Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.9.16
Ūti· What drives us to actA Thief Acting as a Priest
“At this time, one of the thieves, acting as the chief priest, was ready to offer the blood of Jaḍa Bharata, whom they imagined to be an animal-man, to the goddess Kālī to drink as a liquor. He therefore took up a very fearsome sword, which was very sharp and, consecrating it by the mantra of Bhadra Kālī, raised it to kill Jaḍa Bharata.”
What the purport teaches
- One of the thieves acted as the chief priest. He intended to offer Jaḍa Bharata’s blood to goddess Kālī as liquor.
- The thieves imagined Jaḍa Bharata to be an animal-man. Their intended sacrifice rested on this mistaken view of him.
- The thief consecrated a sharp, fearsome sword with the mantra of Bhadra Kālī. He then raised it to kill Jaḍa Bharata.
Try this today
Pause before acting on one negative judgment about another person today.
Ask yourself
How might a mistaken judgment about someone lead me to treat that person wrongly?
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.