SB 5.8.26 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

एवमघटमानमनोरथाकुलहृदयो मृगदारकाभासेन स्वारब्धकर्मणा योगारम्भणतो विभ्रंशित: स योगतापसो भगवदाराधनलक्षणाच्च कथमितरथा जात्यन्तर एणकुणक आसङ्ग: साक्षान्नि:श्रेयसप्रतिपक्षतया प्राक्परित्यक्तदुस्त्यजहृदयाभिजातस्य तस्यैवमन्तरायविहत योगारम्भणस्य राजर्षेर्भरतस्य तावन्मृगार्भकपोषणपालनप्रीणनलालनानुषङ्गेणाविगणयत आत्मानमहिरिवाखुबिलं दुरतिक्रम: काल: करालरभस आपद्यत ॥ २६ ॥

Verse text

evam aghaṭamāna-manorathākula-hṛdayo mṛga-dārakābhāsena svārabdha-karmaṇā yogārambhaṇato vibhraṁśitaḥ sa yoga-tāpaso bhagavad-ārādhana-lakṣaṇāc ca katham itarathā jāty-antara eṇa-kuṇaka āsaṅgaḥ sākṣān niḥśreyasa-pratipakṣatayā prāk-parityakta-dustyaja-hṛdayābhijātasya tasyaivam antarāya-vihata-yogārambhaṇasya rājarṣer bharatasya tāvan mṛgārbhaka-poṣaṇa-pālana-prīṇana-lālanānuṣaṅgeṇāvigaṇayata ātmānam ahir ivākhu-bilaṁ duratikramaḥ kālaḥ karāla-rabhasa āpadyata.

Synonyms

evam — in that way ; aghaṭamāna — impossible to be achieved ; manaḥ — ratha — by desires, which are like mental chariots ; ākula — aggrieved ; hṛdayaḥ — whose heart ; mṛga — dāraka — ābhāsena — resembling the son of a deer ; sva — ārabdha — karmaṇā — by the bad results of his unseen fruitive actions ; yoga — ārambhaṇataḥ — from the activities of yoga performances ; vibhraṁśitaḥ — fallen down ; saḥ — he (Mahārāja Bharata) ; yoga — tāpasaḥ — executing the activities of mystic yoga and austerities ; bhagavat — ārādhana — lakṣaṇāt — from the activities of devotional service rendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; ca — and ; katham — how ; itarathā — else ; jāti — antare — belonging to a different species of life ; eṇa — kuṇake — to the body of a deer calf ; āsaṅgaḥ — so much affectionate attachment ; sākṣāt — directly ; niḥśreyasa — to achieve the ultimate goal of life ; pratipakṣatayā — with the quality of being an obstacle ; prāk — who previously ; parityakta — given up ; dustyaja — although very difficult to give up ; hṛdaya — abhijātasya — his sons, born of his own heart ; tasya — of him ; evam — thus ; antarāya — by that obstacle ; vihata — obstructed ; yoga — ārambhaṇasya — whose path of executing the mystic yoga practices ; rāja — ṛṣeḥ — of the great saintly King ; bharatasya — of Mahārāja Bharata ; tāvat — in that way ; mṛga — arbhaka — the son of a deer ; poṣaṇa — in maintaining ; pālana — in protecting ; prīṇana — in making happy ; lālana — in fondling ; anuṣaṅgeṇa — by constant absorption ; avigaṇayataḥ — neglecting ; ātmānam — his own soul ; ahiḥ iva — like a serpent ; ākhu — bilam — the hole of a mouse ; duratikramaḥ — unsurpassable ; kālaḥ — ultimate death ; karāla — terrible ; rabhasaḥ — having speed ; āpadyata — arrived .

