SB 10.14.50 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच सर्वेषामपि भूतानां नृप स्वात्मैव वल्लभ: । इतरेऽपत्यवित्ताद्यास्तद्वल्लभतयैव हि ॥ ५० ॥

Verse text

śrī-śuka uvāca sarveṣām api bhūtānāṁ nṛpa svātmaiva vallabhaḥ itare ’patya-vittādyās tad-vallabhatayaiva hi

Synonyms

śrī — śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said ; sarveṣām — for all ; api — indeed ; bhūtānām — created living beings ; nṛpa — O King ; sva — ātmā — one’s own self ; eva — certainly ; vallabhaḥ — dearmost ; itare — others ; apatya — children ; vitta — wealth ; ādyāḥ — and so on ; tat — of that self ; vallabhatayā — based on the dearness ; eva hi — indeed .

Translation

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, for every created being the dearmost thing is certainly his own self. The dearness of everything else — children, wealth and so on — is due only to the dearness of the self.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, for every created being the dearmost thing is certainly his own self. The dearness of everything else—children, wealth and so on—is due only to the dearness of the self. KB 10.14.50 Śukadeva Gosvāmī told Mahārāja Parīkṣit that every living entity is actually most attached to his own self. Outward paraphernalia such as home, family, friends, country, society, wealth, opulence and reputation are all only secondary in pleasing the living entity. They please only because they bring pleasure to the self.

Purport

Sometimes modern thinkers become puzzled when they study the psychology of moral behavior. Although every living entity is inclined toward self-preservation, as stated here, sometimes a person voluntarily sacrifices his own apparent interest through philanthropic or patriotic activities, such as giving his money for the benefit of others or giving his life for the national interest. Such so-called selfless behavior appears to contradict the principle of material self-centeredness and self-preservation. As explained in this verse, however, a living entity serves his society, nation, family and so on only because these objects of affection represent the expanded concept of false ego. A patriot sees himself as a great servitor of a great nation, and thus he sacrifices his life to gratify his sense of egotism. Similarly, it is common knowledge that a man feels great pleasure by thinking that he is sacrificing everything to please his dear wife and children. A man derives great egotistic pleasure by seeing himself as a selfless well-wisher of his so-called family and community. Thus, to gratify his proud sense of false ego, a man is prepared even to lay down his life. This apparently contradictory behavior is yet another demonstration of the bewilderment of material life, which has neither rhyme nor reason, being a manifestation of gross ignorance of the nonmaterial soul.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Sukadeva speaks. "O king! A person has more attachment for his self than for his children." This fact will be examined first in five verses before coming to a conclusion. In ordinary dealings ones own self is the object of extreme attachment . For each body there is one soul, for that body alone and not others.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Kṛṣṇa as Paramātmā gives affection to all beings. He is dearer to everyone than their own ātmā. What to speak of being dearer than one’s relatives and objects which give pleasure. To say that, first the dearness of one’s own ātmā is established. All other dear objects are based upon this. This is explained in five verses. Because of no clear distinction of body from soul, svātmā here refers to the conception of self arising from ahaṅkāra. Thus possessiveness in this case excludes prema. The word sva (own) indicates that every individual experiences the self. On king! Because of such qualities in humans, the king also protects the citizens. The word hi indicates that the experience is the proof.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Kṛṣṇa as Paramātmā gives affection to all beings. He is dearer to everyone than their own ātmā. What to speak of being dearer than one’s relatives and objects which give pleasure. To say that, first the dearness of one’s own ātmā is established. All other dear objects are based upon this. This is explained in five verses. Because jñāna has not developed, one has affection for one’s own ātmā because of seeing difference from the ātmā of others. One directly experiences spontaneously the dearness of one’s own ātmā. It is dearer than children, wife and house (apatya-vittādyaḥ). The body is not mentioned because previously the body was mentioned as the most dear by conceiving of it as the self. Or body is also included in ādyāḥ. One directly sees is dearness by the way one especially cares for one’s own body. O king! For a king like you, protecting the citizens is dear. This is because of the dearness of one’s ātmā, since it is the essence of all other ātmās. Hi indicates this is proved by experience.