30 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 14
tatala saikate, vari-bindu-sama,
suta-mita-ramani-samaje
The happiness of family life is compared to a drop of water in the desert.
No one can be happy in family life. According to the Vedic civilization,
one cannot give up the responsibilities of family life, but today everyone
is giving up family life by divorce. This is due to the miserable condition
experienced in the family. Sometimes. due to misery. one becomes very
hardened toward his affectionate sons. daughters and wife. This is but

part of the blazing fire of the forest of material life.
TEXT 20
qT OT Gaaendaaisey aa aa: WATT A AT
a

were 3 qa gaTafeg: I Ro I
sa eva punar nidrajagara-grhito ‘ndhe tamasi magnah Ssiinyaranya iva
Sete nanyat-kiricana veda sava ivapaviddhah.

sah—that conditioned soul: eva—certainly: punah—again: nidrd-
ajagara—by the python of deep sleep: grhitah—being devoured:
andhe—in deep darkness; tamasi—in ignorance: magnah—being ab-
sorbed: Stinya-aranye—in the isolated forest: iva—like: sete—he lies
down: na—not: anyat—else:; kificana—anything: veda—knows:
Savah—a dead body: iva—like; apaviddhah—thrown away.

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami continued speaking to Maharaja Pariksit: My
dear King, sleep is exactly like a python. Those who wander in the
forest of material life are always devoured by the python of sleep.
Being bitten by this python, they always remain in the darkness of
ignorance. They are like dead bodies thrown in a distant forest.
Thus the conditioned souls cannot understand what is going on in
life.
