Text 44
aho asya nṛ-śaṁsasya
śriyonmattasya paśyata
dharma-vyatikramaṁ viṣṇor
abhaktasyeśa-māninaḥ
aho — alas; asya — of this man; nṛ-śaṁsasya — who is so cruel; śriyā unmattasya — puffed up because of great opulence; paśyata — everyone just see; dharma-vyatikramam — the transgression of the regulative principles of religion; viṣṇoḥ abhaktasya — who is not a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu; īśa-māninaḥ — considering himself the Supreme Lord, independent of everything.
Alas, just see the behavior of this cruel man! He is not a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. Being proud of his material opulence and his position, he considers himself God. Just see how he has transgressed the laws of religion.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has diverted the entire meaning of this verse as spoken by Durvāsā Muni. Durvāsā Muni used the word nṛ-śaṁsasya to indicate that the King was cruel, but Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura interprets it to mean that the King’s character was glorified by all the local people. He says that the word nṛ means “by all the local people” and that śaṁsasya means “of he (Ambarīṣa) whose character was glorified.” Similarly, one who is very rich becomes mad because of his wealth and is therefore called śriyā-unmattasya, but Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura interprets these words to mean that although Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was such an opulent king, he was not mad after money, for he had already surpassed the madness of material opulence. Similarly, the word īśa-māninaḥ is interpreted to mean that he was so respectful to the Supreme Personality of Godhead that he did not transgress the laws for observing Ekādaśī-pāraṇa, despite the thinking of Durvāsā Muni, for he only took water. In this way, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has supported Ambarīṣa Mahārāja and all his activities.