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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 1 · Creation · 19 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 1 · Chapter 15: The Pāṇḍavas Retire Timely
1.15.341.15.36

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.15.35

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.15.28inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

यथा मत्स्यादिरूपाणि धत्ते जह्याद् यथा नट: ।

भूभार: क्षपितो येन जहौ तच्च कलेवरम् ॥ ३५ ॥

yathā matsyādi-rūpāṇi

dhatte jahyād yathā naṭaḥ

bhū-bhāraḥ kṣapito yena

jahau tac ca kalevaram

Translation

The Supreme Lord relinquished the body which He manifested to diminish the burden of the earth. Just like a magician, He relinquishes one body to accept different ones, like the fish incarnation and others.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa’s Form Is Eternal and Spiritual

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is neither impersonal nor formless. His body is nondifferent from Himself and embodies eternity, knowledge and bliss.

  2. 2

    The Lord’s apparent quitting of His body is compared to a magician’s display. He has no material body and is never killed or destroyed.

  3. 3

    The Lord eternally possesses unlimited forms, including the fish incarnation; He does not create them merely for an occasion. His mystic curtain conceals His eternal personality from nondevotees.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead is neither impersonal nor formless, but His body is nondifferent from Him, and therefore He is known as the embodiment of eternity, knowledge and bliss.
  • Therefore, the temporary manifestation of the Lord as a thunderbolt to the wrestlers appointed by Kaṁsa, or the glaring appearance of the Lord before Śiśupāla, was relinquished by the Lord, but the Lord as a magician is eternally existent and is never vanquished in any circumstance.
  • The conclusion is that the Lord has no material body, and therefore He is never to be killed or changed by His transcendental body.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 1.15.35 quotesBG 7.24

In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.24-25) the Lord says, “The impersonalists think that I have no form, that I am formless, but that at present I have accepted a form to serve a purpose, and now I am manifested.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Bereavement → Renunciation. The worldly support system recedes and attachment is exposed.

Chapters 13–15 of Canto 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra departs; Kṛṣṇa disappears; Pāṇḍavas retire. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 15: The Pāṇḍavas Retire Timely

Arjuna grieves over Kṛṣṇa’s departure, and the Pāṇḍavas retire, fixing their minds on His lotus feet.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.15
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yathāas much as
  2. matsya-ādiincarnation as a fish, etc.
  3. rūpāṇiforms
  4. dhatteeternally accepts
  5. jahyātapparently relinquishes
  6. yathāexactly like
  7. naṭaḥmagician
  8. bhū-bhāraḥburden of the world
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.15

    In this verse: “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 1.15

    In this verse: “knowledge”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does understanding Kṛṣṇa’s eternal form deepen your respect for Him?

Practice

Read the purport’s explanation of the magician comparison and write down what it teaches about the Lord’s apparent departure.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

7

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 1.15's connections

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Form Is Eternal and SpiritualThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 1.15.35? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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