SB 7.6.12 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कथं प्रियाया अनुकम्पिताया: सङ्गं रहस्यं रुचिरांश्च मन्त्रान् । सुहृत्सु तत्स्‍नेहसित: शिशूनां कलाक्षराणामनुरक्तचित्त: ॥ ११ ॥ पुत्रान्स्मरंस्ता दुहितृर्हृदय्या भ्रातृन् स्वसृर्वा पितरौ च दीनौ । गृहान् मनोज्ञोरुपरिच्छदांश्च वृत्तीश्च कुल्या: पशुभृत्यवर्गान् ॥ १२ ॥ त्यजेत कोशस्कृदिवेहमान: कर्माणि लोभादवितृप्तकाम: । औपस्थ्यजैह्वं बहुमन्यमान: कथं विरज्येत दुरन्तमोह: ॥ १३ ॥

Verse text

kathaṁ priyāyā anukampitāyāḥ saṅgaṁ rahasyaṁ rucirāṁś ca mantrān suhṛtsu tat-sneha-sitaḥ śiśūnāṁ kalākṣarāṇām anurakta-cittaḥ putrān smaraṁs tā duhitṝr hṛdayyā bhrātṝn svasṝr vā pitarau ca dīnau gṛhān manojṣoru-paricchadāṁś ca vṛttīś ca kulyāḥ paśu-bhṛtya-vargān tyajeta kośas-kṛd ivehamānaḥ karmāṇi lobhād avitṛpta-kāmaḥ aupasthya-jaihvaṁ bahu-manyamānaḥ kathaṁ virajyeta duranta-mohaḥ

Synonyms

katham — how ; priyāyāḥ — of the dearmost wife ; anukampitāyāḥ — always affectionate and compassionate ; saṅgam — the association ; rahasyam — solitary ; rucirān — very pleasing and acceptable ; ca — and ; mantrān — instructions ; suhṛtsu — to the wife and children ; tat — sneha — sitaḥ — being bound by their affection ; śiśūnām — to the small children ; kala — akṣarāṇām — speaking in broken language ; anurakta — cittaḥ — a person whose mind is attracted ; putrān — the sons ; smaran — thinking of ; tāḥ — them ; duhitṝḥ — the daughters (married and staying at the homes of their husbands) ; hṛdayyāḥ — always situated in the core of the heart ; bhrātṝn — the brothers ; svasṝḥ vā — or the sisters ; pitarau — father and mother ; ca — and ; dīnau — who in old age are mostly invalids ; gṛhān — household affairs ; manojṣa — very attractive ; uru — much ; paricchadān — furniture ; ca — and ; vṛttīḥ — big sources of income (industry, business) ; ca — and ; kulyāḥ — connected with the family ; paśu — of animals (cows, elephants and other household animals) ; bhṛtya — servants and maidservants ; vargān — groups ; tyajeta — can give up ; kośaḥ — kṛt — the silkworm ; iva — like ; īhamānaḥ — performing ; karmāṇi — different activities ; lobhāt — because of insatiable desires ; avitṛpta — kāmaḥ — whose increasing desires are not satisfied ; aupasthya — pleasure from the genitals ; jaihvam — and the tongue ; bahu — manyamānaḥ — considering as very important ; katham — how ; virajyeta — is able to give up ; duranta — mohaḥ — being in great illusion .

Translation

How can a person who is most affectionate to his family, the core of his heart being always filled with their pictures, give up their association? Specifically, a wife is always very kind and sympathetic and always pleases her husband in a solitary place. Who could give up the association of such a dear and affectionate wife? Small children talk in broken language, very pleasing to hear, and their affectionate father always thinks of their sweet words. How could he give up their association? One’s elderly parents and one’s sons and daughters are also very dear. A daughter is especially dear to her father, and while living at her husband’s house she is always in his mind. Who could give up that association? Aside from this, in household affairs there are many decorated items of household furniture, and there are also animals and servants. Who could give up such comforts? The attached householder is like a silkworm, which weaves a cocoon in which it becomes imprisoned, unable to get out. Simply for the satisfaction of two important senses — the genitals and the tongue — one is bound by material conditions. How can one escape?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

How can a person, remembering his private association with his affectionate wife and their pleasing conversations, give her up? Bound by affection to his children, attracted to their simple words, remembering his association with those children, remembering his sons, how can he give them up? How can he give up daughters who touch his heart, or brothers, sisters, dependent father and mother, houses with furniture, means of livelihood passed down in the family, domestic animals and servants? Just as silkworm builds a cocoon with no exit and thus perishes, the foolish person, acting out of lust with unsatisfied desires, giving importance to the happiness of the genital and tongue, builds a trap with no escape. How can this person under great illusion become detached? The strength of attachment to wife and sons is shown. Remembering association with his wife, how can a person give it up? Three verses are connected. Mantrān means conversations with beneficial instructions. Bound (sitaḥ) by affection for them, how can he can give up association with small children? How can he give up his daughters, touching his heart (hrḍayyaḥ) even if they live with their husbands? How can he give up the means of livelihood passed down in the family (vṛttīḥ kulyāh)? Just as the silkworm makes is cocoon without making a door to get out, and thus dies, so a person, giving great importance to happiness of the genital and tongue, performs actions and binds himself up with no escape.

Purport

In household affairs the first attraction is the beautiful and pleasing wife, who increases household attraction more and more. One enjoys his wife with two prominent sense organs, namely the tongue and the genitals. The wife speaks very sweetly. This is certainly an attraction. Then she prepares very palatable foods to satisfy the tongue, and when the tongue is satisfied one gains strength in the other sense organs, especially the genitals. Thus the wife gives pleasure in sexual intercourse. Household life means sex life ( yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham ). This is encouraged by the tongue. Then there are children. A baby gives pleasure by speaking sweet words in broken language, and when the sons and daughters are grown up one becomes involved in their education and marriage. Then there are one’s own father and mother to be taken care of, and one also becomes concerned with the social atmosphere and with pleasing his brothers and sisters. A man becomes increasingly entangled in household affairs, so much so that leaving them becomes almost impossible. Thus the household becomes gṛham andha-kūpam, a dark well into which the man has fallen. For such a man to get out is extremely difficult unless he is helped by a strong person, the spiritual master, who helps the fallen person with the strong rope of spiritual instructions. A fallen person should take advantage of this rope, and then the spiritual master, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, will take him out of the dark well.