1320
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 3, Ch. 31]
PURPORT
If a grown-up man were put into such a condition as the child within the abdomen, completely entangled in all respects, it would be impossible for him to live even for a few seconds. Unfortunately, we forget all these sufferings and try to be happy in this life, not caring for the liberation of the soul from the entanglement of birth and death. It is an unfortunate civilization in which these matters are not plainly discussed to make people understand the precarious condition of material existence.
TEXT 9
अकल्पः स्वाङ्गचेष्टायां शकुन्त इव पञ्जरे । तत्र रुध्वस्तिर्देवात्कर्म जन्मशतोद्भवम् । सरन्दीर्घमनुच्छ्वासं शर्म किं नाम विन्दते ॥ ९ ॥
akalpaḥ svāṅga-ceṣṭāyām śakunta iva pañjare tatra labdha-smṛtir daivāt karma janma-śatodbhavam smaran dīrgham anucchvāsam śarma kim nāma vindate
akalpaḥ—unable; sva-aṅga—his limbs; ceṣṭāyām—to move; śakuntaḥ—a bird; iva—like; pañjare—in a cage; tatra—there; labdha-smṛtiḥ—having gained his memory; daivāt—by fortune; karma—activities; janma-śata-udbhavam—occurring during the last hundred births; smaran—remembering; dīrgham—for a long time; anucchvāsam—sighing; śarma—peace of mind; kim—what; nāma—then; vindate—can he achieve.
TRANSLATION
The child thus remains just like a bird in a cage, without freedom of movement. At that time, if the child is fortunate, he can remember all the troubles of his past one hundred births, and he grieves wretchedly. What is the possibility of peace of mind in that condition?
PURPORT
After birth the child may forget about the difficulties of his past lives, but when we are grown up we can at least understand the grievous tortures