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

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Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 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 7 · Chapter 2: Hiraṇyakaśipu, King of the Demons
7.2.437.2.45

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.2.44

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Yamarājasince 7.2.44inside 5 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja YudhiṣṭhiraHiraṇyakaśipu → his mother and familyYamarāja, as a boy → the queens of King Suyajña

सुयज्ञो नन्वयं शेते मूढा यमनुशोचथ ।

य: श्रोता योऽनुवक्तेह स न द‍ृश्येत कर्हिचित् ॥ ४४ ॥

suyajño nanv ayaṁ śete

mūḍhā yam anuśocatha

yaḥ śrotā yo ’nuvakteha

sa na dṛśyeta karhicit

Translation

Yamarāja continued: O lamenters, you are all fools! The person named Suyajña, for whom you lament, is still lying before you and has not gone anywhere. Then what is the cause for your lamentation? Previously he heard you and replied to you, but now, not finding him, you are lamenting. This is contradictory behavior, for you have never actually seen the person within the body who heard you and replied. There is no need for your lamentation, for the body you have always seen is lying here.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Real Person Is Within the Body

  1. 1

    Yamarāja points out that Suyajña’s visible body is still lying before his relatives. Yet they lament that the person who heard and replied has gone.

  2. 2

    The soul is the proprietor within the body. The relatives had seen the body, but they had never actually seen the soul who was hearing and replying.

  3. 3

    Even an ordinary person can recognize that the departed person was different from the remaining body. Yamarāja uses this simple observation to challenge bodily identification and lamentation.

Key points from the purport
  • Although the body is still there, a dead man’s relatives lament that the person has gone away, for a common man sees the body but cannot see the soul.
  • Therefore, in effect, the common man concludes that actually the spirit soul was different from the body and has now gone away.
  • Thus even a common man, coming to his senses, can know that the real person who was within the body and was hearing and replying was never seen.

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

Pride and rage → Oppression. The ruler's power intensifies his insecurity.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 7: Hiraṇyakaśipu's ascent and intimidation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: Hiraṇyakaśipu, King of the Demons

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Hiraṇyakaśipu then related a historical incident concerning a King Suyajña who resided in the country named Uśīnara. When the King was killed, his queens, overwhelmed with grief, received instructions, which Hiraṇyakaśipu quoted to his nephews.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. suyajñaḥthe king named Suyajña
  2. nanuindeed
  3. ayamthis
  4. śetelies
  5. mūḍhāḥO foolish people
  6. yamwhom
  7. anuśocathayou cry for
  8. yaḥhe who
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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 7.2

    In this verse: “heard”, “hearing”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 7.2

    In this verse: “lamenters”, “lament”

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

What does the difference between a living person and a dead body teach me about the self?

Practice

Write one sentence explaining why the person who hears and replies is different from the visible body.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Real Person Is Within the BodyThis 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 7.2.44? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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