Shloka 28
Dhruva’s Humiliation, Sunīti’s Counsel, and Nārada’s Bhakti-Yoga Instruction
विकल्पे विद्यमानेऽपि न ह्यसन्तोषहेतव: । पुंसो मोहमृते भिन्ना यल्लोके निजकर्मभि: ॥ २८ ॥
vikalpe vidyamāne ’pi na hy asantoṣa-hetavaḥ puṁso moham ṛte bhinnā yal loke nija-karmabhiḥ
Dhruva, even if there are alternatives, you have no cause for dissatisfaction. Such discontent is a feature of māyā; every being is governed by past karma, and thus the world displays varied conditions for enjoyment or suffering.
In the Vedas it is said that the living entity is always uncontaminated and unaffected by material association. The living entity gets different types of material bodies because of his previous fruitive actions. If, however, one understands the philosophy that as a living spirit soul he has an affinity for neither suffering nor enjoyment, then he is considered to be a liberated person. It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.54) , brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā: when one is actually situated on the transcendental platform, he has nothing for which to lament and nothing for which to hanker. Nārada Ṛṣi first of all wanted to impress upon Dhruva Mahārāja that he was only a child; he should not have been affected by words of insult or honor. And if he were so developed as to understand honor and insult, then this understanding should have been applied in his own life. He should have known that honor and dishonor are both destined only by one’s previous actions; therefore one should not be sorry or happy under any circumstances.
FAQs
This verse says dissatisfaction is not truly caused by external differences or options in the world, but by moha (bewilderment/illusion) that makes one misread life’s situation.
Narada counsels Dhruva to rise above hurt, comparison, and anger by understanding that worldly conditions arise from one’s own karma, and that clarity (freedom from moha) is needed for steady spiritual progress.
Stop measuring your worth through constant comparison; accept present circumstances as karmic results, reduce resentment, and redirect effort toward devotion and right action with a steady, content mind.