Text 24
śrī-śuka uvāca
ity evam uttarā-mātaḥ sa vai brahmarṣi-sutaḥ sindhu-pataya ātma-satattvaṁ vigaṇayataḥ parānubhāvaḥ parama-kāruṇikatayopadiśya rahūgaṇena sakaruṇam abhivandita-caraṇa āpūrṇārṇava iva nibhṛta-karaṇormy-āśayo dharaṇim imāṁ vicacāra.
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; iti evam — in this way; uttarā-mātaḥ — O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, son of mother Uttarā; saḥ — that brāhmaṇa; vai — indeed; brahma-ṛṣi-sutaḥ — Jaḍa Bharata, the son of a highly educated brāhmaṇa; sindhu-pataye — unto the king of the province of Sindhu; ātma-sa-tattvam — the actual constitutional position of the soul; vigaṇayataḥ — although insulting Jaḍa Bharata; para-anubhāvaḥ — who was very exalted in spiritual realization; parama-kāruṇikatayā — by his quality of being very kind to the fallen souls; upadiśya — instructing; rahūgaṇena — by King Rahūgaṇa; sa-karuṇam — piteously; abhivandita-caraṇaḥ — whose lotus feet were worshiped; āpūrṇa-arṇavaḥ iva — like the full ocean; nibhṛta — completely silenced; karaṇa — of the senses; ūrmi — the waves; āśayaḥ — possessing a heart in which; dharaṇim — the earth; imām — this; vicacāra — continued to roam.
Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, O son of mother Uttarā, there were some waves of dissatisfaction in the mind of Jaḍa Bharata due to his being insulted by King Rahūgaṇa, who made him carry his palanquin, but Jaḍa Bharata neglected this, and his heart again became calm and quiet like an ocean. Although King Rahūgaṇa had insulted him, he was a great paramahaṁsa. Being a Vaiṣṇava, he was naturally very kindhearted, and he therefore told the King about the constitutional position of the soul. He then forgot the insult because King Rahūgaṇa pitifully begged pardon at his lotus feet. After this, he began to wander all over the earth, just as before.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.25.21), Kapiladeva describes the symptoms of great personalities: titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. A saintly devotee is certainly very tolerant. He is the friend of all living entities, and he does not create enemies within the world. A pure devotee has all the qualities of a sādhu. Jaḍa Bharata is an example of this. Due to the material body, his senses were certainly agitated when he was insulted by King Rahūgaṇa, but later, due to the King’s humble submission, Jaḍa Bharata excused him. It is the duty of everyone desiring to return to Godhead to become submissive like King Rahūgaṇa and beg pardon of Vaiṣṇavas one may have offended. Vaiṣṇavas are generally very kindhearted; therefore if one immediately submits himself at the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava, one is immediately cleared of offensive reactions. If one does not do so, the reactions will remain, and the results will not be very palatable.