Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 43
Nārada’s Protection of Kayādhu and Prahlāda’s Womb-Instructions: Ātma-tattva and the Path of Bhakti
कामान्कामयते काम्यैर्यदर्थमिह पूरुष: । स वै देहस्तु पारक्यो भङ्गुरो यात्युपैति च ॥ ४३ ॥
kāmān kāmayate kāmyair yad-artham iha pūruṣaḥ sa vai dehas tu pārakyo bhaṅguro yāty upaiti ca
Vì sự dễ chịu của thân xác, con người khát cầu nhiều điều và bày ra nhiều kế hoạch; nhưng thân này vốn thuộc về kẻ khác. Thân hoại diệt ấy ôm lấy sinh linh một thời gian rồi lại bỏ rơi.
Everyone desires comfort for his body and tries to make a suitable situation for this purpose, forgetting that the body is meant to be eaten by dogs, jackals or moths and thus turned into useless stool, ashes or earth. The living entity wastes his time in a futile attempt to gain material possessions for the comfort of one body after another.
FAQs
This verse states that the body is fragile and continually “comes and goes”—it is obtained and then lost—so it should not be treated as the permanent self.
Prahlāda emphasizes that the embodied condition is not our true identity; the body is not the real self and is ultimately taken away by time, karma, and death.
Use the body responsibly as a temporary instrument for dharma and bhakti, but reduce obsession with sense-gratification by cultivating remembrance of God and purposeful living.