Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 4: “The Creation of the Fourth Order”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Two

Daksa Curses Lord Siva

SB4.2.1

TEXT 1

vidura uvaca

bhave silavatam sresthe

dakso duhitr-vatsalah

vidvesam akarot kasmad

anadrtyatmajam satim

SYNONYMS

vidurah uvaca—Vidura said; bhave—towards Lord Siva; silavatam—among the gentle; sresthe—the best; daksah—Daksa; duhitr-vatsalah—being affectionate towards his daughter; vidvesam—enmity; akarot—did exhibit; kasmat—why; anadrtya—neglecting; atmajam—his own daughter; satim—Sati.

TRANSLATION

Vidura inquired: Why was Daksa, who was so affectionate towards his daughter, envious of Lord Siva, who is the best among the gentle? Why did he neglect his daughter Sati?

PURPORT

In the Second Chapter of the Fourth Canto, the cause of the dissension between Lord Siva and Daksa, which was due to a great sacrifice arranged by Daksa for the pacification of the entire universe, is explained. Lord Siva is described here as the best of the gentle because he is not envious of anyone, he is equal to all living entities, and all other good qualities are present in his personality. The word siva means “all auspicious.” No one can be an enemy of Lord Siva’s, for he is so peaceful and renounced that he does not even construct a house for his residence, but lives underneath a tree, always detached from all worldly things. The personality of Lord Siva symbolizes the best of gentleness. Why, then, was Daksa, who offered his beloved daughter to such a gentle personality, inimical towards Lord Siva so intensely that Sati, the daughter of Daksa and wife of Lord Siva, gave up her body?

SB4.2.2

TEXT 2

kas tam caracara-gurum

nirvairam santa-vigraham

atmaramam katham dvesti

jagato daivatam mahat

SYNONYMS

kah—who (Daksa); tam—him (Lord Siva); cara-acara—of the whole world (both animate and inanimate); gurum—the spiritual master; nirvairam—without enmity; santa-vigraham—having a peaceful personality; atma-aramam—satisfied in himself; katham—how; dvesti—hates; jagatah—of the universe; daivatam—demigod; mahat—the great.

TRANSLATION

Lord Siva, the spiritual master of the entire world, is free from enmity, is a peaceful personality, and is always satisfied in himself. He is the greatest among the demigods. How is it possible that Daksa could be inimical towards such an auspicious personality?

PURPORT

Lord Siva is described here as caracara-guru, the spiritual master of all animate and inanimate objects. He is sometimes known as Bhutanatha, which means “the worshipable deity of the dull-headed.” Bhuta is also sometimes taken to indicate the ghosts. Lord Siva takes charge of reforming persons who are ghosts and demons, not to speak of others, who are godly; therefore he is the spiritual master of everyone, both the dull and demoniac and the highly learned Vaisnavas. It is also stated, vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh: Sambhu, Lord Siva, is the greatest of all Vaisnavas. On one hand he is the worshipable object of the dull demons, and on the other he is the best of all Vaisnavas, or devotees, and he has a sampradaya called the Rudra-sampradaya. Even if he is an enemy or is sometimes angry, such a personality cannot be the object of envy, so Vidura, in astonishment, asked why he was taken as such, especially by Daksa. Daksa is also not an ordinary person. He is a Prajapati, in charge of fathering population, and all his daughters are highly elevated, especially Sati. The word sati means “the most chaste.” Whenever there is consideration of chastity, Sati, this wife of Lord Siva and daughter of Daksa, is considered first. Vidura, therefore, was astonished. “Daksa is such a great man,” he thought, “and is the father of Sati. And Lord Siva is the spiritual master of everyone. How then could there possibly be so much enmity between them that Sati, the most chaste goddess, could give up her body because of their quarrel?”

SB4.2.3

TEXT 3

etad akhyahi me brahman

jamatuh svasurasya ca

vidvesas tu yatah pranams

tatyaje dustyajan sati

SYNONYMS

etat—thus; akhyahi—please tell; me—to me; brahman—O brahmana; jamatuh—of the son-in-law (Lord Siva); svasurasya—of the father-in-law (Daksa); ca—and; vidvesah—quarrel; tu—as to; yatah—from what cause; pranan—her life; tatyaje—gave up; dustyajan—which is impossible to give up; sati—Sati.

TRANSLATION

My dear Maitreya, to part with one’s life is very difficult. Would you kindly explain to me how such a son-in-law and father-in-law could quarrel so bitterly that the great goddess Sati could give up her life?

