Devanagari
श्रीभगवानुवाच
यावद् देहेन्द्रियप्राणैरात्मन: सन्निकर्षणम् ।
संसार: फलवांस्तावदपार्थोऽप्यविवेकिन: ॥ १२ ॥
Verse text
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
yāvad dehendriya-prāṇair
ātmanaḥ sannikarṣaṇam
saṁsāraḥ phalavāṁs tāvad
apārtho ’py avivekinaḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said
;
yāvat
—
as long as
;
deha
—
by the body
;
indriya
—
senses
;
prāṇaiḥ
—
and vital force
;
ātmanaḥ
—
of the soul
;
sannikarṣaṇam
—
attraction
;
saṁsāraḥ
—
material existence
;
phala
—
vān — fruitful
;
tāvat
—
for that duration
;
apārthaḥ
—
meaningless
;
api
—
although
;
avivekinaḥ
—
for the undiscriminating .
Translation
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: As long as the foolish spirit soul remains attracted to the material body, senses and vital force, his material existence continues to flourish, although it is ultimately meaningless.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Supreme Lord said: As long as the foolish jīva is related to the material body, senses and prāṇa, his material existence continues to flourish, although it is based on illusion.
But it is true that the lack of discrimination of the jīva supports saṁsāra. This is explained in five verses. Sannikarṣaṇam means relationship. As long as the jīva is related to his body and senses, saṁsāra, though illusory, gives results. “But how does the jīva, beyond matter, have a relationship with the body and senses?” It is because of his ignorance (avivekinaḥ).
Purport
Here the word
sannikarṣaṇam
indicates that the pure spirit soul voluntarily connects himself with the material body, considering this a most fruitful arrangement. Actually, the situation is
apārtha,
useless, unless one uses one’s embodied situation to engage in the loving service of the Lord. At that time one’s connection is actually with Lord Kṛṣṇa, not with the body, which becomes a mere instrument for executing one’s higher purpose.