Hare Kṛṣṇa. All glories to His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. The following purports describe the glories of all great sages who were present during the passing of Bhīṣmadeva.
Taken from: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Part 2, Chapter 9(The Passing Away of Bhīṣmadeva in the Presence of Lord Kṛṣṇa), Texts 6-9, Original 1972 First Edition
TEXTS 6-7
parvato nārado dhaumyo
bhagavān bādarāyaṇaḥ
bṛhadaśvo bharadvājaḥ
saśiṣyo reṇukā-sutaḥ
vasiṣṭha indrapramadas
trito gṛtsamado ‘sitaḥ
kakṣīvān gautamo ‘triś ca
kauśiko ‘tha sudarśanaḥ
parvataḥ—Parvata Muni; nāradaḥ—Nārada Muni; dhaumyaḥ—Dhaumya; bhagavān—incarnation of Godhead; bādarāyaṇaḥ—Vyāsadeva; bṛhadaśvaḥ—Bṛhadaśva; bharadvājaḥ—Bharadvāja; sa-śiṣyaḥ—along with disciples; reṇukā-sūtaḥ—Paraśurāma; vasiṣṭhaḥ—Vasiṣṭha; indrapramadaḥ—Indrapramada; tritaḥ—Trita; gṛtsamadaḥ—Gṛtsamada; asitaḥ—Asita; kakṣīvān—Kakṣīvān; gautamaḥ—Gautama; atriḥ—Atri; kauśikaḥ—Kauśika; atha—now; sudarśanaḥ—Sudarśana.
TRANSLATION
PURPORT
Parvata Muni is considered to be one of the oldest sages. He is almost always a constant companion of Nārada Muni. They are also spacemen competent to travel in the air without help of any material vehicle. Parvata Muni is also a devarṣi, or a great sage amongst the demigods, like Nārada. He was present along with Nārada at the sacrificial ceremony of Mahārāja Janamejaya, son of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. In this sacrifice all the snakes of the world were to be killed. Parvata Muni and Nārada Muni are called Gandharvas also because they can travel in the air singing the glories of the Lord. As they can travel in the air, they observed the svayaṁvara ceremony (selecting her own husband) of Draupadī from the air. Like Nārada Muni, Parvata Muni also used to visit the royal assembly in the heaven of King Indra. As a Gandharva, sometimes he visited the royal assembly of Kuvera, one of the important demigods. Both Nārada and Parvata were once in trouble with the daughter of Mahārāja Sṛñjaya. Mahārāja Sṛñjaya got the benediction of a son by Parvata Muni.
Nārada Muni is inevitably associated with the narrations of the Purāṇas. He is described in the Bhāgavatam. In his previous life he was the son of a maidservant, but by good association of pure devotees he became enlightened in devotional service, and in the next lift; he became a perfect man comparable with himself only. In the Mahābhārata his name is mentioned in many places. He is the principal devarṣi, or the chief sage amongst the demigods. He is the son and disciple of Brahmājī, and from him the disciplic succession in the line of Brahmā has been spread. He initiated Prahlāda Mahārāja, Dhruva Mahārāja and many celebrated devotees of the Lord. He initiated even Vyāsadeva, the author of the Vedic literatures, and from Vyāsadeva, Madhvācārya was initiated, and thus the Madhva-sampradāya, in which the Gauḍīya-sampradāya is also included, has spread all over the universe. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu belonged to this Madhva-sampradāya; therefore Brahmājī, Nārada, Vyāsa, down to Madhva, Caitanya and the Gosvāmīs all belonged to the same line of disciplic succession. Nāradajī has instructed many kings from time immemorial. In the Bhāgavatam we can see that he instructed Prahlāda Mahārāja while he was in the womb of his mother, and he instructed Vasudeva, father of Kṛṣṇa, as well as Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.
By the order of his mother Satyavatī, who was later married to Mahārāja Śantanu, and by the request of Bhīṣmadeva, the eldest son of Mahārāja Śantanu by his first wife, the Ganges, he begot three brilliant sons whose names are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu and Vidura. The Mahābhārata was compiled by Vyāsadeva after the Battle of Kurukṣetra and after the death of all the heroes of Mahābhārata. It was first spoken in the royal assembly of Mahārāja Janamejaya, the son of Mahārāja Parīkṣit.
Paraśurāma is so old that he met both Rāma and Kṛṣṇa at different times. He fought with Rāma, but he accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He also praised Arjuna when he saw him with Kṛṣṇa. When Bhīṣma refused to marry Ambā, who wanted him to become her husband, Ambā met Paraśurāma, and by her request only he asked Bhīṣmadeva to accept her as his wife. Bhīṣma refused to obey his order, although he was one of the spiritual masters of Bhīṣmadeva. He fought with Bhīṣmadeva when he neglected his warning. Both of them fought very severely, and at last Paraśurāma was pleased with Bhīṣma and gave him the benediction of becoming the greatest fighter in the world.
Vasiṣṭha. The great celebrated sage among the brāhmaṇas, well known as the Brahmarṣi Vasiṣṭhadeva. He is a prominent figure both in the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata periods. He celebrated the coronation ceremony of the Personality of Godhead Śrī Rāma. He was present also on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. He could approach all the higher and lower planets, and his name is also connected with the history of Hiraṇyakaśipu. There was a great tension between him and Viśvāmitra, who wanted his kāmadhenu. Vasiṣṭha Muni refused to spare his kāmadhenu, and for this Viśvāmitra killed his one hundred sons. As a perfect brāhmaṇa he tolerated all the taunts of Viśvāmitra. Once he tried to commit suicide on account of Viśvāmitra’s torture, but all his attempts were unsuccessful. He jumped from a hill, but the stones on which he fell became a stack of cotton, and thus he was saved. He jumped into the ocean, but the waves washed him ashore. He jumped in the river, but the river also washed him ashore. Thus all his suicide attempts were unsuccessful. He is also one of the seven ṛṣis and husband of Arundhatī, the famous star.
