Lord Vishnu appears in the sacrifice of Pṛthu Maharaja (Srimad Bhagavatam #58)

Pṛthu Maharaja attains the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices, that is to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Vishnu personally appears at the arena of sacrifice.

Apr 26, 2025

By stopping the performance of the last sacrifice and being content with the performance of 99 horse sacrifices, Pṛthu Maharaja attained the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices, that is to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Vishnu personally appeared at the arena of sacrifice, even though the sacrifice had been stopped and there were no oblations being offered.

This emphasizes that the ultimate purpose in all our activities should be to satisfy the Lord, and not to merely obtain a certain material objective. In fruitive performances, as well as in ordinary material activities, an incomplete performance does not yield results. Demigods reward the performers of fruitive sacrifice for correctly executing the rituals, and ordinary business transactions generate results only after concluded. One may bake a cake, but until it is delivered and paid for, one doesn't get any money for it. Service to the Lord, however, operates in a different dynamic. The Lord sees not just the effort, but the intention. One can thus advance even without completing an activity. In fact, one can advance even without starting it, as long as his intention is positive. Even though not completing his 100 sacrifices, Pṛthu Maharaja satisfied the Lord, and that's what counts.

🔉 Audio of the lesson »

🎙Podcast (Search for “Mysteries of the Vedas” on Spotify, iTunes, etc. to hear all the lessons)

You can join the course on Telegram to get the links for the live sessions and be notified about the updates.

💬 Text of the lesson

Lord Vishnu appears in the sacrifice of Pṛthu Maharaja (chapter 4.20)

"The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, being very much satisfied by the performance of ninety-nine horse sacrifices, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, appeared on the scene. Accompanying Him was King Indra. Lord Viṣṇu then began to speak.
Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, said: My dear King Pṛthu, Indra, the King of heaven, has disturbed your execution of one hundred sacrifices. Now he has come with Me to be forgiven by you. Therefore excuse him." (SB 4.20.1-2)

Both Pṛthu and Indra are great devotees of the Lord, and therefore, Lord Viṣnu came personally to help them solve the conflict and start cooperating again. At this point, Indra had already realized his mistake and was feeling ashamed, but before asking Pṛthu Maharaja to forgive Indra, Lord Viṣnu desired to give him spiritual instructions, helping him to remain situated in spiritual consciousness and forgive the offenses committed by the king of heaven wholeheartedly. These teachings go from text 4.20.3 to 4.20.16. Here are the main points in the verses and purports:

3) A person advanced in consciousness understands that the body is different from the soul, and seeing everyone as part and parcel of the Lord, he is never malicious to others. On the contrary, he is eager to perform activities that will be beneficial. He understands that, in fact, the soul is transcendental and does not do anything, and that all material actions happen under the three modes of material nature. He thus forgives any offense committed by others. As Prabhupada mentions, forgiveness is a quality of those who are advancing in spiritual knowledge.

4) Perfect knowledge can be obtained only through the paramparā system, by following the instructions of previous ācāryas. When a person is properly trained in this line, he or she goes beyond the bodily conception of existence and becomes free from the bewilderment caused by the material energy, just like King Pṛthu. If, however, one remains under the influence of the three modes, this proves his practice is not being effective.

5) This material body is produced from the material nature and is therefore created from ignorance. This ignorance covers the soul and makes us think we are the body and that we should satisfy the desires of the body through material actions. Some try to directly satisfy their senses, thinking this will bring them happiness, while others aim to obtain a higher grade of sense gratification in the celestial planets by performing Vedic rituals. Both are in illusion. Even philanthropic activities performed under the idea of making people happy by improving their political or economic situation are illusory, because no one can be happy in this way. Whatever we desire or perform under the bodily conception of life is illusory and can't bring us to real happiness. On the opposite, real happiness can be found only in the spiritual platform and starts from understanding that we are not the body.

By this instruction, the Lord indirectly informed Pṛthu Maharaja that there was no need for him to perform fruitive sacrifices such as the aśvamedha yajña. Such sacrifices are useful to set an example to ordinary people, but in terms of his personal self, there was no need to be engaged in such performances.

6) Becoming free from affinity to the material body cuts out all material affinity by the root, destroying the bodily conception of life based on attachment to family life, wealth, etc. This, in turn, eliminates the necessity of performing fruitive sacrifices. In reality, fruitive sacrifices are offered in the Vedas to attract materialists who are mad after sense gratification into following the path of the Vedas. This fruitive understanding is based on the three material modes, and thus called traiguṇya-viṣayā vedāḥ.

