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Item Code: IDJ647
Publisher: RAS BIHARI LAL AND SONS
Author: SRI GARGA MUNI
Language: (English Translation)
Edition: 2001
ISBN: 8187812982
Pages: 648
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 9.3" X 6.3"
Weight 970 gm
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Fully insured
Shipped to 153 countries
Shipped to 153 countries
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More than 1M+ customers worldwide
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
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23 years in business
Book Description

About the Book

"The original Vedic srutis and their derivative smrtis mostly reflect the general interests of human beings, who strive for material progress, rarely inquiring philosophically into the purpose of life. The confidential science of pure devotional service is taught explicitly only in a few Vedic scriptures little known to the public. Among these rare texts are the Gopala tapani Upanisad, the Narada Pancaratra, the Garga Samhita, the Visnu Purana, the Hari-vamsa Upapurana, the Uttara-khanda of the Padma Purana, and the Bhagavata Maha-purana."

Garga Muni appears in the pastimes of Lord Krsna, as we read in the book, KRSNA, The Supreme Personality of Godhead: After this incident, Vasudeva asked him family priest, Garga Muni, to visit the place of Nanda Maharaja in order to astrologically calculate the future life of Krsna. Garga Muni was a great saintly sage who had undergone many austerities and penances and been appointed priest of the Yadu dynasty.

There was a king named Pratibahu, the son of Vajra, who resided at Mathura, the abode of Lord Krsna. His wife was named Malini. He performed some difficult vows in the hopes of receiving a son. And yet, in spite of all his endeavors, the king did not receive a son and so he became quite morose. No one could console him because it was his belief that the life of a man without a son is completely useless.

One day, after the king had become old and grey, the sage, Sandilya, came to him. Seeing how the king appeared morose, the sage inquired about his welfare. In reply, King Pratibahu revealed to him is misfortune of having no son. The sage then spoke to the king for his welfare.

Sandilya Muni said, "O King, after trying so many means for fulfilling your desire, without success, you should now listen to the Garga Samhita, along with your wife. In this Kali-yuga, Lord Visnu bestows riches and sons upon those who relish this divine literature. And, at the end of life, such persons proceed to the abode of the Lord, Goloka. There are no hard and fast rules for listening to the Garga Samhitait can be heard at all times and at all places. However, those who are not devoted to their spiritual master, who have no faith in the existence of God, who are sinful, and who do not follow the life of a Vaisnava, will achieve no good result while listening to the Garga Samhita."

Back of the Book

Narada Muni said, "O sage, I have narrated the glories of Lord Krsna briefly and so it would be good if you compose them in a more elaborate form. Previously, I had inspired Srila Vyasadeva to compose the Srimad-Bhagavatam for this same purpose. The Samhita composed by you should be in the format of me narrating it to King Bahulasva."

Garga Muni cheerfully accepted this most difficult task put before him by Narada Muni. Thereafter, Narada Muni ascended into the sky, holding his vina in his hand, and went to Brahmaloka. And, Gargacarya composed the Garga Samhita, which bestows devotion to Lord Krsna upon the hearer.

Introduction

The Garga Samhita was never mentioned by Srila Prabhupada in his books, although there is one mention of it by his disciple, Gopiparanadhana Dasa: "The original Vedic srutis and their derivative smrtis mostly reflect the general interests of human beings, who strive for material progress, rarely inquiring philosophically into the purpose of life. The confidential science of pure devotional service is taught explicitly only in a few Vedic scriptures little known to the public. Among these rare texts are the Gopala-tapani Upanisad, the Narada Pancaratra, the Garga Samhita, the Visnu Purana, the Hari-vamsa Upapurana, the Uttara-khanda of the Padma Purana, and the Bhagavata Maha-purana."

Garga Muni appears in the pastimes of Lord Krsna, as we read in the book, KRSNA, The Supreme Personality of Godhead: After this incident, Vasudeva asked his family priest, Garga Muni, to visit the place of Nanda Maharaja in order to astrologically calculate the future of life of Krsna. Garga Muni was a great saintly sage who had undergone many austerities and penances and been appointed priest of the Yadu dynasty.

