Shloka 14
The Fall of Purañjana and the Supersoul as the Eternal Friend
Purañjana-Upākhyāna Culmination
न शेके सोऽवितुं तत्र पुरुकृच्छ्रोरुवेपथु: । गन्तुमैच्छत्ततो वृक्षकोटरादिव सानलात् ॥ १४ ॥
na śeke so ’vituṁ tatra puru-kṛcchroru-vepathuḥ gantum aicchat tato vṛkṣa- koṭarād iva sānalāt
Shaking under severe distress, he could not protect anyone there. Like a serpent in a tree hollow that longs to flee when the forest burns, he wished to leave the city because of the fire’s fierce heat.
It becomes very difficult for snakes to leave a forest when there is a fire. Other animals may flee due to their long legs, but serpents, only being able to crawl, are generally burnt in the fire. At the last stage, the limbs of the body are not as much affected as the life air.
FAQs
This verse likens the soul’s panic-driven attempt to flee distress to escaping a fire inside a tree’s hollow—showing how material danger forces one to seek an exit, yet real safety requires deeper spiritual shelter.
Purañjana is an allegorical figure representing the conditioned soul entangled in bodily identification and karmic life; his fear and flight symbolize the jīva’s struggle under material nature.
When anxiety or crisis arises, don’t rely only on external escape-plans; use the urgency to turn inward toward steady spiritual practice—hearing, chanting, and seeking the Lord’s shelter—so the root cause of fear is addressed.