Devanagari
ब्राह्मण उवाच
त्वयोदितं व्यक्तमविप्रलब्धं
भर्तु: स मे स्याद्यदि वीर भार: ।
गन्तुर्यदि स्यादधिगम्यमध्वा
पीवेति राशौ न विदां प्रवाद: ॥ ९ ॥
Verse text
brāhmaṇa uvāca
tvayoditaṁ vyaktam avipralabdhaṁ
bhartuḥ sa me syād yadi vīra bhāraḥ
gantur yadi syād adhigamyam adhvā
pīveti rāśau na vidāṁ pravādaḥ
Synonyms
brāhmaṇaḥ uvāca
—
the learned brāhmaṇa (Jaḍa Bharata) spoke
;
tvayā
—
by you
;
uditam
—
explained
;
vyaktam
—
very clearly
;
avipralabdham
—
without contradictions
;
bhartuḥ
—
of the bearer, the body
;
saḥ
—
that
;
me
—
mine
;
syāt
—
it would have been
;
yadi
—
if
;
vīra
—
O great hero (Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa)
;
bhāraḥ
—
a load
;
gantuḥ
—
of the mover, also the body
;
yadi
—
if
;
syāt
—
it had been
;
adhigamyam
—
the object to be obtained
;
adhvā
—
the path
;
pīvā
—
very stout and strong
;
iti
—
thus
;
rāśau
—
in the body
;
na
—
not
;
vidām
—
of the self-realized persons
;
pravādaḥ
—
subject matter for discussion .
Translation
The great brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata said: My dear King and hero, whatever you have spoken sarcastically is certainly true. Actually these are not simply words of chastisement, for the body is the carrier. The load carried by the body does not belong to me, for I am the spirit soul. There is no contradiction in your statements because I am different from the body. I am not the carrier of the palanquin; the body is the carrier. Certainly, as you have hinted, I have not labored carrying the palanquin, for I am detached from the body. You have said that I am not stout and strong, and these words are befitting a person who does not know the distinction between the body and the soul. The body may be fat or thin, but no learned man would say such things of the spirit soul. As far as the spirit soul is concerned, I am neither fat nor skinny; therefore you are correct when you say that I am not very stout. Also, if the object of this journey and the path leading there were mine, there would be many troubles for me, but because they relate not to me but to my body, there is no trouble at all.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Bharata said: O King! What you have spoken is clearly without deceit. Only if the burden of the carrier belonged to me, if the destination and path of the traveler belonged to me, would your statements be sarcasm. To say I am well nourished is not the talk of a person in knowledge.
I will show mercy to this person who thinks he has knowledge by defeating him with knowledge. This is expressed by contrary statements. You have said that I am not tired and have not come a long way. That is not incorrect. It is not sarcasm. If the burden of the palanquin carrier (bhartuḥ) belonged to me, then it would be sarcasm. Since I am different from my body, I am not the carrier. If the destination of the traveler or the path of the traveler belonged to me, then it would be sarcasm. Calling me well-nourished belongs to the body (raśau) of the living entities. It is not the talk of persons in knowledge. It is true that I am well-nourished, but for me as a conscious soul, it is slander.
Purport
In
Bhagavad-gītā
it is stated that one who is advanced in spiritual knowledge is not disturbed by the pains and pleasures of the material body. The material body is completely separate from the spirit soul, and the pains and pleasures of the body are superfluous. The practice of austerity and penance is meant for understanding the distinction between the body and the soul and how the soul can be unaffected by the pleasures and pains of the body. Jaḍa Bharata was actually situated on the platform of self-realization. He was completely aloof from the bodily conception; therefore he immediately took this position and convinced the King that whatever contradictory things the King had said about his body did not actually apply to him as a spirit soul.