Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 23
Bharata Mahārāja’s Attachment to a Deer and His Fall from Yoga
किं वा अरे आचरितं तपस्तपस्विन्यानया यदियमवनि: सविनयकृष्णसारतनयतनुतरसुभगशिवतमाखरखुरपदपङ्क्तिभिर्द्रविणविधुरातुरस्य कृपणस्य मम द्रविणपदवीं सूचयन्त्यात्मानं च सर्वत: कृतकौतुकं द्विजानां स्वर्गापवर्गकामानां देवयजनं करोति ॥ २३ ॥
kiṁ vā are ācaritaṁ tapas tapasvinyānayā yad iyam avaniḥ savinaya-kṛṣṇa-sāra-tanaya-tanutara-subhaga-śivatamākhara-khura-pada-paṅktibhir draviṇa-vidhurāturasya kṛpaṇasya mama draviṇa-padavīṁ sūcayanty ātmānaṁ ca sarvataḥ kṛta-kautukaṁ dvijānāṁ svargāpavarga-kāmānāṁ deva-yajanaṁ karoti.
このように狂人のごとく語ってから、マハーラージャ・バラタは立ち上がり外へ出た。地面に鹿の蹄の跡を見て、愛ゆえにそれを讃えて言った。「ああ不運なバラタよ、わが苦行は取るに足らぬ。この大地こそ厳しい苦行を成したがゆえに、吉祥にして柔らかく、美しいクリシュナサーラの子鹿の小さな蹄跡がその面に刻まれたのだ。この足跡の列は、鹿を失って貧しく嘆く私に、森でそれが通った道と、失った『宝』を取り戻す道筋を示してくれる。これらの跡によって、この地は天界や解脱を願うブラーフマナたちがデーヴァへの供犠を行うにふさわしい場所ともなった。」
It is said that when a person becomes overly involved in loving affairs, he forgets himself as well as others, and he forgets how to act and how to speak. It is said that once when a man’s son was blind since birth, the father, out of staunch affection for the child, named him Padmalocana, or “lotus-eyed.” This is the situation arising from blind love. Bharata Mahārāja gradually fell into this condition due to his material love for the deer. It is said in the smṛti-śāstra:
FAQs
This verse shows Bharata’s mind turning toward the deer, admiring it and projecting meaning onto its footprints—illustrating how fascination and attachment can distract even an advanced practitioner from steady devotion.
Overcome by affection and wonder, Bharata imagines the doe must have performed tapas to gain such auspiciousness, revealing how attachment can make one romanticize worldly objects and relationships.
It cautions seekers to notice when admiration turns into dependency; maintaining disciplined remembrance of the Lord and balanced compassion prevents emotional fixation from derailing one’s sādhana.