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

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Canto 3 · The Status Quo · 33 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 3 · Chapter 26: Fundamental Principles of Material Nature
3.26.153.26.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.26.16

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 3.26.10inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

प्रभावं पौरुषं प्राहु: कालमेके यतो भयम् ।

अहङ्कारविमूढस्य कर्तु: प्रकृतिमीयुष: ॥ १६ ॥

prabhāvaṁ pauruṣaṁ prāhuḥ

kālam eke yato bhayam

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhasya

kartuḥ prakṛtim īyuṣaḥ

Translation

The influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is felt in the time factor, which causes fear of death due to the false ego of the deluded soul who has contacted material nature.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Time Reminds Us to Surrender

  1. 1

    Fear of death develops from false ego, or identifying the body as the self. The spirit soul does not die.

  2. 2

    Time represents the influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By destroying whatever is created, it reminds us to surrender unto the Lord.

  3. 3

    Through the spiritual activities of devotional service, the soul becomes free from birth and death. This leads to spiritual freedom from a material body.

Key points from the purport
  • Actually there is no death for the spirit soul, but due to our absorption in the identification of body as self, the fear of death develops.
  • Just as the material elements described are caused by the Supreme Lord, or the Supreme Spirit, the body is also a product of the spirit soul.
  • The fear of death is the action of the kāla, or the time factor, which represents the influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 3.26.16 quotesSB 11.2.37

It is also stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.37), bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Entanglement → Insight and liberation. Inquiry matures into instruction in devotion and spiritual nature.

Chapters 25–33 of Canto 3: Kapila instructs Devahūti. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 26: Fundamental Principles of Material Nature

Kapila explains material nature, consciousness, time, the elements, and the manifestation of the universal form.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. prabhāvamthe influence
  2. pauruṣamof the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  3. prāhuḥthey have said
  4. kālamthe time factor
  5. ekesome
  6. yataḥfrom which
  7. bhayamfear
  8. ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhasyadeluded by false ego
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 3.26

    In this verse: “fear”, “death”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.26

    In this verse: “material”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 3.26

    In this verse: “false ego”

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

How might remembering that I am not my body change my fear of death?

Practice

Take one quiet minute to remember that the soul does not die and offer a prayer of surrender to the Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

7

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 11.2.37

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 3.26's connections

Live this todayTime Reminds Us to SurrenderThis 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 3.26.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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