Shloka 24
Paramahaṁsa-Dharma: The Avadhūta-like Sannyāsī and Prahlāda’s Dialogue with the ‘Python’ Saint
तृष्णया भववाहिन्या योग्यै: कामैरपूर्यया । कर्माणि कार्यमाणोऽहं नानायोनिषु योजित: ॥ २४ ॥
tṛṣṇayā bhava-vāhinyā yogyaiḥ kāmair apūryayā karmāṇi kāryamāṇo ’haṁ nānā-yoniṣu yojitaḥ
Par une soif insatiable et des désirs jamais comblés, j’ai été emporté par les vagues du saṁsāra et engagé dans maintes actions, assigné à de nombreuses formes de vie.
As long as a living entity wants to fulfill various types of material desire, he must continuously change from one body to accept another. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that as a small piece of grass falls in a river and is tossed about with different types of wood and tree branches, the living entity floats in the ocean of material existence and is dashed and tossed amidst material conditions. This is called the struggle for existence. One kind of fruitive activity causes the living being to take one form of body, and because of actions performed in that body, another body is created. One must therefore stop these material activities, and the chance to do so is given in the human form of life. Specifically, our energy to act should be engaged in the service of the Lord, for then materialistic activities will automatically stop. One must fulfill one’s desires by surrendering unto the Supreme Lord, for He knows how to fulfill them. Even though one may have material desires, one should therefore engage in the devotional service of the Lord. That will purify one’s struggle for existence.
FAQs
This verse explains that craving (tṛṣṇā) acts like a current carrying the soul through saṁsāra; because desires remain unfulfilled, one is driven into karma and thus bound to take birth again and again in various species.
In Canto 7 Chapter 13, Prahlāda instructs about the symptoms and vision of a perfected person, warning that uncontrolled desire propels karmic action and keeps the soul entangled in repeated births.
Notice how craving fuels endless consumption and anxiety; reduce desire-driven actions, cultivate contentment and devotion, and choose spiritually aligned duties rather than compulsive, pleasure-centered pursuits.