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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 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 5 · Chapter 10: The Discussion Between Jaḍa Bharata and Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa
5.10.85.10.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.10.9

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The great brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharatasince 5.10.9inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitJaḍa Bharata → King Rahūgaṇa
A turning point forBharata / Jaḍa Bharata· Misjudged by others

ब्राह्मण उवाच

त्वयोदितं व्यक्तमविप्रलब्धं

भर्तु: स मे स्याद्यदि वीर भार: ।

गन्तुर्यदि स्यादधिगम्यमध्वा

पीवेति राशौ न विदां प्रवाद: ॥ ९ ॥

brāhmaṇa uvāca

tvayoditaṁ vyaktam avipralabdhaṁ

bhartuḥ sa me syād yadi vīra bhāraḥ

gantur yadi syād adhigamyam adhvā

pīveti rāśau na vidāṁ pravādaḥ

Translation

The great brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata said: My dear King and hero, whatever you have spoken sarcastically is certainly true. Actually these are not simply words of chastisement, for the body is the carrier. The load carried by the body does not belong to me, for I am the spirit soul. There is no contradiction in your statements because I am different from the body. I am not the carrier of the palanquin; the body is the carrier. Certainly, as you have hinted, I have not labored carrying the palanquin, for I am detached from the body. You have said that I am not stout and strong, and these words are befitting a person who does not know the distinction between the body and the soul. The body may be fat or thin, but no learned man would say such things of the spirit soul. As far as the spirit soul is concerned, I am neither fat nor skinny; therefore you are correct when you say that I am not very stout. Also, if the object of this journey and the path leading there were mine, there would be many troubles for me, but because they relate not to me but to my body, there is no trouble at all.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Body Carries; the Soul Is Different

  1. 1

    Jaḍa Bharata explained that the body carried the palanquin, while he was the spirit soul. The load and the journey belonged to the body, not to his spiritual identity.

  2. 2

    Fatness and thinness describe the body, not the soul. The King's comments about Jaḍa Bharata's body did not actually apply to him as a spirit soul.

  3. 3

    Austerity and penance are meant to help one understand the distinction between body and soul. One advanced in spiritual knowledge is not disturbed by bodily pains and pleasures.

Key points from the purport
  • The material body is completely separate from the spirit soul, and the pains and pleasures of the body are superfluous.
  • The practice of austerity and penance is meant for understanding the distinction between the body and the soul and how the soul can be unaffected by the pleasures and pains of the body.
  • He was completely aloof from the bodily conception; therefore he immediately took this position and convinced the King that whatever contradictory things the King had said about his body did not actually apply to him as a spirit soul.

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

Misjudgment → Humility and insight. Spiritual insight hides behind social appearances.

Chapters 10–14 of Canto 5: Jaḍa Bharata instructs Rahūgaṇa. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: The Discussion Between Jaḍa Bharata and Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

A carrier of King Rahūgaṇa’s palanquin was needed, and to fulfill this need the chief carriers found Jaḍa Bharata as the most likely person to do the work. He was therefore forced to carry the palanquin.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.10
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. brāhmaṇaḥ uvācathe learned brāhmaṇa (Jaḍa Bharata) spoke
  2. tvayāby you
  3. uditamexplained
  4. vyaktamvery clearly
  5. avipralabdhamwithout contradictions
  6. bhartuḥof the bearer, the body
  7. saḥthat
  8. memine
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.10

    In this verse: “spirit soul”, “knowledge”, “understand”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.10

    In this verse: “king”, “king's”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 5.10

    In this verse: “detached”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which bodily description do I most often mistake for my true identity?

Practice

Write down one bodily description you use for yourself, then add: “This describes my body, not the spirit soul.”

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Body Carries; the Soul Is DifferentThis 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.

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