SB 12.2.41 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 12.2.41

కృమివిడ్భస్మసంజ్ఞాన్తే రాజనామ్నోఽపి యస్య చ । భూతధ్రుక్ తత్కృతే స్వార్థం కిం వేద నిరయో యత: ॥ ౪౧ ॥

kṛmi-viḍ-bhasma-saṁjṣānte

[krimi-vid-bhasma-samjshaante]

rāja-nāmno ’pi yasya ca

[raaja-naamno ’pi yasya cha]

bhūta-dhruk tat-kṛte svārthaṁ

[bhoota-dhruk tat-krite svaartham]

kiṁ veda nirayo yataḥ

[kim veda nirayo yatah]

Word-for-word

kṛmi — of worms viṭ — stool bhasma — and ashes saṁjṣā — the designation ante — in the end rāja-nāmnaḥ — going by the name “king” api — even though yasya — of which (body) ca — and bhūta — of living beings dhruk — an enemy tat-kṛte — for the sake of that body sva-artham — his own best interest kim — what veda — does he know nirayaḥ — punishment in hell yataḥ — because of which.

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

kṛmi-viḍ-bhasma-saṁjṣānte

kṛmi

of worms

viṭ

stool

bhasma

and ashes

saṁjṣā

the designation

ante

in the end

rāja-nāmno ’pi yasya ca

rāja-nāmnaḥ

going by the name “king”

api

even though

yasya

of which (body)

and

bhūta-dhruk tat-kṛte svārthaṁ

bhūta

of living beings

dhruk

an enemy

tat-kṛte

for the sake of that body

sva-artham

his own best interest

kiṁ veda nirayo yataḥ

kim

what

veda

does he know

nirayaḥ

punishment in hell

yataḥ

because of which.

Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?

Purport

After death, the body may be buried and eaten by worms, or it may be thrown in the street or forest to be eaten by animals who will pass out its remnants as stool, or it may be burned and converted into ashes. Therefore one should not pave his way to hell by using his temporary body to injure the bodies of other living beings. In this verse the word bhūta includes nonhuman life forms, who are also creatures of God. One should give up all envious violence and learn to see God in everything by the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

Even though a person's body may now have the designation "king," in the end its name will be "worms," "stool" or "ashes." What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities simply lead him to hell? He who is known by the name of “king” after death is known by the names “worms,” “stool,” and “ashes.” He commits violence for the sake of his body (tat-kṛte).

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io