SB 5.13.15 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

मनस्विनो निर्जितदिग्गजेन्द्रा ममेति सर्वे भुवि बद्धवैरा: । मृधे शयीरन्न तु तद्‌व्रजन्ति यन्न्यस्तदण्डो गतवैरोऽभियाति ॥ १५ ॥

Verse text

manasvino nirjita-dig-gajendrā mameti sarve bhuvi baddha-vairāḥ mṛdhe śayīran na tu tad vrajanti yan nyasta-daṇḍo gata-vairo ’bhiyāti

Synonyms

manasvinaḥ — very great heroes (mental speculators) ; nirjita — dik — gajendrāḥ — who have conquered many other heroes as powerful as elephants ; mama — my (my land, my country, my family, my community, my religion) ; iti — thus ; sarve — all (great political, social and religious leaders) ; bhuvi — in this world ; baddha — vairāḥ — who have created enmity among themselves ; mṛdhe — in battle ; śayīran — fall dead on the ground ; na — not ; tu — but ; tat — the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; vrajanti — approach ; yat — which ; nyasta — daṇḍaḥ — a sannyāsī ; gata — vairaḥ — who has no enmity throughout the whole world ; abhiyāti — attains that perfection .

Translation

There were and are many political and social heroes who have conquered enemies of equal power, yet due to their ignorance in believing that the land is theirs, they fight one another and lay down their lives in battle. They are not able to take up the spiritual path accepted by those in the renounced order. Although they are big heroes and political leaders, they cannot take to the path of spiritual realization.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Warriors, who have conquered even the elephants of the directions but think in terms of “mine,” surrounded by their enemies, all fall dead on the battlefield. They do not attain the abode attained by those who have renounced all material attachments and have no enemies. Great warriors conquer even the elephants of the directions situated far away, but they cannot conquer the eleven senses, which are close enemies. This is their courage, but it is not spiritual. Thinking in terms of “mine,” they all die on the battlefield. Spiritual courage is then described. Real courage is having no enmity and giving up all material attachments.

Purport

Big political leaders might be able to conquer equally powerful political enemies, but unfortunately they cannot subdue their strong senses, the enemies that always accompany them. Not being able to conquer these nearby enemies, they simply try to conquer other enemies, and ultimately they die in the struggle for existence. They do not take to the path of spiritual realization or become sannyāsīs. Sometimes these big leaders take up the guise of a sannyāsī and call themselves mahātmās, but their only business is conquering their political enemies. Because they spoil their lives with the illusion of “this is my land and my family,” they cannot progress spiritually and attain liberation from the clutches of māyā.