Shloka 34
Kapila’s Advent: Brahmā’s Confirmation, the Marriage of the Nine Daughters, and Kardama’s Renunciation
आ स्माभिपृच्छेऽद्य पतिं प्रजानां त्वयावतीर्णर्ण उताप्तकाम: । परिव्रजत्पदवीमास्थितोऽहं चरिष्ये त्वां हृदि युञ्जन् विशोक: ॥ ३४ ॥
ā smābhipṛcche ’dya patiṁ prajānāṁ tvayāvatīrṇarṇa utāpta-kāmaḥ parivrajat-padavīm āsthito ’haṁ cariṣye tvāṁ hṛdi yuñjan viśokaḥ
Ô Seigneur de tous les êtres, aujourd’hui je veux Te demander une chose. Tu m’as libéré de ma dette envers mon père et mes désirs sont comblés; je souhaite donc embrasser la voie du mendiant itinérant, renoncer à la vie de famille et errer sans chagrin, Te tenant sans cesse uni à mon cœur.
Actually, sannyāsa, or renunciation of material household life, necessitates complete absorption in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and immersion in the self. One does not take sannyāsa, freedom from family responsibility in the renounced order of life, to make another family or to create an embarrassing transcendental fraud in the name of sannyāsa. The sannyāsī’s business is not to become proprietor of so many things and amass money from the innocent public. A sannyāsī is proud that he is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa within himself. Of course, there are two kinds of devotees of the Lord. One is called goṣṭhyānandī, which means those who are preachers and have many followers for preaching the glories of the Lord and who live among those many, many followers just to organize missionary activities. Other devotees are ātmānandī, or self-satisfied, and do not take the risk of preaching work. They therefore remain alone with God. In this classification was Kardama Muni. He wanted to be free from all anxieties and remain alone within his heart with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Parivrāja means “an itinerant mendicant.” A mendicant sannyāsī should not live anywhere for more than three days. He must be always moving because his duty is to move from door to door and enlighten people about Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
FAQs
This verse shows Kardama Muni formally taking leave after his duty is fulfilled, adopting the renunciant’s path while keeping the Lord fixed in his heart—renunciation grounded in bhakti, not escapism.
Kardama had prayed for the Lord as his son; when Kapila appeared, Kardama felt his obligation fulfilled and thus departed for the renounced order, entrusting spiritual progress to remembrance of the Lord.
Maintain daily remembrance—japa, hearing scripture, and mindful work—so that duties and transitions are faced without grief, with inner steadiness rooted in devotion.