Devanagari
साहं भगवतो नूनं वञ्चिता मायया दृढम् ।
यत्त्वां विमुक्तिदं प्राप्य न मुमुक्षेय बन्धनात् ॥ ५७ ॥
Verse text
sāhaṁ bhagavato nūnaṁ
vaṣcitā māyayā dṛḍham
yat tvāṁ vimuktidaṁ prāpya
na mumukṣeya bandhanāt
Synonyms
sā
—
that very person
;
aham
—
I am
;
bhagavataḥ
—
of the Lord
;
nūnam
—
surely
;
vaṣcitā
—
cheated
;
māyayā
—
by the illusory energy
;
dṛḍham
—
solidly
;
yat
—
because
;
tvām
—
you
;
vimukti
—
dam — who gives liberation
;
prāpya
—
having attained
;
na mumukṣeya
—
I have not sought liberation
;
bandhanāt
—
from material bondage .
Translation
My lord, surely I have been solidly cheated by the insurmountable illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for in spite of having obtained your association, which gives liberation from material bondage, I did not seek such liberation.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
I have been cheated by the illusory energy of the Lord because, having attained you, who give liberation, I did not desire liberation from bondage.
I am an example of such a dead person. I am the living person who is dead (sāham). I did not desire liberation (na mumukseya). She speaks with tears in her eyes and choked voice.
Thus ends the commentary on Twenty-third Chapter of the Third Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
Chapter Twenty-four
Birth of Kapila
Purport
An intelligent man should utilize good opportunities. The first opportunity is the human form of life, and the second opportunity is to take birth in a suitable family where there is cultivation of spiritual knowledge; this is rarely obtained. The greatest opportunity is to have the association of a saintly person. Devahūti was conscious that she was born as the daughter of an emperor. She was sufficiently educated and cultured, and at last she got Kardama Muni, a saintly person and a great
yogī,
as her husband. Still, if she did not get liberation from the entanglement of material energy, then certainly she would be cheated by the insurmountable illusory energy. Actually, the illusory material energy is cheating everyone. People do not know what they are doing when they worship the material energy in the form of goddess Kālī or Durgā for material boons. They ask, “Mother, give me great riches, give me a good wife, give me fame, give me victory.” But such devotees of the goddess Māyā, or Durgā, do not know that they are being cheated by that goddess. Material achievement is actually no achievement because as soon as one is illusioned by the material gifts, he becomes more and more entangled, and there is no question of liberation. One should be intelligent enough to know how to utilize material assets for the purpose of spiritual realization. That is called
karma-yoga
or
jṣāna-yoga.
Whatever we have we should use as service to the Supreme Person. It is advised in
Bhagavad-gītā, sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya:
one should try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one’s assets. There are many forms of service to the Supreme Lord, and anyone can render service unto Him according to the best of his ability.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Twenty-third Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “Devahūti’s Lamentation.”