1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 chapters

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 5 · Chapter 11: Jaḍa Bharata Instructs King Rahūgaṇa
5.11.155.11.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.11.16

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharatasince 5.11.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitJaḍa Bharata → King Rahūgaṇa

न यावदेतन्मन आत्मलिङ्गं

संसारतापावपनं जनस्य ।

यच्छोकमोहामयरागलोभ-

वैरानुबन्धं ममतां विधत्ते ॥ १६ ॥

na yāvad etan mana ātma-liṅgaṁ

saṁsāra-tāpāvapanaṁ janasya

yac choka-mohāmaya-rāga-lobha-

vairānubandhaṁ mamatāṁ vidhatte

Translation

The soul’s designation, the mind, is the cause of all tribulations in the material world. As long as this fact is unknown to the conditioned living entity, he has to accept the miserable condition of the material body and wander within this universe in different positions. Because the mind is affected by disease, lamentation, illusion, attachment, greed and enmity, it creates bondage and a false sense of intimacy within this material world.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Mind Can Bind or Liberate

  1. 1

    The mind is the cause of both material bondage and liberation. The impure mind thinks, “I am this body,” while the pure mind knows that the self is not the material body.

  2. 2

    The mind is the root of material designations. While absorbed in material contamination, it remains affected by illusion, attachment, greed and enmity.

  3. 3

    Such mental absorption conditions the living entity and brings material suffering. It also creates bondage and a false sense of intimacy within the material world.

Key points from the purport
  • The mind is the cause of both material bondage and liberation.
  • The pure mind knows that he is not the material body; therefore the mind is considered to be the root of all material designations.
  • Until the living entity is aloof from the association and contaminations of this material world, the mind will be absorbed in such material things as birth, death, disease, illusion, attachment, greed and enmity.

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 11: Jaḍa Bharata Instructs King Rahūgaṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The cause of conditional life is attachment to the external energy. One has to conquer these mental concoctions: unless one does so, he will never be freed from material anxieties.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.11
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. yāvatas long as
  3. etatthis
  4. manaḥmind
  5. ātma-liṅgamexisting as the false designation of the soul
  6. saṁsāra-tāpaof the miseries of this material world
  7. āvapanamthe growing ground
  8. janasyaof the living being
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.11

    In this verse: “attachment”, “illusion”, “material”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 5.11

    In this verse: “lamentation”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 5.11

    In this verse: “suffering”

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

When does bodily identification lead my mind toward attachment, greed or enmity?

Practice

When a bodily identification arises today, pause and recall the pure mind’s understanding: “I am not the material body.”

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Mind Can Bind or LiberateThis 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 5.11.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories