Devanagari
यथा दारुमयी योषित् नृत्यते कुहकेच्छया ।
एवमीश्वरतन्त्रोऽयमीहते सुखदु:खयो: ॥ १२ ॥
Verse text
yathā dāru-mayī yoṣit
nṛtyate kuhakecchayā
evam īśvara-tantro ’yam
īhate sukha-duḥkhayoḥ
Synonyms
yathā
—
as
;
dāru
—
mayī — made of wood
;
yoṣit
—
a woman
;
nṛtyate
—
dances
;
kuhaka
—
of the showman
;
icchayā
—
by the desire
;
evam
—
in the same way
;
īśvara
—
of the Supreme Lord
;
tantraḥ
—
under the control
;
ayam
—
this world
;
īhate
—
endeavors
;
sukha
—
in joy
;
duḥkhayoḥ
—
and misery .
Translation
Just as a puppet in the form of a woman dances by the desire of the puppeteer, so this world, controlled by the Supreme Lord, struggles in both happiness and misery.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Just as a puppet in the form of a woman dances by the desire of the puppeteer, so this world, controlled by the Supreme Lord, struggles in both happiness and misery.
KB 10.54.12-16
“After all, we are not the final actors; as puppets dance in the hands of a magician, we are all dancing by the will of the Supreme, and according to His plan alone we suffer distress or enjoy happiness. We should therefore be equipoised in all circumstances.”
Purport
By the will of the Supreme Lord, living beings are awarded the proper results of their own activities. One who understands the Absolute Truth surrenders to the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and is no longer considered to be within the material system of existence. Since those endeavoring within the material system, or world, are necessarily trying to exploit the creation of God, they must be subjected to reactions, which are perceived by the conditioned souls as miserable and joyful. In fact, the entire material way of life is a fiasco when seen from the perspective of absolute bliss.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Just as puppets are controlled by a master, so the jivas receive happiness and distress under the direction of the Lord. Though the demons are here accepting the power of God, they do not recognize Krsna, and therefore they are considered asuras.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
How is this? The example of a woman puppet is used to indicate an attraction for material enjoyment, since the puppet has attractiveness. Nṛtyate should be nṛtyati. All men (ayam) engage in actions. One may claim that happiness comes on its own, and then suffering (sukha-duḥkhayoḥ). This is not true since one sees suffering come on its own also. The Lord is described as follows. Apāṇipādo javano grahītā: the Lord is without hands and feet yet he moves quickly and holds things. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad). Sahasra-śrīṣā purusaḥ: the Lord has a thousand heads (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad). He is like a king. And even if one accepts the Lord, if one is opposed to Kṛsṇa, the para-brahman in human form, all one’s actions are useless. This is the intention of Śukadeva, though Jarāsandha speaks.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Why is everything impermanent? It is the desire of the Lord. To show that the universe is dependent on the Lord, an example is given. Women like to dance. All people (ayam) experience happiness and distress, dependent on the Lord. When the Lord desires a person’s happiness, he is happy. When he desires his suffering he suffers. In happiness he attains what he likes. In suffering he attains what he does not like. Suffering is mentioned after happiness because there is no choice for the jīva. One cannot search out a cause, since it is by the desire of the Lord. If there were some other cause, the Lord’s independence would be faulty. It would mean no supreme Lord.