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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
3.27.273.27.30

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 3.27.28-29

Nirodha· Winding up
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

मद्भक्त: प्रतिबुद्धार्थो मत्प्रसादेन भूयसा ।

नि:श्रेयसं स्वसंस्थानं कैवल्याख्यं मदाश्रयम् ॥ २८ ॥

प्राप्नोतीहाञ्जसा धीर: स्वद‍ृशाच्छिन्नसंशय: ।

यद्गत्वा न निवर्तेत योगी लिङ्गाद्विनिर्गमे ॥ २९ ॥

mad-bhaktaḥ pratibuddhārtho

mat-prasādena bhūyasā

niḥśreyasaṁ sva-saṁsthānaṁ

kaivalyākhyaṁ mad-āśrayam

prāpnotīhāñjasā dhīraḥ

sva-dṛśā cchinna-saṁśayaḥ

yad gatvā na nivarteta

yogī liṅgād vinirgame

Translation

My devotee actually becomes self-realized by My unlimited causeless mercy, and thus, when freed from all doubts, he steadily progresses towards his destined abode, which is directly under the protection of My spiritual energy of unadulterated bliss. That is the ultimate perfectional goal of the living entity. After giving up the present material body, the mystic devotee goes to that transcendental abode and never comes back.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Mercy Leads the Devotee Home

  1. 1

    Actual self-realization means becoming a pure devotee of the Lord. It includes knowing the individual self, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and their reciprocal exchanges of loving service.

  2. 2

    Devotional service is revealed by the Lord’s unlimited causeless mercy. Those who serve with love and faith receive the intelligence needed to advance steadily toward His abode.

  3. 3

    By the Lord’s grace, the self-realized devotee understands his destination and serves without doubt. After leaving both subtle and gross material bodies, he enters a spiritual abode in his pure spiritual body and never returns to the material world.

Key points from the purport
  • The impersonalists sacrifice their individuality so that the living spark can merge into the impersonal effulgence emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord, but the devotee has a specific abode.
  • By the grace of the Lord, the self-realized devotee engaged in devotional service understands his destination even while in the material body.
  • Although the impersonalists also reach that spiritual sky after giving up the subtle and gross material bodies, they are not placed in the spiritual planets; as they desire, they are allowed to merge in the spiritual effulgence emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord.

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 3.27.28-29 quotesBG 14.27

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (14.27), brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham: the impersonal Brahman effulgence rests on the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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

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. mat-bhaktaḥMy devotee
  2. pratibuddha-arthaḥself-realized
  3. mat-prasādenaby My causeless mercy
  4. bhūyasāunlimited
  5. niḥśreyasamthe ultimate perfectional goal
  6. sva-saṁsthānamhis abode
  7. kaivalya-ākhyamcalled kaivalya
  8. mat-āśrayamunder My protection
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 3.27

    In this verse: “mercy”, “causeless”, “grace”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

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

How can I bring more love, faith, and steadiness to my devotional service?

Practice

Spend a quiet minute asking the Lord for His mercy to serve with love and faith, then carry out one small devotional act.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMercy Leads the Devotee HomeThis 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 3.27.28-29? Get an answer from the verses themselves.