Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 5
Uddhava Recalls Kṛṣṇa’s Mission: Earth’s Burden, Royal Dharma, and the Prelude to Dvārakā’s Withdrawal
प्रियं प्रभुर्ग्राम्य इव प्रियाया विधित्सुरार्च्छद् द्युतरुं यदर्थे । वज्र्याद्रवत्तं सगणो रुषान्ध: क्रीडामृगो नूनमयं वधूनाम् ॥ ५ ॥
priyaṁ prabhur grāmya iva priyāyā vidhitsur ārcchad dyutaruṁ yad-arthe vajry ādravat taṁ sa-gaṇo ruṣāndhaḥ krīḍā-mṛgo nūnam ayaṁ vadhūnām
Pour réjouir Son épouse bien-aimée, le Seigneur rapporta du ciel l’arbre pārijāta, comme le ferait un mari ordinaire. Mais Indra, roi du ciel, poussé par ses épouses, devint aveugle de colère et, brandissant le vajra avec toute son armée, se lança à la poursuite du Seigneur pour Le combattre, tel un gibier de jeu entre les mains des femmes.
The Lord once went to the heavenly planet to present an earring to Aditi, the mother of the demigods, and His wife Satyabhāmā also went with Him. There is a special flowering tree called the pārijāta, which grows only in the heavenly planets, and Satyabhāmā wanted this tree. Just to please His wife, like an ordinary husband, the Lord brought back the tree, and this enraged Vajrī, or the controller of the thunderbolt. Indra’s wives inspired him to run after the Lord to fight, and Indra, because he was a henpecked husband and also a fool, listened to them and dared to fight with Kṛṣṇa. He was a fool on this occasion because he forgot that everything belongs to the Lord.
FAQs
This verse shows Indra becoming ruṣāndha—blinded by anger—when Kṛṣṇa goes for the Pārijāta tree, illustrating how even exalted beings can fall into pride when possessiveness arises.
Because Kṛṣṇa went to obtain the divine Pārijāta to please His beloved (Satyabhāmā), and Indra, attached to his heavenly possession and status, reacted with anger and confronted Him with his followers.
Do not let entitlement over “my” position or “my” possessions turn into anger; cultivate humility by remembering all opulence is ultimately under the Supreme Lord’s control.