Entanglement in Fruitive Activities

Verse 1 (bhagavata.3.32.1)

कपिल उवाच अथ यो गृहमेधीयान्धर्मानेवावसन्गृहे । काममर्थं च धर्मान्स्वान्दोग्धि भूयः पिपर्ति तान् ॥ 32.1 ॥

kapila uvāca atha yo gṛha-medhīyān dharmān evāvasan gṛhe kāmam arthaṁ ca dharmān svān dogdhi bhūyaḥ piparti tān

Kapila said: The person who, dwelling at home, follows only the duties proper to householders, milks and nourishes again and again his own pursuits of desire, wealth and ritual religion.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.3.32.2)

स चापि भगवद्धर्मात्काममूढः पराङ्मुखः । यजते क्रतुभिर्देवान्पितृंश्च श्रद्धयान्वितः ॥ 32.2 ॥

sa cāpi bhagavad-dharmāt kāma-mūḍhaḥ parāṅ-mukhaḥ yajate kratubhir devān pitṝṁś ca śraddhayānvitaḥ

That man, infatuated by desire and turned away from the Lord's own dharma, nonetheless worships, with faith, the gods and the ancestors through sacrificial rites.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.3.32.3)

तच्छ्रद्धयाक्रान्तमतिः पितृदेवव्रतः पुमान् । गत्वा चान्द्रमसं लोकं सोमपाः पुनरेष्यति ॥ 32.3 ॥

tac-chraddhayākrānta-matiḥ pitṛ-deva-vrataḥ pumān gatvā cāndramasaṁ lokaṁ soma-pāḥ punar eṣyati

His mind held fast by that same faith, bound to the vow of the fathers and the gods, that man goes to the world of the moon, drinks the soma there, and then returns once more.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.3.32.4)

यदा चाहीन्द्रशय्यायां शेतेऽनन्तासनो हरिः । तदा लोका लयं यान्ति त एते गृहमेधिनाम् ॥ 32.4 ॥

yadā cāhīndra-śayyāyāṁ śete ’nantāsano hariḥ tadā lokā layaṁ yānti ta ete gṛha-medhinām

When Hari, seated upon Ananta, lies down upon that bed of the serpent-king, then all those worlds belonging to such householders dissolve away.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.3.32.5)

ये स्वधर्मान्न दुह्यन्ति धीराः कामार्थहेतवे । निःसङ्गा न्यस्तकर्माणः प्रशान्ताः शुद्धचेतसः ॥ 32.5 ॥

ye sva-dharmān na duhyanti dhīrāḥ kāmārtha-hetave niḥsaṅgā nyasta-karmāṇaḥ praśāntāḥ śuddha-cetasaḥ

But those steady souls who do not milk their own prescribed duty for the sake of desire or gain — they remain free of attachment, having laid aside their works, tranquil, and of purified mind.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.3.32.6)

निवृत्तिधर्मनिरता निर्ममा निरहङ्कृताः । स्वधर्माप्तेन सत्त्वेन परिशुद्धेन चेतसा ॥ 32.6 ॥

nivṛtti-dharma-niratā nirmamā nirahaṅkṛtāḥ sva-dharmāptena sattvena pariśuddhena cetasā

Devoted to the path of cessation, free of any sense of 'mine,' free of ego, possessed of the goodness attained through their own prescribed duty, and of a mind wholly purified.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.3.32.7)

सूर्यद्वारेण ते यान्ति पुरुषं विश्वतोमुखम् । परावरेशं प्रकृतिमस्योत्पत्त्यन्तभावनम् ॥ 32.7 ॥

sūrya-dvāreṇa te yānti puruṣaṁ viśvato-mukham parāvareśaṁ prakṛtim asyotpatty-anta-bhāvanam

Through the gateway of the sun they go to that Person whose face turns everywhere, the Lord of both the higher and the lower, the very prakriti that is the cause of this world's arising and its dissolving.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.3.32.8)

