Devanagari
अथाहममराचार्यमगाधधिषणं द्विजम् ।
प्रसादयिष्ये निशठ: शीर्ष्णा तच्चरणं स्पृशन् ॥ १५ ॥
Verse text
athāham amarācāryam
agādha-dhiṣaṇaṁ dvijam
prasādayiṣye niśaṭhaḥ
śīrṣṇā tac-caraṇaṁ spṛśan
Synonyms
atha
—
therefore
;
aham
—
I
;
amara
—
ācāryam — the spiritual master of the demigods
;
agādha
—
dhiṣaṇam — whose spiritual knowledge is deep
;
dvijam
—
the perfect brāhmaṇa
;
prasādayiṣye
—
I shall please
;
niśaṭhaḥ
—
without duplicity
;
śīrṣṇā
—
with my head
;
tat
—
caraṇam — his lotus feet
;
spṛśan
—
touching .
Translation
King Indra said: Therefore with great frankness and without duplicity I shall now bow my head at the lotus feet of Bṛhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods. Because he is in the mode of goodness, he is fully aware of all knowledge and is the best of the brāhmaṇas. Now I shall touch his lotus feet and offer my obeisances unto him to try to satisfy him.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Therefore I shall please the guru of the devatās who possesses deep knowledge by touching my head to his feet with sincerity.
Considering what to do in this dangerous situation, he then speaks. Niśaṭhaḥ means without duplicity.
Purport
Coming to his senses, King Indra realized that he was not a very sincere disciple of his spiritual master, Bṛhaspati. Therefore he decided that henceforward he would be
niśaṭha,
nonduplicitous.
Niśaṭhaḥ śīrṣṇa-tac-caraṇaṁ spṛśan:
he decided to touch his head to the feet of his spiritual master. From this example, we should learn this principle enunciated by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura:
yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ’pi
“By the mercy of the spiritual master one is benedicted by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement.” A disciple should never be a hypocrite or be unfaithful to his spiritual master. In
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(11.17.27)
, the spiritual master is also called
ācārya.
Ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān:
the Supreme Personality of Godhead says that one should respect the spiritual master, accepting him as the Lord Himself.
Nāvamanyeta karhicit:
one should not disrespect the
ācārya
at any time.
Na martya-buddhyāsūyeta:
one should never think the
ācārya
an ordinary person. Familiarity sometimes breeds contempt, but one should be very careful in one’s dealings with the
ācārya.
Agādha-dhiṣaṇaṁ dvijam:
the ācārya
is a perfect
brāhmaṇa
and has unlimited intelligence in guiding the activities of his disciple. Therefore Kṛṣṇa advises in
Bhagavad-gītā
(4.34)
:
tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jṣānaṁ
jṣāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” One should fully surrender unto the spiritual master. and with service (
sevayā
) one should approach him for further spiritual enlightenment.