FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.10.20

स वै भवाँल्लोकनिरीक्षणार्थ- मव्यक्तलिङ्गो विचरत्यपिस्वित् । योगेश्वराणां गतिमन्धबुद्धि: कथं विचक्षीत गृहानुबन्ध: ॥ २० ॥
sa vai bhavāḻ loka-nirīkṣaṇārtham
[sa vai bhavaaḻ loka-nireekshanaartham]
avyakta-liṅgo vicaraty api svit
[avyakta-lingo vicharaty api svit]
yogeśvarāṇāṁ gatim andha-buddhiḥ
[yogeshvaraanaam gatim andha-buddhih]
kathaṁ vicakṣīta gṛhānubandhaḥ
[katham vichaksheeta grihaanubandhah]
saḥ — that Supreme Personality of Godhead or His incarnation Kapiladeva vai — indeed bhavān — your good self loka-nirīkṣaṇa-artham — just to study the characteristics of the people of this world avyakta-liṅgaḥ — 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-buddhiḥ — 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.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sa vai bhavāḻ loka-nirīkṣaṇārtham
saḥ
that Supreme Personality of Godhead or His incarnation Kapiladeva
vai
indeed
bhavān
your good self
loka-nirīkṣaṇa-artham
just to study the characteristics of the people of this world
avyakta-liṅgo vicaraty api svit
avyakta-liṅgaḥ
without manifesting your real identity
vicarati
are traveling in this world
api svit
whether
yogeśvarāṇāṁ gatim andha-buddhiḥ
yoga-īśvarāṇām
of all the advanced yogīs
gatim
the characteristics or actual behavior
andha-buddhiḥ
who are illusioned and have become blind to spiritual knowledge
kathaṁ vicakṣīta gṛhānubandhaḥ
katham
how
vicakṣīta
may know
gṛha-anubandhaḥ
I who am bound by attachment to family life, or worldly life.
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?

Although Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa was playing the part of a king, he had been informed by Jaḍa Bharata that he 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 (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. 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 ( Bhāg. 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.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Are you Kapiladeva, but hiding your identity, wandering about to examine the world? How can a person bound to family life, blind to spiritual knowledge, know the movements of the masters of yoga? Are you (kim svit) Kapiladeva? The person with blind intelligence refers to himself, the king.
Related verses
Saints may travel disguised as dullards precisely to find out who has eyes to see. The world is being silently tested by the saints walking through it. Pay attention to whom you dismiss — they may be doing the testing.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom have you dismissed recently who might have been silently examining whether you have eyes to see?
  • What kind of attention would you pay to ordinary strangers if you suspected one might be a hidden sage?
📝 My note

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