Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 4.9.30
samadhina naika-bhavena yat padam
viduh sanandadaya urdhva-retasah
masair aham shadbhir amushya padayos
chayam upetyapagatah prithan-matih
SYNONYMS
dhruvah uvaca -- Dhruva Maharaja said; samadhina -- by practicing yoga in trance; na -- never; eka-bhavena -- by one birth; yat -- which; padam -- position; viduh -- understood; sananda-adayah -- the four brahmacaris headed by Sanandana; urdhva-retasah -- infallible celibates; masaih -- within months; aham -- I; shadbhih -- six; amushya -- of Him; padayoh -- of the lotus feet; chayam -- shelter; upetya -- achieving; apagatah -- fell down; prithak-matih -- my mind fixed on things other than the Lord.
TRANSLATION
Dhruva Maharaja thought to himself: To endeavor to be situated in the shade of the lotus feet of the Lord is not an ordinary task because even the great brahmacaris headed by Sanandana, who practiced ashtanga-yoga in trance, attained the shelter of the Lord's lotus feet only after many, many births. Within six months I achieved the same result, yet due to my thinking differently from the Lord, I fell down from my position.
PURPORT
In this verse Dhruva Maharaja himself explains the cause of his moroseness. First he laments that to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly is not easy. Even great saintly persons like the four celebrated brahmacaris headed by Sanandana -- Sanandana, Sanaka, Sanatana and Sanat-kumara -- practiced the yoga system for many, many births and remained in trance before getting the opportunity to see the Supreme Lord face to face. As far as Dhruva Maharaja was concerned, he saw the Supreme Lord personally after only six months of practice in devotional service. He expected, therefore, that as soon as he met the Supreme Lord, the Lord would take him to His abode immediately, without waiting. Dhruva Maharaja could understand very clearly that the Lord had offered him the rule of the world for thirty-six thousand years because in the beginning he was under the spell of the material energy and wanted to take revenge against his stepmother and rule over his father's kingdom. Dhruva Maharaja greatly lamented his propensity for ruling the material world and his revengeful attitude towards other living entities.
Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness