| Canto 12: The Age of Deterioration | Chapter 3: The Bhūmi-gītā |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.3.8
spardhamānā mitho ghnanti
SYNONYMS
mama — mine; eva — indeed; iyam — this; mahī — land; kritsnā — entire; na — not; te — yours; mūdha — you fool; iti vādinah — thus speaking; spardhamānāh — quarreling; mithah — each other; ghnanti — they kill; mriyante — they are killed; mat-krite — for my sake; nripāh — kings.
TRANSLATION
"Political leaders challenge one another: 'All this land is mine! It's not yours, you fool!' Thus they attack one another and die.
PURPORT
This verse describes with brilliant clarity the mundane political mentality that provokes innumerable conflicts in the world. For example, as we prepare this translation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, British and Argentine military forces are bitterly fighting over the tiny Falkland Islands.
The fact is that the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of all land. Of course, even in a God-conscious world political boundaries exist. But in such a God-conscious atmosphere political tensions are greatly eased, and people of all lands welcome each other and respect each other's right to live in peace.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari