क्वचित्प्रासादपर्यङ्के कशिपौ वा परेच्छया ॥ ४० ॥
tṛṇa-parṇāśma-bhasmasu
kvacit prāsāda-paryaṅke
kaśipau vā parecchayā
hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
SYNONYMS
kvacit—sometimes; śaye—I lie down; dhara-upasthe—on the surface of the earth; tṛṇa—on grass; parṇa—leaves; aśma—stone; bhasmasu—or a pile of ashes; kvacit—sometimes; prāsāda—in palaces; paryaṅke—on a first-class bedstead; kaśipau—on a pillow; vā—either; para—of another; icchayā—by the wish.
TRANSLATION
Sometimes I lie on the surface of the earth, sometimes on leaves, grass or stone, sometimes on a pile of ashes, or sometimes, by the will of others, in a palace on a first-class bed with pillows.
PURPORT
The learned brāhmaṇa's description indicates different types of births, for one lies down according to one's body. Sometimes one takes birth as an animal and sometimes as a king. When he takes birth as an animal he must lie down on the ground, and when he takes birth as a king or a very rich man he is allowed to lie in first-class rooms in huge palaces decorated with beds and other furniture. Such facilities are not available, however, at the sweet will of the living entity; rather, they are available by the supreme will (parecchayā), or by the arrangement of māyā. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61):
hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā