Canto 5: The Creative ImpetusChapter 13: Further Talks Between King Rahūgaṇa and Jaḍa Bharata

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.13.2

yasyām ime ṣaṇ nara-deva dasyavaḥ

sārthaḿ vilumpanti kunāyakaḿ balāt

gomāyavo yatra haranti sārthikaḿ

pramattam āviśya yathoraṇaḿ vṛkāḥ

SYNONYMS

yasyāmin which (in the forest of material existence); ime — these; ṣaṭ — six; nara-devaO King; dasyavaḥ — the plunderers; sa-artham — the conditioned souls, who are interested in false ideas; vilumpanti — plunder, regularly taking away all the possessions; ku-nāyakam — who are always misguided by so-called gurus, or spiritual masters; balāt — by force; gomāyavaḥ — exactly like foxes; yatrain which forest; haranti — they take away; sa-arthikam — the conditioned soul who is seeking material profits to maintain the body and soul; pramattam — who is a crazy man not knowing his self-interest; āviśya — entering the heart; yathā — just as; uraṇam — nicely protected lambs; vṛkāḥ — the tigers.

TRANSLATION

O King Rahūgaṇa, in this forest of material existence there are six very powerful plunderers. When the conditioned soul enters the forest to acquire some material gain, the six plunderers misguide him. Thus the conditioned merchant does not know how to spend his money, and it is taken away by these plunderers. Like tigers, jackals and other ferocious animals in a forest that are ready to take away a lamb from the custody of its protector, the wife and children enter the heart of the merchant and plunder him in so many ways.

PURPORT

In the forest there are many plunderers, dacoits, jackals and tigers. The jackals are compared to one's wife and children. In the dead of night, jackals cry very loudly, and similarly one's wife and children in this material world also cry like jackals. The children say, "Father, this is wanted; give me this. I am your dear son." Or the wife says, "I am your dear wife. Please give me this. This is now needed." In this way one is plundered by the thieves in the forest. Not knowing the aim of human life, one is constantly being misguided. The aim of life is Viṣṇu (na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiḿ hi viṣṇum [SB 7.5.31]). Everyone works very hard to earn money, but no one knows that his real self-interest is in serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead of spending money for advancing the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, one spends his hard-earned money on clubs, brothels, liquor, slaughterhouses and so forth. Due to sinful activities, one becomes implicated in the process of transmigration and thus has to accept one body after another. Being thus absorbed in a distressed condition, one never attains happiness.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness