1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.4.26

Who is speaking and story frame

एवमेतन्महाभाग यथा वदसि देहिनाम् ।

अज्ञानप्रभवाहंधी: स्वपरेति भिदा यत: ॥ २६ ॥

evam etan mahā-bhāga

yathā vadasi dehinām

ajñāna-prabhavāhaṁ-dhīḥ

sva-pareti bhidā yataḥ

Translation

O great personality Kaṁsa, only by the influence of ignorance does one accept the material body and bodily ego. What you have said about this philosophy is correct. Persons in the bodily concept of life, lacking self-realization, differentiate in terms of “This is mine” and “This belongs to another.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seek Freedom From Bodily Ignorance

  1. 1

    Ignorance makes one accept the material body and bodily ego as the self. From this arise distinctions such as “This is mine” and “This belongs to another.”

  2. 2

    Nature’s laws work under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Within material conditioning, no one acts independently of those laws.

  3. 3

    Our main business is to leave conditioned life and become situated again in spiritual existence. Without full self-realization, ignorance continues.

Key points from the purport
  • Everything is done automatically by the laws of nature, which work under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Our main business, therefore, should be to get out of this conditioned life and again become situated in spiritual existence.
  • Unless one is fully self-realized, one’s life of ignorance will continue.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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

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:

The brāhmaṇas, the cows, the Vedas, austerity, truthfulness, control of the senses and mind, faithfulness and mercy are among the different parts of the body of Viṣṇu, who is the origin of all the demigods, including Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. Therefore, the ministers advised, the demigods, the saintly persons, the cows and the brāhmaṇas should be systematically persecuted.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. evamyes, this is right
  2. etatwhat you have said
  3. mahā-bhāgaO great personality
  4. yathāas
  5. vadasiyou are speaking
  6. dehināmabout living entities (accepting material bodies)
  7. ajñāna-prabhavāby the influence of ignorance
  8. aham-dhīḥthis is my interest (false ego)
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: “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “philosophy”

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

Which bodily label do I most often mistake for my whole identity?

Practice

Write down one bodily label you use for yourself, then reflect that self-realization goes beyond that label.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySeek Freedom From Bodily IgnoranceThis 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 10.4.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.