SB 5.13.3
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 3
prabhūta-vīrut-tṛṇa-gulma-gahvare
kaṭhora-daṁśair maśakair upadrutaḥ
kvacit tu gandharva-puraṁ prapaśyati
kvacit kvacic cāśu-rayolmuka-graham
SYNONYMS
prabhūta—a very large number; vīrut—of creepers; tṛṇa—of varieties of grass; gulma—of thickets; gahvare—in bowers; kaṭhora—cruel; daṁśaiḥ—by bites; maśakaiḥ—by mosquitoes; upadrutaḥ—disturbed; kvacit—sometimes; tu—but; gandharva-puram—a false palace created by the Gandharvas; prapaśyati—be sees; kvacit—and sometimes; kvacit—sometimes; ca—and; āśu-raya—very quickly; ulmuka—like a meteor; graham—a fiend.
TRANSLATION
In this forest there are dense bowers composed of thickets of bushes, grass and creepers. In these bowers the conditioned soul is always disturbed by cruelly biting mosquitoes [envious people]. Sometimes he sees an imaginary palace in the forest, and sometimes he is bewildered by seeing a fleeting fiend or ghost, which appears like a meteor in the sky.
PURPORT
The material household is actually a hole of fruitive activity. To earn a livelihood one engages in different industries and trades, and sometimes one performs great sacrifices to go to higher planetary systems. Apart from this, at least everyone is engaged in earning a livelihood in some profession or occupation. In these dealings, one has to meet many undesirable people, and their behavior is compared to the biting of mosquitoes. This creates very undesirable conditions. Even in the midst of these disturbances, one imagines that he is going to construct a grand house and live there permanently, although he knows that he cannot. Gold is compared to a quickly fleeting fiend, which appears like a meteor in the sky. It displays itself for a moment and is then gone. Generally karmīs are attracted to gold or money, but these are compared herein to ghosts and witches.