kiá¹ nas tapaÅ› cÄ«rṇam adhoká¹£ajÄrcanaá¹
pÅ«rteá¹£á¹a-dattam uta bhÅ«ta-sauhá¹›dam
yat samparetaḥ punar eva bÄlako
diá¹£á¹yÄ sva-bandhÅ«n praṇayann upasthitaḥ
kim - what kind of; naḥ - by us; tapaḥ - austerity; cÄ«rṇam - has been done for a very long time; adhoká¹£aja - of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; arcanam - worshiping; pÅ«rta - constructing public roads, etc.; iá¹£á¹a - activities for public benefit; dattam - giving charity; uta - or else; bhÅ«ta-sauhá¹›dam - because of love for the general public; yat - by the result of which; samparetaḥ - even though the child was practically lost in death; punaḥ eva - even again because of pious activities; bÄlakaḥ - the child; diá¹£á¹yÄ - by fortune; sva-bandhÅ«n - all His relatives; praṇayan - to please; upasthitaḥ - is present here.
Nanda MahÄrÄja 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.
Nanda MahÄrÄja confirmed that by pious activities one can become a sÄdhu so that one will be happy at home and one’s children will be protected. In Å›Ästra there are many injunctions for karmÄ«s and jñÄnÄ«s, especially for karmÄ«s, by which they can become pious and happy even in material life. According to Vedic civilization, one should perform activities 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 Godhead. Thus one becomes pious, and as a result one is happy even in material conditions of life.
