FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.2.29

नष्टशौचा मूढधियो जटाभस्मास्थिधारिण: । विशन्तु शिवदीक्षायां यत्र दैवं सुरासवम् ॥ २९ ॥
naṣṭa-śaucā mūḍha-dhiyo
[nashta-shauchaa moodha-dhiyo]
jaṭā-bhasmāsthi-dhāriṇaḥ
[jataa-bhasmaasthi-dhaarinah]
viśantu śiva-dīkṣāyāṁ
[vishantu shiva-deekshaayaam]
yatra daivaṁ surāsavam
[yatra daivam suraasavam]
naṣṭa-śaucāḥ — cleanliness being abandoned mūḍha-dhiyaḥ — foolish jaṭā-bhasma-asthi-dhāriṇaḥ — wearing long hair, ashes and bones viśantu — may enter śiva-dīkṣāyām — into initiation of worship of Śiva yatra — where daivam — are spiritual sura-āsavam — wine and liquor.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
naṣṭa-śaucā mūḍha-dhiyo
naṣṭa-śaucāḥ
cleanliness being abandoned
mūḍha-dhiyaḥ
foolish
jaṭā-bhasmāsthi-dhāriṇaḥ
jaṭā-bhasma-asthi-dhāriṇaḥ
wearing long hair, ashes and bones
viśantu śiva-dīkṣāyāṁ
viśantu
may enter
śiva-dīkṣāyām
into initiation of worship of Śiva
yatra
where
yatra daivaṁ surāsavam
daivam
are spiritual
sura-āsavam
wine and liquor.
Those who vow to worship Lord Śiva are so foolish that they imitate him by keeping long hair on their heads. When initiated into worship of Lord Śiva, they prefer to live on wine, flesh and other such things.

Indulging in wine and meat, keeping long hair on one’s head, not bathing daily, and smoking gāñjā (marijuana) are some of the habits which are accepted by foolish creatures who do not have regulated lives. By such behavior one becomes devoid of transcendental knowledge. In the initiation into the Śiva mantra there are mudrikāṣṭaka, in which it is sometimes recommended that one make his sitting place on the vagina and thus desire nirvāṇa, or dissolution of existence. In that process of worship, wine is needed, or sometimes, in place of wine, palm tree juice which is converted into an intoxicant. This is also offered according to Śiva-āgama, a scripture on the method of worshiping Lord Śiva.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Unclean, foolish, wearing matted locks, ashes and bones, may they take initiation from Śiva, and then worship intoxication as if it were a deity. Sura is liquor made from sugar, grains and honey. Asava is liquor made from the sap of the tāla tree and other plants. Together they form a singular neuter word. They worship wine as if it were a devatā.
Bhṛgu mocks Śiva-followers for imitating his hair and consuming wine and flesh — imitating a great being's outward marks without his consciousness is parody, not devotion. Don't dress like the saint; develop the saint's interior.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I imitating outer marks of someone holy without doing the inner work?
  • What costume am I wearing that I haven't earned?
📝 My note

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