Devanagari
ब्रह्मोवाच
मानसा मे सुता युष्मत्पूर्वजा: सनकादय: ।
चेरुर्विहायसा लोकाल्लोकेषु विगतस्पृहा: ॥ १२ ॥
Verse text
brahmovāca
mānasā me sutā yuṣmat-
pūrvajāḥ sanakādayaḥ
cerur vihāyasā lokāl
lokeṣu vigata-spṛhāḥ
Synonyms
brahmā uvāca
—
Lord Brahmā said
;
mānasāḥ
—
born from the mind
;
me
—
my
;
sutāḥ
—
sons
;
yuṣmat
—
than you
;
pūrva
—
jāḥ — born previously
;
sanaka
—
ādayaḥ — headed by Sanaka
;
ceruḥ
—
traveled
;
vihāyasā
—
by traveling in outer space or flying in the sky
;
lokān
—
to the material and spiritual worlds
;
lokeṣu
—
among the people
;
vigata
—
spṛhāḥ — without any desire .
Translation
Lord Brahmā said: My four sons Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana and Sanat-kumāra, who were born from my mind, are your predecessors. Sometimes they travel throughout the material and spiritual skies without any definite desire.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Brahmā said: My mental sons born before you, the Kumāras, having given up all desires in this world, were wandering to various planets through the sky.
Please listen to an astonishing event that happened long ago related to this present calamity.
Purport
When we speak of desire we refer to desire for material sense gratification. Saintly persons like Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana and Sanat-kumāra have no material desire, but sometimes they travel all over the universe, out of their own accord, to preach devotional service.