FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.13.14

तांस्तान् विपन्नान् स हि तत्र तत्र विहाय जातं परिगृह्य सार्थ: । आवर्ततेऽद्यापि न कश्चिदत्र वीराध्वन: पारमुपैति योगम् ॥ १४ ॥
tāṁs tān vipannān sa hi tatra tatra
[taams taan vipannaan sa hi tatra tatra]
vihāya jātaṁ parigṛhya sārthaḥ
[vihaaya jaatam parigrihya saarthah]
āvartate ’dyāpi na kaścid atra
[aavartate ’dyaapi na kashchid atra]
vīrādhvanaḥ pāram upaiti yogam
[veeraadhvanah paaram upaiti yogam]
tān tān — all of them vipannān — embarrassed in various ways saḥ — the living being hi — certainly tatra tatra — here and there vihāya — giving up jātam — those who are newly born parigṛhya — taking sa-arthaḥ — the living being searching for his own interest āvartate — wanders in this forest adya api — even until now na — not kaścit — any of them atra — here in this forest vīra — O hero adhvanaḥ — of the path of material life pāram — the ultimate end upaiti — gets yogam — the process of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tāṁs tān vipannān sa hi tatra tatra
tān tān
all of them
vipannān
embarrassed in various ways
saḥ
the living being
hi
certainly
tatra tatra
here and there
vihāya jātaṁ parigṛhya sārthaḥ
vihāya
giving up
jātam
those who are newly born
parigṛhya
taking
sa-arthaḥ
the living being searching for his own interest
āvartate ’dyāpi na kaścid atra
āvartate
wanders in this forest
vīrādhvanaḥ pāram upaiti yogam
adya api
even until now
na
not
kaścit
any of them
atra
here in this forest
vīra
O hero
adhvanaḥ
of the path of material life
pāram
the ultimate end
upaiti
gets
yogam
the process of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
My dear King, on the forest path of material life, first a person is bereft of his father and mother, and after their death he becomes attached to his newly born children. In this way he wanders on the path of material progress and is eventually embarrassed. Nonetheless, no one knows how to get out of this, even up to the moment of death.

In this material world, family life is an institution of sex. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukham ( Bhāg. 7.9.45 ). Through sex, the father and mother beget children, and the children get married and go down the same path of sexual life. After the death of the father and mother, the children get married and beget their own children. Thus generation after generation these things go on in the same way without anyone’s attaining liberation from the embarrassment of material life. No one accepts the spiritual processes of knowledge and renunciation, which end in bhakti-yoga. Actually human life is meant for jñāna and vairāgya, knowledge and renunciation. Through these one can attain the platform of devotional service. Unfortunately people in this age avoid the association of liberated people ( sādhu-saṅga ) and continue in their stereotyped way of family life. Thus they are embarrassed by the exchange of money and sex.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O King! Giving up all those who have died, and accepting those who are born, he wanders about in the forest. Even then, the merchant does not take to the method of crossing material life. Giving up the dead (vipannān), he accepts those who are born. He wanders about, but until today does not go towards the Lord. No one among the merchants attains the method of crossing the forest-- bhakti or jñāna.
Related verses
The cycle: parents die, we cling to children, the children grow, and we die clinging — and none of us learns how to leave. Generation after generation we walk the same trap without recognizing it. Be the one in your family who finally names it.
Reflection Questions
  • Whose pattern of attachment-then-death are you about to repeat without seeing it?
  • What would breaking the cycle, even imperfectly, look like in your own family line?
📝 My note

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