FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.28.21

कथं नु दारका दीना दारकीर्वापरायणा: । वर्तिष्यन्ते मयि गते भिन्ननाव इवोदधौ ॥ २१ ॥
kathaṁ nu dārakā dīnā
[katham nu daarakaa deenaa]
dārakīr vāparāyaṇāḥ
[daarakeer vaaparaayanaah]
vartiṣyante mayi gate
[vartishyante mayi gate]
bhinna-nāva ivodadhau
[bhinna-naava ivodadhau]
katham — how nu — indeed dārakāḥ — sons dīnāḥ — poor dārakīḥ — daughters vā — or aparāyaṇāḥ — having no one else to depend on vartiṣyante — will live mayi — when I gate — gone from this world bhinna — broken nāvaḥ — boat iva — like udadhau — in the ocean.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kathaṁ nu dārakā dīnā
katham
how
nu
indeed
dārakāḥ
sons
dīnāḥ
poor
dārakīr vāparāyaṇāḥ
dārakīḥ
daughters
vā
or
aparāyaṇāḥ
having no one else to depend on
vartiṣyante mayi gate
vartiṣyante
will live
mayi
when I
gate
gone from this world
bhinna-nāva ivodadhau
bhinna
broken
nāvaḥ
boat
iva
like
udadhau
in the ocean.
King Purañjana continued worrying: “After I pass from this world, how will my sons and daughters, who are now fully dependent on me, live and continue their lives? Their position will be similar to that of passengers aboard a ship wrecked in the midst of the ocean.”

At the time of death every living entity worries about what will happen to his wife and children. Similarly, a politician also worries about what will happen to his country or his political party. Unless one is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, he has to accept a body in the next life according to his particular state of consciousness. Since Purañjana is thinking of his wife and children and is overly engrossed in thoughts of his wife, he will accept the body of a woman. Similarly, a politician or so-called nationalist who is inordinately attached to the land of his birth will certainly be reborn in the same land after ending his political career. One’s next life will also be affected by the acts one performs during this life. Sometimes politicians act most sinfully for their own sense gratification. It is not unusual for a politician to kill the opposing party. Even though a politician may be allowed to take birth in his so-called homeland, he still has to undergo suffering due to his sinful activities in his previous life.

This science of transmigration is completely unknown to modern scientists. So-called scientists do not like to bother with these things because if they would at all consider this subtle subject matter and the problems of life, they would see that their future is very dark. Thus they try to avoid considering the future and continue committing all kinds of sinful activities in the name of social, political and national necessity.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
How will my poor sons and daughters who were dedicated to serving me, remain living, when I am gone? They will be like a shattered boat in the ocean. Dārakīḥ means dārikāḥ (daughters). They were dedicated to serving me with affection in my old age (parāyanāḥ). How will they remain? They will die from continual crying. Bhinna means cracked.
How will my sons and daughters live? — Like passengers on a wrecked ship. The shipwreck metaphor is accurate; without proper preparation, dependents are exactly that vulnerable.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I have dependents in 'shipwrecked' configurations?
  • What preparation could begin to give them a real boat?
📝 My note

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