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

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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 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 10 · Chapter 1: The Advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa: Introduction
10.1.4210.1.44

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.1.43

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vasudevasince 10.1.37inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

ज्योतिर्यथैवोदकपार्थिवेष्वद:समीरवेगानुगतं विभाव्यते । एवं स्वमायारचितेष्वसौ पुमान्गुणेषु रागानुगतो विमुह्यति ॥ ४३ ॥

jyotir yathaivodaka-pārthiveṣv adaḥ

samīra-vegānugataṁ vibhāvyate

evaṁ sva-māyā-raciteṣv asau pumān

guṇeṣu rāgānugato vimuhyati

Translation

When the luminaries in the sky, such as the moon, the sun and the stars, are reflected in liquids like oil or water, they appear to be of different shapes — sometimes round, sometimes long, and so on — because of the movements of the wind. Similarly, when the living entity, the soul, is absorbed in materialistic thoughts, he accepts various manifestations as his own identity because of ignorance. In other words, one is bewildered by mental concoctions because of agitation from the material modes of nature.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Our Lasting Identity Is Kṛṣṇa’s Servant

  1. 1

    The moon’s reflection appears to change shape when water moves. Similarly, the eternal soul accepts different material bodies and, under māyā’s influence, mistakes them for his identity.

  2. 2

    Freedom from material form does not mean having no form: both the soul and the Supreme Lord have original, spiritual forms. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, never changes His spiritual form, whereas the conditioned soul is forced to accept different material bodies.

  3. 3

    The soul’s original position is to be Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servant. Liberation means recovering this spiritual understanding and surrendering to Him in devotional service, not losing one’s individual identity.

Key points from the purport
  • Both the living entity and the Supreme Lord have original, spiritual forms (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha), but the Lord, the Supreme, does not change His form.
  • The Lord appears as He is, whereas the living entity appears because material nature forces him to accept different forms.
  • The only difference is that the conditioned living entity appears in various material forms, whereas Kṛṣṇa appears in His original, spiritual form.

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· 5

The purport of SB 10.1.43 quotesBG 7.19

This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19). When the living entity, after many, many births in different forms, returns to his original form of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he immediately surrenders unto the lotus feet of the supreme form, Kṛṣṇa.

The purport of SB 10.1.43 quotesBG 18.54

As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.54): “One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful.

The purport of SB 10.1.43 quotesBG 12.5

Kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām. Although one may be spiritually advanced, if one is attached to the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth one must still work very hard, as indicated by the words kleśo ’dhikataraḥ, which mean “greater suffering.”

The purport of SB 10.1.43 quotesBG 9.11

Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam. Kṛṣṇa is never puffed up by material knowledge and is therefore called acyuta, whereas the living entities fall down and are agitated by material nature.

The purport of SB 10.1.43 quotesSB 5.5.4

Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.4), Ṛṣabhadeva also says: As long as the living entity is entangled in the fruitive activities of so-called happiness and distress, he will receive a particular type of body in which to endure the three kinds of suffering due to material nature (tri-tāpa-yantraṇā).

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

Terror → Wonder and relief. The threat of destruction yields to divine appearance.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 10: Threat from Kaṁsa and Kṛṣṇa's birth. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: The Advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa: Introduction

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Every living entity lives in a body for some time and then transmigrates to another body, but one is unfortunately misled into accepting the body as the soul. If a person under this mistaken conception wants to kill another body, he is condemned as hellish.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. jyotiḥthe luminaries in the sky, such as the sun, the moon and the stars
  2. yathāas
  3. evaindeed
  4. udakain water
  5. pārthiveṣuor in other liquids, like oil
  6. adaḥdirectly
  7. samīra-vega-anugatambeing forced by the movements of the wind
  8. vibhāvyateappear in different shapes
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.1

    In this verse: “materialistic”, “māyā’s”, “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.1

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 10.1

    In this verse: “surrendering”

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 would remembering that you are Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servant change the way you view your bodily identity?

Practice

Write down one bodily label you commonly use for yourself, then beneath it write: “My lasting identity is to be Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servant.”

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

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 10.1's connections

Live this todayOur Lasting Identity Is Kṛṣṇa’s ServantThis 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 10.1.43? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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