Shloka 7
Bharata Mahārāja’s Attachment to a Deer and His Fall from Yoga
तं त्वेणकुणकं कृपणं स्रोतसानूह्यमानमभिवीक्ष्यापविद्धं बन्धुरिवानुकम्पया राजर्षिर्भरत आदाय मृतमातरमित्याश्रमपदमनयत् ॥ ७ ॥
taṁ tv eṇa-kuṇakaṁ kṛpaṇaṁ srotasānūhyamānam abhivīkṣyāpaviddhaṁ bandhur ivānukampayā rājarṣir bharata ādāya mṛta-mātaram ity āśrama-padam anayat.
Seated on the riverbank, the great king-sage Bharata saw a helpless fawn, carried along by the current, bereft of its mother. Compassion rose within him; like a true friend he lifted the little deer from the waves and, knowing it was motherless, brought it to his āśrama.
The laws of nature work in subtle ways unknown to us. Mahārāja Bharata was a great king very advanced in devotional service. He had almost reached the point of loving service to the Supreme Lord, but even from that platform he could fall down onto the material platform. In Bhagavad-gītā we are therefore warned:
FAQs
This verse shows Bharata Mahārāja’s tender compassion—he rescues a helpless fawn swept by the river, treating it like a relative and bringing it to his āśrama.
He saw it was abandoned and being carried by the current, and he assumed its mother had died; out of compassion he lifted it and brought it to his āśrama.
Help the helpless with kindness, but remain vigilant that compassion does not turn into binding attachment that distracts from one’s spiritual purpose.