SB 7.5.46 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

वर्तमानोऽविदूरे वै बालोऽप्यजडधीरयम् । न विस्मरति मेऽनार्यं शुन: शेप इव प्रभु: ॥ ४६ ॥

Verse text

vartamāno ’vidūre vai bālo ’py ajaḍa-dhīr ayam na vismarati me ’nāryaṁ śunaḥ śepa iva prabhuḥ

Synonyms

vartamānaḥ — being situated ; avidūre — not very far away ; vai — indeed ; bālaḥ — a mere child ; api — although ; ajaḍa — dhīḥ — complete fearlessness ; ayam — this ; na — not ; vismarati — forgets ; me — my ; anāryam — misbehavior ; śunaḥ śepaḥ — the curved tail of a dog ; iva — exactly like ; prabhuḥ — being able or potent .

Translation

Although he is very near to me and is merely a child, he is situated in complete fearlessness. He resembles a dog’s curved tail, which can never be straightened, because he never forgets my misbehavior and his connection with his master, Lord Viṣṇu.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Though he is only a child and is not far from me, he remains energetic in mind, never forgetting my enemy Viṣṇu. He is capable of escaping death like Śunaḥ-śepa. Though he is situated close, he never forgets my enemy (anāryam), Viṣṇu. Prahlāda’s inability to give up his nature is explained through an example. He is resilient like a dog’s tail. Śunaḥ-śepaḥ is also the name of the middle son of Ajīgarta who was sold to Hariścandra by his parents as a sacrifice. He did not remember their harm to him, and took shelter of Viśvāmitra and became a member of his family. He was thus saved from being killed. Prahlāda was similarly able to escape death.

Purport

The word śunaḥ means “of a dog,” and śepa means “tail.” The example is ordinary. However one may try to straighten a dog’s tail, it is never straight but always curved. Śunaḥ śepa is also the name of the second son of Ajīgarta. He was sold to Hariścandra, but he later took shelter of Viśvāmitra, Hariścandra’s enemy, and never left his side.