FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.4.5

द्रुमेभ्य: क्रुध्यमानास्ते तपोदीपितमन्यव: । मुखतो वायुमग्निं च ससृजुस्तद्दिधक्षया ॥ ५ ॥
drumebhyaḥ krudhyamānās te
[drumebhyah krudhyamaanaas te]
tapo-dīpita-manyavaḥ
[tapo-deepita-manyavah]
mukhato vāyum agniṁ ca
[mukhato vaayum agnim cha]
sasṛjus tad-didhakṣayā
[sasrijus tad-didhakshayaa]
drumebhyaḥ — unto the trees krudhyamānāḥ — being very angry te — they (the ten sons of Prācīnabarhi) tapaḥ-dīpita-manyavaḥ — whose anger was inflamed because of long austerities mukhataḥ — from the mouth vāyum — wind agnim — fire ca — and sasṛjuḥ — they created tat — those forests didhakṣayā — with the desire to burn.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
drumebhyaḥ krudhyamānās te
drumebhyaḥ
unto the trees
krudhyamānāḥ
being very angry
te
they (the ten sons of Prācīnabarhi)
tapo-dīpita-manyavaḥ
tapaḥ-dīpita-manyavaḥ
whose anger was inflamed because of long austerities
mukhato vāyum agniṁ ca
mukhataḥ
from the mouth
vāyum
wind
agnim
fire
ca
and
sasṛjus tad-didhakṣayā
sasṛjuḥ
they created
tat
those forests
didhakṣayā
with the desire to burn.
Because of having undergone long austerities in the water, the Pracetās were very angry at the trees. Desiring to burn them to ashes, they generated wind and fire from their mouths.

Here the word tapo-dīpita-manyavaḥ indicates that persons who have undergone severe austerity ( tapasya ) are endowed with great mystic power, as evinced by the Pracetās, who created fire and wind from their mouths. Although devotees undergo severe tapasya, however, they are vimanyavaḥ, sādhavaḥ, which means that they are never angry. They are always decorated with good qualities. Bhāgavatam (3.25.21) states:

titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ

A sādhu, a devotee, is never angry. Actually the real feature of devotees who undergo tapasya, austerity, is forgiveness. Although a Vaiṣṇava has sufficient power in tapasya, he does not become angry when put into difficulty. If one undergoes tapasya but does not become a Vaiṣṇava, however, one does not develop good qualities. For example, Hiraṇyakaśipu and Rāvaṇa also performed great austerities, but they did so to demonstrate their demoniac tendencies. Vaiṣṇavas must meet many opponents while preaching the glories of the Lord, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that they not become angry while preaching. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given this formula: tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā/ amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ. “One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.” Those engaged in preaching the glories of the Lord should be humbler than grass and more tolerant than a tree; then they can preach the glories of the Lord without difficulty.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Because of having undergone long austerities, the Pracetās were filled with anger. Angry at the trees, desiring to burn the trees to ashes, they generated wind and fire from their mouths. Because of their austerities they became filled with anger.
Angered, the Pracetās produced wind and fire from their mouths to burn the trees. Even austerity can produce destructive force when the practitioner forgets that power is not the same as wisdom.
Reflection Questions
  • Where has my spiritual practice fueled anger rather than tempered it?
  • What 'fire from my mouth' do I need to learn to restrain?
📝 My note

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