Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 10
The Song of the Avantī Brāhmaṇa (Avanti-brāhmaṇa-gītā): Mind as the Root of Suffering and Equanimity Amid Insult
तदवध्यानविस्रस्तपुण्यस्कन्धस्य भूरिद । अर्थोऽप्यगच्छन्निधनं बह्वायासपरिश्रम: ॥ १० ॥
tad-avadhyāna-visrasta- puṇya-skandhasya bhūri-da artho ’py agacchan nidhanaṁ bahv-āyāsa-pariśramaḥ
O magnanimous Uddhava, by neglecting those deities he let his store of piety collapse, and all his wealth also vanished; the fruits of his repeated, exhausting endeavors were lost entirely.
The brāhmaṇa’s stock of piety became like a withered branch that no longer gives fruits or flowers. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī comments that the brāhmaṇa had a trace of piety directed at the Supreme Lord with hopes of liberation. That pure portion of the branch of his piety remained unwithered, eventually giving the fruit of knowledge.
FAQs
This verse explains that when one becomes inattentive and loses spiritual merit (puṇya), even great effort and labor may end in the ruin of wealth.
In the Avadhūta’s instructions to Yadu (narrated by Śukadeva), this point illustrates how material security is unstable and depends on divine arrangement, urging Yadu toward detachment and spiritual focus.
Work responsibly, but cultivate steady remembrance of God and ethical discipline; don’t measure success only by money, since without inner vigilance and virtue, outcomes can collapse despite effort.