द्विपरार्धावसाने यः प्रलयो ब्रह्मणस्तु ते । तावदध्यासते लोकं परस्य परचिन्तकाः ॥ 32.8 ॥

dvi-parārdhāvasāne yaḥ pralayo brahmaṇas tu te tāvad adhyāsate lokaṁ parasya para-cintakāḥ

Until the two parardhas are complete and Brahma's own death arrives, those devotees, their minds fixed on the Supreme, continue to dwell upon that very world.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.3.32.9)

क्ष्माम्भोऽनलानिलवियन्मनइन्द्रियार्थ- भूतादिभिः परिवृतं प्रतिसञ्जिहीर्षुः । अव्याकृतं विशति यर्हि गुणत्रयात्मा कालं पराख्यमनुभूय परः स्वयम्भूः ॥ 32.9 ॥

kṣmāmbho-’nalānila-viyan-mana-indriyārtha- bhūtādibhiḥ parivṛtaṁ pratisañjihīrṣuḥ avyākṛtaṁ viśati yarhi guṇa-trayātmā kālaṁ parākhyam anubhūya paraḥ svayambhūḥ

Desiring to withdraw this world — girt about with earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, senses, their objects and ego — the self-born Brahma, himself embodying the three gunas, having lived out that span of time called a parardha, enters at last into the supreme, unmanifest state.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.3.32.10)

एवं परेत्य भगवन्तमनुप्रविष्टा ये योगिनो जितमरुन्मनसो विरागाः । तेनैव साकममृतं पुरुषं पुराणं ब्रह्म प्रधानमुपयान्त्यगताभिमानाः ॥ 32.10 ॥

evaṁ paretya bhagavantam anupraviṣṭā ye yogino jita-marun-manaso virāgāḥ tenaiva sākam amṛtaṁ puruṣaṁ purāṇaṁ brahma pradhānam upayānty agatābhimānāḥ

In this way, those yogis who, their breath and mind conquered and fully dispassionate, have entered into Brahma — together with him, their false ego now dissolved, they too attain that immortal, ancient Person, the supreme Brahman.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.3.32.11)

अथ तं सर्वभूतानां हृत्पद्मेषु कृतालयम् । श्रुतानुभावं शरणं व्रज भावेन भामिनि ॥ 32.11 ॥

atha taṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛt-padmeṣu kṛtālayam śrutānubhāvaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja bhāvena bhāmini

Therefore, O noble lady, go for shelter, with true devotion, to Him who dwells in the lotus heart of every being, whose glories you have already heard.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.3.32.12)

आद्यः स्थिरचराणां यो वेदगर्भः सहर्षिभिः । योगेश्वरैः कुमाराद्यैः सिद्धैर्योगप्रवर्तकैः ॥ 32.12 ॥

ādyaḥ sthira-carāṇāṁ yo veda-garbhaḥ saharṣibhiḥ yogeśvaraiḥ kumārādyaiḥ siddhair yoga-pravartakaiḥ

Brahma himself — the first of moving and unmoving creation, the very repository of the Vedas — together with the sages, the lords of yoga, the Kumaras and other perfected beings, the founders of the path of yoga —

Verse 13 (bhagavata.3.32.13)

भेददृष्टयाभिमानेन निःसङ्गेनापि कर्मणा । कर्तृत्वात्सगुणं ब्रह्म पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभम् ॥ 32.13 ॥

bheda-dṛṣṭyābhimānena niḥsaṅgenāpi karmaṇā kartṛtvāt saguṇaṁ brahma puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabham

— even while acting without attachment, yet through the lingering conceit of a divided vision and the sense of being a doer, attain that qualified Brahman, the Person, foremost among persons —

Verse 14 (bhagavata.3.32.14)

स संसृत्य पुनः काले कालेनेश्वरमूर्तिना । जाते गुणव्यतिकरे यथापूर्वं प्रजायते ॥ 32.14 ॥

sa saṁsṛtya punaḥ kāle kāleneśvara-mūrtinā jāte guṇa-vyatikare yathā-pūrvaṁ prajāyate

