Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 12
Jaḍa Bharata’s Birth, Feigned Madness, and Protection by Goddess Kālī
अथ कदाचित्कश्चिद् वृषलपतिर्भद्रकाल्यै पुरुषपशुमालभतापत्यकाम: ॥ १२ ॥
atha kadācit kaścid vṛṣala-patir bhadra-kālyai puruṣa-paśum ālabhatāpatya-kāmaḥ.
एक समय शूद्रकुल से उत्पन्न डाकुओं का सरदार पुत्र-प्राप्ति की कामना से भद्रकाली देवी की आराधना हेतु एक मंदबुद्धि पुरुष को, जिसे वह पशु के समान मानता था, बलि चढ़ाना चाहता था।
Low-class men such as śūdras worship demigods like Goddess Kālī, or Bhadra Kālī, for the fulfillment of material desires. To this end, they sometimes kill a human being before the deity. They generally choose a person who is not very intelligent — in other words, an animal in the shape of a man.
FAQs
This verse describes a degraded, desire-driven act: an outcaste leader, seeking offspring, attempts to offer a human victim to Bhadrakālī—presented as adharma rather than pure devotion.
He was apatya-kāma—driven by the desire for progeny—so he resorted to a violent rite, treating a person as a sacrificial animal.
Unchecked material desire can lead to cruelty and spiritual downfall; the Bhagavatam cautions seekers to pursue dharma and devotion rather than harmful, fear-based rituals.