श्रीशुक उवाच
प्रतिजग्राह तद् बाढं नारदः साधुसम्मतः ।
एतावान् साधुवादो हि तितिक्षेतेश्वरः स्वयम् ॥४४॥

Å›rÄ«-Å›uka uvÄca
pratijagrÄha tad bÄá¸haá¹
nÄradaḥ sÄdhu-sammataḥ
etÄvÄn sÄdhu-vÄdo hi
titikṣeteśvaraḥ svayam

 Å›rÄ«-Å›ukaḥ uvÄca - ÅšrÄ« Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said; pratijagrÄha - accepted; tat - that; bÄá¸ham - so be it; nÄradaḥ - NÄrada Muni; sÄdhu-sammataḥ - who is an approved sÄdhu; etÄvÄn - this much; sÄdhu-vÄdaḥ - appropriate for a saintly person; hi - indeed; titiká¹£eta - he may tolerate; Ä«Å›varaḥ - although able to curse PrajÄpati Daká¹£a; svayam - himself.


Text

ÅšrÄ« Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« continued: My dear King, since NÄrada Muni is an approved saintly person, when cursed by PrajÄpati Daká¹£a he replied, “tad bÄá¸ham: Yes, what you have said is good. I accept this curse.†He could have cursed PrajÄpati Daká¹£a in return, but because he is a tolerant and merciful sÄdhu, he took no action.

Purport

As stated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (3.25.21):

titiká¹£avaḥ kÄruṇikÄḥ
 suhá¹›daḥ sarva-dehinÄm
ajÄta-Å›atravaḥ Å›ÄntÄḥ
 sÄdhavaḥ sÄdhu-bhūṣaṇÄḥ

“The symptoms of a sÄdhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.†Because NÄrada Muni is the most elevated of sÄdhus, devotees, to deliver PrajÄpati Daká¹£a he silently tolerated the curse. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu has taught this principle to all His devotees:

tṛṇÄd api sunÄ«cena
 taror api sahiṣṇunÄ
amÄninÄ mÄnadena
 kÄ«rtanÄ«yaḥ sadÄ hariḥ

“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.†Following the orders of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, one who preaches the glories of the Lord all over the world or all over the universe should be humbler than grass and more tolerant than a tree because a preacher cannot live an easygoing life. Indeed, a preacher must face many impediments. Not only is he sometimes cursed, but sometimes he must also suffer personal injury. For example, when NityÄnanda Prabhu went to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the two roguish brothers JagÄi and MÄdhÄi, they injured Him and made His head bleed, but nevertheless, He tolerantly delivered the two rogues, who became perfect Vaiṣṇavas. This is the duty of a preacher. Lord Jesus Christ even tolerated crucifixion. Therefore the curse against NÄrada was not very astonishing, and he tolerated it.

Now, it may be asked why NÄrada Muni stayed in the presence of PrajÄpati Daká¹£a and tolerated all his accusations and curses. Was that for Daká¹£a’s deliverance? The answer is yes. ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura says that after being insulted by PrajÄpati Daká¹£a, NÄrada Muni should have left immediately, but he purposely stayed to hear all Daká¹£a’s strong words so that Daká¹£a might be relieved of his anger. PrajÄpati Daká¹£a was not an ordinary man; he had accumulated the results of many pious activities. Therefore NÄrada Muni expected that after delivering his curse, Daká¹£a, satisfied and freed from anger, would repent his misbehavior and thus get a chance to become a Vaiṣṇava and be delivered. When JagÄi and MÄdhÄi offended Lord NityÄnanda, Lord NityÄnanda stood tolerantly, and therefore both brothers fell at His lotus feet and repented. Consequently they later became perfect Vaiṣṇavas.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Sixth Canto, Fifth Chapter, of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, entitled “NÄrada Muni Cursed by PrajÄpati Daká¹£a.â€