Text 2] The Process of Creation 171
rajye—in the kingdom; ca—also; avikale—without being disturbed; nityam—
constant; viridham— deep-rooted; mamatam—affinity ; jahau—gave up.
TRANSLATION
Maharaja Pariksit, as a result of his wholehearted attraction for Lord
Krsna, was able to give up all deep-rooted affection for his personal body,
wife, children, palace, animals, horses and elephants, treasury house,
friends and relatives, and his undisputed kingdom.
PURPORT

To become liberated means to become free from dehatma-buddhi,
the illusory attachment for personal bodily coverings and everything
connected with the body, namely the wife, children and all other entangle-
ments. One selects a wife for bodily comforts, and the result is children.
For wife and children one requires a dwelling place, and as such the
residential house is also necessary. The animals like horses, elephants,
cows, dogs, etc., are all household animals, and a householder has to keep
them as household paraphernalia. In the modern civilization the horses
and elephants have been replaced by cars and conveyances with con-
siderable horsepower. To maintain all the household affairs, one has to
increase the bank balance and be careful about the treasury house, and in
order to display the opulence of material assets, one has to keep good
relations with friends and relatives, as well as become very careful about
maintaining the status quo. This is called material civilization of material
attachment. Devotion for Lord Krsna means negation of all material
attachments as detailed above. By the grace of Lord Krsna, Maharaja
Pariksit was awarded all material amenities and an indisputed kingdom to
enjoy the undisturbed position of king, but by the grace of the Lord he
was able to give up all connection with material attachment. That is the
position of a pure devotee. Maharaja Pariksit, due to his natural affection
for Lord Krsna as a devotee of the Lord, was always executing his royal
duties on behalf of the Lord, and as a responsible king of the world he was
always careful to see that the influence of Kali would not enter his king-
dom. A devotee of the Lord never thinks of his household paraphernalia as
his own, but surrenders everything for the service of the Lord. Thereby
living entities under a devotee’s care get the opportunity for God realiza-
tion by the management of a devotee master.

Attachment for household paraphernalia and for Lord Krsna go poorly
together. One attachment is the path of darkness, and the other attach-
ment is the path of light. Where there is light, there is no darkness, and
