Srimad Bhagavatam

Canto 9: Liberation
Chapter 24: Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead

Text 0: Chapter Summary
Text* 1: Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said: By the womb of the girl brought by his father, Vidarbha begot three sons, named KuÅ›a, Kratha and RomapÄda. RomapÄda was the favorite in the dynasty of Vidarbha.
Text* 2: The son of RomapÄda was Babhru, from whom there came a son named Ká¹›ti. The son of Ká¹›ti was UÅ›ika, and the son of UÅ›ika was Cedi. From Cedi was born the king known as Caidya and others.
Text* 3-4: The son of Kratha was Kunti; the son of Kunti, Vṛṣṇi; the son of Vṛṣṇi, Nirvá¹›ti; and the son of Nirvá¹›ti, DaÅ›Ärha. From DaÅ›Ärha came Vyoma; from Vyoma came JÄ«mÅ«ta; from JÄ«mÅ«ta, Viká¹›ti; from Viká¹›ti, BhÄ«maratha; from BhÄ«maratha, Navaratha; and from Navaratha, DaÅ›aratha.
Text* 5: From DaÅ›aratha came a son named Åšakuni and from Åšakuni a son named Karambhi. The son of Karambhi was DevarÄta, and his son was Devaká¹£atra. The son of Devaká¹£atra was Madhu, and his son was KuruvaÅ›a, from whom there came a son named Anu.
Text* 6-8: The son of Anu was Puruhotra, the son of Puruhotra was Ayu, and the son of Ayu was SÄtvata. O great Ä€ryan King, SÄtvata had seven sons, named BhajamÄna, Bhaji, Divya, Vṛṣṇi, DevÄvá¹›dha, Andhaka and MahÄbhoja. From BhajamÄna by one wife came three sons — Nimloci, Kiá¹…kaṇa and Dhṛṣṭi. And from his other wife came three other sons — ÅšatÄjit, SahasrÄjit and AyutÄjit.
Text* 9: The son of DevÄvá¹›dha was Babhru. Concerning DevÄvá¹›dha and Babhru there are two famous songs of prayer, which were sung by our predecessors and which we have heard from a distance. Even now I hear the same prayers about their qualities [because that which was heard before is still sung continuously].
Text* 10-11: “It has been decided that among human beings Babhru is the best and that DevÄvá¹›dha is equal to the demigods. Because of the association of Babhru and DevÄvá¹›dha, all of their descendants, numbering 14,065, achieved liberation.†In the dynasty of King MahÄbhoja, who was exceedingly religious, there appeared the Bhoja kings.
Text* 12: O King, MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, who can suppress your enemies, the sons of Vṛṣṇi were Sumitra and YudhÄjit. From YudhÄjit came Åšini and Anamitra, and from Anamitra came a son named Nighna.
Text* 13: The two sons of Nighna were SatrÄjita and Prasena. Another son of Anamitra was another Åšini, and his son was Satyaka.
Text* 14: The son of Satyaka was YuyudhÄna, whose son was Jaya. From Jaya came a son named Kuṇi and from Kuṇi a son named Yugandhara. Another son of Anamitra was Vṛṣṇi.
Text* 15: From Vṛṣṇi came the sons named Åšvaphalka and Citraratha. From Åšvaphalka by his wife GÄndinÄ« came AkrÅ«ra. AkrÅ«ra was the eldest, but there were twelve other sons, all of whom were most celebrated.
Text* 16-18: The names of these twelve were Ä€saá¹…ga, SÄrameya, Má¹›dura, Má¹›duvit, Giri, Dharmavá¹›ddha, SukarmÄ, Ká¹£etropeká¹£a, Arimardana, Åšatrughna, GandhamÄda and PratibÄhu. These brothers also had a sister named SucÄrÄ. From AkrÅ«ra came two sons, named DevavÄn and Upadeva. Citraratha had many sons, headed by Pá¹›thu and VidÅ«ratha, all of whom were known as belonging to the dynasty of Vṛṣṇi.
Text* 19: Kukura, BhajamÄna, Åšuci and Kambalabarhiá¹£a were the four sons of Andhaka. The son of Kukura was Vahni, and his son was VilomÄ.
Text* 20: The son of VilomÄ was KapotaromÄ, and his son was Anu, whose friend was Tumburu. From Anu came Andhaka; from Andhaka, Dundubhi; and from Dundubhi, Avidyota. From Avidyota came a son named Punarvasu.
Text* 21-23: Punarvasu had a son and a daughter, named Ä€huka and Ä€hukÄ« respectively, and Ä€huka had two sons, named Devaka and Ugrasena. Devaka had four sons, named DevavÄn, Upadeva, Sudeva and Devavardhana, and he also had seven daughters, named ÅšÄntidevÄ, UpadevÄ, ÅšrÄ«devÄ, Devaraká¹£itÄ, SahadevÄ, DevakÄ« and Dhá¹›tadevÄ. Dhá¹›tadevÄ was the eldest. Vasudeva, the father of Kṛṣṇa, married all these sisters.
Text* 24: Kaá¹sa, SunÄmÄ, Nyagrodha, Kaá¹…ka, Åšaá¹…ku, SuhÅ«, RÄṣṭrapÄla, Dhṛṣṭi and TuṣṭimÄn were the sons of Ugrasena.
Text* 25: Kaá¹sÄ, Kaá¹savatÄ«, Kaá¹…kÄ, ŚūrabhÅ« and RÄṣṭrapÄlikÄ were the daughters of Ugrasena. They became the wives of Vasudeva’s younger brothers.
Text* 26: The son of Citraratha was VidÅ«ratha, the son of VidÅ«ratha was Śūra, and his son was BhajamÄna. The son of BhajamÄna was Åšini, the son of Åšini was Bhoja, and the son of Bhoja was Há¹›dika.
Text* 27: The three sons of Há¹›dika were DevamÄ«á¸ha, Åšatadhanu and Ká¹›tavarmÄ. The son of DevamÄ«á¸ha was Śūra, whose wife was named MÄriá¹£Ä.
Text* 28-31: Through MÄriá¹£Ä, King Śūra begot Vasudeva, DevabhÄga, DevaÅ›ravÄ, Ä€naka, Sṛñjaya, ÅšyÄmaka, Kaá¹…ka, ÅšamÄ«ka, Vatsaka and Vá¹›ka. These ten sons were spotlessly pious personalities. When Vasudeva was born, the demigods from the heavenly kingdom sounded kettledrums. Therefore Vasudeva, who provided the proper place for the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, was also known as Ä€nakadundubhi. The five daughters of King Śūra, named Pá¹›thÄ, ÅšrutadevÄ, ÅšrutakÄ«rti, ÅšrutaÅ›ravÄ and RÄjÄdhidevÄ«, were Vasudeva’s sisters. Śūra gave Pá¹›thÄ to his friend Kunti, who had no issue, and therefore another name of Pá¹›thÄ was KuntÄ«.
Text* 32: Once when DurvÄsÄ was a guest at the house of Pá¹›thÄ’s father, Kunti, Pá¹›thÄ satisfied DurvÄsÄ by rendering service. Therefore she received a mystic power by which she could call any demigod. To examine the potency of this mystic power, the pious KuntÄ« immediately called for the sun-god.
Text* 33: As soon as KuntÄ« called for the demigod of the sun, he immediately appeared before her, and she was very much surprised. She told the sun-god, “I was simply examining the effectiveness of this mystic power. I am sorry I have called you unnecessarily. Please return and excuse me.â€
Text 34: The sun-god said: O beautiful Pá¹›thÄ, your meeting with the demigods cannot be fruitless. Therefore, let me place my seed in your womb so that you may bear a son. I shall arrange to keep your virginity intact, since you are still an unmarried girl.
Text* 35: After saying this, the sun-god discharged his semen into the womb of Pá¹›thÄ and then returned to the celestial kingdom. Immediately thereafter, from KuntÄ« a child was born, who was like a second sun-god.
