Pṛthu Maharaja goes back to Godhead (Srimad Bhagavatam #63)

The last lesson of any great spiritual teacher is how to face the ultimate test: death. After fulfilling all his other duties in his earthly pastimes, Pṛthu Maharaja had a last mission to accomplish.

Jun 01, 2025

The last lesson of any great spiritual teacher is how to face the ultimate test: death. After fulfilling all his other duties in his earthly pastimes, Pṛthu Maharaja had a last mission to accomplish, abandoning his material body in perfect consciousness and returning home, back to Godhead, leaving his example for all who would follow.

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Pṛthu Maharaja goes back to Godhead (SB 4.23.13-29)

The time of death is the most difficult, and therefore is the test for all the spiritual practice we performed during our lives. We practice with the goal of fixing our attention on Krsna, always remembering Him, and never forgetting Him, and this is tested at the time of death. If we can pass this ultimate test, our trip back to Godhead is guaranteed. As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to text 13: "Those who are practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness know that their examination will be held at the time of death. If one can remember Kṛṣṇa at death, he is immediately transferred to Goloka Vṛndāvana, or Kṛṣṇaloka, and thus his life becomes successful. Pṛthu Mahārāja, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, could understand that the end of his life was near, and thus he became very jubilant and proceeded to completely give up his body on the brahma-bhūta stage by practicing the yogic process."

As Prabhupada explains, the process of leaving the body by yogic meditation used by Pṛthu Maharaja allows one to leave his body at the time of his choosing. One can thus leave while still strong physically and mentally, instead of waiting for cruel death.

"When Mahārāja Pṛthu practiced a particular yogic sitting posture, he blocked the door of his anus with his ankles, pressed his right and left calves and gradually raised his life air upward, passing it on to the circle of his navel, up to his heart and throat, and finally pushed it upward to the central position between his two eyebrows. In this way, Pṛthu Mahārāja gradually raised his air of life up to the hole in his skull, whereupon he lost all desire for material existence." (SB 4.23.14-15)

Different from impersonalists, Pṛthu Maharaja performed this process in perfect Krsna consciousness, fixing his mind firmly upon Krsna, and firmly situated on the brahma-bhūta platform.

An attentive reader could ask why Pṛthu Maharaja decided to use the process of meditation to leave his body, if it was previously described that he abandoned this practice after attaining perfection in Krsna consciousness? Prabhupada answers this question in his purport to text 14:

"Although Mahārāja Pṛthu stopped all practice of mystic yoga after realizing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he took advantage of his previous practice and immediately placed himself on the brahma-bhūta platform in order to accelerate his return to Godhead. The aim of this particular system of āsana, known as the sitting posture for liberation, or muktāsana, is to attain success in kuṇḍalinī-cakra and gradually raise the life from the mūlādhāra-cakra to the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra, then to the maṇipūra-cakra, the anāhata-cakra, the viśuddha-cakra, and finally to the ājñā-cakra. When the yogī reaches the ājñā-cakra, between the two eyebrows, he is able to penetrate the brahma-randhra, or the hole in his skull, and go to any planet he desires, up to the spiritual kingdom of Vaikuṇṭha, or Kṛṣṇaloka. The conclusion is that one has to come to the brahma-bhūta stage for going back to Godhead. However, those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or who are practicing bhakti-yoga (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam), can return to Godhead without even practicing the muktāsana process. The purpose of muktāsana practice is to come to the brahma-bhūta stage, for without being on the brahma-bhūta stage, one cannot be promoted to the spiritual sky."

A pure devotee is not shy of using any material facility available for Krsna, and surely the ability of leaving one’s body at will becomes handy when it's time to return back home, back to Godhead. By using this process, one can take control over the process and be sure to leave the body in the most favorable circumstances. Bhīṣmadeva also had the power to choose the time to leave, and he chose to go in the most auspicious moment, when he was surrounded by the Pandavas and in the presence of the Lord Himself.