To give some more background to this transcendental literature, here is a summary of Sri Garga Samhita Mahatmya:

Saunaka Rsi said, "I have heard from you in detail glorification of the Puranas, which is very pleasing to the ears. Now, kindly tell me about the Garge Samhita, which is filled with narrations of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. In this Samhita, there is wonderful glorification of Sri Radha and Madhava."

Suta Gosvami said, "O Saunaka, the glories of the Garga Samhita were revealed to me by Narada Muni. Thereafter, Lord Siva had spoken it to Parvati, along with the Sammohana-tantra. Lord Siva resides underneath an eternal banyan tree on Mount Kailash."

"One day, as she sat along with her husband, surrounded by numerous Siddhas, Parvati requested him to narrate the pastimes of Lord Krsna."

Lord Siva replied, "O goddess, listen now as I recite to you the life of Lord Krsna when He had incarnated on the earth, which is the remover of all kinds of sins. Long ago, Lord Krsna had Himself narrated His pastimes to Radha, and then later on, to Sesa, who thereafter recited them to Dharma. Dharma then recited the story of Lord Krsna's earthly pastimes to his sons, Nara and Narayana and Narayana narrated it to Narada Muni. Later on, Narada Muni narrated the pastimes of Lord Krsna to Garga Muni, whereby he attained the platform of realized transcendental knowledge. At that time, Narada Muni said to Garga Muni."

Narada Muni said, "O sage, I have narrated the glories of Lord Krsna briefly and so it would be good if you compose them in a more elaborate form. Previously, I had inspired Srila Vyasadeva to compose the Srimad-Bhagavatam for this same purpose. The Samhita composed by you should be in the format of me narrating it to king Bahulsva."

Garga Muni cheerfully accepted this most difficult task put before him by Narada Muni. Thereafter, Narada Muni ascended into the sky, holding his vina in his hand, and went to Brahmaloka. And, Gargacarya composed the Garga Samhita, which bestows devotion to Lord Krsna upon the hearer.

In this regard, the following history is cited: There was a king named Pratibahu, the son of Vajra, who resided at Mathura, the abode of Lord Krsna. His wife was named Malini. He performed some difficult vows in the hopes of receiving a son. And yet, in spite of all his endeavours, the king did not receive a son and so he became quite morose. No one could him because it was his belief that the life of a man without a son is completely useless.

One day, after the king had become old and grey, the sage, Sandilya, came to him. Seeing how the king appeared morose, the sage inquired about his welfare. In reply, King Pratibahu revealed to him is misfortune of having no son. The sage then spoke to the king for his welfare.

Sandilya Muni said, "O King, after trying so many means for fulfilling your desire, without success, you should now listen to the Garga Samhita, along with your wife. In his Kali-yuga, Lord Visnu bestows riches and sons upon those who relish this divine literature. And at the end of life, such persons proceed to the abode of the Lord, Goloka. There are no hard and fast rules for listening to the Garga Samhita- it can be heard at all times and at all places. However, those who are not devoted to their spiritual master, who have no faith in the existence of God, who are sinful, and who do not follow the life of a Vaisnava, will achieve no good result while listening to the Garga Samhita."

"The speaker of the Garga Samhita should be selected with great care. He should not be an envious person who continually criticizes others. He should be devoted to Lord Krsna and well-versed in the devotional literature. After the recitation of the Garga Samhita, there should be the performance of hari-name-sankirtana. The bona-fide speaker of the Garga Samhita should be treated with all due respect and he should be awarded gifts in charity in consideration of his highly meritorious service rendered."

King Pratibahu became very pleased while listening to the words of the sage, Sandilya. He said, "O sage, I take shelter of you. Please recite the Garga Samhita to me and in this way, bestow upon me a son."

