Chapter 21
स्वप्नोपमममुं लोकमसन्तं श्रवणप्रियम् । आशिषो हृदि सङ्कल्प्य त्यजन्त्यर्थान् यथा वणिक् ॥ ३१ ॥
Transliteration
svapnopamam amuṁ lokam asantaṁ śravaṇa-priyam āśiṣo hṛdi saṅkalpya tyajanty arthān yathā vaṇik
Synonyms (Word-for-Word)
svapna — a dream; upamam — equal to; amum — that; lokam — world (after death); asantam — unreal; śravaṇa-priyam — only enchanting to hear about; āśiṣaḥ — mundane achievements in this life; hṛdi — in their hearts; saṅkalpya — imagining; tyajanti — they give up; arthān — their wealth; yathā — like; vaṇik — a businessman.
Translation
“Just as a foolish businessman gives up his real wealth in useless business speculation, foolish persons give up all that is actually valuable in life and instead pursue promotion to material heaven, which although pleasing to hear about is actually unreal, like a dream. Such bewildered persons imagine within their hearts that they will achieve all material blessings.”