SB4.2.4

TEXT 4

maitreya uvaca

pura visva-srjam satre

sametah paramarsayah

tathamara-ganah sarve

sanuga munayo ’gnayah

SYNONYMS

maitreyah uvaca—the sage Maitreya said; pura—formerly (at the time of Svayambhuva Manu); visva-srjam—of the creators of the universe; satre—at a sacrifice; sametah—were assembled; parama-rsayah—the great sages; tatha—and also; amara-ganah—the demigods; sarve—all; sa-anugah—along with their followers; munayah—the philosophers; agnayah—the fire-gods.

TRANSLATION

The sage Maitreya said: In a former time, the leaders of the universal creation performed a great sacrifice in which all the great sages, philosophers, demigods and fire-gods assembled with their followers.

PURPORT

Upon being asked by Vidura, the sage Maitreya began to explain the cause of the misunderstanding between Lord Siva and Daksa, because of which the goddess Sati gave up her body. Thus begins the history of a great sacrifice performed by the leaders of the universal creation, namely Marici, Daksa and Vasistha. These great personalities arranged for a great sacrifice, for which demigods like Indra and the fire-gods assembled with their followers. Lord Brahma and Lord Siva were also present.

SB4.2.5

TEXT 5

tatra pravistam rsayo

drstvarkam iva rocisa

bhrajamanam vitimiram

kurvantam tan mahat sadah

SYNONYMS

tatra—there; pravistam—having entered; rsayah—the sages; drstva—seeing; arkam—the sun; iva—just like; rocisa—with luster; bhrajamanam—shining; vitimiram—free from darkness; kurvantam—making; tat—that; mahat—great; sadah—assembly.

TRANSLATION

When Daksa, the leader of the Prajapatis, entered that assembly, his personal bodily luster as bright as the effulgence of the sun, the entire assembly was illuminated, and all the assembled personalities became insignificant in his presence.

SB4.2.6

TEXT 6

udatisthan sadasyas te

sva-dhisnyebhyah sahagnayah

rte virincam sarvam ca

tad-bhasaksipta-cetasah

SYNONYMS

udatisthan—stood up; sadasyah—the members of the assembly; te—they; sva-dhisnyebhyah—from their own seats; saha-agnayah—along with the fire-gods; rte—except for; virincam—Brahma; sarvam—Siva; ca—and; tat—his (Daksa’s); bhasa—by the luster; aksipta—are influenced; cetasah—those whose minds.

TRANSLATION

Influenced by his personal bodily luster, all the fire-gods and other participants in that great assembly, with the exceptions of Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, gave up their own sitting places and stood in respect for Daksa.

SB4.2.7

TEXT 7

sadasas-patibhir dakso

bhagavan sadhu sat-krtah

ajam loka-gurum natva

nisasada tad-ajnaya

SYNONYMS

sadasah—of the assembly; patibhih—by the leaders; daksah—Daksa; bhagavan—the possessor of all opulences; sadhu—properly; sat-krtah—was welcomed; ajam—to the unborn (Brahma); loka-gurum—to the teacher of the universe; natva—making obeisances; nisasada—sat down; tat-ajnaya—by his (Brahma’s) order.

TRANSLATION

Daksa was adequately welcomed by the president of the great assembly, Lord Brahma. After offering Lord Brahma respect, Daksa, by the order of Brahma, properly took his seat.

SB4.2.8

TEXT 8

pran-nisannam mrdam drstva

namrsyat tad-anadrtah

uvaca vamam caksurbhyam

abhiviksya dahann iva

SYNONYMS

prak—before; nisannam—being seated; mrdam—Lord Siva; drstva—seeing; na amrsyat—did not tolerate; tat—by him (Siva); anadrtah—not being respected; uvaca—said; vamam—dishonest; caksurbhyam—with both eyes; abhiviksya—looking at; dahan—burning; iva—as if.

TRANSLATION

Before taking his seat, however, Daksa was very much offended to see Lord Siva sitting and not showing him any respect. At that time, Daksa became greatly angry, and, his eyes glowing, he began to speak very strongly against Lord Siva.

PURPORT

Lord Siva, being the son-in-law of Daksa, was expected to show his father-in-law respect by standing with the others, but because Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are the principal demigods, their positions are greater than Daksa’s. Daksa, however, could not tolerate this, and he took it as an insult by his son-in-law. Previously, also, he was not very much satisfied with Lord Siva, for Siva looked very poor and was niggardly in dress.

