Shloka 30
मन्ये गिरं ते जगतां विमोहिनीं वरं वृणीष्वेति भजन्तमात्थ यत् । वाचा नु तन्त्या यदि ते जनोऽसित: कथं पुन: कर्म करोति मोहित: ॥ ३० ॥
manye giraṁ te jagatāṁ vimohinīṁ varaṁ vṛṇīṣveti bhajantam āttha yat vācā nu tantyā yadi te jano ’sitaḥ kathaṁ punaḥ karma karoti mohitaḥ
My Lord, Your words can bewilder the world; to tell a pure devotee, “Choose a boon,” seems unfitting. Ordinary people, bound by the sweet speech of the Vedas, again and again perform fruit-seeking works, enchanted by the results of their actions.
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great ācārya of the Gauḍīya sampradāya, has said that persons who are very much attached to the fruitive activities of the Vedas, namely karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa, are certainly doomed. In the Vedas there are three categories of activities, known as karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive activities), jñāna-kāṇḍa (philosophical research) and upāsanā-kāṇḍa (worship of different demigods for receiving material benefits). Those who are engaged in karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa are doomed in the sense that everyone is doomed who is entrapped by this material body, whether it is a body of a demigod, a king, a lower animal or whatever. The sufferings of the threefold miseries of material nature are the same for all. Cultivation of knowledge to understand one’s spiritual position is also, to a certain extent, a waste of time. Because the living entity is an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, his immediate business is to engage himself in devotional service. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore says that the allurement of material benedictions is another trap to entangle one in this material world. He therefore frankly tells the Lord that the Lord’s offerings of benedictions in the form of material facilities are certainly causes for bewilderment. A pure devotee is not at all interested in bhukti or mukti.
FAQs
This verse shows Pṛthu Mahārāja’s caution: even the offer of a boon can distract the mind. A devotee prefers pure service over rewards, because attachment to rewards pulls one back toward fruitive action.
The Kumāras offered him a boon. Pṛthu, already devoted, points out that their powerful words can enchant worldly people; if one becomes attached, he may lose taste for pure devotion and return to karma.
Serve and pray without bargaining for outcomes. Do your duties, but keep spiritual practice free from “deal-making,” so devotion remains the goal rather than material results.