Canto 11, Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Verse 15 (SB 11.20.15)
SB 11.20.15 • मूल श्लोक

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

Transliteration

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

Synonyms (Word-for-Word)

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.”

Bhaktivedanta Purport

By Śrīla Prabhupāda
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.