सुखाय कर्माणि करोति लोको
न तै: सुखं वान्यदुपारमं वा ।
विन्देत भूयस्तत एव दु:खं
यदत्र युक्तं भगवान् वदेन्न: ॥
sukhāya karmāṇi karoti loko
na taiḥ sukhaṁ vānyad upāramaṁ vā |
vindeta bhūyas tata eva duḥkhaṁ
yad atra yuktaṁ bhagavān vaden naḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.5.2)
“People engage in karma in pursuit of happiness, but by that they attain neither happiness nor the cessation of its opposite [i.e., suffering]. Rather, they attain only more suffering. O illustrious sage, please explain what is befitting [for us to do] here [i.e., in this condition in saṁsāra].”