ब्राह्मणं प्रत्यभूद्ब्रह्मन्मत्सरो मन्युरेव च ॥२९॥
abhÅ«ta-pÅ«rvaḥ sahasÄ
ká¹£ut-tá¹›á¸bhyÄm arditÄtmanaḥ
brÄhmaṇaá¹ praty abhÅ«d brahman
matsaro manyur eva ca
abhÅ«ta-pÅ«rvaḥ - unprecedented; sahasÄ - circumstantially; ká¹£ut - hunger; tá¹›á¸bhyÄm - as well as by thirst; ardita - being distressed; Ätmanaḥ - of his self; brÄhmaṇam - unto a brÄhmaṇa; prati - against; abhÅ«t - became; brahman - O brÄhmaṇas; matsaraḥ - envious; manyuḥ - angry; eva - thus; ca - and.
O brÄhmaṇas, the circumstances having distressed him with extreme hunger and thirst, the King directed toward the sage his anger and envy, which he had never before directed toward a brÄhmaṇa.
For a king like MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it to become angry and envious, especially at a sage and brÄhmaṇa, was undoubtedly unprecedented. The King knew well that brÄhmaṇas, sages, children, women and old men are always beyond the jurisdiction of punishment. Similarly, the king, even though he commits a great mistake, is never to be considered a wrongdoer. But in this case, MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it became angry and envious at the sage due to his thirst and hunger, by the will of the Lord. The King was right to punish his subject for coldly receiving him or neglecting him, but because the culprit was a sage and a brÄhmaṇa, it was unprecedented. As the Lord is never envious of anyone, so also the Lord’s devotee is never envious of anyone. The only justification for MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it’s behavior is that it was ordained by the Lord.
