958
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 18]
when a devotee is too much absorbed in worldly affairs, the Lord creates a situation to cause indifference. The Supreme Lord never forgets His pure devotee, even though he may be engaged in so-called worldly affairs. Sometimes He creates an awkward situation, and the devotee becomes obliged to renounce all worldly affairs. The devotee can understand by the signal of the Lord, but others take it to be unfavorable and frustrating. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was to become the medium for the revelation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as his grandfather Arjuna was the medium for the  Bhagavad-gītā . Had Arjuna not been taken up with an illusion of family affection by the will of the Lord, the  Bhagavad-gītā  would not have been spoken by the Lord Himself for the good of all concerned. Similarly, had Mahārāja Parīkṣit not been fatigued, hungry and thirsty at this time, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam would not have been spoken by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the prime authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So this is a prelude to the circumstances under which Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was spoken for the benefit of all concerned. The prelude, therefore, begins with the words “Once upon a time.”
TEXT 26
प्रतिरुद्धेन्द्रियप्राणमनोबुद्धिमुपारतम् । स्थानत्रयानुपरं प्राप्तं ब्रह्मभूतमविक्रियम् ॥२६॥
pratiruddhendriya-prāṇa- manobuddhim upāratam sthāna-trayāt param prāptam brahma-bhūtam avikriyam
pratiruddha —restrained;  indriya —the sense organs;  prāṇa —air of respiration;  manaḥ —the mind;  buddhim —intelligence;  upāratam —inactive;  sthāna —places;  trayāt —from the three;  param —transcendental;  prāptam —achieved;  brahma-bhūtam —qualitatively equal with the Supreme Absolute;  avikriyam —unaffected.
TRANSLATION
The Muni’s sense organs, breath, mind and intelligence were all restrained from material activities, and he was situated in a trance apart from the three [wakefulness, dream and unconsciousness], having achieved a transcendental position qualitatively equal with the Supreme Absolute.