Devanagari
कालिय उवाच
वयं खला: सहोत्पत्त्या तामसा दीर्घमन्यव: ।
स्वभावो दुस्त्यजो नाथ लोकानां यदसद्ग्रह: ॥ ५६ ॥
Verse text
kāliya uvāca
vayaṁ khalāḥ sahotpattyā
tamasā dīrgha-manyavaḥ
svabhāvo dustyajo nātha
lokānāṁ yad asad-grahaḥ
Synonyms
kāliyaḥ uvāca
—
Kāliya said
;
vayam
—
we
;
khalāḥ
—
envious
;
saha utpattyā
—
by our very birth
;
tāmasāḥ
—
of ignorant nature
;
dīrgha
—
manyavaḥ — constantly angry
;
svabhāvaḥ
—
one’s material nature
;
dustyajaḥ
—
is very difficult to give up
;
nātha
—
O Lord
;
lokānām
—
for ordinary persons
;
yat
—
because of which
;
asat
—
of the unreal and impure
;
grahaḥ
—
the acceptance .
Translation
The serpent Kāliya said: Our very birth as a snake has made us envious, ignorant and constantly angry. O my Lord, it is so difficult for people to give up their conditioned nature, by which they identify with that which is unreal.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The serpent Kāliya said: Our very birth as a snake has made us envious, ignorant and constantly angry. O my Lord, it is so difficult for people to give up their conditioned nature, by which they identify with that which is unreal.
KB 10.16.56
“My dear Lord, I have been born in such a species that by nature I am angry and envious, being in the darkest region of the mode of ignorance. Your Lordship knows well that it is very difficult to give up one’s natural instincts, although by such instincts the living creature transmigrates from one body to another.” It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā that it is very difficult to get out of the clutches of material nature, but if anyone surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the modes of material nature can no longer act on him.
Purport
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī points out that because of his wretched condition, Kāliya was unable to compose original prayers to the Lord, and thus he paraphrased some of the prayers offered by his wives. The word
asad-graha
indicates that a conditioned soul seizes upon impermanent and impure things such as his own body, the bodies of others, and other countless varieties of material sense objects. The ultimate result of such material attachment is frustration, disappointment and anguish — a fact that has now become crystal clear to the poor serpent Kāliya.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"When even the learned men become influenced by attraction and repulsion, knowing it is wrong, what fault do I have?"
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Kāliya speaks four verses. By nature of the species (saha utpattyā) I am evil. O lord (nātha)! You have the ability to crush that evil nature!
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Not able to speak anything else because of his suffering condition, he spoke what he heard his wives say. Thinking the Lord would be pleased, he spoke words similar to theirs. Kāliya speaks four verses. By nature of the species (saha utpattyā) I am evil. O Lord (nātha)! You have the ability to crush that evil nature!