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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.15.21

తద్వై ధనుస్త ఇషవ: స రథో హయాస్తే సోఽహం రథీ నృపతయో యత ఆనమన్తి । సర్వం క్షణేన తదభూదసదీశరిక్తం భస్మన్హుతం కుహకరాద్ధమివోప్తమూష్యామ్ ॥ ౨౧ ॥
tad vai dhanus ta iṣavaḥ sa ratho hayās te
[tad vai dhanus ta ishavah sa ratho hayaas te]
so ’haṁ rathī nṛpatayo yata ānamanti
[so ’ham rathee nripatayo yata aanamanti]
sarvaṁ kṣaṇena tad abhūd asad īśa-riktaṁ
[sarvam kshanena tad abhood asad eesha-riktam]
bhasman hutaṁ kuhaka-rāddham ivoptam ūṣyām
[bhasman hutam kuhaka-raaddham ivoptam ooshyaam]
Word-for-word
tat — the same vai — certainly dhanuḥ te — the same bow iṣavaḥ — arrows saḥ — the very same rathaḥ — chariot hayāḥ te — the very same horses saḥ aham — I am the same Arjuna rathī — the chariot-fighter nṛpatayaḥ — all the kings yataḥ — whom ānamanti — offered their respects sarvam — all kṣaṇena — at a moment’s notice tat — all those abhūt — became asat — useless īśa — because of the Lord riktam — being void bhasman — ashes hutam — offering butter kuhaka-rāddham — money created by magical feats iva — like that uptam — sown ūṣyām — in barren land.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tad vai dhanus ta iṣavaḥ sa ratho hayās te
tat
the same
vai
certainly
dhanuḥ te
the same bow
iṣavaḥ
arrows
saḥ
the very same
rathaḥ
chariot
hayāḥ te
the very same horses
so ’haṁ rathī nṛpatayo yata ānamanti
sarvaṁ kṣaṇena tad abhūd asad īśa-riktaṁ
saḥ aham
I am the same Arjuna
bhasman hutaṁ kuhaka-rāddham ivoptam ūṣyām
rathī
the chariot-fighter
nṛpatayaḥ
all the kings
yataḥ
whom
ānamanti
offered their respects
sarvam
all
kṣaṇena
at a moment’s notice
tat
all those
abhūt
became
asat
useless
īśa
because of the Lord
riktam
being void
bhasman
ashes
hutam
offering butter
kuhaka-rāddham
money created by magical feats
iva
like that
uptam
sown
ūṣyām
in barren land.
I have the very same Gāṇḍīva bow, the same arrows, the same chariot drawn by the same horses, and I use them as the same Arjuna to whom all the kings offered their due respects. But in the absence of Lord Kṛṣṇa, all of them, at a moment’s notice, have become null and void. It is exactly like offering clarified butter on ashes, accumulating money with a magic wand or sowing seeds on barren land.
Purport

As we have discussed more than once, one should not be puffed up by borrowed plumes. All energies and powers are derived from the supreme source, Lord Kṛṣṇa, and they act as long as He desires and cease to function as soon as He withdraws. All electrical energies are received from the powerhouse, and as soon as the powerhouse stops supplying energy, the bulbs are of no use. In a moment’s time such energies can be generated or withdrawn by the supreme will of the Lord. Material civilization without the blessing of the Lord is child’s play only. As long as the parents allow the child to play, it is all right. As soon as the parents withdraw, the child has to stop. Human civilization and all activities thereof must be dovetailed with the supreme blessing of the Lord, and without this blessing all advancement of human civilization is like decoration on a dead body. It is said here that a dead civilization and its activities are something like clarified butter on ashes, the accumulation of money by a magic wand and the sowing of seeds in a barren land.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
I, the warrior, and the bow, the arrows, the chariot and the horses which made kings bow to me, have become powerless in a moment without the Lord. They are as fruitless as sacrificing ghee into ashes, or as immaterial as getting an illusory gift from a magician, or as perishable as sowing seeds in salty earth.
Commentary

The reason for all this is the absence of Kṛṣṇa and nothing else. All of these things which caused kings to bow to me, have lost there effect because Kṛṣṇa is absent. Throwing ghee into ashes shows no results. Getting articles from a magician shows their insubstantiality. Sowing seeds in salty earth shows the perishable condition.

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Source: vedabase.io

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