Devanagari
एष किं निभृताशेषकरणो मीलितेक्षण: ।
मृषासमाधिराहोस्वित्किं नु
स्यात्क्षत्रबन्धुभि: ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
eṣa kiṁ nibhṛtāśeṣa-
karaṇo mīlitekṣaṇaḥ
mṛṣā-samādhir āhosvit
kiṁ nu syāt kṣatra-bandhubhiḥ
Synonyms
eṣaḥ
—
this
;
kim
—
whether
;
nibhṛta
—
aśeṣa — meditative mood
;
karaṇaḥ
—
senses
;
mīlita
—
closed
;
īkṣaṇaḥ
—
eyes
;
mṛṣā
—
false
;
samādhiḥ
—
trance
;
āho
—
remains
;
svit
—
if it is so
;
kim
—
either
;
nu
—
but
;
syāt
—
may be
;
kṣatra
—
bandhubhiḥ — by the lower kṣatriya. .
Translation
Upon returning, he began to contemplate and argue within himself whether the sage had actually been in meditation, with senses concentrated and eyes closed, or whether he had just been feigning trance just to avoid receiving a lower kṣatriya.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Was he actually closing his eyes in a state of withdrawing his senses? Or was he feigning trance, perhaps because a fallen kṣatriya had come?
Purport
The King, being a devotee of the Lord, did not approve of his own action, and thus he began to wonder whether the sage was really in a trance or was just pretending in order to avoid receiving the King, who was a
kṣatriya
and therefore lower in rank. Repentance comes in the mind of a good soul as soon as he commits something wrong. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī do not believe that the King’s action was due to his past misdeeds. The arrangement was so made by the Lord just to call the King back home, back to Godhead.
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, the plan was made by the will of the Lord, and by the will of the Lord the situation of frustration was created. The plan was that for his so-called misdeed the King could be cursed by an inexperienced
brāhmaṇa
boy infected by the influence of Kali, and thus the King would leave his hearth and home for good. His connections with Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī would enable the presentation of the great
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
which is considered to be the book incarnation of the Lord. This book incarnation of the Lord gives much fascinating information of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, like His
rāsa-līlā
with the spiritual cowherd damsels of Vrajabhūmi. This specific pastime of the Lord has a special significance because anyone who properly learns about this particular pastime of the Lord will certainly be dissuaded from mundane sex desire and be placed on the path of sublime devotional service to the Lord. The pure devotee’s mundane frustration is meant to elevate the devotee to a higher transcendental position. By placing Arjuna and the Pāṇḍavas in frustration due to the intrigue of their cousin-brothers, the prelude of the Battle of Kurukṣetra was created by the Lord. This was to incarnate the sound representative of the Lord,
Bhagavad-gītā.
So by placing King Parīkṣit in an awkward position, the incarnation of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
was created by the will of the Lord. Being distressed by hunger and thirst was only a show, because the King endured much, even in the womb of his mother. He was never disturbed by the glaring heat of the
brahmāstra
released by Aśvatthāmā. The King’s distressed condition was certainly unprecedented. The devotees like Mahārāja Parīkṣit are powerful enough to forbear such distresses, by the will of the Lord, and they are never disturbed. The situation, in this case, was therefore all planned by the Lord.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
After the king had left he began to reflect. Had the sage withdrawn his senses and actually been in trance? Or was it fake trance? What would be the reason? One should not think that the king had committed a sin because of bad habits. It was the desire of the Lord to bring Parīkṣit quickly to his side, by having him become detached from the world by the curse of the sage, having him take the association of Śukadeva, and appearing in the form of the Bhāgavatam, in order to deliver the world and give a taste for the pastimes such as rāsa-līlā that he performed to some devotees who would be born later in Kali-yuga. This is stated by the wise. This is understood from Parīkṣit’s later statement:
tasyaiva me ’ghasya parāvareśo
vyāsakta-cittasya gṛheṣv abhīkṣṇam
nirveda-mūlo dvija-śāpa-rūpo
yatra prasakto bhayam āśu dhatte
As he was thus thinking, he heard about how he would die from the bite of Takṣaka because of the curse issued by the sage's son. He considered it beneficial that soon the fire of Takṣaka would be the cause of detachment from material life. SB 1.19.4
This also shows that the sinful actions of his pure devotee which are committed accidentally lead to benefit in the future.
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata |
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham ||
Whenever there is destruction in dharma, O Bhārata, and a rise in adharma, I manifest my own body. BG 4.6
Parīkṣit’s condition was produced by the Lord himself, in order to create an apparent reason for the Lord’s appearance in the form of the Bhāgavatam. Parīkṣit never had such conduct, even his dreams. Thus it is said that this was something he had not experienced before (verse 29). His state of anger did not arise from bad karma, since the result of this act was the great fortune of meeting Śukadeva. Nor should one say that the cause was his great thirst. A moment later, without drinking water, being pained by a hundred repentances, he returned home and immediately fasted till death. Since he was filled with spiritual power in birth and death, and had conquered time in his middle age (by restricting Kali), he must be considered to have exceptional strength by the mercy of the Lord.