348
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 8]
spiritual master. A spiritual master is expert in giving special instructions to each of his disciples, and if the disciple executes the order of the spiritual master, that is the way of his perfection.
TEXT 72
त्रिरात्रान्ते त्रिरात्रान्ते कपित्थबदराशनः । आत्मवृत्त्यनुसारेण मासं निन्येऽर्चयन्हरिम् ॥७२॥
tri-rātrānte tri-rātrānte kapittha-badarāśanaḥ ātma-vṛtty-anusāreṇa māsaṁ ninye 'rcayan harim
tri—three; rātra-ante—at the end of night; tri—three; rātra-ante—at the end of night; kapittha-badara—fruits and berries; aśanaḥ—eating; ātma-vṛtti—just to preserve the body; anusāreṇa—as it was necessary, minimum; māsaṁ—one month; ninye—passed away; arcayan—worshiping; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
For the first month Dhruva Mahārāja ate only fruits and berries on every third day, only to keep his body and soul together, and in this way he progressed in his worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
Kapittha  is a flower which is known in Indian vernacular as  kouth . We do not find an English equivalent for the name of this flower, but its fruit is generally not accepted by human beings; it is eaten by monkeys in the forest. Dhruva Mahārāja, however, accepted such fruit, not for luxuriant feasting but just to keep his body and soul together. The body needs food, but a devotee should not accept foodstuff to satisfy the tongue in sense gratification. It is recommended in  Bhagavad-gītā  that one should accept as much food as necessary to keep the body fit, but one should not eat for luxury. Dhruva Mahārāja is an  ācārya , and by undergoing severe austerities and penances he teaches us how one should execute devotional service. We must carefully know the process of Dhruva Mahārāja's service; how severely he passed his days will be shown in later verses. We should always remember that to become a bona fide devotee of the Lord is not an easy task, but in this age, by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, it has been made very easy. But if we do not follow even the liberal instructions of Lord Caitanya, how can