Devanagari
अथो न राज्यं मृगतृष्णिरूपितं
देहेन शश्वत् पतता रुजां भुवा ।
उपासितव्यं स्पृहयामहे विभो
क्रियाफलं प्रेत्य च कर्णरोचनम् ॥ १४ ॥
Verse text
atho na rājyam mṛga-tṛṣṇi-rūpitaṁ
dehena śaśvat patatā rujāṁ bhuvā
upāsitavyaṁ spṛhayāmahe vibho
kriyā-phalaṁ pretya ca karṇa-rocanam
Synonyms
atha u
—
henceforward
;
na
—
not
;
rājyam
—
kingdom
;
mṛga
—
tṛṣṇi — like a mirage
;
rūpitam
—
which appears
;
dehena
—
by the material body
;
śaśvat
—
perpetually
;
patatā
—
subject to demise
;
rujām
—
of diseases
;
bhuvā
—
the birthplace
;
upāsitavyam
—
to be served
;
spṛhayāmahe
—
do we hanker for
;
vibho
—
O almighty Lord
;
kriyā
—
of pious work
;
phalam
—
the fruit
;
pretya
—
having passed to the next life
;
ca
—
and
;
karṇa
—
for the ears
;
rocanam
—
enticement .
Translation
Never again will we hanker for a miragelike kingdom — a kingdom that must be slavishly served by this mortal body, which is simply a source of disease and suffering and which is declining at every moment. Nor, O almighty Lord, will we hanker to enjoy the heavenly fruits of pious work in the next life, since the promise of such rewards is simply an empty enticement for the ears.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Never again will we hanker for a miragelike kingdom—a kingdom that must be slavishly served by this mortal body, which is simply a source of disease and suffering and which is declining at every moment. Nor, O almighty Lord, will we hanker to enjoy the heavenly fruits of pious work in the next life, since the promise of such rewards is simply an empty enticement for the ears.
KB 10.73.14
“Dear Lord, everyone knows that the body is a breeding ground of diseases. Now we are quite aged, and instead of being proud of our bodily strength, we are getting weaker day by day. We are no longer interested in sense gratification or the false happiness derived through the material body. By Your grace, we have now come to the conclusion that hankering after such material happiness is just like searching for water in a desert mirage. We are no longer interested in the results of our pious activities, such as performing great sacrifices to be elevated to the heavenly planets. We now understand that such elevation to a higher material standard may sound very relishable, but actually there cannot be any happiness within this material world.
Purport
One must work very hard to maintain a kingdom or political sovereignty. And yet the body, which works so hard to maintain one’s political power, is itself doomed. At every moment the mortal body moves toward death, and all along the way the body is subject to many painful diseases. The whole affair of mundane power is thus a waste of time for the pure soul, who needs to revive his dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
The Vedic scriptures and other religious scriptures contain many promises of prosperity and heavenly enjoyment in the next life for one who acts piously in this life. Such promises are pleasing to the ears, but they are nothing more than that. Material enjoyment, whether in heaven or in hell, is a type of illusion for the pure soul. By the personal association of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the fortunate kings have now realized the higher spiritual reality beyond the phantasmagoria of the material creation.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Therefore (atha) we do not desire the kingdom made beautiful by men under the spell of illusions. The accusative case is poetic license. They are kingdoms served by bodies which are residences of sickness, and very temporary. Such kingdoms only give sorrow. Moreover it is then necessary to perform sacrifices like asvamedha using huge amounts of wealth obtained in the kingdom. We have no desire for svarga loka (kriyaphalam). Such results are pleasurable only to the ears, for having gone there one finds no happiness because of continued competition there.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Mṛga-tṛṣṇi means mṛga-tṛṣṇā. Vopadeva’s version has mṛga-tṛḍ. We should not desire a kingdom since its enjoyment is like a mirage (useless), and since we enjoy it with a body afflicted by sickness. Master (vibho)! In attaining you, how can this be attractive?