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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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 27: Understanding Material Nature

3.26.72 3.27.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.27.1

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Lord Kapilasince 3.27.1inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

श्रीभगवानुवाच

प्रकृतिस्थोऽपि पुरुषो नाज्यते प्राकृतैर्गुणै: ।

अविकारादकर्तृत्वान्निर्गुणत्वाज्जलार्कवत् ॥ १ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

prakṛti-stho ’pi puruṣo

nājyate prākṛtair guṇaiḥ

avikārād akartṛtvān

nirguṇatvāj jalārkavat

Translation

The Personality of Godhead Kapila continued: When the living entity is thus unaffected by the modes of material nature, because he is unchanging and does not claim proprietorship, he remains apart from the reactions of the modes, although abiding in a material body, just as the sun remains aloof from its reflection on water.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serve Kṛṣṇa Without Claiming Ownership

1
Devotional service brings detachment and transcendental knowledge. One fully engaged in bhakti-yoga remains unaffected by material qualities, like the sun untouched by the movement of its reflection on water.
2
The living entity’s unchanging position is to cooperate with the Supreme Lord. Practicing devotional service under the spiritual master’s direction restores this natural position.
3
Acting for sense gratification brings a claim of ownership and reactions. When one does everything for Kṛṣṇa without claiming proprietorship, one can remain untouched by the modes of material nature.

Key points from the purport

A person who is detached from the modes of material nature remains just like the sun reflected on water.
Similarly, vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ (Bhāg. 1.2.7): when one engages fully in the activities of devotional service, bhakti-yoga, he becomes just like the sun reflected on water.
By changlessness and by not claiming the proprietorship of activities, one can immediately situate himself in the transcendental position in which one is not touched by the modes of material nature, just as the reflection of the sun is unaffected by the water.

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 3.27.1 quotesSB 1.2.7

Similarly, vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ: when one engages fully in the activities of devotional service, bhakti-yoga, he becomes just like the sun reflected on water.

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

Chapter 27: Understanding Material Nature

Kapila explains how hearing, chanting, knowledge, and devotional service free the soul from material nature.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.27

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

śrī-bhagavān uvācathe Personality of Godhead said
prakṛti-sthaḥresiding in the material body
apialthough
puruṣaḥthe living entity
nanot
ajyateis affected
prākṛtaiḥof material nature
guṇaiḥby the modes

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 3.27
In this verse: “material”, “sense gratification”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.27
In this verse: “devotional service”, “bhakti-yoga”
Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment
Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 3.27
In this verse: “detachment”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where do I claim ownership instead of seeing an opportunity to serve Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Before one activity today, pause and consciously undertake it for Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction rather than your own enjoyment.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 1.2.7

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 3.27's connections

Live this todayServe Kṛṣṇa Without Claiming OwnershipThis 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 3.27.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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