SB 11.8.41 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

संसारकूपे पतितं विषयैर्मुषितेक्षणम् । ग्रस्तं कालाहिनात्मानं कोऽन्यस्त्रातुमधीश्वर: ॥ ४१ ॥

Verse text

saṁsāra-kūpe patitaṁ viṣayair muṣitekṣaṇam grastaṁ kālāhinātmānaṁ ko ’nyas trātum adhīśvaraḥ

Synonyms

saṁsāra — material existence ; kūpe — in the dark well ; patitam — fallen ; viṣayaiḥ — by sense gratification ; muṣita — stolen away ; īkṣaṇam — vision ; grastam — seized ; kāla — of time ; ahinā — by the serpent ; ātmānam — the living entity ; kaḥ — who ; anyaḥ — else ; trātum — is capable of delivering ; adhīśvaraḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead .

Translation

The intelligence of the living entity is stolen away by activities of sense gratification, and thus he falls into the dark well of material existence. Within that well he is then seized by the deadly serpent of time. Who else but the Supreme Personality of Godhead could save the poor living entity from such a hopeless condition?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Who else but the Supreme Lord can save the living entity who has fallen into the well of saṁsāra, has become blinded by sense objects and has been devoured by the snake of time? “Why are you so eager to give up worshipping the devatās for Viṣṇu?” This verse answers.

Purport

Piṅgalā stated in a previous verse that even the demigods are unable to give actual happiness to a woman. One may question who has authorized this lady to reject even such exalted personalities as Brahmā, Śiva and the other demigods. The answer given here is that if one actually wants to solve all the problems of life and go back home, back to Godhead, then the only solution is to take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. It is well known that the demigods themselves are subject to birth and death. As stated by Lord Śiva himself, mukti-pradātā sarveṣāṁ viṣṇur eva na saṁśayaḥ: “There is no doubt that Viṣṇu is the deliverer of liberation for everyone.”