राजतश्चौरतः शत्रोः स्वजनात्पशुपक्षितः अर्थिभ्यः कालतः स्वस्मान्नित्यं प्राणार्थवद्भयम्
rājataś caurataḥ śatroḥ sva-janāt paśu-pakṣitaḥ arthibhyaḥ kālataḥ svasmān nityaṁ prāṇārthavad bhayam
Synonyms
rājataḥ—from the government; caurataḥ—from thieves and rogues; śatroḥ—from enemies; sva-janāt—from relatives; paśu-pakṣitaḥ—from animals and birds; arthibhyaḥ—from beggars and persons seeking charity; kālataḥ—from the time factor; svasmāt—as well as from one's self; nityam—always; prāṇa-artha-vat—for one who has life or money; bhayam—fear..
Translation
Those who are considered materially powerful and rich are always full of anxieties because of governmental laws, thieves and rogues, enemies, family members, animals, birds, persons seeking charity, the inevitable time factor and even their own selves. Thus they are invariably afraid.
Purport
The word svasmāt means "from one's self." Because of attachment for money, the richest person is even afraid of himself. He fears that he may have locked his money in an unsafe manner or might have committed some mistake. Aside from the government and its income tax and aside from thieves, even a rich man's own relatives are always thinking of how to take advantage of him and take away his money. Sometimes these relatives are described as sva-janaka-dasyu, which means "rogues and thieves in the guise of relatives." Therefore, there is no need to accumulate wealth or unnecessarily endeavor for more and more money. The real business of life is to ask "Who am I?" and to understand one's self. One should understand the position of the living entity in this material world and understand how to return home, back to Godhead.