Canto 3 Chapter 24
The Renunciation of Kardama Muni
Section I - 3.24.1-4 Kardama instructs Devahuti
1 – Maitreya: Remembering the words of Visnu,
Kardama starts replying back to Devahuti
2-4 – Kardama to Devahuti:
a) Do not lament
b) Lord is going to appear as your son
c) Faithfully worship the Lord with
regulation, sense control, austerity,
wealth and charity
d) Pleased with this, Lord will appear, teach
about Brahman, and cut the knot of
ignorance in your heart
Section II - 3.24.5-9 Lord appears in Devhuti’s womb
5 – Maitreya: With full faith Devahuti worships
the Lord
6 – Lord appears in her womb after a long time
7-9 – At that time:
a) Gandharvas sang, Apsaras danced,
Devatas played musical instruments
b) Flowers fell from the sky
c) All the directions, water bodies and mind
became peaceful
d) Brahma and sons appear at KM’s ashram
Section III 3.24.10-19 Brahma speaks to
Kardama and Devahuti
10-11 – Brahma, understanding about the
appearance of the Lord, addressed the couple
12-15 – Brahma to Kardama:
a) You have accomplished my sincere
worship as you have accepted my
instructions with great respect
b) This is how one serves his father by
taking the instructions seriously
c) Don’t worry about your daughters. These
9 daughters will grow up to be very
beautiful and chaste
d) They will increase the population of this
world
e) Offer them to my 9 sons and your fame
will spread
16-19 – Brahma to Devahuti:
a) I know that the Supreme Lord has
appeared as Kapila
b) In order to uproot Karma by Jnana and
Vairagya, He has entered your womb
c) He will travel all over the world and cut
the knot of ignorance in everyone’s heart
d) He will be the foremost among the
perfected beings
e) He will spread your fame all over
Section IV - 3.24.20-25 Departure of Brahma
20 – Brahma returns to satyaloka along with
Narada and Kumaras
21-23 – Kardama offers his daughters in
marriage to the 9 sages
24-25 – He took care of the daughters and son-
in-laws for some time, and then they happily
departed to their ashrams
Section V - 3.24.26-34 Kardama speaks to Kapila
26 – KM, understanding that the Lord has
appeared, approached Him in a solitary place
and spoke
27-29 – Kardama: Your appearance in my house
without motive is because of Your mercy only.
Why?
a) Devatas become pleased with their sinful
worshippers only after a long time
b) Even the yogis get to see your
impersonal feature only after perfect
solitary meditation for many births
c) But You, the same Lord, have appeared
in our house today, in spite of our
neglect in worshipping you
30 – Purpose of Kapila’s descent:
a) To make Your words (“I will appear in
your house as your son”) true
b) Desiring to spread the knowledge of
sankhya
c) To increase the honour of devotees
31 – Though You have appeared in this human
form, this is perfectly transcendental and is very
pleasing to the devotees
32 – I surrender to this form of Yours because:
a) You are full of the 6 opulences
b) Your feet are constantly worthy of
worship by the devotees desiring direct
knowledge of the absolute truth
33 – I surrender unto You, who in Your material
form, covers this whole universe in the form of
Pradhana, Mahat tattva, Jiva, Ahankara etc.
34 – Now that you have appeared:
a) I have become free of debt
b) All my desires have been satisfied
c) Therefore give me the permission to
renounce this world
Section VI - 3.24.35-40 Kapila responds to Kardama
35 – Kapila:
a) What I have spoken to you is
authoritative both on the absolute and
worldly platform
b) I have appeared as your son because I
promised you that
c) Thus My words are true
36 – Reason for appearance: I have appeared in
this world to explain the principles of self
realization for those desiring liberation from
subtle body
37 – This knowledge was lost in time and I have
come to revive it
38-39 – Instructions:
a) Depart from home when you please
b) By offering your activities to Me, worship
Me for immortality
c) Then you will see Me within your heart
as Super soul by your intelligence
d) Thus you will become free from
lamentation and achieve fearlessness
40 – Don’t worry about mother. I will give her
fearlessness by imparting her spiritual
knowledge, by which she can destroy her karma
Section VII - 3.24.41-47 Renunciation of Kardama
41-47 – Kardama renounces:
a) Pleased Kardama leaves to the forest
b) He accepts mauna vrata and wanders
around shelter less, taking complete
shelter of the Lord
c) He fixes his mind on the Lord
d) He manifests all the qualities of a
liberated soul
e) He achieves spiritual mind and
intelligence by destroying material mind
and intelligence
f) He achieves liberation by absorbing all
the elements in the Lord by Prema bhakti
g) He sees the Lord as antaryami situated
within everyone’s heart, and he sees all
the jivas situated within Mahavisnu
h) He attains the position of an associate of
the Lord in the spiritual world
Memorization verses:
3.24.31
täny eva te 'bhirüpäëi
rüpäëi bhagavaàs tava
yäni yäni ca rocante
sva-janänäm arüpiëaù
3.24.32
tväà süribhis tattva-bubhutsayäddhä
sadäbhivädärhaëa-päda-péöham
aiçvarya-vairägya-yaço-'vabodha-
vérya-çriyä pürtam ahaà prapadye