Shloka 1
Avadhūta’s Teachers: Python, Ocean, Moth, Bee, Elephant, Deer, Fish—and Piṅgalā’s Song of Detachment
श्रीब्राह्मण उवाच सुखमैन्द्रियकं राजन् स्वर्गे नरक एव च । देहिनां यद् यथा दु:खं तस्मान्नेच्छेत तद् बुध: ॥ १ ॥
śrī-brāhmaṇa uvāca sukham aindriyakaṁ rājan svarge naraka eva ca dehināṁ yad yathā duḥkhaṁ tasmān neccheta tad-budhaḥ
Brahmana suci berkata: Wahai Raja, makhluk berjasad mengalami penderitaan secara automatik, sama ada di syurga atau di neraka, menurut bahagiannya; demikian juga kebahagiaan datang walau tidak dicari. Oleh itu orang yang berakal budi tidak berusaha mengejar kebahagiaan material seperti itu.
One should not uselessly waste his life pursuing material sense gratification, because a specific quantity of material happiness will automatically come to one as a result of one’s past and present fruitive activities. This lesson is learned from the ajagara, or python, who lies down and accepts for his maintenance whatever comes of its own accord. Remarkably, in both material heaven and hell happiness and unhappiness come automatically, due to our previous activities, although the proportions of happiness and unhappiness certainly vary. Either in heaven or in hell one may eat, drink, sleep and have sex life, but these activities, being based on the material body, are temporary and inconsequential. An intelligent person should see that even the best material situation is actually a punishment for previous unlawful activities executed outside the scope of loving devotional service to God. A conditioned soul undergoes great trouble to obtain a little happiness. After struggling in material life, which is full of hardship and hypocrisy, one may receive a little sense gratification, but this illusory pleasure in no way offsets the burden of suffering one must bear to obtain it. After all, a pretty hat is no cure for a homely face. If one really wants to solve life’s problems, one should live simply and reserve the major portion of one’s life for loving service to Kṛṣṇa. Even those who do not serve God receive a certain standard of maintenance from Him; therefore we can just imagine the security the Lord affords to those who dedicate their lives to His devotional service.
FAQs
This verse says sense pleasure is not a reliable goal because it appears both in heaven and in hell, and it is inevitably mixed with suffering for embodied beings.
King Yadu inquired about true wisdom, and the Avadhūta brāhmaṇa teaches renunciation by showing that worldly and even heavenly enjoyments remain temporary and entangled with distress.
Treat sensory enjoyment as secondary, not as life’s purpose—practice restraint, choose long-term spiritual well-being over short-term cravings, and cultivate steady devotion and inner contentment.