418 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 12
TEXT 12
a
war Aa ata
c
1 TST fray Tera |
= “x
rare Aa aefiaai-
Co COUCCOINEL CT MIRA
rahiganaitat tapasa na yati
na cejyaya nirvapandd grhdad va
na cchandasa naiva jalagni-siiryair
vind mahat-pada-rajo-’bhisekam
rahigana—O King Rahigana; etat—this knowledge; tapasa—by
severe austerities and penances; na yati—does not become revealed;
na—not; ca—also; ijyaya—by a great arrangement for worshiping the
Deity; nirvapanat—or from finishing all material duties and accepting
sannyasa; grhat—from ideal householder life; va—or; na—nor; chan-
dasa —by observing celibacy or studying Vedic literature; na eva—nor;
Jala-agni-siiryaih—by severe austerities such as keeping oneself in
water, in a burning fire or in the scorching sun; vind—without;
mahat—of the great devotees; pdda-rajah—the dust of the lotus feet;
abhisekam—smearing all over the body.
TRANSLATION
My dear King Rahigana, unless one has the opportunity to
smear his entire body with the dust of the lotus feet of great devo-
tees, one cannot realize the Absolute Truth. One cannot realize the
Absolute Truth simply by observing celibacy [brahmacarya],
strictly following the rules and regulations of householder life,
leaving home as a vanaprastha, accepting sannyasa, or undergoing
severe penances in winter by keeping oneself submerged in water
or surrounding oneself in summer by fire and the scorching heat
of the sun. There are many other processes to understand the Ab-
solute Truth, but the Absolute Truth is only revealed to one who
has attained the mercy of a great devotee.
