Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.27.27

kāla-kanyodita-vaco

niśamya yavaneśvaraḥ

cikīrṣur deva-guhyaḿ sa

sasmitaḿ tām abhāṣata

SYNONYMS

kāla-kanyā — by the daughter of Time; udita — expressed; vacaḥ — words; niśamya — hearing; yavana-īśvaraḥ — the King of the Yavanas; cikīrṣuḥ — desiring to execute; deva — of providence; guhyam — confidential duty; saḥ — he; sa-smitam — smilingly; tām — her; abhāṣata — addressed.

TRANSLATION

After hearing the statement of Kālakanyā, daughter of Time, the King of the Yavanas began to smile and devise a means for executing his confidential duty on behalf of providence. He then addressed Kālakanyā as follows.

PURPORT

In Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 5.142) it is said:

ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya

yāre yaiche nācāya, se taiche kare nṛtya

Actually the supreme controller is the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and everyone is His servant. Yavana-rāja, the King of the Yavanas, was also a servant of Kṛṣṇa. Consequently, he wanted to execute the purpose of Kṛṣṇa through the agency of Kālakanyā. Although Kālakanyā means invalidity or old age, Yavana-rāja wanted to serve Kṛṣṇa by introducing Kālakanyā everywhere. Thus a sane person, by attaining old age, will become fearful of death. Foolish people engage in material activities as if they will live forever and enjoy material advancement, but actually there is no material advancement. Under illusion people think that material opulence will save them, but although there has been much advancement in material science, the problems of human society — birth, death, old age and disease — are still unsolved. Nonetheless foolish scientists are thinking that they have advanced materially. When Kālakanyā, the invalidity of old age, attacks them, they become fearful of death, if they are sane. Those who are insane simply do not care for death, nor do they know what is going to happen after death. They are under the wrong impression that after death there is no life, and consequently they act very irresponsibly in this life and enjoy unrestricted sense gratification. For an intelligent person, the appearance of old age is an impetus to spiritual life. People naturally fear impending death. The King of the Yavanas tried to utilize Kālakanyā for this purpose.

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