Pearl 22

Vasudeva of Sacrifice to the Sages at Kurukshetra Explaining the Path of Success

The pearl records the congregation of wise sages who have keenly gathered in Kurukshetra for a sight of Lord Krishna and Lord Balrama. The Lord assures us that serving these great saints for a few moments absolves us of all sins. Vasudevji is totally unaware that His Krishna is the Supreme Lord and seeks Him elsewhere.

Chapter 84, verses 7-9: The segment ascertains the presence of thirty renowned sages of the world who have assembled to eagerly seek a darshan of Lord Krishna, and Lord Balrama in Kurukshetra. The group includes Vedvyasaji, the writer of ‘Shrimad Bhagwatam,’ and “Dvajpayana, Narada, Cyavana, Devala and Asita, Visvamitra, Satananda,Bharadvāja and Gautama, Lord Parasurama and his disciples, Vasistha, Gālava, Bhrgu, Pulastya and Kasyapa, Atri, Markendya and Brhaspati, Dvita, Trita, Ekata and the four Kumāras, and Ańgirā, Agastya, Yajnavalkya and Vāmadeva.” Virtually all the sages who attended King Yidhistirji’s famous Rajsuya Yagna are present in this chapter.

Chapter 84, verses 9-13: In this segment Lord Krishna endorses:

• A darshan of the above thirty Yogis or mystics is not an ordinary incidence, only the most fortunate of us can achieve it. Lord Krishna affirms, “Now our lives are indeed successful, for we have obtained life's ultimate goal: the audience of great yoga masters, which even demigods only rarely obtain.”
• He says it can take ages to please a pilgrimage shrine or God but these pious Mahatmas cure human beings, merely by casting their sight on them. “Mere bodies of water are not the real sacred places of pilgrimage, nor are mere images of earth and stone the true worship able deities. These purify one only after a long time, but saintly sages purify one immediately upon being seen.”
• Lord Krishna assures us that genuine service of true saints for a few minutes, could be less than an hour, absolves one of all sins since it destroy one’s sense of non-belonging to the Supreme Lord! “But wise sages destroy one's sins when respectfully served for even a few moments.”
  

Other notable verses of chapter 84 are:

Chapter 84, Verse18: The verse clarifies that it is solely Lord Sri Hari or Krishna who takes incarnation to uphold righteousness and the Vedic path. The great sages praise the Supreme Lord, “Nonetheless, at suitable times You assume the pure mode of goodness to protect Your devotees and punish the wicked. Thus You, the Soul of the varnasrama social order, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, maintain the eternal path of the Vedas by enjoying Your pleasure pastimes.”

Verse 31: Shri Narad Muni enlightens the Brahmins about Vasudeva who considers Krishna a small boy, totally unaware that He is the Supreme Lord. He asserts that human beings start disrespecting you if you stay over for long. “In this world familiarity breeds contempt. For example, one who lives on the banks of the Ganges might travel to some other body of water to be purified.”

Verse 47: Lord Krishna's father Vasudevji uses butter for the Yagna or fire sacrifices ,”His body smeared with fresh butter.” Hence this can be interpreted as a glorification of milk.

Verse 54: The verse elucidates that while serving food Vasudevji feeds all, not merely human beings but even dogs! “He honoured all classes of people by feeding everyone, even the dogs.” The act reflects the magnanimity of His persona! After all He is hailed as the Father of Lord of the Universe.