Text 15
dṛḍhaṁ paṇḍita-māny ajñaḥ
stabdho ’sy asmad-upekṣayā
mac-chāsanātigo yas tvam
acirād bhraśyase śriyaḥ
dṛḍham — so firmly convinced or fixed in your decision; paṇḍita-mānī — considering yourself very learned; ajñaḥ — at the same time foolish; stabdhaḥ — impudent; asi — you have become; asmat — of us; upekṣayā — by disregarding; mat-śāsana-atigaḥ — surpassing the jurisdiction of my administration; yaḥ — such a person (as you); tvam — yourself; acirāt — very soon; bhraśyase — will fall down; śriyaḥ — from all opulence.
Although you have no knowledge, you have become a so-called learned person, and therefore you dare be so impudent as to disobey my order. Because of disobeying me, you shall very soon be bereft of all your opulence.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that Bali Mahārāja was not paṇḍita-mānī, or one who falsely assumes himself learned; rather, he was paṇḍita-mānya-jñaḥ, one who is so learned that all other learned persons worship him. And because he was so learned, he could disobey the order of his so-called spiritual master. He had no fear of any condition of material existence. Anyone cared for by Lord Viṣṇu does not need to care about anyone else. Thus Bali Mahārāja could never be bereft of all opulences. The opulences offered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not to be compared to the opulences obtained by karma-kāṇḍa. In other words, if a devotee becomes very opulent, it is to be understood that his opulence is a gift of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such opulence will never be vanquished, whereas the opulence achieved by one’s fruitive activity may be vanquished at any moment.