Devanagari
नूनं ह्यदृष्टनिष्ठोऽयमदृष्टपरमो जन: ।
अदृष्टमात्मनस्तत्त्वं यो वेद न स मुह्यति ॥ ३० ॥
Verse text
nūnaṁ hy adṛṣṭa-niṣṭho ’yam
adṛṣṭa-paramo janaḥ
adṛṣṭam ātmanas tattvaṁ
yo veda na sa muhyati
Synonyms
nūnam
—
certainly
;
hi
—
indeed
;
adṛṣṭa
—
unseen
;
niṣṭhaḥ ayam
—
something ends there
;
adṛṣṭa
—
the unseen destiny
;
paramaḥ
—
ultimate
;
janaḥ
—
every living entity within this material world
;
adṛṣṭam
—
that destiny
;
ātmanaḥ
—
of oneself
;
tattvam
—
ultimate truth
;
yaḥ
—
anyone who
;
veda
—
knows
;
na
—
not
;
saḥ
—
he
;
muhyati
—
becomes bewildered .
Translation
Every man is certainly controlled by destiny, which determines the results of one’s fruitive activities. In other words, one has a son or daughter because of unseen destiny, and when the son or daughter is no longer present, this also is due to unseen destiny. Destiny is the ultimate controller of everyone. One who knows this is never bewildered.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Every man is certainly controlled by destiny, which determines the results of one's fruitive activities. In other words, one has a son or daughter because of unseen destiny, and when the son or daughter is no longer present, this also is due to unseen destiny. Destiny is the ultimate controller of everyone. One who knows this is never bewildered.
KB 10.5.30
“My dear friend, do not be aggrieved; we are all being controlled by our past unseen activities. Everyone is subjected to his past deeds, and one who is conversant with the philosophy of karma and its reactions is a man in knowledge. Such a person will not be aggrieved at any incident, happy or miserable.”
Purport
Nanda Mahārāja consoled his younger brother Vasudeva by saying that destiny is ultimately responsible for everything. Vasudeva should not be unhappy that his many children had been killed by Kaṁsa or that the last child, the daughter, had gone to the heavenly planets.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"O brother, though the ocean of calamity is difficult to cross, you can cross on the boat of discrimination." With this intention Nanda speaks the verse. "Man is ultimately under the control of destiny (adrsta nistha). Destiny gives happiness from children, but it also takes it away. Fate is supreme. It takes away children and also bestows them. There is no one equal to he who knows fate as the cause of happiness and distress. Therefore you should not be in confusion."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
He pacifies Vasudeva with this verse. Indeed, fate is the cause of happiness and distress for man. One who knows this does not lament. Śrīdhara Svāmī explains. When the karma for having sons is exhausted, sons are no longer seen. Fate has the final say. If one is separated from a son, fate can return him from the dead. An example is Jamadagni (who was able to revive his wife and sons killed by Parāśurāma). Therefore now you should not be sad since it is possible to see and meet those who are dead or separated after some time. But this is Śrīdhara’s comment, not what Nanda thought at that time, since it would not be suitable to the context. (Nanda was not aware that in the future Vasudeva’s sons would be revived.) Though there is separation, there can also be seeing and meeting again. Or another meaning of the verse is as follows. Because of fate there is death. Because of fate your many sons died. “Then it is better not to be born.” Fate causes birth also (aḍṛṣṭaṁ paramam). Their talk is part of the human pastimes (they are actually beyond fate).