Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 11
Nārada Instructs Prācīnabarhiṣat: The Purañjana Narrative Begins
City of Nine Gates
सोऽन्वेषमाण: शरणं बभ्राम पृथिवीं प्रभु: । नानुरूपं यदाविन्ददभूत्स विमना इव ॥ ११ ॥
so ’nveṣamāṇaḥ śaraṇaṁ babhrāma pṛthivīṁ prabhuḥ nānurūpaṁ yadāvindad abhūt sa vimanā iva
King Purañjana began to search for a suitable place to live, and thus he traveled all over the world. Even after a great deal of traveling, he could not find a place just to his liking. Finally he became morose and disappointed.
The travelings of Purañjana are similar to the travelings of the modern hippies. Generally hippies are sons of great fathers and great families. It is not that they are always poor. But some way or another they abandon the shelter of their rich fathers and travel all over the world. As stated in this verse, the living entity wants to become a prabhu, or master. The word prabhu means “master,” but actually the living entity is not a master; he is the eternal servant of God. When the living entity abandons the shelter of God, Kṛṣṇa, and tries to become a prabhu independently, he travels all over the creation. There are 8,400,000 species of life and millions and millions and trillions of planets within the creation. The living entity wanders throughout these various types of bodies and throughout different planets, and thus he is like King Purañjana, who traveled all over the world looking for a suitable place to live.
FAQs
It shows that wandering in the world for a ‘suitable’ refuge—based on one’s material nature—often ends in dissatisfaction, hinting that real shelter is spiritual rather than merely worldly.
Because despite roaming the earth, he could not find a place or arrangement that perfectly matched his desires, so his mind became discouraged.
When repeated external searching (career, relationships, pleasures) fails to satisfy, it can be a cue to seek steadier inner refuge through dharma, devotion, and spiritual practice.