SB 11.20.15 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

छिद्यमानं यमैरेतै: कृतनीडं वनस्पतिम् । खग: स्वकेतमुत्सृज्य क्षेमं याति ह्यलम्पट: ॥ १५ ॥

Verse text

chidyamānaṁ yamair etaiḥ kṛta-nīḍaṁ vanaspatim khagaḥ sva-ketam utsṛjya kṣemaṁ yāti hy alampaṭaḥ

Synonyms

chidyamānam — being cut down ; yamaiḥ — by cruel men, who are like death personified ; etaiḥ — by these ; kṛta — nīḍam — in which he has constructed his nest ; vanaspatim — a tree ; khagaḥ — a bird ; sva — ketam — his home ; utsṛjya — giving up ; kṣemam — happiness ; yāti — achieves ; hi — indeed ; alampaṭaḥ — without attachment .

Translation

Without attachment, a bird gives up the tree in which his nest was constructed when that tree is cut down by cruel men who are like death personified, and thus the bird achieves happiness in another place.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When a tree in which a bird’s nest was constructed is cut down by men cruel as death, the bird gives up the tree without attachment and achieves happiness in another place. An example of giving up attachment to the body is given. Giving up his nest built in a tree cut down by persons cruel like Yama, the unattached bird goes away.

Purport

Here the example is given of detachment from the bodily concept of life. The living entity resides within the body just as a bird dwells within a tree. When thoughtless men cut down the tree, the bird, without lamenting the loss of its previous nest, does not hesitate to establish its residence in another place.