The birth of Kapila Muni
When Devahūti developed the desire of having a son, Kardama Muni revealed to her that, as a result of her devotional service, the Lord was going to soon take birth as her son.
The story of Kardama Muni and Devahūti is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam as the ideal family life. Kardama was a great sage who was able to fully control his senses, while Devahūti was also a great yogi, almost as elevated as him. When Kardama Muni developed a desire to enter into family life, he prayed directly to the Lord, after satisfying Him by service, and Devahūti started meditating on the great sage after hearing about him from Nārada Muni. Their union was thus directly arranged and blessed by the Lord.
After practicing austerities for a long time, they conceived nine daughters. Finally, when Devahūti developed the desire of having a son, Kardama Muni revealed to her that, as a result of her devotional service, the Lord was going to soon take birth as her son and teach her transcendental knowledge, helping her to become free from all material contamination and finally attain pure love of Godhead. More than that, He would make both his parents glorious by distributing the knowledge of Sāṅkhya-yoga and thus benefiting the whole universe.
Kardama stayed for some more time with Devahuti, and during this time engaged her in worship of the Lord. Finally, after many years, the Lord finally appeared. It is described that he came from Devahuti in the most glorious way, just like a fire comes out of wood in a sacrifice.
Due to the birth of the Lord, the demigods showered flowers from the sky, and everyone became satisfied in their minds. Brahma then appeared, together with Marīci and other sages.
He instructed him to give his daughters in marriage to the great sages, so the population of the universe could be increased. Following the order of Brahma, Kardama Muni married Kalā to Marīci, Anasūyā to Atri, Śraddhā to Aṅgirā, Havirbhū to Pulastya, Gati to Pulaha, Kriyā to Kratu, Khyāti to Bhṛgu, Arundhatī to Vasiṣṭha, and Śānti to Atharvā. These were all sons of Brahma. Before, Ākūti had married Ruci, Devahūti married Kardama, and Prasūti married Daksha. Now, the other sons of Brahma got married.
It's interesting to note that Brahma already populated the universe in the previous steps of the creation. By the time Kardama Muni traveled through the universe on their honeymoon, the universe was already populated by the work of Brahma and also Daksa, who had already been married for a long time. The main function of the other sons of Brahma was not just to generate population but to generate some specially qualified children, who would perform great feats and help to elevate the other inhabitants of the universe.
For example, Ruci and Ākūti begot Yajña, another incarnation of the Lord. Marici became the father of the father of Kasyapa, who would later repopulate the universe after the devastation at the end of the 5th manvantara. Daksa and Prasūti begot 16 extremely qualified daughters, one of whom gave birth to Nara-Nārāyaṇa ṛṣi, and so on.
Brahma then spoke about Kapila:
"O Kardama, I know that the original Supreme Personality of Godhead has now appeared as an incarnation by His internal energy. He is the bestower of all that is desired by the living entities, and He has now assumed the body of Kapila Muni.
By mystic yoga and the practical application of knowledge from the scriptures, Kapila Muni, who is characterized by His golden hair, His eyes just like lotus petals and His lotus feet, which bear the marks of lotus flowers, will uproot the deep-rooted desire for work in this material world." (SB 3.24.16-17)
He also said a few words to Devahuti:
"My dear daughter of Manu, the same Supreme Personality of Godhead who killed the demon Kaiṭabha is now within your womb. He will cut off all the knots of your ignorance and doubt. Then He will travel all over the world. Your son will be the head of all the perfected souls. He will be approved by the ācāryas expert in disseminating real knowledge, and among the people He will be celebrated by the name Kapila. As the son of Devahūti, He will increase your fame." (SB 3.24.18-19)
After speaking, Brahma went back to his abode, while his sons stayed for some time for the marriages to be celebrated. After everything was done, they went back to their respective hermitages with their wives. Kardama Muni then approached Lord Kapila in a secluded place and offered prayers to Him. He addressed the Lord, asking that, having now fulfilled his duties in family life, he could be blessed to accept the renounced order of life. Kardama Muni wanted to wander around free from all material entanglements, carrying the Lord in his heart.
Lord Kapila then explained the reasons for his advent. He came to explain the Sāṅkhya system, which helps one to understand the nature of this material world and become free from material desires, realizing his original position as an eternal servant of Krsna. This system had been transmitted in the past, but the knowledge had been lost; therefore, the Lord had come to again transmit it for the benefit of the great sages and all human beings.
He then blessed Kardama by saying:
"Now, being sanctioned by Me, go as you desire, surrendering all your activities to Me. Conquering insurmountable death, worship Me for eternal life.
In your own heart, through your intellect, you will always see Me, the supreme self-effulgent soul dwelling within the hearts of all living entities. Thus you will achieve the state of eternal life, free from all lamentation and fear.
I shall also describe this sublime knowledge, which is the door to spiritual life, to My mother, so that she also can attain perfection and self-realization, ending all reactions to fruitive activities. Thus she also will be freed from all material fear." (SB 3.24.38-40)
After the departure of Kardama Muni, Kapila stayed at home to instruct His mother Devahuti on the path of self-realization, transmitting the theistic Sankhya philosophy that is explained in the remaining chapters of the third canto. As Prabhupada explains in several passages, there are two versions of the Sankhya philosophy. The original version, transmitted by Lord Kapila, has the goal of connecting us with the Lord and is found in the pages of the Srimad Bhagavatam. The other is the atheistic version transmitted by the impostor Kapila, who came in the later stages of the previous Dvapara-yuga. By the time of the appearance of Vyasadeva, this atheistic Sankhya had replaced the original philosophy of Kapila, and Vyasadeva dedicated an entire section of the Vedanta Sutra to clear the confusion by defeating it.
It is described that Kardama Muni traveled over the Earth as a sannyasi, giving up all forms of material association or security and all forms of fruitive activities. By fully fixing his mind on the Supreme Lord, he gradually became free from false ego, identifying with his eternal nature as a soul. Completely free from material duality, he became equal to everyone, seeing everyone as the spirit soul, and not as the body. Internally, he became completely calm, like the ocean when not agitated by waves.
Completely free from conditioned life, he became situated in the Self, internally performing devotional service to the Supreme Lord, seeing Him present not only in his heart but in everyone's heart. Indeed, he could see that no one was separated from Him. In this way, completely free of both attraction and aversion to material objects, as a result of his pure devotional service, Kardama Muni returned home, back to Godhead.
One could question why Kardama Muni left home to search for the Lord, if the Lord was right there, having appeared as his son. There are several reasons for that. One was that Kardama Muni was in dasya-rasa, and therefore his relationship with the Lord was as a servitor, and not as a father. It would be unnatural for him to stay at home taking care of the Lord as a son. A second reason was that, just like the daughters, Kapila Muni quickly grew into adulthood, and therefore, having an adult son was proper for him to leave home and take Sannyasa, as it was previously agreed in his talks with Manu. This was his duty according to the scriptures, and it was important that he follow it, giving a good example to future generations. A third reason was that it was the way it was supposed to happen as part of the pastime. Kapila was supposed to instruct his mother in the Sankhya philosophy after Kardama left home. If he were to hang around for more time, it would disturb that.
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