958 Srimad-Bhagavatam [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.
Maharaja Pariksit was to become the medium for the revelation of Srimad-
Bhagavatam by Lord Sri Krsna, as his grandfather Arjuna was the medium
for the Bhagavad-gita. Had Arjuna not been taken up with an illusion of
family affection by the will of the Lord, the Bhagavad-gita would not have
been spoken by the Lord Himself for the good of all concerned. Similarly,
had Maharaja Panksit not been fatigued, hungry and thirsty at this time,
Srimad-Bhagavatam would not have been spoken by Srila Sukadeva
Gosvami, the prime authority of Srimad-Bhagavatam. So this is a prelude
to the circumstances under which Srimad-Bhagavatam was spoken for the
benefit of all concerned. The prelude, therefore, begins with the words
“Once upon a time.”

TEXT 26

a

niregraraaagiay |
Sra ENT TART REI

pratiruddhendriya-prana-
manobuddhim uparatam

sthana-trayat param praptam
brahma-bhutam avikriyam

pratiruddha—restrained; indriya—the sense organs; prana—air of respira-
tion; manah—the mind; buddhim-—intelligence; uparatam—inactive; sthana—
places; trayat—from the three; param—transcendental; praéptam—achieved;
brahma-bhiitam—qualitatively equal with the Supreme Absolute; avikri-
yam—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.
