FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.14.4

जिह्मप्रायं व्यवहृतं शाठ्यमिश्रं च सौहृदम् । पितृमातृसुहृद्भ्रातृदम्पतीनां च कल्कनम् ॥ ४ ॥
jihma-prāyaṁ vyavahṛtaṁ
[jihma-praayam vyavahritam]
śāṭhya-miśraṁ ca sauhṛdam
[shaathya-mishram cha sauhridam]
pitṛ-mātṛ-suhṛd-bhrātṛ-
[pitri-maatri-suhrid-bhraatri-]
dam-patīnāṁ ca kalkanam
[dam-pateenaam cha kalkanam]
jihma-prāyam — cheating vyavahṛtam — in all ordinary transactions śāṭhya — duplicity miśram — adulterated in ca — and sauhṛdam — regarding friendly well-wishers pitṛ — father mātṛ — regarding the mother suhṛt — well-wishers bhrātṛ — one’s own brother dam-patīnām — regarding husband and wife ca — also kalkanam — mutual quarrel.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
jihma-prāyaṁ vyavahṛtaṁ
jihma-prāyam
cheating
vyavahṛtam
in all ordinary transactions
śāṭhya-miśraṁ ca sauhṛdam
śāṭhya
duplicity
miśram
adulterated in
ca
and
sauhṛdam
regarding friendly well-wishers
pitṛ-mātṛ-suhṛd-bhrātṛ-
pitṛ
father
mātṛ
regarding the mother
suhṛt
well-wishers
bhrātṛ
one’s own brother
dam-patīnāṁ ca kalkanam
dam-patīnām
regarding husband and wife
ca
also
kalkanam
mutual quarrel.
All ordinary transactions and dealings became polluted with cheating, even between friends. And in familial affairs, there was always misunderstanding between fathers, mothers and sons, between well-wishers, and between brothers. Even between husband and wife there was always strain and quarrel.

A conditioned living being is endowed with four principles of malpractice, namely errors, insanity, inability and cheating. These are signs of imperfection, and out of the four the propensity to cheat others is most prominent. And this cheating practice is there in the conditioned souls because the conditioned souls are primarily in the material world imbued with an unnatural desire to lord it over the material world. A living being in his pure state is not conditioned by the laws because in his pure state he is conscious that a living being is eternally subservient to the Supreme Being, and thus it is always good for him to remain subservient, instead of falsely trying to lord it over the property of the Supreme Lord. In the conditioned state the living being is not satisfied even if he actually becomes the lord of all that he surveys, which he never becomes, and therefore he becomes the victim of all kinds of cheating, even with his nearest and most intimate relations. In such an unsatisfactory state of affairs, there is no harmony, even between father and sons or between husband and wife. But all these contending difficulties can be mitigated by one process, and that is the devotional service of the Lord. The world of hypocrisy can be checked only by counteraction through devotional service to the Lord and nothing else. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, having observed the disparities, conjectured the disappearance of the Lord from the earth.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
He saw dealings that were filled with deception, and friendships which were mixed with cheating. There were quarrels between fathers, mothers, friends, brothers, husbands and wives.
Commentary

Kalkanam means quarrels and other conflicts.

[Note: asmāc chlokāt pūrvam ayaṁ pāṭho ’dhiko vīrarāghava-siddhāntadīpikayoḥ, yathā— kanyā-vikrayiṇāṁ tātaṁ sutaṁ pitror apoṣakam | brāhmaṇān veda-vimukhān śūdrān vai brahma-vādinaḥ ||]

Ordinary transactions became polluted with cheating, even between friends. Families had misunderstanding between parents and children, well-wishers, brothers. Even between mates. The fabric tears at every seam.
Reflection Questions
  • Where in my closest relationships is the fabric beginning to tear?
  • What small fidelity could I restore today?
📝 My note

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