Shloka 38
Citraketu’s Detachment, Nārada’s Mantra, and the Darśana of Anantadeva
विषयतृषो नरपशवो य उपासते विभूतीर्न परं त्वाम् । तेषामाशिष ईश तदनु विनश्यन्ति यथा राजकुलम् ॥ ३८ ॥
viṣaya-tṛṣo nara-paśavo ya upāsate vibhūtīr na paraṁ tvām teṣām āśiṣa īśa tad anu vinaśyanti yathā rāja-kulam
O Herr, wer nach Sinnenlust dürstet—ein Tier in Menschengestalt—verehrt verschiedene Halbgötter und ihren geringen Glanz, statt Dich. Mit der Vernichtung des Universums vergehen auch ihre Gaben, wie der Adel schwindet, wenn der König keine Macht mehr hat.
Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) says, kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ: “Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto the demigods.” Similarly, this verse condemns worship of the demigods. We may show our respect to the demigods, but the demigods are not worshipable. The intelligence of those who worship the demigods is lost ( hṛta jñānāḥ ) because these worshipers do not know that when the entire material cosmic manifestation is annihilated, the demigods, who are the departmental heads of that manifestation, will be vanquished. When the demigods are vanquished, the benedictions given by the demigods to unintelligent men will also be vanquished. Therefore a devotee should not hanker to obtain material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but should engage in the service of the Lord, who will satisfy all his desires.
FAQs
This verse says that those who chase sense enjoyment and worship secondary powers (vibhūtis) rather than the Supreme Lord find that the boons and their results ultimately perish.
While offering prayers, Citraketu contrasts pure devotion to the Lord with materialistic worship motivated by sense desire, emphasizing that only devotion to the Supreme is truly lasting.
Prioritize devotion and spiritual purpose over status, power, and consumption; otherwise, achievements gained through material craving tend to collapse or fail to satisfy.