एतावदनुवादपरिभाषया प्रत्युदीर्य मुनिवर उपशमशील उपरतानात्म्य
निमित्त उपभोगेन कर्मारब्धं व्यपनयन् राजयानमपि तथोवाह ॥१४॥
Å›rÄ«-Å›uka uvÄca
etÄvad anuvÄda-paribhÄá¹£ayÄ pratyudÄ«rya muni-vara upaÅ›ama-śīla uparatÄnÄtmya-nimitta upabhogena karmÄrabdhaá¹ vyapanayan rÄja-yÄnam api tathovÄha
Å›rÄ«-Å›ukaḥ uvÄca - Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« continued to speak; etÄvat - so much; anuvÄda-paribhÄá¹£ayÄ - by explanatory repetition of words spoken previously by the King; pratyudÄ«rya - giving replies one after another; muni-varaḥ - great sage Jaá¸a Bharata; upaÅ›ama-śīlaḥ - who was calm and peaceful in character; uparata - ceased; anÄtmya - things not related to the soul; nimittaḥ - whose cause (ignorance) for identification with things not related to the soul; upabhogena - by accepting the consequences of his karma; karma-Ärabdham - the resultant action now attained; vyapanayan - finishing; rÄja-yÄnam - the palanquin of the King; api - again; tathÄ - as before; uvÄha - continued to carry.
Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said: O MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, when King RahÅ«gaṇa chastised the exalted devotee Jaá¸a Bharata with harsh words, that peaceful, saintly person tolerated it all and replied properly. Nescience is due to the bodily conception, and Jaá¸a Bharata was not affected by this false conception. Out of his natural humility, he never considered himself a great devotee, and he agreed to suffer the results of his past karma. Like an ordinary man, he thought that by carrying the palanquin he was destroying the reactions of his past misdeeds. Thinking in this way, he began to carry the palanquin as before.
An exalted devotee of the Lord never thinks that he is a paramahaá¹sa or a liberated person. He always remains a humble servant of the Lord. In all reverse conditions, he agrees to suffer the results of his past life. He never accuses the Lord of putting him into a distressed condition. These are the signs of an exalted devotee. Tat te ’nukampÄá¹ susamÄ«ká¹£yamÄṇaḥ. When suffering reversed conditions, the devotee always considers that the reverse conditions are the Lord’s concessions. He is never angry with his master; he is always satisfied with the position his master offers. In any case, he continues performing his duty in devotional service. Such a person is guaranteed promotion back home, back to Godhead. As stated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (10.14.8):
tat te ’nukampÄá¹ susamÄ«ká¹£amÄṇo
bhuñjÄna evÄtma-ká¹›taá¹ vipÄkam
há¹›d-vÄg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jÄ«veta yo mukti-pade sa dÄya-bhÄk
“My dear Lord, one who constantly waits for Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him and who goes on suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances from the core of his heart, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.â€