Text* 36: Because KuntÄ« feared people’s criticisms, with great difficulty she had to give up her affection for her child. Unwillingly, she packed the child in a basket and let it float down the waters of the river. O MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, your great-grandfather the pious and chivalrous King PÄṇá¸u later married KuntÄ«.
Text* 37: Vá¹›ddhaÅ›armÄ, the King of KarÅ«á¹£a, married Kuntī’s sister ÅšrutadevÄ, and from her womb Dantavakra was born. Having been cursed by the sages headed by Sanaka, Dantavakra had formerly been born as the son of Diti named HiraṇyÄká¹£a.
Text* 38: King Dhṛṣṭaketu, the King of Kekaya, married Śrutakīrti, another sister of Kuntī’s. Śrutakīrti had five sons, headed by Santardana.
Text* 39: Through the womb of RÄjÄdhidevÄ«, another sister of Kuntī’s, Jayasena begot two sons, named Vinda and Anuvinda. Similarly, the king of the Cedi state married ÅšrutaÅ›ravÄ. This king’s name was Damaghoá¹£a.
Text* 40: The son of ÅšrutaÅ›ravÄ was ÅšiÅ›upÄla, whose birth has already been described [in the Seventh Canto of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam]. Vasudeva’s brother named DevabhÄga had two sons born of his wife, Kaá¹sÄ. These two sons were Citraketu and Bá¹›hadbala.
Text* 41: Vasudeva’s brother named DevaÅ›ravÄ married Kaá¹savatÄ«, by whom he begot two sons, named SuvÄ«ra and Iá¹£umÄn. Kaá¹…ka, by his wife Kaá¹…kÄ, begot three sons, named Baka, Satyajit and Purujit.
Text* 42: King Sṛñjaya, by his wife, RÄṣṭrapÄlikÄ, begot sons headed by Vṛṣa and Durmará¹£aṇa. King ÅšyÄmaka, by his wife, ŚūrabhÅ«mi, begot two sons, named HarikeÅ›a and HiraṇyÄká¹£a.
Text* 43: Thereafter, King Vatsaka, by the womb of his wife, MiÅ›rakeśī, who was an ApsarÄ, begot sons headed by Vá¹›ka. Vá¹›ka, by his wife, DurvÄkṣī, begot Taká¹£a, Puá¹£kara, ÅšÄla and so on.
Text* 44: From SamÄ«ka, by the womb of his wife, SudÄmanÄ«, came Sumitra, ArjunapÄla and other sons. King Ä€naka, by his wife, KarṇikÄ, begot two sons, namely ṚtadhÄmÄ and Jaya.
Text* 45: DevakÄ«, PauravÄ«, Rohiṇī, BhadrÄ, MadirÄ, RocanÄ, IlÄ and others were all wives of Ä€nakadundubhi [Vasudeva]. Among them all, DevakÄ« was the chief.
Text* 46: Vasudeva, by the womb of his wife Rohiṇī, begot sons such as Bala, Gada, SÄraṇa, Durmada, Vipula, Dhruva, Ká¹›ta and others.
Text* 47-48: From the womb of PauravÄ« came twelve sons, including BhÅ«ta, Subhadra, BhadrabÄhu, Durmada and Bhadra. Nanda, Upananda, Ká¹›taka, Śūra and others were born from the womb of MadirÄ. BhadrÄ [KauÅ›alyÄ] gave birth to only one son, named Keśī.
Text* 49: Vasudeva, by another of his wives, whose name was RocanÄ, begot Hasta, HemÄá¹…gada and other sons. And by his wife named IlÄ he begot sons headed by Uruvalka, all of whom were chief personalities in the dynasty of Yadu.
Text* 50: From the womb of Dhá¹›tadevÄ, one of the wives of Ä€nakadundubhi [Vasudeva], came a son named Vipṛṣṭha. The sons of ÅšÄntidevÄ, another wife of Vasudeva, were PraÅ›ama, Prasita and others.
Text* 51: Vasudeva also had a wife named UpadevÄ, from whom came ten sons, headed by RÄjanya, Kalpa and Vará¹£a. From ÅšrÄ«devÄ, another wife, came six sons, such as Vasu, Haá¹sa and Suvaá¹Å›a.