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, in this way Bharata Mahārāja was overwhelmed by an uncontrollable desire which was manifest in the form of the deer. Due to the fruitive results of his past deeds, he fell down from mystic yoga, austerity and worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If it were not due to his past fruitive activity, how could he have been attracted to the deer after giving up the association of his own son and family, considering them stumbling blocks on the path of spiritual life? How could he show such uncontrollable affection for a deer? This was definitely due to his past karma. The King was so engrossed in petting and maintaining the deer that he fell down from his spiritual activities. In due course of time, insurmountable death, which is compared to a venomous snake that enters the hole created by a mouse, situated itself before him.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

His heart afflicted by unfulfilled desire, Bharata fell from his practice of yoga, from his detachment from material enjoyment achieved by bhakti, and even from his worship of the Lord, by the Lord’s special arrangement of prārabdha-karma through the appearance of the young deer. How else could he develop attachment for the young deer? While Bharata, who had previously rejected his own sons as an obstacle to the highest goal, and who now produced an obstacle to his practice of yoga, forgot himself by petting, showing affection for, protecting and nourishing the young deer, inevitable death with great speed approached him, just as snake approaches a mouse hole. He fell from his position in yoga and worship of the Lord by the influence of karmas of this life which manifested a small deer to him. Prārabdha-karma is of two types: auspicious and inauspicious. The first type occurs by the will of the Lord to increase longing for devotion to the Lord, like sharp ointment applied to the eyes. This is accepted favorably by the devotee. Being similar to prārabdha-karma it is accepted as such. That which creates more intense bhakti in the future takes place in those who already possess rati or bhāva. The second type consists of results of actions of previous lifetimes which manifest later as absorption in material life. In the verse the first type is indicated by the word su in svarabhda-karmanā. He fell from his austerity of rejecting material enjoyment which was produced by bhakti-yoga (yoga-tapasaḥ). The word ca means “even.” Even though bhakti does not have great obstacles, he fell from worship of the Lord by the will of the Lord. How else could he fall (itarathā), except by prārabdha-karma arranged by the will of the Lord? He had already given up his sons (hṛdaya-abhijātasya). Or he fell by the semblance of karma in the form of the deer. Though the jīvanmuktas do not have any false identity, they have a semblance of false identity. Similarly those who have developed rati do not have prārabdha-karma, but have semblance of prārabdha-karma. Or he fell down because of the inferior (ābhāsena) fawn, through auspicious prārabdha-karma. Under the influence of his good prārabdha-karma, Bharata took care of the deer. Otherwise if there had been no good karma, he would not have a desire to care for the deer. Bharata’s fall however was arranged by the Lord for the purpose of increasing his longing for bhakti after taking birth as a deer and a brāhmaṇa. The Lord has said: nāhaṁ tu sakhyo bhajato 'pi jantūn bhajāmy amīṣām anuvṛtti-vṛttaye yathādhano labdha-dhane vinaṣṭe tac-cintayānyan nibhṛto na veda But the reason I do not immediately reciprocate the affection of living beings even when they worship Me, O gopīs, is that I want to intensify their loving devotion. They then become like a poor man who has gained some wealth and then lost it, and who thus becomes so anxious about it that he can think of nothing else. SB 10.32.20 He did not think of himself. Death (kālaḥ) arrived, like a snake approaching a mouse hole.

Purport

As will be seen in later verses, Bharata Mahārāja, at the time of death, would be forced to accept the body of a deer due to his attraction for the deer. In this regard, a question may be raised. How can a devotee be affected by his past misconduct and vicious activities? In Brahma-saṁhitā (5.54) it is said, karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām: “For those engaged in devotional service, bhakti-bhajana, the results of past deeds are indemnified.” According to this, Bharata Mahārāja could not be punished for his past misdeeds. The conclusion must be that Mahārāja Bharata purposefully became over-addicted to the deer and neglected his spiritual advancement. To immediately rectify his mistake, for a short time he was awarded the body of a deer. This was just to increase his desire for mature devotional service. Although Bharata Mahārāja was awarded the body of an animal, he did not forget what had previously happened due to his purposeful mistake. He was very anxious to get out of his deer body, and this indicates that his affection for devotional service was intensified, so much so that he was quickly to attain perfection in a brāhmaṇa body in the next life. It is with this conviction that we declare in our Back to Godhead magazine that devotees like the gosvāmīs living in Vṛndāvana who purposely commit some sinful activity are born in the bodies of dogs, monkeys and tortoises in that holy land. Thus they take on these lower life forms for a short while, and after they give up those animal bodies they are again promoted to the spiritual world. Such punishment is only for a short period, and it is not due to past karma. It may appear to be due to past karma, but it is offered to rectify the devotee and bring him to pure devotional service.