Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 5.10.17

naham visanke sura-raja-vajran

na tryaksa-sulan na yamasya dandat

nagny-arka-somanila-vittapastrac

chanke bhrsam brahma-kulavamanat

SYNONYMS

na -- not; aham -- I; visanke -- am afraid; sura-raja-vajrat -- from the thunderbolt of the King of heaven, Indra; na -- nor; tryaksa-sulat -- from the piercing trident of Lord Siva; na -- nor; yamasya -- of the superintendent of death, Yamaraja; dandat -- from the punishment; na -- nor; agni -- of fire; arka -- of the scorching heat of the sun; soma -- of the moon; anila -- of the wind; vitta-pa -- of the owner of riches, Kuvera, the treasurer of the heavenly planets; astrat -- from the weapons; sanke -- I am afraid; bhrsam -- very much; brahma-kula -- the group of the brahmanas; avamanat -- from offending.

TRANSLATION

My dear sir, I am not at all afraid of the thunderbolt of King Indra, nor am I afraid of the serpentine, piercing trident of Lord Siva. I do not care about the punishment of Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, nor am I afraid of fire, scorching sun, moon, wind, nor the weapons of Kuvera. Yet I am afraid of offending a brahmana. I am very much afraid of this.

PURPORT

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was instructing Rupa Gosvami at the Dasasvamedha-ghata in Prayaga, He pointed out very clearly the seriousness of offending a Vaisnava. He compared the vaisnava-aparadha to hati mata, a mad elephant. When a mad elephant enters a garden, it spoils all the fruits and flowers. Similarly, if one offends a Vaisnava, he spoils all his spiritual assets. Offending a brahmana is very dangerous, and this was known to Maharaja Rahugana. He therefore frankly admitted his fault. There are many dangerous things -- thunderbolts, fire, Yamaraja's punishment, the punishment of Lord Siva's trident, and so forth -- but none is considered as serious as offending a brahmana like Jada Bharata. Therefore Maharaja Rahugana immediately descended from his palanquin and fell flat before the lotus feet of the brahmana Jada Bharata just to be excused.

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