स होवाच स एष देहात्ममानिनां सत्त्वादिगुणविशेषविकल्पितकुशलाकुशलसमवहारविनिर्मितविविधदेहावलिभिर्वियोगसंयोगाद्यनादिसंसारानुभवस्य द्वारभूतेनषडिन्द्रियवर्गेण तस्मिन्दुर्गाध्ववदसुगमेऽध्वन्यापतित ईश्वरस्य भगवतो विष्णोर्वशवर्तिन्या मायया जीवलोकोऽयं यथा वणिक्सार्थोऽर्थपर: स्वदेहनिष्पादितकर्मानुभव: श्मशानवदशिवतमायां संसाराटव्यां गतो नाद्यापि विफलबहुप्रतियोगेहस्तत्तापोपशमनीं हरिगुरुचरणारविन्दमधुकरानुपदवीमवरुन्धे ॥ १ ॥
sa hovaca sa esa dehatma-maninam sattvadi-guna-visesa-vikalpita-kusalaku-sala-samavahara-vinirmita-vividha-dehavalibhir viyoga-samyogady-anadi-samsaranubhavasya dvara-bhutena sad-indriya-vargena tasmin durgadhvavad asugame ’dhvany apatita isvarasya bhagavato visnor vasa-vartinya mayaya jiva-loko ’yam yatha vanik-sartho ’rtha-parah sva-deha-nispadita-karmanubhavah smasanavad asivatamayam samsaratavyam gato nadyapi viphala-bahu-pratiyogehas tat-tapopasamanim hari-guru-caranaravinda-madhukaranupadavim avarundhe.
- sah
- the self-realized devotee (Sri Sukadeva Gosvami)
- ha
- indeed
- uvaca
- spoke
- sah
- he (the conditioned soul)
- esah
- this one
- deha-atma-maninam
- of those who foolishly take the body to be the self
- sattva-adi
- of sattva, rajah and tamah
- guna
- by the modes
- visesa
- particular
- vikalpita
- falsely constituted
- kusala
- sometimes by favorable actions
- akusala
- sometimes by very unfavorable actions
- samavahara
- by a mixture of both
- vinirmita
- obtained
- vividha
- various types
- deha-avalibhih
- by the series of bodies
- viyoga-samyoga-adi
- symptomized by giving up one type of body (viyoga) and accepting another (samyoga)
- anadi-samsara-anubhavasya
- of the perception of the beginningless process of transmigration
- dvara-bhutena
- existing as the doorways
- sat-indriya-vargena
- by these six senses (the mind and five knowledge-acquiring senses, namely the eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin)
- tasmin
- on that
- durga-adhva-vat
- like a path that is very difficult to traverse
- asugame
- being difficult to pass through
- adhvani
- on a path in the forest
- apatitah
- happened
- isvarasya
- of the controller
- bhagavatah
- the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- visnoh
- of Lord Visnu
- vasa-vartinya
- acting under the control
- mayaya
- by the material energy
- jiva-lokah
- the conditioned living entity
- ayam
- this
- yatha
- exactly like
- vanik
- a merchant
- sa-arthah
- having an object
- artha-parah
- who is very attached to money
- sva-deha-nispadita
- performed by his own body
- karma
- the fruits of activities
- anubhavah
- who experiences
- smasana-vat asivatamayam
- like an inauspicious cemetery or place of burial
- samsara-atavyam
- in the forest of material life
- gatah
- having entered
- na
- not
- adya api
- until now
- viphala
- unsuccessful
- bahu-pratiyoga
- full of great difficulties and varieties of miserable conditions
- ihah
- whose activities here in this material world
- tat-tapa-upasa-manim
- which pacifies the miseries of the forest of material life
- hari-guru-carana-aravinda
- to the lotus feet of the Lord and His devotee
- madhukara-anupadavim
- the road followed in pursuance of devotees who are attached like bumblebees
- avarundhe
- gain
When King Pariksit asked Sukadeva Gosvami about the direct meaning of the material forest, Sukadeva Gosvami replied as follows: My dear King, a man belonging to the mercantile community (vanik) is always interested in earning money. Sometimes he enters the forest to acquire some cheap commodities like wood and earth and sell them in the city at good prices. Similarly, the conditioned soul, being greedy, enters this material world for some material profit. Gradually he enters the deepest part of the forest, not really knowing how to get out. Having entered the material world, the pure soul becomes conditioned by the material atmosphere, which is created by the external energy under the control of Lord Visnu. Thus the living entity comes under the control of the external energy, daivi maya. Living independently and bewildered in the forest, he does not attain the association of devotees who are always engaged in the service of the Lord. Once in the bodily conception, he gets different types of bodies one after the other under the influence of material energy and impelled by the modes of material nature (sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna). In this way the conditioned soul goes sometimes to the heavenly planes, sometimes to the earthly planes and sometimes to the lower planets and lower species. Thus he suffers continuously due to different types of bodies. These sufferings and pains are sometimes mixed. Sometimes they are very severe, and sometimes they are not. These bodily conditions are acquired due to the conditioned soul’s mental speculation. He uses his mind and five senses to acquire knowledge, and these bring about the different bodies and different conditions. Using the senses under the control of the external energy, maya, the living entity suffers the miserable conditions of material existence. He is actually searching for relief, but he is generally baffled, although sometimes he is relieved after great difficulty. Struggling for existence in this way, he cannot get the shelter of pure devotees, who are like bumblebees engaged in loving service at the lotus feet of Lord Visnu.