Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.19.11
Ūti· What drives us to actEnvy Can Degrade Even the Exalted
“When Pṛthu Mahārāja was performing the last horse sacrifice [aśvamedha-yajña], King Indra, invisible to everyone, stole the horse intended for sacrifice. He did this because of his great envy of King Pṛthu.”
What the purport teaches
- Indra had performed one hundred horse sacrifices, but he did not want anyone to excel him. His envy led him to steal Pṛthu Mahārāja’s sacrificial horse.
- Although King of heaven, Indra was an ordinary living entity subject to envy. By making himself invisible, he obstructed the sacrifice.
- The purport explains that properly pronounced Vedic mantras gave the sacrificed animal a new life. This renewal was the test of a successful yajña.
Try this today
Today, sincerely congratulate someone whose success has stirred envy in you.
Ask yourself
When someone excels me, do I feel glad for them or wish to hold them back?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.