Text 6] King Citraketu Meets the Lord 85

yathaé—just as; vastiini—commodities; panyani—meant for trading;
hema-dadini—such as gold; tatah tatah—from here to there; parya-
tanti—move about; naresu—among men; evam—in this way; jivah—
the living entity; yonisu—in different species of life; kartrsu—in dif-
ferent material fathers.

TRANSLATION

Just as gold and other commodities are continually transferred
from one place to another in due course of purchase and sale, so
the living entity, as a result of his fruitive activities, wanders
throughout the entire universe, being injected into various bodies
in different species of life by one kind of father after another.

PURPORT

It has already been explained that Citraketu’s son was his enemy in a
past life and had now appeared as his son just to give him more severe
pain. Indeed, the untimely death of the son caused severe lamentation
for the father. One may put forward the argument, “If the King’s son
was his enemy, how could the King have so much affection for him?” In
answer, the example is given that when someone’s wealth falls into the
hands of his enemy, the money becomes the enemy’s friend. Then the
enemy can use it for his own purposes. Indeed, he can even use it to
harm its previous owner. Therefore the money belongs neither to the one
party nor to the other. The money is always money, but in different
situations it can be used as an enemy or a friend.

As explained in Bhagavad-gita, it is not by any father or mother that
the living entity is given his birth. The living entity is a completely
separate identity from the so-called father and mother. By the laws of
nature, the living entity is forced to enter the semen of a father and be
injected into the womb of the mother. He is not in control of selecting
what kind of father he will accept. Prakrteh kriyamdnani: the laws of
nature force him to go to different fathers and mothers, just like a con-
sumer commodity that is purchased and sold. Therefore the so-called
relationship of father and son is an arrangement of prakrti, or nature. It
has no meaning, and therefore it is called illusion.
