TEXT 1
TEXT
sri-badarayanir uvaca
evam te bhagavad-duta
yamadutabhibhasitam
upadharyatha tan rajan
pratyahur naya-kovidah
Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King, the servants of Lord Visnu are
always very expert in logic and arguments. After hearing the statements
of the Yamadutas, they replied as follows.
TEXT 2
TEXT
sri-visnuduta ucuh
aho kastam dharma-drsam
adharmah sprsate sabham
yatradandyesv apapesu
dando yair dhriyate vrtha
The Visnudutas said: Alas, how painful it is that irreligion is being
introduced into an assembly where religion should be maintained. Indeed,
those in charge of maintaining the religious principles are needlessly
punishing a sinless, unpunishable person.
TEXT 3
TEXT
prajanam pitaro ye ca
sastarah sadhavah samah
yadi syat tesu vaisamyam
kam yanti saranam prajah
A king or governmental official should be so well qualified that he
acts as a father, maintainer and protector of the citizens because of
affection and love. He should give the citizens good advice and
instructions according to the standard scriptures and should be equal to
everyone. Yamaraja does this, for he is the supreme master of justice,
and so do those who follow in his footsteps. However, if such persons
become polluted and exhibit partiality by punishing an innocent,
blameless person, where will the citizens go to take shelter for their
maintenance and security?
TEXT 4
TEXT
yad yad acarati sreyan
itaras tat tad ihate
sa yat pramanam kurute
lokas tad anuvartate
The mass of people follow the example of a leader in society and
imitate his behavior. They accept as evidence whatever the leader
accepts.
TEXTS 5-6
TEXT
yasyanke sira adhaya
lokah svapiti nirvrtah
svayam dharmam adharmam va
na hi veda yatha pasuh
sa katham nyarpitatmanam
krta-maitram acetanam
visrambhaniyo bhutanam
saghrno dogdhum arhati
People in general are not very advanced in knowledge by which to
discriminate between religion and irreligion. The innocent, unenlightened
citizen is like an ignorant animal sleeping in peace with its head on the
lap of its master, faithfully believing in the master’s protection. If a
leader is actually kindhearted and deserves to be the object of a living
entity’s faith, how can he punish or kill a foolish person who has fully
surrendered in good faith and friendship?
TEXT 7
TEXT
ayam hi krta-nirveso
janma-koty-amhasam api
yad vyajahara vivaso
nama svasty-ayanam hareh
Ajamila has already atoned for all his sinful actions. Indeed, he has
atoned not only for sins performed in one life but for those performed in
millions of lives, for in a helpless condition he chanted the holy name
of Narayana. Even though he did not chant purely, he chanted without
offense, and therefore he is now pure and eligible for liberation.
TEXT 8
TEXT
etenaiva hy aghono ‘sya
krtam syad agha-niskrtam
yada narayanayeti
jagada catur-aksaram
The Visnudutas continued: Even previously, while eating and at other
times, this Ajamila would call his son, saying, “My dear Narayana, please
come here.” Although calling the name of his son, he nevertheless uttered
the four syllables na-ra-ya-na. Simply by chanting the name of Narayana
in this way, he sufficiently atoned for the sinful reactions of millions
of lives.
TEXTS 9-10
TEXT
stenah sura-po mitra-dhrug
brahma-ha guru-talpa-gah
stri-raja-pitr-go-hanta
ye ca patakino ‘pare
sarvesam apy aghavatam
idam eva suniskrtam
nama-vyaharanam visnor
yatas tad-visaya matih
The chanting of the holy name of Lord Visnu is the best process of
atonement for a thief of gold or other valuables, for a drunkard, for one
who betrays a friend or relative, for one who kills a brahmana, or for
one who indulges in sex with the wife of his guru or another superior. It
is also the best method of atonement for one who murders women, the king
or his father, for one who slaughters cows, and for all other sinful men.
Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Visnu, such sinful persons may
attract the attention of the Supreme Lord, who therefore considers,
“Because this man has chanted My holy name, My duty is to give him
protection.”
TEXT 11
TEXT
na niskrtair uditair brahma-vadibhis
tatha visuddhyaty aghavan vratadibhih
yatha harer nama-padair udahrtais
tad uttamasloka-gunopalambhakam
By following the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies or undergoing atonement,
sinful men do not become as purified as by chanting once the holy name of
Lord Hari. Although ritualistic atonement may free one from sinful
reactions, it does not awaken devotional service, unlike the chanting of
the Lord’s names, which reminds one of the Lord’s fame, qualities,
attributes, pastimes and paraphernalia.
