Text 20] Lord Krsna’s Entrance in Dvaraka 577

organized effort to turn the citizens into devotees of the Lord, and thus
all good qualities of the denizens of heaven will overtake them in their
own way. On the other hand, those who are nondevotees have no good
qualifications whatsoever, however they may be materially advanced. The
difference is that the devotees of the Lord are on the path of liberation,
whereas the nondevotees are on the path of further entanglement in
material bondage. The criterion of advancement of civilization is whether
the people are educated and advanced on the path of salvation.

TEXT 20

aaa: «=| aaapat<a: |
TMA ANAS F UNRoll

nata-nartaka-gandharvah
siita-magadha-vandinah

gayanti cottamasloka-
caritany adbhutani ca

nata—dramatists; nartaka—dancers; gandharvah—celestial _ singers;
siita—professional _ historians; | magadha—professional _ genealogists;
vandinah— professional learned speakers; gayanti—all ejaculating; ca—
respectively; uttama-slokah—the Supreme Lord; caritani—activities;
adbhutani—all superhuman; ca—and.

TRANSLATION

Expert dramatists, artists, dancers, singers, historians, genealogists and
learned speakers all gave their respective contributions, being inspired by
the superhuman pastimes of the Lord. Thus they proceeded on and on.

PURPORT

It appears that 5,000 years ago the society also needed the services of
the dramatists, artists, dancers, singers, historians, genealogists, public
speakers, etc. Dancers, singers and dramatic artists mostly hailed from
the sidra community, whereas the learned historians, genealogists and
public speakers hailed from the brahmana community. All of them be-
longed to a particular caste, and they became so trained in their respective
families. Such dramatists, dancers, singers, historians, genealogists and
