Shloka 25
Bali Mahārāja’s Surrender, Prahlāda’s Praise, and the Lord’s Mercy
Sutala and Future Indrahood
यदा कदाचिज्जीवात्मा संसरन् निजकर्मभि: । नानायोनिष्वनीशोऽयं पौरुषीं गतिमाव्रजेत् ॥ २५ ॥
yadā kadācij jīvātmā saṁsaran nija-karmabhiḥ nānā-yoniṣv anīśo ’yaṁ pauruṣīṁ gatim āvrajet
The living soul, driven by his own karma, wanders again and again through the cycle of birth and death in many species, helpless and dependent; only sometimes, by good fortune, does he attain a human birth. This human life is exceedingly rare.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is fully independent. Thus it is not always a fact that a living being’s loss of all opulence is a sign of the Supreme Lord’s mercy upon him. The Lord can act any way He likes. He may take away one’s opulence, or He may not. There are varieties of forms of life, and the Lord treats them according to the circumstances, as He chooses. Generally it is to be understood that the human form of life is one of great responsibility.
FAQs
This verse says the jīva wanders through saṁsāra due to his own karma, helplessly taking many kinds of births, until he attains the human condition.
Because the conditioned soul is driven by the momentum of his past actions and the laws of material nature, not acting with full spiritual independence while bound in saṁsāra.
Treat human life as a rare opportunity to rise above karmic wandering—choose dharma, cultivate devotion, and pursue liberation rather than repeating the cycle of births.