Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 49
Kṛṣṇa Leads Kālayavana to Mucukunda; The Yavana Is Burned; Mucukunda’s Prayers and Boon of Bhakti
प्रमत्तमुच्चैरितिकृत्यचिन्तया प्रवृद्धलोभं विषयेषु लालसम् । त्वमप्रमत्त: सहसाभिपद्यसे क्षुल्लेलिहानोऽहिरिवाखुमन्तक: ॥ ४९ ॥
pramattam uccair itikṛtya-cintayā pravṛddha-lobhaṁ viṣayeṣu lālasam tvam apramattaḥ sahasābhipadyase kṣul-lelihāno ’hir ivākhum antakaḥ
El hombre absorto en la idea de “lo que hay que hacer”, con codicia creciente y deleite en los placeres de los sentidos, es de pronto enfrentado por Ti, siempre vigilante. Como una serpiente hambrienta que se lame los colmillos ante un ratón, apareces ante él como la muerte.
We may note here the contrast between the words pramattam and apramattaḥ. Those who are trying to exploit the material world are pramatta: “deluded, bewildered, maddened by desire.” But the Lord is apramatta: “alert, sober, and unbewildered.” In our madness we may deny God or His laws, but the Lord is sober and will not fail to reward or punish us according to the quality of our activities.
FAQs
This verse says that anxiety over material duties makes one careless and increasingly greedy, pulling the mind toward sense objects; yet Krishna, as vigilant Time, can suddenly end such absorption.
In his prayer, Mucukunda uses the image to show how abruptly the Lord can seize a person absorbed in trivial pleasures—illustrating Krishna’s unstoppable power as Time and death over the heedless.
Reduce compulsive busyness and craving by remembering life’s uncertainty, prioritizing bhakti (hearing, chanting, prayer), and using duties without becoming obsessed with them.