SB 5.10.17 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

नाहं विशङ्के सुरराजवज्रा- न्न त्र्यक्षशूलान्न यमस्य दण्डात् । नाग्‍न्‍यर्कसोमानिलवित्तपास्त्रा- च्छङ्के भृशं ब्रह्मकुलावमानात् ॥ १७ ॥

Verse text

nāhaṁ viśaṅke sura-rāja-vajrān na tryakṣa-śūlān na yamasya daṇḍāt nāgny-arka-somānila-vittapāstrāc chaṅke bhṛśaṁ brahma-kulāvamānāt

Synonyms

na — not ; aham — I ; viśaṅke — am afraid ; sura — rāja — vajrāt — from the thunderbolt of the King of heaven, Indra ; na — nor ; tryakṣa — śūlāt — from the piercing trident of Lord Śiva ; na — nor ; yamasya — of the superintendent of death, Yamarāja ; daṇḍāt — from the punishment ; na — nor ; agni — of fire ; arka — of the scorching heat of the sun ; soma — of the moon ; anila — of the wind ; vitta — pa — of the owner of riches, Kuvera, the treasurer of the heavenly planets ; astrāt — from the weapons ; śaṅke — I am afraid ; bhṛśam — very much ; brahma — kula — the group of the brāhmaṇas ; avamānāt — from offending .

Translation

My dear sir, I am not at all afraid of the thunderbolt of King Indra, nor am I afraid of the serpentine, piercing trident of Lord Śiva. I do not care about the punishment of Yamarāja, the superintendent of death, nor am I afraid of fire, scorching sun, moon, wind, nor the weapons of Kuvera. Yet I am afraid of offending a brāhmaṇa. I am very much afraid of this.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

I am not at all afraid of the thunderbolt of King Indra, nor am I afraid of the trident of Lord Śiva. I do not fear the staff of Yamarāja, the superintendent of death, nor am I afraid of fire, the sun, moon, wind, nor the weapons of Kuvera. Yet I am afraid of offending a brāhmaṇa. “Sitting on your palanquin, what is the use reflecting in this way?” If they try to kill me in battle with their weapons, I am not afraid, since I have my natural courage. Rather I experience joy in such competition. Or, having offended them, I do not fear them when they attack me in anger with their weapons.

Purport

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was instructing Rūpa Gosvāmī at the Daśāśvamedha-ghāṭa in Prayāga, He pointed out very clearly the seriousness of offending a Vaiṣṇava. He compared the vaiṣṇava-aparādha to hātī mātā, a mad elephant. When a mad elephant enters a garden, it spoils all the fruits and flowers. Similarly, if one offends a Vaiṣṇava, he spoils all his spiritual assets. Offending a brāhmaṇa is very dangerous, and this was known to Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa. He therefore frankly admitted his fault. There are many dangerous things — thunderbolts, fire, Yamarāja’s punishment, the punishment of Lord Śiva’s trident, and so forth — but none is considered as serious as offending a brāhmaṇa like Jaḍa Bharata. Therefore Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa immediately descended from his palanquin and fell flat before the lotus feet of the brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata just to be excused.