102
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 7, Ch. 2]
to us concerning why He does something and why He does not, His supremacy would be curtailed.
TEXT 40
पथि ञ्युतं तिष्ठति दिष्टरक्षितं 
  गृहे स्थितं तद्विहतं विनश्यति । 
  जीवस्थनाथोऽपि तदीक्षितो वने 
  गृहेऽभिगुप्तोऽस्य हतो न जीवति ॥४०॥
pathi cyutam tiṣṭhati diṣṭa-rakṣitam 
  gṛhe sthitam tad-vihatam vinaśyati 
  jīvaty anātho 'pi tad-īkṣito vane 
  gṛhe 'bhigupto 'sya hato na jīvati
pathi —on the public road;  cyutam —some possession dropped;  tiṣṭhati —it remains;  diṣṭa-rakṣitam —protected by destiny;  gṛhe —at home;  sthitam —although situated;  tat-vihatam —struck by the will of the Supreme;  vinaśyati —it is lost;  jīvati —remains alive;  anāthaḥ api —although without a protector;  tat-īkṣitaḥ —being protected by the Lord;  vane —in the forest;  gṛhe —at home;  abhiguptaḥ —well hidden and protected;  asya —of this one;  hataḥ —struck;  na —not;  jīvati —lives.
TRANSLATION
Sometimes one loses his money on a public street, where everyone can see it, and yet his money is protected by destiny and not seen by others. Thus the man who lost it gets it back. On the other hand, if the Lord does not give protection, even money maintained very securely at home is lost. If the Supreme Lord gives one protection, even though one has no protector and is in the jungle, one remains alive, whereas a person well protected at home by relatives and others sometimes dies, no one being able to protect him.
PURPORT
These are examples of the supremacy of the Lord. Our plans to protect or annihilate do not act, but whatever He thinks of doing actually hap-