SB 4.18.14
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 14
- ṛṣayo duduhur devīm
- indriyeṣv atha sattama
- vatsaṁ bṛhaspatiṁ kṛtvā
- payaś chandomayaṁ śuci
SYNONYMS
ṛṣayaḥ — the great sages; duduhuḥ — milked; devīm — the earth; indriyeṣu — in the senses; atha — then; sattama — O Vidura; vatsam — the calf; bṛhaspatim — the sage Bṛhaspati; kṛtvā — making; payaḥ — milk; chandaḥ-mayam — in the form of the Vedic hymns; śuci — pure.
TRANSLATION
All the great sages transformed Bṛhaspati into a calf, and making the senses into a pot, they milked all kinds of Vedic knowledge to purify words, mind and hearing.
PURPORT
Bṛhaspati is the priest of the heavenly planets. Vedic knowledge was received in logical order by the great sages through Bṛhaspati for the benefit of human society, not only on this planet, but throughout the universes. In other words, Vedic knowledge is considered one of the necessities for human society. If human society remains satisfied simply by taking grains from the planet earth as well as other necessities for maintaining the body, society will not be sufficiently prosperous. Humanity must have food for the mind and ear, as well as for the purpose of vibration. As far as transcendental vibrations are concerned, the essence of all Vedic knowledge is the mahā-mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. In Kali-yuga, if this Vedic mahā-mantra is chanted regularly and heard regularly by the devotional process of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam (SB 7.5.23), it will purify all societies, and thus humanity will be happy both materially and spiritually.