SB 5.13.18 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

द्रुमेषु रंस्यन् सुतदारवत्सलो व्यवायदीनो विवश: स्वबन्धने । क्‍वचित्प्रमादाद् गिरिकन्दरे पतन् वल्लीं गृहीत्वा गजभीत आस्थित: ॥ १८ ॥

Verse text

drumeṣu raṁsyan suta-dāra-vatsalo vyavāya-dīno vivaśaḥ sva-bandhane kvacit pramādād giri-kandare patan vallīṁ gṛhītvā gaja-bhīta āsthitaḥ

Synonyms

drumeṣu — in the trees (or in houses standing like trees in which monkeys jump from one branch to another) ; raṁsyan — enjoying ; suta — dāra — vatsalaḥ — being attached to the children and wife ; vyavāya — dīnaḥ — who is poor-hearted because of acting on the platform of sex desire ; vivaśaḥ — unable to give up ; sva — bandhane — in bondage to the reactions of one’s own activities ; kvacit — sometimes ; pramādāt — from fear of imminent death ; giri — kandare — in a cave in a mountain ; patan — falling down ; vallīm — the branches of a creeper ; gṛhītvā — capturing ; gaja — bhītaḥ — being afraid of the elephant of death ; āsthitaḥ — remains in that position .

Translation

When the living entity becomes exactly like a monkey jumping from one branch to another, he remains in the tree of household life without any profit but sex. Thus he is kicked by his wife just like the he-ass. Unable to gain release, he remains helplessly in that position. Sometimes he falls victim to an incurable disease, which is like falling into a mountain cave. He becomes afraid of death, which is like the elephant in the back of that cave, and he remains stranded, grasping at the twigs and branches of a creeper.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Enjoying in the trees, affectionate to sons and wife, miserable because of sex life, bound up there and helpless, he sometimes, out of inattention, falls into a mountain cave. Holding onto a creeper, afraid of an elephant, he remains dangling there. He enjoys in the houses, places of pleasure. Desiring sex life, he is kicked by the woman. He is bound up helplessly (sva-bandhane) in that forest, and cannot escape. Another version has caran vane (wandering in the forest). Becoming terribly sick, like falling into a mountain cave, he fears death, compared to an elephant. He remains alive by the support of his karmas, like a vine holding him up.

Purport

The precarious condition of a householder’s life is described herein. A householder’s life is full of misery, and the only attraction is sex with the wife who kicks him during sexual intercourse, just as the she-ass does her mate. Due to continuous sex life, he falls victim to many incurable diseases. At that time, being afraid of death, which is like an elephant, he remains hanging from the twigs and branches of the tree, just like a monkey.