TEXT 12
TEXT
naikantikam tad dhi krte ‘pi niskrte
manah punar dhavati ced asat-pathe
tat karma-nirharam abhipsatam harer
gunanuvadah khalu sattva-bhavanah
The ritualistic ceremonies of atonement recommended in the religious
scriptures are insufficient to cleanse the heart absolutely because after
atonement one’s mind again runs toward material activities. Consequently,
for one who wants liberation from the fruitive reactions of material
activities, the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, or glorification of
the name, fame and pastimes of the Lord, is recommended as the most
perfect process of atonement because such chanting eradicates the dirt
from one’s heart completely.
TEXT 13
TEXT
athainam mapanayata
krtasesagha-niskrtam
yad asau bhagavan-nama
mriyamanah samagrahit
At the time of death, this Ajamila helplessly and very loudly chanted
the holy name of the Lord, Narayana. That chanting alone has already
freed him from the reactions of all sinful life. Therefore, O servants of
Yamaraja, do not try to take him to your master for punishment in hellish
conditions.
TEXT 14
TEXT
sanketyam parihasyam va
stobham helanam eva va
vaikuntha-nama-grahanam
asesagha-haram viduh
One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the
reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate
something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even
neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the
scriptures.
TEXT 15
TEXT
patitah skhalito bhagnah
sandastas tapta ahatah
harir ity avasenaha
puman narhati yatanah
If one chants the holy name of Hari and then dies because of an
accidental misfortune, such as falling from the top of a house, slipping
and suffering broken bones while traveling on the road, being bitten by a
serpent, being afflicted with pain and high fever, or being injured by a
weapon, one is immediately absolved from having to enter hellish life,
even though he is sinful.
TEXT 16
TEXT
gurunam ca laghunam ca
guruni ca laghuni ca
prayascittani papanam
jnatvoktani maharsibhih
Authorities who are learned scholars and sages have carefully
ascertained that one should atone for the heaviest sins by undergoing a
heavy process of atonement and one should atone for lighter sins by
undergoing lighter atonement. Chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, however,
vanquishes all the effects of sinful activities, regardless of whether
heavy or light.
TEXT 17
TEXT
tais tany aghani puyante
tapo-dana-vratadibhih
nadharmajam tad-dhrdayam
tad apisanghri-sevaya
Although one may neutralize the reactions of sinful life through
austerity, charity, vows and other such methods, these pious activities
cannot uproot the material desires in one’s heart. However, if one serves
the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, he is immediately freed
from all such contaminations.
TEXT 18
TEXT
ajnanad athava jnanad
uttamasloka-nama yat
sankirtitam agham pumso
dahed edho yathanalah
As a fire burns dry grass to ashes, so the holy name of the Lord,
whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly, burns to ashes, without fail,
all the reactions of one’s sinful activities.
TEXT 19
TEXT
yathagadam viryatamam
upayuktam yadrcchaya
ajanato ‘py atma-gunam
kuryan mantro ‘py udahrtah
If a person unaware of the effective potency of a certain medicine
takes that medicine or is forced to take it, it will act even without his
knowledge because its potency does not depend on the patient’s
understanding. Similarly, even though one does not know the value of
chanting the holy name of the Lord, if one chants knowingly or
unknowingly, the chanting will be very effective.
TEXT 20
TEXT
sri-suka uvaca
ta evam suvinirniya
dharmam bhagavatam nrpa
tam yamya-pasan nirmucya
vipram mrtyor amumucan
Sri Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, having thus perfectly
judged the principles of devotional service with reasoning and arguments,
the order carriers of Lord Visnu released the brahmana Ajamila from the
bondage of the Yamadutas and saved him from imminent death.
TEXT 21
TEXT
iti pratyudita yamya
duta yatva yamantikam
yama-rajne yatha sarvam
acacaksur arindama
My dear Maharaja Pariksit, O subduer of all enemies, after the
servants of Yamaraja had been answered by the order carriers of Lord
Visnu, they went to Yamaraja and explained to him everything that had
happened.
TEXT 22
TEXT
dvijah pasad vinirmukto
gata-bhih prakrtim gatah
vavande sirasa visnoh
kinkaran darsanotsavah
Having been released from the nooses of Yamaraja’s servants, the
brahmana Ajamila, now free from fear, came to his senses and immediately
offered obeisances to the Visnudutas by bowing his head at their lotus
feet. He was extremely pleased by their presence, for he had seen them
save his life from the hands of the servants of Yamaraja.
TEXT 23
TEXT
tam vivaksum abhipretya
mahapurusa-kinkarah
sahasa pasyatas tasya
tatrantardadhire ‘nagha
O sinless Maharaja Pariksit, the order carriers of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the Visnudutas, saw that Ajamila was attempting
to say something, and thus they suddenly disappeared from his presence.
