Devanagari
कर्मणां परिणामित्वादाविरिञ्च्यादमङ्गलम् ।
विपश्चिन्नश्वरं पश्येददृष्टमपि दृष्टवत् ॥ १८ ॥
Verse text
karmaṇāṁ pariṇāmitvād
ā-viriṣcyād amaṅgalam
vipaścin naśvaraṁ paśyed
adṛṣṭam api dṛṣṭa-vat
Synonyms
karmaṇām
—
of material activities
;
pariṇāmitvāt
—
because of being subject to transformation
;
ā
—
up to
;
viriṣcyāt
—
the planet of Lord Brahmā
;
amaṅgalam
—
inauspicious unhappiness
;
vipaścit
—
an intelligent person
;
naśvaram
—
as temporary
;
paśyet
—
should see
;
adṛṣṭam
—
that which he has not yet experienced
;
api
—
indeed
;
dṛṣṭa
—
vat — just like that already experienced .
Translation
An intelligent person should see that any material activity is subject to constant transformation and that even on the planet of Lord Brahmā there is thus simply unhappiness. Indeed, a wise man can understand that just as all that he has seen is temporary, similarly, all things within the universe have a beginning and an end.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The wise man should see that, because of transformations of karma, even the happiness on the planet of Brahma, what to speak of that experienced on earth, is temporary and inauspicious.
“Though Svarga does not have eternal pleasure, it gives pleasure for some time.” Since they are mere transformations of karma, one should see the happiness of even Brahma-loka, unseen, by us, as well as that of earthly kingdoms, which are seen by us, to be temporary and inauspicious. They are inauspicious because they are filled with competition and envy.
Purport
The word
adṛṣṭam
indicates the heavenly standard of life available in the higher planets within this universe. Such celestial neighborhoods are not actually experienced on the earth planet, although they are described in the Vedic literatures. One may argue that promotion to material heaven is recommended in the
karma-kāṇḍa
portion of the
Vedas
and that although the happiness available there is not eternal, at least for some time one may enjoy life. Lord Kṛṣṇa here states, however, that even on the planet of Lord Brahmā, which is superior to the heavenly planets, there is no happiness whatsoever. Even in the upper planetary systems there is rivalry, envy, irritation, lamentation and ultimately death itself.