Srimad Bhagavatam. Canto 1: Creation

Chapter 19: The Appearance of Sukadeva Gosvami. Text 2

ध्रुवं ततो मे कृतदेवहेलनाद्दुरत्ययं व्यसनं नातिदीर्घात् ।
तदस्तु कामं ह्यघनिष्कृताय मे यथा न कुर्यां पुनरेवमद्धा ॥२॥

dhruvaá¹ tato me ká¹›ta-deva-helanÄd
duratyayaá¹ vyasanaá¹ nÄti-dÄ«rghÄt
tad astu kÄmaá¹ hy agha-niá¹£ká¹›tÄya me
yathÄ na kuryÄá¹ punar evam addhÄ

 dhruvam - sure and certain; tataḥ - therefore; me - my; ká¹›ta-deva-helanÄt - because of disobeying the orders of the Lord; duratyayam - very difficult; vyasanam - calamity; na - not; ati - greatly; dÄ«rghÄt - far off; tat - that; astu - let it be; kÄmam - desire without reservations; hi - certainly; agha - sins; niá¹£ká¹›tÄya - for getting free; me - my; yathÄ - so that; na - never; kuryÄm - shall I do it; punaḥ - again; evam - as I have done; addhÄ - directly.


Text

[King Parīkṣit thought:] Due to my neglecting the injunctions of the Supreme Lord I must certainly expect some difficulty to overcome me in the near future. I now desire without reservation that the calamity come now, for in this way I may be freed of the sinful action and not commit such an offense again.

Purport

The Supreme Lord enjoins that brÄhmaṇas and cows must be given all protection. The Lord is Himself very much inclined to do good to brÄhmaṇas and cows (go-brÄhmaṇa-hitÄya ca). MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it knew all this, and thus he concluded that his insulting a powerful brÄhmaṇa was certainly to be punished by the laws of the Lord, and he was expecting something very difficult in the very near future. He therefore desired the imminent calamity to fall on him and not on his family members. A man’s personal misconduct affects all his family members. Therefore MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it desired the calamity to fall on him alone. By suffering personally he would be restrained from future sins, and at the same time the sin which he had committed would be counteracted so that his descendants would not suffer. That is the way a responsible devotee thinks. The family members of a devotee also share the effects of a devotee’s service unto the Lord. MahÄrÄja PrahlÄda saved his demon father by his personal devotional service. A devotee son in the family is the greatest boon or blessing of the Lord.