TEXTS 24-25
TEXT
ajamilo ‘py athakarnya
dutanam yama-krsnayoh
dharmam bhagavatam suddham
trai-vedyam ca gunasrayam
bhaktiman bhagavaty asu
mahatmya-sravanad dhareh
anutapo mahan asit
smarato ‘subham atmanah
After hearing the discourses between the Yamadutas and the Visnudutas,
Ajamila could understand the religious principles that act under the
three modes of material nature. These principles are mentioned in the
three Vedas. He could also understand the transcendental religious
principles, which are above the modes of material nature and which
concern the relationship between the living being and the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Furthermore, Ajamila heard glorification of the
name, fame, qualities and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
He thus became a perfectly pure devotee. He could then remember his past
sinful activities, which he greatly regretted having performed.
TEXT 26
TEXT
aho me paramam kastam
abhud avijitatmanah
yena viplavitam brahma
vrsalyam jayatatmana
Ajamila said: Alas, being a servant of my senses, how degraded I
became! I fell down from my position as a duly qualified brahmana and
begot children in the womb of a prostitute.
TEXT 27
TEXT
dhin mam vigarhitam sadbhir
duskrtam kula-kajjalam
hitva balam satim yo ‘ham
sura-pim asatim agam
Alas, all condemnation upon me! I acted so sinfully that I degraded my
family tradition. Indeed, I gave up my chaste and beautiful young wife to
have sexual intercourse with a fallen prostitute accustomed to drinking
wine. All condemnation upon me!
TEXT 28
TEXT
vrddhav anathau pitarau
nanya-bandhu tapasvinau
aho mayadhuna tyaktav
akrtajnena nicavat
My father and mother were old and had no other son or friend to look
after them. Because I did not take care of them, they lived with great
difficulty. Alas, like an abominable lower-class man, I ungratefully left
them in that condition.
TEXT 29
TEXT
so ‘ham vyaktam patisyami
narake bhrsa-darune
dharma-ghnah kamino yatra
vindanti yama-yatanah
It is now clear that as a consequence of such activities, a sinful
person like me must be thrown into hellish conditions meant for those who
have broken religious principles and must there suffer extreme miseries.
TEXT 30
TEXT
kim idam svapna aho svit
saksad drstam ihadbhutam
kva yata adya te ye mam
vyakarsan pasa-panayah
Was this a dream I saw, or was it reality? I saw fearsome men with
ropes in their hands coming to arrest me and drag me away. Where have
they gone?
TEXT 31
TEXT
atha te kva gatah siddhas
catvaras caru-darsanah
vyamocayan niyamanam
baddhva pasair adho bhuvah
And where have those four liberated and very beautiful persons gone
who released me from arrest and saved me from being dragged down to the
hellish regions?
TEXT 32
TEXT
athapi me durbhagasya
vibudhottama-darsane
bhavitavyam mangalena
yenatma me prasidati
I am certainly most abominable and unfortunate to have merged in an
ocean of sinful activities, but nevertheless, because of my previous
spiritual activities, I could see those four exalted personalities who
came to rescue me. Now I feel exceedingly happy because of their visit.
TEXT 33
TEXT
anyatha mriyamanasya
nasucer vrsali-pateh
vaikuntha-nama-grahanam
jihva vaktum iharhati
Were it not for my past devotional service, how could I, a most
unclean keeper of a prostitute, have gotten an opportunity to chant the
holy name of Vaikunthapati when I was just ready to die? Certainly it
could not have been possible.
TEXT 34
TEXT
kva caham kitavah papo
brahma-ghno nirapatrapah
kva ca narayanety etad
bhagavan-nama mangalam
Ajamila continued: I am a shameless cheater who has killed his
brahminical culture. Indeed, I am sin personified. Where am I in
comparison to the all-auspicious chanting of the holy name of Lord
Narayana?
TEXT 35
TEXT
so ‘ham tatha yatisyami
yata-cittendriyanilah
yatha na bhuya atmanam
andhe tamasi majjaye
I am such a sinful person, but since I have now gotten this
opportunity, I must completely control my mind, life and senses and
always engage in devotional service so that I may not fall again into the
deep darkness and ignorance of material life.
TEXTS 36-37
TEXT
vimucya tam imam bandham
avidya-kama-karmajam
sarva-bhuta-suhrc chanto
maitrah karuna atmavan
mocaye grastam atmanam
yosin-mayyatma-mayaya
vikridito yayaivaham
krida-mrga ivadhamah
Because of identifying oneself with the body, one is subjected to
desires for sense gratification, and thus one engages in many different
types of pious and impious action. This is what constitutes material
bondage. Now I shall disentangle myself from my material bondage, which
has been caused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s illusory energy
in the form of a woman. Being a most fallen soul, I was victimized by the
illusory energy and have become like a dancing dog led around by a
woman’s hand. Now I shall give up all lusty desires and free myself from
this illusion. I shall become a merciful, well-wishing friend to all
living entities and always absorb myself in Krsna consciousness.
