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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
3.26.703.26.72

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.26.71

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
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

यथा प्रसुप्तं पुरुषं प्राणेन्द्रियमनोधिय: ।

प्रभवन्ति विना येन नोत्थापयितुमोजसा ॥ ७१ ॥

yathā prasuptaṁ puruṣaṁ

prāṇendriya-mano-dhiyaḥ

prabhavanti vinā yena

notthāpayitum ojasā

Translation

When a man is sleeping, all his material assets — namely the vital energy, the senses for recording knowledge, the senses for working, the mind and the intelligence — cannot arouse him. He can be aroused only when the Supersoul helps him.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Links Us With the Supreme

  1. 1

    A sleeping person cannot be aroused by vital energy, senses, mind or intelligence alone. He needs the help of the Supersoul.

  2. 2

    The virāṭ-puruṣa is the universal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the original source of the various sense organs and their presiding deities.

  3. 3

    Material activities cannot link one with the Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead. This connection is possible only through devotional service and detachment.

Key points from the purport
  • The explanation of Sāṅkhya philosophy is described here in detail in the sense that the virāṭ-puruṣa, or the universal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the original source of all the various sense organs and their presiding deities.
  • The relationship between the virāṭ-puruṣa and the presiding deities or the living entities is so intricate that simply by exercising the sense organs, which are related to their presiding deities, the virāṭ-puruṣa cannot be aroused.
  • It is not possible to arouse the virāṭ-puruṣa or to link with the Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead by material activities.

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. yathājust as
  2. prasuptamsleeping
  3. puruṣama man
  4. prāṇathe vital air
  5. indriyathe senses for working and recording knowledge
  6. manaḥthe mind
  7. dhiyaḥthe intelligence
  8. prabhavantiare able
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.26

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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 relying only on my own faculties, or making room for devotional service and detachment?

Practice

Set aside one small material distraction today and spend that time in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Links Us With the SupremeThis 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 3.26.71? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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