This article is called The Case of Subhadr\u0101 because what started off as a seemingly simple question with what would appear to be a straightforward answer, turned out to be a case study.<\/p>\n
The initial question was, \u201cIs Subhadr\u0101 Yogam\u0101y\u0101?\u201d The answer many of us have heard is \u201cYes\u201d and rightfully so. But it is not as easy as all that. A simple \u2018Yes\u2019 doesn\u2019t work in all circumstances.<\/p>\n
When we hear the name Subhadr\u0101 what comes to mind? Naturally one thinks of the sister of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. So what is the history of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s sister? Where is she born? Who are her parents? What potency is she?<\/p>\n
There is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s sister who is born simultaneously with K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in Gokula in the house of Nanda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja. There is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s sister who marries Arjuna in Dv\u0101rak\u0101, who was born of Rohi\u1e47\u012b in Mathur\u0101, and there is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s sister who stands between K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and Balar\u0101ma on the altar in Jagann\u0101tha Pur\u012b. But are all these the same personality? Now with the help of \u015b\u0101stra<\/em> and previous \u0101c\u0101ryas<\/em> we will examine the Case of Subhadr\u0101.<\/p>\n \u015ar\u012bmad Bh\u0101gavatam, Hari-va\u1e41\u015ba<\/em> and Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata<\/em> are three principle \u015b\u0101stras<\/em> that mention K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s sister. \u015ar\u012b Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu accepted \u015ar\u012bmad Bh\u0101gavatam<\/em> as the amala-pur\u0101\u1e47a<\/em> (spotless pur\u0101\u1e47a<\/em>) so we will quote Bh\u0101gavatam<\/em> first.<\/p>\n bhagav\u0101n api vi\u015bv\u0101tm\u0101 viditv\u0101 ka\u1e41saja\u1e41 bhayam \u201cTo protect the fearful Yadus from Ka\u1e41sa\u2019s attack, the Supreme Soul of all, ordered Yogam\u0101y\u0101 as follows.\u201d (Bh\u0101g<\/em>.10.2.6)<\/p>\n gaccha devi vraja\u1e41 bhadre gopa-gobhir ala\u1e45k\u1e5btam \u201cO My auspicious potency, who are worshipable for the entire world and whose nature is to bestow good fortune upon all living entities, go to Vraja, where there live many cowherd men and their wives. In that very beautiful land, where many cows reside, Rohi\u1e47\u012b, the wife of Vasudeva, is living at the home of Nanda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja. Other wives of Vasudeva are also living there incognito because of fear of Ka\u1e41sa. Please go there.\u201d (Bh\u0101g<\/em>. 10.2.7)<\/p>\n devaky\u0101 ja\u1e6dhare garbha\u1e41 \u015be\u1e63\u0101khya\u1e41 dh\u0101ma m\u0101makam \u201cWithin the womb of Devak\u012b is My partial plenary expansion known as Sa\u1e45kar\u1e63a\u1e47a or \u015ae\u1e63a. Without difficulty, transfer Him into the womb of Rohi\u1e47\u012b.\u201d (Bh\u0101g<\/em>. 10.2.8)<\/p>\n ath\u0101ham a\u1e41\u015ba-bh\u0101gena devaky\u0101\u1e25 putrat\u0101\u1e41 \u015bubhe \u201cO all-auspicious Yogam\u0101y\u0101, I shall then appear with My full six opulences as the son of Devak\u012b, and you will appear as the daughter of mother Ya\u015bod\u0101, the queen of Mah\u0101r\u0101ja Nanda.\u201d (Bh\u0101g<\/em>. 10.2.9)<\/p>\n arci\u1e63yanti manu\u015by\u0101s tv\u0101\u1e41 sarva-k\u0101ma-vare\u015bvar\u012bm \u201cBy sacrifices of animals, ordinary human beings will worship you gorgeously, with various paraphernalia, because you are supreme in fulfilling the material desires of everyone.\u201d (Bh\u0101g<\/em>. 10.2.10)<\/p>\n n\u0101madhey\u0101ni kurvanti sth\u0101n\u0101ni ca nar\u0101 bhuvi \u201cIn different places on the surface of the earth, people will give you different names, such as Durg\u0101, Bhadra-K\u0101l\u012b, Vijay\u0101, Vai\u1e63\u1e47av\u012b, Kumud\u0101, Ca\u1e47\u1e0dik\u0101, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47\u0101, M\u0101dhav\u012b, Kanyaka, M\u0101y\u0101, N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47\u012b, \u012a\u015b\u0101n\u012b, \u015a\u0101rad\u0101 and Ambik\u0101.