राज्ञो जीवतु देहोऽयं प्रसन्नाः प्रभवो यदि ।
तथेत्युक्ते निमिः प्राह मा भून्मे देहबन्धनम् ॥
यस्य योगं न वाञ्छन्ति वियोगभयकातराः ।
भजन्ति चरणाम्भोजं मुनयो हरिमेधसः ॥
देहं नावरुरुत्सेऽहं दुःखशोकभयावहम् ।
सर्वत्रास्य यतो मृत्युर्मत्स्यानामुदके यथा ॥
देवा ऊचुः—
विदेह उष्यतां कामं लोचनेषु शरीरिणाम् ।
उन्मेषणनिमेषाभ्यां लक्षितोऽध्यात्मसंस्थितः ॥
rājño jīvatu deho’yaṁ prasannāḥ prabhavo yadi |
tathety ukte nimiḥ prāha mā bhūn me deha-bandhanam ||
yasya yogaṁ na vāñchanti viyoga-bhaya-kātarāḥ |
bhajanti caraṇāmbhojaṁ munayo hari-medhasaḥ ||
dehaṁ nāvarurutse’haṁ duḥkha-śoka-bhayāvaham |
sarvatrāsya yato mṛtyur matsyānām udake yathā ||
devā ūcuḥ—
videha uṣyatāṁ kāmaṁ locaneṣu śarīriṇām |
unmeṣaṇa-nimeṣābhyāṁ lakṣito’dhyātma-saṁsthitaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.13.8–11)
“[The sages pray to the devas for the sake of Mahārāja Nimi:] ‘May this body of the king live if you all are satisfied [with the sacrifice initiated by the king] and capable [of bringing the king’s body back to life].’ When, ‘So be it’ was said [by the devas in response to the sages’ prayer], Nimi [being situated then only in a subtle body] said, ‘Let me not be subject to the bondage of a [gross] body [again]. Sages who are agitated by fear of disconnection [from a gross body], who are endowed with wisdom related to Hari, and who worship the lotus feet [of Hari], do not desire connection with that [i.e. with a gross body]. [Thus,] I do not wish to don a [gross] body, which is a cause of suffering, sorrow, and fear, since its death, like that of fish [even] in water, can occur everywhere.’ [In reply to the sages] The devas said [with regard to Mahārāja Nimi]: ‘Bodiless [i.e., free from a gross body] and situated in a subtle body, at will let him be observed in the opening and closing [i.e., blinking] in the eyes of the embodied.’”
Commentary
nimir videha eva sann uṣyatāṁ vasatu | kāmaṁ yatheccham | evaṁ sati yuṣmābhiḥ prārthitaṁ jīvitam asya bhaviṣyati na ca deha-bandha iti bhāvaḥ |sa cādhyātma-saṁsthito locanayoḥ sthitaḥ sann unmeṣaṇa-nimeṣābhyāṁ tat-pravartakatvena lakṣito vartata iti śeṣaḥ |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“[The devas reply to the sages:] Let Nimi, being indeed bodiless, live (uṣyatām) at will (kāmam). Existing in this way, his living, as prayed for by you all, shall occur, but not bondage in a [gross] body [as he prayed to not have to undergo].’ This is the purport. Being situated in a subtle body and present in the eyes, he is observed as being the instigator of the opening and closing thereof [i.e., of the blinking of the eyes]. This is the remainder.”
asya viyogo bhaviṣyatīti bhayena kātarā viklavātmānaḥ santo yasya yoga-mātraṁ, kim uta tat-sambandhinā janmanā nānā-jātīya-sukhaṁ na vāñchanti, kintu bhajanti kevalam | nanu caraṇāmbhojaṁ bhajantīti sevā-sukhecchā darśitā | sevā ca dehaṁ vinā na sambhavati, tarhi kathaṁ tad-upayuktaṁ deham api na vāñchanti? nety āha—deham iti | duḥkhāvaham eva na kāmaye tadīya-parama-sevopayukta-dehas tu pārṣada-rūpa eva | sa ca nitya-sukhātmaka eveti bhāvaḥ | āśrayād iti pāṭhe’pi sa evārthaḥ | … rājño jīvatu deho’yam iti muny-arthitasya rājñā tan-niṣedhasya ca karaṇe saṅkaṭatvāpātāt, tadīya-paramābhīṣṭasya ca dātuṁ aśakyatvād iti bhāvaḥ |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā)
“Being agitated, that is, of afflicted mind, because of the fear, ‘Disconnection from this [gross body] will occur,’ [they, i.e., sages] do not desire even connection with that [i.e., with a gross body], much less with the various types of happiness [that arise] from a birth bound within that. Rather, they only worship [the lotus feet of Hari].
