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💬 Text of the lesson

Recovering the Vedas: Bhadraśravā worships Hayaśīrṣa in Bhadrāśva-varṣa

Bhadrāśva-varṣa is the tract of land east of Ilāvṛta-varṣa, ruled by Bhadraśravā, the son of Yamarāja. The Lord is present there in His form of Hayaśīrṣa (or Hayagrīva), the director of all religious principles and protector of the Vedas.

At the end of each day of Brahmā, the Vedas are stolen by ignorance personified, who hides them in the lower planetary systems. Normally, the Lord, who is present as Matsya, acting as the maintainer of all living beings, fights with the demon and saves the Vedas, transmitting them again to Brahmā at the beginning of his next day.

At the end of the previous day, however, the Lord appeared as Hayagrīva (the horse-headed incarnation) to fight with the demon and save the Vedas. This appears to be connected with the universal destruction at the end of the first half of the life of Brahma, which is a special event, different from the end of the other days of Brahmā.

How is it that the Vedas can be stolen by a demon? In his purport, Prabhupāda connects it with the Vedas being forgotten and then transmitted again at the beginning of the next cycle of creation:

“Although Vedic knowledge is imperishable, within this material world it is sometimes manifest and sometimes not. When the people of this material world become too absorbed in ignorance, the Vedic knowledge disappears. Lord Hayagrīva or Lord Matsya, however, always protects the Vedic knowledge, and in due course of time it is again distributed through the medium of Lord Brahmā. Brahmā is the trustworthy representative of the Supreme Lord. Therefore when he again asked for the treasure of Vedic knowledge, the Lord fulfilled his desire.”

A demon doesn’t necessarily have to assume a form with two hands and legs to cause harm. Just as Tṛṇāvarta had the form of a whirlwind, Tamasā (the demon of ignorance personified) made everyone forget the knowledge of the Vedas.

This same Lord Hayagrīva, who preserved the Vedas during the whole period of the night of Brahmā, is present in His deity form in Bhadrāśva-varṣa, where He is worshiped by His devotees, who offer him respectful obeisances and offer Him prayers in devotional trance.

“The ruler Bhadraśravā and his intimate associates utter the following prayer: We offer our respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all religious principles, who cleanses the heart of the conditioned soul in this material world. Again and again we offer our respectful obeisances unto Him.

Alas! How wonderful it is that the foolish materialist does not heed the great danger of impending death! He knows that death will surely come, yet he is nevertheless callous and neglectful. If his father dies, he wants to enjoy his father’s property, and if his son dies, he wants to enjoy his son’s possessions as well. In either case, he heedlessly tries to enjoy material happiness with the acquired money.

O unborn one, learned Vedic scholars who are advanced in spiritual knowledge certainly know that this material world is perishable, as do other logicians and philosophers. In trance they realize the factual position of this world, and they preach the truth as well. Yet even they are sometimes bewildered by Your illusory energy. This is Your own wonderful pastime. Therefore, I can understand that Your illusory energy is very wonderful, and I offer my respectful obeisances unto