SB 5.4.9
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 9
- yeṣāṁ khalu mahā-yogī
- bharato jyeṣṭhaḥ śreṣṭha-guṇa
- āsīd yenedaṁ varṣaṁ bhāratam
- iti vyapadiśanti
SYNONYMS
yeṣām—of whom; khalu—indeed; mahā-yogī—a very highly exalted devotee of the Lord; bharataḥ—Bharata; jyeṣṭhaḥ—the eldest; śreṣṭha-guṇaḥ—qualified with the best attributes; āsīt—was; yena—by whom; idam—this; varṣam—planet; bhāratam—Bhārata; iti—thus; vyapadiśanti—people call.
TRANSLATION
Of Ṛṣabhadeva'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 Bhārata-varṣa.
PURPORT
This planet known as Bhārata-varṣa is also called puṇya-bhūmi, the pious land. At the present moment Bhārata-bhūmi, or Bhārata-varṣa, is a small piece of land extending from the Himalaya Mountains to Cape Comorin. Sometimes this peninsula is called puṇya-bhūmi. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given special importance to the people of this land.
- bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra
- janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra
"One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India (Bhārata-varṣa) 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 Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and go outside Bhārata-bhūmi (India) and preach this cult to benefit the whole world.