Shloka 3
The Deliverance of Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva
Yamala-Arjuna Līlā Prelude and Culmination
श्रीशुक उवाच रुद्रस्यानुचरौ भूत्वा सुदृप्तौ धनदात्मजौ । कैलासोपवने रम्ये मन्दाकिन्यां मदोत्कटौ ॥ २ ॥ वारुणीं मदिरां पीत्वा मदाघूर्णितलोचनौ । स्त्रीजनैरनुगायद्भिश्चेरतु: पुष्पिते वने ॥ ३ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca rudrasyānucarau bhūtvā sudṛptau dhanadātmajau kailāsopavane ramye mandākinyāṁ madotkaṭau
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, Kuvera’s two sons, having become attendants of Rudra (Lord Śiva), grew exceedingly proud. In the lovely garden by Mount Kailāsa on the bank of the Mandākinī, they drank the liquor called Vāruṇī; with women singing behind them, they wandered through the flowering grove, their eyes rolling in intoxication.
This verse mentions some of the material advantages afforded to persons associated with or devoted to Lord Śiva. Apart from Lord Śiva, if one is a devotee of any other demigod, one receives some material advantages. Foolish people, therefore, become devotees of demigods. This has been pointed out and criticized by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) : kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ. Those who are not devotees of Kṛṣṇa have a taste for women, wine and so forth, and therefore they have been described as hṛta jñāna, bereft of sense. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can very easily point out such foolish persons, for they have been indicated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.15) , where Lord Kṛṣṇa says:
FAQs
These verses portray how pride and intoxication degrade discernment—Nalakuvara and Maṇigrīva, though exalted as Śiva’s attendants, behave arrogantly after drinking, setting the stage for karmic consequence and eventual purification.
Śukadeva highlights their high status (as Rudra’s followers and Kuvera’s sons) to show that even the privileged can fall into misconduct, making their later correction and deliverance more striking.
Guard against arrogance and substance-induced loss of self-control; spiritual position or social privilege does not replace humility, sobriety, and respect for others.