Bhaktivedanta Swami: Just like a tree, a devotee can tolerate all kinds of curses and reversals in life.

Srimad Bhagavatam canto one chapter nine verse twenty seven  

As stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, taror api sahisnuna. Just like a tree, a devotee can tolerate all kinds of curses and reversals in life.

Srimad Bhagavatam canto one chapter nine verse twenty seven 

sri-rudra uvaca

drstavaty asi susroni

harer adbhuta-karmanah

mahatmyam bhrtya-bhrtyanam

nihsprhana-m mahatmanam

sri-rudrah uvaca--Lord Siva said; drstavati asi--have you seen; susroni--O beautiful Parvati; hareh--of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adbhuta-karmanah--whose acts are wonderful; mahatmyam--the greatness; bhrtya-bhrtyanam--of the servants of the servants; nihsprhanam--who are without ambitions for sense gratification; mahatmanam--great souls.

TRANSLATION

Lord Siva said: My dear beautiful Parvati, have you seen the greatness of the Vaisnavas? Being servants of the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, they are great souls and are not interested in any kind of material happiness.

PURPORT

Lord Siva, the husband of Parvati, told his wife, "My dear Parvati, you are very beautiful in your bodily features. Certainly you are glorious. But I do not think that you can compete with the beauty and glory of devotees who have become servants of the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Of course, Lord Siva smiled when he joked with his wife in that way, for others cannot speak like that. "The Supreme Lord," Siva continued, "is always exalted in His activities, and here is another example of His wonderful influence upon King Citraketu, His devotee. Just see, although you cursed the King, he was not at all afraid or sorry. Rather, he offered respect to you, called you mother and accepted your curse, thinking himself faulty. He did not say anything in retaliation. This is the excellence of a devotee. By mildly tolerating your curse, he has certainly excelled the glory of your beauty and your power to curse him. I can impartially judge that this devotee, Citraketu, has defeated you and your excellence simply by becoming a pure devotee of the Lord." As stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, taror api sahisnuna. Just like a tree, a devotee can tolerate all kinds of curses and reversals in life. This is the excellence of a devotee. Indirectly, Lord Siva forbade Parvati to commit the mistake of cursing a devotee like Citraketu. He indicated that although she was powerful, the King, without showing any power, had excelled her power by his tolerance.