SB 4.9.45

TEXT 45

TEXT

अभिवन्द्य पितुः पादाव् आशीर्भिश्चाभिमन्त्रितः ।
ननाम मातरौ शीर्ष्णा सत्कृतः सज्जनाग्रणीः ॥ ४५ ॥

abhivandya pituh padav

asirbhis cabhimantritah

nanama matarau sirsna

sat-krtah saj-janagranih

abhivandya-worshiping; pituh-of his father; padau-the feet; asirbhih-with benedictions; ca-and; abhimantritah-was addressed; nanama-he bowed; matarau-to his two mothers; sirsna-with his head; sat-krtah-was honored; sat-jana-of the nobles; agranih-the foremost.

TRANSLATION

Then Dhruva Maharaja, the foremost of all nobles, first of all offered his obeisances at the feet of his father and was honored by his father with various questions. He then bowed his head at the feet of his two mothers.

PURPORT

It may be questioned why Dhruva Maharaja offered his respect not only to his mother but also to his stepmother, due to whose insults he had to leave home. The answer is that after achieving perfection by self-realization and seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, Dhruva Maharaja was completely freed from all contamination of material desire. Feelings of insult or honor in this material world are never perceived by a devotee. Lord Caitanya therefore says that one has to be humbler than the grass, and, He recommends, more tolerant than the tree, to execute devotional service. Dhruva Maharaja, therefore, has in this verse been described as saj-janagranih, the foremost of noble men. The pure devotee is the noblest of all, and he has no feelings of animosity towards anyone. Duality due to animosity is a creation of this material world. There is no such thing in the spiritual world, which is the absolute reality.