Verse 2.10.148

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.10.148:

শিরচ্ছেদি’ ভক্তি যেন করে দশানন না মানযে রঘুনাথ—শিবের কারণ ॥ ১৪৮ ॥

शिरच्छेदि’ भक्ति येन करे दशानन ना मानये रघुनाथ—शिवेर कारण ॥ १४८ ॥

śiracchedi’ bhakti yena kare daśānana nā mānaye raghunātha—śivera kāraṇa || 148 ||

siracchedi’ bhakti yena kare dasanana na manaye raghunatha—sivera karana (148)

English translation:

(148) The ten-headed Rāvaṇa worshiped Śiva with devotion and disrespected Rāmacandra. As a result, his heads were severed from his body.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

The ten-headed Rāvaṇa was a renowned “devotee of Śiva.” Although he was a devotee of Śiva, he did not serve Rāmacandra, the worshipable Lord of Śiva, rather he exhibited his sinful propensity by kidnapping Rāmacandra’s consort, Sītā. That ten-headed devotee of Rudra committed the sin of envying Rāmacandra, and as a result of his perverted mentality he lost all his heads. Rāmacandra alone is the original cause and worshipable Lord of Śiva. Since this fact did not enter the ten heads of Rāvaṇa, Rudradeva did not actually accept his service. Those who are capable of pleasing Lord Śiva through service achieve auspiciousness.

But since Rudra was not pleased by the worship and service offered by Rāvaṇa, he and his entire family were killed. In the same way, since the service propensity of Advaita’s descendants and their followers was misdirected, they have become envious of Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas and cut off forever from the Vaiṣṇava society like the atibāḍīs. Those descendants of Advaita and their followers who blaspheme Śrī Caitanya and cannot understand Advaita Prabhu’s service propensity towards Śrī Caitanya cannot remain on the platform of devotional service to Viṣṇu. Some people say that Vṛkāsura received the benediction from Mahādeva that anyone whose head he touched would be burnt to ashes. This demon created anxiety for Rudra when he went to test the efficacy of the received benediction by first touching the head of Śrī Rudra. When by the advice of Lord Viṣṇu the demon touched his own head to test the efficacy of the boon, he was at once destroyed. Since Rāvaṇa, who was a staunch devotee of Lord Śiva, fell into similar circumstances, he, like the prākṛta- sahajiyās, also welcomed material enjoyment on the pretext of devotional

service rather than serve Rāmacandra, the worshipable Lord of Śiva. This was Rāvaṇa’s own head-severing devotion to Śiva. Since Rāvaṇa envied Rāmacandra and became averse to the service of Sītādevī, the worshipable goddess of Śiva, his worshipable Lord Śiva became displeased with him. All those Advaita descendants and their so-called Vaiṣṇava followers who display the expertise of their devotional service while maintaining envy of Śrī Caitanya and His devotees also fall into such miserable conditions.