Bhagavatam study 100 1.18.24-30 An annoyed response to annoying non-responsiveness is not malevolent

Shri mad bhagavatam 1.18.24 onwards ekadadhanurudhyamya vicharan rugayam vane rugan anugatah shrantah kshuditas trishito brisham jalashayam achakshanah praviveshatam ashramam tadarshamunim asinam shantam militalochanam here now shukadeva goswami is continuing with the story of parishad maharaj especially that part of the story by which he attained the association of shukadeva goswami and thereby attained enlightenment and liberation in the previous verses the sages of namisharanya have glorified shukadeva goswami and have glorified krishnakatha and have urged him to speak more and more about parishad so shukadeva goswami has responded by thanking them appreciating the importance of speaking about krishnakatha and continuing and now he is continuing to speak ekada once so the incident of parishad punishing and restricting kali is over now a later incident in his life is described ekada dhanurudhyamya ekada dhanurudhyamya when he carrying his bow and arrow vicharan mrugayambane he was going in the forest mrugayambane on a hunting excursion mrugan anugatah shirantah while following some deer anugatah, he ran after them to catch them to punish them shirantah, he became exhausted shuditas trishito bhrusham shud means hunger trish means thirst so he was extremely thirsty and extremely hungry he was chasing, chasing, chasing in the deep in the forest jalashayam achakshanah jalashayam and he was searching jalashayam like a reservoir of water praviveshatam ashramam and at that time while looking for some body of water, he entered into the ashram who’s ashram? dadarishyamunimasinam ashramam so it is the ashram of shamik rishi and there he saw the darishyamunimasinam he saw the sage seated shantam militalochanam he was peacefully seated and his eyes were closed milit unmilit, those words are used to talk about how the closing and the opening so shantam militalochanam shantam militalochanam so Parikshit Maharaj entered in this tired hungry and thirsty condition to his ashram so it’s interesting that this is a contrast in conditions so you could say he is very hungry thirsty and normally if we are distressed and we see somebody very peaceful at one level seeing them peaceful can help us also calm down or seeing them peaceful and unconcerned about us can agitate us and seeing them peaceful and helping mitigate our distress that can make us even more peaceful so for example if we are agitated about something and suppose somebody goes for a counselling session to a psychologist or to a counsellor and the counsellor is also agitated then we cannot feel peaceful we will also get agitated now of course they need to be if we are distressed and they need to be concerned about the distress but if they also get distressed then they can’t be of much help in pacifying us they have to be empathic but the empathic should be in such a way that they don’t get carried away by the same emotion that we are getting carried away by otherwise they will not be able to stabilise us so if they don’t if they are not empathic then they can’t stabilise they just can’t connect with us and then we can’t stabilise it’s like if a person is floating in a is getting swept away by a current at that time they need to have some if there is a shore nearby they need to have something on the shore that they can catch hold of if there is nothing that they can catch hold of then they will be swept away at the same time if the twig or the branch that they carry if they catch hold of if that is very fragile and that also breaks and gets swept away that is not at all healthy so somebody or if somebody on the coast if somebody is getting swept away in a reverse current and somebody on the coast gives them a hand now the hand should be first of all stretched out and it should be a little flexible so that because a person who is moving cannot stop instantaneously so they have to hold on to the hand for a few moments and then the person who is moving their hand moves a little bit ahead and then they catch hold of that person and pull the person out so the empathy is like stretching out the hand and having the hand a little bit mobile so that the hand also can gently but firmly catch the person and pull them out but if the person on the coast also gets pulled totally by the person in the water then the second person will also get swept away and then there will be no benefit both of them will be swept away by the current the first person will not be rescued and the second person will also need rescue after that similarly the counsellor gets overwhelmed by negative emotions which the counsellor is going through and the counsellor cannot counsel both of them need some other counsellor but the point over here is that if the counsellor needs to be concerned but not disturbed then they can help us overcome our disturbance but if the counsellor doesn’t seem concerned at all if the person is completely peaceful and uncaring about us then we feel we feel upset in fact our anger may increase I am in so much trouble here and they show no concern for me so unfortunately something like that will happen over here so the contrast is that he is tired and Parikshit is weary, thirsty, hungry hmm so he which contrasted with the peaceful serene disposition of Parikshit of the sage so now now the sage’s