Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 20
Purūravā’s Song of Renunciation and the Glory of Sādhu-saṅga
पित्रो: किं स्वं नु भार्याया: स्वामिनोऽग्ने: श्वगृध्रयो: । किमात्मन: किं सुहृदामिति यो नावसीयते ॥ १९ ॥ तस्मिन् कलेवरेऽमेध्ये तुच्छनिष्ठे विषज्जते । अहो सुभद्रं सुनसं सुस्मितं च मुखं स्त्रिय: ॥ २० ॥
pitroḥ kiṁ svaṁ nu bhāryāyāḥ svāmino ’gneḥ śva-gṛdhrayoḥ kim ātmanaḥ kiṁ suhṛdām iti yo nāvasīyate
One can never decide whose property the body actually is. Does it belong to one’s parents, who have given birth to it, to one’s wife, who gives it pleasure, or to one’s employer, who orders the body around? Is it the property of the funeral fire or of the dogs and jackals who may ultimately devour it? Is it the property of the indwelling soul, who partakes in its happiness and distress, or does the body belong to intimate friends who encourage and help it? Although a man never definitely ascertains the proprietor of the body, he becomes most attached to it. The material body is a polluted material form heading toward a lowly destination, yet when a man stares at the face of a woman he thinks, “What a good-looking lady! What a charming nose she’s got, and see her beautiful smile!”
The phrase tuccha-niṣṭhe, or “headed toward a lowly destination,” indicates that if buried, the body will be consumed by worms; if burned, it will turn to ashes; and if dying in a lonely place, it will be consumed by dogs and vultures. The illusory potency of Māyā enters within the female form and bewilders a man’s mind. The man is attracted to Māyā appearing within the female form, but when he embraces the woman’s body he ends up with two handfuls of stool, blood, mucus, pus, skin, bone, hairs and flesh. People should not be like cats and dogs, in the ignorance of bodily consciousness. A human being should be enlightened in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and learn to serve the Supreme Lord without falsely trying to exploit His potencies.
FAQs
This verse says the body is impure and ultimately claimed by others (fire, animals, etc.), yet the deluded mind becomes strongly attached to it and to superficial beauty.
Krishna is teaching Uddhava dispassion by pointing to the body’s inevitable end—cremation or being consumed—so one stops identifying the self with the temporary body.
Reflect regularly on the body’s impermanence, reduce fixation on external appearance, and redirect attention to the soul’s welfare through bhakti, self-control, and remembrance of Krishna.