Shloka 48
Dhruva-vaṁśa Continuation: Utkala’s Renunciation, Aṅga’s Sacrifice, and the Birth of Vena
Prelude to Pṛthu
विज्ञाय निर्विद्य गतं पतिं प्रजा: पुरोहितामात्यसुहृद्गणादय: । विचिक्युरुर्व्यामतिशोककातरा यथा निगूढं पुरुषं कुयोगिन: ॥ ४८ ॥
vijñāya nirvidya gataṁ patiṁ prajāḥ purohitāmātya-suhṛd-gaṇādayaḥ vicikyur urvyām atiśoka-kātarā yathā nigūḍhaṁ puruṣaṁ kuyoginaḥ
When it became known that the King had left home in detachment, the citizens—priests, ministers, friends, and all others—were overwhelmed with grief. They searched for him throughout the world, like an unskilled yogī seeking the hidden Paramātmā within.
The example of searching for the Supersoul within the heart by the less intelligent mystics is very instructive. The Absolute Truth is understood in three different features, namely impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such kuyoginaḥ, or less intelligent mystics, can by mental speculation reach the point of the impersonal Brahman, but they cannot find the Supersoul, who is sitting within each living entity. When the King left, it was certain that he was staying somewhere else, but because the citizens did not know how to find him they were frustrated like the less intelligent mystics.
FAQs
This verse compares the citizens’ frantic external search to misguided yogīs who look outward for the Supersoul—though He is subtle and ‘hidden,’ realized through proper yoga, devotion, and inner purification rather than mere external searching.
They realized their ‘pati’—their protector, the king—had departed, and in grief and confusion they searched everywhere, showing how society becomes distressed when righteous protection and clear leadership are absent.
When guidance or stability is lost, panic can lead to scattered searching; the verse advises steadiness—seek the true shelter through sincere spiritual practice and sound counsel rather than anxiety-driven, misdirected efforts.