Pṛthu Maharaja used the process of control of the vital air to leave his body at the time of his choosing. When one dies, the subtle body is carried to another body by the vital air. For ordinary people, this process is involuntary, conducted according to the results of one's karma. Advanced yogis, however, can control the movements of the vital air, and thus move the subtle body out of the body at the moment and conditions of their choosing. When one dies, the soul can leave the body through different paths according to one's next destination, but one can select his next destination by leaving his body through the hole on the top of the skull.

After leaving the body, the soul is still encased by the subtle body, which is composed of subtle versions of the five elements, as well as the mind, intelligence, and false ego. To give up these coverings, the yogi returns these elements to their causes.

In short, the yogic process is based on deeply understanding the creation of the material elements (air being created from ether, fire from air, water from fire, etc). These same elements are used by the soul in the womb to constitute one’s body, in another process of creation. While leaving this world, a yogi meditates upon this process in reverse to become free from the material coverings. After this process is concluded, one finally becomes again pure consciousness, free from material contamination.

"Gradually he merged his air of life with the totality of air, his body with the totality of earth, and the fire within his body with the totality of fire. In this way, according to the different positions of the various parts of the body, Pṛthu Mahārāja merged the holes of his senses with the sky; his bodily liquids, such as blood and various secretions, with the totality of water; and he merged earth with water, then water with fire, fire with air, air with sky, and so on. He amalgamated the mind with the senses and the senses with the sense objects, according to their respective positions, and he also amalgamated the material ego with the total material energy, mahat-tattva.
Pṛthu Mahārāja then offered the total designation of the living entity unto the supreme controller of illusory energy. Being released from all the designations by which the living entity became entrapped, he became free by knowledge and renunciation and by the spiritual force of his devotional service. In this way, being situated in his original constitutional position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gave up this body as a prabhu, or controller of the senses." (SB 4.23.15-18)

What about a devotee who didn't practice this process? Prabhupada also comments on text 14:

"The bhakti-yogī, practicing bhakti-yoga, is always situated on the brahma-bhūta stage (brahma-bhūyāya kalpate). If a devotee is able to continue on the brahma-bhūta platform, he enters the spiritual sky automatically after death and returns to Godhead. Consequently a devotee need not feel sorry for not having practiced the kuṇḍalinī-cakra, or not penetrating the six cakras one after another. As far as Mahārāja Pṛthu was concerned, he had already practiced this process, and since he did not want to wait for the time when his death would occur naturally, he took advantage of the ṣaṭ-cakra penetration process and thus gave up the body according to his own free will and immediately entered the spiritual sky."

Once one becomes free from all coverings, there is still one last obstacle: one can either reach the spiritual planets or merge into the impersonal Brahmajyoti. If one has no information about the spiritual planets and no devotion to the Lord, one will not be able to cross the impersonal Brahmajyoti, and from there, there is all possibility of falling back into the material world. In his purport to text 15, Prabhupada mentions that an impersonalist has 99.9% of chance of falling back from the Brahmajyoti, but there is a very small chance that one may be promoted to the spiritual planets from there. Although it is improbable, it is not impossible. This process is not random, however, it depends on one having at least some information about the spiritual planets and some devotion or desire to meet the Lord. As he explains:

"When a living entity gives up the material coverings, he remains a spirit soul. This spirit soul must enter into the spiritual sky to merge into the Brahman effulgence. Unfortunately, unless the living entity has information of the spiritual world and the Vaikuṇṭhas, there is a 99.9 percent chance of his falling down again into material existence. There is, however, a small chance of being promoted to a spiritual planet from the Brahman effulgence, or the brahmajyoti. This brahmajyoti is considered by impersonalists to be without variety, and the Buddhists consider it to be void. In either case, whether one accepts the spiritual sky as being without variety or void, there is none of the spiritual bliss which is enjoyed in the spiritual planets, the Vaikuṇṭhas or Kṛṣṇaloka. In the absence of varieties of enjoyment, the spirit soul gradually feels an attraction to enjoy a life of bliss, and not having any information of Kṛṣṇaloka or Vaikuṇṭhaloka, he naturally falls down to material activities in order to enjoy material varieties."

