Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.72.20
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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anityena
—
by the temporary
Instrumental neuter. Sharp Vedānta vocabulary — the body is anitya, the fame to be earned by it is dhruva. Use the perishable as currency for the permanent.
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satām
—
by the saints
Genitive plural of sat. Only sādhu-glorified fame counts as dhruva. Worldly fame, however loud, is itself anitya — Gauḍīya reading: kīrti that pulls toward Bhagavān is the only real kīrti.
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kalpaḥ
—
capable
Nominative. Failure to earn fame is contemptible only when one was capable. The verse is not addressed to the weak; it is addressed to the strong who hesitate.
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vācyaḥ-śocyaḥ
—
contemptible and pitiable
Two adjectives in apposition. The Vedic society had two reactions to the wasted capable man — censure and pity. Kṛṣṇa names both, so Jarāsandha must answer both.
If he does not gain (na acinoti) fame with this temporary body, he is despicable.
They then criticize. He who fails to achieve lasting fame sung by the saintly, because it is auspicious in this life and the next, is to be pitied. Though he is capable, and can attain fame without other’s help, he does not. He is like a stingy merchant. Or, by himself, without inspiration from others, he does not attain fame. He is to be criticized by those who see faults and pitied by those who do not see faults. The word saḥ is repeated to emphasize his pitiful condition.
A torch is lit only to be carried somewhere; if held still until it burns down, both torch and bearer are wasted. The body is anitya — its only proper use is to win dhruva yaśas glorified by saints. The verse names the alternative: vācya and śocya, contemptible and pitiful.
Old, in pain, dying — Daśaratha could have repudiated Kaikeyī's boons and kept Rāma at home. He did not. He used the perishable body to keep an unbreakable word, even though it killed him. The yaśas of that refusal is sung in every Rāma-kathā: this is the dhruva fame of the verse.
My note
Source: vedabase.io