Text
sa vai bhavāḹ loka-nirīkṣaṇārtham
avyakta-liṅgo vicaraty api svit
yogeśvarāṇāṁ gatim andha-buddhiḥ
kathaṁ vicakṣīta gṛhānubandhaḥ
Synonyms
saḥ—that Supreme Personality of Godhead or His incarnation Kapiladeva; vai—indeed; bhavan—your good self; loka-niriksana-artham—just to study the characteristics of the people of this world; avyakta-lingah—without manifesting your real identity; vicarati—are traveling in this world; api svit—whether; yoga-īśvarāṇām—of all the advanced yogīs; gatim—the characteristics or actual behavior; andha-buddhih—who are illusioned and have become blind to spiritual knowledge; katham—how; vicakṣīta—may know; gṛha-anubandhaḥ—I who am bound by attachment to family life, or worldly life. ¶
Translation
Is it not a fact that your good self is the direct representative of Kapiladeva, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? To examine people and see who is actually a human being and who is not, you have presented yourself to be a deaf and dumb person. Are you not moving this way upon the surface of the world? I am very attached to family life and worldly activities, and I am blind to spiritual knowledge. Nonetheless, I am now present before you and am seeking enlightenment from you. How can I advance in spiritual life? ¶
Purport
Although Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa was playing the part of a king, he had been informed by Jaḍa Bharata that be was not a king nor was Jaḍa Bharata deaf and dumb. Such designations were simply coverings of the spirit soul. Everyone must come to this knowledge. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (Bg. 2.13): dehino ‘smin yathā dehe. Everyone is encased within the body. Since the body is never identical with the soul, the bodily activities are simply illusory. In the association of such a sādhu as Jaḍa Bharata, Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa came to the awareness that his activities as a royal authority were simply illusory phenomena. He therefore agreed to receive knowledge from Jaḍa Bharata, and that was the beginning of his perfection. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. A person like Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa, who was very inquisitive to know the value of life and the spiritual science, must approach a personality like Jaḍa Bharata. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). One must approach a guru like Jaḍa Bharata, a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to inquire about the goal of human life. ¶