condition we described in text 26 prathiruddhen indriya prana manobuddhim uparatam sthanatrayat param praptam brahmabhutam avikriyam prathiruddhen indriya prana so what had happened for him what he was not just with his closed eyes sometimes people with closed eyes are in ordinary sleep sometimes people with closed eyes just want to shut off the world they are awake but they are they don’t want to pay attention they want to may be rest a little bit they want to think deeply about something but in this case he was not just closing his eyes or sleeping he was actually in a deep state of trance and that trance is described over here prathiruddhen indriya prana so prathiruddha so normally the senses they go outwards to perceive the world outwards and to interact with the outer world indriya prana manobuddhim uparatam so the mind intelligence uparatam they were all inactive the senses had been going inwards sthanatrayat param praptam sthanatrayat so the three states normal states of consciousness which are described wakefulness dream, sleep and deep sleep sthanatrayat param praptam he was actually beyond all this being situated in transcendence brahmabhutam avikriyam brahmabhutam he was situated on the spiritual platform brahmabhuta brahmabhuta prasannatma is a well known verse in the Bhagavad Gita 18.55 so here he had attained the brahman platform avikriyam avikriya so you know he was there was no action, no emotion situated in a transcendental state pratiruddhen indriya prana so he was actually in a state of deep absorption he was that’s why he was oblivious to the world so normally when our consciousness is rooted outwards through the subtle body through the gross body to the outer world that is the jagrut state of consciousness when the consciousness is rooted till the subtle body that is the swapna when the consciousness is rooted is only till the doesn’t even come to the subtle body that is the deep sleep when the consciousness goes to the spiritual level without being present in the material level that is the turiya state so he was in the turiya state and thus he was not conscious of the external reality at all when people are in this kind of trance they are experiencing an alternate reality a higher reality and thus they are not aware of what is happening in the physical reality so of course sometimes people in the physical reality may also perceive something in the spiritual reality and sometimes people in spiritual reality may perceive something in the physical reality partly or partly or fully but usually people who are completely absorbed in spiritual reality they may not perceive anything at all just like I said about Chaitanya Mahapurusham sometimes he was in external consciousness sometimes he was partly in external partly in internal consciousness and sometimes he was entirely in internal consciousness so here it is described that similarly the sage here was completely in internal consciousness of course Chaitanya Mahapurusham’s internal consciousness is much much loftier because he was meditating on the confidential pastimes of Radha and Krishna Shami Krishna’s inwardly directed consciousness was more at the Brahman level but irrespective of specifically at the spiritual level where the consciousness had gone the principle was that at the material level the consciousness was no longer there the consciousness had was absorbed in higher reality and thus the result was that he was not aware of the king’s entry so now further the sage has described that text 27 viprakirna yatha channam raura raura aajinen aajinen vishushya talu rudakam tatha bhutam ayachita vipakirna yatha achanam so his hair was in a jata, he was arranged in a compressed form and it was scattered all over because he had been in a trance for so long that he had he and he was so spiritual that he was not conscious of the condition of his hair. So he was wearing the skin of a stag.
The deer skin is generally the kind of dress that they would wear. It is covered by deer skin. So his palate, his tongue, his whole mouth cavity, it was drying and so this is first half describes the sage Shamik Rishi, his condition.
He was completely absorbed and but Parikshit Maharaj was distressed, afflicted by thirst. So while his throat was completely drying, he asked for water. Now going on hunting is a physically exerting activity.
Normally when we fast, say we fast for Ekadashi or something like that, we don’t we don’t do too much physical exertion. Often when athletes go on their marathon, sometimes some people participate in some marathon runs as a solidarity for some cause or even athletes participate in marathon, they have at periodic points people waiting for them, providing them drinks, either water or some juice or whatever. Now it’s vital when the body is getting exerted to have the fluids in the body rejuvenated because we are sweating at that time and the body is getting exhausted.
So if the water is not provided, the people can become so exhausted, they can just collapse. So in a state of physical exertion, not having water can be a state of not only great torment but it can be a situation of potential danger also. And now Parikshit Maharaj was both hungry and thirsty.
Now he did not ask the sage for food. Food is not that easy to provide and food, some arrangement has to be made. But water is something which almost anyone and everyone can provide.
