Text 57]
Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home
727
draw the victim to the indefatigable desires of enjoying matter, but one can escape such false enjoyment by the yogic process. Every sense is always busy in searching for its food, and thus the conditioned soul is assaulted from all sides and has no chance to become steady in any pursuit. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was advised by Nārada not to disturb his uncle by attempting to bring him back home. He was now beyond the attraction of anything material. The material modes of nature (the  guṇas ) have their different modes of activities, but above the material modes of nature there is a spiritual mode also which is absolute.  Nirguṇa  means without reaction. The spiritual mode and its effect are identical; therefore the spiritual quality is distinguished from its material counterpart by the word  nirguṇa . After complete suspension of the material modes of nature, one is admitted to the spiritual sphere, and action dictated by the spiritual modes is called devotional service or  bhakti .  Bhakti  is therefore  nirguṇa  attained by direct contact with the Absolute.
TEXT 57
स वा अद्यतनाद् राजन् परतः पञ्चमेऽहनि । कलेवरं हास्यति स्वं तच्च मस्मीमविष्यति ॥५७॥
sa vā adya-tanād rājan parataḥ pañcame'hani kalevaram hāsyati svam tac ca bhasmībhaviṣyati
saḥ—he; vā—in all probability; adya—today; tanāt—from; rājan—O King; parataḥ—ahead; pañcame—on the fifth; ahani—day; kalevaram—body; hāsyati—shall quit; svam—his own; tat—that; ca—also; bhasmī—ashes; bhaviṣyati—will turn into.
TRANSLATION
O King, he will quit his body, most probably, on the fifth day from today. And his body will turn to ashes.
PURPORT
Nārada Muni's prophecy prohibited Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja to go to the place where his uncle was staying because even after quitting the body by his own mystic power, Dhṛtarāṣṭra would not be in need of any funeral ceremony because Nārada Muni indicated that his body by itself would burn to ashes. The perfection of the  yoga  system is attained by such mystic power: the  yogī  is able to quit his body by his own choice of time and can