagavad-gétä (7.20): is the master of all order suppliers. Since Lord
Vishnu is worshipable for everyone, the words
kämais tais tair håta-jïänäù “devotional service” can apply only to Him.
prapadyante 'nya-devatäù The words “devotional service” cannot apply
taà taà niyamam ästhäya to the demigods, even though the demigod
prakåtyä niyatäù svayä worshipers falsely attribute those words to their
practices. When we worship the demigods, we
want religiosity, economic development, sense
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 Issue no 221, Page — 6 nityaà bhägavata-sevayä

gratification, or liberation, but when we worship with Narayaëa is to be considered an offender."

Vishnu we attend only to what Vishnu wants.
The Supreme Lord, bhakti, and the devotee are The scriptures declare that service to the Su-
sewn with the same thread. Devotional ser- preme Personality of Godhead Hari is devotion,
vice is the via media between the Lord and His but at present the word bhakti is being misinter-
devotees, the Lord is the object of the devotees’ preted and misused. People have come to think
worship, and the devotees are the Lord’s ser- that it means devotion to the father, king, or
vants. The demigods are not god but jivas. The schoolteacher. If we do not know what devotion-
Caitanya-caritämåta states: ekale éçvara kåñëa, al service is and through which medium it is to
ära saba bhåtya, yäre yaiche näcäya, se taiche be performed, we will find ourselves in trouble.
kare nåtya: “Lord Krishna alone is the supreme Serving Lord Hari, the master of all the senses,
controller, and all others are His servants. They with our senses is called devotional service. The
dance as He makes them do so.” [Cc. Ädi 5.142 Närada-païcarätra states, sarvopädhi-vinirmuktaà
tat-paratvena nirmalam/ håñékeëa håñékeça sevanaà
The Padma Puräëa states: bhaktir ucyate:

harir eva sadärädhyaù sarva deveçvareçvaraù "Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging
itare brahma rudrädyä nävajneyäù kadäcana all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Su-
yas tu näräyaëaà devaà brahma-rudrädi-daivataiù preme Personality of Godhead, the master of all
samatvenaiva vékñeta sa päñaëòé bhaved dhruvam the senses. When the spirit soul renders service
unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One
"Lord Hari alone is the supreme worshipable is freedom from all material designations, and the
object. He is the controller of all controllers. other is that one’s senses are purified simply by
Demigods like Brahma and Shiva are subor- being employed in the service of the Lord."
dinate to Him. Yet they should never be dis-
respected. A person who considers demigods Lord Gauranga states in Caitanya-caritämåta:
like Brahma and Shiva to be on an equal level

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 nityaà bhägavata-sevayä Issue no 221, Page—7
“anya-väïchä, anya-püjä chäòi’ ’jïäna’, ’kar- understanding. Those who worship without
ma’, änukülye sarvendriye kåñëänuçéla- understanding accomplish nothing. Those who
na/ ei ’çuddha-bhakti’—ihä haite ’premä haya worship Ganesha, Surya, or Durga, worship
païcarätre, bhägavate ei lakñaëa kaya”: Krishna’s shadow potency, because no one has an
existence of Krishna. But since they are worship-
"A pure devotee must not cherish any desire ing Krishnas shadow potency, they do not attain
other than to serve Krishna. He should not offer self-realization or knowledge of their relationship
worship to the demigods or to mundane personal- with the Lord. When they attain self-realization,
ities. He should not cultivate artificial knowledge, they will understand that Krishna alone is their
which is devoid of Krishna consciousness, and he supreme master and that all living entities are
should not engage himself in anything other than His eternal servants. They will know that service
Krishna conscious activities. One must engage all to Krishna is their eternal occupational duty.
one’s purified senses in the service of the Lord. This Worship of Krishna, the Lord of all, is the liv-
is the favorable execution of Krishna conscious ing entity’s eternal duty. All the demigods are
activities. These activities are called çuddha-bhakti, Lord Vishnu’s servants. Therefore it is their duty
pure devotional service. If one renders such pure to follow the Lord’s order. Those who instead
devotional service, he develops his original love for of recognizing the demigods as Lord Vishnu’s
Krishna in due course of time. These symptoms are servants imagine them to be as good as or su-
described in Vedic literatures like the Païcarätras perior to Lord Vishnu never become liberated.
and Çrémad-Bhägavatam." [Cc. Madhya 19.168-69]
— Amåta Väëé: Nectar of Instructions of Immoratality » His Divine Grace
Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.29.11-12 states: Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda » Compiled by Çrépäda Bhakti
Mayukha Bhägavat Mahäraja » Adapted and Published by Éçvara däsa »
mad-guëa-çruti-mätreëa mayi sarva-guhäçaye Translated from Bengali by Bhumipati däsa
mano-gatir avicchinnä yathä gaìgämbhaso ’mbudhau
lakñaëaà bhakti-yogasya nirguëasya hy udähåtam
ahaituky avyavahitä yä bhakti puruñottame

"The manifestation of unadulterated devotional

service is exhibited when one’s mind is at once at-
tracted to hearing the transcendental name and qual-
ities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is
residing in everyone’s heart. Just as the water of the
Ganges flows naturally down towards the ocean,
such devotional ecstasy, uninterrupted by any ma-
terial condition, flows towards the Supreme Lord." !! Sri Sri Nitai Gaurchandra Jayati !!
ISKCON
Although demigod worship is unauthorized, Bhägavata Mahävidyalaya
doesn’t it amount to worship of Kåishna in the end? is a branch of
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Founder-Acarya: His Divine Grace
Worship with true understanding and by follow- A.C. BhaktiVedanta Swami Prabhupada
ing the proper rules and regulations bears fruit.
Quotations from the books, letters, and lectures of
Unauthorized worship is useless. Lord Krishna His Divine Grace
is the undisputed emperor of the entire universe A.C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada
and of Vaikuntha, which is beyond the material
universe. Therefore no one can challenge Him ©Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
or place obstacles on the path of His enjoyment. ©All the paintings are copyrights of their respective
In fact, everyone worships Him. Some worship artists.
with understanding and some worship without

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