December 21st


Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
भार्गवेण हता माता एकजायाश्च पाण्डवाः ।
परदाररतः कृष्णो न देवचरितं चरेत् ॥

Transliteration:
bhārgaveṇa hatā mātā ekajāyāśca pāṇḍavāḥ ।
paradārarataḥ kṛṣṇo na devacaritaṃ caret ॥

Meaning of the subhAShita:
Paraśurāma killed his mother; (five) Pāṇḍava-s had one wife; and Kṛṣṇa indulged with others' wives.  Do not follow in the footsteps of the noble.

Commentary:
On first thought, this shloka seems like a misfit of words. However, one needs to delve deeper into the inner meaning of the shloka.
  • Bhārgava was another name for Paraśurāma. He cut off his own mother's head with his paraśu (axe) as per his father's orders. His only reason for that was because his father told him to.  The father was pleased and offered him a boon. Paraśurāma then asked his father to revive his mother, which he did. One needs to know the whole episode before simply saying that he killed his mother! (In today's world, there are no children who are so obedient, nor are there fathers who can bring back people to life.) 
  • The 5 Pāṇḍava-s married one Draupadī, in order to keep their mother's word. That was Lord's way of fulfilling a boon that Draupadī herself had asked for. She wanted a husband with 5 of the best qualities. The Lord responded to her request by giving her 5 husbands - since it was simply impossible, even for the Lord, to create one man with all 5 qualities.
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa wed 16,000 gopikās! He was liberating them from an asura (demon) named Narakāsura. However, we humans can't liberate our own sorrows, let alone liberate others from theirs. So, don't blindly take notes that Kṛṣṇa married so many gopis.
The moral is: We cannot comprehend all the actions of the noble, and therefore, we should not blindly follow in their footsteps.  Their actions should be seriously considered before we mimic them.

Know how, why, and which actions of the noble should be emulated!

pada vigrahaH:
भार्गवेण हता माता एक-जायाः च पाण्डवाः ।
bhārgaveṇa hatā mātā eka-jāyāḥ ca pāṇḍavāḥ ।

पर-दार-रतः कृष्णः न देव-चरितं चरित ॥
para-dāra-rataḥ kṛṣṇaḥ na deva-caritaṃ carita ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
bhaargaveNa hataa maataa ekajaayaashcha paaNDavaaH ।
paradaararataH kRuShNo na devacharitaM charet ॥

bhaargaveNa hataa maataa eka-jaayaaH cha paaNDavaaH ।
para-daara-rataH kRuShNaH na deva-charitaM charet ॥

2 comments:

  1. Which scripture contains this verse? Can you provide the chapter and verse number as well? Thanks very much.

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    Replies
    1. Many a time, the source of the verses are not known. Wherever known, they are given right below the script of the verse. Hope that helps.

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