Bali The Greatest Charitable Person

2010-05-08 
Srimad Bhagavatam 08.19.03-04 - Bali The Greatest Charitable Person (download mp3)
by Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty
www.iskcondesiretree.net





SB 8.19.3
na hy etasmin kule kascin
nihsattvah krpanah puman
pratyakhyata pratisrutya
yo vadata dvijataye

Translation: 
I know that even until now, no one taking birth in your family has been poor-minded or miserly. No one has refused to give charity to brahmanas, nor after promising to give charity has anyone failed to fulfill his promise.

SB 8.19.4
na santi tirthe yudhi carthinarthitah
paranmukha ye tv amanasvino nrpa
yusmat-kule yad yasasamalena
prahrada udbhati yathodupah khe

Translation: 
O King Bali, never in your dynasty has the low-minded King been born who upon being requested has refused charity to brahmanas in holy places or a fight to ksatriyas on a battlefield. And your dynasty is even more glorious due to the presence of Prahlada Maharaja, who is like the beautiful moon in the sky.

Purport: 
The symptoms of a ksatriya are given in Bhagavad-gita. One of the qualifications is the willingness to give charity (dana). A ksatriya does not refuse to give charity when requested by a brahmana, nor can he refuse to fight another ksatriya. A king who does refuse is called low-minded. In the dynasty of Bali Maharaja there were no such low-minded kings.