FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.21-22

भूतेषु वीरुद्‍भ्य उदुत्तमा ये सरीसृपास्तेषु सबोधनिष्ठा: । ततो मनुष्या: प्रमथास्ततोऽपि गन्धर्वसिद्धा विबुधानुगा ये ॥ २१ ॥ देवासुरेभ्यो मघवत्प्रधाना दक्षादयो ब्रह्मसुतास्तु तेषाम् । भव: पर: सोऽथ विरिञ्चवीर्य: स मत्परोऽहं द्विजदेवदेव: ॥ २२ ॥
bhūteṣu vīrudbhya uduttamā ye
[bhooteshu veerudbhya uduttamaa ye]
sarīsṛpās teṣu sabodha-niṣṭhāḥ
[sareesripaas teshu sabodha-nishthaah]
tato manuṣyāḥ pramathās tato ’pi
[tato manushyaah pramathaas tato ’pi]
gandharva-siddhā vibudhānugā ye
[gandharva-siddhaa vibudhaanugaa ye]
devāsurebhyo maghavat-pradhānā
[devaasurebhyo maghavat-pradhaanaa]
dakṣādayo brahma-sutās tu teṣām
[dakshaadayo brahma-sutaas tu teshaam]
bhavaḥ paraḥ so ’tha viriñca-vīryaḥ
[bhavah parah so ’tha virincha-veeryah]
sa mat-paro ’haṁ dvija-deva-devaḥ
[sa mat-paro ’ham dvija-deva-devah]
bhūteṣu — among things generated (with and without symptoms of life) vīrudbhyaḥ — than the plants uduttamāḥ — far superior ye — those who sarīsṛpāḥ — moving entities like worms and snakes teṣu — of them sa-bodha-niṣṭhāḥ — those who have developed intelligence tataḥ — than them manuṣyāḥ — the human beings pramathāḥ — the ghostly spirits tataḥ api — better than them gandharva — the inhabitants of Gandharvaloka (appointed singers in the planets of the demigods) siddhāḥ — the inhabitants of Siddhaloka, who have all mystic powers vibudha-anugāḥ — the Kinnaras ye — those who deva — the demigods asurebhyaḥ — than the asuras maghavat-pradhānāḥ — headed by Indra dakṣa-ādayaḥ — beginning with Dakṣa brahma-sutāḥ — the direct sons of Brahmā tu — then teṣām — of them bhavaḥ — Lord Śiva paraḥ — the best saḥ — he (Lord Śiva) atha — moreover viriñca-vīryaḥ — producing from Lord Brahmā saḥ — he (Brahmā) mat-paraḥ — My devotee aham — I dvija-deva-devaḥ — a worshiper of the brāhmaṇas, or the Lord of the brāhmaṇas..
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
bhūteṣu vīrudbhya uduttamā ye
bhūteṣu
among things generated (with and without symptoms of life)
vīrudbhyaḥ
than the plants
uduttamāḥ
far superior
ye
those who
sarīsṛpās teṣu sabodha-niṣṭhāḥ
sarīsṛpāḥ
moving entities like worms and snakes
teṣu
of them
sa-bodha-niṣṭhāḥ
those who have developed intelligence
tato manuṣyāḥ pramathās tato ’pi
tataḥ
than them
manuṣyāḥ
the human beings
pramathāḥ
the ghostly spirits
tataḥ api
better than them
gandharva-siddhā vibudhānugā ye
gandharva
the inhabitants of Gandharvaloka (appointed singers in the planets of the demigods)
siddhāḥ
the inhabitants of Siddhaloka, who have all mystic powers
vibudha-anugāḥ
the Kinnaras
ye
those who
devāsurebhyo maghavat-pradhānā
deva
the demigods
asurebhyaḥ
than the asuras
maghavat-pradhānāḥ
headed by Indra
dakṣādayo brahma-sutās tu teṣām
dakṣa-ādayaḥ
beginning with Dakṣa
brahma-sutāḥ
the direct sons of Brahmā
tu
then
teṣām
of them
bhavaḥ paraḥ so ’tha viriñca-vīryaḥ
bhavaḥ
Lord Śiva
paraḥ
the best
sa mat-paro ’haṁ dvija-deva-devaḥ
saḥ
he (Lord Śiva)
atha
moreover
viriñca-vīryaḥ
producing from Lord Brahmā
saḥ
he (Brahmā)
mat-paraḥ
My devotee
aham
I
dvija-deva-devaḥ
a worshiper of the brāhmaṇas, or the Lord of the brāhmaṇas..
Of the two energies manifest [spirit and dull matter], beings possessing living force [vegetables, grass, trees and plants] are superior to dull matter [stone, earth, etc.]. Superior to nonmoving plants and vegetables are worms and snakes, which can move. Superior to worms and snakes are animals that have developed intelligence. Superior to animals are human beings, and superior to human beings are ghosts because they have no material bodies. Superior to ghosts are the Gandharvas, and superior to them are the Siddhas. Superior to the Siddhas are the Kinnaras, and superior to them are the asuras. Superior to the asuras are the demigods, and of the demigods, Indra, the King of heaven, is supreme. Superior to Indra are the direct sons of Lord Brahmā, sons like King Dakṣa, and supreme among Brahmā’s sons is Lord Śiva. Since Lord Śiva is the son of Lord Brahmā, Brahmā is considered superior, but Brahmā is also subordinate to Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because I am inclined to the brāhmaṇas, the brāhmaṇas are best of all.

