SB 10.34.12 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

सर्प उवाच अहं विद्याधर: कश्चित्सुदर्शन इति श्रुत: । श्रिया स्वरूपसम्पत्त्या विमानेनाचरन् दिश: ॥ १२ ॥ ऋषीन् विरूपाङ्गिरस: प्राहसं रूपदर्पित: । तैरिमां प्रापितो योनिं प्रलब्धै: स्वेन पाप्मना ॥ १३ ॥

Verse text

sarpa uvāca ahaṁ vidyādharaḥ kaścit sudarśana iti śrutaḥ śriyā svarūpa-sampattyā vimānenācaran diśaḥ ṛṣīn virūpāṅgirasaḥ prāhasaṁ rūpa-darpitaḥ tair imāṁ prāpito yoniṁ pralabdhaiḥ svena pāpmanā

Synonyms

sarpaḥ uvāca — the serpent said ; aham — I ; vidyādharaḥ — a Vidyādhara ; kaścit — certain ; sudarśanaḥ — Sudarśana ; iti — thus ; śrutaḥ — well known ; śriyā — with opulence ; svarūpa — of my personal form ; sampattyā — with the asset ; vimānena — in my airplane ; ācaran — wandering ; diśaḥ — the directions ; ṛṣīn — sages ; virūpa — deformed ; āṅgirasaḥ — of the disciplic succession of Āṅgirā Muni ; prāhasam — I ridiculed ; rūpa — because of beauty ; darpitaḥ — overly conceited ; taiḥ — by them ; imām — this ; prāpitaḥ — made to assume ; yonim — the birth ; pralabdhaiḥ — who were laughed at ; svena — because of my own ; pāpmanā — sinful action .

Translation

The serpent replied: I am the well-known Vidyādhara named Sudarśana. I was very opulent and beautiful, and I used to wander freely in all directions in my airplane. Once I saw some homely sages of the lineage of Aṅgirā Muni. Proud of my beauty, I ridiculed them, and because of my sin they made me assume this lowly form.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The serpent replied: I am the well-known Vidyādhara named Sudarśana. I was very opulent and beautiful, and I used to wander freely in all directions in my airplane. Once I saw some homely sages of the lineage of Aṅgirā Muni. Proud of my beauty, I ridiculed them, and because of my sin they made me assume this lowly form. KB 10.34.12-13 The demigod then began to narrate the story of his previous life. “My dear Lord,” he said, “in my previous life I was named Vidyādhara and was known all over the world for my beauty. Because I was a celebrated personality, I used to travel all over in my airplane. While traveling, I saw a great sage named Aṅgirā. He was very ugly, and because I was very proud of my beauty, I laughed at him. Due to this sinful act, I was condemned by the great sage to assume the form of a serpent.” One should note here that before being favored by Kṛṣṇa a person is always under the modes of material nature, however elevated he may be materially. Vidyādhara was a materially elevated demigod, and he was very beautiful. He also held a great material position and was able to travel all over by airplane. Yet he was condemned to become a serpent in his next life. Any materially elevated person can be condemned to an abominable species of life if he is not careful. It is a misconception that after reaching the human body one is never degraded. Vidyādhara himself stated that even though he was a demigod he was condemned to become a serpent. But because he was touched by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he immediately came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He admitted, however, that in his previous life he was actually sinful. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person knows that he is always the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa; he is most insignificant, and whatever good he does is by the grace of Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. The demigod Vidyādhara continued to speak to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. “Because I was very proud of the exquisite beauty of my body,” he said, “I derided the ugly features of the great sage Aṅgirā. He cursed me for my sin, and I became a snake.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

I was a well known (sruta) vidyadhara named Sudarsana. I used to move around here and there for amusement (disah acaran) in my airplane. As a result of my sin (svena papmana) I received birth as a snake by the rsis who I had laughed at (pralabdhaih taih).

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

By the touch of the Lord he also developed bhakti. That is indicated by his words. He is still called a snake (sarpa uvāca) because his present body was simply a transformation of the snake body. With humility he says, “I was known as a (kaścit) Vidyādhara named Sudarśana.” I was endowed with a wealth of beauty in my form. I would wander about in my airplane for fun. I mocked some sages of Aṅgirasā’s line who had deformed bodies because of austerities, because of my sins. Or, I attained the snake body because of my sins. Thus the sages were not at fault.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

I was some Vidyādhara. This shows his humility and also indicates he was the best Vidyādhara. His name Sudarśana (pleasant to see) indicates he had a beautiful form. With a wealth of beauty and glory I would travel about. Or I was endowed with beauty because of many features of my form. I would wander here and there for play. The sages in Aṅgirā’s lineage were naturally deformed and because of austerity had become thin. Proud of my beauty, I mocked them by laughing loudly. They did not become angry. They were not at fault. It was his sin.