Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 13
Avadhūta’s Further Teachers: Detachment, Solitude, One-Pointed Meditation, and the Lord as Āśraya
तदैवमात्मन्यवरुद्धचित्तो न वेद किञ्चिद् बहिरन्तरं वा । यथेषुकारो नृपतिं व्रजन्त- मिषौ गतात्मा न ददर्श पार्श्वे ॥ १३ ॥
tadaivam ātmany avaruddha-citto na veda kiñcid bahir antaraṁ vā yatheṣu-kāro nṛpatiṁ vrajantam iṣau gatātmā na dadarśa pārśve
Ainsi, lorsque la conscience est entièrement retenue dans l’Ātman, la Vérité absolue, on ne connaît plus la dualité, ni le dedans ni le dehors. Tel le fabricant de flèches, si absorbé à redresser sa flèche qu’il ne vit pas le roi passer tout près.
It is understood that when a king moves on a public street he is heralded by kettledrums and other musical instruments and is accompanied by soldiers and other members of his retinue. Thus, despite this royal extravaganza passing right by his workshop, the arrow maker did not even notice because he was completely absorbed in his prescribed duty of making an arrow straight and sharp. One who is completely absorbed in loving devotional service to the Absolute Truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, no longer pays attention to material illusion. In this verse the word bahis, “external,” refers to the innumerable objects of material sense gratification, such as food, drink, sex, and so on, which drag the senses of the conditioned soul into material duality. The word antaram, or “internal,” refers to memory of previous sense gratification or hopes and dreams for future materialistic situations. One who is seeing everywhere the Absolute Truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, categorically rejects both internal and external illusion. This is called mukti-pada, or the status of liberation. On this platform there is neither attraction nor aversion to sense objects; rather, there is loving absorption in the Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa, and an overwhelming desire to please Him by devotional service. One who gives up the reality of Kṛṣṇa will be forced to wander uselessly in the kingdom of mental speculation. One who cannot see that the Absolute Truth, Lord Kṛṣṇa, is the background and basis of everything that exists will be bewildered by the false concept that there is something that is not Kṛṣṇa. Everything emanates from the Lord, and He is the Lord of everything. This simple understanding is the actual existential situation.
FAQs
It teaches that when the mind is fully restrained within the Self, one becomes so absorbed that ordinary external and internal distractions no longer register—like an arrow-maker who doesn’t notice even a king passing nearby.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks this verse while narrating spiritual instruction to King Parīkṣit, using an analogy to illustrate deep absorption and withdrawal of the mind.
By practicing focused attention—especially in sādhana like japa, śravaṇa, and meditation—reducing multitasking, and training the mind to stay anchored in one sacred objective rather than chasing constant sensory input.