Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 38: The History of Sagara
Text 1.38.21
एवं पापसमाचारः सज्जनप्रतिबन्धकः।
पौराणामहिते युक्तः पुत्रो निर्वासितः पुरात्॥
evaṁ pāpa-samācāraḥ saj-jana-pratibandhakaḥ
paurāṇām ahite yuktaḥ putro nirvāsitaḥ purāt
evam = thus; pāpa-samācāraḥ = was completely engaged in sinful activities; sat-jana-pratibandhakaḥ = an obstacle to spiritual persons; paurāṇām ahite yuktaḥ = and performing acts harmful to the citizens; putraḥ = that son; nirvāsitaḥ = therefore, he was exiled; purāt = from the city.
That son was thus completely engaged in sinful activities, an obstacle to civilized spiritualists and performing acts harmful to the citizens. Therefore, he was exiled from the city.
NOTE. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.8.14-18 clarifies the nature and behavior of Asamañja (referred to in the Bhāgavatam as Asamañjasa) thus:
yo ’samañjasa ity uktaḥ sa keśinyā nṛpātmajaḥ
tasya putro ’ṁśumān nāma pitāmaha-hite rataḥ
“Among the sons of Sagara Mahārāja was one named Asamañjasa, who was born from the king’s second wife, Keśinī. The son of Asamañjasa was known as Aṁśumān, and he was always engaged in working for the good of Sagara Mahārāja, his grandfather.”
asamañjasa ātmānaṁ darśayann asamañjasam
jāti-smaraḥ purā saṅgād yogī yogād vicālitaḥ
ācaran garhitaṁ loke jñātīnāṁ karma vipriyam
sarayvāṁ krīḍato bālān prāsyad udvejayañ janam
“Formerly, in his previous birth, Asamañjasa had been a great mystic yogī, but by bad association he had fallen from his exalted position. Now, in this life, he was born in a royal family and was a jāti-smara; that is, he had the special advantage of being able to remember his past birth. Nonetheless, he wanted to display himself as a miscreant, and therefore he would do things that were abominable in the eyes of the public and unfavorable to his relatives. He would disturb the boys sporting in the river Sarayū by throwing them into the depths of the water.”
evaṁ vṛttaḥ parityaktaḥ pitrā sneham apohya vai
yogaiśvaryeṇa bālāṁs tān darśayitvā tato yayau
“Because Asamañjasa engaged in such abominable activities, his father gave up affection for him and had him exiled. Then Asamañjasa exhibited his mystic power by reviving the boys and showing them to the king and their parents. After this, Asamañjasa left Ayodhyā.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments, “Asamañjasa was a jāti-smara; because of his mystic power, he did not forget his previous consciousness. Thus he could give life to the dead. By exhibiting wonderful activities in relation to the dead children, he certainly attracted the attention of the king and the people in general. Then he left that place immediately.”
ayodhyā-vāsinaḥ sarve bālakān punar āgatān
dṛṣṭvā visismire rājan rājā cāpy anvatapyata
“O king Parīkṣit, when all the inhabitants of Ayodhyā saw that their boys had come back to life, they were astounded, and King Sagara greatly lamented the absence of his son.”