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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
  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.
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Canto 4 · Chapter 29: Talks Between Nārada and King Prācīnabarhi
4.29.344.29.36-37

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.29.35

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.29.34inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraNārada Muni → King Prācīnabarhi

अर्थे ह्यविद्यमानेऽपि संसृतिर्न निवर्तते ।

मनसा लिङ्गरूपेण स्वप्ने विचरतो यथा ॥ ३५ ॥

arthe hy avidyamāne ’pi

saṁsṛtir na nivartate

manasā liṅga-rūpeṇa

svapne vicarato yathā

Translation

Sometimes we suffer because we see a tiger in a dream or a snake in a vision, but actually there is neither a tiger nor a snake. Thus we create some situation in a subtle form and suffer the consequences. These sufferings cannot be mitigated unless we are awakened from our dream.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Realize Your Spiritual Nature Through Devotion

  1. 1

    The living entity is separate from both the subtle and gross material bodies. Like fear of a tiger in a dream, suffering continues while one remains in the material condition.

  2. 2

    Bodily happiness and distress come and go like winter and summer. Kṛṣṇa teaches that we should learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.

  3. 3

    Understanding that we are spiritual, not material, cannot be fully realized without devotional service. Taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the remedy for material bondage.

Key points from the purport
  • All our sufferings are due to these material bodies.
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa thus informed Arjuna that all the distresses brought about by the body come and go.
  • The Vedas therefore enjoin that one should factually understand that he is not material but is actually Brahman (ahaṁ brahmāsmi).

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 4.29.35 quotesBG 2.14

This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (2.14): “O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons.

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

Further reading

Chapter 29: Talks Between Nārada and King Prācīnabarhi

Nārada explains the allegory and devotional service; Prācīnabarhi leaves home to perform austerities.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.29
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. arthefactual cause
  2. hicertainly
  3. avidyamānenot existing
  4. apialthough
  5. saṁsṛtiḥmaterial existence
  6. nanot
  7. nivartateceases
  8. manasāby the mind
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 4.29

    In this verse: “sufferings”, “suffering”, “distress”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.29

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.29

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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 might remembering that I am not the body help me tolerate a passing discomfort?

Practice

When a minor discomfort arises today, pause and remember that it comes and goes while you are separate from the body.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.29's connections

Live this todayRealize Your Spiritual Nature Through DevotionThis 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 4.29.35? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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