“[An objection is raised:] ‘Well, [you say], ‘They worship the lotus feet [of Hari].’ Therefore, a desire for the happiness of service is shown, and service is not possible without a body. So, do they not desire even a body suitable for that [i.e., for service]?’ No [i.e., they do not desire a gross material body even for the sake of worshipping Śrī Bhagavān’s lotus feet]. Thus, he says deham … [i.e., he speaks SB 9.13.10]. ‘I do not desire a source of suffering [i.e., a gross body], but rather only the form of an associate (pārsāda) [of Śrī Hari in his eternal abode], that is, a body that is suitable for the greatest service to him [i.e., the service rendered to him within his own eternal abode wherein every last feature of the service is just to his liking]. That [type of body] alone, furthermore, is full of eternal happiness.’ This is the purport. Even in the [variant] reading āśrayāt, this alone is the meaning. …
“[The devas answer the sages as they do] Because of the occurrence of a difficulty [i.e., because their having to fulfill conflicting requests] as a result of the desire of the sages, ‘May this body of the king live,’ and the negation of that by the king. [This occurred] Also because of [their] being unable to grant his ultimate desired object [i.e., a spiritual body of an eternal associate of Śrī Bhagavān]. This is the purport.”
bhajantīti dehābhāve caraṇāmbhoja-bhajanāsambhavān mama bhagavat-pārṣada-deho’stv iti prārthanā-rūpo gūḍho dhvaniḥ | nāvarurutse na dhartum icchāmi | udake udake’pi | udake jala-carād anyasmāt anyatra sthale svabhāvāc ca mṛtyur ity arthaḥ | devā ūcur iti | deho jīvatv iti munīnāṁ prārthitaṁ, na jīvatv iti rājñaḥ, pārṣada-deho bhavatv iti tṛtīya-prārthitasya dātum aśakyatvād ubhayam eva ditsantaḥ ūcur ity arthaḥ | nimir videha eva uṣyatāṁ vasatu, lakṣito jñātaḥ san locaneṣu adhyātma-saṁsthita ity ābhyām jīvitaṁ deha-bandhābhāvaś cety ubhaya-prārthitaṁ setsyatīti bhāvaḥ |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“‘They [i.e., the sages] worship [the lotus feet of Hari].’ Because of the impossibility of worship of the lotus feet [of Hari] in the absence of a body [with which to perform that worship], let me have the body of an associate (pārsāda) of Bhagavān.’ This is the confidential implied meaning (dhvani) in the form of a prayer [in this statement of Mahārāja Nimi]. ‘I do not wish to don’ (nāvarurutse) means, ‘I do not wish to accept.’ ‘In water’ means ‘even in water.’ Death [for a fish] can occur in water because of other aquatics and in other places [i.e., anywhere out of water] by nature [i.e., because fish by nature cannot survive out of water, meaning, just as a fish will die if out of water and is still subject to death even while situated in water, so anyone who is embodied is subject to death no matter where they go]. This is the meaning.
“Regarding devā ūcuḥ … [i.e., SB 9.13.11], because of the prayer of the sages, ‘Let his body live,’ the king’s [prayer], ‘Do not let it live,’ and [their] being unable to grant the third prayer, ‘Let me have the body of an associate [of Śrī Bhagavān],’ the devas speak [this verse] desiring to grant only the [first] two [prayers]. This is the meaning. ‘Let Nimi, indeed bodiless, live (uṣyatām), being observed (lakṣitaḥ), that is, known, to be situated in a subtle body in the eyes [of living beings]. By means of these two [boons], they will fulfill both prayers: [the sages’ for his] living and [Mahārāja’s Nimi’s for] the non-existence of the bondage of a [gross] body. This is the purport.”
It is recounted in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.13 that Mahārāja Nimi once requested the sage Vasiṣṭha to perform a thousand-year sacrifice. At the time of this request, Vasiṣṭha was already engaged in performing a five-hundred-year sacrifice elsewhere. So, he told Mahārāja Nimi that he would come to perform the thousand-year sacrifice after the five-hundred-year sacrifice he was already performing was completed. Mahārāja Nimi did not respond to Vasiṣṭha’s answer, and Vasiṣṭha interpreted this silence to be acceptance of his decision regarding the matter. Vasiṣṭha resumed the sacrifice he was performing, and once it was completed, he immediately came to perform the thousand-year sacrifice requested by Mahārāja Nimi.
Unbeknownst to Vasiṣṭha, however, Mahārāja Nimi had in the meantime already engaged other sages and commenced the thousand-year sacrifice he wanted to perform. Discovering this fact upon arrival, Vasiṣṭha became angry and cursed Mahārāja Nimi, who was asleep at the time, to no longer exist in an embodied state, “May the body of Nimi, who considers himself learned, fall dead.” Mahārāja Nimi heard of this curse upon awaking and then counter-cursed Vasiṣṭha, “May your body also fall dead because of your greed and ignorance of dharma.”
When the priests who were conducting the sacrifice on behalf of Mahārāja Nimi eventually completed it, they prayed to the devas in the verses presented above.