Devanagari
ताञ्छोच्यशोच्यानविदोऽनुशोचे
हरे: कथायां विमुखानघेन ।
क्षिणोति देवोऽनिमिषस्तु येषा-
मायुर्वृथावादगतिस्मृतीनाम् ॥ १४ ॥
Verse text
tāṣ chocya-śocyān avido ’nuśoce
hareḥ kathāyāṁ vimukhān aghena
kṣiṇoti devo ’nimiṣas tu yeṣām
āyur vṛthā-vāda-gati-smṛtīnām
Synonyms
tān
—
all those
;
śocya
—
pitiable
;
śocyān
—
of the pitiable
;
avidaḥ
—
ignorant
;
anuśoce
—
I pity
;
hareḥ
—
of the Lord
;
kathāyām
—
to the topics of
;
vimukhān
—
averse
;
aghena
—
because of sinful activities
;
kṣiṇoti
—
decaying
;
devaḥ
—
the Lord
;
animiṣaḥ
—
eternal time
;
tu
—
but
;
yeṣām
—
of whom
;
āyuḥ
—
duration of life
;
vṛthā
—
uselessly
;
vāda
—
philosophical speculations
;
gati
—
ultimate goal
;
smṛtīnām
—
of those following different rituals .
Translation
O sage, persons who because of their sinful activities are averse to the topics of Transcendence and thus ignorant of the purpose of the Mahābhārata [Bhagavad-gītā] are pitied by the pitiable. I also pity them because I see how their duration of life is spoiled by eternal time while they involve themselves in presentations of philosophical speculation, theoretical ultimate goals of life, and different modes of ritual.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
I lament for the most lamentable, ignorant people who are opposed to the topics of the Lord because of offenses. Time destroys the life of those who are absorbed in useless words, actions and mind.
There are three types of people related to topics of the Lord: those with faith, those with no faith and those who are opposed. According to Bhāgavatam, those are called faithful who have conviction that bhakti is the highest process and goal, since it is mentioned in many verses.
tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta na nirvidyeta yāvatā
mat-kathā-śravaṇādau vā śraddhā yāvan na jāyate
As long as one does not become detached from daily and periodic duties or has not awakened his faith in hearing topics about me, one must perform one’s prescribed duties of varṇāśrama. SB 11.20.9
jāta-śraddho mat-kathāsu nirviṇṇaḥ sarva-karmasu
veda duḥkhātmakān kāmān parityāge ’py anīśvaraḥ
tato bhajeta māṁ prītaḥ śraddhālur dṛḍha-niścayaḥ
juṣamāṇaś ca tān kāmān duḥkhodarkāṁś ca garhayan
Having developed faith in topics about me and being disgusted with all karmas, he knows that all enjoyments are filled with misery. But he is unable to given them up. Still, with affection for me, with faith and determination, he will continue worshipping me, at the same time partaking of those enjoyments which give rise to suffering and condemning them. SB 11.20.27-28
Such persons have faith that bhakti is the only process for achieving the highest spiritual goal. Those who desire to achieve artha, dharma, kāma and mokṣa without bhakti are the opposers. The faithful are described with joy, the unfaithful are omitted, and the opposers are lamented. The pure devotees lament for those engaged in practices for Svarga or liberation. And they lament for those practicing karma, jṣāna and yoga without bhakti. The cause is their ignorance. Though they may study the scriptures they do not understand the final meaning. They oppose the Lord’s topics because of great offense (aghena), either recent or ancient. Animiṣaḥ means time. To establish their opinions, they boldly show off their words, actions and minds. This is criticized as useless (vṛthā).
Purport
According to the modes of material nature, there are three kinds of relationships between human beings and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who are in the modes of ignorance and passion are averse to the existence of God, or else they formally accept the existence of God in the capacity of an order supplier. Above them are those who are in the mode of goodness. This second class of men believe the Supreme Brahman to be impersonal. They accept the cult of
bhakti,
in which hearing of
kṛṣṇa-kathā
is the first item, as a means and not the end. Above them are those who are pure devotees. They are situated in the transcendental stage above the mode of material goodness. Such persons are decidedly convinced that the name, form, fame, qualities, etc., of the Personality of Godhead are nondifferent from one another on the absolute plane. For them, hearing of the topics of Kṛṣṇa is equal to meeting with Him face to face. According to this class of men, who are situated in pure devotional service to the Lord, the highest goal of human life is
puruṣārtha,
devotional service to the Lord, the real mission of life. The impersonalists, because they engage in mental speculation and have no faith in the Personality of Godhead, have no business hearing the topics of Kṛṣṇa. Such persons are pitiable for the first-class pure devotees of the Lord. The pitiable impersonalists pity those who are influenced by the modes of ignorance and passion, but the pure devotees of the Lord take pity on them both because both waste their most valuable time in the human form of life in false pursuits, namely sense enjoyment and mental speculative presentations of different theories and goals of life.