Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 3
Jaḍa Bharata’s Birth, Feigned Madness, and Protection by Goddess Kālī
तत्रापि स्वजनसङ्गाच्च भृशमुद्विजमानो भगवत: कर्मबन्धविध्वंसनश्रवणस्मरणगुणविवरणचरणारविन्दयुगलं मनसा विदधदात्मन: प्रतिघातमाशङ्कमानो भगवदनुग्रहेणानुस्मृतस्वपूर्वजन्मावलिरात्मानमुन्मत्तजडान्धबधिरस्वरूपेण दर्शयामास लोकस्य ॥ ३ ॥
tatrāpi svajana-saṅgāc ca bhṛśam udvijamāno bhagavataḥ karma-bandha-vidhvaṁsana-śravaṇa-smaraṇa-guṇa-vivaraṇa-caraṇāravinda-yugalaṁ manasā vidadhad ātmanaḥ pratighātam āśaṅkamāno bhagavad-anugraheṇānusmṛta-sva-pūrva-janmāvalir ātmānam unmatta-jaḍāndha-badhira-svarūpeṇa darśayām āsa lokasya.
Là encore, il redoutait vivement la compagnie de parents et d’amis non dévots, craignant de retomber. Au-dedans, son mental demeurait fixé sur les pieds de lotus du Seigneur, et il s’absorbait dans l’écoute et le souvenir de Ses gloires, qui brisent les liens du karma. Par la miséricorde de Bhagavān, il se rappelait les événements de sa vie passée ; aussi, aux yeux du monde, se montra-t-il comme un fou—lourd d’esprit, aveugle et sourd—afin que nul ne cherche à lui parler, et il se préserva ainsi de la mauvaise fréquentation.
Every living entity is bound by different activities due to association with the modes of nature. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu: “This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.” ( Bg. 13.22 )
FAQs
This verse says Jaḍa Bharata became uneasy due to svajana-saṅga (family association) because he feared it would disturb his inner spiritual life, so he protected his devotion by remaining absorbed in hearing and remembering the Lord’s lotus feet.
He adopted that external disguise to avoid social entanglement and distraction; by the Lord’s mercy he remembered his previous births and deliberately presented himself in a way that people would not engage him in worldly dealings.
Keep steady daily śravaṇa and smaraṇa—listening to and recalling the Lord’s qualities and lotus feet—so that work, relationships, and social pressure do not pull the mind into karma-driven anxiety and away from devotion.