SB 5.11.1

Devanāgarī

ब्राह्मण उवाच अकोविद: कोविदवादवादान्वदस्यथो नातिविदां वरिष्ठ: । न सूरयो हि व्यवहारमेनंतत्त्वावमर्शेन सहामनन्ति ॥ १ ॥

Text

brāhmaṇa uvāca akovidaḥ kovida-vāda-vādān vadasy atho nāti-vidāṁ variṣṭhaḥ na sūrayo hi vyavahāram enaṁ tattvāvamarśena sahāmananti

Synonyms

brāhmaṇaḥuvāca—thebrāhmaṇasaid;akovidaḥ—without having experience;kovida-vāda-vādān—words used by experienced persons;vadasi—you are speaking;atho—therefore;na—not;ati-vidām—of those who are very experienced;variṣṭhaḥ—the most important;na—not;sūrayaḥ—such intelligent persons;hi—indeed;vyavahāram—mundane and social behavior;enam—this;tattva—of the truth;avamarśena—fine judgment by intelligence;saha—with;āmananti—discuss.

Translation

The brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata said: My dear King, although you are not at all experienced, you are trying to speak like a very experienced man. Consequently you cannot be considered an experienced person. An experienced person does not speak the way you are speaking about the relationship between a master and a servant or about material pains and pleasures. These are simply external activities. Any advanced, experienced man, considering the Absolute Truth, does not talk in this way.

Purport

Kṛṣṇa similarly chastised Arjuna. Aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase: “While speaking learned words, you are lamenting for what is not worthy of grief.” ( Bg. 2.11 ) Similarly, among people in general, 99.9 percent try to talk like experienced advisers, but they are actually devoid of spiritual knowledge and are therefore like inexperienced children speaking nonsensically. Consequently their words cannot be given any importance. One has to learn from Kṛṣṇa or His devotee. If one speaks on the basis of this experience — that is, on the basis of spiritual knowledge — one’s words are valuable. At the present moment, the entire world is full of foolish people. Bhagavad-gītā describes these people as mūḍhas. They are trying to rule human society, but because they are devoid of spiritual knowledge, the entire world is in a chaotic condition. To be released from these miserable conditions, one has to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and take lessons from an exalted personality like Jaḍa Bharata, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Kapiladeva. That is the only way to solve the problems of material life.

Chapter 11 SB 5.11.2 →