कृष्णार्चनप्रभवा नो जहाति ।
अथो अहं जनसङ्गादसङ्गो
विशङ्कमानोऽविवृतश्चरामि ॥१५॥
sÄ mÄá¹ smá¹›tir má¹›ga-dehe 'pi vÄ«ra
kṛṣṇÄrcana-prabhavÄ no jahÄti
atho ahaá¹ jana-saá¹…gÄd asaá¹…go
viÅ›aá¹…kamÄno 'vivá¹›taÅ› carÄmi
sÄ - that; mÄm - me; smá¹›tiḥ - remembrance of the activities of my previous life; má¹›ga-dehe - in the body of a deer; api - although; vÄ«ra - O great hero; kṛṣṇa-arcana-prabhavÄ - which appeared because of the influence of sincere service to Kṛṣṇa; no jahÄti - did not leave; atho - therefore; aham - I; jana-saá¹…gÄt - from the association of ordinary men; asaá¹…gaḥ - completely detached; viÅ›aá¹…kamÄnaḥ - being afraid; avivá¹›taḥ - unobserved by others; carÄmi - I go here and there.
My dear heroic King, due to my past sincere service to the Lord, I could remember everything of my past life even while in the body of a deer. Because I am aware of the falldown in my past life, I always keep myself separate from the association of ordinary men. Being afraid of their bad, materialistic association, I wander alone unnoticed by others.
In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (2.40) it is said: svalpam apy asya dharmasya. It is certainly a great fall to go from human life to animal life, but in the case of Bharata MahÄrÄja or any devotee, devotional service to the Lord never goes in vain. As stated in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (8.6): yaá¹ yaá¹ vÄpi smaran bhÄvaá¹ tyajaty ante kalevaram. At the time of death, by nature’s law the mind is absorbed in a certain type of thinking. This may lead one to animal life, yet for a devotee there is no loss. Even though Bharata MahÄrÄja received the body of a deer, he didn’t forget his position. Consequently, in the body of a deer he was very careful to remember the cause of his downfall. As a result, he was given a chance to be born in a family of very pure brÄhmaṇas. Thus his service to the Lord never went in vain.
