74 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 10, Ch. 7
yat samparetah punar eva bdlako
distya sva-bandhiin pranayann upasthitah

kim—what kind of; nah—by us; tapah—austerity; cirnam—has
been done for a very long time; adhoksaja—of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead; arcanam—worshiping; puirta—constructing public roads,
etc.; ista—activities for public benefit; dattam—giving charity; uta—or
else; bhiita-sauhrdam—bhecause of love for the general public; yat—by
the result of which; samparetah—even though the child was practically
lost in death; punah eva—even again because of pious activities;
balakah—the child; distya—by fortune; sva-bandhin—all His rela-
tives; pranayan—to please; upasthitah—is present here.

TRANSLATION

Nanda Maharaja and the others said: We must previously have
performed austerities for a very long time, worshiped the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, performed pious activities for
public life, constructing public roads and wells, and also given
charity, as a result of which this boy, although faced with death,
has returned to give happiness to His relatives.

PURPORT

Nanda Maharaja confirmed that by pious activities one can become a
sddhu so that one will be happy at home and one’s children will be pro-
tected. In sdstra there are many injunctions for karmis and jfdnis, es-
pecially for karmis, by which they can become pious and happy even in
material life. According to Vedic civilization, one should perform ac-
tivities for the benefit of the public, such as constructing public roads,
planting trees on both sides of the road so that people can walk in the
shade, and constructing public wells so that everyone can take water
without difficulty. One should perform austerity to control one’s desires,
and one must simultaneously worship the Supreme Personality of God-
head. Thus one becomes pious, and as a result one is happy even in
material conditions of life.
