FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.14.33

एवमध्वन्यवरुन्धानो मृत्युगजभयात्तमसि गिरिकन्दरप्राये ॥ ३३ ॥
evam adhvany avarundhāno mṛtyu-gaja-bhayāt tamasi giri-kandara-prāye.
[evam adhvany avarundhaano mrityu-gaja-bhayaat tamasi giri-kandara-praaye.]
Word-for-word
evam — in this way adhvani — on the path of sense gratification avarundhānaḥ — being confined, he forgets the real purpose of life mṛtyu-gaja-bhayāt — out of fear of the elephant of death tamasi — in the darkness giri-kandara-prāye — similar to the dark caves in the mountains.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
evam adhvany avarundhāno mṛtyu-gaja-bhayāt tamasi giri-kandara-prāye.
evam
in this way
adhvani
on the path of sense gratification
avarundhānaḥ
being confined, he forgets the real purpose of life
mṛtyu-gaja-bhayāt
out of fear of the elephant of death
tamasi
in the darkness
giri-kandara-prāye
similar to the dark caves in the mountains.
In this material world, when the conditioned soul forgets his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and does not care for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he simply engages in different types of mischievous and sinful activities. He is then subjected to the threefold miseries, and, out of fear of the elephant of death, he falls into the darkness found in a mountain cave.
Purport

Everyone is afraid of death, and however strong a materialistic person may be, when there is disease and old age one must certainly accept death’s notice. The conditioned soul becomes very morose to receive notice of death. His fear is compared to the fear experienced upon entering a dark mountain cave, and death is compared to a great elephant.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
On the path, he is restricted to sinful acts, and out of fear of death, he falls into ignorance which is like a mountain cave. With verse explains the phrase “out of inattention, he falls from a mountain cliff’’ mentioned in SB 5.13.18. Out of fear of death, in ignorance, he is confined (avarundhānaḥ) to performing sinful acts to prevent serious illness. In this way he is absorbed in himself.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Forgetting the Lord, the soul commits more sins and then fears their result. The fear is rational, but the response — more distraction — is irrational. Face the fear by turning to Kṛṣṇa, not by burying it deeper.
Reflection Questions
  • What fear of consequences are you trying to bury with more activity rather than face with the Lord?
  • What would it look like to bring the fear honestly into prayer?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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