Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 9 Chapter 5 Verse 20

Canto 9: Liberation | Chapter 5: Durvāsā Muni's Life Spared

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.5.20

prīto 'smy anugṛhīto 'smi

tava bhāgavatasya vai

darśana-sparśanālāpair

ātithyenātma-medhasā

SYNONYMS

prītaḥ — very much satisfied; asmi — I am; anugṛhītaḥ — very much favored; asmi — I am; tava — your; bhāgavatasya — because of your being a pure devotee; vai — indeed; darśana — by seeing you; sparśana — and touching your feet; ālāpaiḥ — by talking with you; ātithyena — by your hospitality; ātma-medhasā — by my own intelligence.

TRANSLATION

Durvāsā Muni said: I am very pleased with you, my dear King. At first I thought of you as an ordinary human being and accepted your hospitality, but later I could understand, by my own intelligence, that you are the most exalted devotee of the Lord. Therefore, simply by seeing you, touching your feet and talking with you, I have been pleased and have become obliged to you.

PURPORT

It is said, vaiṣṇavera kriyā mudrā vijñeha nā bujhaya: even a very intelligent man cannot understand the activities of a pure Vaiṣṇava. Therefore, because Durvāsā Muni was a great mystic yogī, he first mistook Mahārāja Ambarīṣa for an ordinary human being and wanted to punish him. Such is the mistaken observation of a Vaiṣṇava. When Durvāsā Muni was persecuted by the Sudarśana cakra, however, his intelligence developed. Therefore the word ātma-medhasā is used to indicate that by his personal experience he would understand how great a Vaiṣṇava the King was. When Durvāsā Muni was chased by the Sudarśana cakra, he wanted to take shelter of Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, and he was even able to go to the spiritual world, meet the Personality of Godhead and talk with Him face to face, yet he was unable to be rescued from the attack of the Sudarśana cakra. Thus he could understand the influence of a Vaiṣṇava by personal experience. Durvāsā Muni was certainly a great yogī and a very learned brāhmaṇa, but despite his being a real yogī he was unable to understand the influence of a Vaiṣṇava. Therefore it is said, vaiṣṇavera kriyā mudrā vijñeha nā bujhaya: even the most learned person cannot understand the value of a Vaiṣṇava. There is always a possibility for so-called jñānīs and yogīs to be mistaken when studying the character of a Vaiṣṇava. A Vaiṣṇava can be understood by how much he is favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in terms of his inconceivable activities.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness