Shloka 30
Rāsa-līlā Begins; Divine Multiplication; Moral Doubt and Its Resolution
नैतत् समाचरेज्जातु मनसापि ह्यनीश्वर: । विनश्यत्याचरन् मौढ्याद्यथारुद्रोऽब्धिजं विषम् ॥ ३० ॥
naitat samācarej jātu manasāpi hy anīśvaraḥ vinaśyaty ācaran mauḍhyād yathārudro ’bdhi-jaṁ viṣam
మహా నియంత్రకుడు కానివాడు ఈశ్వరుల ఆచరణను మనసులోనైనా అనుకరించకూడదు. మూర్ఖత్వంతో అనుకరిస్తే నశించును; రుద్రుడు కాకుండా సముద్రవిషం త్రాగితే నశించునట్లు.
Lord Śiva, or Rudra, once drank an ocean of poison, and the result was that an attractive blue mark appeared on his neck. But if we were to drink even a drop of such poison, we would die immediately. Just as we should not imitate this pastime of Śiva’s, we should not imitate Lord Kṛṣṇa’s activities with the gopīs. We should clearly understand that while Lord Kṛṣṇa certainly descends to demonstrate religious principles, He also descends to demonstrate that He is God and we are not. That also must be demonstrated. The Lord enjoys with His internal potency and thus attracts us to the spiritual platform. We should not try to imitate Kṛṣṇa, for we will suffer severely.
FAQs
This verse warns that anyone who is not the Supreme Controller should never imitate such divine actions, even mentally, because imitation born of delusion leads to spiritual and moral ruin.
He gives an analogy: even powerful Rudra drank the halāhala poison only in an extraordinary circumstance; similarly, Kṛṣṇa’s uncommon divine acts are not to be copied by conditioned souls.
Do not justify unethical behavior by citing spiritual ideals or divine stories; instead, follow one’s proper discipline and learn devotion through humility rather than imitation.