Trita. One of the three sons of Prajāpati Gautama. He was the third son, and his other two brothers were known as Ekat and Dvita. All the brothers were great sages and strict followers of the principles of religion. By dint of severe penances they were promoted to Brahmaloka (the planet where Brahmājī lives). Once Trita Muni fell in a well. He was an organizing worker of many sacrifices, and as one of the great sages he also came to show respect to Bhīṣmajī at his deathbed. He was one of the seven sages in the Varuṇaloka. He hailed from the Western countries of the world. As such, most probably he belonged to the European countries. At that time the whole world was under one Vedic culture.
Gṛtsamada. One of the sages of the heavenly kingdom. He was a close friend of Indra the King of heaven and was as great as Bṛhaspati. He used to visit the royal assembly of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, and he also visited the place where Bhīṣmadeva breathed his last. Sometimes he explained the glories of Lord Śiva before Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. He was the son of Vitahavya, and he resembled in features the body of Indra. Sometimes the enemies of Indra mistook him to be Indra and arrested him. He was a great scholar of the Ṛg-veda, and thus he was highly respected by the brāhmaṇa community. He lived a life of celibacy and was powerful in every respect.
TEXT 8
anye ca munayo brahman
brahmarātādayo ‘malāḥ
śiṣyair upetā ājagmuḥ
kaśyapāṅgirasādayaḥ
anye—many others; ca—also; munayaḥ—sages; brāhmam—O brāhmaṇas; brahmarāta—Śukadeva Gosvāmī; ādayaḥ—and such others; amalāḥ—completely purified; śiṣyaiḥ—by the disciples; upetāḥ—accompanied by; ājagmuḥ—arrived; kaśyapa—Kaśyapa; āṅgirasa—Āṅgirasa; ādayaḥ—and others.
TRANSLATION
And many others like Śukadeva Gosvāmī and other purified souls, Kaśyapa and Āṅgira and others, all accompanied by their respective disciples, arrived there.
PURPORT
Śukadeva Gosvāmī (Brahmarata). The famous son and disciple of Śrī Vyāsadeva, who taught him first the Mahābhārata and then Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śukadeva Gosvāmī recited 1,400,000 verses of the Mahābhārata in the councils of the Gandharvas, Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, and he recited Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for the first time in the presence of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. He thoroughly studied all the Vedic literatures from his great father. Thus he was a completely purified soul by dint of his extensive knowledge in the principles of religion. From Mahābhārata (Sabhā Parva 4.11) it is understood that he was also present in the royal assembly of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira and at the fasting of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. As a bona fide disciple of Śrī Vyāsadeva, he inquired from his father very extensively about religious principles and spiritual values, and his great father also satisfied him by teaching him the yoga system by which one can attain the spiritual kingdom, the difference between fruitive work and empiric knowledge, the ways and means of attaining spiritual realization, the four āśramas, namely the student life, the householder’s life, the retired life and the renounced life, the sublime position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the process of seeing Him eye to eye, the bona fide candidate for receiving knowledge, the consideration of the five elements, the unique position of intelligence, the consciousness of the material nature and the living entity, the symptoms of the self-realized soul, the working principles of the material body, the symptoms of the influential modes of nature, the tree of perpetual desire, and psychic activities. Sometimes he went to the sun planet with the permission of his father and Nāradajī. Descriptions of his travel in space are given in the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata(332). At last he attained the transcendental realm. He is known by different names like Araṇeya, Aruṇisuta, Vaiyāsaki and Vyāsātmaja, etc.
TEXT 9
tān sametān mahā-bhāgān
upalabhya vasūttamaḥ
pūjayāmāsa dharma-jño
deśa-kāla-vibhāga-vit
tān—all of them; sametān—assembled together; mahā-bhāgān—all greatly powerful; upalabhya—having received; vasūttamaḥ—the best among the Vasūs (Bhīṣmadeva); pūjayāmāsa—welcomed; dharma-jñaḥ—one who knows religious principles; deśa—place; kāla—time; vibhāga-vit—one who knows the adjustment of place and time.
TRANSLATION
Bhīṣmadeva, who was the best amongst the eight Vasūs, received and welcomed all the great and powerful ṛṣis who were assembled there, for he knew perfectly all the religious principles according to time and place.
PURPORT
Expert religionists know perfectly well how to adjust religious principles in terms of time and place. All the great ācāryas or religious preachers or reformers of the world executed their mission by adjustment of religious principles in terms of time and place. There are different climates and situations in different parts of the world, and if one has to discharge his duties to preach the message of the Lord, he must be expert in adjusting things in terms of the time and place. Bhīṣmadeva was one of the twelve great authorities of preaching this cult of devotional service, and therefore he could receive and welcome all the powerful sages from all parts of the universe assembled there at his deathbed. He was certainly unable at that time to welcome and receive them physically because he was neither at his home nor in a normal healthy condition. But he was quite fit by the activities of his sound mind, and therefore he could utter sweet words with hearty expressions, and all of them were well received. One can perform one’s duty by physical work, by mind and by words. And he knew well how to utilize them in the proper place, and therefore there was no difficulty for him to receive them, although physically unfit.
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