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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 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 4 · Chapter 28: Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life

4.28.62 4.28.64

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.28.63

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The brāhmaṇasince 4.28.53inside 5 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraNārada Muni → King PrācīnabarhiThe allegory of King Purañjana → Prācīnabarhi, as listener

यथा पुरुष आत्मानमेकमादर्शचक्षुषो: ।

द्विधाभूतमवेक्षेत तथैवान्तरमावयो: ॥ ६३ ॥

yathā puruṣa ātmānam

ekam ādarśa-cakṣuṣoḥ

dvidhābhūtam avekṣeta

tathaivāntaram āvayoḥ

Translation

As a person sees the reflection of his body in a mirror to be one with himself and not different, whereas others actually see two bodies, so in our material condition, in which the living being is affected and yet not affected, there is a difference between God and the living entity.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Spiritual Oneness Does Not Mean Equality

1
Like the original sun and its small reflections, the Supreme Lord and the living entities are one in quality but different in quantity. The living entity is a small fragment, whereas the Supreme Personality of Godhead is full, powerful and opulent.
2
The conditioned soul forgets his spiritual identity and identifies with a material body. The Supreme Lord never forgets and is always uncontaminated; His body is wholly spiritual.
3
The individual soul is situated in one particular body, while the Supersoul is present in all bodies and knows what happens in them. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the living entities are His energies, not His equals in every respect.

Key points from the purport

Although he and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are one in quality, the living entity is prone to forget his spiritual identity, whereas the Supreme Personality never forgets.
For the Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, there is no difference between the body and the soul.
The living entity becomes conditioned, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is different because He does not become conditioned at any point.

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· 3

The purport of SB 4.28.63 quotesBG 13.3

This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (13.3). Kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata: “O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies.”

The purport of SB 4.28.63 quotesSB 3.28.40

In the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.28.40), it is said: There is flame, the sparks and the smoke.

The purport of SB 4.28.63 quotesBG 9.4

In Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: “All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.”

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

Worldly absorption → Sobering awareness. The mind's identification with material life becomes visible.

Chapters 24–29 of Canto 4: Śiva's song and the allegory of Purañjana. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 28: Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life

Purañjana’s city falls; he becomes a woman, and a brāhmaṇa recalls the soul’s forgotten spiritual friendship.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.28

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

yathāas
puruṣaḥthe living entity
ātmānamhis body
ekamone
ādarśain a mirror
cakṣuṣoḥby the eyes
dvidhā-ābhūtamexisting as two
avekṣetasees

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 4.28
In this verse: “material”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can remembering both my spiritual nature and my smallness deepen my humility before the Supreme Lord?

Practice

Reflect for one minute today: “I may forget my spiritual identity, but the Supersoul never forgets and knows what happens in every body.”

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 3.28.40

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.28's connections

Live this todaySpiritual Oneness Does Not Mean EqualityThis 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 4.28.63? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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