FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.7

पृथुरुवाच अहो आचरितं किं मे मङ्गलं मङ्गलायना: । यस्य वो दर्शनं ह्यासीद्दुर्दर्शानां च योगिभि: ॥ ७ ॥
pṛthur uvāca
[prithur uvaacha]
aho ācaritaṁ kiṁ me
[aho aacharitam kim me]
maṅgalaṁ maṅgalāyanāḥ
[mangalam mangalaayanaah]
yasya vo darśanaṁ hy āsīd
[yasya vo darshanam hy aaseed]
durdarśānāṁ ca yogibhiḥ
[durdarshaanaam cha yogibhih]
pṛthuḥ uvāca — King Pṛthu spoke aho — O Lord ācaritam — practice kim — what me — by me maṅgalam — good fortune maṅgala-āyanāḥ — O personified good fortune yasya — by which vaḥ — your darśanam — audience hi — certainly āsīt — became possible durdarśānām — visible with great difficulty ca — also yogibhiḥ — by great mystic yogīs..
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
pṛthur uvāca
pṛthuḥ uvāca
King Pṛthu spoke
aho ācaritaṁ kiṁ me
aho
O Lord
ācaritam
practice
kim
what
me
by me
maṅgalaṁ maṅgalāyanāḥ
maṅgalam
good fortune
maṅgala-āyanāḥ
O personified good fortune
yasya
by which
vaḥ
your
yasya vo darśanaṁ hy āsīd
darśanam
audience
durdarśānāṁ ca yogibhiḥ
hi
certainly
āsīt
became possible
durdarśānām
visible with great difficulty
ca
also
yogibhiḥ
by great mystic yogīs..
King Pṛthu spoke: My dear great sages, auspiciousness personified, it is very difficult for even the mystic yogīs to see you. Indeed, you are very rarely seen. I do not know what kind of pious activity I performed for you to grace me by appearing before me without difficulty.

When something uncommon happens in one’s progressive spiritual life, it should be understood to be incurred by ajñāta-sukṛti, or pious activities beyond one’s knowledge. To see personally the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His pure devotee is not an ordinary incident. When such things happen, they should be understood to be caused by previous pious activity, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) : yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām. One who is completely freed from all the resultant actions of sinful activities and who is absorbed only in pious activities can engage in devotional service. Although Mahārāja Pṛthu’s life was full of pious activities, he was wondering how his audience with the Kumāras happened. He could not imagine what kind of pious activities he had performed. This is a sign of humility on the part of King Pṛthu, whose life was so full of pious activities that even Lord Viṣṇu came to see him and predicted that the Kumāras would also come.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Pṛthu said: Roads to good fortune! What pious act have I performed so that I have received your audience, rare for the yogīs?
Even mystic yogīs rarely see you; I don't know what pious act earned this. The right reception of grace begins with the honest admission that you didn't deserve it.
Reflection Questions
  • Which grace in my life have I claimed credit for that I actually can't account for?
  • Where would I don't know what I did to deserve this restore proper humility?
📝 My note

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