Devanagari
देहेन जीवभूतेन लोकाल्लोकमनुव्रजन् ।
भुञ्जान एव कर्माणि करोत्यविरतं पुमान् ॥ ४३ ॥
Verse text
dehena jīva-bhūtena
lokāl lokam anuvrajan
bhuṣjāna eva karmāṇi
karoty avirataṁ pumān
Synonyms
dehena
—
on account of the body
;
jīva
—
bhūtena — possessed by the living entity
;
lokāt
—
from one planet
;
lokam
—
to another planet
;
anuvrajan
—
wandering
;
bhuṣjānaḥ
—
enjoying
;
eva
—
so
;
karmāṇi
—
fruitive activities
;
karoti
—
he does
;
aviratam
—
incessantly
;
pumān
—
the living entity .
Translation
Due to his particular type of body, the materialistic living entity wanders from one planet to another, following fruitive activities. In this way, he involves himself in fruitive activities and enjoys the result incessantly.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The jīva wanders from the earth to other planets by his subtle body for enjoying the results of his actions, and completing that enjoyment (or suffering) again returns to the earth to perform actions.
Repeated birth and death of the jīva is described. There is a doubt. The jīva enjoys the results in Svarga or other places by giving up the body by which he performs sinful or pious acts. What is the logic in that? (He should experience the results in the same body.) In answer this verse says that he enjoys the results with the body by which he performed his acts—by the subtle body. By the subtle body (jīva-bhūtena dehena) he wanders from the earth to Svarga or hell. He performs actions by the acquisition of false identity (caused by the subtle body). Going to other places is possible because of the jīva’s illusion. In that place, he enjoys (bhuṣjānaḥ). Finishing that enjoyment he again returns to the earth. He then performs further actions. Thus he performs actions and enjoys in the subtle body. That is explained in this verse.
Purport
When the living entity is encaged in the material body, he is called
jīva-bhūta,
and when he is free from the material body he is called
brahma-bhūta.
By changing his material body birth after birth, he travels not only in the different species of life, but also from one planet to another. Lord Caitanya says that the living entities, bound up by fruitive activities, are wandering in this way throughout the whole universe, and if by some chance or by pious activities they get in touch with a bona fide spiritual master, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, then they get the seed of devotional service. After getting this seed, if one sows it within his heart and pours water on it by hearing and chanting, the seed grows into a big plant, and there are fruits and flowers which the living entity can enjoy, even in this material world. That is called the
brahma-bhūta
stage. In his designated condition, a living entity is called materialistic, and upon being freed from all designations, when he is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, engaged in devotional service, he is called liberated. Unless one gets the opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of the Lord, there is no possibility of one’s liberation from the cycle of birth and death in the different species of life and through the different grades of planets.