SB 10.14.51 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तद् राजेन्द्र यथा स्नेह: स्वस्वकात्मनि देहिनाम् । न तथा ममतालम्बिपुत्रवित्तगृहादिषु ॥ ५१ ॥

Verse text

tad rājendra yathā snehaḥ sva-svakātmani dehinām na tathā mamatālambi- putra-vitta-gṛhādiṣu

Synonyms

tat — therefore ; rāja — indra — O best of kings ; yathā — as ; snehaḥ — the affection ; sva — svaka — of each individual ; ātmani — for the self ; dehinām — of the embodied beings ; na — not ; tathā — thus ; mamatā — ālambi — for that which one identifies with as his possessions ; putra — sons ; vitta — wealth ; gṛha — homes ; ādiṣu — and so on .

Translation

For this reason, O best of kings, the embodied soul is self-centered: he is more attached to his own body and self than to his so-called possessions like children, wealth and home.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

For this reason, O best of kings, the embodied soul is self-centered: he is more attached to his own body and self than to his so-called possessions like children, wealth and home. KB 10.14.51 For this reason, one is self-centered and is attached to his body and self more than he is to relatives like wife, children and friends. If there is some immediate danger to one’s own person, he first of all takes care of himself, then others. That is natural. That means he loves his own self more than anything else.

Purport

It is now common practice all over the world for a mother to kill her own child within the womb if the birth of that child represents any inconvenience for her. Similarly, grown children eagerly place their elderly parents in lonely institutions rather than be inconvenienced by their presence at home. These and innumerable other examples prove that people in general are more attached to their own body and self, which represent “I-ness,” than to their family and other possessions, which represent “my-ness.” Although conditioned souls are very proud of their so-called love for society, family and so forth, in reality every conditioned soul is acting on the platform of gross or subtle selfishness.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The preference for ones own self over attachment to sons, wealth or house is natural.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The negative aspect is shown. Śrīdhara Svāmī explains this in terms of ahaṅkāra. The next verse however indicates this with the words dehātma-vādinām (those who think the self is the body). Other versions of the words are not approved because of the intended statement and the mention of the body in the next verse. Mamatāvalambī can have a locative meaning since it is separated from the final clause. The objects of possessiveness have less attraction than the self. O king, you know well that even the king does not have as much affection for the kingdom as does for himself!

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

One has affection for one’s own ātmā in the body (sva-svaka ātmani). Śrīdhara Svāmī explains this in terms of ahaṅkāra because of the identification with the body. However it is not proper to say that ātmani means “for the body”since thinking that one is the body is explained in the next verse. For those who understand that they are ātmā, not the body (dehinān) there is affection for the ātmā. The affection for objects of possession like children is less than the affection for the self with the identity of “I.” O great king! One does not have as much affection for the kingdom as for the self. You know that.