Text 21
tad vai dhanus ta iṣavaḥ sa ratho hayās te
so ’haṁ rathī nṛpatayo yata ānamanti
sarvaṁ kṣaṇena tad abhūd asad īśa-riktaṁ
bhasman hutaṁ kuhaka-rāddham ivoptam ūṣyām
tat — the same; vai — certainly; dhanuḥ te — the same bow; iṣavaḥ — arrows; saḥ — the very same; rathaḥ — chariot; hayāḥ te — the very same horses; saḥ aham — I am the same Arjuna; rathī — the chariot-fighter; nṛpatayaḥ — all the kings; yataḥ — whom; ānamanti — offered their respects; sarvam — all; kṣaṇena — at a moment’s notice; tat — all those; abhūt — became; asat — useless; īśa — because of the Lord; riktam — being void; bhasman — ashes; hutam — offering butter; kuhaka-rāddham — money created by magical feats; iva — like that; uptam — sown; ūṣyām — in barren land.
私はまさに同じガンディーヴァ弓、同じ矢、同じ馬に引かれた同じ二輪戦車、そして私はそれらを使っている、すべての王たちが尊敬を払うべき者と同じアルジュナである。しかし、主クリシュナがいない状態では、それらすべてが一瞬の内に、無価値で無効なものになってしまった。それは確かにまるで灰の上に注がれたギー（澄ましバター）のようなもの、また魔法の杖で集められた金、あるいは不毛の地に蒔かれた種のようである。
As we have discussed more than once, one should not be puffed up by borrowed plumes. All energies and powers are derived from the supreme source, Lord Kṛṣṇa, and they act as long as He desires and cease to function as soon as He withdraws. All electrical energies are received from the powerhouse, and as soon as the powerhouse stops supplying energy, the bulbs are of no use. In a moment’s time such energies can be generated or withdrawn by the supreme will of the Lord. Material civilization without the blessing of the Lord is child’s play only. As long as the parents allow the child to play, it is all right. As soon as the parents withdraw, the child has to stop. Human civilization and all activities thereof must be dovetailed with the supreme blessing of the Lord, and without this blessing all advancement of human civilization is like decoration on a dead body. It is said here that a dead civilization and its activities are something like clarified butter on ashes, the accumulation of money by a magic wand and the sowing of seeds in a barren land.