The word nirgrantha can also mean poorly intelligent hunter or miserable man. Let us quote here, by way of example, the story of a hunter who found salvation and engaged in the devotional service of the Lord through contact with the pure devotee who is Narada. Here is his story. A man hunting in Prayag Forest was fortunate enough to meet Narada. The sage had just visited Lord Narayan, in Vaikuntha, and was going to Prayag to do his ablution at the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna. As he walked through the forest, he saw a bird lying on the ground half-dead, pierced with an arrow and chirping pitifully. Farther on he saw a fallow deer writhing in pain, then a wild boar and a hare, all in excruciating pain. His compassion thus awakened, he thought: But what fool could have committed such crimes?

Indeed, if the devotees of the Lord are generally sensitive to the sufferings of others, what about the great sage Narada?

Deeply distressed by the distressing scenes which presented themselves to his sight, he continued on his way and found a little further on a hunter armed with a bow and arrows. Inky complexion and bloody eyes, he was as menacing as a servant of Yamaraja, death personified. Penetrating further into the forest, Narada Muni nevertheless advanced towards him, and at his approach, all the animals trapped in the hunter's traps fled. Furious, the latter was about to insult Narada, except that the influence of the holy man made him powerless to utter the slightest insult. On the contrary, he asked her very kindly:

Why, sire, have you come here while I'm hunting? Have you strayed from your path?

Now all the animals I captured have fled.

- I'm sorry, replied Narada. I came to you in search of my way, and I passed several animals, wild boars, deer and hares, lying on the ground half dead and suffering agony. Who could have committed these atrocities?

- None other than me, and I do not see any harm, to answer the hunter.

- If you are the one who chases all these poor animals, why not kill them on the spot?

By killing them only half, you make them suffer agony, and this is a serious fault. If your intention is to kill them, why not kill them completely, why let them die at the end of their blood?