In the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, it is described that Gopa Kumāra visited the impersonal Brahmajyoti after passing through the coverings of the universe and the pradhāna. However, due to his devotion, his experience was different than that of an impersonalist, for he was able to see the personal form of the Lord behind the light. He also never became unconscious, because his spiritual senses were awakened. At the end, it was just part of his journey to join the Lord in Goloka Vṛndāvana.

Prabhupada summarizes the process of merging the material elements (including the senses, mind, etc.) in their causes in his purport to text 17:

"In this way the total mind, namely the material mind controlled by material demigods, was amalgamated with the senses. The senses, in turn, were amalgamated with the sense objects. The sense objects are forms, tastes, smells, sounds, etc. Sound is the ultimate source of the sense objects. The mind was attracted by the senses and the senses by the sense objects, and all of them were ultimately amalgamated in the sky. The creation is so arranged that cause and effect follow one after the other. The merging process involves amalgamating the effect with the original cause. Since the ultimate cause in the material world is mahat-tattva, everything was gradually wound up and amalgamated with the mahat-tattva. This may be compared to śūnya-vāda, or voidism, but this is the process for cleansing the real spiritual mind, or consciousness."

When one is an impersonalist, this process results in an unconscious state, because the material consciousness is annihilated, but one's spiritual consciousness remains dormant. In this case, one takes shelter in the pradhāna or impersonal brahmajyoti and remains there in an unconscious state. However, in the case of a devotee who has practiced the process to awaken his spiritual consciousness, elimination of the material consciousness results in a fully awakened state, where the soul becomes fully awakened to his original constitutional position, ready to serve the Lord. "When the mind is completely washed of all material contamination, the pure consciousness acts."

How does this apply to our practical life? As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to text 17, we can achieve the same result through the process of ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, cleansing the mind of all material contamination by the chanting of the holy names. This process simultaneously cleanses the mind, extinguishing the causes of conditioned life, and awakens our original spiritual consciousness. When this process is complete, we can join the Lord in His pastimes in the spiritual sky, just like Pṛthu Maharaja.

As Prabhupada concludes in his purport to text 17: "As soon as the whole material contamination is washed away by this process of chanting, all desires and reactions to material activities become immediately vanquished, and real life, peaceful existence, begins. In this Age of Kali it is very difficult to adopt the yogic process mentioned in this verse. Unless one is very expert in such yoga, the best course is to adopt the ways and means of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Thus one can gloriously become freed from all material contamination by the simple process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Just as life in this material world has its beginning in material sound, similarly a spiritual life has its beginning in this spiritual sound vibration."

We become entrapped in the material world due to our desire to Lord over the material energy, which is one of the potencies of the Lord. Due to this perverted desire, the Lord arranges for us to receive different material bodies one after the other. Once in a material body, we are overwhelmed by material desires and act materially from one life to the next. However, when one finally comes to the position of controlling one's senses, one is called a prabhu, master of the senses. At this stage, one becomes free from the influence of the material energy.

Many of such prabhus take shelter in the perfect ācārya, who is called Prabhupada, "one at whose feet many prabhus sit". Pāda also means "position", and in this sense, Prabhupada means that he received the position of prabhu, as a representative of the Supreme Lord. He is as good as God because he acts as His representative. Our spiritual society is composed of many spiritual seekers and devotees, who take shelter in the many prabhus, advanced devotees, and self-realized souls who walk amongst us. All these prabhus take shelter on the ācārya, Prabhupada, who connects us to the Supreme Lord through his vāṇī, his teachings, and his personal example.

