Text 29]
The Pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra
81
“Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.” Thus the destination of godless atheists such as Rāvaṇa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Kaṁsa and Dantavakra is a hellish condition of life. Mandodarī, the wife of Rāvaṇa, could understand all this because she was a chaste woman. Although lamenting for the death of her husband, she knew what would happen to his body and soul, for although one cannot see directly with one’s material eyes, one can see with eyes of knowledge ( paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ ). In Vedic history there are many instances of how one becomes godless and is condemned by the laws of nature.
TEXT 29
श्रीशुक उवाच
स्वानां विभीषणश्चक्रे कोसलेन्द्रानुमोदितः । पितृमेधविधानेन यदुक्तं साम्परायिकम् ॥२९॥
śrī-śuka uvāca svānām vibhīṣaṇaś cakre kosalendrānumoditaḥ pitr-medha-vidhānena yad uktam sāmparāyikam
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; svānām—of his own family members; vibhīṣaṇaḥ—Vibhīṣaṇa, the brother of Rāvaṇa and devotee of Lord Rāmacandra; cakre—executed; kosala-indra-anumoditaḥ—approved by the King of Kosala, Lord Rāmacandra; pitr-medha-vidhānena—by the funeral ceremony performed by the son after the death of his father or some family member; yat uktam—which have been prescribed; sāmparāyikam—duties to be performed after a person’s death to save him from the path to hell.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Vibhīṣaṇa, the pious brother of Rāvaṇa and devotee of Lord Rāmacandra, received approval from Lord Rāmacandra, the King of Kosala. Then he performed the