SB 8.22.30 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

क्षीणरिक्थश्‍च्युत: स्थानात् क्षिप्तो बद्धश्च शत्रुभि: । ज्ञातिभिश्च परित्यक्तो यातनामनुयापित: ॥ २९ ॥ गुरुणा भर्त्सित: शप्तो जहौ सत्यं न सुव्रत: । छलैरुक्तो मया धर्मो नायं त्यजति सत्यवाक् ॥ ३० ॥

Verse text

kṣīṇa-rikthaś cyutaḥ sthānāt kṣipto baddhaś ca śatrubhiḥ jṣātibhiś ca parityakto yātanām anuyāpitaḥ guruṇā bhartsitaḥ śapto jahau satyaṁ na suvrataḥ chalair ukto mayā dharmo nāyaṁ tyajati satya-vāk

Synonyms

kṣīṇa — rikthaḥ — although bereft of all riches ; cyutaḥ — fallen ; sthānāt — from his superior position ; kṣiptaḥ — forcefully thrown away ; baddhaḥ ca — and forcefully bound ; śatrubhiḥ — by his enemies ; jṣātibhiḥ ca — and by his family members or relatives ; parityaktaḥ — deserted ; yātanām — all kinds of suffering ; anuyāpitaḥ — unusually severely suffered ; guruṇā — by his spiritual master ; bhartsitaḥ — rebuked ; śaptaḥ — and cursed ; jahau — gave up ; satyam — truthfulness ; na — not ; su — vrataḥ — being fixed in his vow ; chalaiḥ — pretentiously ; uktaḥ — spoken ; mayā — by Me ; dharmaḥ — the religious principles ; na — not ; ayam — this Bali Mahārāja ; tyajati — does give up ; satya — vāk — being true to his word .

Translation

Although bereft of his riches, fallen from his original position, defeated and arrested by his enemies, rebuked and deserted by his relatives and friends, although suffering the pain of being bound and although rebuked and cursed by his spiritual master, Bali Mahārāja, being fixed in his vow, did not give up his truthfulness. It was certainly with pretension that I spoke about religious principles, but he did not give up religious principles, for he is true to his word.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Although bereft of his riches and position, thrown down and tied up by his enemies, deserted by his relatives and friends, suffering pain and cursed by his guru, Bali Mahārāja, being fixed in his vow, did not give up his truthfulness. I spoke about dharma deceptively, but he did not give up speaking the truth. Even though I have thrown him into an ocean of danger, he is not bewildered. It goes without saying that he will not give up his convictions. I spoke about dharma deceptively. At first I spoke falsely of adharma as if it were dharma with such words as the following: na hy etasmin kule kaścin niḥsattvaḥ kṛpaṇaḥ pumān pratyākhyātā pratiśrutya yo vādātā dvijātaye I know that even until now, no one taking birth in your family has been poor-minded or miserly. No one has refused to give charity to brāhmaṇas, nor after promising to give charity has anyone failed to fulfill his promise. SB 8.19.3 Then I spoke of dharma as if it were adharma. vipralabdho dadāmīti tvayāhaṁ cāḍhya-māninā tad vyalīka-phalaṁ bhuṅkṣva nirayaṁ katicit samāḥ Being falsely proud of your possessions, you promised to give me land, but you could not fulfill your promise. Therefore, because your promise was false, you must live for a few years in hellish life. SB 8.21.34 Still, he did not give up truth. In such circumstances, others would be untruthful, according to the maxim “when cheated, cheat.” Though affectionate to my devotee, I have caused him this trouble in order to show the world his fixed devotion and fortitude.

Purport

Bali Mahārāja passed the severe test put before him by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is further proof of the Lord’s mercy toward His devotee. The Supreme Personality of Godhead sometimes puts a devotee to severe tests that are almost unbearable. One could hardly even live under the conditions forced upon Bali Mahārāja. That Bali Mahārāja endured all these severe tests and austerities is the mercy of the Supreme Lord. The Lord certainly appreciates the devotee’s forbearance, and it is recorded for the future glorification of the devotee. This was not an ordinary test. As described in this verse, hardly anyone could survive such a test, but for the future glorification of Bali Mahārāja, one of the mahājanas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead not only tested him but also gave him the strength to tolerate such adversity. The Lord is so kind to His devotee that when severely testing him the Lord gives him the necessary strength to be tolerant and continue to remain a glorious devotee.