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Library » Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) » Canto 4: The Creation of the Fourth Order » CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

ŚB 4.27.21

Devanagari

कदाचिदटमाना सा ब्रह्मलोकान्महीं गतम् ।
वव्रे बृहद्‌व्रतं मां तु जानती काममोहिता ॥ २१ ॥

Text

kadācid aṭamānā sā
brahma-lokān mahīṁ gatam
vavre bṛhad-vrataṁ māṁ tu
jānatī kāma-mohitā

Synonyms

kadācit — once upon a time; aṭamānā — traveling; sā — she; brahma-lokāt — from Brahmaloka, the highest planet; mahīm — on the earth; gatam — having come; vavre — she proposed; bṛhat-vratam — avowed brahmacārī; mām — unto me; tu — then; jānatī — knowing; kāma-mohitā — being illusioned by lust.

Translation

When I once came to this earth from Brahmaloka, the highest planetary system, the daughter of Time, wandering over the universe, met me. Knowing me to be an avowed brahmacārī, she became lusty and proposed that I accept her.

Purport

The great sage Nārada Muni was a naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī — that is, he never had sex life. He was consequently an ever-green youth. Old age, jarā, could not attack him. The invalidity of old age can overcome an ordinary man, but Nārada Muni was different. Taking Nārada Muni to be an ordinary man, the daughter of Time confronted him with her lusty desire. It requires great strength to resist a woman’s attraction. It is difficult for old men, and what to speak of young. Those who live as brahmacārīs must follow in the footsteps of the great sage Nārada Muni, who never accepted the proposals of Jarā. Those who are too much sexually addicted become victims of jarā, and very soon their life span is shortened. Without utilizing the human form of life for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the victims of jarā die very soon in this world.