Devanagari
एतावतालं कालेन व्यतिक्रान्तेन मे प्रभो ।
इन्द्रियार्थप्रसङ्गेन परित्यक्तपरात्मन: ॥ ५३ ॥
Verse text
etāvatālaṁ kālena
vyatikrāntena me prabho
indriyārtha-prasaṅgena
parityakta-parātmanaḥ
Synonyms
etāvatā
—
so much
;
alam
—
for nothing
;
kālena
—
time
;
vyatikrāntena
—
passed by
;
me
—
my
;
prabho
—
O my lord
;
indriya
—
artha — sense gratification
;
prasaṅgena
—
in the matter of indulging
;
parityakta
—
disregarding
;
para
—
ātmanaḥ — knowledge of the Supreme Lord .
Translation
Until now we have simply wasted so much of our time in sense gratification, neglecting to cultivate knowledge of the Supreme Lord.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O master! So much time has passed uselessly in sense pleasure, without thoughts of the Supreme Lord.
“By your clever words, do you want more material pleasure from me?” In shyness she replies. I have wasted so much time in sense pleasure, since I have rejected the Supreme Lord. This means that time has been wasted.
Purport
Human life is not meant to be wasted, like that of the animals, in sense gratificatory activities. Animals always engage in sense gratification — eating, sleeping, fearing and mating — but that is not the engagement of the human being, although, because of the material body, there is need of sense gratification according to a regulative principle. So in effect Devahūti said to her husband, “So far we have these daughters, and we have enjoyed material life in the aerial mansion, traveling all over the universe. These boons have come by your grace, but they have all been for sense gratification. Now there must be something for my spiritual advancement.”