SB 4.26.4
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 4
- cacāra mṛgayāṁ tatra
- dṛpta ātteṣu-kārmukaḥ
- vihāya jāyām atad-arhāṁ
- mṛga-vyasana-lālasaḥ
SYNONYMS
cacāra — executed; mṛgayām — hunting; tatra — there; dṛptaḥ — being proud; ātta — having taken; iṣu — arrows; kārmukaḥ — bow; vihāya — giving up; jāyām — his wife; a-tat-arhām — although impossible; mṛga — hunting; vyasana — evil activities; lālasaḥ — being inspired by.
TRANSLATION
It was almost impossible for King Purañjana to give up the company of his Queen even for a moment. Nonetheless, on that day, being very much inspired by the desire to hunt, he took up his bow and arrow with great pride and went to the forest, not caring for his wife.
PURPORT
One form of hunting is known as woman-hunting. A conditioned soul is never satisfied with one wife. Those whose senses are very much uncontrolled especially try to hunt for many women. King Purañjana's abandoning the company of his religiously married wife is representative of the conditioned soul's attempt to hunt for many women for sense gratification. Wherever a king goes, he is supposed to be accompanied by his queen, but when the king, or conditioned soul, becomes greatly overpowered by the desire for sense gratification, he does not care for religious principles. Instead, with great pride, he accepts the bow and arrow of attachment and hatred. Our consciousness is always working in two ways—the right way and the wrong way. When one becomes too proud of his position, influenced by the mode of passion, he gives up the right path and accepts the wrong one. Kṣatriya kings are sometimes advised to go to the forest to hunt ferocious animals just to learn how to kill, but such forays are never meant for sense gratification. Killing animals to eat their flesh is forbidden for human beings.