SB 8.5.15 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच यदा युद्धेऽसुरैर्देवा बध्यमाना: शितायुधै: । गतासवो निपतिता नोत्तिष्ठेरन्स्म भूरिश: ॥ १५ ॥ यदा दुर्वास: शापेन सेन्द्रा लोकास्त्रयो नृप । नि:श्रीकाश्चाभवंस्तत्र नेशुरिज्यादय: क्रिया: ॥ १६ ॥

Verse text

śrī-śuka uvāca yadā yuddhe ’surair devā badhyamānāḥ śitāyudhaiḥ gatāsavo nipatitā nottiṣṭheran sma bhūriśaḥ yadā durvāsaḥ śāpena sendrā lokās trayo nṛpa niḥśrīkāś cābhavaṁs tatra neśur ijyādayaḥ kriyāḥ

Synonyms

śrī — śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said ; yadā — when ; yuddhe — in the fighting ; asuraiḥ — by the demons ; devāḥ — the demigods ; badhyamānāḥ — besieged ; śita — āyudhaiḥ — by serpent weapons ; gata — āsavaḥ — almost dead ; nipatitāḥ — some of them having fallen ; na — not ; uttiṣṭheran — got up again ; sma — so became ; bhūriśaḥ — the majority of them ; yadā — when ; durvāsaḥ — of Durvāsā Muni ; śāpena — with the curse ; sa — indrāḥ — with Indra ; lokāḥ trayaḥ — the three worlds ; nṛpa — O King ; niḥśrīkāḥ — without any material opulence ; ca — also ; abhavan — became ; tatra — at that time ; neśuḥ — could not be performed ; ijya — ādayaḥ — sacrifices ; kriyāḥ — ritualistic ceremonies .

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: When the asuras, with their serpent weapons, severely attacked the demigods in a fight, many of the demigods fell and lost their lives. Indeed, they could not be revived. At that time, O King, the demigods had been cursed by Durvāsā Muni, the three worlds were poverty-stricken, and therefore ritualistic ceremonies could not be performed. The effects of this were very serious.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King! When the devatās, attacked by demons with their serpent weapons in battle, fell down almost dead and could not get up, after the devatās had been cursed by Durvāsā Muni and the three worlds had lost their prosperity, ritualistic ceremonies such as sacrifices could not be performed. The devatās could not be brought back to life. They had been defeated. The cause is given. They were cursed by Durvāsā. Durvāsā once saw Indra going on the road and gave him the garland from his neck. Out of pride, Indra did not respect the garland and threw in on Airāvata’s head. Being an animal, Airāvata angrily threw the garland on the ground and squashed it with his feet. Seeing that, Durvāsā became angry and cursed, “You, along with the three worlds, will lose your prosperity!”

Purport

It is described that while Durvāsā Muni was passing on the road, he saw Indra on the back of his elephant and was pleased to offer Indra a garland from his own neck. Indra, however, being too puffed up, took the garland, and without respect for Durvāsā Muni, he placed it on the trunk of his carrier elephant. The elephant, being an animal, could not understand the value of the garland, and thus the elephant threw the garland between its legs and smashed it. Seeing this insulting behavior, Durvāsā Muni immediately cursed Indra to be poverty-stricken, bereft of all material opulence. Thus the demigods, afflicted on one side by the fighting demons and on the other by the curse of Durvāsā Muni, lost all the material opulences in the three worlds. To be extremely opulent in materialistic advancement is sometimes very risky. The materially opulent person does not care about anyone, and thus he commits offenses to great personalities, such as devotees and great saints. This is the way of material opulence. As described by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, dhana-durmadāndha: too much wealth makes one blind. This happens even to Indra in his heavenly kingdom, and what to speak of others in this material world? When one is materially opulent, he should learn to be sober and well-behaved toward Vaiṣṇavas and saintly persons; otherwise he will fall down.