A person who becomes advanced in spiritual knowledge loses attraction to such materialistic performances and instead becomes attracted to the higher duties connected with his eternal position as servitor of the Supreme Lord. Devotional service is called nistraiguṇya because it is transcendental to the three modes. In other words, the Lord reinforces the previous instruction, arguing that Pṛthu Maharaja should stop his performance of horse sacrifices and instead become fixed in his performance of loving devotional service.

7) Devotional service to the Lord can be ultimately performed only in the spiritual platform, which in turn means to see ourselves in our original position as souls instead of as the body and mind. When we attain this position, we realize the Supersoul, understanding that the Lord resides in all bodies and that we are never separated from Him. The Supersoul is described as being one (although simultaneously present in all bodies), pure, nonmaterial, and self-effulgent. He is different from the individual souls (although one with them in quality), the reservoir of all good qualities, all-pervading, without material covering, the witness of all activities, and transcendental to matter.

In conditioned life, the soul is covered by material ignorance and sees himself as the cause of material actions. The Lord, however, remains always transcendental, living inside the heart as a neutral witness. When the soul becomes free from material contamination, he becomes transcendental, just like the Lord. The pure soul is described as asaṁsaktaḥ (without attachment) and budhaḥ (fully cognizant of everything). This means that in his original consciousness, the soul is pure and fully conscious of his original position as a servant of the Supreme Lord.

8) What is the practical symptom of a pure soul who attains this realization of the Supersoul? Even though residing in a material body, inside the material creation, he is never affected by the modes of material nature. Instead, he remains always situated in transcendental loving service, practiced without motive for material gain. In the Bhagavad-gita, the Lord describes the process of karma-yoga, which is the practical process to be gradually elevated to this platform by working without being attached to the results. As we advance in this devotional practice, we gradually become very satisfied within.

9) In the conditioned stage of life, we see everything in terms of duality: pleasant and unpleasant, gain and loss, victory and defeat, etc. However, when the heart is cleansed from this material contamination through the linking process of devotional service, our consciousness becomes broader and our mind transparent, becoming a medium for the manifestation of our original spiritual consciousness, instead of blocking it. Free from material contamination, we see everything equally, without attachment or aversion. At this stage, there is peace, and we become situated in the spiritual platform, becoming sac-cid-ānanda, just like the Lord.

10) The material creation is always moving, and the body is always changing. The soul, however, is described as kūṭa-stham, fixed. In the Gita, the soul is also defined as acalaḥ, immovable, like a mountain. Throughout all the movements of the material manifestation, the soul remains fixed in his original spiritual position, beyond the movements of the body and mind. The soul is just like the moon reflected in a pot of water. The reflection in the pot moves, following the movements of the water, but the moon is fixed in the sky. Ultimately, the soul simply observes the material manifestation, just like the Lord. The difference is that, due to the influence of Maya, we forget ourselves and identify with the material consciousness, the reflection on the water, while the Lord is always fully aware of His transcendental position. When this mistaken conception is removed, however, we become eligible to be liberated from material bondage.

11-12) Since the soul is completely different from the combination of gross and subtle material elements that form the material self, a devotee who is firmly connected with the Lord in friendship and affection, being completely in knowledge, is never agitated by material happiness and distress. As Prabhupada mentions, those who are fully absorbed in devotional service do not care what is going on with the external body. That status is called samādhi.

How is it possible for anyone to be indifferent to the activities of the body? Prabhupada gives the example of a businessman seated in a car, giving instructions to the driver. Although he understands how the car works and supervises the driver, he is more concerned with his business in the office. Similarly, a devotee remains absorbed in thoughts connected with his devotional service to the Lord. That's how he can remain separate from the activities of the material body, in a position of neutrality.

13) The Lord concludes his instructions with practical advice for Pṛthu Maharaja in his reign: Be equipoised and treat people equally, even the ones considered lower than him. Not be disturbed by material happiness or distress, understanding both to be temporary, and control his mind and senses. Remain in a transcendental position while at the same time executing his duties as a king as a service to the Lord.

