SB 12.5.2 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

त्वं तु राजन् मरिष्येति पशुबुद्धिमिमां जहि । न जात: प्रागभूतोऽद्य देहवत्त्वं न नङ्‌क्ष्यसि ॥ २ ॥

Verse text

tvaṁ tu rājan mariṣyeti paśu-buddhim imāṁ jahi na jātaḥ prāg abhūto ’dya deha-vat tvaṁ na naṅkṣyasi

Synonyms

tvam — you ; tu — but ; rājan — O King ; mariṣye — I am about to die ; iti — thus thinking ; paśu — buddhim — animalistic mentality ; imām — this ; jahi — give up ; na — not ; jātaḥ — born ; prāk — previously ; abhūtaḥ — nonexistent ; adya — today ; deha — vat — like the body ; tvam — you ; na naṅkṣyasi — will not be destroyed .

Translation

O King, give up the animalistic mentality of thinking, “I am going to die.” Unlike the body, you have not taken birth. There was not a time in the past when you did not exist, and you are not about to be destroyed.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O King! Give up the animal mentality, thinking “I will die.” You have never been born, you were previously not non-existent, and you will not be destroyed in the future like your body. The teachings on jṣāna begin. The word tu indicates a different subject. Mariṣye should be mariṣyāmi. Give up the intelligence of animals. Destroy that with discrimination. taṁ mopayātaṁ pratiyantu viprā gaṅgā ca devī dhṛta-cittam īśe dvijopasṛṣṭaḥ kuhakas takṣako vā daśatv alaṁ gāyata viṣṇu-gāthāḥ The brāhmaṇas and Gaṅgā-devī should know that I am surrendered, and have dedicated my heart to the Lord. Let the snake released by the brāhmaṇa, even if it is an imposter, bite me. Please sing topics concerning the Lord. SB 1.19.15 Since Parīkṣit had promised to dedicate himself to hearing Bhāgavatam, he cannot be accused of having animal intelligence. Thus these teaching on jṣāna are not meant for Parīkṣit but for others who have animal intelligence. Since Parīkṣit is his disciple, he addresses him, though it is meant for others. Similarly Kṛṣṇa addresses Arjuna in the Gītā, though the teachings are meant for all people. The discrimination is described. Your body did not exist previously, now it exists and in the future it will be destroyed. But you are not born, and you were not previously non-existent. Nor will you die. You are jīvātmā, different from the material covering. This statement is not unfavorable for bhakti.

Purport

At the end of the First Canto (1.19.15) King Parīkṣit stated: taṁ mopajātaṁ pratiyantu viprā gaṅgā ca devī dhṛta-cittam īśe dvijopasṛṣṭaḥ kuhakas takṣako vā daśatv alaṁ gāyata viṣṇu-gāthāḥ “O brāhmaṇas, just accept me as a completely surrendered soul, and let mother Ganges, the representative of the Lord, also accept me in that way, for I have already taken the lotus feet of the Lord into my heart. Let the snake-bird — or whatever magical thing the brāhmaṇa created — bite me at once. I only desire that you all continue singing the deeds of Lord Viṣṇu.” Even before hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, King Parīkṣit was a mahā-bhāgavata, a great and pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. There was actually no animalistic fear of death within the King, but for our sake Śukadeva Gosvāmī is speaking very strongly to his disciple, just as Lord Kṛṣṇa speaks strongly to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gītā.