\u201d (Bh\u0101g<\/em>. 10.2.11)<\/p>\n Above, \u015ar\u012bmad Bh\u0101gavatam<\/em> says that the daughter that was born to Nanda and Ya\u015bod\u0101 was indeed Yogam\u0101y\u0101, but she is not known as Subhadr\u0101. The word bhadra<\/em> used in verse 10.2.7 means auspicious. In verse 10.2.11 K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a says that in the material world, His Yogam\u0101y\u0101 potency will be known as Durg\u0101, Bhadra-K\u0101l\u012b, Vijay\u0101, Vai\u1e63\u1e47av\u012b, etc, but again Subhadr\u0101 is not mentioned.<\/p>\n In his S\u0101r\u0101rtha-dar\u015bini<\/em> commentary to verse 10.2.10 \u015ar\u012b Vi\u015bvan\u0101tha Cakravart\u012b says:<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a\u1e41\u015ba<\/em>, material m\u0101y\u0101<\/em>, will be taken by Vasudeva to cheat Ka\u1e41sa. You will be worshipped in various forms at the Vindhya Hills and other places. All men will worship you because you are the supreme goddess of those who have all types of material desires.\u201d<\/p>\n It seems clear that the daughter born to Ya\u015bod\u0101 was indeed Yogam\u0101y\u0101, but that the female child that Vasudeva took to the palace dungeon of Ka\u1e41sa was Mah\u0101m\u0101y\u0101, the external potency of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. In neither instance is she known as Subhadr\u0101.\u00a0Hari-va\u1e41\u015ba<\/em> says as follows:<\/p>\n lebhe jye\u1e63\u1e6dha\u1e41 suta\u1e41 r\u0101ma\u1e41 s\u0101ra\u1e47a\u1e41 \u015ba\u1e6dham eva ca \u201cVasudeva begot his eldest son R\u0101ma (Balar\u0101ma) in Rohi\u1e47\u012b; and their other sons are: \u00a0S\u0101ra\u1e47a, \u015aa\u1e6dha, Durdama, Damana, \u015avabhra, Pi\u1e47\u1e0d\u0101raka, and U\u015b\u012bnara; O descendant of Kuru, they also had a daughter by the name of Citr\u0101, who is renowned by the name of Subhadr\u0101.\u201d (1.35.5-6)<\/p>\n Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata<\/em> says as follows:<\/p>\n mamai\u015b\u0101 bhagin\u012b p\u0101rtha s\u0101ra\u1e47asya sahodar\u0101 \u201cThis is my sister, O P\u0101rtha, and born of the same mother as S\u0101ra\u1e47a (this refers to Rohi\u1e47\u012b, the mother of S\u0101ra\u1e47a). May you be blessed. She is the favourite daughter of my father.\u201d (\u0100di-parva<\/em> 221.17)<\/p>\n Hari-va\u1e41\u015ba<\/em> mentions K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s sister as being Subhadr\u0101 and Mahabharata mentions K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s sister as being born of Rohi\u1e47\u012b. Both these references are to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s sister born in Mathur\u0101 to Vasudeva and Rohi\u1e47\u012b who later married Arjuna in Dv\u0101rak\u0101, not to the twin of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a born to Ya\u015bod\u0101 and later taken to the dungeon of Ka\u1e41sa.<\/p>\n From previous \u0101c\u0101ryas<\/em> we have quotes regarding Subhadr\u0101, some stating that she is Yogam\u0101y\u0101, some that she is Mah\u0101m\u0101y\u0101 and some that she is bhakti-svar\u016bpa<\/em>. The exercise is in how to harmonise the statements of different \u0101c\u0101ryas<\/em>. Some quotes from A.C. Bhaktived\u0101nta Swami Prabhup\u0101da are as follows:<\/p>\n \u201cSubhadr\u0101 is Yogam\u0101y\u0101. The spiritual energy is called Yogam\u0101y\u0101. And she had 16 different expansions. Out of these 16 expansions, Subhadr\u0101 is one. The Mah\u0101m\u0101y\u0101 of the material energy is also expansion of the energy of Yogam\u0101y\u0101; and both Yogam\u0101y\u0101 and Mah\u0101m\u0101y\u0101 are equally important to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a as much as any government department is equally important for functioning the government\u201d. (Letter to Madhus\u016bdana \u2013 Montreal 29th July 1968)<\/p>\n \u201cRegarding your question about Subhadr\u0101 and Durga, they are not at all the same. Durga\u2019s other name is Bhadr\u0101, not Subhadr\u0101, and Durga\u2019s activities are within the material world. Subhadr\u0101 does not work as Durga. Subhadr\u0101 is internal energy, and Durga is external energy. As energy they have a relationship as much as we are energies of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, but the energies are working in different capacities.