Parasara

As supreme teacher of the world, Lord Krsna condemns the attitude of Arjuna, who said, "I do not find any good in this fighting. It will cause perpetual habitation in hell." Such statements by Arjuna were due to ignorance only. He wanted to become nonviolent in the discharge of his specific duty. For a ksatriya to be on the battlefield and to become nonviolent is the philosophy of fools. In the Parasara-smrti, or religious codes made by Parasara, the great sage and father of Vyasadeva, it is stated:

Bhagavad-gita As It Is: Chapter Two, Text 32 :PURPORT

ksatriyo hi praja raksan

sastra-panih pradandayan

nirjitya para-sainyadi

ksitim dharmena palayet

Bhagavad-gita As It Is: Chapter Two, Text 32 :PURPORT

"The ksatriya's duty is to protect the citizens from all kinds of difficulties, and for that reason he has to apply violence in suitable cases for law and order. Therefore he has to conquer the soldiers of inimical kings, and thus, with religious principles, he should rule over the world."

(c) 1991 by Bhaktivedanta Book Trustministration that is useless for all purposes. Actually the qualified brahmanas are meant to give direction to the kings for proper administration in terms of the scriptures like the Manu-samhita and Dharma-sastras of Parasara. A typical king is the ideal of the people in general, and if the king is pious, religious, chivalrous and munificent, the citizens

(c) 1991 by Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Parasara: He is the grandson of Vasistha Muni and father of Vyasadeva. He is the son of Maharsi Sakti, and his mother's name was Adrsyati. He was in the womb of his mother when she was only twelve years old. And from within the womb of his mother he learned the Vedas. His father was killed by a demon, Kalmasapada, and to avenge this he wanted to annihilate the whole world. He was restrained, however, by his grandfather Vasistha. He then performed a Raksasa-killing yajna, but Maharsi Pulastya restrained him. He begot Vyasadeva, being attracted by Satyavati, who was to become the wife of Maharaja Santanu. By the blessings of Parasara, Satyavati became fragrant for miles. He was present also during the time of Bhisma's death. He was spiritual master of Maharaja Janaka and a great devotee of Lord Siva. He is the author of many Vedic scriptures and sociological directions.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3: Chapter Eight, Text 9 :TRANSLATION

TRANSLATION The great sage Parasara, as aforementioned, being so advised by the great sage Pulastya, spoke unto me the foremost of the Puranas [Bhagavatam]. I ...

Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 3: Chapter Eight, Text 9 :PURPORT

PURPORT The great sage of the name Pulastya is the father of all demoniac descendants. Once upon a time Parasara began a sacrifice in which all the demons were to be burnt to death because his father had been killed and devoured by one of them. The great sage Vasistha Muni arrived at the sacrifice and requested Parasara to stop the deadly action, and because of Vasistha's position and respect in the community of sages, Parasara could not deny the request. Parasara having stopped the sacrifice, Pulastya, the father of the demons, appreciated his brahminical temperament and gave the blessing that in ... speaker on the Vedic literatures called the Puranas, the supplements of the Vedas. Parasara's action was appreciated by Pulastya because Parasara had forgiven the demons out of his brahminical power of forgiveness. Parasara was able to demolish all the demons in the sacrifice, but he considered, "Demons are so made that they devour ... but why on that account should I withdraw my brahminical qualification of forgiveness?" As the great speaker of the Puranas, Parasara first of all spoke on the Srimad-Bhagavata Purana because it is the foremost of all the Puranas. Maitreya Muni desired to narrate the same Bhagavatam be had heard from Parasara, and Vidura was qualified to hear it because of his faithfulness and his following the instructions received from superiors. So ...