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
| Canto 6: Prescribed Duties for Mankind | Chapter 5: Nārada Muni Cursed by Prajāpati Daksha |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.5.6-8
adrishtvāntam bhuvo yūyam
SYNONYMS
uvāca — he said; ca — also; atha — thus; haryaśvāh — O Haryaśvas, sons of Prajāpati Daksha; katham — why; srakshyatha — you will beget; vai — indeed; prajāh — progeny; adrishtvā — having not seen; antam — the end; bhuvah — of this earth; yūyam — all of you; bāliśāh — inexperienced; bata — alas; pālakāh — although ruling princes; tathā — so also; eka — one; purusham — man; rāshtram — kingdom; bilam — the hole; ca — also; adrishta-nirgamam — from which there is no coming out; bahu-rūpām — taking many forms; striyam — the woman; ca — and; api — even; pumāmsam — the man; pumścalī-patim — the husband of a prostitute; nadīm — a river; ubhayatah — in both ways; vāhām — which flows; pańca-pańca — of five multiplied by five (twenty-five); adbhutam — a wonder; griham — the house; kvacit — somewhere; hamsam — a swan; citra-katham — whose story is wonderful; kshaura-pavyam — made of sharp razors and thunderbolts; svayam — itself; bhrami — revolving.
TRANSLATION
The great sage Nārada said: My dear Haryaśvas, you have not seen the extremities of the earth. There is a kingdom where only one man lives and where there is a hole from which, having entered, no one emerges. A woman there who is extremely unchaste adorns herself with various attractive dresses, and the man who lives there is her husband. In that kingdom, there is a river flowing in both directions, a wonderful home made of twenty-five materials, a swan that vibrates various sounds, and an automatically revolving object made of sharp razors and thunderbolts. You have not seen all this, and therefore you are inexperienced boys without advanced knowledge. How, then, will you create progeny?
PURPORT
Nārada Muni saw that the boys known as the Haryaśvas were already purified because of living in that holy place and were practically ready for liberation. Why then should they be encouraged to become entangled in family life, which is so dark that once having entered it one cannot leave it? Through this analogy, Nārada Muni asked them to consider why they should follow their father's order to be entangled in family life. Indirectly, he asked them to find within the cores of their hearts the situation of the Supersoul, Lord Vishnu, for then they would truly be experienced. In other words, one who is too involved in his material environment and does not look within the core of his heart is increasingly entangled in the illusory energy. Nārada Muni's purpose was to get the sons of Prajāpati Daksha to divert their attention toward spiritual realization instead of involving themselves in the ordinary but complicated affairs of propagation. The same advice was given by Prahlāda Mahārāja to his father (Bhāg. 7.5.5):
tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehinām
sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt
hitvātma-pātam griham andha-kūpam
vanam gato yad dharim āśrayeta
In the dark well of family life, one is always full of anxiety because of having accepted a temporary body. If one wants to free himself from this anxiety, one should immediately leave family life and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Vrindāvana. Nārada Muni advised the Haryaśvas not to enter household life. Since they were already advanced in spiritual knowledge, why should they be entangled in that way?
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