Shloka 15
Bharata Mahārāja’s Attachment to a Deer and His Fall from Yoga
अन्यदा भृशमुद्विग्नमना नष्टद्रविण इव कृपण: सकरुणमतितर्षेण हरिणकुणक विरहविह्वलहृदयसन्तापस्तमेवानुशोचन् किल कश्मलं महदभिरम्भित इति होवाच ॥ १५ ॥
anyadā bhṛśam udvigna-manā naṣṭa-draviṇa iva kṛpaṇaḥ sakaruṇam ati-tarṣeṇa hariṇa-kuṇaka-viraha-vihvala-hṛdaya-santāpas tam evānuśocan kila kaśmalaṁ mahad abhirambhita iti hovāca.
کبھی کبھی جب بھرت مہاراج کو وہ ہرن نظر نہ آتا تو ان کا دل سخت بے چین ہو جاتا۔ وہ اس بخیل کی مانند ہو جاتے جو دولت پا کر پھر کھو دے اور غمگین ہو جائے۔ ہرن کے بچے کی جدائی سے دل جل اٹھتا؛ رحم اور شدید تڑپ میں وہ نوحہ کرتے، فریبِ نظر میں مبتلا ہو کر یوں کہتے۔
If a poor man loses some money or gold, he at once becomes very agitated. Similarly, the mind of Mahārāja Bharata would become agitated when he did not see the deer. This is an example of how our attachment can be transferred. If our attachment is transferred to the Lord’s service, we progress. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī prayed to the Lord that he would be as naturally attracted to the Lord’s service as young men and young women are naturally attracted to each other. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited such attachment to the Lord when He jumped into the ocean or cried at night in separation. However, if our attachment is diverted to material things instead of to the Lord, we will fall down from the spiritual platform.
FAQs
This verse shows Bharata Mahārāja becoming mentally agitated and deluded due to intense attachment to the fawn, illustrating that unchecked affection for any object can disturb bhajana and cloud discrimination.
Because his heart became overly bound by compassion and longing for the young deer; separation triggered grief like a miser losing treasure, leading him into great bewilderment (kaśmala).
Keep compassion guided by dharma and steady sādhana—serve dependents responsibly, but avoid obsessive identification that steals the mind from remembrance of Bhagavān.