Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 26
Avadhūta’s Further Teachers: Detachment, Solitude, One-Pointed Meditation, and the Lord as Āśraya
जायात्मजार्थपशुभृत्यगृहाप्तवर्गान् पुष्णाति यत्प्रियचिकीर्षया वितन्वन् । स्वान्ते सकृच्छ्रमवरुद्धधन: स देह: सृष्ट्वास्य बीजमवसीदति वृक्षधर्म: ॥ २६ ॥
jāyātmajārtha-paśu-bhṛtya-gṛhāpta-vargān puṣṇāti yat-priya-cikīrṣayā vitanvan svānte sa-kṛcchram avaruddha-dhanaḥ sa dehaḥ sṛṣṭvāsya bījam avasīdati vṛkṣa-dharmaḥ
L’homme attaché au corps amasse de l’argent au prix de grands efforts pour étendre et protéger épouse, enfants, biens, bétail, serviteurs, maison, parents et amis, tout cela pour satisfaire son propre corps. Mais à la fin, ce corps, tel un arbre qui avant de mourir produit sa semence, manifeste la semence du prochain corps sous forme du karma accumulé, puis s’effondre et meurt.
One might argue, “Among all the gurus mentioned thus far, the material body is certainly the best, since it awards the detachment and fine intelligence that enable one to engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Thus, we should serve the body, although it is temporary, with great attachment, or risk the offense of ungratefulness. How can detachment from the body be recommended when the body is endowed with so many wonderful qualities?” The answer is given in this verse. The body does not award detachment and knowledge in the manner of some benevolent teacher; rather, it causes so much pain and misery that any commonsense person cannot help being convinced of the uselessness of material life. Just as a tree produces the seeds of the next tree and then dies, the body’s lusty desires induce the conditioned soul to create a further chain of karma. Finally the body, having paved the way for unlimited suffering in material existence, drops dead.
FAQs
This verse explains that one may spend life expanding and maintaining wife, children, wealth, servants, home, and relatives, but the body inevitably declines—showing the impermanence of material attachment and the need for detachment.
He highlights that even after great effort to secure and enjoy material life, the body perishes by nature, urging the listener to seek lasting spiritual shelter rather than temporary worldly expansion.
Care for responsibilities without making them your ultimate identity; remember life’s impermanence, simplify excessive accumulation, and prioritize devotion and self-realization over endless expansion of possessions and status.