śrī-vasudeva uvāca
bhrātar īśa-kṛtaḥ pāśo
nṛnāḿ yaḥ sneha-saḿjñitaḥ
taḿ dustyajam ahaḿ manye
śūrāṇām api yoginām
sri-vasudevah uvaca -- Sri Vasudeva said; bhratah -- O brother; isa -- by the Supreme Lord; kritah -- made; pasah -- the noose; nrinam -- of men; yah -- which; sneha -- affection; samjnitah -- named; tam -- it; dustyajam -- difficult to free oneself from; aham -- I; manye -- think; suranam -- for heroes; api -- even; yoginam -- and for yogis.
Sri Vasudeva said: My dear brother, God Himself has tied the knot called affection, which tightly binds human beings together. It seems to me that even great heroes and mystics find it very difficult to free themselves from it.
Heroic leaders of men try to transcend their petty attachments by force of will, while introspective yogis pursue knowledge for the same purpose. But the Lord's illusory energy, Maya, is much stronger than any conditioned soul. Only by taking shelter of Krishna, the Lord of Maya, can one become immune to her influence.
