SB 7.11.34 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

उप्यमानं मुहु: क्षेत्रं स्वयं निर्वीर्यतामियात् । न कल्पते पुन: सूत्यै उप्तं बीजं च नश्यति ॥ ३३ ॥ एवं कामाशयं चित्तं कामानामतिसेवया । विरज्येत यथा राजन्नग्निवत् कामबिन्दुभि: ॥ ३४ ॥

Verse text

upyamānaṁ muhuḥ kṣetraṁ svayaṁ nirvīryatām iyāt na kalpate punaḥ sūtyai uptaṁ bījaṁ ca naśyati evaṁ kāmāśayaṁ cittaṁ kāmānām atisevayā virajyeta yathā rājann agnivat kāma-bindubhiḥ

Synonyms

upyamānam — being cultivated ; muhuḥ — again and again ; kṣetram — a field ; svayam — itself ; nirvīryatām — barrenness ; iyāt — may obtain ; na kalpate — is not suitable ; punaḥ — again ; sūtyai — for growing further harvests ; uptam — sown ; bījam — the seed ; ca — and ; naśyati — is spoiled ; evam — in this way ; kāma — āśayam — full of lusty desires ; cittam — the core of the heart ; kāmānām — of the desirable objects ; ati — sevayā — by enjoyment over and over again ; virajyeta — may become detached ; yathā — just as ; rājan — O King ; agni — vat — a fire ; kāma — bindubhiḥ — by small drops of clarified butter .

Translation

My dear King, if an agricultural field is cultivated again and again, the power of its production decreases, and whatever seeds are sown there are lost. Just as drops of ghee on a fire never extinguish the fire but a flood of ghee will, similarly, overindulgence in lusty desires mitigates such desires entirely.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

My dear King! If a field is cultivated again and again, it becomes barren and unsuitable for germinating seeds. Whatever seeds are sown there are lost. Just as small drops of ghee on a fire never extinguish the fire but a flood of ghee will extinguish the fire, similarly, by excessive indulgence in lusty desires, the heart may become detached from such desires entirely. Because it is impossible for a person with excessive material desires to give up desires by the rules of the Vedas, rather than forbid all enjoyment, one is allowed to enjoy with an honest heart, and detachment will take place eventually. Examples are Yayati and Saubhari. An example is given in two verses. After much cultivation sometimes the field is not suitable for germinating seeds any more. Sometimes, the seeds which are planted are destroyed by the acidic soil. The heart in which desire resides in abundance (kāma āśaya) as various impressions gradually becomes detached. Just as a blazing fire is not reduced by adding drops of ghee, but is extinguished by pouring a huge quantity of ghee on it, so by indulging in a huge amount of enjoyment desire is extinguished.

Purport

If one continuously sprinkles drops of ghee on a fire, the fire will not be extinguished, but if one suddenly puts a lump of ghee on a fire, the fire may possibly be extinguished entirely. Similarly, those who are too sinful and have thus been born in the lower classes are allowed to enjoy sinful activities fully, for thus there is a chance that these activities will become detestful to them, and they will get the opportunity to be purified.