Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 7
Bhagavān’s Avatāras, Their Protections (Poṣaṇa), and the Limits of Knowing Him
कामं दहन्ति कृतिनो ननु रोषदृष्टया रोषं दहन्तमुत ते न दहन्त्यसह्यम् । सोऽयं यदन्तरमलं प्रविशन् बिभेति काम: कथं नु पुनरस्य मन: श्रयेत ॥ ७ ॥
kāmaṁ dahanti kṛtino nanu roṣa-dṛṣṭyā roṣaṁ dahantam uta te na dahanty asahyam so ’yaṁ yad antaram alaṁ praviśan bibheti kāmaḥ kathaṁ nu punar asya manaḥ śrayeta
सिद्ध पुरुष क्रोधभरी दृष्टि से काम को तो जला देते हैं, पर असह्य क्रोध को—जो स्वयं जलाने वाला है—वे भी जला नहीं पाते। पर वह क्रोध उस भगवान के हृदय में प्रवेश ही नहीं कर सकता, जिनके भीतर का मल-रहित अंतरात्मा उसे भयभीत कर देता है; फिर काम उनके मन में कैसे आश्रय पाए?
When Lord Śiva was engaged in severely austere meditation, Cupid, the demigod of lust, threw his arrow of sex desire. Lord Śiva, thus being angry at him, glanced at Cupid in great wrath, and at once the body of Cupid was annihilated. Although Lord Śiva was so powerful, he was unable to get free from the effects of such wrath. But in the behavior of Lord Viṣṇu there is no incident of such wrath at any time. On the contrary, Bhṛgu Muni tested the tolerance of the Lord by purposely kicking His chest, but instead of being angry at Bhṛgu Muni the Lord begged his pardon, saying that Bhṛgu Muni’s leg might have been badly hurt because His chest is too hard. The Lord has the sign of the foot of bhṛgu-pāda as the mark of tolerance. The Lord, therefore, is never affected by any kind of wrath, so how can there be any place for lust, which is less strong than wrath? When lust or desire is not fulfilled, there is the appearance of wrath, but in the absence of wrath how can there be any place for lust? The Lord is known as āpta-kāma, or one who can fulfill His desires by Himself. He does not require anyone’s help to satisfy His desires. The Lord is unlimited, and therefore His desires are also unlimited. All living entities but the Lord are limited in every respect; how then can the limited satisfy the desires of the unlimited? The conclusion is that the Absolute Personality of Godhead has neither lust nor anger, and even if there is sometimes a show of lust and anger by the Absolute, it should be considered an absolute benediction.
FAQs
This verse explains that advanced, self-controlled persons can burn lust quickly, but anger is harder to eradicate; when the heart is purified, lust becomes afraid to enter and cannot take shelter in the mind.
He indicates that when a person’s inner contamination is being purified (through spiritual strength and devotion), lust loses its foothold and cannot remain in the mind.
Work on root purification—consistent sādhana, self-discipline, and devotion—so desires lose attraction naturally; also watch anger carefully, since it can persist even when gross lust is checked.