Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.12.2
ज्वरामयार्तस्य यथागदं सत्
निदाघदग्धस्य यथा हिमाम्भ: ।
कुदेहमानाहिविदष्टदृष्टे:
ब्रह्मन् वचस्तेऽमृतमौषधं मे ॥ २ ॥
jvarāmayārtasya yathāgadaṁ sat
[jvaraamayaartasya yathaagadam sat]
nidāgha-dagdhasya yathā himāmbhaḥ
[nidaagha-dagdhasya yathaa himaambhah]
kudeha-mānāhi-vidaṣṭa-dṛṣṭeḥ
[kudeha-maanaahi-vidashta-drishteh]
brahman vacas te ’mṛtam auṣadhaṁ me
[brahman vachas te ’mritam aushadham me]
Word-for-word
jvara
—
of a fever
āmaya
—
by the disease
ārtasya
—
of a distressed person
yathā
—
just as
agadam
—
the medicine
sat
—
right
nidāgha-dagdhasya
—
of one scorched by the heat of the sun
yathā
—
just as
hima-ambhaḥ
—
very cold water
ku-deha
—
in this body made of matter and full of dirty things such as stool and urine
māna
—
of pride
ahi
—
by the serpent
vidaṣṭa
—
bitten
dṛṣṭeḥ
—
of one whose vision
brahman
—
O best of the brāhmaṇas
vacaḥ
—
words
te
—
your
amṛtam
—
nectar
auṣadham
—
medicine
me
—
for me.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
jvarāmayārtasya yathāgadaṁ sat
jvara
of a fever
āmaya
by the disease
ārtasya
of a distressed person
yathā
just as
agadam
the medicine
sat
right
nidāgha-dagdhasya yathā himāmbhaḥ
nidāgha-dagdhasya
of one scorched by the heat of the sun
yathā
just as
hima-ambhaḥ
very cold water
kudeha-mānāhi-vidaṣṭa-dṛṣṭeḥ
ku-deha
in this body made of matter and full of dirty things such as stool and urine
māna
of pride
ahi
by the serpent
vidaṣṭa
bitten
dṛṣṭeḥ
of one whose vision
brahman vacas te ’mṛtam auṣadhaṁ me
brahman
O best of the brāhmaṇas
vacaḥ
words
te
your
amṛtam
nectar
auṣadham
medicine
me
for me.
O best of the brāhmaṇas, my body is filled with dirty things, and my vision has been bitten by the serpent of pride. Due to my material conceptions, I am diseased. Your nectarean instructions are the proper medicine for one suffering from such a fever, and they are cooling waters for one scorched by the heat.
Purport
The conditioned soul has a body full of dirty things — bones, blood, urine, stool and so forth. Nonetheless, the most intelligent men in this material world think they are these combinations of blood, bone, urine and stool. If this is so, why can’t other intelligent men be made with these ingredients, which are so readily available? The entire world is going on under the bodily conception and creating a hellish condition unfit for any gentleman’s living. The instructions given to King Rahūgaṇa by Jaḍa Bharata are very valuable. They are like the medicine that can save one from a snakebite. The Vedic instructions are like nectar and cool water for one suffering from scorching heat.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
O brāhmaṇa! Your words are my medicine, just as correct medicine cures a person suffering from fever, or ice water relieves a person burned by the summer sun. Your words are nectar.
My vision has been bitten seriously by the snake of false identity with the despicable body. O brāhmaṇa! Your words are medicine (agadam). An example is given. On the grounds that this example is not always true (medicine does not always cure) another example is given. If the example of medicine is unsatisfactory, then the words of Bharata are compared to nectar.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Pride is a serpent; the body is full of dirty things; the bodily conception is a fever. The right diagnosis allows the right medicine — the nectar of a real teacher's instruction. Don't refuse the medicine just because the diagnosis stings.
Reflection Questions
- What honest naming of your spiritual fever would let the medicine actually reach you?
- Whose nectarean instructions have you been keeping at arm's length out of pride?
My note
Source: vedabase.io