Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 15
Avadhūta’s Further Teachers: Detachment, Solitude, One-Pointed Meditation, and the Lord as Āśraya
गृहारम्भो हि दु:खाय विफलश्चाध्रुवात्मन: । सर्प: परकृतं वेश्म प्रविश्य सुखमेधते ॥ १५ ॥
gṛhārambho hi duḥkhāya viphalaś cādhruvātmanaḥ sarpaḥ para-kṛtaṁ veśma praviśya sukham edhate
Wer in einem vergänglichen Leib lebt und ein glückliches Heim errichten will, erntet oft nur Leid und Vergeblichkeit. Doch die Schlange dringt in ein von anderen gebautes Haus ein und gedeiht dort in Ruhe.
The snake does not have the proclivity to build his own home, but rather lives in a suitable place constructed by other creatures. Thus he does not entangle himself in the labor of home building. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura points out that although materialistic persons take unlimited pains to invent and mass-produce electricity, automobiles, airplanes, etc., ultimately these things are meant for the convenience of the Vaiṣṇavas who are preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The karmīs will always go to such trouble, and the devotees will always offer such laborious productions to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by engaging them in His loving service. The devotees, being concerned with the ultimate perfection of life, do not personally struggle for material advancement. On the other hand, there is no need for the devotees to artificially imitate the austere lifestyle of ancient times. A devotee’s goal is simply to serve Kṛṣṇa as nicely as possible; therefore the devotees willingly accept beautiful mansions and all types of material opulences, not with any personal attachment, but only so that these things can be engaged in the loving service of the Lord. If one engages such things with a desire to enjoy them, one falls down from the platform of pure devotional service. Materialistic persons are only interested in exploiting their so-called yoga practice in order to rejuvenate their sexual potency or to vainly remember their previous conditioned lives. Thus, applying mysticism to the endless search for sense gratification, they do not understand the actual goal of human life.
FAQs
This verse warns that intense endeavor for home and domestic establishment tends to produce suffering and becomes fruitless when one is absorbed in the temporary; true security is not found in material arrangements.
The analogy highlights non-ownership and impermanence: just as a snake occupies a house it did not build, the living being temporarily occupies material shelters without lasting claim, and should not become proud or overly attached.
Maintain duties with simplicity, avoid obsessive accumulation, and remember the home is a temporary facility—center life on bhakti, service, and inner steadiness rather than identity and happiness based on possessions.