SB 11.11.15 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.11.15

यस्यात्मा हिंस्यते हिंस्रैर्येन किञ्चिद् यद‍ृच्छया । अर्च्यते वा क्व‍‍चित्तत्र न व्यतिक्रियते बुध: ॥ १५ ॥

yasyātmā hiṁsyate hiṁsrair

[yasyaatmaa himsyate himsrair]

yena kiñcid yadṛcchayā

[yena kinchid yadrichchayaa]

arcyate vā kvacit tatra

[archyate vaa kvachit tatra]

na vyatikriyate budhaḥ

[na vyatikriyate budhah]

Word-for-word

yasya — of whom ātmā — the body hiṁsyate — is attacked hiṁsraiḥ — by sinful people or violent animals yena — by someone kiñcit — somewhat yadṛcchayā — somehow or other arcyate — is worshiped vā — or kvacit — somewhere tatra — therein na — not vyatikriyate — is transformed or affected budhaḥ — one who is intelligent.

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

yasyātmā hiṁsyate hiṁsrair

yasya

of whom

ātmā

the body

hiṁsyate

is attacked

hiṁsraiḥ

by sinful people or violent animals

yena kiñcid yadṛcchayā

yena

by someone

kiñcit

somewhat

yadṛcchayā

somehow or other

arcyate vā kvacit tatra

arcyate

is worshiped

vā

kvacit

somewhere

tatra

therein

na vyatikriyate budhaḥ

not

vyatikriyate

is transformed or affected

budhaḥ

one who is intelligent.

Sometimes for no apparent reason one’s body is attacked by cruel people or violent animals. At other times and in other places, one will suddenly be offered great respect or worship. One who becomes neither angry when attacked nor satisfied when worshiped is actually intelligent.

Purport

If one does not become angry when attacked for no apparent reason, and if one does not become enlivened when glorified or worshiped, then one has passed the test of self-realization and is considered fixed in spiritual intelligence. Uddhava asked Lord Kṛṣṇa, kair vā jñāyeta lakṣaṇaiḥ: by what symptoms can a self-realized person be recognized? Just as Lord Kṛṣṇa enlightened Arjuna, He now explains the same subject matter to Uddhava. In this verse the Lord describes symptoms by which it is very easy to recognize a saintly person, for a normal person becomes furious when criticized or attacked and overwhelmed with joy when glorified by others. There is a similar statement by Yājñavalkya to the effect that one who is actually intelligent does not become angry though pricked with thorns and does not become satisfied at heart merely by being worshiped with auspicious paraphernalia such as sandalwood.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

The liberated person, when attacked by violent creatures or when worshipped for some reason, is not affected by that. How is the liberated person to be recognized? Three verses give easily recognized qualities. The liberated person whose body is attacked by the wicked, by shoes or fists, or, without reason is worshipped with garland and sandalwood, is not disturbed. He does not become angry at the violent person or happy with the gentleman. Yājñavalkya has said: yaḥ kaṇṭakair vitudati candanaiś ca vilimpati | akruddho’parituṣṭaś ca samas tasya ca tasya ca || The wise man, on being beaten with thorns or anointed with sandalwood, remains indifferent, not experiencing either angry or joy. Yājñavalkya Smṛti 3.54

Personal Guidance

The budha is unmoved by sudden attack or sudden worship — neither anger nor elation moves the one fixed in the self.

Practical Applications

Notice the next moment someone praises you and watch the lift in the chest — refuse to feed it; return to remembrance of Kṛṣṇa.
When attacked or criticized today without apparent cause, hold the body's flare of anger for three breaths before any reply.
At day's end, name one instance of praise and one of insult you received, and ask which one disturbed you more — that is the test.

Reflection Questions

Which form of disturbance secretly rules me more — the sting of being attacked, or the warmth of being worshiped?
If a sudden insult and a sudden honor arrived today, what would each one reveal about where I am still identified with the body?

For Each Age Group

youth

Watch the next social-media notification — likes on a post or a cutting comment — and notice which one pulls your mood more, then put the phone down for ten minutes.
When a friend group suddenly turns on you or suddenly elevates you, hold your reply for one full day and ask what the budha would say.
After your next exam result, whether top of the class or a failure, do your evening sādhana exactly the same as the day before.

householder

When a colleague unfairly criticizes your work in a meeting, finish the day without venting at home — bring the disturbance to your morning japa instead.
When a relative praises you lavishly for your career or your children, refuse to repeat the praise to anyone else for a week.
Speak to your spouse tonight about one situation where family honor or insult is quietly running your decisions, and decide together what the budha would do.

senior

When younger people show you sudden respect for your seniority, receive it without storing it — let the warmth pass through like wind through a screen.
When the body is attacked by illness or by neglect from those you cared for, sit with the hurt in front of your iṣṭa-deva rather than nursing it in private.
Mentor one younger devotee this week by showing them, with a story from your own life, how a single insult or a single honor used to derail your sādhana — and what changed.

Common Pitfalls

Mistaking emotional numbness or suppression for the budha's equipoise — the verse asks for steadiness, not deadness.
Cultivating indifference to attack while still quietly drinking in praise, and calling that self-realization.
Using this verse to justify passivity in the face of real injustice toward others, when it speaks only about one's own reactions.

Discussion Prompts

Share a recent moment when praise disturbed your sādhana more than criticism did — what did that reveal about your false ego?
Where in your life are you actively cultivating situations that bring you respect, and what would it cost you to stop?
Is the budha's evenness a feeling you wait for, or a discipline you practice in the moment — and what does the difference look like in daily life?

Role Play

Two students pair up. One enters the room and, for two minutes, alternates between sincere praise of the other's spiritual progress and sharp, unfair criticism of their character. The listener responds only after the two minutes, naming which one pulled them more strongly and why. Then they switch roles.

Objections & Responses

Not reacting to attack or praise sounds like emotional repression — psychologically unhealthy, even dangerous.
The verse is not asking you to suppress feeling but to stop identifying the self with the body that is being attacked or flattered. The budha still perceives clearly and may act protectively; what is gone is the inner heave of anger or elation, because the soul knows it is neither the body nor its reputation.
If I do not feel pleased when others worship me or angry when they harm me, how am I different from a stone?
A stone is unmoved because it has no consciousness; the budha is unmoved because consciousness is fixed on Kṛṣṇa. The difference is the direction of the heart — full toward the Lord, and therefore unshaken by what merely touches the body.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io