SB4.2.9

TEXT 9

sruyatam brahmarsayo me

saha-devah sahagnayah

sadhunam bruvato vrttam

najnanan na ca matsarat

SYNONYMS

sruyatam—hear; brahma-rsayah—O sages among the brahmanas; me—unto me; saha-devah—O demigods; saha-agnayah—O fire-gods; sadhunam—of the gentle; bruvatah—speaking; vrttam—the manners; na—not; ajnanat—from ignorance; na ca—and not; matsarat—from envy.

TRANSLATION

All sages, brahmanas and fire-gods present, please hear me with attention, for I speak about the manners of gentle persons. I do not speak out of ignorance or envy.

PURPORT

In speaking against Lord Siva, Daksa tried to pacify the assembly by presenting in a very tactful way that he was going to speak about the manners of gentle persons, although naturally this might affect some unmannerly upstarts and the assembly might be unhappy because they did not want even unmannerly persons to be offended. In other words, he was in complete knowledge that he was speaking against Lord Siva in spite of Siva’s spotless character. As far as envy is concerned, from the very beginning he was envious of Lord Siva; therefore he could not distinguish his own particular envy. Although he spoke like a man in ignorance, he wanted to cover his statements by saying that he was not speaking for impudent and envious reasons.

SB4.2.10

TEXT 10

ayam tu loka-palanam

yaso-ghno nirapatrapah

sadbhir acaritah pantha

yena stabdhena dusitah

SYNONYMS

ayam—he (Siva); tu—but; loka-palanam—of the governors of the universe; yasah-ghnah—spoiling the fame; nirapatrapah—shameless; sadbhih—by those of gentle manner; acaritah—followed; panthah—the path; yena—by whom (Siva); stabdhena—being devoid of proper actions; dusitah—is polluted.

TRANSLATION

Siva has spoiled the name and fame of the governors of the universe and has polluted the path of gentle manners. Because he is shameless, he does not know how to act.

PURPORT

Daksa wanted to impress upon the minds of all the great sages assembled in that meeting that Siva, being one of the demigods, had ruined the good reputations of all the demigods by his unmannerly behavior. The words used against Lord Siva by Daksa can also be understood in a different way, in a good sense. For example, he stated that Siva is yaso-ghna, which means “one who spoils name and fame.” So this can also be interpreted to mean that he was so famous that his fame killed all other fame. Again, Daksa used the word nirapatrapa, which also can be used in two senses. One sense is “one who is stunted,” and another sense is “one who is the maintainer of persons who have no other shelter.” Generally Lord Siva is known as the lord of the bhutas, or lower grade of living creatures. They take shelter of Lord Siva because he is very kind to everyone and is very quickly satisfied. Therefore he is called Asutosa. To such men, who cannot approach other demigods or Visnu, Lord Siva gives shelter. Therefore the word nirapatrapa can be used in that sense.

SB4.2.11

TEXT 11

esa me sisyatam prapto

yan me duhitur agrahit

panim vipragni-mukhatah

savitrya iva sadhuvat

SYNONYMS

esah—he (Siva); me—my; sisyatam—subordinate position; praptah—accepted; yat—because; me duhituh—of my daughter; agrahit—he took; panim—the hand; vipra-agni—of brahmanas and fire; mukhatah—in the presence; savitryah—Gayatri; iva—like; sadhuvat—like an honest person.

TRANSLATION

He has already accepted himself as my subordinate by marrying my daughter in the presence of fire and brahmanas. He has married my daughter, who is equal to Gayatri, and has pretended to be just like an honest person.

PURPORT

Daksa’s statement that Lord Siva pretended to be an honest person means that Siva was dishonest because in spite of accepting the position of Daksa’s son-in-law, he was not respectful to Daksa.

SB4.2.12

TEXT 12

grhitva mrga-savaksyah

panim markata-locanah

pratyutthanabhivadarhe

vacapy akrta nocitam

SYNONYMS

grhitva—taking; mrga-sava—like a deer cub; aksyah—of her who has eyes; panim—the hand; markata—of a monkey; locanah—he who has the eyes; pratyutthana—of rising from one’s seat; abhivada—the honor; arhe—to me, who deserves; vaca—with sweet words; api—even; akrta na—he did not do; ucitam—honor.

