Full Course: Third canto of Srimad Bhagavatam

The third canto describes the creation of the universe and events that happened in the beginning of the universe. Here we have everything, up to the teachings of Lord Kapila.

At the end of the second canto, Śaunaka Ṛṣi asked Suta Goswami about the activities of Vidhura after leaving the palace, being offended by Duryodhana. Suta Goswami answers that Pariksit Maharaja asked the same question to Sukadeva Goswami after hearing the explanation of the Catuh-sloki Bhagavatam given in chapter 2.10, and thus proceeds in narrating it.

The third and fourth cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam are centered around the conversation of Vidhura and Maitreya. All the pastimes narrated there, including the pregnancy of Diti and the birth of Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakashipu, the pastime of Kardama Muni and Devahuti, the instructions of Lord Kapila, Daksa offending Lord Shiva and Sati leaving her body, Prthu Maharaja milking the Earth and so on, are part of this discussion.

In this course, we will go deep into the meaning of all the 12 cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Here we have the complete course on the third canto, including text, the PDFs, and the lessons in both audio and video format:

Srimad Bhagavatam #18: Vidhura meets Uddhava (chapters 3.1 and 3.2)

Before meeting Maitreya, Vidhura met Uddhava and listened to a summary description of Krsna’s pastimes. This description represents the first time these intimate pastimes of the Lord are discussed in the Srimad Bhagavatam. The first canto is centered on the activities of the Pandavas and the birth of Pariksit Maharaja, as well as the different incarnations of the Lord, while the second canto explains the Virat-rupa and the process of Mystic yoga, and gives us the philosophical basis for surrendering to the Lord and accepting the process of constantly remembering Him. The beginning of the third canto, however, brings us the first description of the Lord’s intimate pastimes. After our understanding is further deepened in the subsequent cantos, we will have the same pastimes described in much more detail in the 10th canto.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #19: The creation of the material elements (chapters 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5)

Maitreya starts his narration by giving an explanation of the four original verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam. The line “aham evāsam evāgre” is misinterpreted by Mayavadis and speculators who don’t want to accept the supremacy of the Lord, but the real meaning is that before the creation of the material universe, when there were no material elements, no universes, no planets and not purusha incarnation, only the Lord existed as Maha-Vishnu.

Most atheistic philosophies believe that the universe is created automatically by the interaction of the different material elements, but Srimad Bhagavatam explains that the material energy is just the effect. The cause is the Supreme Lord. Just like a pile of bricks doesn’t organize itself into a building, the material energy can’t move without the transcendental touch of the Lord.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #20: The blueprint of the Universe (chapter 3.6)

The material elements and even their predominating deities have no power to create for themselves, just like factory workers have no ability to produce a new car alone. Unless there is a project and a manager to guide them, nothing will be done. Similarly, the predominating deities of the material elements can only offer their work in manipulating the building blocks of the material manifestation. For the cosmos to manifest, a project is necessary, as well as competent managers who can oversee the construction. Both things have to be provided by the Lord. In this sixth chapter, we will see how the Supreme Lord provided these two components, so the process of creation could be completed.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #21: Brahma appears from the lotus flower (chapters 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9)

This lotus flower from which Lord Brahma appears is coated by all the material elements of the material creation. It also contains all the fruitive activities of the souls, the material modes, and so on. Everything that will form the material creation is originally part of this lotus. The subtle universal form has the same form as the universe when manifested. The gross manifestation created by Brahma just superimposes this subtle manifestation created by the Lord. Because all the material elements that form the planets were originally inside this gigantic lotus flower, it is sometimes said that the planets reside inside the steam of the lotus. It is not that the planets are all literally situated inside the lotus, but the material elements that compose them once were.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #22: Cosmic time in the Vedas (chapters 3.10 and 3.11)

After hearing about the prayers of Brahma and the blessings he received from the Lord, Vidhura wanted to know about the subsequent creations of Brahma. Maitreya starts his answer by describing how after meeting the Lord, Brahma engaged in penances for 100 celestial years more before starting the creation. After this period, his concentration was broken by strong cosmic winds that made both the Garbhodaka Ocean and the universal lotus tremble. The lower part of the universe, where the lower planets as well as Bhu-mandala were supposed to be was thus completely flooded. Being put in such an awkward situation, Brahma’s attention returned to his service of creating the universe.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #23: The creation of Brahma (chapter 3.12)

It’s mentioned that Brahma started the creation by creating illusory engagements, such as self-deception, the sense of death, anger after being frustrated, the sense of false ownership, and the illusory bodily conception (that makes one forget his real identity as a soul). It’s easy to understand why such influences were created first since they constitute the basis of conditioned life in this material world. If one does not identify with the body and believes he possesses things in this material world, what is the possibility of remaining conditioned here? These are influences that affect all conditioned living beings.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #24: The cycles of the Manus (chapter 3.13)

