Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 26

Avadhūta’s Further Teachers: Detachment, Solitude, One-Pointed Meditation, and the Lord as Āśraya

Devanagari script

जायात्मजार्थपशुभृत्यगृहाप्तवर्गान् पुष्णाति यत्प्रियचिकीर्षया वितन्वन् । स्वान्ते सकृच्छ्रमवरुद्धधन: स देह: सृष्ट्वास्य बीजमवसीदति वृक्षधर्म: ॥ २६ ॥

Transliteration

jāyātmajārtha-paśu-bhṛtya-gṛhāpta-vargān puṣṇāti yat-priya-cikīrṣayā vitanvan svānte sa-kṛcchram avaruddha-dhanaḥ sa dehaḥ sṛṣṭvāsya bījam avasīdati vṛkṣa-dharmaḥ

Translation

Người dính mắc thân xác gom góp tiền của trong nhọc nhằn để mở rộng và bảo vệ vợ, con, tài sản, gia súc, người hầu, nhà cửa, thân quyến, bạn bè… tất cả nhằm thỏa mãn thân mình. Nhưng cuối cùng, thân ấy như cây trước khi chết sinh hạt, bộc lộ “hạt giống” của thân sau dưới dạng nghiệp đã tích lũy; rồi nó suy sụp và chết đi, kéo dài luân hồi vật chất.

Synonyms

• jāyā-ātmaja-artha-paśu-bhṛtya-gṛha-āpta-vargān: wife, children, wealth, animals, servants, house, relatives and groups (dependents)
• jāyā-ātmaja-artha-paśu-bhṛtya-gṛha-āpta-vargān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāyā (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaja (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक) + paśu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛtya (प्रातिपदिक) + gṛha (प्रातिपदिक) + āpta (प्रातिपदिक) + varga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व/समुच्चयार्थ-समासः (list compound)

• puṣṇāti: nourishes / maintains
• puṣṇāti: Kriya (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: puṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• yat: for which
• yat: Hetu (हेतु/Reason)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रयोग (for which/that)

• priya-cikīrṣayā: by the desire to please (them)
• priya-cikīrṣayā: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक) + cikīrṣā (प्रातिपदिक; desiderative noun)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (priyasya cikīrṣā = desire to please)

• vitanvan: expanding / providing
• vitanvan: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-tan (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (Present active participle/शतृ), प्रथमा, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; परस्मैपदी

• svānte: in (his) own heart
• svānte: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva-anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (svasya antaḥ = in one’s own heart/mind)

• sa-kṛcchram: with difficulty
• sa-kṛcchram: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ) + kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (with difficulty)

• avaruddha-dhanaḥ: one whose wealth is tied up/hoarded
• avaruddha-dhanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ava-ruddha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (yasya dhanaṁ avaruddham = whose wealth is constrained/hoarded)

• saḥ: that
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dehaḥ: body
• dehaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sṛṣṭvā: having produced
• sṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्यय; पूर्वक्रिया (having created)

• asya: of it / its
• asya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• bījam: seed
• bījam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bīja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• avasīdati: sinks down / becomes miserable
• avasīdati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-sad (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vṛkṣa-dharmaḥ: (like) the nature of a tree
• vṛkṣa-dharmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (vṛkṣasya dharmaḥ = nature of a tree)

Purport

One might argue, “Among all the gurus mentioned thus far, the material body is certainly the best, since it awards the detachment and fine intelligence that enable one to engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Thus, we should serve the body, although it is temporary, with great attachment, or risk the offense of ungratefulness. How can detachment from the body be recommended when the body is endowed with so many wonderful qualities?” The answer is given in this verse. The body does not award detachment and knowledge in the manner of some benevolent teacher; rather, it causes so much pain and misery that any commonsense person cannot help being convinced of the uselessness of material life. Just as a tree produces the seeds of the next tree and then dies, the body’s lusty desires induce the conditioned soul to create a further chain of karma. Finally the body, having paved the way for unlimited suffering in material existence, drops dead.

FAQs

What does Srimad Bhagavatam say about attachment to family and possessions?

This verse explains that one may spend life expanding and maintaining wife, children, wealth, servants, home, and relatives, but the body inevitably declines—showing the impermanence of material attachment and the need for detachment.

Why does Śukadeva Gosvāmī emphasize the body’s decline in Canto 11?

He highlights that even after great effort to secure and enjoy material life, the body perishes by nature, urging the listener to seek lasting spiritual shelter rather than temporary worldly expansion.

What is the practical application of this shloka in modern life?

Care for responsibilities without making them your ultimate identity; remember life’s impermanence, simplify excessive accumulation, and prioritize devotion and self-realization over endless expansion of possessions and status.