SB 5.5.32

Srimad-Bhagavatam - Fifth Canto - Chapter 5: Lord Ṛṣabhadeva's Teachings to His Sons

SB 5.5.31 - SB 5.5.33

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

TEXT 32

yarhi vāva sa bhagavān lokam imaṁ yogasyāddhā

pratīpam ivācakṣāṇas tat-pratikriyā-karma

bībhatsitam iti vratam ājagaram-āsthitaḥ śayāna

evāśnāti pibati khādaty avamehati hadati sma ceṣṭamāna uccarita ādigdhoddeśaḥ

SYNONYMS

yarhi vāva — when; saḥ — He; bhagavān — the Personality of Godhead; lokam — the people in general; imam — this; yogasya — to the performance of yoga; addhā — directly; pratīpam — antagonistic; iva — like; ācakṣāṇaḥ — observed; tat — of that; pratikriyā — for counteraction; karma — activity; bībhatsitam — abominable; iti — thus; vratam — the behavior; ājagaram — of a python (to stay in one place); āsthitaḥ — accepting; śayānaḥ — lying down; eva — indeed; aśnāti — eats; pibati — drinks; khādati — chews; avamehati — passes urine; hadati — passes stool; sma — thus; ceṣṭamānaḥ — rolling; uccarite — i n the stool and urine; ādigdha-uddeśaḥ — His body thus smeared.

TRANSLATION

When Lord Ṛṣabhadeva saw that the general populace was very antagonistic to His execution of mystic yoga, He accepted the behavior of a python in order to counteract their opposition. Thus He stayed in one place and lay down. While lying down, He ate and drank, and He passed stool and urine and rolled in it. Indeed, He smeared His whole body with His own stool and urine so that opposing elements might not come and disturb Him.

PURPORT

According to one's destiny, one enjoys allotted happiness and distress, even though one keeps himself in one place. This is the injunction of the śāstras. When one is spiritually situated, he may stay in one place, and all his necessities will be supplied by the arrangement of the supreme controller. Unless one is a preacher, there is no need to travel all over the world. A person can stay in one place and execute devotional service suitably according to time and circumstance. When Ṛṣabhadeva saw that He was simply being disturbed by traveling throughout the world, He decided to lie down in one place like a python. Thus He ate, drank, and He passed stool and urine and smeared His body with them so that people would not disturb Him.

SB 5.5.31 - SB 5.5.33