— yet, having attained even that, when the time comes, by that same time in the Lord's own form, when the churning of the gunas begins anew, they are born again just as before.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.3.32.15)

ऐश्वर्यं पारमेष्ठ्यं च तेऽपि धर्मविनिर्मितम् । निषेव्य पुनरायान्ति गुणव्यतिकरे सति ॥ 32.15 ॥

aiśvaryaṁ pārameṣṭhyaṁ ca te ’pi dharma-vinirmitam niṣevya punar āyānti guṇa-vyatikare sati

They too, having enjoyed that sovereign opulence won by their own righteous deeds, return once more when the churning of the gunas occurs.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.3.32.16)

ये त्विहासक्तमनसः कर्मसु श्रद्धयान्विताः । कुर्वन्त्यप्रतिषिद्धानि नित्यान्यपि च कृत्स्नशः ॥ 32.16 ॥

ye tv ihāsakta-manasaḥ karmasu śraddhayānvitāḥ kurvanty apratiṣiddhāni nityāny api ca kṛtsnaśaḥ

But those whose minds remain attached to action in this very world, with faith, keep performing, again and again in full, even the daily rites that are not forbidden.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.3.32.17)

रजसा कुण्ठमनसः कामात्मानोऽजितेन्द्रियाः । पितृन् यजन्त्यनुदिनं गृहेष्वभिरताशयाः ॥ 32.17 ॥

rajasā kuṇṭha-manasaḥ kāmātmāno ’jitendriyāḥ pitṝn yajanty anudinaṁ gṛheṣv abhiratāśayāḥ

Their minds clouded over by rajas, given wholly to desire, their senses never conquered, they worship the ancestors day after day, their hearts ever absorbed in household life.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.3.32.18)

त्रैवर्गिकास्ते पुरुषा विमुखा हरिमेधसः । कथायां कथनीयोरुविक्रमस्य मधुद्विषः ॥ 32.18 ॥

trai-vargikās te puruṣā vimukhā hari-medhasaḥ kathāyāṁ kathanīyoru- vikramasya madhudviṣaḥ

Given over to these three pursuits — dharma, artha and kama — such people turn their faces away from the story of Bhagavan Hari, slayer of the Madhu demon, a story worth telling for His great and glorious power.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.3.32.19)

नूनं दैवेन विहता ये चाच्युतकथासुधाम् । हित्वा शृण्वन्त्यसद्गाथाः पुरीषमिव विड्भुजः ॥ 32.19 ॥

nūnaṁ daivena vihatā ye cācyuta-kathā-sudhām hitvā śṛṇvanty asad-gāthāḥ purīṣam iva viḍ-bhujaḥ

Truly thwarted by providence, they turn away from the nectar of Achyuta's story and, like hogs that feed on filth, listen instead only to worthless, unhallowed tales.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.3.32.20)

दक्षिणेन पथार्यम्णः पितृलोकं व्रजन्ति ते । प्रजामनु प्रजायन्ते श्मशानान्तक्रियाकृतः ॥ 32.20 ॥

dakṣiṇena pathāryamṇaḥ pitṛ-lokaṁ vrajanti te prajām anu prajāyante śmaśānānta-kriyā-kṛtaḥ

By the southern path of the sun they go to the world of the ancestors, and are born again in the wake of their own progeny, their cycle of works bounded, at last, only by the funeral rites at the cremation ground.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.3.32.21)

ततस्ते क्षीणसुकृताः पुनर्लोकमिमं सति । पतन्ति विवशा देवैः सद्यो विभ्रंशितोदयाः ॥ 32.21 ॥

tatas te kṣīṇa-sukṛtāḥ punar lokam imaṁ sati patanti vivaśā devaiḥ sadyo vibhraṁśitodayāḥ

O virtuous one, when their store of merit runs dry, then, made helpless by the arrangement of the gods, their prosperity suddenly overturned, they fall back once more to this very world.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.3.32.22)

