FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.14.6

तत्र च क्‍वचिदातपोदकनिभान् विषयानुपधावति पानभोजनव्यवायादिव्यसनलोलुप: ॥ ६ ॥
tatra ca kvacid ātapodaka-nibhān viṣayān upadhāvati pāna-bhojana-vyavāyādi-vyasana-lolupaḥ.
[tatra cha kvachid aatapodaka-nibhaan vishayaan upadhaavati paana-bhojana-vyavaayaadi-vyasana-lolupah.]
Word-for-word
tatra — there (in this phantom place) ca — also kvacit — sometimes ātapa-udaka-nibhān — like the water in a mirage in the desert viṣayān — the objects of sense enjoyment upadhāvati — runs after pāna — to drinking bhojana — to eating vyavāya — to sex life ādi — and so on vyasana — with addiction lolupaḥ — a debauchee.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tatra ca kvacid ātapodaka-nibhān viṣayān upadhāvati pāna-bhojana-vyavāyādi-vyasana-lolupaḥ.
tatra
there (in this phantom place)
ca
also
kvacit
sometimes
ātapa-udaka-nibhān
like the water in a mirage in the desert
viṣayān
the objects of sense enjoyment
upadhāvati
runs after
pāna
to drinking
bhojana
to eating
vyavāya
to sex life
ādi
and so on
vyasana
with addiction
lolupaḥ
a debauchee.
Sometimes in this house in the sky [gandharva-pura] the conditioned soul drinks, eats and has sex. Being overly attached, he chases after the objects of the senses just as a deer chases a mirage in the desert.
Purport

There are two worlds — the spiritual and the material. The material world is false like a mirage in the desert. In the desert, animals think they see water, but actually there is none. Similarly, those who are animalistic try to find peace within the desert of material life. It is repeatedly said in different śāstras that there is no pleasure in this material world. Furthermore, even if we agree to live without pleasure, we are not allowed to do so. In Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa says that the material world is not only full of miseries ( duḥkhālayam ) but also temporary ( aśāśvatam ). Even if we want to live here amid miseries, material nature will not allow us to do so. It will oblige us to change bodies and enter another atmosphere full of miserable conditions.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
In that city, full of desire, addicted to drinking eating, and sex life, he chases after sense objects, like a mirage of water. He chases after objects which are like mirages.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The material world is a mirage — drink, food, sex in a sky-castle. The deer runs toward water that is not there. Recognize the mirage before exhaustion sets in; the only real water lies in Kṛṣṇa.
Reflection Questions
  • What mirage are you currently running toward, and what evidence already exists that there is no water in it?
  • Where do you keep deferring the recognition because admitting the mirage means changing direction?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 14