Thereafter, a nice pandal was erected by the side of the Yamuna and all the people of Mathura came to listen. After the conclusion of the recitation, the sage, Sandilya, was given a great deal of wealth in charity by the king. Then, by the mercy of the great sage, Radha and Krsna appeared before the king. Everyone stood up and then bowed down to offer obeisances to the Supreme Lord and His consort. The king and his queen offered prayers, as did the sage, Sandilya, and the citizens appealed to the Lord to forgive their sins, benedict the king with a son, and award them all devotion at His lotus feet.

Lord Krsna then said, "Whatever ever has been spoken by all of you will certainly come to pass. The Samhita composed by sage Garga fulfills all aspiration of those who respectfully hear it."

After saying this, Radha and Krsna disappeared from the vision of the onlookers. Thereafter, whatever the sage, Sandilya, had received as remuneration for his recitation of the Garga Samhita, he distributed to the brahmanas of Mathura. He then departed, after giving the king all assurances. In due course of time, a son was born to the virtuous king and queen. The son was named Subahu.

After hearing this story, Parvati requested her husband to recite the entire Garga Samhita, and Lord Siva compiled.

I am confident that all devotees will find this book to be extremely interesting, especially because it adds many details to already known stories. Especially fascinating are the previous lives of many known personalities that are described in this book. It's something like filling in some pieces of a great puzzle.

 

CONTENTS
Canto One
Goloka Khand.
     
Chapter One Description of Sri Krsna's glories 36
Chapter Two Description of the abode of Sri Goloka 40
Chapter Three Description of the Lord's appearance 45
Chapter Four Questions concerning the Lord's appearance 49
Chapter Five The Lord's appearance 55
Chapter Six Description of Kamsa's strength 59
Chapter Seven Description of the conquest of all directions 64
Chapter Eight Description of Sri Radhika's birth 68
Chapter Nine Description of Vasudeva's wedding 71
Chapter Ten Description of Lord Balarama's appearance 74
Chapter Eleven Description of Sri Krsnacandra's appearance 78
Chapter Twelve Description of Sri Nanda's festival 85
Chapter Thirteen The liberation of Putana 90
Chapter Fourteen The liberation of Sakatasura and Trnavarta 93
Chapter Fifteen Revelation of the universal form to Nanda's wife 99
Chapter Sixteen Description of Sri Radhika's wedding 106
Chapter Seventeen Description of the yogurt theft 112
Chapter Eighteen Vision of the universal form 116
Chapter Nineteen Breaking of the twin arjuna trees 118
Chapter Twenty Description of Durvasa Muni's vision fo the maya potency and offering of prayers to Nanda's son 121
 
Canto Two
Vrndavana-Khanda
 
Chapter One Description of the entrance in Vrndavana 126
Chapter Two Description of Giriraja Govardhana's birth 131
Chapter Three Description of the Yamuna's arrival 135
Chapter Four The liberation of Vatsasura 138
Chapter Five The liberation of Bakasura 141
Chapter Six The liberation of Aghasura 145
Chapter Seven Kidnapping of the calves and cowherd boys 148
Chapter Eight Description of seeing Lord Krsna 151
Chapter Nine Brahma's prayers 155
Chapter Ten Description of Sri Krsna's herding the cows 162
Chapter Eleven The liberation of Dhenukasura 165
Chapter Twelve The story of Sesa 171
Chapter Thirteen Narration of Kaliya's story 174
Chapter Fourteen Description of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna's falling in love 177
Chapter Fifteen The worship of tulasi 181
Chapter Sixteen The meeting of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna 184
Chapter Seventeen The sight of Sri Krsnacandra 188
Chapter Eighteen The rasa dance pastime 192
Chapter Nineteen The rasa dance pastime 196
Chapter Twenty The rasa dance pastime 199
Chapter Twenty-one The rasa dance pastime 202
Chapter Twenty-two The killing of Sankhacuda during the rasa dance pastime 206
Chapter Twenty-three The story of Asuri Muni in the rasa dance pastime 210
Chapter Twenty-four The rasa dance pastime 214
Chapter Twenty-five The Story of Sankhacuda 218
 
