Shloka 14
The Forest of Material Existence (Saṁsāra-vana) and the Delivering Path of Bharata’s Teachings
यदा तु परबाधयान्ध आत्मने नोपनमति तदा हि पितृपुत्रबर्हिष्मत: पितृपुत्रान् वा स खलु भक्षयति ॥ १४ ॥
yadā tu para-bādhayāndha ātmane nopanamati tadā hi pitṛ-putra-barhiṣmataḥ pitṛ-putrān vā sa khalu bhakṣayati.
ในโลกวัตถุ เมื่อจิตวิญญาณผู้ถูกผูกมัดแม้เอาเปรียบผู้อื่นแล้วก็ยังจัดการเลี้ยงตนไม่ได้ เขากลับมืดบอดและหันไปเอาเปรียบแม้กระทั่งบิดาหรือบุตร แย่งทรัพย์สินอันน้อยนิดของญาติ หากไม่ได้อะไรจากบิดา บุตร หรือเครือญาติ เขาก็พร้อมจะก่อความเดือดร้อนให้พวกเขานานาประการ
Once we actually saw a distressed man steal ornaments from his daughter just to maintain himself. As the English proverb goes, necessity knows no law. When a conditioned soul needs something, he forgets his relationship with his relatives and exploits his own father or son. We also receive information from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that in this Age of Kali the time is quickly approaching when a relative will kill another relative for a small farthing. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, people will deteriorate further and further into a hellish condition wherein they will perform abominable acts.
FAQs
This verse warns that when a person becomes blinded by others’ harassment and refuses to accept what is truly beneficial, he can become so degraded that he “devours” even his own father and son—meaning he ruins his own family line through destructive behavior.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks this verse to Mahārāja Parīkṣit while explaining the allegory of the conditioned soul wandering in the forest of material existence.
Recognize how resentment and retaliation can blind judgment; seek counsel, practice self-restraint, and choose actions aligned with long-term spiritual and familial welfare rather than reacting from pain and hostility.