Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.10.14

śrī-śuka uvāca

etāvad anuvāda-paribhāshayā pratyudīrya muni-vara upaśama-śīla uparatānātmya-nimitta upabhogena karmārabdham vyapanayan rāja-yānam api tathovāha

SYNONYMS

śrī-śukah uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued to speak; etāvat — so much; anuvāda-paribhāshayā — by explanatory repetition of words spoken previously by the King; pratyudīrya — giving replies one after another; muni-varah — great sage Jada Bharata; upaśama-śīlah — who was calm and peaceful in character; uparata — ceased; anātmya — things not related to the soul; nimittah — whose cause (ignorance) for identification with things not related to the soul; upabhogena — by accepting the consequences of his karma; karma-ārabdham — the resultant action now attained; vyapanayan — finishing; rāja-yānam — the palanquin of the King; api — again; tathā — as before; uvāha — continued to carry.

TRANSLATION

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O Mahārāja Parīkshit, when King Rahūgana chastised the exalted devotee Jada Bharata with harsh words, that peaceful, saintly person tolerated it all and replied properly. Nescience is due to the bodily conception, and Jada Bharata was not affected by this false conception. Out of his natural humility, he never considered himself a great devotee, and he agreed to suffer the results of his past karma. Like an ordinary man, he thought that by carrying the palanquin, he was destroying the reactions of his past misdeeds. Thinking in this way, he began to carry the palanquin as before.

PURPORT

An exalted devotee of the Lord never thinks that he is a paramahamsa or a liberated person. He always remains a humble servant of the Lord. In all reverse conditions, he agrees to suffer the results of his past life. He never accuses the Lord of putting him into a distressed condition. These are the signs of an exalted devotee. Tat te 'nukampām susamīkshyamānah. When suffering reversed conditions, the devotee always considers that the reverse conditions are the Lord's concessions. He is never angry with his master; he is always satisfied with the position his master offers. In any case, he continues performing his duty in devotional service. Such a person is guaranteed promotion back home, back to Godhead. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.8):

tat te 'nukampām susamīkshamāno

bhuñjāna evātma-kritam vipākam

hrid-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te

jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

"My dear Lord, one who constantly waits for Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him and who goes on suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances from the core of his heart. is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim."

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness