SB 11.23.42 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

द्विज उवाच नायं जनो मे सुखदु:खहेतु- र्न देवतात्मा ग्रहकर्मकाला: । मन: परं कारणमामनन्ति संसारचक्रं परिवर्तयेद् यत् ॥ ४२ ॥

Verse text

dvija uvāca nāyaṁ jano me sukha-duḥkha-hetur na devatātmā graha-karma-kālāḥ manaḥ paraṁ kāraṇam āmananti saṁsāra-cakraṁ parivartayed yat

Synonyms

dvijaḥ uvāca — the brāhmaṇa said ; na — not ; ayam — these ; janaḥ — people ; me — my ; sukha — of happiness ; duḥkha — and distress ; hetuḥ — the cause ; na — nor ; devatā — the demigods ; ātmā — my own body ; graha — the controlling planets ; karma — my past work ; kālāḥ — or time ; manaḥ — the mind ; param — rather only ; kāraṇaṁ — the cause ; āmananti — is called by standard authorities ; saṁsāra — of material life ; cakram — the cycle ; parivartayet — causes to rotate ; yat — which .

Translation

The brāhmaṇa said: These people are not the cause of my happiness and distress. Neither are the demigods, my own body, the planets, my past work, or time. Rather, it is the mind alone that causes happiness and distress and perpetuates the rotation of material life.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The brāhmaṇa said: These people are not the cause of my happiness and distress. Neither are the devatās, my self, the planets, my karma, or time. Rather, it is the mind alone that causes happiness and distress and causes one to wander in samsāra. “Who has given me such misery?” Considering this, he concluded it was not caused by evil people. “Why are you denying the visible cause? Is it because these evil people are not acting independently?” If you say someone has inspired them, those persons should also be denied as the cause. No devatā or jīva or planet is causing this. They say the cause is only the mind. Śruti says manasā hy eva paśyati manasā hy eva śṛṇoti: one sees by the mind and hears by the mind. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.5.4) Parivartayet means “wanders.”