Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 10
Jaḍa Bharata’s Birth, Feigned Madness, and Protection by Goddess Kālī
स च प्राकृतैर्द्विपदपशुभिरुन्मत्तजडबधिरमूकेत्यभिभाष्यमाणो यदा तदनुरूपाणि प्रभाषते कर्माणि च कार्यमाण: परेच्छया करोति विष्टितो वेतनतो वा याच्ञया यदृच्छया वोपसादितमल्पं बहु मृष्टं कदन्नं वाभ्यवहरति परं नेन्द्रियप्रीतिनिमित्तम् । नित्यनिवृत्तनिमित्तस्वसिद्धविशुद्धानुभवानन्दस्वात्मलाभाधिगम: सुखदु:खयोर्द्वन्द्वनिमित्तयोरसम्भावितदेहाभिमान: ॥ ९ ॥ शीतोष्णवातवर्षेषु वृष इवानावृताङ्ग: पीन: संहननाङ्ग: स्थण्डिलसंवेशनानुन्मर्दनामज्जनरजसा महामणिरिवानभिव्यक्तब्रह्मवर्चस: कुपटावृतकटिरुपवीतेनोरुमषिणा द्विजातिरिति ब्रह्मबन्धुरिति संज्ञयातज्ज्ञजनावमतो विचचार ॥ १० ॥
sa ca prākṛtair dvipada-paśubhir unmatta-jaḍa-badhira-mūkety abhibhāṣyamāṇo yadā tad-anurūpāṇi prabhāṣate karmāṇi ca kāryamāṇaḥ parecchayā karoti viṣṭito vetanato vā yācñayā yadṛcchayā vopasāditam alpaṁ bahu mṛṣṭaṁ kadannaṁ vābhyavaharati paraṁ nendriya-prīti-nimittam. nitya-nivṛtta-nimitta-sva-siddha-viśuddhānubhavānanda-svātma-lābhādhigamaḥ sukha-duḥkhayor dvandva-nimittayor asambhāvita-dehābhimānaḥ. śītoṣṇa-vāta-varṣeṣu vṛṣa ivānāvṛtāṅgaḥ pīnaḥ saṁhananāṅgaḥ sthaṇḍila-saṁveśanānunmardanāmajjana-rajasā mahāmaṇir ivānabhivyakta-brahma-varcasaḥ kupaṭāvṛta-kaṭir upavītenoru-maṣiṇā dvijātir iti brahma-bandhur iti saṁjñayātaj-jñajanāvamato vicacāra.
Par froid ou chaleur, vent ou pluie, il ne couvrait jamais son corps, tel un taureau; il était puissant et bien charpenté. Il couchait à même le sol, ne s’oignait pas d’huile et ne se baignait pas. Son corps couvert de poussière voilait son éclat brahmanique, comme une grande gemme recouverte de terre. Il ne portait qu’un pagne sale et le cordon sacré noirci; bien que né dans une famille de brāhmaṇas, on le traitait de « brahma-bandhu » et on le méprisait, si bien qu’il errait çà et là.
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung: deha-smṛti nāhi yāra, saṁsāra-bandhana kāhāṅ tāra. One who has no desire to maintain the body or who is not anxious to keep the body in order and who is satisfied in any condition must be either mad or liberated. Actually Bharata Mahārāja in his birth as Jaḍa Bharata was completely liberated from material dualities. He was a paramahaṁsa and therefore did not care for bodily comfort.
FAQs
This verse shows Jaḍa Bharata deliberately appearing neglected and unremarkable, so that worldly people misjudge him as a “brahma-bandhu,” while his inner spiritual realization remains untouched.
Because he did not display conventional social and ritual markers of a learned brāhmaṇa; proud scholars, seeing only externals, dismissed him as brāhmaṇa by birth but not by realized qualities.
Cultivate inner integrity and devotion without craving validation; focus on spiritual practice and character rather than image, status, or public approval.