Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 11
Jaḍa Bharata’s Birth, Feigned Madness, and Protection by Goddess Kālī
यदा तु परत आहारं कर्मवेतनत ईहमान: स्वभ्रातृभिरपि केदारकर्मणि निरूपितस्तदपि करोति किन्तु न समं विषमं न्यूनमधिकमिति वेद कणपिण्याकफलीकरणकुल्माषस्थालीपुरीषादीन्यप्यमृतवदभ्यवहरति ॥ ११ ॥
yadā tu parata āhāraṁ karma-vetanata īhamānaḥ sva-bhrātṛbhir api kedāra-karmaṇi nirūpitas tad api karoti kintu na samaṁ viṣamaṁ nyūnam adhikam iti veda kaṇa-piṇyāka-phalī-karaṇa-kulmāṣa-sthālīpurīṣādīny apy amṛtavad abhyavaharati.
贾达·婆罗多只为糊口而劳作。异母兄长便利用这一点，让他在田间干活换取些许食物；但他不知何处该平整、何处该留高低，也不辨多少。他们给他碎米、油饼渣、稻糠、虫蛀谷粒，甚至锅底粘焦的残饭；他却欢喜受用，如同甘露。
The platform of paramahaṁsa is described in Bhagavad-gītā (2.15) : sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so ’mṛtatvāya kalpate. When one is callous to all duality, the happiness and distress of this material world, one is fit for amṛtatva, eternal life. Bharata Mahārāja was determined to finish his business in this material world, and he did not at all care for the world of duality. He was complete in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and was oblivious to good and evil, happiness and distress. As stated in Caitanya-caritāmṛta ( Cc. Antya 4.176):
FAQs
This verse shows Jaḍa Bharata’s extraordinary tolerance: he accepts harsh labor and even the most impure food without complaint, remaining indifferent to bodily comfort and social insult.
Considering him dull and incapable, they treated him like a menial worker and assigned him agricultural labor; the narrative highlights his outward “jaḍa” behavior and inward spiritual steadiness.
Do your duty without obsession over praise, fairness, or comfort, and cultivate gratitude and simplicity—training the mind to stay steady even when circumstances are unpleasant.