\u201d (Letter to Ha\u1e41sad\u016bta \u2013\u00a0LA, 9th Feb.1969)<\/p>\n \u201cRegarding your question, \u2018Is Subhadr\u0101, Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s sister, the same as Durg\u0101 or M\u0101y\u0101?\u2019 the answer is that originally K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s energy is one; that is spiritual energy. But according to different functions, the M\u0101y\u0101 is represented differently. In the material world the energy is called Bhadr\u0101, and in the spiritual world the same M\u0101y\u0101 is called Subhadr\u0101. The only distinction is \u2018su\u2019<\/em> and without \u2018su\u2019<\/em>. \u2018Su\u2019 means auspicious. So in the spiritual world the same M\u0101y\u0101 works auspiciously, and in the material world the same M\u0101y\u0101 works inauspiciously.\u201d (Letter to Upendra \u2013\u00a0LA, 5th July 1969)<\/p>\n In 1872 \u015ar\u012b Bhaktivinoda \u1e6ch\u0101kura wrote an essay for a newspaper in Cuttack, Orissa about the Deities of Jagann\u0101tha, Subhadr\u0101 and Baladeva as they are manifest in the temple at Jagann\u0101tha Pur\u012b. An excerpt follows:<\/p>\n \u201cIn the middle room [of the temple], there is an elevated seat on which stand four different forms, viz., Jagann\u0101tha, Balar\u0101ma, Subhadr\u0101 and Sudar\u015bana. According to the Vedanta, God is one without a second, but He has infinite energies and attributes which are not fully known to man. But then man perceives only three energies in God, because he has no other corresponding sides to understand the other powers. From one of the energies proceeds matter in all its different forms and properties and this energy is styled the m\u0101y\u0101-\u015bakti<\/em> of God. From the second energy proceeds all spiritual creation, in all its relations and phases. This power is entitled the j\u012bva<\/em>\u2013\u015bakti<\/em> of God. The third energy perceivable by man is the energy of Will, which is called cit-\u015bakti<\/em>. God moving in creation is what is meant by this infinite energy. Jagann\u0101tha is the emblem of God having no other form than the eyes and the hands. They mean to show that God sees and knows and creates. Balar\u0101ma is j\u012bva-\u015bakti<\/em> of God; Subhadr\u0101 is the m\u0101y\u0101-\u015bakti<\/em> and Sudar\u015bana is the energy of will.\u201d (The Temple of Jagann\u0101tha at Puri, 1872)<\/p>\n Before bringing this article to a conclusion we shall also quote from the archives of the \u0101c\u0101rya<\/em>, Swami B.R. \u015ar\u012bdhara Deva Gosv\u0101m\u012b Mah\u0101r\u0101ja as follows:<\/p>\n \u201cSubhadr\u0101-dev\u012b represents the l\u012bl\u0101<\/em> of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. She is there in Dv\u0101rak\u0101. She has got no administrative function. Subhadr\u0101 is not Yogam\u0101y\u0101. Subhadr\u0101 has got no mundane function. She is there in dv\u0101rak\u0101<\/em>\u2013l\u012bl\u0101<\/em> of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSubhadr\u0101-dev\u012b has been said to be the representation of bhakti in general, devotion. Balar\u0101ma, Jagann\u0101tha, Subhadr\u0101.\u00a0 Guru, bhakti<\/em> and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a \u2014 the ultimate end, the devotional process and Baladeva as guru to help. Subhadr\u0101 \u2013 bhakti-svar\u016bpa<\/em>. Not \u015bakti<\/em> or other svar\u016bpa<\/em>. Subhadr\u0101 was not in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana, she was born in Mathur\u0101.\u201d<\/p>\n From our previous Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u1e47ava \u0101c\u0101ryas<\/em> we have three opinions on the ontological position of Subhadr\u0101. Prabhup\u0101da says she is Yogam\u0101y\u0101. Bhaktivinoda says she is Mah\u0101m\u0101y\u0101. And \u015ar\u012bdhara Mah\u0101r\u0101ja says she is bhakti-svar\u016bpa<\/em>. How to harmonise?<\/p>\n Subhadr\u0101 is Yogam\u0101y\u0101 when she appears in Gokula and she is Mah\u0101m\u0101y\u0101 when she is taken to the dungeon of Ka\u1e41sa in Mathur\u0101. Prabhup\u0101da is referring to Subhadr\u0101 in Gokula and Bhaktivinoda is referring to her capacity in Mathur\u0101.