Canto Three
Giriraja-Khanda
 
Chapter One The worship of Sri Giriraja 223
Chapter Two The great festival of Sri Giriraja 226
Chapter Three The lifting of Sri Govardhana 229
Chapter Four The bathing of Sri Krsna 232
Chapter Five The dispute among the gopas 235
Chapter Six The test of Sri Krsna 239
Chapter Seven The holy places of Sri Giriraja 242
Chapter Eight The opulence of Sri Giriraja 246
Chapter Nine The birth of Sri Giriraja 248
Chapter Ten The glory of Sri Giriraja 252
Chapter Eleven The prowess of Sri Giriraja 256
 
Canto Four
Madhurya-khanda
 
Chapter One The story of the Personified Vedas 260
Chapter Two The story of the gopis that had been sages 265
Chapter Three The story of the Mithila women 267
Chapter Four The story of the Kausala women 269
Chapter Five The story of the Ayodhya women 271
Chapter Six The story of the Ayodhya women 273
Chapter Seven The story of the Ayodhya women  
Chapter Eight In the story of the Yajna-sitas, the glories of Ekadasi 279
Chapter Nine The glories of Sri Ekadasi 284
Chapter Ten The story of the Pulinda women 286
Chapter Eleven The story of the gopis who were residents of Rama-vaikuntha, Svetadvipa, Urdhva-vaikuntha, Ajita-pada, and Sri Lokacala 288
Chapter Twelve The story of the gopis who during the Holi festival displayed three transcendental virtues 291
Chapter Thirteen The story of the demigoddesses 293
Chapter Fourteen The story of the Jalandharis 295
Chapter Fifteen The story of the women of Barhismati-pura, the Apsaras, and the women of Sutala and Nagendra 298
Chapter Sixteen The Sri Yamuna armor 300
Chapter Seventeen Prayers to Sri Yamuna 302
Chapter Eighteen The names and worship of Sri Yamuna 304
Chapter Nineteen The thousand names of Sri Yamuna 306
Chapter Twenty The killing of Pralamba 325
Chapter Twenty-one Lord Krsna extinguishes the forest fire and reveals Himself to the brahmanas wives 328
Chapter Twenty-two Nanda and the gopas see the realm of Vaikuntha 331
Chapter Twenty-three The story of Sudarsana 333
Chapter Twenty-four The killing of Vyomasura and Aristasura 335
 
Canto Five
Mathura-Khanda
 
Chapter One Advice to Kamsa 339
Chapter Two The killing of Kesi 342
Chapter Three Akrura's arrival 344
Chapter Four The journey to Sri Mathura 347
Chapter Five Sri Krsna's entrance into Mathura 351
Chapter Six Seeing Sri Mathura 355
Chapter Seven The killing of Kuvalayapida 360
Chapter Eight The killing of Kamsa 365
Chapter Nine The happiness of the Yadus 369
Chapter Ten The stories of the washer man, weaver, and florist 374
Chapter Eleven The stories of Kubja and Kuvalayapida 377
Chapter Twelve Pancajana's previous birth 380
Chapter Thirteen The arrival of Sri Uddhava 383
Chapter Fourteen The meeting of King Nanda and Uddhava 387
Chapter Fifteen Seeing Sri Radha 391
Chapter Sixteen Comforting Sri Radha and the gopis 395
Chapter Seventeen The gopis describe their remembrance of Sri Krsna 398
Chapter Eighteen Uddhava hears the gopis words and returns to Mathura 403
Chapter Nineteen The festival on Sri Krsna's return 406
Chapter Twenty The liberation of Rbhu Muni during the rasa dance festival 409
Chapter Twenty-one The story of Sri Narada 415
Chapter Twenty-two The story of Sri Narada 420
Chapter Twenty-three The killing of the Kola demon 424
Chapter Twenty-four The gories of Sri Mathura 432
 