तस्मात्त्वं सर्वभावेन भजस्व परमेष्ठिनम् । तद्गुणाश्रयया भक्त्या भजनीयपदाम्बुजम् ॥ 32.22 ॥

tasmāt tvaṁ sarva-bhāvena bhajasva parameṣṭhinam tad-guṇāśrayayā bhaktyā bhajanīya-padāmbujam

Therefore worship, with your whole being, that Supreme Lord, whose lotus feet — worthy of worship — are to be reached through devotion joined to His own transcendental qualities.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.3.32.23)

वासुदेवे भगवति भक्तियोगः प्रयोजितः । जनयत्याशु वैराग्यं ज्ञानं यद्ब्रह्मदर्शनम् ॥ 32.23 ॥

vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ yad brahma-darśanam

Bhakti-yoga, once directed toward Bhagavan Vasudeva, swiftly gives rise to dispassion and to that knowledge which is itself the vision of Brahman.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.3.32.24)

यदास्य चित्तमर्थेषु समेष्विन्द्रियवृत्तिभिः । न विगृह्णाति वैषम्यं प्रियमप्रियमित्युत ॥ 32.24 ॥

yadāsya cittam artheṣu sameṣv indriya-vṛttibhiḥ na vigṛhṇāti vaiṣamyaṁ priyam apriyam ity uta

When this practitioner's mind, amid objects presented equally through the senses' own workings, no longer grasps any distinction of pleasant and unpleasant.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.3.32.25)

स तदैवात्मनात्मानं निःसङ्गं समदर्शनम् । हेयोपादेयरहितमारूढं पदमीक्षते ॥ 32.25 ॥

sa tadaivātmanātmānaṁ niḥsaṅgaṁ sama-darśanam heyopādeya-rahitam ārūḍhaṁ padam īkṣate

Then, by his own self, he beholds the self as unattached, of equal vision, free from the distinction of what is to be rejected and what accepted, and established upon that exalted station.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.3.32.26)

ज्ञानमात्रं परं ब्रह्म परमात्मेश्वरः पुमान् । दृश्यादिभिः पृथग्भावैर्भगवानेक ईयते ॥ 32.26 ॥

jñāna-mātraṁ paraṁ brahma paramātmeśvaraḥ pumān dṛśy-ādibhiḥ pṛthag bhāvair bhagavān eka īyate

That Supreme Brahman, consisting of knowledge alone, is spoken of as Paramatma, Ishvara and Purusha; through the differing modes of philosophical vision and the rest, that one Bhagavan is known in many aspects.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.3.32.27)

एतावानेव योगेन समग्रेणेह योगिनः । युज्यतेऽभिमतो ह्यर्थो यदसङ्गस्तु कृत्स्नशः ॥ 32.27 ॥

etāvān eva yogena samagreṇeha yoginaḥ yujyate ’bhimato hy artho yad asaṅgas tu kṛtsnaśaḥ

In this world, this alone is achieved by the yogi through the whole of his yogic practice as its desired end: that complete detachment from material nature which he thereby attains.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.3.32.28)

ज्ञानमेकं पराचीनैरिन्द्रियैर्ब्रह्म निर्गुणम् । अवभात्यर्थरूपेण भ्रान्त्या शब्दादिधर्मिणा ॥ 32.28 ॥

jñānam ekaṁ parācīnair indriyair brahma nirguṇam avabhāty artha-rūpeṇa bhrāntyā śabdādi-dharmiṇā

Through senses turned outward, that one Brahman, though beyond the gunas, comes mistakenly to appear as manifold objects endowed with sound and the rest of the sense-qualities.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.3.32.29)

यथा महानहंरूपस्त्रिवृत्पञ्चविधः स्वराट् । एकादशविधस्तस्य वपुरण्डं जगद्यतः ॥ 32.29 ॥

yathā mahān ahaṁ-rūpas tri-vṛt pañca-vidhaḥ svarāṭ ekādaśa-vidhas tasya vapur aṇḍaṁ jagad yataḥ

