Devanagari
कं नु त्वदन्यं रमये ह्यरतिज्ञमकोविदम् ।
असम्परायाभिमुखमश्वस्तनविदं पशुम् ॥ ३८ ॥
Verse text
kaṁ nu tvad-anyaṁ ramaye
hy arati-jṣam akovidam
asamparāyābhimukham
aśvastana-vidaṁ paśum
Synonyms
kam
—
unto whom
;
nu
—
then
;
tvat
—
than you
;
anyam
—
other
;
ramaye
—
I shall allow to enjoy
;
hi
—
certainly
;
arati
—
jṣam — without knowledge of sex enjoyment
;
akovidam
—
therefore almost foolish
;
asamparāya
—
without knowledge of the next life
;
abhimukham
—
looking forward
;
aśvastana
—
vidam — one who does not know what is happening next
;
paśum
—
like animals .
Translation
How can I expect to unite with others, who are neither conversant about sex nor capable of knowing how to enjoy life while living or after death? Such foolish persons are like animals because they do not know the process of sense enjoyment in this life and after death.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Other than you, with whom can I enjoy? Others are all without sex enjoyment, unskillful at sex enjoyment, inexperienced in battle, or unable to think of the future, like animals.
Looking for a husband, I now see you, who have arrived suddenly. I will not look any further. Her intelligence follows dharma, since it is rajas mixed with a little sattva. She criticizes persons covered by intelligence which is predominantly in tamas and sattva in five verses. If one is born as a tree, one is completely ignorant of sexual enjoyment (arati-jṣam). If one is born as an animal though one can enjoy sex, it is still without skill (akovidam). Though as brāhmaṇas and vaiśyas one can enjoy sex with skill, one has no experience of battle (asamparāyaḥ). One is without courage. If one is a kṣatriyas, one has courage, but he has no knowledge of what will happen tomorrow or the next day or after death. Therefore he is without dharma, like an animal.
Purport
Since there are 8,400,000 species of life, there are also many different living conditions. In the lower grades of life (in plant and tree life) there is no system for sexual intercourse. In the upper grades (in the life of birds and bees) there is sex, but the insects and animals do not know how to actually enjoy sex life. In the human form of life, however, there is full knowledge of how to enjoy sex. Indeed, there are many so-called philosophers who give directions on how to enjoy sex life. There is even a science called
kāma-śāstra,
which is the science of sex. In human life there are also such divisions as
brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha
and
sannyāsa.
There is no sex life except in the
gṛhastha,
or householder,
āśrama.
The
brahmacārī
is not allowed any sex, a
vānaprastha
voluntarily refrains from sex, and the
sannyāsī
is completely renounced. The
karmīs
do not practice
brahmacarya, vānaprastha
or
sannyāsa
life, for they are very much interested in
gṛhastha
life. In other words, a human being is very much materially inclined. Indeed, all living entities are materially inclined. They prefer
gṛhastha
life because there is a concession for sex. The
karmīs
think the other statuses of life are worse than animal life, for animals also have sex whereas the
brahmacārī, vānaprastha
and
sannyāsī
completely give up sex. The
karmīs,
therefore, abhor these orders of spiritual life.