20 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 14
devotee who hesitates to engage in the Lord’s service. not knowing
whether he should again try to revive his material life. After repeated at-
tempts and failures, he fully surrenders to the lotus feet of the Lord. The
Lord then gives him directions, and, attaining happiness, he forgets all
material engagement.
TEXT 11
wrgaafaetaaratareaaet saad wie at figuaae-
Cat 4

frafadantaeatranqeeea: 1122 11
kvacid ulika-jhilli-svanavad ati-parusa-rabhasadtopam pratyaksam
paroksam vd ripu-raja-kula-nirbhartsitenati-vyathita-karna-mila-
hrdayah.

kvacit—sometimes; uliika—of the owl: jhilli—and the cricket: svana-
vat—exactly like intolerable sounds; ati-parusa—extremely piercing:
rabhasa—by perseverance; dfopam—agitation: pratyaksam—directly:
paroksam—indirectly: va—or: ripu—of enemies; rdaja-kula—and of
government officers; nirbhartsitena—by chastisement: ati-vyathita—
very aggrieved: karna-mila-hrdayah—whose ear and heart.

TRANSLATION

Sometimes the conditioned soul is very aggrieved by the
chastisement of his enemies and government servants, who use
harsh words against him directly or indirectly. At that time his
heart and ears become very saddened. Such chastisement may be
compared to the sounds of owls and crickets.

PURPORT

There are different types of enemies within this material world. The
government chastises one due to not paying income taxes. Such criticism,
direct or indirect, saddens one, and sometimes the conditioned soul tries
to counteract that chastisement. Unfortunately. he cannot do anything.
