SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM - Prabhupada

96 Srimad-Bhagavatam(Canto 7, Ch. 2aha tan balako bhiltvayamal; svayam upagatal;tatra-there; ha-certainly; preta-bandhunam-of the friends andrelatives of the dead King; asrutya-hearing; paridevitam-the loudlamentation (so loud that it could be heard from the planet of Yamaraja);aha-said; tan-unto them (the lamenting queens); balakal;-a boy;bhiltva-becorning; yamal;-Yamaraja, the superintendent of death;svayam-personally; upagatal;-after coming.TRANSLATIONWhile the queens were lamenting for the dead body of the King,their loud cries were heard even from the abode of Yamariija.Assuming the body of a boy, Yamarija personally approached therelatives of the dead body and advised them as follows.PURPORTSometimes the living entity is forced to give up his body and enteranother one according to the judgment of Yamaraja. It is difficult,however, for the conditioned soul to enter another body unless the presentdead body is annihilated through cremation or some other means.The living being has attachment for the present body and does not wantto enter another, and thus in the interim he remains a ghost. If a livingbeing who has already left his body has been pious, Yamaraja, just to givehim relief, will give him another body. Since the living being in the bodyof the King had some attachment to his body, he was hovering as a ghost,and therefore Yamaraja, as a special consideration, approached thelamenting relatives to instruct them personally. Yamaraja approachedthem as a child because a child is not restricted but is granted admittanceanywhere, even to the palace of a king. Besides this, the child was speakingphilosophy. People are very much interested in hearing philosophywhen it is spoken by a child.TEXT 37 IJcl1"'Pfq{!df Jlctiftlt\1 fcr: I