By this process, we become free from matter and revive our original position as souls. What position is that? Prabhupada answers in his purport to text 18: "The real identity of the individual soul lies in understanding or attaining the knowledge that he is eternally a servant of Kṛṣṇa. This understanding is called svarūpopalabdhi. By culturing devotional service, the devotee gradually comes to understand his actual relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding of one’s pure spiritual position is called svarūpopalabdhi, and when one attains that stage he can understand how he is related with the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a servant or friend, or as a parent or conjugal lover. This stage of understanding is called svarūpa-sthaḥ. Pṛthu Mahārāja realized this svarūpa completely, and it will be clear in the later verses that he personally left this world, or this body, by riding on a chariot sent from Vaikuṇṭha."

Queen Arci follows her husband (SB 4.23.19-29)

Queen Arci appeared together with Pṛthu Maharaja from the dead body of Vena. Just as Pṛthu is an empowered incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Arci is an empowered incarnation of Lakṣmī-devī. Although she is not mentioned much in the description, she followed him as an exemplary wife, including the time he was practicing austerities in the forest. It is described that she was following him in his austerities, lying down on the ground, eating only fruits, flowers, and leaves, etc. Due to these severe austerities, she became very frail and thin. Still, because she felt pleasure in serving her husband, she did not notice these difficulties. Just as Pṛthu Maharaja gave the example of the perfect king and ascetic, Arci gave the example of a perfect dedicated wife.

In his purport to text 20, Prabhupada explains the point of different roles in Vedic culture. Men are supposed to practice austerities and pursue spiritual advancement, while women can advance by simply accepting a spiritually advanced man and serving him. Men practice austerity by directly controlling their senses, both in householder life and in renounced life, and living a life of devotion to the Lord, while women can control their senses in a different way, by becoming dedicated wives and mothers. These roles are prescribed in observance of the natural propensities of both, giving both the best opportunities to advance.

Srila Prabhupada explains this point in detail in his purport to text 20: "The words bhartur vrata-dharma-niṣṭhayā indicate that a woman’s duty, or religious principle, is to serve her husband in all conditions. In Vedic civilization a man is taught from the beginning of his life to become a brahmacārī, then an ideal gṛhastha, then vānaprastha, then sannyāsī, and the wife is taught just to follow the husband strictly in all conditions of life. After the period of brahmacarya, a man accepts a householder’s life, and the woman is also taught by her parents to be a chaste wife. Thus when a girl and boy are united, both are trained for a life dedicated to a higher purpose. The boy is trained to execute his duty in accordance with the higher purpose of life, and the girl is trained to follow him. The chaste wife’s duty is to keep her husband pleased in householder life in all respects, and when the husband retires from family life, she is to go to the forest and adopt the life of vānaprastha, or vana-vāsī. At that time the wife is to follow her husband and take care of him, just as she took care of him in householder life. But when the husband takes the renounced order of life, namely sannyāsa, the wife is to return home and become a saintly woman, setting an example for her children and daughters-in-law and showing them how to live a life of austerity."

From this, we can understand the affection Arci had for her husband, whom she served and meditated upon her whole life. Then, at the very end, Pṛthu Maharaja left his body, leaving her alone. What did she do after this?

"When Queen Arci saw that her husband, who had been so merciful to her and the earth, no longer showed symptoms of life, she lamented for a little while and then built a fiery pyre on top of a hill and placed the body of her husband on it. After this, the Queen executed the necessary funerary functions and offered oblations of water. After bathing in the river, she offered obeisances to various demigods situated in the sky in the different planetary systems. She then circumambulated the fire and, while thinking of the lotus feet of her husband, entered its flames." (SB 4.23.21-22)

The verse mentions kiñcic ca vilapya: the queen lamented after her husband passed away, but just for a little while. Lamentation was natural due to affection, but at the same time, the queen had a perfect philosophical understanding of the immortality of the soul. Apart from that, she still had duties to perform, cremating the body and performing other funeral functions. She made a funeral pyre from firewood collected from the forest and placed the body of her husband on top. After bathing in the river for purification, she performed saha-gamana (or sati), entering the funeral pyre and leaving together with her husband. This is, of course, not observed nowadays, but in bygone eras it was an accepted option for a widow who would feel the separation from her husband to be more painful than the flames of the funeral pyre.

