Verse 2.1.29

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.29:

येनानुवर्ति महतां गुनैः कृतो विख्यापितोऽहं कलि-निग्रहेन ।
सम्पद्य राज्य-श्रियम् अद्भुतां ततो निर्वेदितो भूसुर-शाप-दापनात् ॥ २९ ॥

yenānuvarti mahatāṃ gunaiḥ kṛto vikhyāpito'haṃ kali-nigrahena |
sampadya rājya-śriyam adbhutāṃ tato nirvedito bhūsura-śāpa-dāpanāt || 29 ||

yena–by whom; anuvartī–follower; mahatām–of the great souls; guṇaiḥ–by the qualities; kṛtaḥ–made; vikhyāpitaḥ–famous; aham–I; kali-nigrahena–by curbing the personality of Kali-yuga; sampadya–attaining; rājya–royal; śriyam–opulence; adbhutām–astonishing; tataḥ–then; nirveditaḥ–detached; bhūsura-śāpa–through a brāhmaṇa’s curse; dāpanāt–forced to give up.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa endowed me with sterling qualities and made me the follower of great saints. He made me world famous by choosing me to curb the personality of Kali-yuga, the Iron Age of quarrel and hypocrisy. He bestowed upon me royal opulence, and finally, on the pretext of a brāhmaṇa’s curse, He made me detached from that opulence.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Śrī Parīkṣit says, “Śrī Kṛṣṇa bestowed upon me exceptional qualities, like the ability to protect and maintain the citizens, devotion to brāhmaṇas, and the determination to uphold promises. Thus He molded me to become a follower of great souls such as Ikṣvāku.”

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.12.19–25), the brāhmaṇas tell Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira:

पार्थ प्रजाविता साक्षाद् इक्ष्वाकुर् इव मानवः
ब्रह्मण्यः सत्य-सन्धश् च रामो दाशरथिर् यथा
एष दाता शरण्यश् च यथा ह्य् औशीनरः शिबिः
यशो वितनिता स्वानां दौष्यन्तिर् इव यज्वनाम्
धन्विनाम् अग्रणीर् एष तुल्यश् चार्जुनयोर् द्वयोः
हुताश इव दुर्धर्षः समुद्र इव दुस्तरः
मृगेन्द्र इव विक्रान्तो निषेव्यो हिमवान् इव
तितिक्षुर् वसुधेवासौ सहिष्णुः पितराव् इव
पितामह-समः साम्ये प्रसादे गिरिशोपमः
आश्रयः सर्व-भूतानां यथा देवो रमाश्रयः
सर्व-सद्-गुण-माहात्म्ये एष कृष्णम् अनुव्रतः
रन्तिदेव इवोदारो ययातिर् इव धार्मिकः
धृत्या बलि-समः कृष्णे प्रह्राद इव सद्-ग्रहः

pārtha prajāvitā sākṣād ikṣvākur iva mānavaḥ
brahmaṇyaḥ satya-sandhaś ca rāmo dāśarathir yathā
eṣa dātā śaraṇyaś ca yathā hy auśīnaraḥ śibiḥ
yaśo vitanitā svānāṃ dauṣyantir iva yajvanām
dhanvinām agraṇīr eṣa tulyaś cārjunayor dvayoḥ
hutāśa iva durdharṣaḥ samudra iva dustaraḥ
mṛgendra iva vikrānto niṣevyo himavān iva
titikṣur vasudhevāsau sahiṣṇuḥ pitarāv iva
pitāmaha-samaḥ sāmye prasāde giriśopamaḥ
āśrayaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṃ yathā devo ramāśrayaḥ
sarva-sad-guṇa-māhātmye eṣa kṛṣṇam anuvrataḥ
rantideva ivodāro yayātir iva dhārmikaḥ
dhṛtyā bali-samaḥ kṛṣṇe prahrāda iva sad-grahaḥ

