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 11 · General History · 31 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

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 11 · Chapter 28: Jñāna-yoga
11.28.3611.28.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.28.37

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

यन्नामाकृतिभिर्ग्राह्यं पञ्चवर्णमबाधितम् ।

व्यर्थेनाप्यर्थवादोऽयं द्वयं पण्डितमानिनाम् ॥ ३७ ॥

yan nāmākṛtibhir grāhyaṁ

pañca-varṇam abādhitam

vyarthenāpy artha-vādo ’yaṁ

dvayaṁ paṇḍita-māninām

Translation

The duality of the five material elements is perceived only in terms of names and forms. Those who say this duality is real are pseudoscholars vainly proposing fanciful theories without basis in fact.

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.

Temporary Forms Do Not Define Reality

  1. 1

    Material names and forms undergo creation and annihilation, so they have no permanent existence. God and His potency are real, but temporary forms have no ultimate reality.

  2. 2

    Spirit is the Lord’s living, superior energy, while matter is His unconscious, inferior energy. Their opposite qualities prevent them from merging into a common existence.

  3. 3

    Imagining oneself to be matter or a mixture of matter and spirit is illusion, expressed as false ego. Genuine understanding requires spiritual self-awareness, not merely study of the Lord’s material energy.

Key points from the purport
  • Material names and forms, subject as they are to creation and annihilation, have no permanent existence and so do not constitute essential, fundamental principles of reality.
  • Although God is real and His potency is real, the particular forms and names that temporarily or circumstantially appear have no ultimate reality.
  • Gross ignorance occurs when the conditioned soul imagines himself to be material or a mixture of matter and spirit.

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:

The prescribed remedies for lust and the other enemies of the mind are meditation on the Supreme Lord and saṅkīrtana, the loud chanting of His names. The remedy for the disease of false ego is rendering service to the Supreme Lord’s saintly devotees.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.28
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatwhich
  2. nāmaby names
  3. ākṛtibhiḥand forms
  4. grāhyamperceivable
  5. pañca-varṇamconsisting of the five material elements
  6. abādhitamundeniable
  7. vyarthenain vain
  8. apiindeed
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: “material”, “illusion”

  • Dainya · Humility

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

    In this verse: “false ego”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “understanding”

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

Am I giving temporary names and forms more importance than my spiritual identity and the Lord?

Practice

Look at one material object and reflect that its present name and form are temporary, while the Lord and His potency are real.

Live this todayTemporary Forms Do Not Define RealityThis 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 11.28.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories