त्वमेव राजा धर्मज्ञ इति रामं वचोऽब्रवीत्।
रामोऽपि परमोदारः सुमुखः सुमहायशाः।
न चैच्छत्पितुरादेशाद्राज्यं रामो महाबलः॥
tvam eva rājā dharmajña iti rāmaṁ vaco ’bravīt
rāmo ’pi paramodāraḥ sumukhaḥ sumahā-yaśāḥ
na caicchat pitur ādeśād rājyaṁ rāmo mahā-balaḥ
tvam eva = You; rājā = are the king; dharmajñaḥ iti = as a knower of dharma; rāmam = Rāma; vacaḥ abravīt = He told; rāmaḥ = Rāma; api = though; parama-udāraḥ = was extremely generous; sumukhaḥ = with a happy face; sumahā-yaśāḥ = of very great fame; na = not; ca = and; aicchat = He did want; pituḥ = His father’s; ādeśāt = because of request; rājyam = the kingdom; rāmaḥ = He; mahā-balaḥ = of great strength.
He told Rāma: “You, as a knower of dharma, are the king!” Though Rāma was extremely generous, with a happy face, of very great fame and of great strength, He did not want the kingdom because of His father’s request.
[48] ya ātmadā baladā (Ṛg Veda 10.121.2).
[49] na hy arthinaḥ kārya-vaśād upetāḥ kakutstha-vaṁśe vimukhāḥ prayānti.
1 The surrendered devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as referred to by the commentator appears to be a pariniṣṭhita devotee of the Lord as set out in Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s writings.
Bharata referred to Rāma as the knower of dharma because Rāma certainly knew the dharma that when the eldest son of a king is present, a younger son should not take charge of a kingdom. Therefore, He told Rāma, “You, not anyone other than You, are the king.”
It is clear that Bharata’s surrender unto Lord Rāma was unsuccessful. But was it because the person surrendering was defective? Or was it because the object of surrender was defective? It cannot be the former because Bharata’s surrender unto Rāma had all the [six] elements of surrender [as set out in the scriptures]. It cannot be the latter because Rāma possesses all auspicious qualities in perfection. The reason why Bharata’s surrender unto Rāma was unsuccessful was because there was a powerful obstacle to Lord Rāma’s fulfilling Bharata’s prayer [to take back the kingdom]. This powerful obstacle represents the prārabdha-karma, or the karmic reactions that have begun to fructify in the current life [of the devotee surrendering unto the Supreme Lord].
Though Rāma’s nature was to please the mind of one who has surrendered unto Him with His personality, form and qualities, though He is extremely generous to the extent of even giving Himself over to His surrendered devotees, though He is happy to [fulfill the desires of those] who beseech Him, though He is very greatly famous as being one of the descendants of Kakutstha who never refused to fulfill the desires of one who approached them, though He was expert in fulfilling the cherished desires of those who surrender unto Him, because of the powerful obstacle in the form of Rāma’s father’s request, He did not desire the kingdom. But the word ca indicates that He would take the kingdom after fulfilling His father’s request.
That the Supreme Lord is so generous that He even gives Himself is noted in the Śruti [48]. Descendants of Kakutstha are noted in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (4.2.77) for not being averse to fulfilling the desires of those who sought their help [49].
NOTE. A sinless person who desires liberation from material existence with loving service to the Lord, while desiring material enjoyment within Vedic dharma while progressing towards liberation from material existence with loving service to the Lord, will take several lifetimes to have his prārabdha-karma nullified. Such a devotee is called a svaniṣṭha devotee of the Lord. Apart from executing his duties of spiritual dharma, he executes his duties of material dharma only to purify his mind from lust, anger and greed. He will attain his cherished goal at the end of several lifetimes.
A sinless person who desires loving service to the Lord with liberation from material existence, without desiring material enjoyment within Vedic dharma while progressing towards loving service to the Lord with liberation from material existence, will take one lifetime to have his prārabdha-karma nullified. Such a devotee is called a pariniṣṭhita devotee of the Lord. Apart from executing his duties of spiritual dharma, he executes his duties of material dharma to inspire others to follow them. He will attain his cherished goal at the end of one lifetime.1
A sinless person who does not desire material enjoyment within Vedic dharma or liberation from material existence and who only hankers for loving service unto the Lord will have his prārabdha-karma nullified immediately. Such a devotee is called a nirapekṣa devotee of the Lord. He exclusively executes his duties of spiritual dharma and has neither the time nor an attraction for executing any of the duties of material dharma. He will attain his cherished goal immediately—he does not even have to wait until the end of one lifetime.
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has elaborately described the characteristics and attainments of each of the above three types of Vaiṣṇavas in his writings, notably in his commentary on Bhagavad-gītā, Govinda-bhāṣya and Siddhānta-ratna. The above description of the three types of Vaiṣṇavas is compiled from these writings of Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana. Interested readers can consult those writings with much profit.