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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
3.27.223.27.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.27.23

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 3.27.21inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

प्रकृति: पुरुषस्येह दह्यमाना त्वहर्निशम् ।

तिरोभवित्री शनकैरग्नेर्योनिरिवारणि: ॥ २३ ॥

prakṛtiḥ puruṣasyeha

dahyamānā tv ahar-niśam

tiro-bhavitrī śanakair

agner yonir ivāraṇiḥ

Translation

The influence of material nature has covered the living entity, and thus it is as if the living entity were always in a blazing fire. But by the process of seriously discharging devotional service, this influence can be removed, just as wooden sticks which cause a fire are themselves consumed by it.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Consumes Material Bondage

  1. 1

    Material influence makes conditioned life like a blazing fire. Serious devotional service removes that influence, just as fire consumes the wooden sticks from which it arises.

  2. 2

    The desire to lord it over material nature and the desire to become one with the Supreme Lord are forms of material contamination. Careful devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness consumes their cause.

  3. 3

    A devotee may appear to work or study like others, but the purpose is the Supreme Lord’s satisfaction. Work and inquiry directed toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead do not carry the same material effects.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus his main diseases are that he wants to be one with the Supreme Lord or he wants to become the lord of material nature.
  • Therefore the cause of material existence is at once consumed by the careful discharge of devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
  • Thus although the tendency for philosophical speculation exists, the material effects of fruitive activities and empiric speculation do not, because this activity is meant for 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.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. prakṛtiḥthe influence of material nature
  2. puruṣasyaof the living entity
  3. ihahere
  4. dahyamānābeing consumed
  5. tubut
  6. ahaḥ-niśamday and night
  7. tiraḥ-bhavitrīdisappearing
  8. śanakaiḥgradually
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.27

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.27

    In this verse: “material”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 3.27

    In this verse: “contamination”

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

Is my work or study meant for my own supremacy, or for the Supreme Lord’s satisfaction?

Practice

Before one task today, consciously make Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction your purpose rather than personal enjoyment or control.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Consumes Material BondageThis 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 3.27.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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