Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 13
Nārada Instructs Dakṣa’s Sons; Allegory of the World; Dakṣa Curses Nārada
पुमान्नैवैति यद्गत्वा बिलस्वर्गं गतो यथा । प्रत्यग्धामाविद इह किमसत्कर्मभिर्भवेत् ॥ १३ ॥
pumān naivaiti yad gatvā bila-svargaṁ gato yathā pratyag-dhāmāvida iha kim asat-karmabhir bhavet
Just as one who enters the “hole” called Pātāla is scarcely seen to return, so one who reaches Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma (pratyag-dhāma) does not come back to this material world. If such a place of no return exists, yet one does not seek it and instead leaps about like a monkey in the temporary world, what profit is there in such futile works?
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.6) , yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama: there is a region from which, having gone, one does not return to the material world. This region has been repeatedly described. Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9) , Kṛṣṇa says:
FAQs
This verse says that once one realizes the inner self (pratyag-dhāma), fruitive, temporary actions lose their purpose, because they cannot give lasting fulfillment or liberation.
Nārada instructed Dakṣa’s sons to turn away from worldly productivity and ritualistic ambitions and instead seek self-realization and devotion, showing them the futility of temporary goals.
Prioritize practices that awaken inner spiritual awareness—bhakti, sādhana, and self-inquiry—while treating career and achievements as secondary, not as the source of ultimate meaning.