As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to text 26, if a woman gets married to spiritually advanced husband, she can return back home, back to Godhead together with him by just being a good wife, even if she doesn't have the same qualification: "Pṛthu Mahārāja was a pure devotee, and his wife, Queen Arci, simply followed her husband. Thus they can both be considered pure devotees, and thus they are capable of performing inconceivable activities. Such activities are not possible for ordinary men. Indeed, ordinary men cannot even take to the devotional service of the Lord, nor can ordinary women maintain such vows of chastity and follow their husbands in all respects. A woman does not need to attain high qualifications, but if she simply follows in the footsteps of her husband, who must be a devotee, then both husband and wife attain liberation and are promoted to the Vaikuṇṭhalokas. This is evinced by the inconceivable activities of Mahārāja Pṛthu and his wife."

Observing the great sacrifice of Arci, the wives of the demigods offered prayers to her and showered flowers. Talking amongst themselves, they commented:

"All glories to Queen Arci! We can see that this queen of the great King Pṛthu, the emperor of all the kings of the world, has served her husband with mind, speech and body exactly as the goddess of fortune serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yajñeśa, or Viṣṇu. Just see how this chaste lady, Arci, by dint of her inconceivable pious activities, is still following her husband upward, as far as we can see." (SB 4.23.25-26)

Both Pṛthu and Arci went back to Vaikuṇṭhaloka in their spiritual bodies, each on his own airplane, passing through the reams of the demigods. The ladies from Svargaloka could see their bodies burning down on Earth, and at the same time see the two airplanes passing through them and going upwards.

Pṛthu and Arci were destined to live together in one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets as husband and wife, as it is common for couples who practice and attain perfection together. How is this possible? Prabhupada explains in his purport to text 29:

"Pṛthu Mahārāja, being topmost amongst self-realized souls, certainly returned home, back to Godhead, and attained one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Queen Arci also entered Patiloka, but this planet is not in the material universe, for she actually entered the planet which her husband attained. In the material world also, when a woman dies with her husband, she again unites with him in the next birth. Similarly, Mahārāja Pṛthu and Queen Arci united in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets there are husbands and wives, but there is no question of their giving birth to children or having sex life. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets both husbands and wives are extraordinarily beautiful, and they are attracted to one another, but they do not enjoy sex life. Indeed, they consider sex not to be very relishable because both husband and wife are always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and in glorifying and chanting the glories of the Lord."

How to get there? How to live in this life in such a way that our family life may foment our spiritual life instead of being a hurdle? One of the difficulties with family life is that it tends to foster a mentality of enjoyment, which starts with sexual attraction and branches out into so many material needs that are not so favorable for spiritual advancement. The way to counteract this is to connect our family life with the service of the Lord. When the Lord becomes the central focus, we lose the attraction for materialistic life, and we have a chance of making our family life transcendental. As Srila Prabhupada comments later in the same purport:

"According to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura also, a husband and wife can turn the home into a place as good as Vaikuṇṭha, even while in this material world. Being absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even in this world husband and wife can live in Vaikuṇṭha simply by installing the Deity of the Lord within the home and serving the Deity according to the directions of the śāstras. In this way, they will never feel the sex urge. That is the test of advancement in devotional service. One who is advanced in devotional service is never attracted by sex life, and as soon as one becomes detached from sex life and proportionately attached to the service of the Lord, he actually experiences living in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. In the ultimate issue, there is actually no material world, but when one forgets the service of the Lord and engages himself in the service of his senses, he is said to be living in the material world."

