Thereafter, Yavana-raja (Bhaya, or the lord of death, Yamaraja) began traveling all over the world along with Prajvara, Kalakanya, and his soldiers, and when they came to Puranjana’s city, they attacked it very forcefully. Due to Puranjana’s having lived a life of sense gratification, the old serpent that protected his city had become very weak. When Kalakanya attacked the city, she soon rendered the citizens useless for all purposes, (in old age, the bodily limbs become useless) and the soldiers of Yavana-raja, by entering the nine gates, gave her support (in old age, diseases manifest at the nine gates).
Due to being embraced by Kalakanya, King Puranjana gradually lost all of his beauty, intelligence, and opulence, and thus the Gandharvas and Yavanas easily conquered him. While observing how everything in his city was becoming scattered, Puranjana also found that his wife, sons, grandsons, servants and ministers had become cold and indifferent, so that they no longer hesitated to oppose him. (During old age, the senses and organs become weak, so that instead of being under a person’s control, they oppose him. We want to use our senses for sense gratification, and they must receive strength from the body. In the same way, one keeps family members for enjoyment, while they also demand enjoyment from the head of the family. When the old man cannot supply sufficient money, the family members turn against him.)
This certainly made King Puranjana very anxious, but still, he could not counteract the situation, being overwhelmed by Kalakanya. Due to her influence, the objects of sense enjoyment had become tasteless, although Puranjana’s lusty desires continued to bind him with affection for his wife and children. In this way, King Puranjana became very poor-hearted and completely devoid of an understanding of life’s real aim.
Finally, although he had no desire to do so, King Puranjana was forced to leave his city because it had been completely smashed by Kalakanya. (Even a worm in the stool does not want to give up its position. Especially if one has no information about the next life, or the kingdom of God, he will not want to give up his body, even after it has become old and useless)
This is a section of the book “A Sidelong Glance”.
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