नाहं विशङ्के सुरराजवज्रान् न त्र्यक्षशूलान्न यमस्य दण्डात् ।
नाग्न्यर्कसोमानिलवित्तपास्त्राच् छङ्के भृशं ब्रह्मकुलावमानात् ॥ १७ ॥
naham visaṅke sura-raja-vajran
na tryaksa-sulan na yamasya dandat
nagny-arka-somanila-vittapastrac
chaṅke bhrsam brahma-kulavamanat
na-not; aham-I; visaṅke-am afraid; sura-raja-vajrat-from the thunderbolt of the King of heaven, Indra; na-nor; tryaksa-sulat-from the piercing trident of Lord Siva; na-nor; yamasya-of the superintendent of death, Yamaraja; dandat-from the punishment; na-nor; agni-of fire; arka-of the scorching heat of the sun; soma-of the moon; anila-of the wind; vitta-pa-of the owner of riches, Kuvera, the treasurer of the heavenly planets; astrat-from the weapons; saṅke-I am afraid; bhrsam-very much; brahma-kula-the group of the brahmanas; avamanat-from offending.
My dear sir, I am not at all afraid of the thunderbolt of King Indra, nor am I afraid of the serpentine, piercing trident of Lord Siva. I do not care about the punishment of Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, nor am I afraid of fire, scorching sun, moon, wind, nor the weapons of Kuvera. Yet I am afraid of offending a brahmana. I am very much afraid of this.
When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was instructing Rupa Gosvami at the Dasasvamedha-ghata in Prayaga, He pointed out very clearly the seriousness of offending a Vaisnava. He compared the vaisnava-aparadha to hati mata, a mad elephant. When a mad elephant enters a garden, it spoils all the fruits and flowers. Similarly, if one offends a Vaisnava, he spoils all his spiritual assets. Offending a brahmana is very dangerous, and this was known to Maharaja Rahugana. He therefore frankly admitted his fault. There are many dangerous things-thunderbolts, fire, Yamaraja's punishment, the punishment of Lord Siva's trident, and so forth-but none is considered as serious as offending a brahmana like Jada Bharata. Therefore Maharaja Rahugana immediately descended from his palanquin and fell flat before the lotus feet of the brahmana Jada Bharata just to be excused.