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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
11.28.211.28.4

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.28.3

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 11.28.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

तैजसे निद्रयापन्ने पिण्डस्थो नष्टचेतन: ।

मायां प्राप्नोति मृत्युं वा तद्वन्नानार्थद‍ृक् पुमान् ॥ ३ ॥

taijase nidrayāpanne

piṇḍa-stho naṣṭa-cetanaḥ

māyāṁ prāpnoti mṛtyuṁ vā

tadvan nānārtha-dṛk pumān

Translation

Just as the embodied spirit soul loses external consciousness when his senses are overcome by the illusion of dreaming or the deathlike state of deep sleep, so a person experiencing material duality must encounter illusion and death.

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.

False Ego Dreams of Mastering Nature

  1. 1

    Dreaming and deep sleep illustrate the loss of external consciousness. Similarly, seeing in terms of material duality leads to illusion and death.

  2. 2

    Impelled by false ego, one imagines a material world without the Personality of Godhead. One then makes plans to dominate nature and exploit her resources.

  3. 3

    Conditioned souls imagine themselves wonderful enjoyers of material nature. Yet nature’s laws overturn their plans, and death ends their imagined mastery.

Key points from the purport
  • The material senses are described here as taijasa because they are born of false ego in the mode of passion.
  • On a simpler level, all conditioned souls are captivated by sex attraction and thus bound to the illusion of material society, friendship and love.
  • They imagine themselves to be wonderful enjoyers of the material nature, which suddenly turns against them and kills them just like the “tamed” animal that suddenly turns on its master and kills him.

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:

As long as there is a relationship between the bodily senses, which are comprised of matter, and the soul, which is the reality, one will continue in false consciousness. Although material existence is unreal, those who lack discrimination remain entangled in the cycle of birth and death because of their absorption in sense gratification.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.28
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. taijasewhen the senses, which are the products of false ego in the mode of passion
  2. nidrayāby sleep
  3. āpanneare overcome
  4. piṇḍain the shell of the material body
  5. sthaḥ(the soul) who is situated
  6. naṣṭa-cetanaḥhaving lost his consciousness
  7. māyāmthe illusion of dreaming
  8. prāpnotihe experiences
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 11.28

    In this verse: “illusion”, “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

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

    In this verse: “deathlike”, “death”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.28

    In this verse: “spirit soul”

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

Where am I assuming that nature will remain under my control?

Practice

Examine one plan today and identify any assumption that you can control or enjoy nature independently of the Personality of Godhead.

Live this todayFalse Ego Dreams of Mastering NatureThis 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 11.28.3? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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