FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.13.5

निमि: प्रतिददौ शापं गुरवेऽधर्मवर्तिने । तवापि पतताद् देहो लोभाद्धर्ममजानत: ॥ ५ ॥
nimiḥ pratidadau śāpaṁ
[nimih pratidadau shaapam]
gurave ’dharma-vartine
[gurave ’dharma-vartine]
tavāpi patatād deho
[tavaapi patataad deho]
lobhād dharmam ajānataḥ
[lobhaad dharmam ajaanatah]
Word-for-word
nimiḥ — Mahārāja Nimi pratidadau śāpam — countercursed gurave — unto his spiritual master, Vasiṣṭha adharma-vartine — who was induced to irreligious principles (because he cursed his offenseless disciple) tava — of you api — also patatāt — let it fall dehaḥ — the body lobhāt — because of greed dharmam — religious principles ajānataḥ — not knowing.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nimiḥ pratidadau śāpaṁ
nimiḥ
Mahārāja Nimi
pratidadau śāpam
countercursed
gurave ’dharma-vartine
gurave
unto his spiritual master, Vasiṣṭha
tavāpi patatād deho
adharma-vartine
who was induced to irreligious principles (because he cursed his offenseless disciple)
lobhād dharmam ajānataḥ
tava
of you
api
also
patatāt
let it fall
dehaḥ
the body
lobhāt
because of greed
dharmam
religious principles
ajānataḥ
not knowing.
For unnecessarily cursing him when he had committed no offense, Mahārāja Nimi countercursed his spiritual master. “For the sake of getting contributions from the King of heaven,” he said, “you have lost your religious intelligence. Therefore I pronounce this curse: your body also will fall.”
Purport

The religious principle for a brāhmaṇa is that he should not be greedy at all. In this case, however, for the sake of more lucrative remunerations from the King of heaven, Vasiṣṭha neglected Mahārāja Nimi’s request on this planet, and when Nimi performed the sacrifices with other priests, Vasiṣṭha unnecessarily cursed him. When one is infected by contaminated activities, his power, material or spiritual, reduces. Although Vasiṣṭha was the spiritual master of Mahārāja Nimi, because of his greed he became fallen.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Mahārāja Nimi countercursed his guru who was on the path of irreligion. "Your body should also fall, because of your greed and ignorance of dharma.” His guru was on the path of adharma since he had greed for donations from both Indra and Nimi.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Nimi counter-curses Vasiṣṭha — pointing out that the sage was greedy for Indra's compensation. Even great brāhmaṇas can compromise principle for remuneration, and the right disciple may, painfully, have to name it.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I rationalizing greed in spiritual leadership — my own or others' — by the size of the paycheck?
  • Have I confused 'serving the bigger client' with 'serving the more important duty'?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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