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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 4: The Atrocities of King Kaṁsa
10.4.1910.4.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.4.20

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.4.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यथानेवंविदो भेदो यत आत्मविपर्यय: ।

देहयोगवियोगौ च संसृतिर्न निवर्तते ॥ २० ॥

yathānevaṁ-vido bhedo

yata ātma-viparyayaḥ

deha-yoga-viyogau ca

saṁsṛtir na nivartate

Translation

One who does not understand the constitutional position of the body and the soul [ātmā] becomes too attached to the bodily concept of life. Consequently, because of attachment to the body and its by-products, he feels affected by union with and separation from his family, society and nation. As long as this continues, one continues his material life. [Otherwise, one is liberated.]

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Restores Our Spiritual Position

  1. 1

    Mistaking the body for the self creates attachment to the body and its by-products. This keeps one affected by material union and separation.

  2. 2

    Uninterrupted service to the Lord places one in the original spiritual status, where the soul finds transcendental happiness.

  3. 3

    A person serving Kṛṣṇa with body, mind and words is liberated even within this world. The purport distinguishes this spiritual position from the body’s apparent material conditions.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore, one who is situated in the spiritual status of life is unaffected by foam and garbage — or any superficial dirty things.
  • The spiritual master, or ācārya, is always situated in the spiritual status of life.
  • The spiritual body is always unaffected by material conditions.

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 10.4.20 quotesSB 1.2.6

As confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6): One who is engaged in the service of the Lord (yato bhaktir adhokṣaje), without impediment and without cessation, is understood to be situated in his original, spiritual status.

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 4: The Atrocities of King Kaṁsa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

According to the prophecy, the eighth child of Devakī would kill Kaṁsa, and therefore when Kaṁsa saw that the eighth child was a female and heard that his so-called enemy had taken birth elsewhere, he was struck with wonder. He decided to release Devakī and Vasudeva, and he admitted before them the wrongness of his atrocities.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yathāas
  2. an-evam-vidaḥof a person who has no knowledge (about ātma-tattva and the steadiness of the ātmā in his own identity, despite the changes of the body)
  3. bhedaḥthe idea of difference between body and self
  4. yataḥbecause of which
  5. ātma-viparyayaḥthe foolish understanding that one is the body
  6. deha-yoga-viyogau caand this causes connections and separations among different bodies
  7. saṁsṛtiḥthe continuation of conditioned life
  8. nanot
  9. nivartatedoes stop
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.4

    In this verse: “attached”, “material”, “attachment”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 10.4

    In this verse: “separation”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.4

    In this verse: “understand”

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 can I engage my body, mind and words in Kṛṣṇa’s service today?

Practice

Set aside a few uninterrupted minutes to read about Kṛṣṇa aloud with the intention of serving Him.

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.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.6

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.4's connections

Live this todayDevotional Service Restores Our Spiritual PositionThis 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 10.4.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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