Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.73.20
Ūti· What drives us to actMaterial Pride Brings Down Powerful Rulers
“Haihaya, Nahuṣa, Veṇa, Rāvaṇa, Naraka and many other rulers of demigods, men and demons fell from their elevated positions because of infatuation with material opulence.”
What the purport teaches
- Haihaya, Nahuṣa, Veṇa, Rāvaṇa and Naraka fell from elevated positions because of infatuation with material opulence.
- Nahuṣa became puffed up when he temporarily assumed the post of Indra. His proud treatment of the brāhmaṇas brought about his fall.
- Throughout history, powerful leaders have fallen because they became intoxicated with their so-called opulence.
Try this today
Identify one advantage you take pride in, and remind yourself that it does not make your position secure.
Ask yourself
What warning do these rulers’ falls offer about your own pride?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.