<\/p>\n After chastising Ka\u1e41sa in her multi-armed form while in the dungeon in Mathur\u0101, that supremely wonderful Goddess (Mah\u0101m\u0101y\u0101) left that place to go to the Vindhy\u0101 Hills to be worshiped in the forms of Durg\u0101, Bhadra-K\u0101l\u012b, etc. Hence, she did not return as such to take part in the l\u012bl\u0101<\/em> of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/p>\n \u015ar\u012bdhara Mah\u0101r\u0101ja calls the Subhadr\u0101 born of Vasudeva and Rohi\u1e47\u012b in Mathur\u0101, after K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a had killed Ka\u1e41sa, bhakti-svar\u016bpa<\/em>. This refers to Subhadr\u0101 not only as a \u015bakti<\/em>, Yogam\u0101y\u0101, but as bhakti<\/em>\u2013svar\u016bpa<\/em> indicating that Subhadr\u0101 not only manifests as Yogam\u0101y\u0101 acting merely as a facilitator of the devotional service to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, but she herself is also bhakti-svar\u016bpa<\/em> \u2014 a personification of pure loving devotion to her brothers K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and Balar\u0101ma. Thus Subhadr\u0101 is there on the altar with K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and Balar\u0101ma in Jagann\u0101tha Pur\u012b. She is sometimes considered as Yogam\u0101y\u0101, Mah\u0101m\u0101y\u0101 or bhakti<\/em>\u2013svar\u016bpa<\/em>.<\/p>\n In some instances, Devaki is called the mother of Subhadr\u0101, but this is due to her being a co-wife of Vasudeva along with Rohi\u1e47\u012b and others. Although the biological mother of Subhadr\u0101 was Rohi\u1e47\u012b, she is taken to be the sister of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in the same way that Balar\u0101ma (also born of Rohi\u1e47\u012b) is taken to be K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the internal energy of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is one, which manifests as many according to the Lord\u2019s will and the requirement of His l\u012bl\u0101<\/em> (acintya-bhed\u0101bheda<\/em>). It has also been noted that the use of the word \u2019yogam\u0101y\u0101\u2019 in the vocabulary of the \u0101c\u0101ryas<\/em> is interchangeable with the word \u2018maha-m\u0101y\u0101\u2019<\/em>. Accordingly, the sister of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is one-energy manifesting as different personalities (Yogam\u0101y\u0101, Mah\u0101m\u0101y\u0101 and bhakti-svar\u016bpa<\/em>) according to the required service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> The Case of Subhadra<\/p><\/h2><\/div>
\n<\/em>yad\u016bn\u0101\u1e41 nija-n\u0101th\u0101n\u0101\u1e41 yogam\u0101y\u0101\u1e41 sam\u0101di\u015bat<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>rohi\u1e47\u012b vasudevasya bh\u0101ry\u0101ste nanda-gokule
\n<\/em>any\u0101\u015b ca ka\u1e41sa-sa\u1e41vign\u0101 vivare\u1e63u vasanti hi<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>tat sannik\u1e5b\u1e63ya rohi\u1e47y\u0101 udare sannive\u015baya<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>pr\u0101psy\u0101mi tva\u1e41 ya\u015bod\u0101y\u0101\u1e41 nanda-patny\u0101\u1e41 bhavi\u1e63yasi<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>dh\u016bpopah\u0101ra-balibhi\u1e25 sarva-k\u0101ma-vara-prad\u0101m<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>durgeti bhadrak\u0101l\u012bti vijay\u0101 vai\u1e63\u1e47av\u012bti ca
\n<\/em>kumud\u0101 ca\u1e47\u1e0dik\u0101 k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47\u0101 m\u0101dhav\u012b kanyaketi ca
\n<\/em>m\u0101y\u0101 n\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47\u012b\u015b\u0101n\u012b \u015b\u0101radety ambiketi ca<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>durdama\u1e41 damana\u1e41 \u015bvabhra\u1e41 pi\u1e47\u1e0d\u0101rakam u\u015b\u012bnaram
\n<\/em>citr\u0101\u1e41 n\u0101ma kum\u0101r\u012b\u1e41 ca rohi\u1e47\u012b tanay\u0101 da\u015ba
\n<\/em>citr\u0101 subhadreti punar-vikhy\u0101t\u0101 kuru-nandana <\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>yadi te vartate buddhirvak\u1e63y\u0101mi pitara\u1e41 svayam<\/em><\/p>\n