SB 4.3.2

SB 4.3.2

Devanagari

यदाभिषिक्तो दक्षस्तु ब्रह्मणा परमेष्ठिना । प्रजापतीनां सर्वेषामाधिपत्ये स्मयोऽभवत् ॥ २ ॥

Verse text

yadābhiṣikto dakṣas tu brahmaṇā parameṣṭhinā prajāpatīnāṁ sarveṣām ādhipatye smayo ’bhavat

Synonyms

yadā when ; abhiṣiktaḥ appointed ; dakṣaḥ Dakṣa ; tu but ; brahmaṇā by Brahmā ; parameṣṭhinā the supreme teacher ; prajāpatīnām of the Prajāpatis ; sarveṣām of all ; ādhipatye as the chief ; smayaḥ puffed up ; abhavat he became .

Translation

When Lord Brahmā appointed Dakṣa the chief of all the Prajāpatis, the progenitors of population, Dakṣa became very much puffed up.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When Dakṣa was appointed by Brahmā to be the chief of all the Prajāpatis, who were the progenitors of population, he became proud. The wealth of Dakṣa, enemy of Śiva, was a cause of his offense in ruling, and became a further cause of offense. That is made clear by saying that he became proud.

Purport

Although he was envious and was inimical towards Lord Śiva, Dakṣa was appointed the chief of all Prajāpatis. That was the cause of his excessive pride. When a man becomes too proud of his material possessions, he can perform any disastrous act, and therefore Dakṣa acted out of false prestige. That is described in this chapter.