Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 1
The Fall of Purañjana and the Supersoul as the Eternal Friend
Purañjana-Upākhyāna Culmination
नारद उवाच सैनिका भयनाम्नो ये बर्हिष्मन् दिष्टकारिण: । प्रज्वारकालकन्याभ्यां विचेरुरवनीमिमाम् ॥ १ ॥
nārada uvāca sainikā bhaya-nāmno ye barhiṣman diṣṭa-kāriṇaḥ prajvāra-kāla-kanyābhyāṁ vicerur avanīm imām
那罗陀说道——亲爱的普拉钦那巴尔希萨特王！随后，名为“恐惧”的亚瓦那王，连同普拉吉瓦拉、迦罗迦尼娅与其军士，开始遍行此世间。
The period of life just prior to death is certainly very dangerous because usually at this time people are attacked by the weakness of old age as well as many kinds of disease. The diseases that attack the body are compared here to soldiers. These soldiers are not ordinary soldiers, for they are guided by the King of the Yavanas, who acts as their commander-in-chief. The word diṣṭa-kāriṇaḥ indicates that he is their commander. When a man is young, he does not care for old age but enjoys sex to the best of his satisfaction, not knowing that at the end of life his sexual indulgence will bring on various diseases, which so much disturb the body that one will pray for immediate death. The more one enjoys sex during youth, the more he suffers in old age.
FAQs
They are allegorical figures—Fear (Bhaya), Fever (Prajvāra), and Time (Kāla)—shown as agents of destiny that move through the world, reminding the conditioned soul of inevitable decline and death.
Nārada is instructing the king through the Purañjana allegory to turn from fruitive ritualism and worldly security toward spiritual realization, because time and fear inevitably overtake material plans.
It encourages urgency and clarity: recognize that anxiety, illness, and time are unavoidable in material life, and therefore prioritize bhakti—hearing, chanting, and living with devotion—over temporary fixes.