Devanagari
गृहेषु कूटधर्मेषु पुत्रदारधनार्थधी: ।
न परं विन्दते मूढो भ्राम्यन् संसारवर्त्मसु ॥ ६ ॥
Verse text
gṛheṣu kūṭa-dharmeṣu
putra-dāra-dhanārtha-dhīḥ
na paraṁ vindate mūḍho
bhrāmyan saṁsāra-vartmasu
Synonyms
gṛheṣu
—
in family life
;
kūṭa
—
dharmeṣu — in false occupational duties
;
putra
—
sons
;
dāra
—
wife
;
dhana
—
wealth
;
artha
—
the goal of life
;
dhīḥ
—
one who considers
;
na
—
not
;
param
—
transcendence
;
vindate
—
achieves
;
mūḍhaḥ
—
rascal
;
bhrāmyan
—
wandering
;
saṁsāra
—
of material existence
;
vartmasu
—
on the paths .
Translation
Those who are interested only in a so-called dutiful life — namely remaining as a householder entangled by sons and a wife and searching after wealth — think that such things are life’s ultimate goal. Such people simply wander in different types of bodies throughout this material existence without finding out the ultimate goal of life.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
One whose intelligence is fixed in sons, wife, wealth and acquisitions in family life, filled with many obligations and rules, does not enjoy liberation. Foolishly he wanders the road of repeated birth and death.
All householders are like me.
Purport
Those who are too much attached to family life, which consists of entanglement with wife, children, wealth and home, are engaged in
kūṭa-dharma,
pseudo duties. Prahlāda Mahārāja has likened these pseudo occupational duties to a dark well (
andha-kūpam
). Prahlāda has purposefully spoken of this dark well because if one falls into this well he will die. He may cry for help, but no one will hear him or come to rescue him.
The words
bhrāmyan saṁsāra-vartmasu
are significant. In
Caitanya-caritāmṛta
(
Madhya
19.151)
, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu very clearly explains,
brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva.
All living entities are wandering in different types of bodies throughout different planets, and if, in the course of their wanderings, they come in contact with a devotee by the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, their lives become successful. Even though King Prācīnabarhiṣat was engaged in fruitive activity, the great sage Nārada appeared before him. The King was very fortunate to be able to associate with Nārada, who enlightened him in spiritual knowledge. It is the duty of all saintly persons to follow in the footsteps of Nārada Muni and travel all over the world to every country and village just to instruct illusioned persons about the goal of life and to save them from the entanglement of
karma-bandha,
fruitive activity.