14-15) By properly protecting the population, a king receives 1/6 of the results of the pious activities of the citizens. On the other hand, a kind who just enjoys privileges has his pious credits taken by the citizens and shares their sinful reactions. Pṛthu should thus keep himself on the proper path, ruling according to the spiritual instructions received by disciplic succession. In this way, not only will all the citizens be happy and love him, but he will soon be able to meet the four Kumāras and receive instructions from them.

16) The Lord concluded by expressing he was captivated by the qualities and behavior of the king, and offered him any benediction he desired. In his purport, Prabhupada mentions that a pure Vaishnava processes 26 qualities: (1) kind to everyone, (2) does not quarrel with anyone, (3) fixed in the Absolute Truth, (4) equal to everyone, (5) faultless, (6) charitable, (7) mild, (8) clean, (9) simple, (10) benevolent, (11) peaceful, (12) completely attached to Kṛṣṇa, (13) has no material hankering, (14) meek, (15) steady, (16) self-controlled, (17) does not eat more than required, (18) sane, (19) respectful, (20) humble, (21) grave, (22) compassionate, (23) friendly, (24) poetic, (25) expert, (26) silent. These are the qualities that satisfy and attract the Lord. However, these qualities can be developed only through the practice of devotional service, and they become manifest as we progress.

Pṛthu Maharaja forgives Indra

Indra was standing by the whole time while the Lord was instructing Pṛthu. After the Lord concluded His speech, he fell before Pṛthu Maharaja to touch his feet, but the king immediately embraced him and gave up all envy against him. This shows the exemplary behavior of two great Vaishnavas, which can easily solve all disputes. As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to text 18, "This is also a first-class example of cooperative behavior between Vaiṣṇavas. In the present days, however, because people are not Vaiṣṇavas, they fight perpetually among one another and are vanquished without finishing the mission of human life. There is a great need to propagate the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in the world so that even though people sometimes become angry and malicious toward one another, because of their being Kṛṣṇa conscious such rivalry, competition and envy can be adjusted without difficulty."

After making peace with Indra, Pṛthu Maharaja worshiped the Lord and attained devotional ecstasy. With this, the purpose of the visit of the Lord had been achieved, but He was so attracted to the behavior of Pṛthu Maharaja that he was not able to leave. Although the Lord is the supremely independent Personality of Godhead, He was detained by His love for Pṛthu Maharaja:

"The original king, Mahārāja Pṛthu, his eyes full of tears and his voice faltering and choked up, could neither see the Lord very distinctly nor speak to address the Lord in any way. He simply embraced the Lord within his heart and remained standing in that way with folded hands. The Supreme Personality of Godhead stood with His lotus feet almost touching the ground while He rested the front of His hand on the raised shoulder of Garuḍa, the enemy of the snakes. Mahārāja Pṛthu, wiping the tears from his eyes, tried to look upon the Lord, but it appeared that the King was not fully satisfied by looking at Him." (SB 4.20.21-22)

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains in detail the words padā spṛśantaṁ kṣitim aṁsa unnate vinyasta-hastāgram uraṅga-vidviṣaḥ from text 22. Normally, inhabitants of higher planets, starting from Svargaloka, do not touch the ground when they visit our planet. They keep their weightlessness as a symbol of their elevated status. When Krsna personally appears in Vṛndāvana, He breaks this convention and directly walks on the ground, making the Earth greatly fortunate. Because He doesn't show the different symbols of status normally displayed by Lord Vishnu and even by ordinary demigods, Brahma and Indra become bewildered and are not able to recognize Him. Lord Vishnu, however, comes on the shoulders of Garuḍa, displaying all His opulences and not touching the ground.

Because of his great love for King Pṛthu, however, the Lord touched the ground. As Prabhupada explains: "Out of affection for Pṛthu Mahārāja, He touched the earth, but He rested the front of His hand on the raised shoulder of Garuḍa, His carrier, as if to prevent Himself from falling down, since the Lord is not accustomed to stand on earthly ground. These are all symptoms of His great affection for Pṛthu Mahārāja. Perceiving his fortunate position, Pṛthu Mahārāja could not fully look upon the Lord due to ecstasy, but still, in a faltering voice, he began to offer prayers."

Pṛthu Maharaja used the opportunity to offer prayers to the Lord, which go from text 23 to 31:

23-24) The Lord is infinitely powerful and can offer any benediction. Just as it doesn't make sense to go to a rich person to ask for ashes, it doesn't make sense to approach the Lord to ask for insignificant material benefits, or even for liberation, which for a devotee is just like hell. Instead, Pṛthu Maharaja wanted to live for at least a million years, having a million ears to hear the glories of the Lord chanted by pure devotees, speaking from the cores of their hearts.

