Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 56
Varṇāśrama-dharma as a Path to Bhakti
Yuga-dharma Origins, Universal Virtues, Brahmacarya and Gṛhastha Duties
यस्त्वासक्तमतिर्गेहे पुत्रवित्तैषणातुर: । स्त्रैण: कृपणधीर्मूढो ममाहमिति बध्यते ॥ ५६ ॥
yas tv āsakta-matir gehe putra-vittaiṣaṇāturaḥ straiṇaḥ kṛpaṇa-dhīr mūḍho mamāham iti badhyate
Le maître de maison dont l’esprit s’attache au foyer, troublé par l’ardent désir de jouir de ses biens et de ses enfants, avide de femmes, au mental avare et obtus, qui pense : « Tout est à moi, et je suis tout », se trouve assurément lié par l’illusion (māyā).
Although one may try by various analytical or psychological processes to detach the mind from illusory family attachment, one will inevitably be drawn back into the network of material attachment unless the heart is purified by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A miserly householder thinks only of his own family or community, without mercy for outsiders. Being egoistic, lusty, attached and always disturbed by ardent desires to enjoy money and children, a materialistic householder is hopelessly bound in a web of anxiety.
FAQs
This verse says that intense attachment to home life—driven by cravings for children and wealth—creates bondage through the false identities of “I” and “mine.”
Kṛṣṇa instructs Uddhava on liberation: he diagnoses the root of material bondage as possessiveness and ego, which grow from uncontrolled attachment and desire.
Notice where identity and security are built on possessions and relationships; practice offering results to God, simplifying desires, and cultivating devotion to reduce the grip of “I” and “mine.”