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

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Canto 11 · General History · 31 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 11 · Chapter 28: Jñāna-yoga
11.28.1411.28.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.28.15

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 11.28.12inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

शोकहर्षभयक्रोधलोभमोहस्पृहादय: ।

अहङ्कारस्य द‍ृश्यन्ते जन्म मृत्युश्च नात्मन: ॥ १५ ॥

śoka-harṣa-bhaya-krodha-

lobha-moha-spṛhādayaḥ

ahaṅkārasya dṛśyante

janma-mṛtyuś ca nātmanaḥ

Translation

Lamentation, elation, fear, anger, greed, confusion and hankering, as well as birth and death, are experiences of the false ego and not of the pure soul.

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.

The Pure Soul’s Nature Is Loving Service

  1. 1

    False ego is the pure soul’s illusory identification with the material mind and body.

  2. 2

    This identification produces lamentation, elation, fear, anger, greed and other material emotions. Bewildered by attractions and aversions, the conditioned soul accepts further bodies and repeated birth and death.

  3. 3

    A self-realized person knows that these mundane emotions do not belong to the pure soul. The soul’s natural propensity is loving service to the Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • False ego is the pure soul’s illusory identification with the subtle material mind and the gross material body.
  • As a result of this illusory identification, the conditioned soul feels lamentation for things lost, jubilation over things gained, fear of things inauspicious, anger at the frustration of his desires, and greed for sense gratification.
  • One who is self-realized knows that all such mundane emotions have nothing to do with the pure soul, whose natural propensity is to engage in the loving service of the Lord.

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

Striving → Complete devotional trust. The Lord redirects Uddhava toward enduring loving service.

Chapters 21–29 of Canto 11: Spiritual practice culminating in bhakti-yoga. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 28: Jñāna-yoga

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

All the phases of material life — such as birth, death, sorrow and happiness — belong not to the soul but to the materialistic false ego. By learning to distinguish between the soul and its opposite, matter, one can destroy this false identification.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.28
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śokalamentation
  2. harṣaelation
  3. bhayafear
  4. krodhaanger
  5. lobhagreed
  6. mohaconfusion
  7. spṛhāhankering
  8. ādayaḥand so on
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 11.28

    In this verse: “fear”, “death”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 11.28

    In this verse: “false ego”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 11.28

    In this verse: “lamentation”

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

When gain or loss stirs strong emotions, can I remember the soul’s natural inclination toward loving service?

Practice

When you notice elation over a gain or lamentation over a loss today, pause and redirect your attention to one small act of service to the Lord.

Live this todayThe Pure Soul’s Nature Is Loving ServiceThis 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 11.28.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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