25) Why does Pṛthu Maharaja want to hear about the glories of the Lord? The lotus feet of the Lord are just like a flower, full of saffron particles. The voice of pure devotees carries these transcendental saffron particles in the form of transcendental vibration. What is the effect of receiving these transcendental particles through the auditory sense? Smṛtiṁ punar vismṛta-tattva: The forgetful living entity gradually remembers his eternal relationship with the Lord.

In his purport, Prabhupada explains:

“The transcendental vibration from the mouth of a pure devotee is so powerful that it can revive the living entity’s memory of his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In our material existence, under the influence of illusory māyā, we have almost forgotten our eternal relationship with the Lord, exactly like a man sleeping very deeply who forgets his duties.”
“As soon as a sleeping living entity hears the powerful voice emanating from the mouth of a pure devotee, he immediately remembers his eternal relationship with the Lord, although up until that moment he had forgotten everything.”
“Every one of us is kuyogī because we have engaged in the service of this material world, forgetting our eternal relationship with the Lord as His eternal loving servants. It is our duty to rise from the kuyoga platform to become suyogīs, perfect mystics. The process of hearing from a pure devotee is recommended in all Vedic scriptures, especially by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One may stay in his position of life — it does not matter what it is — but if one hears from the mouth of a pure devotee, he gradually comes to the understanding of his relationship with the Lord and thus engages in His loving service, and his life becomes completely perfect. Therefore, this process of hearing from the mouth of a pure devotee is very important for making progress in the line of spiritual understanding.”

Remembering a forgotten relationship: In the teachings of Lord Kapila in the third canto, the eternal relationship of the soul with Krsna was already established, and the process by which the eternal soul can temporarily forget this relationship was explained. The word smṛtim means "remembrance", and it is reinforced by the word punaḥ (again). What is it we are supposed to remember? Vismṛta-tattva: the forgotten truth of our eternal relationship with the Lord. Srila Prabhupada translates this section as "When the transcendental vibration from the mouths of great devotees carries the aroma of the saffron dust of Your lotus feet, the forgetful living entity gradually remembers his eternal relationship with You."

Words such as "smṛtim" (remembrance) and "anusmaret" (he remembers) and other variations of the root "smṛ" (to remember) are used in many verses to explain the process by which the soul attains the transcendental position. They make clear that the relationship of the soul with the Lord is eternally existing, different from the material conditioning that has a beginning, although long lost in the past. Since the relationship of the soul with the Lord is truly eternal, it is defined as "tattva" (truth) and it predates the soul coming in contact with material energy. The contact with the material energy makes the soul forget this eternal relationship, and Krsna consciousness is the process for remembering this covering and remembering this eternal connection.

Srila Jīva Goswami explains it nicely in his Paramātma-sandarbha (83.2):

ghano yadarka-prabhavo vidīryate, cakṣuḥ svarūpaṁ ravim īkṣate tadā
yadā hy ahaṅkāra upādhir ātmāno, jijñāsayā naśyati tarhy anusmaret
"When the cloud originally produced from the sun is torn apart, the eye can see the actual form of the sun. Similarly, when the spirit soul destroys his material covering of false ego by inquiring into the transcendental science, he regains his spiritual awareness."

The sun creates a cloud by evaporating water from the ground. However, when the cloud manifests, we can't see the sun. The sun existed before the appearance of the cloud and continues to exist behind the cloud. If the cloud is somehow torn apart, we can again see the sun. Similarly, due to free will the soul comes in contact with the material nature and accepts a temporary material identity centered around the false ego, which covers the original spiritual consciousness of the soul, just like the cloud covering the sun. When this covering of the false ego is destroyed (naśyati) by the process of transcendental inquiry (jijñāsayā), then the soul remembers his eternal nature.

The word used here is "anusmaret", which can be translated as "he remembers" or "he regains". There is no possible interpretation of the word that may suggest obtaining something that didn't exist before, just as in the word "smṛtim" used by Pṛthu Maharaja.

26) As soon as one starts reviving his eternal spiritual nature, the chanting of the holy names becomes very attractive. When a person is afflicted by jaundice, sugar tastes bitter and he will tend to reject it, but according to classical Ayurveda, ingesting the "bitter" sugar regularly helps one to be cured from his jaundice. As the disease subsides, he is again able to taste the sweetness.

