Text 46] Instructions by Maharaja Prthu 877
TEXT 46
Gay sad atatfata acral ata: |
AUST: TM TRANSCTATAA: NVI
putrena jayate lokan
iti satyavati Srutih
brahma-danda-hatah papo
yad veno ’tyatarat tamah
putrena—by the son; jayate—one becomes victorious; lokan—all the
heavenly planets; iti—thus; satyavati—becomes true; srutih—the Vedas;
brahma-danda—by the curse of brahmanas; hatah—killed; papah—the most
sinful; yat—as; venah—the father of Maharaja Prthu; ati—great; atarat—
become delivered; tamah—from the darkness of hellish life.
TRANSLATION
They all declared that the Vedic conclusion that one can conquer the
heavenly planets by the action of a putra, or son, was fulfilled, for the
most sinful Vena, who had been killed by the curse of the brahmanas, was
now delivered from the darkest region of hellish life by his son, Maharaja
Prthu.
PURPORT
According to the Vedic version, there is a hellish planet called Put, and
one who delivers a person from there is called putra. The purpose of mar-
riage is, therefore, to have a putra or son who is able to deliver his father,
even if the father falls down to the hellish condition of Put. Maharaja
Prthu’s father, Vena, was a most sinful person and was therefore cursed to
death by the brahmanas. Now all the great saintly persons, sages and
brahmanas present in the meeting, after hearing from Maharaja Prthu
about his great mission in life, became convinced that the statement of the
Vedas had been fully proved. The purpose of accepting a wife in religious
marriage, as sanctioned in the Vedas, is to have a putra, a son qualified
to deliver his father from the darkest region of hellish life. Marriage is not
intended for sense gratification but for getting a son fully qualified to de-
liver his father. But if a son is raised to become an unqualified demon, how
canhe deliver his father from hellish life? It is therefore the duty of a father
to become a Vaisnava and raise his children to become Vaisnavas; then
even if by chance the father falls into a hellish life in his next birth, such a
son can deliver him, as Maharaja Prthu delivered his father.