Canto Six
Dvaraka-Khanda
 
Chapter One Jarasandha's defeat 437
Chapter Two Residence in Sri Dvaraka 441
Chapter Three Lord Balarama's wedding 445
Chapter Four Journey to the city of Kundina 448
Chapter Five The kidnapping of Sri Rukmini 452
Chapter Six The Yadavas victory when Sri Rukmini is kidnapped 455
Chapter Seven The Marriage of Sri Rukmini 459
Chapter Eight The marriages of all the queens 463
Chapter Nine The arrival of Sri Dvaraka 466
Chapter Ten In the description of the Gomati River, the glories of Cakra-tirtha 469
Chapter Eleven In the creation of Cakra-tirtha, the liberation of the elephant and the crocodile 473
Chapter Twelve The glories of Sankhoddhara-tirtha 476
Chapter Thirteen The Glories of Prabhasa-tirtha, the sarasvati River, Bodhapippala, and the place where the Gomati River meets the ocean. 479
Chapter Fourteen The glories of Ratnakara, Raivata, and Kacala 486
Chapter Fifteen The glories of Nrga-kupa and Gopi-bhumi 486
Chapter Sixteen Seeing Sri Radha's form 490
Chapter Seventeen Sri Sri Radha and Krsna meet at Siddhasrama and the nature of Sri Radha's love is revealed. 494
Chapter Eighteen In the course of describing the glories of Siddhasrama, a description of the rasa dance festival. 498
Chapter Nineteen In the first fortress of Dvaraka, the glories of Lila-sarovara, Hari-mandira, Jnana-tirtha, Krsna-kunda, Balabhadra-sarah, Ganesa-tirtha, Dana-sthala, and Maya-tirtha. 502
Chapter Twenty In the description of the second fort, the glories of Indratirtha, Brahma-tirtha, Surya-kunda, Nailalohita-tirtha, and Saptasamudra-tirtha are described. 505
Chapter Twenty-one In the description of the third fort, the glories of Pindaraka-tirtha. 507
Chapter Twenty-two The story of Sri Sudama-vipra 510
 
Canto Seven
Visvajit-Khanda
 
Chapter One. The story of Marutta. 518
Chapter Two Consecration of Pradyumna for victory 521
Chapters Three through Fifty The victory march of the army of Yadavas and King Ugrasena's Rajasuya sacrifice. 523
 
Canto Eight
Balabhadra-Khanda
 
Chapter One The purpose for the Lord's incarnation upon the earth 553
Chapter Two The incarnation of Lord Balarama. 555
Chapter Three The story of Jyotismati 557
Chapter Four The story of Revati 559
Chapter Five The appearance of Lord Krsna and Lord Balarama. 562
Chapterr Six The pastimes of Lord Krsna and Balarama I Vrndavana. 564
Chapter Seven Pastimes of Krsna and Balarama at Mathura 566
Chapter Eight The pastimes of Krsna and Balarama at Dvaraka 568
Chapter Nine Lord Balaram's rasa dance 570
Chapter Ten The paddhati and patala of Lord Balarama. 573
Chapter Eleven The king of prayers to Lord Balarama 578
Chapter Twelve The prayer and armor of Lord Balarama 580
Chapter Thirteen One thousand names of Lord Balarama 582
 
Canto Nine
Vijnana-Khanda
 
Chapter One Arrival of Srila Vyasadeva at Dvaraka 605
Chapter Two Teachings of Srila Vyasadeva 607
Chapter Three A description of selfish and selfless bhakti-yoga 609
Chapter Four The glories of the devotees of the Lord 611
Chapter Five and Six The glories of devotional service to the Lord. Constructing temples and installing Deities. 613
Chapter Seven through Ten The daily activities of a devotee of the Lord and worship of the Deity, including the offering of prayers. 615
 
Canto Ten
Asvamedha-Khanda(summarized)
 
  Asvamedha-khanda 619
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