FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.30.1

कपिल उवाच तस्यैतस्य जनो नूनं नायं वेदोरुविक्रमम् । काल्यमानोऽपि बलिनो वायोरिव घनावलि: ॥ १ ॥
kapila uvāca
[kapila uvaacha]
tasyaitasya jano nūnaṁ
[tasyaitasya jano noonam]
nāyaṁ vedoru-vikramam
[naayam vedoru-vikramam]
kālyamāno ’pi balino
[kaalyamaano ’pi balino]
vāyor iva ghanāvaliḥ
[vaayor iva ghanaavalih]
Word-for-word
kapilaḥ uvāca — Lord Kapila said tasya etasya — of this very time factor janaḥ — person nūnam — certainly na — not ayam — this veda — knows uru-vikramam — the great strength kālyamānaḥ — being carried off api — although balinaḥ — powerful vāyoḥ — of the wind iva — like ghana — of clouds āvaliḥ — a mass.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kapila uvāca
kapilaḥ uvāca
Lord Kapila said
tasyaitasya jano nūnaṁ
tasya etasya
of this very time factor
janaḥ
person
nūnam
certainly
nāyaṁ vedoru-vikramam
na
not
ayam
this
veda
knows
uru-vikramam
the great strength
kālyamāno ’pi balino
kālyamānaḥ
being carried off
api
although
balinaḥ
powerful
vāyor iva ghanāvaliḥ
vāyoḥ
of the wind
iva
like
ghana
of clouds
āvaliḥ
a mass.
The Personality of Godhead said: As a mass of clouds does not know the powerful influence of the wind, a person engaged in material consciousness does not know the powerful strength of the time factor, by which he is being carried.
Purport

The great politician- paṇḍita named Cāṇakya said that even one moment of time cannot be returned even if one is prepared to pay millions of dollars. One cannot calculate the amount of loss there is in wasting valuable time. Either materially or spiritually, one should be very alert in utilizing the time which he has at his disposal. A conditioned soul lives in a particular body for a fixed measurement of time, and it is recommended in the scriptures that within that small measurement of time one has to finish Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus gain release from the influence of the time factor. But, unfortunately, those who are not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are carried away by the strong power of time without their knowledge, as clouds are carried by the wind.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Kapila said: Indeed, men do not know the powerful influence of time. They are like clouds pushed by a strong wind. Kapila has shown to his mother in five chapters bhakti mixed with guṇas, pure bhakti, as well jñāna and aṣṭāṅga-yoga in sattva-guṇa. In three chapters he now shows, one after the other, results arising from activities of tamas, rajas and sattva. In the Thirtieth Chapter Kapila explains the pains in youth, old age, death and hell of persons agitated by attachment to wife and sons. Kapila explains now in three chapters the suffering of material life produced by various actions without bhakti to the Lord. Tasya refers to time. Instead of balinaḥ the word balinā (with force) is sometimes seen.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Suffering is treated here as structural, not accidental. Once we stop expecting the material world to cooperate, we can begin actually using it for spiritual progress.
Reflection Questions
  • Where have you been blaming people for what is actually a structural feature of material life?
  • How would you live this week if you stopped expecting the material world to finally cooperate?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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