The appearance of Svāyambhuva Manu is an important event in the creation of the universe because it marks the start of the first manvantara. There are 14 manus in a day of Brahma, in a sequence that repeats in each of his days. At the end of each manvantara, a great process of extinction occurs, with the previous Manu and all demigods leaving their posts. After a long period of managing the universe (a Manvantara lasts for 306.72 million years), these demigods receive the opportunity of being promoted to Maharloka, from where they continue gradually progressing.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #25: Pregnancy of Diti in the evening (chapters 3.14 and 3.15)

The desire of Diti to beget children was perfectly in accordance with religious principles, and she approaching her husband with this purpose was also appropriate. To beget a few children and properly educate them is the main purpose of a religious marriage. The problem is that in her anxiety, Diti approached her husband at an inappropriate time, when he was performing his religious duties at the end of the day. Brahmanas are supposed to chant the Gayatri mantra and perform other duties three times per day, at sunrise, noon, and sunset. At these times one is restrictedly prohibited from being engaged in sexual activities. This resulted in the appearance of two great demons.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #26: The fall of Jaya and Vijaya (chapter 3.16)

At the end of chapter 15, the four Kumaras offered prayers to the Lord when He appeared at the gate. Now, in chapter 16 the Lord answers to them and offers a solution for the situation.

Jaya and Vijaya are eternal servitors of the Lord, but at the same time, they committed a mistake in stopping the sages. The Lord understood that the essence of the problem was that the Kumaras were anxious to see Him, and therefore he went personally there, accompanied by Lakshmi Devi to give them an audience. In his purport, Prabhupada mentions the case of Haridasa Thakura, who was also not allowed to enter the temple to see Lord Jagannatha in Puri. Just like the Lord came to see the Kumaras, He was also coming personally to see Haridasa Thakura as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #27: Lord Varaha fights Hiranyaksa (chapters 3.17, 3.18, and 3.19)

When the demigods saw themselves incapable of solving the situation, they anxiously traveled to Brahmaloka and asked Lord Brahma for help. Lord Brahma answered by telling them the story of the curse of Jaya and Vijaya by the four Kumaras but openly admitted that he was not able to do anything. As He explained: “Those two principal doorkeepers of the Personality of Godhead have now entered the womb of Diti, the powerful semen of Kaśyapa Muni having covered them. It is the prowess of these twin asuras [demons] that has disturbed you, for it has minimized your power. There is no remedy within my power, however, for it is the Lord Himself who desires to do all this.”

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Srimad Bhagavatam #28: Brahma populates the universe (chapter 3.20)

In the 20th chapter, the narration returns to the first manvantara, with more details of the creation of Brahma, the reign of the 1st Manu, Svāyambhuva, and later the description of the marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahuti and the appearance of Lord Kapila, Daksa cursing Lord Shiva, the pastime of Dhruva Maharaja, and the appearance of Prthu Maharaja, all of which happened in the 1st manvantara.

In reality, Jaya and Vijaya were cursed at the end of the 5th manvantara and took their first births in the 6th manvantara, but this is just a small detail. Some believe that instead of two separate appearances, Lord Varaha appeared only once, in the first Manvantara, coming out of the nostril of Brahma. Then, after lifting Bhu-Mandala he waited inside the water until the 6th manvantara to perform his pastime of fighting Hiranyaksa. Prabhupada doesn’t discard this possibility, saying everything is possible for the Lord.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #29: Kardama Muni and Devahuti (chapters 3.21 and 3.22)

After hearing about the creation of Brahma in the previous chapter, culminating with the creation of the Manus, Vidura asks to hear more about the descendants of Svāyambhuva Manu. Most of the narrations of the Srimad Bhagavatam revolve around the genealogical tree that started with Brahma and his sons. This succession started at the beginning of the current day, with the creation of the universe, and continues up to now. The genealogical tree of every human being, as well as every demigod or demon, can be traced back to these original personalities who have existed since the beginning of the universe.

We can see that although it is declared right in the first verses that the Srimad Bhagavatam deals only with pure topics connected with devotional service to the Lord and all forms of fruitive activities and materialistic religion are rejected (dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra), there is a lot of discussion about family life. In chapter 21 we will study the conversation between Manu and Kardama Muni, where Manu convinces him to accept his daughter Devahuti in marriage, in chapter 22 we hear about their marriage, in chapter 23 about their honeymoon, including details about their sexual life, and so on. The answer is that their family life is a pure example of pure family life in Krsna Consciousness and is not outside the scope of devotional service.

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Srimad Bhagavatam #30: Ideal family life (chapters 3.23 and 3.24)

Before narrating the explanation given by Lord Kapila in the Sankhya philosophy, Maitreya described the family life of Kardama Muni and Devahuti in chapters 3.23 and 3.24. One may question why Srimad Bhagavatam describes their family life, instead of focusing on the teachings of Lord Kapila, but the obvious answer is that Bhagavatam describes it because that’s not less important. The family life of Kardama Muni is not only pure, conducted with the purpose of bringing a ray of Vishnu, an incarnation of the Lord who could benefit the entire universe, but is also a great example for us, illustrating values that are essential for a spiritually conducive family life. It is not possible for us to imitate the austerities of Kardama Muni and Devahuti, nor is it recommended, but we can learn from their example.

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