Putra Dharna

According to the Vedic version, there is a hellish planet called Put, and one who delivers a person from there is called putra. The purpose of marriage, therefore, is to have a putra, or son who is able to deliver his father, even if the father falls down to the hellish condition of put. Mahäräja Påthu’s father, Vena, was a most sinful person and was therefore cursed to death by the brähmaëas. Now all the great saintly persons, sages and brähmaëas present in the meeting, after hearing from Mahäräja Påthu about his great mission in life, became convinced that the statement of the Vedas had been fully proved. The purpose of accepting a wife in religious marriage, as sanctioned in the Vedas, is to have a putra, a son qualified to deliver his father from the darkest region of hellish life. Marriage is not intended for sense gratification but for getting a son fully qualified to deliver his father. But if a son is raised to become an unqualified demon, how can he deliver his father from hellish life? It is therefore the duty of a father to become a Vaiñëava and raise his children to become Vaiñëavas; then even if by chance the father falls into a hellish life in his next birth, such a son can deliver him, as Mahäräja Påthu delivered his father.
SB 9.18.44
A son who acts by anticipating what his father wants him to do is first class, one who acts upon receiving his father’s order is second class, and one who executes his father’s order irreverently is third class. But a son who refuses his father’s order is like his father’s stool.
PURPORT
Püru, Yayäti’s last son, immediately accepted his father’s proposal, for although he was the youngest, he was very qualified. Püru thought, “I should have accepted my father’s proposal before he asked, but I did not. Therefore I am not a first-class son. I am second class. But I do not wish to become the lowest type of son, who is compared to his father’s stool.” One Indian poet has spoken of putra and mütra. putra means “son,” and mütra means “urine.” Both a son and urine come from the same genitals. If a son is an obedient devotee of the Lord he is called putra, or a real son; otherwise, if he is not learned and is not a devotee, a son is nothing better than urine.

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SB 2.7.10

Mahäräja Vena went astray from the path of righteousness, and the brähmaëas chastised him by the thunderbolt curse. By this King Vena was burnt with his good deeds and opulence and was en route to hell. The Lord, by His causeless mercy, descended as his son, by the name of Påthu, delivered the condemned King Vena from hell, and exploited the earth by drawing all kinds of crops as produce.
PURPORT

According to the system of varëäçrama-dharma, the pious and learned brähmaëas were the natural guardians of society. The brähmaëas, by their learned labor of love, would instruct the administrator-kings how to rule the country in complete righteousness, and thus the process would go on as a perfect welfare state. The kings or the kñatriya administrators would always consult the council of learned brähmaëas.

They were never autocratic monarchs. The scriptures like Manu-saàhitä and other authorized books of the great sages were guiding principles for ruling the subjects, and there was no need for less intelligent persons to manufacture a code of law in the name of democracy. The less intelligent mass of people have very little knowledge of their own welfare, as a child has very little knowledge of its future well-being.

The experienced father guides the innocent child towards the path of progress, and the childlike mass of people need similar guidance. The standard welfare codes are already there in the Manu-saàhitä and other Vedic literatures.

The learned brähmaëas would advise the king in terms of those standard books of knowledge and with reference to the particular situation of time and place. Such brähmaëas were not paid servants of the king, and therefore they had the strength to dictate to the king on the principles of scriptures. This system continued even up to the time of Mahäräja Candragupta, and the brähmaëa Cäëakya was his unpaid prime minister.

Mahäräja Vena did not adhere to this principle of ruling, and he disobeyed the learned brähmaëas. The broad-minded brähmaëas were not self-interested, but looked to the interest of complete welfare for all the subjects.

They wanted to chastise King Vena for his misconduct and so prayed to the Almighty Lord as well as cursed the king. Long life, obedience, good reputation, righteousness, prospects of being promoted to higher planets, and blessings of great personalities are all vanquished simply by disobedience to a great soul. One should strictly try to follow in the footsteps of great souls.

Mahäräja Vena became a king, undoubtedly due to his past deeds of righteousness, but because he willfully neglected the great souls, he was punished by the loss of all the above-mentioned acquisitions. In the Vämana Puräëa the history of Mahäräja Vena and his degradation are fully described.

When Mahäräja Påthu heard about the hellish condition of his father, Vena, who was suffering from leprosy in the family of a mleccha, he at once brought the former king to Kurukñetra for his purification and relieved him of all sufferings.

Mahäräja Påthu, the incarnation of God, descended by the prayer of the brähmaëas to rectify the disorders on earth. He produced all kinds of crops. But, at the same time, he performed the duty of a son who delivers his father from hellish conditions. The word putra means one who delivers from hell, called put. That is a worthy son.

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SB 4.13.32
The head priests said: O King, in this life we do not find any sinful activity, even within your mind, so you are not in the least offensive. But we can see that in your previous life you performed sinful activities due to which, in spite of your having all qualifications, you have no son.

PURPORT
The purpose of marrying is to beget a son, because a son is necessary to deliver his father and forefathers from any hellish conditional life in which they may be. Cäëakya Paëòita therefore says, putra-hénaà gåhaà çünyam: without a son, married life is simply abominable. King Aìga was a very pious king in this life, but because of his previous sinful activity he could not get a son. It is concluded, therefore, that if a person does not get a son it is due to his past sinful life.

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SB 4.21.46
They all declared that the Vedic conclusion that one can conquer the heavenly planets by the action of a putra, or son, was fulfilled, for the most sinful Vena, who had been killed by the curse of the brähmaëas, was now delivered from the darkest region of hellish life by his son, Mahäräja Påthu.

PURPORT
According to the Vedic version, there is a hellish planet called Put, and one who delivers a person from there is called putra. The purpose of marriage, therefore, is to have a putra, or son who is able to deliver his father, even if the father falls down to the hellish condition of put. Mahäräja Påthu’s father, Vena, was a most sinful person and was therefore cursed to death by the brähmaëas. Now all the great saintly persons, sages and brähmaëas present in the meeting, after hearing from Mahäräja Påthu about his great mission in life, became convinced that the statement of the Vedas had been fully proved.

The purpose of accepting a wife in religious marriage, as sanctioned in the Vedas, is to have a putra, a son qualified to deliver his father from the darkest region of hellish life. Marriage is not intended for sense gratification but for getting a son fully qualified to deliver his father.

But if a son is raised to become an unqualified demon, how can he deliver his father from hellish life? It is therefore the duty of a father to become a Vaiñëava and raise his children to become Vaiñëavas; then even if by chance the father falls into a hellish life in his next birth, such a son can deliver him, as Mahäräja Påthu delivered his father.