So he asked him, can you provide me some water? So when he asked like this, he got no response. That is described in the next verse, text 28, So now Allahabdha, he did not get, he did not get truna. Truna refers to grass or straw and in this case it refers to at least a seat made of straw.
Parikshit Maharaj was a king accustomed to being seated on royal thrones as when coming to visit a sage, he didn’t expect a royal throne but at least he expected a straw mat, a place. These are basic tenets of hospitality which should be offered and he did not get that. He was not properly received.
So even if we have nothing to offer someone, we can offer them some water and we can offer them some sweet words. But he did not get any of these. He did not get water, he did not get sweet words, he did not get a seat, anything at all.
अवज्ञातमिभात्मानम् Or in being neglected in this way, मन्यमानश् चुकोपह, मन्यमानश् So he thinking like this that I have been neglected, I have been disrespected, चुकोपह, कोप means anger. So he became angry. Normally, our emotions are functions of both our disposition and our situation and which will be more influential at what turn that will vary from person to person.
So our emotions are functions of both our dispositions and our situations. So if somebody is a short-tempered person, then even that is the disposition and then even a small inconvenience, small difficulty that may make them so angry that that may trigger them off and they may explode. So in that case, in this case for the person, the emotion because the disposition itself is very short-tempered.
It’s very inflammable, we could say. So they get inflamed very quickly. A small situation causes a big explosion.
On the other hand, some people are more placid. Some people are more stoic. So even a big provocation does not cause an explosion in them.
So in that case, the situation may be bad, but still the emotion may not come too much. But even people who are normally placid, they cannot stay unprovoked with unlimited provocation. And when people are especially very tired, very exhausted, if we have had a long day and we just exhausted after that day and we just want to go home and do nothing after and I just take a break or if we are at home and now after a long day’s work, we just want to relax or rest.
And at that time somebody makes a request, we just feel burdened or if at that time, we make a small request to someone and then somebody doesn’t provide us that we can become annoyed even irritated. It’s like we have done a hundred things and we’ve been doing it all for the good of others. Say, if we are working very hard to clear the mortgage for our house and we come back home and then we ask our family members for some small thing, please give me a glass of water and they say, go and take it yourself.
Come on, I’m doing so much. I’m just asking you for one glass of water. Can’t you provide that? Can’t you? So, at that time, although that action, the actions they have done may not be a big problem, not providing a glass of water, but at that point, it can anger us very much.
So, similarly, Parikshit Maharaj, at this particular situation, because he had been so, although his disposition normally was to be respectful to the Brahmanas, but in this particular situation, because he had been already exhausted by the situation, so he just couldn’t take it. He became angry, just couldn’t take it anymore, because he felt that he has been unfairly singled out. He has just been neglected.
That this sage, he thought that this sage is deliberately neglecting me. Now, normally, we can’t see people’s inside, people’s mind, what they are thinking internally. We can only see their eyes and, sorry, we can only see their physical condition, including their eyes.
So, he thought that this king, this sage simply wants to neglect me and that’s why he is pretending to be in trance. And thus, Abhuta Purva Sahasa, text 29, Abhuta Purva Sahasa, Shudra Dhyaam, Ardhitaatmanaha, Brahmanam Pratyabhut, Brahman, Matsaromanyurevacha. So, Abhuta Purva Sahasa.
So, Abhuta Purva, something like this had never happened before, but at this point, it happened to Parikshit Sahasa. Suddenly, Shudra Dhyaam, Ardhitaatmanaha, Shudra Dhyaam, he was by hunger and thirst, he was afflicted, Ardhitaatmanaha. Now, although the Atma is different from the body, the soul is different from the body, but currently in the embodied condition, we need to take care of the body, mind and soul, everything together.
And even if one of them are not taken care of, we feel afflicted, we feel agitated, we feel exhausted. So, therefore, Shudra Dhyaam, Ardhitaatmanaha, that he was very afflicted and it’s Atmana, it was his self which felt afflicted. And thus, Brahmanam Pratyabhut, Brahman.
So, the word Brahman comes twice over here. Brahmanam means unto that Brahmana and Brahman refers to O Brahmanas. So, the Goswami is speaking to the Brahmanas.
