SB 3.18.10

SB 3.18.10

Devanagari

श्रीभगवानुवाच सत्यं वयं भो वनगोचरा मृगा युष्मद्विधान्मृगये ग्रामसिंहान् । न मृत्युपाशै: प्रतिमुक्तस्य वीरा विकत्थनं तव गृह्णन्त्यभद्र ॥ १० ॥

Verse text

śrī-bhagavān uvāca satyaṁ vayaṁ bho vana-gocarā mṛgā yuṣmad-vidhān mṛgaye grāma-siṁhān na mṛtyu-pāśaiḥ pratimuktasya vīrā vikatthanaṁ tava gṛhṇanty abhadra

Synonyms

śrī bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said ; satyam indeed ; vayam We ; bhoḥ O ; vana gocarāḥ — dwelling in the forest ; mṛgāḥ creatures ; yuṣmat vidhān — like you ; mṛgaye I am searching to kill ; grāma siṁhān — dogs ; na not ; mṛtyu pāśaiḥ — by the bonds of death ; pratimuktasya of one who is bound ; vīrāḥ the heroes ; vikatthanam loose talk ; tava your ; gṛhṇanti take notice of ; abhadra O mischievous one .

Translation

The Personality of Godhead said: Indeed, We are creatures of the jungle, and We are searching after hunting dogs like you. One who is freed from the entanglement of death has no fear from the loose talk in which you are indulging, for you are bound up by the laws of death.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Lord said: It is true! I am a beast of the forest and am searching for dogs such as you. O sinful demon! Heroes such as I do not react to arrogant words of persons such as you who are bound by the ropes of death. I am searching for dogs like you. Heroes like me do not take notice of arrogant words of you who are bound by the ropes of death. The other meaning is as follows. We are seen by the devotees who have given up material enjoyment (vana-gocarāḥ). Mercifully, I search out those who are most prominently attached to material enjoyment (grāma-siṁhān) to offer them a place with me. But why do you give mercy to proud, sinful persons? Heroes like me are generous, and do not feel the faults in your boasting words. What is your position? You become completely freed from the ropes of death, since one who receives my mercy is not subject to death. O person from whom no inauspiciousness arises (abhadra)!

Purport

Demons and atheistic persons can go on insulting the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they forget that they are subjected to the laws of birth and death. They think that simply by decrying the existence of the Supreme Lord or defying His stringent laws of nature, one can be freed from the clutches of birth and death. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that simply by understanding the transcendental nature of God one can go back home, back to Godhead. But demons and atheistic persons do not try to understand the nature of the Supreme Lord; therefore they remain in the entanglement of birth and death.