Just as from Me have arisen the mahat-tattva in the form of ego, threefold, the five elements, the sva-rat [individual jiva] and the eleven senses — from these this world in the form of the cosmic egg came to be.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.3.32.30)

एतद्वै श्रद्धया भक्त्या योगाभ्यासेन नित्यशः । समाहितात्मा निःसङ्गो विरक्त्या परिपश्यति ॥ 32.30 ॥

etad vai śraddhayā bhaktyā yogābhyāsena nityaśaḥ samāhitātmā niḥsaṅgo viraktyā paripaśyati

This truth is fully seen only by that practitioner whose mind, through faith, devotion and constant practice of yoga, has become composed, unattached and dispassionate.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.3.32.31)

इत्येतत्कथितं गुर्वि ज्ञानं तद्ब्रह्म-दर्शनम् । येनानुबुद्ध्यते तत्त्वं प्रकृतेः पुरुषस्य च ॥ 32.31 ॥

ity etat kathitaṁ gurvi jñānaṁ tad brahma-darśanam yenānubuddhyate tattvaṁ prakṛteḥ puruṣasya ca

O revered mother, thus have I described that knowledge which reveals Brahman directly, and by which the truth of both prakriti and purusha comes to be fully understood.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.3.32.32)

ज्ञानयोगश्च मन्निष्ठो नैर्गुण्यो भक्तिलक्षणः । द्वयोरप्येक एवार्थो भगवच्छब्दलक्षणः ॥ 32.32 ॥

jñāna-yogaś ca man-niṣṭho nairguṇyo bhakti-lakṣaṇaḥ dvayor apy eka evārtho bhagavac-chabda-lakṣaṇaḥ

Jnana-yoga fixed upon Me, and devotion marked by freedom from the gunas — for both of these, the single ultimate purport is one and the same, signified by the very word Bhagavan.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.3.32.33)

यथेन्द्रियैः पृथग्द्वारैरर्थो बहुगुणाश्रयः । एको नानेयते तद्वद्भगवान्शास्त्रवर्त्मभिः ॥ 32.33 ॥

yathendriyaiḥ pṛthag-dvārair artho bahu-guṇāśrayaḥ eko nāneyate tadvad bhagavān śāstra-vartmabhiḥ

Just as a single object, endowed with many qualities, is known differently through the different senses, each its own gateway, so the one Bhagavan is approached differently through the differing paths laid down in scripture.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.3.32.34)

क्रियया क्रतुभिर्दानैस्तपःस्वाध्यायमर्शनैः । आत्मेन्द्रियजयेनापि संन्यासेन च कर्मणाम् ॥ 32.34 ॥

kriyayā kratubhir dānais tapaḥ-svādhyāya-marśanaiḥ ātmendriya-jayenāpi sannyāsena ca karmaṇām

Through ritual action, sacrifices, charity, austerity, study of scripture and reflection, through conquering the mind and senses, and through the renunciation of works —

Verse 35 (bhagavata.3.32.35)

योगेन विविधाङ्गेन भक्तियोगेन चैव हि । धर्मेणोभयचिह्नेन यः प्रवृत्तिनिवृत्तिमान् ॥ 32.35 ॥

yogena vividhāṅgena bhakti-yogena caiva hi dharmeṇobhaya-cihnena yaḥ pravṛtti-nivṛttimān

— through yoga with its many limbs, and through bhakti-yoga as well, through that dharma marked by the signs of both engagement and withdrawal —

Verse 36 (bhagavata.3.32.36)

आत्मतत्त्वावबोधेन वैराग्येण दृढेन च । ईयते भगवानेभिः सगुणो निर्गुणः स्वदृक् ॥ 32.36 ॥

ātma-tattvāvabodhena vairāgyeṇa dṛḍhena ca īyate bhagavān ebhiḥ saguṇo nirguṇaḥ sva-dṛk