TRANSLATION

He has eyes like a monkey’s, yet he has married my daughter, whose eyes are just like those of a deer cub. Nevertheless he did not stand up to receive me, nor did he think it fit to welcome me with sweet words.

SB4.2.13

TEXT 13

lupta-kriyayasucaye

manine bhinna-setave

anicchann apy adam balam

sudrayevosatim giram

SYNONYMS

lupta-kriyaya—not observing rules and regulations; asucaye—impure; manine—proud; bhinna-setave—having broken all rules of civility; anicchan—not desiring; api—although; adam—handed over; balam—my daughter; sudraya—unto a sudra; iva—as; usatim giram—the message of the Vedas.

TRANSLATION

I had no desire to give my daughter to this person, who has broken all rules of civility. Because of not observing the required rules and regulations, he is impure, but I was obliged to hand over my daughter to him just as one teaches the messages of the Vedas to a sudra.

PURPORT

A sudra is forbidden to take lessons from the Vedas because a sudra, due to his unclean habits, is not worthy to hear such instructions. This restriction, that unless one has acquired the brahminical qualifications one should not read the Vedic literatures, is like the restriction that a law student should not enter a law college unless he has been graduated from all lower grades. According to the estimation of Daksa, Siva was unclean in habits and not worthy to have the hand of his daughter, Sati, who was so enlightened, beautiful and chaste. The word used in this connection is bhinna-setave, which refers to one who has broken all the regulations for good behavior by not following the Vedic principles. ln other words, according to Daksa the entire transaction of the marriage of his daughter with Siva was not in order.

SB4.2.14-15

TEXTS 14–15

pretavasesu ghoresu

pretair bhuta-ganair vrtah

ataty unmattavan nagno

vyupta-keso hasan rudan

cita-bhasma-krta-snanah

preta-sran-nrasthi-bhusanah

sivapadeso hy asivo

matto matta-jana-priyah

patih pramatha-nathanam

tamo-matratmakatmanam

SYNONYMS

preta-avasesu—at the burning places of dead bodies; ghoresu—horrible; pretaih—by the Pretas; bhuta-ganaih—by the Bhutas; vrtah—accompanied by; atati—he wanders; unmatta-vat—like a madman; nagnah—naked; vyupta-kesah—having scattered hair; hasan—laughing; rudan—crying; cita—of the funeral pyre; bhasma—with the ashes; krta-snanah—taking bath; preta—of the skulls of dead bodies; srak—having a garland; nr-asthi-bhusanah—ornamented with dead men’s bones; siva-apadesah—who is siva, or auspicious, only in name; hi—for; asivah—inauspicious; mattah—crazy; matta-jana-priyah—very dear to the crazy beings; patih—the leader; pramatha-nathanam—of the lords of the Pramathas; tamah-matra-atmaka-atmanam—of those grossly in the mode of ignorance.

TRANSLATION

He lives in filthy places like crematoriums, and his companions are the ghosts and demons. Naked like a madman, sometimes laughing and sometimes crying, he smears crematorium ashes all over his body. He does not bathe regularly, and he ornaments his body with a garland of skulls and bones. Therefore only in name is he Siva, or auspicious; actually, he is the most mad and inauspicious creature. Thus he is very dear to crazy beings in the gross mode of ignorance, and he is their leader.

PURPORT

Those who do not regularly bathe are supposed to be in association with ghosts and crazy creatures. Lord Siva appeared to be like that, but his name, Siva, is actually fitting, for he is very kind to persons who are in the darkness of the mode of ignorance, such as unclean drunkards who do not regularly bathe. Lord Siva is so kind that he gives shelter to such creatures and gradually elevates them to spiritual consciousness. Although it is very difficult to raise such creatures to spiritual understanding, Lord Siva takes charge of them, and therefore, as stated in the Vedas, Lord Siva is all-auspicious. Thus by his association even such fallen souls can be elevated. Sometimes it is seen that great personalities meet with fallen souls, not for any personal interest but for the benefit of those souls. In the creation of the Lord there are different kinds of living creatures. Some of them are in the mode of goodness, some are in the mode of passion, and some are in the mode of ignorance. Lord Visnu takes charge of persons who are advanced Krsna conscious Vaisnavas, and Lord Brahma takes charge of persons who are very much attached to material activities, but Lord Siva is so kind that he takes charge of persons who are in gross ignorance and whose behavior is lower that that of the animals. Therefore Lord Siva is especially called auspicious.

