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 9: Liberation | Chapter 4: Ambarīsha Mahārāja Offended by Durvāsā Muni |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.4.15-16
SYNONYMS
śrī-śukah uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; ambarīshah — King Ambarīsha; mahā-bhāgah — the greatly fortunate king; sapta-dvīpavatīm — consisting of seven islands; mahīm — the whole world; avyayām ca — and inexhaustible; śriyam — beauty; labdhvā — after achieving; vibhavam ca — and opulences; atulam — unlimited; bhuvi — in this earth; mene — he decided; ati-durlabham — which is rarely obtained; pumsām — of many persons; sarvam — everything (he had obtained); tat — that which; svapna-samstutam — as if imagined in a dream; vidvān — completely understanding; vibhava-nirvānam — the annihilation of that opulence; tamah — ignorance; viśati — fallen into; yat — because of which; pumān — a person.
TRANSLATION
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Ambarīsha, the most fortunate personality, achieved the rule of the entire world, consisting of seven islands, and achieved inexhaustible, unlimited opulence and prosperity on earth. Although such a position is rarely obtained, Mahārāja Ambarīsha did not care for it at all, for he knew very well that all such opulence is material. Like that which is imagined in a dream, such opulence will ultimately be destroyed. The King knew that any nondevotee who attains such opulence merges increasingly into material nature's mode of darkness.
PURPORT
For a devotee material opulence is insignificant, whereas for a nondevotee material opulence is the cause of increasing bondage, for a devotee knows that anything material is temporary, whereas a nondevotee regards the temporary so-called happiness as everything and forgets the path of self-realization. Thus for the nondevotee material opulence is a disqualification for spiritual advancement.
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