496 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 9
enough to have the fraternal service of the Lord as chariot driver, but the
Lord did not award Arjuna with equal strength. The gopis, however,
practically became one with the Lord by attainment of equal footing with
the Lord. Bhisma’s aspiration to remember the gopis is to pray to have
their mercy also at the last stage of his life. The Lord is satisfied more
when His pure devotees are glorified, and therefore Bhismadeva has not
only glorified the acts of Arjuna, his immediate object of attraction, but
also he has remembered the gopis who were endowed with unrivalled
opportunities by rendering loving service to the Lord. The gopis’ equality
with the Lord should never be misunderstood to be like the sd@yujya
liberation of the impersonalist. The equality is one of perfect ecstasy
where the differential conception is completely eradicated, for the inte-
rests of the lover and the beloved become identical.
TEXT 41
C.
UfarrgTadg sea:
o~
wala aa TT |
EMIT Sanita
A CATIA TF AMAT Ne HN
munigana-nrpavarya-sankule ntah-
sadasi yudhisthira-rajasiiya esam
arhanam upapeda iksaniyo
mama drsi-gocara esa avir dtma
munt-gana—the great learned sages; nrpa-varya—the great ruling kings;
sankule—in the great assembly of; antahsadasi—conference; yudhisthira—
Emperor Yudhisthira; raja-siya—a royal performance of sacrifice; esam—
of all the great elites; arhanam—respectful worship; upapeda—received;
iksaniyah—the object of attraction; mama—my; dysi—sight; gocarah—
within the view of; esah avih—personally present; atma—the soul.
TRANSLATION
At the Rajasiiya-yajiia [sacrifice] performed by Maharaja Yudisthira,
there was the greatest assembly of all the elite men of the world, the royal
and learned orders, and in that great assembly Lord Sri Krsna was worshiped
by one and all as the most exalted Personality of Godhead. This happened
