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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 14: Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa
10.14.2510.14.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.14.26

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 10.14.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अज्ञानसंज्ञौ भवबन्धमोक्षौ

द्वौ नाम नान्यौ स्त ऋतज्ञभावात् ।

अजस्रचित्यात्मनि केवले परे

विचार्यमाणे तरणाविवाहनी ॥ २६ ॥

ajñāna-saṁjñau bhava-bandha-mokṣau

dvau nāma nānyau sta ṛta-jña-bhāvāt

ajasra-city ātmani kevale pare

vicāryamāṇe taraṇāv ivāhanī

Translation

The conception of material bondage and the conception of liberation are both manifestations of ignorance. Being outside the scope of true knowledge, they cease to exist when one correctly understands that the pure spirit soul is distinct from matter and always fully conscious. At that time bondage and liberation no longer have any significance, just as day and night have no significance from the perspective of the sun.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Pure Love Goes Beyond Mere Liberation

  1. 1

    Through false ego, the conditioned soul identifies with matter. Liberation means giving up this illusion rather than escaping an actual bond belonging to the pure soul.

  2. 2

    The mere absence of material suffering is insignificant beside positive, eternal spiritual life. Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or pure love of Godhead, is the living entity’s meaningful and permanent condition.

  3. 3

    Just as night has no place within the sun, material darkness has no place within pure consciousness. In that consciousness, one becomes fit to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His abode.

Key points from the purport
  • Material bondage is illusion because the living entity actually has no real relationship with the material world.
  • Yet even if we think that the suffering of material illusion is real and that liberation is thus a meaningful release from suffering, the mere absence of material existence is still insignificant compared to the achievement of factual spiritual life, which is the positive eternal reality opposed to the negative illusion of material life.
  • Similarly, within the pure living entity there is no material darkness and thus no experience of liberation from such darkness.

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

How it feels

Peril and pride → Friendship and humility. Divinity is revealed amid intimate childhood play.

Chapters 12–19 of Canto 10: Childhood dangers and Brahmā's amazement. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 14: Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

By knowing the Supreme Personality in truth, the individual spirit soul can achieve liberation from bondage. In actuality, however, both liberation and bondage are unreal, for it is only from the living entity’s conditioned outlook that his bondage and liberation are produced.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ajñānamanifesting from ignorance
  2. saṁjñauwhich designations
  3. bhava-bandhabondage to material existence
  4. mokṣauand liberation
  5. dvauthe two
  6. nāmaindeed
  7. nanot
  8. anyauseparate
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “spirit soul”, “understands”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “material”, “illusion”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “false ego”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might your spiritual aim shift from merely escaping suffering to developing pure love of Godhead?

Practice

Offer a short prayer to Kṛṣṇa asking for pure love of Him, rather than only relief from difficulty.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPure Love Goes Beyond Mere LiberationThis 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 10.14.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.