SB 6.17.18 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

संसारचक्र एतस्मिञ्जन्तुरज्ञानमोहित: । भ्राम्यन् सुखं च दु:खं च भुङ्क्ते सर्वत्र सर्वदा ॥ १८ ॥

Verse text

saṁsāra-cakra etasmiṣ jantur ajṣāna-mohitaḥ bhrāmyan sukhaṁ ca duḥkhaṁ ca bhuṅkte sarvatra sarvadā

Synonyms

saṁsāra — cakre — in the wheel of material existence ; etasmin — this ; jantuḥ — the living entity ; ajṣāna — mohitaḥ — being bewildered by ignorance ; bhrāmyan — wandering ; sukham — happiness ; ca — and ; duḥkham — distress ; ca — also ; bhuṅkte — he undergoes ; sarvatra — everywhere ; sarvadā — always .

Translation

Deluded by ignorance, the living entity wanders in the forest of this material world, enjoying the happiness and distress resulting from his past deeds, everywhere and at all times. [Therefore, my dear mother, neither you nor I am to be blamed for this incident.]

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Deluded by ignorance, the living entity wanders in the wheel of saṁsāra, enjoying happiness and distress everywhere and at all times. This is the nature of the wheel of saṁsāra. It is not surprising.

Purport

As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (3.27) : prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate “The bewildered soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature.” Actually a conditioned soul is completely under the control of material nature. Wandering here and there — always and everywhere — he is subjected to the results of his past deeds. This is carried out by the laws of nature, but one foolishly thinks himself the doer, which in fact he is not. To get free from the karma-cakra, the wheel of the results of one’s karma, one should take to bhakti-mārga — devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the only remedy. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja.