Shloka 28
Yayāti’s Renunciation: The Allegory of the He-Goat and She-Goat
सा सन्निवासं सुहृदां प्रपायामिव गच्छताम् । विज्ञायेश्वरतन्त्राणां मायाविरचितं प्रभो: ॥ २७ ॥ सर्वत्र सङ्गमुत्सृज्य स्वप्नौपम्येन भार्गवी । कृष्णे मन: समावेश्य व्यधुनोल्लिङ्गमात्मन: ॥ २८ ॥
sā sannivāsaṁ suhṛdāṁ prapāyām iva gacchatām vijñāyeśvara-tantrāṇāṁ māyā-viracitaṁ prabhoḥ
Thereafter Devayānī, the daughter of Śukrācārya, understood that material association with husband, friends, and relatives is like meeting in an inn crowded with travelers—temporary and fleeting. The ties of society, friendship, and love are fashioned by the Supreme Lord’s māyā, just as in a dream. Renouncing all attachment and fixing her mind upon Kṛṣṇa, she cast off the gross and subtle bodies and attained liberation.
One should be convinced that he is a spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, but has somehow or other been entrapped by the material coverings of the gross and subtle bodies, consisting of earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. One should know that the association of society, friendship, love, nationalism, religion and so on are nothing but creations of māyā. One’s only business is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and render service unto Kṛṣṇa as extensively as possible for a living being. In this way one is liberated from material bondage. By the grace of Kṛṣṇa, Devayānī attained this state through the instructions of her husband.
FAQs
This verse compares companionship to travelers meeting at a roadside shelter—brief and arranged under the Lord’s māyā—urging detachment and God-centered vision.
Because meetings and separations in material life are transient; the verse highlights that such arrangements occur by the Lord’s will, not as permanent realities.
Hold relationships with gratitude but without possessiveness, and anchor the mind in devotion so inevitable change does not disturb inner stability.