D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Ambarish Maharaja worshipped Lord Krishna in a multitude of ways and displayed a unique intensity of spiritual absorption. When his life was threatened by a fiery demon created by Durvasa Muni, he remained entirely undisturbed. To punish Durvasa for his harshness, Lord Vishnu released His Chakra to kill him, and the sage had to literally ‘run for his life.’ After being chased around the universe, Durvasa realised the only recourse was to beg for Ambarish’s forgiveness. The Lord cannot tolerate any offence to His devotees, who are more dear to Him than His own life. These chapters thus describe the Surya Vamsa (descendants of the sun-god, Vivasvan).
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D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Ambarish Maharaja worshipped Lord Krishna in a multitude of ways and displayed a unique intensity of spiritual absorption. When his life was threatened by a fiery demon created by Durvasa Muni, he remained entirely undisturbed. To punish Durvasa for his harshness, Lord Vishnu released His Chakra to kill him, and the sage had to literally ‘run for his life.’ After being chased around the universe, Durvasa realised the only recourse was to beg for Ambarish’s forgiveness. The Lord cannot tolerate any offence to His devotees, who are more dear to Him than His own life. These chapters thus describe the Surya Vamsa (descendants of the sun-god, Vivasvan).
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Durvasa Forgiven
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Durvasa Forgiven
Chapter 5
Durvasa humbly fell at the feet of Ambarish, who was somewhat embarrassed by the sage’s surrender. The King fervently prayed for Sudarshan’s withdrawal, and Durvasa Muni was mercifully spared. Feeling unlimitedly grateful, Durvasa praised Ambarish’s character, amazed at how he was able to overlook all his offences without any grudge whatsoever. Ambarish then served Durvasa Muni with great devotion and finally accepted his own prasadam , having fasted for the entire year that Durvasa was being chased! In his later years, Maharaja Ambarish divided all his property among his sons and retired to the bank of Manasa-sarovara to spiritually immerse himself.
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Durvasa Offends Ambarish
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Durvasa Offends Ambarish
Chapter 4
Another son of Manu was Nabhaga, whose son was Naabhaaga. Due to his absence from the kingdom, he did not receive any of his father’s property. His father, Nabhaga, later guided him on how to obtain wealth from a sacrifice conducted by the descendants of Angira. Naabhaaga had a son named Ambarish, who became famous as a great devotee.
Though a fabulously wealthy emperor, Ambarish Maharaja was constantly engaged in devotional service, uninterested in material enjoyment or even liberation. He engaged all his physical and mental faculties in serving the Lord with enthusiasm and, though responsible for the state administration, was an exemplar of pure devotion. The Lord was so pleased with Him that He arranged for the Sudarshan Chakra to always protect him.
Once, on a dvadasi day (the day after the ekadasi fasting day), Ambarish was about to break his fast when the great mystic Durvasa Muni suddenly appeared. Ambarish invited his unannounced guest to eat, and Durvasa agreed, but first went to bathe in the Yamuna. Ambarish now faced a dilemma. Durvasa Muni had not returned from his bath, yet the prescribed time for breaking the fast was now upon him. He didn’t want to miss that auspicious time, but neither did he want to eat before serving his guest. To resolve the situation, the sages advised him to drink some water, since this would avoid any violation on both counts; to drink water is to simultaneously eat and not eat.
By his mystic power, Durvasa Muni immediately discovered that Ambarish had broken his fast. Without understanding the situation, Durvasa Muni, in a fit of anger, fashioned a ferocious demon to kill Ambarish. In response, the Lord’s lethal Chakra immediately intervened to protect His devotee, vanquishing the fiery demon and chasing Durvasa Muni all over the universe. Powerless to counteract it himself, unsuccessful in enlisting the help of the demigods, and seeing no other recourse, Durvasa surrendered to Narayana in desperation. “I am an offender” he admitted, “Please protect me!”
In a series of exquisite verses, the Lord expressed the intense love He has for His devotees, explaining how they know nothing but Him, and He knows nothing but them. The Lord advised Durvasa Muni to seek pardon from Ambarish, for only then would he be redeemed.
