Shloka 1
श्रीशुक उवाच भरतस्यात्मज: सुमतिर्नामाभिहितो यमु ह वाव केचित्पाखण्डिन ऋषभपदवीमनुवर्तमानं चानार्या अवेदसमाम्नातां देवतां स्वमनीषया पापीयस्या कलौ कल्पयिष्यन्ति ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca bharatasyātmajaḥ sumatir nāmābhihito yam u ha vāva kecit pākhaṇḍina ṛṣabha-padavīm anuvartamānaṁ cānāryā aveda-samāmnātāṁ devatāṁ sva-manīṣayā pāpīyasyā kalau kalpayiṣyanti.
Śrī Śukadeva said: Bharata’s son, named Sumati, followed the path of Ṛṣabhadeva; yet in Kali-yuga deceitful, unrefined, Veda-opposing people will concoct their own notion, accept him as Buddhadeva, and spread that fabricated doctrine.
Those who are Āryans strictly follow the Vedic principles, but in this Age of Kali a community has sprung up known as the Arya Samaj, who members are ignorant of the import of the Vedas in the paramparā system. They decry all bona fide ācāryas and pose themselves as the real followers of the Vedic principles, but in fact such non-Āryans do not follow the Vedic principles. Another group of non-Āryans are the Jains, who are referred to in the present verse. Not only do they not follow the Vedic principles, but they have no relationship with Lord Buddha, though they claim to. Imitating the behavior of Sumati, they also claim to be descendants of Ṛṣabhadeva. Those who are Vaiṣṇavas carefully avoid their company because they are ignorant of the path of the Vedas. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: “The real purpose of the Vedas is to understand Me.” This is the injunction of all Vedic literatures. One who does not know the greatness of Lord Kṛṣṇa cannot be accepted as an Āryan. Lord Buddha, an incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, adopted a particular means to propagate the philosophy of bhāgavata-dharma. He preached almost exclusively among atheists. Atheists do not want any God, and Lord Buddha therefore said that there is no God, but he adopted the means to instruct his followers for their benefit. Therefore he preached in a duplicitous way, saying that there is no God. Nonetheless, he himself was an incarnation of God.
FAQs
This verse says that in Kali-yuga, heretical people will invent unauthorized forms of worship not supported by Vedic tradition and will even misrepresent saintly followers of Lord Ṛṣabha as endorsing them.
Śukadeva highlights that Sumati truly followed the pure path of Lord Ṛṣabha, but later people in Kali-yuga will distort history and attach sinful, imagined doctrines to his name.
Verify teachings through authentic śāstra and bona fide lineages, and avoid practices that are merely invented by personal speculation without Vedic grounding.