— and through the understanding of the truth of the self, joined to firm dispassion — by all these means together, Bhagavan is attained, as possessing qualities, as beyond qualities, and as the very seer of the self.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.3.32.37)

प्रावोचं भक्तियोगस्य स्वरूपं ते चतुर्विधम् । कालस्य चाव्यक्तगतेर्योऽन्तर्धावति जन्तुषु ॥ 32.37 ॥

prāvocaṁ bhakti-yogasya svarūpaṁ te catur-vidham kālasya cāvyakta-gater yo ’ntardhāvati jantuṣu

O mother, I have thus described to you the fourfold nature of bhakti-yoga, and also of that time whose movement is imperceptible, which runs on, unseen, within all living beings.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.3.32.38)

जीवस्य संसृतीर्बह्वीरविद्याकर्मनिर्मिताः । यास्वङ्ग प्रविशन्नात्मा न वेद गतिमात्मनः ॥ 32.38 ॥

jīvasya saṁsṛtīr bahvīr avidyā-karma-nirmitāḥ yāsv aṅga praviśann ātmā na veda gatim ātmanaḥ

My dear one, these are the many courses of worldly existence, fashioned by the jiva's own ignorance and action, entering into which the self loses all knowledge of its own true movement.

Verse 39 (bhagavata.3.32.39)

नैतत्खलायोपदिशेन्नाविनीताय कर्हिचित् । न स्तब्धाय न भिन्नाय नैव धर्मध्वजाय च ॥ 32.39 ॥

naitat khalāyopadiśen nāvinītāya karhicit na stabdhāya na bhinnāya naiva dharma-dhvajāya ca

This teaching should never be given to the malicious, nor ever to the ill-mannered, nor to the arrogant, nor to the wicked, nor to one who merely flaunts the banner of religion.

Verse 40 (bhagavata.3.32.40)

न लोलुपायोपदिशेन्न गृहारूढचेतसे । नाभक्ताय च मे जातु न मद्भक्तद्विषामपि ॥ 32.40 ॥

na lolupāyopadiśen na gṛhārūḍha-cetase nābhaktāya ca me jātu na mad-bhakta-dviṣām api

It should not be taught to the greedy, nor to one whose heart is wholly bound to household life, nor to a non-devotee of Mine, nor ever to those who bear malice toward My devotees.

Verse 41 (bhagavata.3.32.41)

श्रद्दधानाय भक्ताय विनीतायानसूयवे । भूतेषु कृतमैत्राय शुश्रूषाभिरताय च ॥ 32.41 ॥

śraddadhānāya bhaktāya vinītāyānasūyave bhūteṣu kṛta-maitrāya śuśrūṣābhiratāya ca

It should be given only to one who is full of faith, devoted, humble, free of fault-finding, holding friendship for all beings, and ever eager for service.

Verse 42 (bhagavata.3.32.42)

बहिर्जातविरागाय शान्तचित्ताय दीयताम् । निर्मत्सराय शुचये यस्याहं प्रेयसां प्रियः ॥ 32.42 ॥

bahir-jāta-virāgāya śānta-cittāya dīyatām nirmatsarāya śucaye yasyāhaṁ preyasāṁ priyaḥ

Let it be given to him alone who has become dispassionate toward what lies outside, whose mind is at peace, who is free of envy and pure — the one to whom I myself am the dearest of all that is dear.

Verse 43 (bhagavata.3.32.43)

य इदं शृणुयादम्ब श्रद्धया पुरुषः सकृत् । यो वाभिधत्ते मच्चित्तः स ह्येति पदवीं च मे ॥ 32.43 ॥

ya idaṁ śṛṇuyād amba śraddhayā puruṣaḥ sakṛt yo vābhidhatte mac-cittaḥ sa hy eti padavīṁ ca me

O mother, whoever, even once, hears this with faith, or, his mind fixed on Me, recites it — that person surely attains My own supreme abode.