Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 16
Bharata Mahārāja’s Attachment to a Deer and His Fall from Yoga
अपि बत स वै कृपण एणबालको मृतहरिणीसुतोऽहो ममानार्यस्य शठकिरातमतेरकृतसुकृतस्य कृतविस्रम्भ आत्मप्रत्ययेन तदविगणयन् सुजन इवागमिष्यति ॥ १६ ॥
api bata sa vai kṛpaṇa eṇa-bālako mṛta-hariṇī-suto ’ho mamānāryasya śaṭha-kirāta-mater akṛta-sukṛtasya kṛta-visrambha ātma-pratyayena tad avigaṇayan sujana ivāgamiṣyati.
« Hélas ! Ce pauvre faon, né d’une biche désormais morte. Et hélas, que je suis indigne ! Mon esprit ressemble à celui d’un chasseur rusé, plein de tromperie et de cruauté, sans aucun mérite; pourtant il m’a fait confiance. Reviendra-t-il, tel un homme de bien qui ne compte pas les torts d’un ami perfide, et placera-t-il encore sa foi en moi ? »
Bharata Mahārāja was very noble and exalted, and therefore when the deer was absent from him he thought himself unworthy to give it protection. Due to his attachment for the animal, he thought that the animal was as noble and exalted as he himself was. According to the logic of ātmavan manyate jagat, everyone thinks of others according to his own position. Therefore Mahārāja Bharata felt that the deer had left him due to his negligence and that due to the animal’s noble heart, it would again return.
FAQs
This verse shows Bharata Mahārāja recognizing that his growing emotional dependence on the fawn is pulling his mind away from higher spiritual focus—attachment can make one overlook what is truly beneficial for bhakti.
Out of remorse and self-criticism, he condemns his own lapse from renunciation—feeling that his absorbed, possessive concern resembles worldly, instinctive attachment rather than saintly detachment.
Practice compassion without losing spiritual priorities: serve dependents responsibly, but keep steady sādhana and remember that excessive emotional fixation can quietly displace remembrance of the Lord.