Exactly like King Ikṣvāku, the son of Manu (the father of mankind), this boy will be the protector of his subjects. Just like Śrī Rāmacandra, the son of Daśaratha, he will be faithful to his promise and will be a benefactor of brāhmaṇas. Like Śibi, the son of Uśīnara, he will be charitable and will protect surrendered souls. Like Bharata, the son of Duṣyanta, his reputation and fame will spread all over the earth. Like Śrī Arjuna, the son of Kuntī, and like Kārtavīrya, he will be the wielder of a bow. Like Agni, the fire-god, he will be very difficult to conquer. He will be as grave as the ocean and as brave as a lion. Like the Himālaya Mountains, he will happily serve the saintly persons. He will be forbearing like the earth. He will be tolerant like a mother and a father. He will be unbiased like Brahmā. He will be easily pleased like Mahādeva, who is known as Āśutoṣa. Like Nārāyaṇa, the husband of Ramā, the goddess of fortune, he will be the shelter of all the living entities. Like Śrī Kṛṣṇa, this boy will possess all glorious qualities. In magnanimity, he will be like Mahārāja Rantideva. In adherence to religious principles, he will be like Mahārāja Yayāti. In patience and courage, he will be like Bali Mahārāja, and like Prahlāda, he will be a devotee of Lord Hari.

Śrī Parīkṣit says, “At the time of my world conquest, I saw the personality of Kali on Kurukṣetra’s eastern flank, on the bank of the Sarasvatī River. He had assumed the form of the husband of a fallen woman and was torturing Mother Earth and religion personified, who had taken the forms of a cow and a bull respectively. By having me conquer the whole planet, Śrī Kṛṣṇa employed me to subdue the spread of Kali-yuga’s influence, and thus He made me illustrious throughout the entire world. He granted me astonishing royal eminence–a vastly prosperous kingdom free from disturbances.

“However, an even greater mercy was that He arranged for me to be cursed by Śṛṅgī, the son of Sage Śamīka, who swore, ‘takṣakaḥ saptame’hani daṅkṣyati–Seven days from now, the enormous snake Takṣaka will strike you’ (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.18.37). Factually, if Śrī Kṛṣṇa had not been merciful by arranging this curse, the sage’s son, residing in a solitary hermitage, could not have developed the mental disposition to curse a king like me. Nor could a king like me have had the desire to offend a sage by placing a dead snake around his neck. Without Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, it could never have been possible for me on my own strength to become detached from royal pleasures and the kingdom.”

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.19.14) states:

तस्यैव मे’घस्य परावरेशो व्यासक्त-चित्तस्य गृहेष्व् अभीक्ष्णम्
निर्वेद-मूलो द्विज-शाप-रूपो यत्र प्रसक्तो भयम् आशु धत्ते

tasyaiva me’ghasya parāvareśo vyāsakta-cittasya gṛheṣv abhīkṣṇam
nirveda-mūlo dvija-śāpa-rūpo yatra prasakto bhayam āśu dhatte

That Bhagavān, who is the controller of cause and the effect, has certainly shown mercy unto me. First, I was completely attached to household duties; and second, I had committed the sin of insulting a brāhmaṇa. It seems that the Lord thought, “Fear is indeed the cause of detachment for a person immersed in sense gratification. One cannot obtain Me (Bhagavān) by any means unless one develops detachment.” Therefore, by assuming the form of the brāhmaṇa’s terrifying curse, He personally showed me mercy.

The purport of this verse is: “Absorbed as I was in household duties, I was engaged in sinful activities. Moreover, I was attached to family life. Therefore, the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared to me in the form of a brāhmaṇa’s curse. This curse, which indeed would terrify any householder attached to family life, became the cause of my detachment. So, this curse is certainly the supreme mercy of the Lord, for it has acted for me as the root cause of developing detachment to household life. Due to fear of this curse, I developed renunciation. Factually, Śrī Kṛṣṇa has sent me this ‘curse of a brāhmaṇa’ through Śṛṅgī.”