SB4.2.16

TEXT 16

tasma unmada-nathaya

nasta-saucaya durhrde

datta bata maya sadhvi

codite paramesthina

SYNONYMS

tasmai—to him; unmada-nathaya—to the lord of ghosts; nasta-saucaya—being devoid of all cleanliness; durhrde—heart filled with nasty things; datta—was given; bata—alas; maya—by me; sadhvi—Sati; codite—being requested; paramesthina—by the supreme teacher (Brahma).

TRANSLATION

On the request of Lord Brahma I handed over my chaste daughter to him, although he is devoid of all cleanliness and his heart is filled with nasty things.

PURPORT

It is the duty of parents to hand over their daughters to suitable persons just befitting their family tradition in cleanliness, gentle behavior, wealth, social position, etc. Daksa was repentant that on the request of Brahma, who was his father, he had handed over his daughter to a person who, according to his calculation, was nasty. He was so angry that he did not acknowledge that the request was from his father. Instead, he referred to Brahma as paramesthi, the supreme teacher in the universe; because of his temperament of gross anger, he was not even prepared to accept Brahma as his father. In other words, he accused even Brahma of being less intelligent because he had advised Daksa to hand over his beautiful daughter to such a nasty fellow. In anger one forgets everything, and thus Daksa, in anger, not only accused the great Lord Siva, but criticized his own father, Lord Brahma, for his not very astute advice that Daksa hand over his daughter to Lord Siva.

SB4.2.17

TEXT 17

maitreya uvaca

vinindyaivam sa girisam

apratipam avasthitam

dakso ’thapa upasprsya

kruddhah saptum pracakrame

SYNONYMS

maitreyah uvaca—Maitreya said; vinindya—abusing; evam—thus; sah—he (Daksa); girisam—Siva; apratipam—without any hostility; avasthitam—remaining; daksah—Daksa; atha—now; apah—water; upasprsya—washing hands and mouth; kruddhah—angry; saptum—to curse; pracakrame—began to.

TRANSLATION

The sage Maitreya continued: Thus Daksa, seeing Lord Siva sitting as if against him, washed his hands and mouth and cursed him in the following words.

SB4.2.18

TEXT 18

ayam tu deva-yajana

indropendradibhir bhavah

saha bhagam na labhatam

devair deva-ganadhamah

SYNONYMS

ayam—that; tu—but; deva-yajane—in the sacrifice of the demigods; indra-upendra-adibhih—with Indra, Upendra and the others; bhavah—Siva; saha—along with; bhagam—a portion; na—not; labhatam—should obtain; devaih—with the demigods; deva-gana-adhamah—the lowest of all the demigods.

TRANSLATION

The demigods are eligible to share in the oblations of sacrifice, but Lord Siva, who is the lowest of all the demigods, should not have a share.

PURPORT

Because of this curse, Siva was deprived of his share in the oblations of Vedic sacrifices. It was due to the curse of Daksa, Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti comments in this connection, that Lord Siva was saved from the calamity of taking part with other demigods, who were all materialistic. Lord Siva is the greatest devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it is not fitting for him to eat or sit with materialistic persons like the demigods. Thus the curse of Daksa was indirectly a blessing, for Siva would not have to eat or sit with other demigods, who were too materialistic. There is a practical example set for us by Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, who used to sit on the side of a latrine to chant Hare Krsna. Many materialistic persons used to come and bother him and disturb his daily routine of chanting, so to avoid their company he used to sit by the side of a latrine, where materialistic persons would not go because of the filth and the obnoxious smell. However, Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja was so great that he was accepted as the spiritual master of such a great personality as His Divine Grace Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. The conclusion is that Lord Siva behaved in his own way to avoid materialistic persons who might disturb him in his prosecution of devotional service.

SB4.2.19

TEXT 19

nisidhyamanah sa sadasya-mukhyair

dakso giritraya visrjya sapam

tasmad viniskramya vivrddha-manyur

jagama kauravya nijam niketanam

SYNONYMS

nisidhyamanah—being requested not to; sah—he (Daksa); sadasya-mukhyaih—by the members of the sacrifice; daksah—Daksa; giritraya—to Siva; visrjya—giving; sapam—a curse; tasmat—from that place; viniskramya—going out; vivrddha-manyuh—being exceedingly angry; jagama—went; kauravya—O Vidura; nijam—to his own; niketanam—home.

TRANSLATION

Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, in spite of the requests of all the members of the sacrificial assembly, Daksa, in great anger, cursed Lord Siva and then left the assembly and went back to his home.

PURPORT

Anger is so detrimental that even a great personality like Daksa, out of anger, left the arena where Brahma was presiding and all the great sages and pious and saintly persons were assembled. All of them requested him not to leave, but, infuriated, he left, thinking that the auspicious place was not fit for him. Puffed up by his exalted position, he thought that no one was greater than he in argument. It appears that all the members of the assembly, including Lord Brahma, requested him not to be angry and leave their company, but in spite of all these requests, he left. That is the effect of cruel anger. In Bhagavad-gita, therefore, it is advised that one who desires to make tangible advancement in spiritual consciousness must avoid three things—lust, anger and the mode of passion. Actually we can see that lust, anger and passion make a man crazy, even though he be as great as Daksa. The very name Daksa suggests that he was expert in all material activities, but still, because of his aversion towards such a saintly personality as Siva, he was attacked by these three enemies—anger, lust and passion. Lord Caitanya, therefore, advised that one be very careful not to offend Vaisnavas. He compared offenses toward a Vaisnava to a mad elephant. As a mad elephant can do anything horrible, so when a person offends a Vaisnava he can perform any abominable action.

SB4.2.20

TEXT 20

vijnaya sapam girisanugagranir

nandisvaro rosa-kasaya-dusitah

daksaya sapam visasarja darunam

ye canvamodams tad-avacyatam dvijah

SYNONYMS

vijnaya—understanding; sapam—the curse; girisa—of Siva; anuga-agranih—one of the principal associates; nandisvarah—Nandisvara; rosa—anger; kasaya—red; dusitah—blinded; daksaya—to Daksa; sapam—a curse; visasarja—gave; darunam—harsh; ye—who; ca—and; anvamodan—tolerated; tat-avacyatam—the cursing of Siva; dvijahbrahmanas.

TRANSLATION

Upon understanding that Lord Siva had been cursed, Nandisvara, one of Lord Siva’s principal associates, became greatly angry. His eyes became red, and he prepared to curse Daksa and all the brahmanas present there who had tolerated Daksa’s cursing Siva in harsh words.

PURPORT

There is a long-standing dissension among some of the neophyte Vaisnavas and Saivites; they are always at loggerheads. When Daksa cursed Lord Siva in harsh words, some of the brahmanas present might have enjoyed it because some brahmanas do not very much admire Lord Siva. This is due to their ignorance of Lord Siva’s position. Nandisvara was affected by the cursing, but he did not follow the example of Lord Siva, who was also present there. Although Lord Siva could also have cursed Daksa in a similar way, he was silent and tolerant; but Nandisvara, his follower, was not tolerant. Of course, as a follower it was right for him not to tolerate an insult to his master, but he should not have cursed the brahmanas who were present. The entire issue was so complicated that those who were not strong enough forgot their positions, and thus cursing and countercursing went on in that great assembly. In other words, the material field is so unsteady that even personalities like Nandisvara, Daksa and many of the brahmanas present were infected by the atmosphere of anger.

SB4.2.21

TEXT 21

ya etan martyam uddisya

bhagavaty apratidruhi

druhyaty ajnah prthag-drstis

tattvato vimukho bhavet

SYNONYMS

yah—who (Daksa); etat martyam—this body; uddisya—with reference to; bhagavati—to Siva; apratidruhi—who is not envious; druhyati—bears envy; ajnah—less intelligent persons; prthak-drstih—the vision of duality; tattvatah—from transcendental knowledge; vimukhah—bereft; bhavet—may become.

TRANSLATION

Anyone who has accepted Daksa as the most important personality and neglected Lord Siva because of envy is less intelligent and, because of visualizing in duality, will be bereft of transcendental knowledge.

PURPORT

The first curse by Nandisvara was that anyone supporting Daksa was foolishly identifying himself with the body, and therefore, because Daksa had no transcendental knowledge, supporting him would deprive one of transcendental knowledge. Daksa, Nandisvara said, identified himself with the body like other materialistic persons and was trying to derive all kinds of facilities in relationship with the body. He had excessive attachment for the body and, in relation to the body, with wife, children, home and other such things, which are different from the soul. Therefore Nandisvara’s curse was that anyone who supported Daksa would be bereft of transcendental knowledge of the soul and thus also be deprived of knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Next verse (SB4.2.22)