Text 31] Maharaja Pariksit Cursed by a Brahmana Boy 963

sah— the King; tu—-however; brahma-rseh—of the brahmana sage; amse—
on the shoulder; gatasum—lifeless; uragam—snake; rusa—in anger;
vinirgacchan—while leaving; dhanuh-kotya—with the front part of the
bow; nidhaya—by placing it; puram—palace; agatah—returned.

TRANSLATION

While leaving, the King, being so insulted, picked up a lifeless snake
with his bow and angrily placed it on the shoulder of the sage. Then he
returned to his palace.

PURPORT

The King thus treated the sage tit for tat, although he was never
accustomed to such silly actions. By the will of the Lord, the King, while
going away, found a dead snake in front of him, and he thought that the
sage, who had coldly received him, thus might be coldly rewarded by being
offered a garland of a dead snake. In the ordinary course of dealing, this
was not very unnatural, but in the case of Maharaja Pariksit’s dealing with

a brahmana sage, this was certainly unprecedented. It so happened by the
will of the Lord.

TEXT 31

ay fi frame dfs |
TMA ares: J AAT: 113.21

esa kim nibhrtasega-

karano militeksanah
mrsa-samadhir aho-svit

kim nu syat ksatra-bandhubhih

esah—this; Iim—whether; nibhrta-csesa—meditative mood; karanah—
senses; milita—closed; iksanah—eyes; mrsa—false; samadhih—trance; adho—
remains; svit—if it is so; kim—either; nu—but; syat—may be; ksatra-ban-
dhubhih—by the lower ksatriya.

TRANSLATION

Upon returning, he began to contemplate and argue within himself
whether the sage had been actually in meditation with senses concentrated