In this verse the brāhmaṇas are given a position superior to that of the Supreme Lord. The idea is that the government should be conducted under the guidance of the brāhmaṇas. Although Ṛṣabhadeva recommended His eldest son, Bharata, as emperor of the earth, he still had to follow the instructions of the brāhmaṇas in order to govern the world perfectly. The Lord is worshiped as brahmaṇya-deva. The Lord is very fond of devotees, or brāhmaṇas. This does not refer to so-called caste brāhmaṇas, but to qualified brāhmaṇas. A brāhmaṇa should be qualified with the eight qualities mentioned in text 24, such as śama, dama, satya and titikṣā. The brāhmaṇas should always be worshiped, and under their guidance the ruler should discharge his duty and rule the citizens. Unfortunately, in this Age of Kali, the executive is not selected by very intelligent people, nor is he guided by qualified brāhmaṇas. Consequently, chaos results. The mass of people should be educated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that according to the democratic process they can select a first-class devotee like Bharata Mahārāja to head the government. If the head of the state is headed by qualified brāhmaṇas, everything is completely perfect.

In this verse, the evolutionary process is indirectly mentioned. The modern theory that life evolves from matter is to some extent supported in this verse because it is stated, bhūteṣu vīrudbhyaḥ. That is, the living entities evolve from vegetables, grass, plants and trees, which are superior to dull matter. In other words, matter also has the potency to manifest living entities in the form of vegetables. In this sense, life comes out of matter, but matter also comes out of life. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8) , ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me.”

There are two energies — material and spiritual — and both originally come from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme living being. Although it may be said that in the material world a living force is generated from matter, it must be admitted that originally matter is generated from the supreme living being. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). The conclusion is that everything, both material and spiritual, is generated from the Supreme Being. From the evolutionary point of view, perfection is reached when the living entity attains the platform of a brāhmaṇa. A brāhmaṇa is a worshiper of the Supreme Brahman, and the Supreme Brahman worships the brāhmaṇa. In other words, the devotee is subordinate to the Supreme Lord, and the Lord is inclined to see to the satisfaction of His devotee. A brāhmaṇa is called dvija-deva, and the Lord is called dvija-deva-deva. He is the Lord of brāhmaṇas.

The evolutionary process is also explained in Caitanya-caritāmṛta ( Madhya, Chapter Nineteen), wherein it is said that there are two types of living entities — moving and nonmoving. Among moving entities, there are birds, beasts, aquatics, human beings and so on. Of these, the human beings are supposed to be the best, but they are few. Of these small numbers of human beings, there are many low-class human beings like mlecchas, Pulindas, bauddhas and śabaras. The human being elevated enough to accept the Vedic principles is superior. Among those who accept the Vedic principles generally known as varṇāśrama (presently known as the Hindu system), few actually follow these principles. Of those who actually follow the Vedic principles, most perform fruitive activity or pious activity for elevation to a high position. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye: out of many attached to fruitive activity, one may be a jñānī — that is, one philosophically inclined and superior to the karmīs. Yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ: out of many jñānīs, one may be liberated from material bondage, and out of many millions of liberated jñānīs, one may become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Among the living beings, the snakes are superior to the plants. Animals are superior to the snakes. Humans are superior to animals. Superior to humans are the Gandharvas. Superior to them are the Kinnaras. Indra is superior to all of them. Sons of Brahmā like Dakṣa are superior to Indra. Śiva, son of Brahmā, is superior to Dakṣa and Brahmā is superior to Śiva. I am superior to Brahmā. The best of the brāhmaṇas are worshipped by me. In order to teach that the brāhmaṇas should be served, he shows that they are best among all people in four verses. Among living entities, superior to the plants, which do not move, are the moving beings such as snakes which crawl. Superior to them are the animals with intelligence. Superior to them are the followers of the devatās such as the Kinnaras. The asuras are superior to them. The devatās are superior to the asuras. The sandhi in devāsurebhyaḥ is poetic license. Among the devatās, Indra is the best. Dakṣa, son of Brahmā is superior to Indra. Śiva, the son of Brahmā, is superior to all. The masculine instead of neuter in vīryaḥ is poetic license. Brahmā is superior to Śiva since he produces him. Because the subject is devotion to brāhmaṇas, Brahmā is considered superior to Śiva because of his service to brāhmaṇas. However, Śiva is superior to Brahmā as a Vaiṣṇava and in powers. I am superior to Brahmā (mat-paraḥ). The best vipras among the brāhmaṇas are worshipped by me.
There is a real hierarchy in creation: matter, plants, animals, humans, brāhmaṇas, devotees of the Lord, and the Lord Himself. Recognizing this ladder helps us know whom to serve and whom to learn from, rather than treating everyone as equally authoritative.
Reflection Questions
  • Whose guidance have you been weighing equally with truly advanced devotees', when they do not belong on the same rung?
  • Where do you need to look upward rather than sideways for direction in your spiritual life?
📝 My note

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