Canto 5: Creative Impetus

The Supreme Character of Jada Bharata

5.9.3

tatrapi svajana-sangac ca bhrsam

udvijamano bhagavatah karma-bandha-

vidhvamsana-sravana-smarana-guna-

vivarana-caranaravinda-yugalam manasa

vidadhad atmanah pratighatam asankamano

bhagavad-anugrahenanusmrta-sva-purva-

janmavalir atmanam unmatta-jadandha-

badhira-svarupena darsayam asa lokasya

SYNONYMS

tatra api—in that brahmana birth also; sva-jana-sangat—from association with relatives and friends; ca—and; bhrsam—greatly; udvijamanah—being always afraid that he would fall down again; bhagavatah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; karma-bandha—the bondage of the reactions of fruitive activities; vidhvamsana—which vanquishes; sravana—hearing; smarana—remembering; guna-vivarana—hearing descriptions of the qualities of the Lord; carana-aravinda—lotus feet; yugalam—the two; manasa—with the mind; vidadhat—always thinking of; atmanah—of his soul; pratighatam—obstruction on the path of devotional service; asankamanah—always fearing; bhagavat-anugrahena—by the special mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; anusmrta—remembered; sva-purva—his own previous; janma-avalih—string of births; atmanam—himself; unmatta—mad; jada—dull; andha—blind; badhira—and deaf; svarupena—with these features; darsayam asa—he exhibited; lokasya—to people in general.

TRANSLATION

Due to his being especially gifted with the Lord’s mercy, Bharata Maharaja could remember the incidents of his past life.

Although he received the body of a brahmana, he was still very much afraid of his relatives and friends who were not devotees.

He was always very cautious of such association because he feared that he would again fall down.

Consequently he manifested himself before the public eye as a madman—dull, blind and deaf—so that others would not try to talk to him.

In this way he saved himself from bad association.

Within he was always thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord and chanting the Lord’s glories, which save one from the bondage of fruitive action.

In this way he saved himself from the onslaught of nondevotee associates.

PURPORT

Every living entity is bound by different activities due to association with the modes of nature.

As stated in Bhagavad-gita, karanam guna-sango ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu: This is due to his association with that material nature.

Thus he meets with good and evil among various species (Bg.13.22) We get different types of bodies among 8,400,000 species according to our karma.

Karmana daiva-netrena: we work under the influence of material nature contaminated by the three modes, and thus we get a certain type of body according to superior order.

This is called karma-bandha.

To get out of this karma-bandha, one must engage himself in devotional service.

Then one will not be affected by the modes of material nature mam ca yo ’vyabhicarena

bhakti-yogena sevate

sa gunan samatityaitan

brahma-bhuyaya kalpate

One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman (Bg.14.26) To remain immune from the material qualities, one must engage himself in devotional service—sravanam kirtanam visnoh (SB 7.5.23).

That is the perfection of life.

When Maharaja Bharata took birth as a brahmana, he was not very interested in the duties of a brahmana, but within he remained a pure Vaisnava, always thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord.

As advised in Bhagavad-gita: man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru (Bg.18.65).

This is the only process by which one can be saved from the danger of repeated birth and death.