Text 41] The Pandavas Retire Timely 821
PURPORT

To become purified of material contamination is the necessary qualifi-
cation for becoming one of the associates of the Lord. No one can become
an associate of the Lord or can go back to Godhead without such purifi-
cation. Maharaja Yudhisthira, therefore, to become spiritually pure, at
once gave up his royal opulence by dress and garments. The kasaya or
saffron loincloth of a sannydsi indicates freedom from all attractive mate-
rial garments, and thus he changed his dress accordingly. He became dis-
interested in his kingdom and family and thus became free from all material
contamination. or material designation. People are generally attached to
various kinds of designations, namely the designations of family, society,
country, occupation, wealth, position and many others. As long as one is
attached to such designations, he is considered materially impure. The so-
called leaders of men in the modern age are attached by national
consciousness, but they do not know that such false consciousness
is also another designation of the materially conditioned soul,
and one has to relinquish such designations before one can become
eligible to go back to Godhead. Foolish people, however, adore such men
who die in national consciousness, but here is an example of Maharaja
Yudhisthira, a royal king who prepared himself to leave this world without
such national consciousness. And yet he is remembered even today because
he was a great pious king, almost on the same level with the Personality of
Godhead Sri Rama. And because people of the world were dominated by
such pious kings, they were happy in all respects, and it was quite possible
for such great emperors to rule the world.

TEXT 41
ant gem aafa am gat 3 aq |
RANA aa Ff acd Gaited Me 2il
vacam juhava manasi
tat prana itare ca tam
mrtyav apanam sotsargam
tam paiicatve hy ajohavit

vacam—speeches; juhava—relinquished; manasi—into the mind; tat prape
—mind into breathing; itare ca—other senses also; tam—into that; mrtyau—
into death; apa@nam—breathing; sa-utsargam—with all dedication; tam—that;
pajicatve—into the body made of five elements; hi—certainly; ajohavit—
amalgamated it.