TEXT 38
TEXT
mamaham iti dehadau
hitvamithyartha-dhir matim
dhasye mano bhagavati
suddham tat-kirtanadibhih
Simply because I chanted the holy name of the Lord in the association
of devotees, my heart is now becoming purified. Therefore I shall not
fall victim again to the false lures of material sense gratification. Now
that I have become fixed in the Absolute Truth, henceforward I shall not
identify myself with the body. I shall give up false conceptions of “I”
and “mine” and fix my mind on the lotus feet of Krsna.
TEXT 39
TEXT
iti jata-sunirvedah
ksana-sangena sadhusu
ganga-dvaram upeyaya
mukta-sarvanubandhanah
Because of a moment’s association with devotees [the Visnudutas],
Ajamila detached himself from the material conception of life with
determination. Thus freed from all material attraction, he immediately
started for Hardwar.
TEXT 40
TEXT
sa tasmin deva-sadana
asino yogam asthitah
pratyahrtendriya-gramo
yuyoja mana atmani
In Hardwar, Ajamila took shelter at a Visnu temple, where he executed
the process of bhakti-yoga. He controlled his senses and fully applied
his mind in the service of the Lord.
TEXT 41
TEXT
tato gunebhya atmanam
viyujyatma-samadhina
yuyuje bhagavad-dhamni
brahmany anubhavatmani
Ajamila fully engaged in devotional service. Thus he detached his mind
from the process of sense gratification and became fully absorbed in
thinking of the form of the Lord.
TEXT 42
TEXT
yarhy uparata-dhis tasminn
adraksit purusan purah
upalabhyopalabdhan prag
vavande sirasa dvijah
When his intelligence and mind were fixed upon the form of the Lord,
the brahmana Ajamila once again saw before him four celestial persons. He
could understand that they were those he had seen previously, and thus he
offered them his obeisances by bowing down before them.
TEXT 43
TEXT
hitva kalevaram tirthe
gangayam darsanad anu
sadyah svarupam jagrhe
bhagavat-parsva-vartinam
Upon seeing the Visnudutas, Ajamila gave up his material body at
Hardwar on the bank of the Ganges. He regained his original spiritual
body, which was a body appropriate for an associate of the Lord.
TEXT 44
TEXT
sakam vihayasa vipro
mahapurusa-kinkaraih
haimam vimanam aruhya
yayau yatra sriyah patih
Accompanied by the order carriers of Lord Visnu, Ajamila boarded an
airplane made of gold. Passing through the airways, he went directly to
the abode of Lord Visnu, the husband of the goddess of fortune.
TEXT 45
TEXT
evam sa viplavita-sarva-dharma
dasyah patih patito garhya-karmana
nipatyamano niraye hata-vratah
sadyo vimukto bhagavan-nama grhnan
Ajamila was a brahmana who because of bad association had given up all
brahminical culture and religious principles. Becoming most fallen, he
stole, drank and performed other abominable acts. He even kept a
prostitute. Thus he was destined to be carried away to hell by the order
carriers of Yamaraja, but he was immediately rescued simply by a glimpse
of the chanting of the holy name Narayana.
TEXT 46
TEXT
natah param karma-nibandha-krntanam
mumuksatam tirtha-padanukirtanat
na yat punah karmasu sajjate mano
rajas-tamobhyam kalilam tato ‘nyatha
Therefore one who desires freedom from material bondage should adopt
the process of chanting and glorifying the name, fame, form and pastimes
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, at whose feet all the holy places
stand. One cannot derive the proper benefit from other methods, such as
pious atonement, speculative knowledge and meditation in mystic yoga,
because even after following such methods one takes to fruitive
activities again, unable to control his mind, which is contaminated by
the base qualities of nature, namely passion and ignorance.
TEXTS 47-48
TEXT
ya etam paramam guhyam
itihasam aghapaham
srnuyac chraddhaya yukto
yas ca bhaktyanukirtayet
na vai sa narakam yati
neksito yama-kinkaraih
yady apy amangalo martyo
visnu-loke mahiyate
Because this very confidential historical narration has the potency to
vanquish all sinful reactions, one who hears or describes it with faith
and devotion is no longer doomed to hellish life, regardless of his
having a material body and regardless of how sinful he may have been.
Indeed, the Yamadutas, who carry out the orders of Yamaraja, do not
approach him even to see him. After giving up his body, he returns home,
back to Godhead, where he is very respectfully received and worshiped.
TEXT 49
TEXT
mriyamano harer nama
grnan putropacaritam
ajamilo ‘py agad dhama
kim uta sraddhaya grnan
While suffering at the time of death, Ajamila chanted the holy name of
the Lord, and although the chanting was directed toward his son, he
nevertheless returned home, back to Godhead. Therefore if one faithfully
and inoffensively chants the holy name of the Lord, where is the doubt
that he will return to Godhead?
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