Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 54
Nārada Explains the Allegory of King Purañjana
Deha–Indriya–Manaḥ Mapping and the Remedy of Bhakti
सुमन:समधर्मणां स्त्रीणां शरण आश्रमे पुष्पमधुगन्धवत्क्षुद्रतमं काम्यकर्मविपाकजं कामसुखलवं जैह्व्यौपस्थ्यादि विचिन्वन्तं मिथुनीभूय तदभिनिवेशितमनसंषडङ्घ्रिगणसामगीत वदतिमनोहरवनितादिजनालापेष्वतितरामतिप्रलोभितकर्णमग्रे वृकयूथवदात्मन आयुर्हरतोऽहोरात्रान्तान् काललवविशेषानविगणय्य गृहेषु विहरन्तं पृष्ठत एव परोक्षमनुप्रवृत्तो लुब्धक: कृतान्तोऽन्त:शरेण यमिह पराविध्यति तमिममात्मानमहो राजन् भिन्नहृदयं द्रष्टुमर्हसीति ॥ ५४ ॥
sumanaḥ-sama-dharmaṇāṁ strīṇāṁ śaraṇa āśrame puṣpa-madhu-gandhavat kṣudratamaṁ kāmya-karma-vipākajaṁ kāma-sukha-lavaṁ jaihvyaupasthyādi vicinvantaṁ mithunī-bhūya tad-abhiniveśita-manasaṁ ṣaḍaṅghri-gaṇa-sāma-gītavad atimanohara-vanitādi-janālāpeṣv atitarām atipralobhita-karṇam agre vṛka-yūthavad ātmana āyur harato ’ho-rātrān tān kāla-lava-viśeṣān avigaṇayya gṛheṣu viharantaṁ pṛṣṭhata eva parokṣam anupravṛtto lubdhakaḥ kṛtānto ’ntaḥ śareṇa yam iha parāvidhyati tam imam ātmānam aho rājan bhinna-hṛdayaṁ draṣṭum arhasīti.
我が王よ、女は初めは花の香のように魅惑的だが、終わりには大いに乱れをもたらす。欲望に絡め取られた生類は、望みの業の果として生じる感官の快楽—舌から性器に至るまで—の一滴を拾い集め、妻と一体となって家庭生活を幸福と思い込む。妻子の甘い語らいは、蜜を集める蜂の歌のように耳を強く惑わし、心はそこに沈む。だが前には、昼夜の推移とともに寿命を奪う「時」があり、後ろからは死が猟師のごとく密かに迫り、内なる矢で射抜こうとしているのを見ない。ゆえに悟れ—汝は四方より危機にさらされている。
Materialistic life means forgetting one’s constitutional position as the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, and this forgetfulness is especially enhanced in the gṛhastha-āśrama. In the gṛhastha-āśrama a young man accepts a young wife who is very beautiful in the beginning, but in due course of time, after giving birth to many children and becoming older and older, she demands many things from the husband to maintain the entire family. At such a time the wife becomes detestable to the very man who accepted her in her younger days. One becomes attached to the gṛhastha-āśrama for two reasons only: the wife cooks palatable dishes for the satisfaction of her husband’s tongue, and she gives him sexual pleasure at night. A person attached to the gṛhastha-āśrama is always thinking of these two things — palatable food and sex enjoyment. The talks of the wife, which are enjoyed as a family recreation, and the talks of the children both attract the living entity. He thus forgets that he has to die someday and has to prepare for the next life if he wants to be put into a congenial body.
FAQs
This verse says that while one is absorbed in home and sense pleasure, the subtle portions of time pass day and night, silently carrying away one’s lifespan, and Death follows unseen.
Narada was instructing the king to awaken from excessive attachment to fruitive rituals and worldly enjoyment, showing through vivid imagery how sense-centered household absorption ends in unavoidable death.
Count your time, reduce compulsive sense entertainment, and redirect attention to sādhana—hearing and chanting about Bhagavān—so household life becomes spiritually purposeful rather than time-wasting.