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Dynasty of Vaivasvata Manu
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Dynasty of Vaivasvata Manu
Chapters 1,2,3
After Sukadeva Goswami described Satyavrata, he mentioned that the King reappeared as Vaivasvata Manu (Sraddhadeva). [ 27 ] He then delineated the dynasty of Manu, elaborating on certain individuals within it.
Ila (Sudyumna): Devoid of a son, Vaivasvata Manu was guided by Vasistha to perform a sacrifice ( yajna ). During the yajna , however, Vaivasvata Manu’s wife, Sraddha, requested a daughter. When a daughter (Ila) was born, Vasistha prayed that she become a man, and she thus became Sudyumna. Once, when Sudyumna entered a forest which was cursed by Siva, he and his associates all mystically turned into women. After that incident, Sudyumna (Ila) united with Budha and had a son named Pururava. Seeing this astonishing series of events, Vasistha intervened, and with the help of Siva, Sudyumna received the benediction that he would live one month as a woman and one month as a man. He regained his kingdom, had three sons, and eventually entrusted everything to Pururava and retired to the forest.
Prsadhra: Still desirous of sons, Vaivasvata Manu begot ten more, one of whom was Prsadhra. Though he was dedicated to protecting cows, one day, while driving away a fierce tiger who had come to attack, he accidentally killed a cow instead of the tiger. He was cursed by his guru to become a sudra , but overcame it through bhakti-yoga and went back to Godhead.
Saryati: Once, another son of Manu, Saryati, accompanied his daughter, Sukanya, to the asrama of Cyavana Muni. There, Sukanya saw two luminous substances in the earth and pierced them, unaware that they were the muni’s eyes. Begging forgiveness, Saryati offered his daughter in marriage, and she indeed became an ideal wife. Later, the aged Cyavana Muni was rewarded his lost youth by the Asvini Kumaras. In Saryati’s dynasty comes Revati, the wife of Balarama.
Sukadeva Goswami briefly discussed other sons of Manu and their respective descendants.
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Power and Purity
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Power and Purity
“In modern times, there are legislative assemblies whose members are authorised to make laws for the welfare of the state, but according to this description of the kingdom of Maharaja Ambarish, the country or the world should be ruled by a chief executive whose advisors are all devotee brahmanas . Such advisors or members of the legislative assembly should not be professional politicians, nor should they be selected by the ignorant public. Rather, they should be appointed by the king. When the king, the executive head of the state, is a devotee and he follows the instructions of devotee brahmanas in ruling the country, everyone will be peaceful and prosperous. When the king and his advisors are perfect devotees, nothing can be wrong in the state. All the citizens should become devotees of the Lord, and then their good character will automatically follow.” ( SB 9.4.21 )
The modern world has seen a long list of corrupt, devious and manipulative leaders who have exercised the power lent to them for less-than-noble purposes. The famous aphorism comes to mind: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” People often wonder whether those who are in positions of significant influence can simultaneously be moral, humane and compassionate. Can power and purity coexist?
The Srimad-Bhagavatam says “ Yes ” and offers many examples to demonstrate it. Its narrations are replete with examples of saintly kings, known as rajarsis (a Sanskrit term that combines the word raja , meaning ‘king,’ and rsi , meaning ‘saint’), who exemplified this perfect combination. Although endowed with opulence and power, they were simultaneously great sages. Due to the purity of their devotion, their motivations, decisions and actions were completely selfless. They ruled with reference to spiritual wisdom, offering genuine spiritual leadership to steer society in the most progressive way. Modern-day politics, however, devoid of such sacred principles, can easily degrade into a selfish fight for power, prestige, profit and position.
Some of the most notable qualities of saintly kings are as follows:
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Absorption
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Power and Purity
Absorption
Simultaneous to being managers and organisers, these saintly kings lived with a very deep realisation of eternity. They were absorbed in devotional service. We hear of how Ambarish engaged all his senses in the service of the Lord: “Maharaja Ambarish always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Krishna, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord’s temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Krishna or about Krishna. He engaged his eyes in seeing the deity of Krishna, Krishna’s temples and Krishna’s places like Mathura and Vrindavana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord’s devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasi offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord’s prasada. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Maharaja Ambarish never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.” ( SB 9.4.18-20 ). We also see the example of Pariksit Maharaja, who humbly accepted the curse upon himself, seeing it as an opportunity for spiritual advancement and perfection. He had no regrets or remorse, but saw that Krishna had personally come to him in another form.
