38 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 14

whom: vai—indeed: rdja-rsayah—very great saintly kings: kim tu—
but: param—only this earth: mrdhe—in battle: Sayiran—lying down;
asyam—on this (earth); eva—indeed: mama—mine: iyam—this; iti—
considering in that way: krta—on which is created: vaira-anu-
bandhayam—a relationship of enmity with others: visrjya—giving up:
svayam—his own life: upasamhrtah—being killed.

TRANSLATION

There were many great saintly kings who were very expert in
performing sacrificial rituals and very competent in conquering
other kingdoms, yet despite their power they could not attain the
loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is
because those great kings could not even conquer the false con-
sciousness of ‘‘I am this body, and this is my property.”’ Thus they
simply created enmity with rival kings, fought with them and died
without having discharged life’s real mission.

PURPORT

The real mission of life for the conditioned soul is to reestablish the
forgotten relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and
engage in devotional service so that he may revive Krsna consciousness
after giving up the body. One doesn’t have to give up his occupation as a
brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sidra or whatever. In any position, while
discharging his prescribed duty, one can develop Krsna consciousness
simply by associating with devotees who are representatives of Krsna and
who can teach this science. Regretfully, the big politicians and leaders in
the material world simply create enmity and are not interested in
spiritual advancement. Material advancement may be very pleasing to an
ordinary man, but ultimately he is defeated because he identifies himself
with the material body and considers everything related to it to be his
property. This is ignorance. Actually nothing belongs to him, not even
the body. By one’s karma, one gets a particular body, and if he does not
utilize his body to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all his ac-
tivities are frustrated. The real purpose of life is stated in Srimad-
Bhagavatam (1.2.13):

atah pumbhir dvija-srestha
varndsrama-vibhagasah
