mamaiveyaá¹ mahÄ« ká¹›tsnÄ
na te mÅ«á¸heti vÄdinaḥ
spardhamÄnÄ mitho ghnanti
mriyante mat-ká¹›te ná¹›pÄḥ

 mama - mine; eva - indeed; iyam - this; mahÄ« - land; ká¹›tsnÄ - entire; na - not; te - yours; mÅ«á¸ha - you fool; iti vÄdinaḥ - thus speaking; spardhamÄnÄḥ - quarreling; mithaḥ - each other; ghnanti - they kill; mriyante - they are killed; mat-ká¹›te - for my sake; ná¹›pÄḥ - kings.


Text

“Political leaders challenge one another: ‘All this land is mine! It’s not yours, you fool!’ Thus they attack one another and die.

Purport

This verse describes with brilliant clarity the mundane political mentality that provokes innumerable conflicts in the world. For example, as we prepare this translation of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, British and Argentine military forces are bitterly fighting over the tiny Falkland Islands.

The fact is that the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of all land. Of course, even in a God-conscious world political boundaries exist. But in such a God-conscious atmosphere political tensions are greatly eased, and people of all lands welcome each other and respect each other’s right to live in peace.