Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 8
The Fall of Purañjana and the Supersoul as the Eternal Friend
Purañjana-Upākhyāna Culmination
आत्मानं कन्यया ग्रस्तं पञ्चालानरिदूषितान् । दुरन्तचिन्तामापन्नो न लेभे तत्प्रतिक्रियाम् ॥ ८ ॥
ātmānaṁ kanyayā grastaṁ pañcālān ari-dūṣitān duranta-cintām āpanno na lebhe tat-pratikriyām
Als König Purañjana sah, dass Familie, Verwandte, Gefolgsleute, Diener und Schreiber sich gegen ihn gewandt hatten, geriet er in große Angst. Doch weil Kālakanyā ihn völlig überwältigte, fand er kein Gegenmittel.
When a person becomes weak from the attack of old age, the family members, servants and secretaries do not care for him. He is then unable to counteract this. Thus he becomes more and more anxious and laments his frightful condition.
FAQs
This verse shows that when one is overpowered by material influence and the senses are disturbed by hostile forces, anxiety becomes overwhelming—and without spiritual direction one cannot find a true remedy.
In the Purañjana allegory, the ‘maiden’ represents a binding material influence that captures the embodied self, after which the senses/citizens become vulnerable to enemy-like disturbances.
When the mind and senses are hijacked by external pressures and inner cravings, anxiety escalates; the takeaway is to seek a higher, spiritual countermeasure rather than only temporary fixes.