Text 9] The Characteristics of Rsabhadeva 151

TEXT 9
Ir as Hea aa sag: Ay atAe at uncafata
sqataatra WS Ui

yesam khalu maha-yogi bharato jyesthah srestha-guna asid yenedam
varsam bharatam iti vyapadisanti.

yesém—of whom; khalu—indeed; maha-yogi—a very highly exalted
devotee of the Lord; bharatah—Bharata; jyesthah—the eldest; srestha-
gunah—qualified with the best attributes; dsit—was; yena—by whom:
idam—this; varsam—planet; bhdratam—Bharata; iti—thus; vyapadi-
Santi—people call.

TRANSLATION

Of Rsabhadeva’s one hundred sons, the eldest, named Bharata,
was a great, exalted devotee qualified with the best attributes. In
his honor, this planet has become known as Bharata-varsa.

PURPORT

This planet known as Bharata-varsa is also called punya-bhimi, the
pious land. At the present moment Bharata-bhimi, or Bharata-varsa. is a
small piece of land extending from the Himalaya Mountains to Cape
Comorin. Sometimes this peninsula is called punya-bhiimi. Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu has given special importance to the people of this land.

bharata-bhimite haila manusya-janma yara
janma sarthaka kari’ kara para-upakara

“One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India
(Bharata-varsa) should make his life successful and work for the benefit
of all other people.” (Cc. Adi 9.41) The inhabitants of this piece of land
are very fortunate. They can purify their existence by accepting this
Krsna consciousness movement and go outside Bharata-bhimi (India)
and preach this cult to benefit the whole world.
