FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.18.51

एवं वर्षसहस्राणि मन:षष्ठैर्मन:सुखम् । विदधानोऽपि नातृप्यत् सार्वभौम: कदिन्द्रियै: ॥ ५१ ॥
evaṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi
[evam varsha-sahasraani]
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhair manaḥ-sukham
[manah-shashthair manah-sukham]
vidadhāno ’pi nātṛpyat
[vidadhaano ’pi naatripyat]
sārva-bhaumaḥ kad-indriyaiḥ
[saarva-bhaumah kad-indriyaih]
evam — in this way varṣa-sahasrāṇi — for one thousand years manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhaiḥ — by the mind and five knowledge-acquiring senses manaḥ-sukham — temporary happiness created by the mind vidadhānaḥ — executing api — although na atṛpyat — could not be satisfied sārva-bhaumaḥ — although he was the king of the entire world kat-indriyaiḥ — because of possessing impure senses.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
evaṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi
evam
in this way
varṣa-sahasrāṇi
for one thousand years
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhair manaḥ-sukham
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhaiḥ
by the mind and five knowledge-acquiring senses
manaḥ-sukham
temporary happiness created by the mind
vidadhāno ’pi nātṛpyat
vidadhānaḥ
executing
api
although
na atṛpyat
could not be satisfied
sārva-bhaumaḥ kad-indriyaiḥ
sārva-bhaumaḥ
although he was the king of the entire world
kat-indriyaiḥ
because of possessing impure senses.
Although Mahārāja Yayāti was the king of the entire world and he engaged his mind and five senses in enjoying material possessions for one thousand years, he was unable to be satisfied.

The kad-indriya, or unpurified senses, can be purified if one engages the senses and the mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam. One must be freed from all designations. When one identifies himself with the material world, his senses are impure. But when one achieves spiritual realization and identifies himself as a servant of the Lord, his senses are purified immediately. Engagement of the purified senses in the service of the Lord is called bhakti. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate. One may enjoy the senses for many thousands of years, but unless one purifies the senses, one cannot be happy.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Ninth Canto, Eighteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “King Yayāti Regains His Youth.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Although Mahārāja Yayāti, king of the entire world, engaged his mind and five senses in material happiness for one thousand years, he was unable to be satisfied. The senses are called sinful senses, since they are lusty for material enjoyment. Thus ends the commentary on the Eighteenth Chapter of the Ninth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas. Chapter Nineteen Yayāti Gives up His Youth
After a thousand years of enjoyment with full senses, Yayāti is still not satisfied. The experiment of unrestricted enjoyment, at full power for a millennium, definitively fails — and we are spared having to re-run it.
Reflection Questions
  • Why do I imagine my much smaller, briefer pursuit of enjoyment will succeed where Yayāti's did not?
  • What would I do differently today if I genuinely believed enjoyment is, in principle, never enough?
📝 My note

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