Text 41] Bhisma’s Passing Away 497
during my presence, and I remembered the incident in order to keep my
mind upon the Lord.

PURPORT

After gaining victory in the Battle of Kuruksetra, Maharaja Yudhisthira,
the Emperor of the world, performed the Rajasiiya sacrificial ceremony.
The emperor, in those days, upon his ascendence to the throne, would
send a challenge horse all over the world to declare his supremacy, and
any ruling prince or king was at liberty to accept the challenge and
express his tacit willingness either to obey or to disobey the supremacy of
the particular emperor. One who accepts the challenge has to fight with
the emperor and establish his own supremacy by victory. The defeated
challenger would have to sacrifice his life, making a place for another king
or ruler. So Maharaja Yudhisthira also dispatched such challenging horses
all over the world, and every ruling prince and king all over the world
accepted Maharaja Yudhisthira’s leadership as the Emperor of the world.
After this, all rulers of the world under the regime of Maharaja Yudhisthira
were invited to participate in the great sacrificial ceremony of Rajasiiya.
Such performances required hundreds of millions of dollars, and it was
not an easy job for a petty king. Such a sacrificial ceremony, being too
expensive and also difficult to perform under present circumstances, is now
impossible in this age of Kali. Nor can anyone secure the required expert
priesthood to take charge of the ceremony.

So, after being invited, all the kings and great learned sages of the world
assembled in the capital of Maharaja Yudhisthira. The learned society,
including the great philosophers, religionists, physicians, scientists and all
great sages, was invited. That is to say, the brahmanas and the ksatriyas
were the topmost leading men in society, and they were all invited to
participate in the assembly. The vaisyas and sudras were unimportant
elements in society, and they are not mentioned herein. Due to the change
of social activities in the modern age, the importance of men has also
changed in terms of occupational positions.

So in that great assembly, Lord Sri Krsna was cynosure of the neighbor-
ing eyes. Everyone wanted to see Lord Krsna, and everyone wanted to
pay his humble respects to the Lord. Bhismadeva remembered all this and
was glad that his worshipful Lord, the Personality of Godhead, was present
before him in His actual formal presence. So to meditate on the Supreme
Lord is to meditate on the activities, form, pastime, name and fame of th«
Lord. That is easier than what is imagined as meditation on the impersonal
