SB 1.2.8
नोत्पादयेद्यदि रतिं श्रम एव हि केवलम् ॥ ८ ॥
notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam
Synonyms
[Now, the same conclusion is stated through negative reasoning (vyatirekam āha dharma iti).27]; yadi — if; yaḥ — that; dharmaḥ — conventional socio-religious duty [pertaining to one’s vocation and stage of life (varṇāśramācāra lakṣaṇo dharmaḥ)28]; puṁsām — of human beings; svanuṣṭhitaḥ — [is] meticulously carried out [(suṣṭhu anuṣṭhitaḥ);29 even if perfectly fulfilled (samyak kṛto’pi)30]; na utpādayet — [yet] does not induce; ratim — attraction [rucim31]; kathāsu — in [i.e., for] the narrations [of the divine play (tal-līlā-varṇaneṣu)]; viṣvaksena — [of] Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa [whose influence (sena) is all-pervasive (viṣvak), meaning, extending everywhere (sarvataḥ)32]; kevalam — [it is] decidedly; eva — only; śramaḥ — fruitless labor; hi — indeed [even if undertaken for the purpose of liberation (mokṣārthasyāpi)33].
Translation
If the dharma prescribed for human beings is meticulously carried out yet does not induce attraction for the narrations of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, then it is decidedly only fruitless labor indeed.