SB 5.13.16 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

प्रसज्जति क्‍वापि लताभुजाश्रय- स्तदाश्रयाव्यक्तपदद्विजस्पृह: । क्‍वचित्कदाचिद्धरिचक्रतस्त्रसन् सख्यं विधत्ते बककङ्कगृध्रै: ॥ १६ ॥

Verse text

prasajjati kvāpi latā-bhujāśrayas tad-āśrayāvyakta-pada-dvija-spṛhaḥ kvacit kadācid dhari-cakratas trasan sakhyaṁ vidhatte baka-kaṅka-gṛdhraiḥ

Synonyms

prasajjati — becomes more and more attached ; kvāpi — sometimes ; latā — bhuja — āśrayaḥ — who takes shelter of the soft arms of his beautiful wife which are like creepers ; tat — āśraya — who are sheltered by such creepers ; avyakta — pada — who sing unclear songs ; dvija — spṛhaḥ — desiring to hear birds ; kvacit — sometimes ; kadācit — somewhere ; hari — cakrataḥ trasan — being afraid of the roaring sound of a lion ; sakhyam — friendship ; vidhatte — makes ; baka — kaṅka — gṛdhraiḥ — with cranes, herons and vultures .

Translation

Sometimes the living entity in the forest of material existence takes shelter of creepers and desires to hear the chirping of the birds in those creepers. Being afraid of roaring lions in the forest, he makes friends with cranes, herons and vultures.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Sometimes the living entity in the forest of material existence takes shelter of creepers, desiring to hear the chirping of the birds in those creepers. Being afraid of group of lions in the forest, he makes friends with cranes, herons and vultures. Again the forest of material life is described. He takes shelter of the happiness of touch of the arms of women, like creepers. He desires to hear the birds which cannot be heard because they are sleeping in the creepers. This refers to the inaudible words of the woman while embracing the man. Dvija also refers to the children born from the man and woman. He desires to see and touch them. Pretenders say “How will you become free of material life?” Hearing these words by chance, he becomes afraid of the wheel of time, which is like a group of lions. To alleviate his fear he eagerly accepts the words of the cheaters. “Easily you can cross the ocean of suffering.” He makes friends with the cheaters who are like cranes. They are cheaters, unintelligent, and cruel.

Purport

In the forest of the material world there are many animals and birds, trees and creepers. Sometimes the living entity wants to take shelter of the creepers; in other words, he wants to be happy by being embraced by the creeperlike arms of his wife. Within the creepers there are many chirping birds; this indicates that he wants to satisfy himself by hearing the sweet voice of his wife. In old age, however, he sometimes becomes afraid of imminent death, which is compared to a roaring lion. To save himself from the lion’s attack, he takes shelter of some bogus svāmīs, yogīs, incarnations, pretenders and cheaters. Being misled by the illusory energy in this way, he spoils his life. It is said, hariṁ vinā mṛtiṁ na taranti: no one can be saved from the imminent danger of death without taking shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word hari indicates the lion as well as the Supreme Lord. To be saved from the hands of hari, the lion of death, one must take shelter of the supreme Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. People with a poor fund of knowledge take shelter of nondevotee cheaters and pretenders in order to be saved from the clutches of death. In the forest of the material world, the living entity first of all wants to be very happy by taking shelter of the creeperlike arms of his wife and hearing her sweet voice. Later, he sometimes takes shelter of so-called gurus and sādhus who are like cranes, herons and vultures. Thus he is cheated both ways by not taking shelter of the Supreme Lord.