Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 10
Chapter 19
दष्टं जनं सम्पतितं बिले 'स्मिन् कालाहिना क्षुद्र-सुखोरु-तर्षम् ।
समुद्धरैनं कृपयापवर्ग्यैर् वचोभिर् आसीञ्च महाऽनुभाव ॥
daṣṭaṃ janaṃ sampatitaṃ bile 'smin kālāhinā kṣudra-sukhoru-tarṣam / samuddharainaṃ kṛpayāpavargyair vacobhir āsiñca mahānubhāva //
Ô grande âme, cet homme, mordu par le serpent du Temps, est tombé dans ce gouffre, brûlant de soif pour de maigres plaisirs. Par compassion, relève-le et asperge-le de tes paroles qui donnent la délivrance.
Continuing the mood of surrender, the speaker now diagnoses the human condition with striking imagery. Time (kāla) is compared to a venomous snake (ahi) whose bite brings inevitable decline—youth to age, health to disease, possession to loss, and finally death. The ‘pit’ (bila) indicates ignorance and entanglement: once fallen into material consciousness, the soul struggles to climb out by its own strength. The verse highlights a key reason for bondage: kṣudra-sukha—small, fleeting pleasures—produce uru-tarṣa, an enormous thirst. The more one tastes temporary enjoyments, the more craving expands, creating repeated suffering. Therefore, the remedy is not merely moral advice or temporary consolation, but apavargya-vacana—speech that grants apavarga, liberation from the cycle of pavarga (hard labor and repeated frustration in material life). Such liberating words are the instructions of Bhagavān and the realized guidance of saints, especially as preserved in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. The verse also teaches the duty of compassion: a mahānubhāva (great-hearted devotee) does not exploit the fallen, but rescues them through truthful, liberating instruction—śravaṇa and kīrtana centered on Krishna. Thus, spiritual teaching is presented as an act of mercy that counteracts the poison of time.
FAQs
It means time inevitably destroys all material conditions—youth, possessions, and life itself—like a snakebite that no one can avoid, urging one to seek spiritual liberation.
Apavargya words are teachings that lead to apavarga—freedom from material bondage—especially instructions that awaken devotion to Krishna and detach one from temporary pleasures.
It explains that small pleasures create bigger thirst; the practical cure is to replace consumption-driven habits with liberating hearing and chanting—regular study of Bhagavatam, prayer, and service that reorients desire toward Krishna.