FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.7.5

बाहुभ्यामश्विनो: पूष्णो हस्ताभ्यां कृतबाहव: । भवन्‍त्वध्वर्यवश्चान्ये बस्तश्मश्रुर्भृगुर्भवेत् ॥ ५ ॥
bāhubhyām aśvinoḥ pūṣṇo
[baahubhyaam ashvinoh pooshno]
hastābhyāṁ kṛta-bāhavaḥ
[hastaabhyaam krita-baahavah]
bhavantv adhvaryavaś cānye
[bhavantv adhvaryavash chaanye]
basta-śmaśrur bhṛgur bhavet
[basta-shmashrur bhrigur bhavet]
Word-for-word
bāhubhyām — with two arms aśvinoḥ — of Aśvinī-kumāra pūṣṇaḥ — of Pūṣā hastābhyām — with two hands kṛta-bāhavaḥ — those in need of arms bhavantu — they will have to adhvaryavaḥ — the priests ca — and anye — others basta-śmaśruḥ — the beard of the goat bhṛguḥ — Bhṛgu bhavet — he may have.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
bāhubhyām aśvinoḥ pūṣṇo
bāhubhyām
with two arms
aśvinoḥ
of Aśvinī-kumāra
pūṣṇaḥ
of Pūṣā
hastābhyāṁ kṛta-bāhavaḥ
hastābhyām
with two hands
kṛta-bāhavaḥ
those in need of arms
bhavantv adhvaryavaś cānye
bhavantu
they will have to
adhvaryavaḥ
the priests
ca
and
anye
others
basta-śmaśrur bhṛgur bhavet
basta-śmaśruḥ
the beard of the goat
bhṛguḥ
Bhṛgu
bhavet
he may have.
Those who have had their arms cut off will have to work with the arms of Aśvinī-kumāra, and those whose hands were cut off will have to do their work with the hands of Pūṣā. The priests will also have to act in that manner. As for Bhṛgu, he will have the beard from the goat’s head.
Purport

Bhṛgu Muni, a great supporter of Dakṣa, was awarded the beard of the goat’s head which was substituted for the head of Dakṣa. It appears from the exchange of Dakṣa’s head that the modern scientific theory that the brain substance is the cause of all intelligent work is not valid. The brain substance of Dakṣa and that of a goat are different, but Dakṣa still acted like himself, even though his head was replaced by that of a goat. The conclusion is that it is the particular consciousness of an individual soul which acts. The brain substance is only an instrument which has nothing to do with real intelligence. The real intelligence, mind and consciousness are part of the particular individual soul. It will be found in the verses ahead that after Dakṣa’s head was replaced by the goat’s head, he was as intelligent as he had previously been. He prayed very nicely to satisfy Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu, which is not possible for a goat to do. Therefore it is definitely concluded that the brain substance is not the center of intelligence; it is the consciousness of a particular soul that works intelligently. The whole movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to purify the consciousness. It doesn’t matter what kind of brain one has because if he simply transfers his consciousness from matter to Kṛṣṇa, his life becomes successful. It is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā that anyone who takes up Kṛṣṇa consciousness achieves the highest perfection of life, regardless of whatever abominable condition of life he may have fallen into. Specifically, anyone in Kṛṣṇa consciousness goes back to Godhead, back to home, on leaving his present material body.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Let the priests and others have arms by using the arms of the Aśvinis and hands of Pūṣā. Let Bhṛgu have the moustache of a goat. Those priests who favored Dakṣa, raising their arms and shouting, had their arms broken. Let them us the Aśvinis’ arms and Pūṣā’s hands. Bhṛgu’s moustache had been torn off. Since he was the chief advisor of Dakṣa, he got the moustache from a goat’s head.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Those whose arms were cut off must now work with the Aśvinīs' arms. We carry on with borrowed limbs all the time — community, mentors, scripture — and that's not failure, it's design.
Reflection Questions
  • Whose 'arms' am I working with right now, and have I honored them as part of my action?
  • Where am I hiding a borrowed capacity to maintain the illusion of self-sufficiency?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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