एकदा धनुरुद्यम्य विचरन्मृगयां वने ।
मृगाननुगतः श्रान्तः क्षुधितस्तृषितो भृशम् ॥२४॥

जलाशयमचक्षाणः प्रविवेश तमाश्रमम् ।
ददर्श मुनिमासीनं शान्तं मीलितलोचनम् ॥२५॥

ekadÄ dhanur udyamya
vicaran má¹›gayÄá¹ vane
má¹›gÄn anugataḥ Å›rÄntaḥ
kṣudhitas tṛṣito bhṛśam
jalÄÅ›ayam acaká¹£Äṇaḥ
praviveÅ›a tam ÄÅ›ramam
dadarÅ›a munim ÄsÄ«naá¹
Å›Äntaá¹ mÄ«lita-locanam

 ekadÄ - once upon a time; dhanuḥ - arrows and bow; udyamya - taking firmly; vicaran - following; má¹›gayÄm - hunting excursion; vane - in the forest; má¹›gÄn - stags; anugataḥ - while following; Å›rÄntaḥ - fatigued; ká¹£udhitaḥ - hungry; tṛṣitaḥ - being thirsty; bhṛśam - extremely; jala-ÄÅ›ayam - reservoir of water; acaká¹£Äṇaḥ - while searching for; praviveÅ›a - entered into; tam - that famous; ÄÅ›ramam - hermitage of ÅšamÄ«ka Ṛṣi; dadarÅ›a - saw; munim - the sage; ÄsÄ«nam - seated; Å›Äntam - all silent; mÄ«lita - closed; locanam - eyes.


Text

Once upon a time MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, while engaged in hunting in the forest with bow and arrows, became extremely fatigued, hungry and thirsty while following the stags. While searching for a reservoir of water, he entered the hermitage of the well-known ÅšamÄ«ka Ṛṣi and saw the sage sitting silently with closed eyes.

Purport

The Supreme Lord is so kind to His pure devotees that in proper time He calls such devotees up to Him and thus creates an auspicious circumstance for the devotee. MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it was a pure devotee of the Lord, and there was no reason for him to become extremely fatigued, hungry and thirsty because a devotee of the Lord never becomes perturbed by such bodily demands. But by the desire of the Lord, even such a devotee can become apparently fatigued and thirsty just to create a situation favorable for his renunciation of worldly activities. One has to give up all attachment for worldly relations before one is able to go back to Godhead, and thus when a devotee is too much absorbed in worldly affairs, the Lord creates a situation to cause indifference. The Supreme Lord never forgets His pure devotee, even though he may be engaged in so-called worldly affairs. Sometimes He creates an awkward situation, and the devotee becomes obliged to renounce all worldly affairs. The devotee can understand by the signal of the Lord, but others take it to be unfavorable and frustrating. MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it was to become the medium for the revelation of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam by Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, as his grandfather Arjuna was the medium for the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ. Had Arjuna not been taken up with an illusion of family affection by the will of the Lord, the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ would not have been spoken by the Lord Himself for the good of all concerned. Similarly, had MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it not been fatigued, hungry and thirsty at this time, ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam would not have been spoken by ÅšrÄ«la Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«, the prime authority of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. So this is a prelude to the circumstances under which ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam was spoken for the benefit of all concerned. The prelude, therefore, begins with the words “once upon a time.â€