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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.
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Canto 3 · Chapter 26: Fundamental Principles of Material Nature
3.26.63.26.8

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.26.7

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Kapilasince 3.26.1inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

तदस्य संसृतिर्बन्ध: पारतन्‍त्र्यं च तत्कृतम् ।

भवत्यकर्तुरीशस्य साक्षिणो निर्वृतात्मन: ॥ ७ ॥

tad asya saṁsṛtir bandhaḥ

pāra-tantryaṁ ca tat-kṛtam

bhavaty akartur īśasya

sākṣiṇo nirvṛtātmanaḥ

Translation

Material consciousness is the cause of one’s conditional life, in which conditions are enforced upon the living entity by the material energy. Although the spirit soul does not do anything and is transcendental to such activities, he is thus affected by conditional life.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Transfer Attachment from Matter to Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Material consciousness keeps the living entity captive under material energy. This conditioned suffering is not a transcendental pastime like the Lord’s activities.

  2. 2

    The soul is sac-cid-ānanda—eternal, full of bliss and full of knowledge. Attachment to material nature brings suffering through birth, death, disease and old age.

  3. 3

    The living entity’s constitutional position is to serve Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa takes charge of one who surrenders to Him in helplessness, removing the influence of māyā.

Key points from the purport
  • The Māyāvādī philosopher, who does not differentiate between the Supreme Spirit and the individual spirit, says that the conditional existence of the living entity is his līlā, or pastime.
  • In conditional life the living entity actually remains as if a captive in the hands of material energy.
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā that māyā, His material energy, is so forceful that it is insurmountable.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tatfrom the misconception
  2. asyaof the conditioned soul
  3. saṁsṛtiḥconditioned life
  4. bandhaḥbondage
  5. pāra-tantryamdependence
  6. caand
  7. tat-kṛtammade by that
  8. bhavatiis
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”, “attachment”, “māyā”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.26

    In this verse: “spirit soul”, “knowledge”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 3.26

    In this verse: “surrenders”

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

Which material attachment could I begin transferring to Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Take a quiet minute today to ask Kṛṣṇa for help in serving Him, acknowledging that you cannot overcome māyā alone.

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.

Live this todayTransfer Attachment from Matter to KṛṣṇaThis 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 3.26.7? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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