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

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Canto 12 · The Age of Deterioration · 13 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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.4.30

Who is speaking and story frame

न हि सत्यस्य नानात्वमविद्वान् यदि मन्यते ।

नानात्वं छिद्रयोर्यद्वज्ज्योतिषोर्वातयोरिव ॥ ३० ॥

na hi satyasya nānātvam

avidvān yadi manyate

nānātvaṁ chidrayor yadvaj

jyotiṣor vātayor iva

Translation

There is no material duality in the Absolute Truth. The duality perceived by an ignorant person is like the difference between the sky contained in an empty pot and the sky outside the pot, or the difference between the reflection of the sun in water and the sun itself in the sky, or the difference between the vital air within one living body and that within another body.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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.

No Material Duality in the Absolute Truth

  1. 1

    There is no material duality in the Absolute Truth. An ignorant person nevertheless perceives such duality.

  2. 2

    The verse compares this perception to distinguishing the sky inside an empty pot from the sky outside it.

  3. 3

    Other comparisons are the sun’s reflection in water and the sun in the sky, or the vital air within different living bodies.

How it feels

Civilizational dread → Dispassion. Social and cosmic impermanence expose the limits of worldly plans.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 12: The deterioration of Kali and universal dissolution. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: The Four Categories of Universal Annihilation

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When a person achieves knowledge of the Absolute, he understands factual reality. He perceives the entire created universe as separate from the Absolute and therefore unreal.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nathere is no
  2. hiindeed
  3. satyasyaof the Absolute Truth
  4. nānātvamduality
  5. avidvāna person not in true knowledge
  6. yadiif
  7. manyatehe thinks
  8. nānātvamthe duality
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 12.4

    In this verse: “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 12.4

    In this verse: “absolute truth”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the example of the sky inside and outside a pot challenge your perception of separation?

Practice

Consider an empty pot or cup and reflect on the verse’s comparison of the sky within and outside it.

Live this todayNo Material Duality in the Absolute TruthThis 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 12.4.30? Get an answer from the verses themselves.