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Advisors
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
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Advisors
The Srimad-Bhagavatam commentator, Sridhara Swami, mentions that every king has seven protectors, of which the spiritual master and informed ministers are two ( SB 6.14.17 ). When these seven are properly maintained, a king flourishes in his service. The Pandavas, for example, often benefitted from the counsel of Narada Muni. Brahminical advisors and spiritual guides would help the kings make effective, practical decisions, which factored in scriptural principles and spiritual wisdom. Their advice would help to resolve the various political and societal dilemmas they were facing. Though the rajarsis were in powerful positions, they never developed a sense of pride which would block them from receiving advice. The Ramayana also narrates how Lord Rama would often be seen sitting with the sages of the forest, receiving spiritual counsel. We see how King Rahugana, when he detected the spiritual advancement of his palanquin carrier, Jada Bharata, was eager to hear spiritual wisdom from him.
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Character
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Power and Purity
Character
In the Ramayana, we hear of how Lord Rama would enlist spies to gather information on how the citizens were feeling about the king and his ruling. When such information would come back, He would use that feedback to refine His character and approach. This is a far cry from modern politics where spin doctors and public relations tycoons are employed to generate false propaganda and cover up any faults that may be there. Saintly kings lived with high principles, thus inspiring all the citizens to do the same. Their spotless integrity generated so much faith in their followers that there was no question of revolution or revolt.
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Knowledge
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Power and Purity
Knowledge
The saintly kings were fully qualified in the science of government and practical affairs, and thus their kingdoms displayed material prosperity and abundance far beyond anything we see today. Such kings, however, were also well-trained in scriptural knowledge. When King Chitraketu became overwhelmed by material affection, he was enlightened by Angira and Narada. The King was able to escape the dark well of family life, just as an elephant is freed from a muddy pond. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna describes how transcendental knowledge was “ passed down through disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. ” Thus, their combined knowledge of material and spiritual helped guide all the citizens on a progressive path.
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Responsibility
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Power and Purity
Responsibility
Though Priyavrata Maharaja was reluctant to leave his renounced life and take up the throne, when his superiors requested him due to the acute need of the day, he accepted it out of duty. When such saintly kings accepted their positions, they took full responsibility for whatever happened in their kingdom. They were never neglectful nor absent-minded. If an anomalous incident took place in the kingdom, the untimely death of a citizen or the appearance of drought and pestilence, then the king would accept full responsibility for it. Indeed, it is said that in the presence of saintly kings, no such anomalies would occur in the kingdom: “When Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was the King of this world, all bodily and mental suffering, disease, old age, bereavement, lamentation, distress, fear and fatigue were completely absent. There was even no death for those who did not want it.” ( SB 9.10.53 )
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Succession
D – Durvasa and Ambarish (1-5)
Power and Purity
Succession
The Srimad-Bhagavatam repeatedly describes how every saintly king was planning for succession. In the material world, leaders cling on to their position until the day they are practically dragged from their seats of power. The rajarsis , however, fully alert to the goal of life, would give up their positions at the opportune time – their detachment would neither be irresponsibly quick, nor needlessly delayed, and they would allow young, fresh and qualified leaders to take up the responsibility. They were able to detach themselves from incredible influence and opulence without any hesitation whatsoever. Indeed, it is said of Bharata Maharaja: “While in the prime of life, the great Maharaja Bharata gave up everything because he was fond of serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Uttamasloka. He gave up his beautiful wife, nice children, great friends and an enormous empire. Although these things were very difficult to give up, Maharaja Bharata was so exalted that he gave them up just as one gives up stool after evacuating. Such was the greatness of His Majesty.” ( SB 5.14.43 )
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— S.B. Keshava Swami, Book Bhagavata