Text 32] Purafijana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life 1325
agastyah prag duhitaram
upayeme dhrta-vratam
yasyam drdha-cyuto jata
idhma-vahatmajo munih

agastyah—the great sage Agastya Muni; prak—first; duhitaram— daughter;
upayeme—married; dhrta-vratam—taken to vows; yasyam—through whom;
drdha-cyutah—named Drdhacyuta; jdtah-was born; idhma-vaha-named
Idhmavaha; atma-jah—son; munih—the great sage.

TRANSLATION

The great sage named Agastya married the first-born daughter of
Malayadhvaja, the avowed devotee of Lord Krsna. From her one son was
born, whose name was Drdhacyuta, and from him another son was born,
whose name was Idhmavaha.

PURPORT

The name of Agastya Muniis very significant. The word agastya indicates
that his senses do not act independently, and the word muni means
“mind.” The mind is the center of all the senses, and in the case of
Agastya Muni, the senses could not work independent of the mind. When
the mind takes to the cult of bhakti, it engages in devotional service. The
cult of bhakti (bhakti-lata) is the first daughter of Malayadhvaja, and, as
previously described, her eyes are always upon Krsna (asiteksanam). One
cannot render bhakti to any demigod. Bhakti can be rendered only to
Visnu (Sravanam kirtanam visnoh). Thinking the Absolute Truth to be
without form, the Mayavadis say that the word bhakti can apply to any
form of worship. If this were the case, a devotee could imagine any
demigod or any godly form and worship it. This, however, is not the real
fact. The real fact is that bhakti can only be applied to Lord Visnu and His
expansions. Therefore bhakti-lata is drdha-vrata, the great vow, for when
the mind is completely engaged in devotional service, the mind does not
fall down. If one tries to advance by other means—by karma-yoga or
Jiiana-yoga—one will fall down, but if one is fixed in bhakti, he never falls
down.

Thus from bhakti-lata the son Drdhacyuta is born, and from Drdhacyuta
the next son, Idhmavaha, is born. The word idhma-vaha refers to one who
carries wood for burning in a sacrifice when approaching a spiritual
master. The point is that bhakti-lata, the cult of devotion, fixes one in his
