SB 12.2.42 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कथं सेयमखण्डा भू: पूर्वैर्मे पुरुषैर्धृता । मत्पुत्रस्य च पौत्रस्य मत्पूर्वा वंशजस्य वा ॥ ४२ ॥

Verse text

kathaṁ seyam akhaṇḍā bhūḥ pūrvair me puruṣair dhṛtā mat-putrasya ca pautrasya mat-pūrvā vaṁśa-jasya vā

Synonyms

katham — how ; sā iyam — this same ; akhaṇḍā — unbounded ; bhūḥ — earth ; pūrvaiḥ — by the predecessors ; me — my ; puruṣaiḥ — by the personalities ; dhṛtā — held in control ; mat — putrasya — of my son ; ca — and ; pautrasya — of the grandson ; mat — pūrvā — now under my sway ; vaṁśa — jasya — of the descendant ; vā — or .

Translation

[The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"The whole earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?" Possessiveness is illustrated by emotional statements. Since the land was held by my predecessors, how can I arrange for it to pass to my sons?

Purport

This is an example of foolish possessiveness.