Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 6
Prahlāda Instructs the Sons of Demons: Begin Bhakti from Childhood; Household Attachment as Bondage; Nārāyaṇa as the All-Pervading Supersoul
पुंसो वर्षशतं ह्यायुस्तदर्धं चाजितात्मन: । निष्फलं यदसौ रात्र्यां शेतेऽन्धं प्रापितस्तम: ॥ ६ ॥
puṁso varṣa-śataṁ hy āyus tad-ardhaṁ cājitātmanaḥ niṣphalaṁ yad asau rātryāṁ śete ’ndhaṁ prāpitas tamaḥ
മനുഷ്യന്റെ ആയുസ്സ് നൂറുവർഷം എന്നു പറയപ്പെടുന്നു; എന്നാൽ ഇന്ദ്രിയസംയമമില്ലാത്തവന്റെ അതിന്റെ പകുതി നിഷ്ഫലമാകുന്നു—അവൻ രാത്രിയിൽ അജ്ഞാനതമസ്സിൽ മൂടപ്പെട്ട് ഉറങ്ങുന്നു॥६॥
Lord Brahmā, a human being and an ant all live for one hundred years, but their lifetimes of one hundred years are different from one another. This world is a relative world, and its relative moments of time are different. Thus the one hundred years of Brahmā are not the same as the one hundred years of a human being. From Bhagavad-gītā we understand that Brahmā’s daytime of twelve hours equals 4,300,000 times 1,000 years ( sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ ). Thus the varṣa-śatam, or one hundred years, are relatively different according to time, person and circumstances. As far as human beings are concerned, the calculation given here is right for the general public. Although one has a maximum of one hundred years of life, by sleeping one loses fifty years. Eating, sleeping, sex life and fear are the four bodily necessities, but to utilize the full duration of life a person desiring to advance in spiritual consciousness must reduce these activities. That will give him an opportunity to fully use his lifetime.
FAQs
This verse says that although a person may live up to a hundred years, an uncontrolled person loses half of it in night-sleep, which is described as entering darkness—time that yields no spiritual fruit.
Prahlāda was instructing his demoniac schoolmates that human life is rare and meant for devotion; careless habits like uncontrolled sense life and excessive sleep steal the opportunity for bhakti.
Regulate sleep and daily routine, practice sense control, and reserve the best hours for sādhana—hearing, chanting, and remembering Bhagavān—so that time does not pass fruitlessly.