TEXT 17

TEXT

Sa iNaGaRTa" k-aErvPau<Yal/BDaae

GaJaaYaataqQaRPad" PadaiNa )

ANva-MaTPau<Yaick-IzRYaaeVYaa|

AiDaiTaae YaaiNa SahMaUiTaR" )) 17 ))

sa nirgata kaurava-puya-labdho

gajhvayt trtha-pada padni

anvkramat puya-cikrayorvym

adhihito yni sahasra-mrti

SYNONYMS

sahe (Vidura); nirgataafter having quit; kauravathe Kuru dynasty; puyapiety; labdhaso
achieved; gaja-hvaytfrom Hastinpura; trtha-padaof the Supreme Lord; padnipilgrimages;
anvkramattook shelter; puyapiety; cikraydesiring so; urvymon the Earth; adhihita
situated; yniall those; sahasrathousands; mrtiforms.

TRANSLATION

By his piety, Vidura achieved the advantages of the pious Kauravas. After leaving Hastinpura, he took
shelter of many places of pilgrimages, which are the Lord's lotus feet. With a desire to gain a high order
of pious life, he traveled to holy places where thousands of transcendental forms of the Lord are
situated.

PURPORT

Vidura was undoubtedly a highly elevated and pious soul, otherwise he would not have taken his birth in
the Kaurava family. To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great
personal beauty are all due to past pious acts. But such pious possessions are not sufficient for obtaining
the grace of the Lord and being engaged in His transcendental loving service. Vidura considered himself
less pious, and therefore he decided to travel to all the great places of pilgrimage in the world in order
to achieve greater piety and advance nearer to the Lord. At that time, Lord Ka was personally
present in the world, and Vidura could have at once approached Him directly, but he did not do so
because he was not sufficiently freed from sin. One cannot be one hundred percent devoted to the Lord
unless and until he is completely free from all effects of sin. Vidura was conscious that by the association
of the diplomatic Dhtarra and Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to
associate at once with the Lord. In Bhagavad-gt (7.28) this is confirmed in the following verse:
ye tv anta-gata ppa

jann puya-karmam

te dvandva-moha-nirmukt

bhajante m dha-vrat

Persons who are sinful asuras like Kasa and Jarsandha cannot think of Lord Ka as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. Only those who are pure devotees, those who follow the
regulative principles of religious life as prescribed in the scriptures, are able to engage themselves in
karma-yoga and then jna-yoga and thereafter, by pure meditation, can understand pure
consciousness. When God consciousness is developed, one can take advantage of the association of
pure devotees. Syn mahat-sevay vipr puya-trtha-nievat: one is able to associate with the Lord
even during the existence of this life.

Places of pilgrimages are meant for eradicating the sins of the pilgrims, and they are distributed all over
the universe just to give facility to all concerned for attaining pure existence and God realization. One
should not be satisfied, however, merely by visiting the places of pilgrimage and performing one's
prescribed duties; he should be eager to meet the great souls who are already there, engaged in the
service of the Lord. In each and every place of pilgrimage, the Lord is present in His various
transcendental forms.

These forms are called arc-mrtis, or forms of the Lord which can be easily appreciated by the common
man. The Lord is transcendental to our mundane senses. He cannot be seen with our present eyes, nor
can He be heard with our present ears. To the degree that we have entered into the service of the Lord
or to the proportion to which our lives are freed from sins, we can perceive the Lord. But even though
we are not free from sins, the Lord is kind enough to allow us the facility of seeing Him in His arc-mrtis
in the temple. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He is able to accept our service by presentation of
His arc form. No one, therefore, should foolishly think the arc in the temple to be an idol. Such an
arc-mrti is not an idol but the Lord Himself, and to the proportion to which one is free from sins, he is
able to know the significance of the arc-mrti. The guidance of a pure devotee is therefore always
required.

In the land of Bhratavara there are many hundreds and thousands of places of pilgrimage distributed
all over the country, and by traditional practice the common man visits such holy places during all
seasons of the year. Some of the arc representations of the Lord situated in different places of
pilgrimage are mentioned herewith. The Lord is present at Mathur (the birthplace of Lord Ka) as
di-keava; the Lord is present at Pur (Orissa) as Lord Jaganntha (also known as Puruottama); He is
present at Allahabad (Prayga) as Bindu-mdhava; at Mandara Hill He is present as Madhusdana. In the
nandraya, He is known as Vsudeva, Padmanbha and Janrdana; at Viukc, He is known as
Viu; and at Mypura, He is known as Hari. There are millions and billions of such arc forms of the
Lord distributed all over the universe. All these arc-mrtis are summarized in the Caitanya-caritmta
in the following words:
sarvatra praka trabhakte sukha dite

jagatera adharma ni' dharma sthpite

"The Lord has so distributed Himself all over the universe just to give pleasure to the devotees, to give
the common man facility to eradicate his sins, and to establish religious principles in the world."

SB 3.1.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

Paurezu Pau<YaaePavNaaid]ku-e

ZvPaTaaeYaezu SairTSar"Sau )

ANaNTail/(r)E" SaMal/x(k*-Taezu

ccar TaqQaaRYaTaNaeZvNaNYa" )) 18 ))

pureu puyopavandri-kujev

apaka-toyeu sa