Text* 52: By the semen of Vasudeva in the womb of Devaraká¹£itÄ, nine sons were born, headed by GadÄ. Vasudeva, who was religion personified, also had a wife named SahadevÄ, by whose womb he begot eight sons, headed by Åšruta and Pravara.
Text 53-55: The eight sons born of SahadevÄ such as Pravara and Åšruta, were exact incarnations of the eight Vasus in the heavenly planets. Vasudeva also begot eight highly qualified sons through the womb of DevakÄ«. These included KÄ«rtimÄn, Suá¹£eṇa, Bhadrasena, Ṛju, Sammardana, Bhadra and Saá¹…kará¹£aṇa, the controller and serpent incarnation. The eighth son was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself — Kṛṣṇa. The highly fortunate SubhadrÄ, the one daughter, was your grandmother.
Text 56: Whenever the principles of religion deteriorate and the principles of irreligion increase, the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead Śrī Hari, appears by His own will.
Text 57: O King, MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, but for the Lord’s personal desire, there is no cause for His appearance, disappearance or activities. As the Supersoul, He knows everything. Consequently there is no cause that affects Him, not even the results of fruitive activities.
Text 58: The Supreme Personality of Godhead acts through His material energy in the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation just to deliver the living entity by His compassion and stop the living entity’s birth, death and duration of materialistic life. Thus He enables the living being to return home, back to Godhead.
Text 59: Although the demons who take possession of the government are dressed like men of government, they do not know the duty of the government. Consequently, by the arrangement of God, such demons, who possess great military strength, fight with one another, and thus the great burden of demons on the surface of the earth is reduced. The demons increase their military power by the will of the Supreme, so that their numbers will be diminished and the devotees will have a chance to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Text* 60: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, with the cooperation of Saá¹…kará¹£aṇa, BalarÄma, performed activities beyond the mental comprehension of even such personalities as Lord BrahmÄ and Lord Åšiva. [For instance, Kṛṣṇa arranged the Battle of Kuruká¹£etra to kill many demons for the relief of the entire world.]
Text 61: To show causeless mercy to the devotees who would take birth in the future in this Age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, acted in such a way that simply by remembering Him one will be freed from all the lamentation and unhappiness of material existence. [In other words, He acted so that all future devotees, by accepting the instructions of Kṛṣṇa consciousness stated in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ, could be relieved from the pangs of material existence.]
Text 62: Simply by receiving the glories of the Lord through purified transcendental ears, the devotees of the Lord are immediately freed from strong material desires and engagement in fruitive activities.
Text 63-64: Assisted by the descendants of Bhoja, Vṛṣṇi, Andhaka, Madhu, Śūrasena, DaÅ›Ärha, Kuru, Sṛñjaya and PÄṇá¸u, Lord Kṛṣṇa performed various activities. By His pleasing smiles, His affectionate behavior, His instructions and His uncommon pastimes like raising Govardhana Hill, the Lord, appearing in His transcendental body, pleased all of human society.
Text 65: Kṛṣṇa’s face is decorated with ornaments, such as earrings resembling sharks. His ears are beautiful, His cheeks brilliant, and His smiling attractive to everyone. Whoever sees Lord Kṛṣṇa sees a festival. His face and body are fully satisfying for everyone to see, but the devotees are angry at the creator for the disturbance caused by the momentary blinking of their eyes.
Text 66: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, known as lÄ«lÄ-puruá¹£ottama, appeared as the son of Vasudeva but immediately left His father’s home and went to Vá¹›ndÄvana to expand His loving relationship with His confidential devotees. In Vá¹›ndÄvana the Lord killed many demons, and afterwards He returned to DvÄrakÄ, where according to Vedic principles He married many wives who were the best of women, begot through them hundreds of sons, and performed sacrifices for His own worship to establish the principles of householder life.
Text 67: Thereafter, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa created a misunderstanding between family members just to diminish the burden of the world. Simply by His glance, He annihilated all the demoniac kings on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra and declared victory for Arjuna. Finally, He instructed Uddhava about transcendental life and devotion and then returned to His abode in His original form.