In his purport to text 25, Prabhupada contrasts the mentality of Queen Arci to the prevailing mentality nowadays. Arci was so dedicated to her husband that she couldn't remain separated from him, while in modern times, divorces are so common. Certainly, we can learn something from the examples of such exalted couples.

The wives of the demigods conclude their conversation with valuable spiritual instructions. Although the heavenly planets are generally considered less favorable than Earth for spiritual practice because of the many material distractions, the inhabitants there are highly pious and have high spiritual knowledge:

"In this material world, every human being has a short span of life, but those who are engaged in devotional service go back home, back to Godhead, for they are actually on the path of liberation. For such persons, there is nothing which is not available. Any person who engages himself within this material world in performing activities that necessitate great struggle, and who, after obtaining a human form of life — which is a chance to attain liberation from miseries — undertakes the difficult tasks of fruitive activities, must be considered to be cheated and envious of his own self." (SB 4.23.27-28)

Most inhabitants of the celestial planets pass their time enjoying the opulence and possibilities of sense gratification available there, and thus, after such a long life of enjoyment, they return to Earth for another birth. Their time is thus essentially wasted. Human beings, however, have short lives, and for one seriously engaged in devotional service, that's an advantage, because it allows one to quickly return back home, back to Godhead. To waste such an opportunity is considered the greatest loss.

Blessings gained for hearing the pastime of Pṛthu Maharaja (SB 4.23.30-39)

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From texts 30 to 39, Maitreya Muni offers many blessings to one who studies the pastimes of Pṛthu Maharaja with faith and determination. He blesses us that no matter if studying it by oneself, or by helping others, one will surely attain the same destination as Pṛthu Maharaja, going back home, back to Godhead.

How can one go back to Godhead by just hearing about the qualities and pastimes of a king? Prabhupada explains that hearing and chanting about a perfect Vaiṣṇava is as good as hearing and chanting about the Lord Himself, for a perfect Vaiṣṇava is as important as Viṣṇu. If anything, glorification of a perfect Vaiṣṇava is superior, because even the Lord himself is attracted to the glorification of His devotees, like when Lord Caitanya chanted the names of the gopīs.

Apart from the supreme blessing of going back home, back to Godhead, Maitreya offers many material blessings, such as attaining perfection in whatever position one is in, begetting many good children, attaining great fame, and so on. All the material opulences that ordinary persons desire can be attained by hearing and narrating with faith the narrations of the life and character of Pṛthu Mahārāja.

We shouldn't, however, think that these pastimes are just for ordinary materialistic people. As Maitreya emphasizes, even a pure devotee, fully engaged in devotional service, should hear and induce others to hear these pastimes:

"A pure devotee who is executing the different processes of devotional service may be situated in the transcendental position, being completely absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but even he, while discharging devotional service, must hear, read and induce others to hear about the character and life of Pṛthu Mahārāja." (SB 4.23.37)

Maitreya then concludes his description."

My dear Vidura, I have as far as possible spoken the narrations about Pṛthu Mahārāja, which enrich one’s devotional attitude. Whoever takes advantage of these benefits also goes back home, back to Godhead, like Mahārāja Pṛthu. Whoever, with great reverence and adoration, regularly reads, chants and describes the history of Mahārāja Pṛthu’s activities will certainly increase unflinching faith and attraction for the lotus feet of the Lord. The Lord’s lotus feet are the boat by which one can cross the ocean of nescience." (SB 4.23.38-39)

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada emphasizes the process of hearing and chanting, which are the foundations of our spiritual life, and the way to become free from the influence of material nature.

"By hearing and chanting of the glories of the Lord or the Lord’s devotee, one can become firmly fixed in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord. This position can also be achieved very easily by narrating the history of the life of Pṛthu Mahārāja regularly every day. The word vimukta-saṅgaḥ is also significant in this connection. Because we associate with the three qualities of material nature, our position in this material world is full of dangers, but when we engage in the devotional service of the Lord by the process of śravaṇam and kīrtanam, we immediately become vimukta-saṅga, or liberated."

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