TEXT 18
sprsantam padayoh premna
vriditam svena karmana
sata-kratum parisvajya
vidvesam visasarja ha
SYNONYMS
sprsantamtouching; padayohthe feet; premnain ecstasy; vriditamashamed; svenahis own; karmanaby activities; sata-kratumKing Indra; parisvajyaembracing; vidvesamenvy; visasarjagave up; haof course.
TRANSLATION
As King Indra was standing by, he became ashamed of his own activities and fell down before King Prthu to touch his lotus feet. But Prthu Maharaja immediately embraced him in great ecstasy and gave up all envy against him for his having stolen the horse meant for the sacrifice.
PURPORT
There are many cases in which a person becomes an offender to the lotus feet of a Vaisnava and later becomes repentant. Here also we find that although the King of heaven, Indra, was so powerful that he accompanied Lord Visnu, he felt himself a great offender for stealing Prthu Maharajas horse that was meant for sacrifice. An offender at the lotus feet of a Vaisnava is never excused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are many instances illustrating this fact. Ambarisa Maharaja was offended by Durvasa Muni, a great sage and mystic yogi, and Durvasa also had to fall down at the lotus feet of Ambarisa Maharaja. Indra decided to fall down at the lotus feet of King Prthu, but the King was so magnanimous a Vaisnava that he did not want Maharaja Indra to fall down at his feet. Instead, King Prthu immediately picked him up and embraced him, and both of them forgot all the past incidents. Both King Indra and Maharaja Prthu were envious and angry with each other, but since both of them were Vaisnavas, or servants of Lord Visnu, it was their duty to adjust the cause of their envy. This is also a first-class example of cooperative behavior between Vaisnavas. In the present days, however, because people are not Vaisnavas, they fight perpetually among one another and are vanquished without finishing the mission of human life. There is a great need to propagate the Krsna consciousness movement in the world so that even though people sometimes become angry and malicious toward one another, because of their being Krsna conscious such rivalry, competition and envy can be adjusted without difficulty.

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