It’s a nice verse where we have the same word, but in a slightly modified form at the beginning and the end of a sentence. Brahmanam Pratyabhut, so he became Matsaramanyurevacha, he became angry and envious. Now, Matsara sounds to be a very unusual emotion over here, that normally a king has so much material prosperity and it is people who may be envious of a king.
Why would a king be envious of anyone? Anger can be understood, that okay, he has not received me properly, so I feel angry at him. But why Matsara? Actually, Matsara here simply refers to the point that he felt afflicted. He felt that, oh, this is so uncaringly peaceful.
We need to be caringly calm, not uncaringly calm. So, that means that if somebody is distressed, at that time we certainly have to have some care for them. Otherwise, if you stay calm, then they will just feel we are heartless, you don’t even understand what I am going through.
So, his envy was not envy in a very negative sense, but in the sense that, you know, here I am so distressed and you are sitting so peacefully, you are not concerned at all about me. Thus, he felt angry. Sometimes if we have a big problem and if we go and talk with someone and they just don’t take our problem seriously, they laugh it away or they just joke, then we feel annoyed by that.
So, Matsara manyure evachar, so he felt angry. Such was his condition. So, and now it is said here, Sahasa, suddenly it happened.
It was abhootapurvaha, it had no precedent. This was not his habitual behaviour. It was an uncharacteristic emotion that came within him.
It was an unprecedented exhibition of anger that the king did. The king was the protector of brahminical culture. The king was very respectful of brahmanas normally.
But in this situation, circumstantially, he just exploded. Then what happened? So, now because of that anger, he was angry. So, what did he do? He, on that, on the body of that sage, on his shoulder, basically, gatasum uragam rusha, gatasum, asu means life, nasato vidyate bhavo nabhavo.
No, this is 2.11, the Bhagavad Gita also similar word is used, asocyanano sochastvam pragyavadams cha gatasum agatasum cha, nanusocanti pandita gatasum, asum is life air, gata means to go away. So, where the life air has gone away, agatasum, where the life air has not gone away. That means the cultured people, the learned people, pragya, they don’t lament either for the living or for the dead.
Gatasum uragam rusha, he felt extremely angry and he, in that anger, took a snake whose life had gone and he placed it on the shoulder of that sage, vinirgacchan dhanushkotya and he, with the tip of his toe, nidhayapuram agataha, he returned to his palace. So, he picked it up. So, he himself didn’t even touch the dead snake.
The snake was just lying there dead and normally corpses are not considered very pure. So, he didn’t want to touch, he didn’t touch the corpse himself. He just took his snake, took his bow, picked up the dead snake with a bow and put it on the shoulder of the sage and went away.
So, basically, it was some kind of, we could say, response to his non-responsiveness. Okay, you don’t offer me hospitality, here I’ll offer you hospitality. You don’t offer me a garland, here I’ll offer you a garland.
What is that garland? It’s a garland of a snake. Now, Parikshit Maharaj is not malevolent here. If he had been malevolent, he could have, the sage was in a trance, Parikshit Maharaj could have attacked and he could have injured or killed the sage also.
This was inconceivable for him, unconscionable, inconceivable, unthinkable also because the protector of Brahmanas and he did not even actually take a live snake and put it there because he did not mean to harm the sage. He was just angry. So, when we are angry, sometimes we may, somebody wants to come and talk with us and we just don’t want to talk with them at that time and we are angry with them.
We just push them away. Now, when we push them away, we have no intention to harm them. Sometimes, when we push them away, they may just fall down because maybe they are at that moment unsteady when we push them and then they fall and they have a big, they have some big injury because of that fall.
Then we will feel instantly remorseful because we just, at that time, even if we push them, pushing them away was not so much about them, it was about us that we push them away because at that time we were so annoyed, we were so upset, we were going through our own issues and we didn’t want one more issue to deal with. So, we didn’t want to be nagged at that time. So, we pushed them.
So, Parishad Maharaj, his action was not so much because the sage had done something seriously wrong, but because he himself was in an afflicted condition at that time and even in that afflicted condition, he desired, he did not desire to do any real or serious harm to the sage. It was just a rebuff. He just rebuffed the sage at that time and when he rebuffed the sage, the result was that the reaction would be catastrophic.
Now, what happened thereafter, we will discuss