Devanagari
यैरियं बुभुजे ब्रह्मन्दैत्येन्द्रैरनिवर्तिभि: ।
तेषां कालोऽग्रसील्लोकान् न यशोऽधिगतं भुवि ॥ ८ ॥
Verse text
yair iyaṁ bubhuje brahman
daityendrair anivartibhiḥ
teṣāṁ kālo ’grasīl lokān
na yaśo ’dhigataṁ bhuvi
Synonyms
yaiḥ
—
by whom
;
iyam
—
this world
;
bubhuje
—
was enjoyed
;
brahman
—
O best of the brāhmaṇas
;
daitya
—
indraiḥ — by great heroes and kings born in demoniac families
;
anivartibhiḥ
—
by those who were determined to fight, either to lay down their lives or to win victory
;
teṣām
—
of such persons
;
kālaḥ
—
the time factor
;
agrasīt
—
took away
;
lokān
—
all possessions, all objects of enjoyment
;
na
—
not
;
yaśaḥ
—
the reputation
;
adhigatam
—
achieved
;
bhuvi
—
in this world .
Translation
O best of the brāhmaṇas, certainly the great demoniac kings who were never reluctant to fight enjoyed this world, but in due course of time everything they had was taken away, except their reputation, by which they continue to exist. In other words, one should try to achieve a good reputation instead of anything else.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O brāhmaṇa! Time has destroyed all enjoyment of demonic kings who did not turn from battle and who enjoyed the earth. But time has not destroyed whatever reputation they achieved.
“‘Without regard for future reputation one should not give away one’s temporary assets.” I do not subscribe to this philosophy. Time has taken the present and afterlife enjoyment of kings who did not turn from battle (anivartibhiḥ), who enjoyed the earth. Time destroyed it all. Lokan refers to the enjoyment of different planets. But time did not destroy the fame they achieved (adhigatam). Therefore one should attain fame and nothing else. However even this statement is only for pleasing Śukrācārya and other demons. Bali did not have regard for fame since he was a pure devotee.
Purport
In this regard, Cāṇakya Paṇḍita (
Cāṇakya-śloka
34) also says,
āyuṣaḥ kṣaṇa eko ’pi na labhya svarṇa-koṭibhiḥ.
The duration of one’s life is extremely short, but if in that short lifetime one can do something that enhances his good reputation, that may continue to exist for many millions of years. Bali Mahārāja therefore decided not to follow his spiritual master’s instruction that he deny his promise to Vāmanadeva; instead, he decided to give the land according to the promise and be everlastingly celebrated as one of the twelve
mahājanas
(
balir vaiyāsakir vayam
).