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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 27: Understanding Material Nature
3.27.143.27.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.27.15

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

मन्यमानस्तदात्मानमनष्टो नष्टवन्मृषा ।

नष्टेऽहङ्करणे द्रष्टा नष्टवित्त इवातुर: ॥ १५ ॥

manyamānas tadātmānam

anaṣṭo naṣṭavan mṛṣā

naṣṭe ’haṅkaraṇe draṣṭā

naṣṭa-vitta ivāturaḥ

Translation

The living entity can vividly feel his existence as the seer, but because of the disappearance of the ego during the state of deep sleep, he falsely takes himself to be lost, like a man who has lost his fortune and feels distressed, thinking himself to be lost.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Your Eternal Identity Is Never Lost

  1. 1

    A person who loses money may feel that he himself is lost, though only his money is gone. Similarly, identification with matter makes the living entity falsely think that his own existence is lost.

  2. 2

    Even when awareness of identity disappears in sleep, the living entity’s identity remains intact. Understanding oneself as the Lord’s eternal servitor revives awareness of one’s real position.

  3. 3

    Thinking oneself equal to the Supreme Lord, or the Supreme Lord Himself, is also false ego. Freedom from this confusion comes through awakening to one’s eternal existence as His servant.

Key points from the purport
  • Only in ignorance does a living entity think that he is lost.
  • A person who has lost a great sum of money may think that he is lost, but actually he is not lost — only his money is lost.
  • Similarly, when we falsely identify with matter as our field of activities, we think that we are lost, although actually we are not.

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 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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. manyamānaḥthinking
  2. tadāthen
  3. ātmānamhimself
  4. anaṣṭaḥalthough not lost
  5. naṣṭa-vatas lost
  6. mṛṣāfalsely
  7. naṣṭe ahaṅkaraṇebecause of the disappearance of the ego
  8. draṣṭāthe seer
3

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

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 3.27

    In this verse: “distressed”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.27

    In this verse: “understanding”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 3.27

    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

When something I identify with changes or disappears, do I mistake that loss for the loss of myself?

Practice

Reflect on one possession or circumstance that has changed, and remember that your identity as the Lord’s eternal servant remains.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayYour Eternal Identity Is Never LostThis 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 3.27.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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