Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 44

Nārada’s Protection of Kayādhu and Prahlāda’s Womb-Instructions: Ātma-tattva and the Path of Bhakti

Devanagari script

किमु व्यवहितापत्यदारागारधनादय: । राज्यकोशगजामात्यभृत्याप्ता ममतास्पदा: ॥ ४४ ॥

Transliteration

kim u vyavahitāpatya- dārāgāra-dhanādayaḥ rājya-kośa-gajāmātya- bhṛtyāptā mamatāspadāḥ

Translation

既然此身终究要化为粪秽或尘土，那么与身体相关的种种资具——妻室、居所、财富、子女、亲族、仆从、友人，以及国土、库藏、象马与大臣——这些作为“我与我所”的依处，又有何意义？一切皆无常；更复何言？

Synonyms

• kim: what?
• kim: Prashna (प्रश्न/Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; interrogative pronoun used adverbially

• u: indeed/then
• u: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: u (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphatic/indeed

• vyavahita-apātya-dāra-agāra-dhana-ādayaḥ: (things) like separated descendants, wife, house, wealth, etc.
• vyavahita-apātya-dāra-agāra-dhana-ādayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyavahita (प्रातिपदिक) + apātya (प्रातिपदिक) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक) + agāra (प्रातिपदिक) + dhana (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; samāhāra-dvandva-like list with ādayaḥ ‘etc.’

• rājya-kośa-gaja-amātya-bhṛtya-āptāḥ: kingdom, treasury, elephants, ministers, servants, allies
• rājya-kośa-gaja-amātya-bhṛtya-āptāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक) + kośa (प्रातिपदिक) + gaja (प्रातिपदिक) + amātya (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛtya (प्रातिपदिक) + āpta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; enumerative compound list

• mamatā-āspadāḥ: abodes of possessiveness (mine-ness)
• mamatā-āspadāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mamatā (प्रातिपदिक) + āspada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: mamatāyāḥ āspadāḥ

Characters & Entities

• Prahlāda Mahārāja

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about possessiveness (mamatā) toward family and wealth?

This verse states that children, spouse, home, wealth, and even political power become bases for the false idea of “mine,” which binds the soul to material identity.

Why did Prahlāda Mahārāja speak about kingdom, treasury, and ministers to his classmates?

He was training them to see that not only intimate relations but also symbols of status and power create bondage through “mine-ness,” and that real welfare lies in devotion beyond ego and ownership.

Practical application of this teaching in modern life?

Use relationships and resources responsibly, but reduce the identity of “I am the owner”; cultivate gratitude, service, and remembrance of God so possessions don’t become the center of the self.