Text 53] — Prthu Maharaja’s Meeting with the Four Kumaras 961

PURPORT

The word grhesu is significant in this verse. Out of the four asramas—the
brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannydsa— only agrhastha or house-
holder is allowed to associate with women; therefore the grhastha-asrama
is a kind of license for sense gratification given to the devotee. Prthu
Maharaja was special in that although he was given license to remain a
householder, and although he possessed immense opulences in his king-
dom, he never engaged in sense gratification. This was a special sign that
indicated him to be a pure devotee of the Lord. A pure devotee is never
attracted by sense gratification, and consequently he is liberated. In
material life a person engages in sense gratification for his own personal
satisfaction, but in the devotional or liberated life one aims to satisfy the
senses of the Lord.

In this verse Maharaja Prthu is likened to the sun (arka-vat). Sometimes
the sun shines on stool, urine and so many other polluted things, but
since the sun is all-powerful, it is never affected by the polluted things
with which it associates. On the contrary, the sunshine sterilizes and
purifies polluted and dirty places. Similarly, a devotee may engage in so
many material activities, but because he has no desire for sense gratifica-
tion, they never affect him. On the contrary, he dovetails all material
activities for the service of the Lord. Since a pure devotee knows how to
utilize everything for the Lord’s service, he is never affected by material
activities. Instead, by his transcendental plans he purifies such activities.
This is described in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-
paratvena nirmalam: his aim is to become completely purified in the
service of the Lord without being affected by material designations.

TEXT 53

CAT = FAMTAAAT |
GUAT TAA NALNIT 11431

evam adhyatma-yogena
karmany anusamacaran

putran utpadayamasa
paiicarcisy atma-sammatan

evam—thus; adh yatma-yogena—by the means of bhakti-yoga; karmani—ac-
tivities; anu—always; samacaran—executing; putran—sons; utpadayamasa—