Anyone living under the bodily concept of life is considered an animal according to Vedic philosophy (paśum). Such animals may not feel attracted to the glorification of the Lord, and may abandon the process even if they try, but a person advanced in spiritual realization, or even in material piety (ārya), will be attracted to hear in association with other similarly inclined persons. There is, however, no bar for anyone. From the pauper to the goddess of fortune, everyone should engage in hearing the glories of the Lord.

27-28) In the material world, there is a hierarchy of material positions, going from plants and animals all the way to the demigods. A dog or another animal may follow a human being, just as a human being may worship a demigod, for example. However, the Lord is pūruṣottama, the highest person, and should thus be worshiped by everyone. Even though King Pṛthu is a śaktyāveśa incarnation and is worshiped even by great demigods, he desires to be engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord. Who could therefore refuse it? He just worries that there may be some quarrel with the goddess of fortune, who is engaged in the same service. However, he is hopeful that, being so affectionate with His devotees, the Lord will take his part even if such disagreement occurs.

Everything that exists in the material world is a perverted reflection of something that exists in the spiritual world. Competition also exists in the spiritual world, with different devotees and groups each trying their best to satisfy the Lord, and sometimes disagreeing in details. However, different from competition in the material world, such competition is pure, without malice. As Prabhupada mentions: "In the Vaikuṇṭha worlds if a devotee excels in the service of the Lord, others do not become envious of his excellent service but rather aspire to come to the platform of that service."

29) What to say about demigods, even liberated souls take to the devotional service of the Lord. If they are already liberated, what is the need of practicing devotional service? Vyudasta-māyā-guṇa-vibhramodayam: only devotional service can completely dispel all misconceptions that appear from contact with matter. In other words, only devotional service can fully revive the original nature of the soul. The fact that liberated persons take to the practice of devotional service proves that devotional service to the Lord is higher than liberation. As Prabhupada mentions: "If liberation were the end in itself, there would be no question of a liberated person’s taking to devotional service. In other words, the transcendental bliss derived from self-realization, known as ātmānanda, is very insignificant in the presence of the bliss derived from devotional service to the lotus feet of the Lord."

30-31) What about the benediction the Lord offered Pṛthu Maharaja? As he mentions, material benefits, even when offered in the Vedas, are not suitable for pure devotees, but for common people who are materially entangled, forgotten of their original nature as eternal servants of the Lord. Therefore, Pṛthu refuses to ask for any material benefit. Instead, he asks the Lord to give him whatever he thinks is best.

The Lord departs

Being very satisfied with the meaningful prayers of the king, the Lord blessed him:

"My dear King, may you always be blessed by engaging in My devotional service. Only by such purity of purpose, as you yourself very intelligently express, can one cross over the insurmountable illusory energy of māyā. My dear King, O protector of the citizens, henceforward be very careful to execute My orders and not be misled by anything. Anyone who lives in that way, simply carrying out My orders faithfully, will always find good fortune all over the world." (SB 4.20.32-33)

The prayers of the king are described by Maitreya in text 34 as pratinandyārthavad: full of meaning. These are not like the prayers of a mundane person asking for material benefits, but prayers that reveal the ultimate purpose of life. The purpose of the advent of the Lord and His pure devotees is to propagate the science of devotional service. As an incarnation of the potency of the Lord, Pṛthu Maharaja was also empowered to spread the process of devotional service through the world by properly guiding the citizens, and the Lord blessed him to remain fixed in his position.

To surrender to the Lord means to follow His instructions. Just as Arjuna received instructions directly from the Lord, we receive His instructions from the scriptures and the spiritual master, as well as other saintly Vaishnavas. This is the process of attaining all good fortune. As Prabhupada explains: "Anyone who directly executes such an order from the Personality of Godhead is actually a religious person. Others are described as pretenders, for there are many activities going on throughout the world in the name of religion which are not actually religious. For one who executes the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, there is only good fortune throughout the world."

"The infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead, having captivated the minds of the King and the priests who were present, returned to His abode in the spiritual sky. King Pṛthu then offered his respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supreme Lord of all demigods. Although not an object of material vision, the Lord revealed Himself to the sight of Mahārāja Pṛthu. After offering obeisances to the Lord, the King returned to his home." (SB 4.20.37-38)